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Without a Fox

By Jamnaz79

Warning: This is a Naruto story. I just tossed it into my random stories for the hell of it. I had an itch to write it for a while now and just put pen to paper.

Notice: I do not own Naruto. I do not claim to own the manga or anime versions or any of the characters used within this fan fiction. I do not make anything off of this and only write this for the hell of it and hope someone might enjoy it.

Author Note: All of the characters were aged by two years extra in the Academy (so graduate at 14). So for the start of this fan fiction Naruto is 15. One other change is that Naruto is a red head and has slightly stronger Uzumaki genes then he did in cannon.

His hand came out of her chest with a splech sound breaking the silence surrounding the gates of Konoha. Warm crimson blood covered his hand and arm halfway up to his elbow. The body fell downwards when released from his grasp to fall into a crumpled form onto the ground. A pair of legendary eyes, the same deep dark red as blood with black pupils and two commas, watched every detail of the body.

His vision took in every moment as the remainder of her heart pumped in the desperation of a futile fight against time to keep the Kunoichi alive. The shock was still in her wide open emerald eyes that seemed to shine with tears and reflect the moon light. Her lips were plump and kissable, a strange thought considering he had never desired her before. In a funny way her pink hair had fallen over the top of her forehead that she often worried was too large.

It was regrettable to him. Not the fact that he had done it, it was a chance to receive that power needed for his justice against that man. But the fact that the statue had been wrong, killing someone that you loved did not morph his gaze. His eyes had not changed by forcing himself to end the life of his teammate. He had hoped that it would go from two to the mangekyo just from this act. Sadly he was mistake as his gaze had not changed at all.

A sigh escaped his lips at the waste, at least there was one teammate left to get the power he deserved. He slowly stepped over the Kunoichi with the intent to leave Konohagakure for good. But Sasuke was stopped in surprise by her hand reaching up to grasp his ankle. It was one of the most impressive things he had ever seen her do. Even in death she was fighting him, too bad it was far too little, far too late. Her voice cracked as blood was coughed up spilling over her lips, "Why…"

"It was a test. A test to see if you would be able to give me what I craved Sakura." The cold teenager shook his foot away from her grasp and started to walk away slowly from her. He stopped and looked back seeing her emerald gaze closing as the strength was leaving her for good, "It was a test that you failed. You lived and died a failure."

~~~ WaF ~~~

The blonde haired woman looked to be around thirty years old courtesy of an advanced form of genjutsu. While she may look that age the well-endowed Hokage was in fact closer to a woman in her fifties. Not that anyone had seen her true appearance in decades. Normally the Hokage, Senju Tsunade, would be either well into a bottle doing paperwork or at home asleep at the late hour. The fact that she was wide awake, sober, and in her office was the first notice that something was very wrong. The fact that the woman was so upset that her eyes were narrowed and she radiated a killing aura that could cause a heart attack to a civilian.

It was into this office that walked Nara Shikamaru walked after receiving an immediate summons. His lazy gaze took in the office before he snapped to a nervous attention. While he may be considered lazy he was far from stupid. In fact he was considered by Nara standards a genius and for a clan known for their intelligence that was something impressive. His eyes carefully took in the face of the woman studying her, knowing two things. That there was definitely something very wrong in Konoha this night, and second that he was not going to like the mission he would be given. "You summoned me Hokage-sama?"

A file slid was tossed across her desk to the side he stood on. "You have been selected to lead a team to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. It is believed that he has willingly left the Leaf Village and while doing so may be responsible for the murder of Harano Sakura. Unfortunately due to the poor state of affairs most of our ranked shinobi are on missions. Hence do to this and because your knowledge of him as his classmate I am giving you permission to assemble any shinobi available to try to detain him and return him to Konohagakure. Only one shinobi is not allowed to be told of this mission…"

A grimace spread over the lips of Shikamaru as soon as the Hokage mentioned the death of Sakura. He knew in his heart this news would devastate many of his friends especially a pair of blondes. The fact that the Hokage was limiting him by a certain shinobi left little doubt who she didn't want to know of this adventure. It was obviously Naruto, he was too close as Sasuke and Sakura's teammate. He would be too emotionally compromised to be able to go on this mission. This would be a troublesome mission but one that needed to be completed. A rare show of determination filled the gaze of Shikamaru as he nodded his head once firmly towards Tsunade, "I understand Hokage-sama. I will acquire willing shinobi to accompany me on this mission and I will not take either Ino or Naruto with me due to their closeness to this situation."

"Good, you understood what I meant. You are dismissed and good luck."

It would take the young Chunin only twenty minutes to acquire a solid team of genin and head off from the gates after the rogue shinobi.

~~~ WaF ~~~

The red head sat on top of the head of his favorite Hokage. His legs drawn together resting his knees on top of the edges of his sandals as he relaxed. It was his favorite place to be, a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of the village, and peaceful. It was also a place where he could just relax and be himself not needing to live up to expectations good or bad that may be placed onto him. Instead he could rest here and just look out over the village and enjoy the peace. He always felt relaxed when he sat on the head of the fourth but he wasn't certain why. Perhaps it was because the man had closeness to his features, if you removed the whiskers and changed his hair he could look like a carbon copy of his idol. Then again his relaxation up here could be simply due to the fact that he could be because he felt like he was away from the world.

Since the end of the Chunin exams and his mission to retrieve Baachan he had come up here a lot. He had started to feel more of a pull to get away as often he felt overwhelmed. It wasn't due to the attention good or bad from the village that he felt overwhelmed but instead due to his ability to sense others. He had always been able to feel others approaching him, it was how he often would be able to know when and where to pull off his pranks. This gift would help him to get way from others when he would flee from ANBU and Chunin after a successful prank. But lately it had been getting stronger and stronger. It was amazing to be able to reach out and feel others chakra. It almost felt like he was feeling a part of them as he sensed their inner power and elements that made each of them up. It truly was a gift and a wondrous one that he felt a need to learn more about. This was exactly why the young Uzumaki often now came up here when possible to sit quietly, something that would startle most others of the village, and just sense others out there in the world.

Naruto had learned to pick out and feel others that he often was around. For instance he could feel the strength, raw and fresh like a new tree that came from the Hokage as she sat in her office. He could feel the sheer determination of the small amount of chakra that made up Rock Lee. The boy had the drive and determination that was unmatched throughout the village even when laid up in the hospital and is chakra echoed that sentiment. But tonight something felt off, something was different. He couldn't place what it was but something was wrong in his village this night.

The red head wasn't exactly known for his intelligence. Truthfully he deserved a lot of the lack of praise he might get in that area. There was only one area that he had discovered that he was truly book smarts and that was seals. Unfortunately this was only a recent discovery that he realized how amazing seals were only on his trip with his super perverted sensei to find the new Hokage. Still it was something he was looking forward to learn as a chance to excel and something Sasuke would never expect him to do!

Despite his lack of formal education, he could tell something was very wrong tonight. His concerns only added to the problem when he felt the agitation start up in the Hokage's chakra. Strangely she was meeting with Shikamaru if he was right in what he felt of the person's chakra. He knew his friend by the feel of earth in a slow moving circle that made him want to yawn and think of a cozy warm bed in a cold winter morning. He decided to follow mentally the signature of Shikamaru as he left the Hokage's office. He could feel the teen rushing through Konoha to different districts and joining others before making for the gates. While Naruto couldn't exactly place all of the feelings from the chakra of this group he could tell that they were familiar and people he should recognize from sight. Yes, something was definitely up, but what was it? Even more interesting there was a team of seven leaving Konohagakure at night? The red head sat there for thirty minutes pondering concern till he felt the chakra from Shikamaru and his group long gone. Something wasn't right and there was only one place to find out.

The teenager stood up from his perch and started to run down the side of the mountain using the tree walking exercise as he rushed to make his way to the Hokage's office.

~~~ WaF ~~~

A quick step through the window brought Naruto into the office of the Hokage only for his voice to call out loudly, "Baachan!"

It was a reflex inbuilt already to duck his head to the side of the thrown paperweight which promptly smashed a hole into the wall of the office. The teenager frowned at the one woman he looked up to in the village, his semi-grandmother figure. He stopped himself before he could make a smart ass comment about her age and missing him with the paperweight. Her face was drawn together in a look of pain, there was a deep sadness in her eyes. That look alone as her eyes fixated on his sapphire blue eyes stopped him in his tracks and made him swallow back any words that might escape his throat.

What surprised the red head boy even more was when she walked around her desk and stepped forward. Slowly she reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders pulling him tightly into her chest in what was honestly one of the first hugs of his life. He didn't know what to say or do, or even if he should move considering where his head came up to on her body. He had after all seen what she had done to Pervy-Sage. The boy was even more confused as he felt wetness fall down and dribble onto his face. Large salty tears fell downwards to drop gently onto the face of the young man not coming from him but instead from baa-chan.

Only once the boy realized this did he react, pulling away only slightly from the almost too tight hug to look up at her in surprise. His voice was found now as concern filled him to see her in this state, "What happened Baa-chan? Why are you crying?"

The beautiful buxom woman swallowed once and then twice as she looked down at the boy she looked at as a surrogate little brother. She knew the news would crush him but he would find out no matter what. Wouldn't it be better to find out from her directly than any other source? Her tongue wet her lips as she felt an ache inside knowing the pain of loss and what the boy might feel at her words, "Something terrible has happened Naruto."

"Is it Shizune-neechan? Is this alright? Is ton-ton alright?" The boy looked at her with worry plain on his cute little face as his voice raced with a dozen questions of concern all at once.

"No they are both fine. It is Sakura. Naruto, I don't know how to say this." She spoke gently and calmly as she could as she looked into his handsome blue eyes. Her hands lowered down to his shoulders and gave a small squeeze to his shoulders, "Sakura is dead Naruto."

The boys bronze skin from years outdoors turned paler by the second till he could match an albino. His bottom lip trembled as his eyes were wide with shock. The raw emotions on his face of loss, pain and torment were plain for anyone to see and tore at the heartstrings of Tsunade. The boy's bottom lips trembled as he spoke in a whisper, "How…"

"We are not certain yet. But Uchiha Sasuke has left the village and while leaving most likely encountered Sakura. It could have been him or it could have been others that he left with. But, we are looking into it and as soon as we know you will know." Tsunade's voice was calm, clear and yet held a gentleness to it. This was not a situation that she would use to tell bad news to a squad of shinobi this was a situation where she was telling one of her only kin left in the world about the loss of his teammate and first crush. This was telling the boy that his world had turned upside down and two of the most important people in it were most likely gone from it. She knew that loss, she had despaired for decades wallowing away in drink and gambling to get away from that loss. She only hoped in the bottom of her heart that it didn't crush Naruto like it had her.

The teenage shinobi continued to look up at her in shock but for a brief moment the mask he often wore in public pulled through, "You are joking with me baa-chan. You can't mean it. This must be a prank, it is bad taste for a prank Baa-chan."

But when she didn't change her look of deep sadness as she met his eyes the young man stated to change his tone of voice again, "Please tell me it is a prank, please…"

She could feel her insides being crushed sure as if she had been hit with one of her super punches. Sadly there was no immediate cure for this type of feeling. Her hands squeezed gently to his shoulders before she saw the tears start to roll down her cheeks. She could hear him whisper why over and over again as she pulled him back into the tight hug squeezing almost the life out of the boy.

It was unfortunately because of this closeness that she didn't feel it at first. She didn't sense or feel the chakra building up in the boy. The feel of the vile darkness that started to creep out of the boy as his sense of loss started to turn to anger. The feeling of helplessness and loneliness at losing not only his crush but his perhaps best friend at once and not be able to do anything about it. It was too much for the boy, it was too much for almost anyone to live with but too much for this crushed solitary soul. Her only warning came too late as a tail of red sprouted out of the back of the boy. She looked down in surprise only to see his eyes gone from beautiful blood to hate filled, bloody crimson. Then she was flung to the far side of the office like a rag doll.

It was only luck that saved Tsunade from a crushed back and years of pain with a few vertebrae out of place. Instead years of training kicked for one of the strongest women in the shinobi world and she flipped to land against the wall in a textbook crouch. Again those reflexes worked as she ducked under a second large tail and third that seemed to be sprouting out of the back of the boy whose whole body was now covered in the chakra of the nine-tails fox. Her reaction was at once to run along the wall in a spring diving over a swipe of a fourth tail that tried to bat her like a cat playing with a toy. She rolled and grabbed the bottom drawer pulling out an envelope.

A roll to the side luckily timed just so she missed having herself cut in half along with her desk found her before the boy. She ripped open the envelope and pulled out the first seal, one Jiraya had made for her in case of a situation like this. She slapped it onto the forehead of her beloved red head hoping that it would work.

For a brief moment it appeared that it would, of the four tails summoned two disappeared at once as if the chakra for them were cut off. The boy's mind must have snapped because he had stopped whispering why, now instead he cried out in pain and anger letting forth an animalistic roar of rage. When the youth arched his back to do the roar thick red chains of chakra spewed from his back surprising the Hokage. Again her level of ability saved her from becoming tied up S&M model but unfortunately the surprising attack, seeing Kushina's chains, caused her to have to jump away.

What Tsunade didn't expect was for the chains to rip off the chakra seal that was stopping the flow of the nine tails foxes chakra to the boy. She never expected to see a fuinjutsu seal created by Jiraya fail so swiftly. It was at this moment that she knew that the village might be in true danger. That Naruto in his rage and torment might destroy his very home for want of vengeance. While she normally would be able to kill or defeat most enemies that might be a threat to her home she couldn't stop a chakra monster. She knew in her heart she was no-where near Minato in ability let alone her grandfather. There was only one option and may she forgive herself.

The limber blonde leapt over a swipe of a chain. She tucked in her legs with her arms and rolled under a slash of one of the five tails that were now sprouting from the mini-Kyuubi. She grabbed the dropped envelope and pulled out the last seal there. It was one created by the fourth Hokage long ago, something that was supposed to be an emergency switch. Something that if all else failed would stop a Jinchuriki. It had been designed to defeat one of the Iwa Jinchuriki in the war but never used as the cost for using it. The cost was very simple, it would mean the death of the holder of the chakra monster. How? It would force the beast within them to dissipate immediately as if the container had been killed. This would cause the monster to disperse and reappear somewhere else in the world. But the loss of the monsters chakra would cause Jinchuriki to die from the shock to their system. But, she was the Hokage and no matter how much she loved the boy as her last family Konoha must come first.

The debate internal within herself was resolved when she saw the sixth tail sprout from the side of Naruto. The boy's skin at this point had been shredded off as if he had been dragged through a cheese grader. His body was writhing in pain under the cloak of vile, demonic chakra. She could see the final tail starting to form as she darted forward desperately. She was not fast enough as one of the tails wrapped itself around her neck starting to squeeze. Tsunade used the last of her strength to reach upwards and slap the seal onto the belly of her godson. She watched as she felt her life being choked out of her as the boy's eyes flicked for a brief second between red to blue before finally blue. Naruto looked at her for one moment and whispered, "Baachan…"

The boy fell to the ground at her feet to lay motionless in the destroyed office.

Author note: Like it or not for a starting chapter? It would be a darker look at the world of Naruto (obviously). The boy is a little bit smarter and would be a fuinjutsu Naruto that embraces more of his Uzumaki side. I always had an interest in Naruto stories that don't have the fox in the boy for an auto cheat for power (sorta like the sharingan is in my opinion). Like it or nah?