*Obligatory 'I don't own Naruto so please don't sue me' header*
Transformation Arc:
Chapter 9 - The Tale of Naruto the Gallant (Part IV)
Silence echoed through the library halls, as the events of the most recent memory began to filter their way through the minds of the Memory Squad. Shikamaru was just too shocked from the events that took place after Naruto's death to continue the jutsu – but nobody else seemed to notice, because they were all just as astounded.
Sakura blinked, before looking at everyone else. She apparently was the first out of the trance, because the other three were just staring off into the distance, like they had been before the memory seal had been shut off again. After a small cough, she started talking, in a hoarse whisper.
"Okay… let's take this piece by piece…" she said, before swallowing. "First…"
"Naruto is the son of the Fourth Hokage?!" shouted Shikamaru, before turning to look at Kakashi. "What the hell? Why does no one know about this?"
Tsunade was the one to answer, as Kakashi was otherwise indisposed. "You have to understand that Minato Namikaze had many enemies. Especially in the Hidden Stone village, and less so the Hidden Cloud. But enemies nonetheless. He took out an entire battalion singlehandedly, in less than 30 seconds. He was an incredibly powerful shinobi. They would have undoubtedly gone after his son at every opportunity they had, for retribution." Her hands folded up in front of her face, as she looked down on the ground and leaned her forehead on them. "Now you know," she mumbled.
Sakura stood up, and walked over to a shelf, where a small book, meant for children to read to learn the history of the Hidden Leaf village, was placed. She slid it off the shelf, opened it, and skimmed through a few pages, before setting it back down on the table.
She then reached into the pocket of her waistline pouch, and pulled out a small wallet; after flipping through ryo and a few handwritten notes, she pulled out a small crinkled picture.
It was her team photo.
She smiled at its familiarity, before setting it down on the book, across from a page with a large photo of the Fourth Hokage, after his inauguration. He was wearing his Hokage robes, but his hat was off and in his lap, revealing his features completely.
She folded her team photo down the middle, before placing it directly next to Minato's picture.
She frowned. "How could I have not seen this before?" She passed the book over to Shikamaru, who just smirked.
"This is a pretty damn bad secret, if people had such easy access to the Fourth's photo like this," he said, handing the book back to Sakura. "I always wondered why most photos of him were restricted to the Hokage's office, and of course the Hokage Monument itself isn't really all that revealing."
Tsunade piped up again, now looking forward again. "Yes – this book was created just after Minato's inauguration. After Naruto was born, most publications about him were made top secret – that's why this seemingly harmless children's book is in the restricted section of the library."
Kakashi intercepted the book on its way back to Sakura's outstretched hand. "Let's see that, shall we?" He said with a smile.
He glanced at the photos for a moment, before speaking again. "Heh, he really does look like his dad when you look at them up close like that. But this isn't really a very good picture of Minato-sensei." He handed the book back to Sakura, but kept Sakura's photograph.
"Hey, that's right… why didn't you ever tell Naruto that you were taught by his father? I'm sure he would have been overjoyed to hear that," Sakura asked, frowning when her beloved picture was kept from her.
Kakashi eye-smiled back at her, as he rummaged around in one of the pockets in the front of his flak jacket. "For the same reason I didn't tell any of you. And besides, you all know as well as I do that if Naruto found out that he was the son of the Fourth Hokage, he wouldn't shut up about it. You know, the pedigree and all that." His smile increased when he found what he was looking for…
…a very weathered team photograph of his own.
Sakura looked at it with a shock – it was tattered and torn at the corners, and the color was slightly faded in certain parts. She raised an eyebrow with a frown. "Was he crying…?"
He took the photo gingerly, and laid Sakura's photo next to his own. "There – that's a much more accurate comparison." He handed the pair of pictures back to Sakura, who gasped at the similarities.
Minato was wearing a dark green flak jacket, over a blue longsleeved shirt. He wasn't wearing any of the traditional Hokage garb, nor was he wearing the cape that was shown in Naruto's memory – but it was undeniably him. His bright, almost fluorescent yellow hair was spiked off of his head, much in the same was Naruto's hair tended to shape itself into. However, a pair of blond bangs framed his smiling face. He didn't have any birthmarks on his cheeks, and his face was slightly different than Naruto's, but Sakura could tell immediately.
Then, she noticed the other three people in Kakashi's photo. He saw a girl with two red facial markings standing directly beneath and in front of him. 'She looks almost like an Inuzuka,' Sakura surmised. The girl was making two "victory" signs with her hands, and smiling into the camera. To her left was a boy, slightly taller than the girl – either that, or the girl was crouching, she couldn't tell which – that was wearing a blue and orange jacket, and, strangely enough, a pair of earmuffs and orange-tinted goggles. On the other side, much to Sakura's amusement, was a younger Kakashi – he was wearing a dark grey t-shirt, and had both eyes exposed. He was, however, still wearing a facemask.
She was honestly quite shocked at the similarities in each photo – both Jounin instructors had their hands on the two boys' heads, forcing them front and center, while the girl in the middle stood happily, seemingly unaware of the discontent going on behind her.
But Sakura couldn't get enough of how adorable the young Kakashi looked. She let out a giggle, and suddenly, the pictures were plucked from her fingers faster than she was able to detect.
"You were kind of cute," Sakura laughed, as the flustered Kakashi stuffed the picture back into his jacket. "And it was really surprising how similar our teams looked in those photos."
Kakashi suddenly darkened a little, and Sakura noted that she had struck a nerve. "You have no idea…" he mumbled, before returning Sakura's photo to her – now unfolded.
She smiled a little, and put the photograph back into her wallet, which was returned to the pouch on her waist.
Then, she remembered why they were there, and what they had just seen. "Okay… so we have established that Naruto is the son… of the Fourth Hokage…" She still couldn't believe it, even after the photo evidence was provided, "…but did anyone else catch what I caught? That Naruto really is the Kyuubi?"
"At least, in body, yes," Tsunade nodded. "This is bad… very bad. I don't know what this means for the boy, but it can't be good."
"Wait… what about the seal? Did he break free of the seal?" Shikamaru pondered out loud, and the other three frowned in agreement when they realized the implications. "I mean… if Naruto's body is dead, then how can he be still inside?"
"Hmm… I think I have a theory on that," Kakashi quipped. "I was under Minato-sensei's tutelage, remember. I was there when he was first researching and testing the Eight Trigrams Seal that he used to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox – at least, the original Nine-Tailed Fox – into Naruto back when he was born." He leaned an elbow on the table, and looked off in the distance a bit, in thought, "If I remember correctly, the seal gains its strength from the life force of the body it is placed upon. Naruto's body was always under constant pressure from the Nine-Tails' presence, which is why he developed such massive chakra capacities. However, if the sealed entity doesn't struggle against it, it shouldn't draw any power –and therefore has no need to restrain him more than it already is."
Shikamaru turned and looked at the silver-haired man. "So you're saying that as long as Naruto doesn't push against it, he won't break free from its hold?"
Kakashi shifted back to front, and laced his fingers together, resting both elbows on the table now. "Pretty much."
"I see," came Tsunade's voice. She was obviously concerned about the now overly fragile state of the boy's seal, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, according to the reports, he was still sealed inside of his old body, so…
"Alright then," she said, breaking herself out of her own thoughts. "Are there any more memories?"
Shikamaru grunted in acknowledgement. "Yep. A few more. But we're coming to the end here."
Sakura grimaced. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. It's all too much to handle. Especially today's load. This is ridiculous." She rubbed her temples with her fingers, trying to force the memories down like the last bite of a bowl of her father's cooking.
Shikamaru sighed. "It has to be done, you know that, Sakura. Besides, this is incredible insight into the last moments of Naruto's humanity. And we're seeing the Fourth Hokage alive and well again." He placed his finger back on the sealed page. "But most importantly, this is intel for our task force. Very, very important intel."
Kakashi nodded. "I agree."
Tsunade sighed, and looked at Shikamaru. "Unfortunately, I can't keep putting off my Hokage duties for much longer. Shizune will verbally tan my hide if I waste any more time than I have to. So let's get started."
The boy nodded, and fired up the seal once more.
Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were positioned at their typical positions as chuunin in the Hidden Leaf village – guarding the front gates.
Not that they ever did that great of a job at it.
Kotetsu was leaning back in his chair, fiddling with the large white bandage that wrapped around his face, while reading a book. Izuma, however, was leaning forward onto the desk in front of them, seemingly looking off down the path that led there and out to the horizon.
But he wasn't. He had fallen asleep.
After one particularly sudden and noisy snore from his partner, Kotetsu had had enough.
He socked the man's shoulder with his free hand, causing him to jump to attention.
"Wh-what? What's wrong? Are we under attack?" He stuttered, frantically looking around, brandishing a kunai.
Kotetsu just chuckled, and went back to reading his book. "Ha! No. I was just tired of hearing your lame ass snoring up a storm while I'm trying to read."
Izuma sweatdropped, and plopped back down into his chair, thumping his head on the table in front of him. "Damn it, Kotetsu, if you would stop slacking off, I wouldn't have to try to compensate for both of us. It's running me ragged."
The bandaged chuunin shrugged, and leaned further back in his chair. He looked over his book at his partner, who was already showing signs of falling back asleep, when a shrouded figure approaching the gate on the horizon caught his eye.
He immediately dropped his book on the table, once again forcing Izuma awake – who was about to start chewing him out again, when he noticed the startled look on his face.
"What's wrong? Is someone…" he trailed off when he followed Kotetsu's line of sight until he, too, noticed the approaching figure.
A few moments later, the figure was close enough for the pair to yell at.
"Stop where you are and identify yourself!" shouted Izuma. He received no response, as the shrouded shinobi approached further.
That's when they realized that the person was stumbling along – obviously in great pain. He was holding the left side of his chest with his hand, which was covered in blood. His abdomen was hastily covered in bandages, which were soaked through completely.
His hair was a vibrant white – at least, it should have been. The right half of it was singed and burnt – the rest was speckled in dried blood. He had a long katana strapped to his back over his right shoulder, which was also caked in blood – meaning he probably had been using it after being injured. His grey jacket was in tatters, leaving most of his darkened skin exposed to the sky.
But most startling to the two gatekeepers, however, was the insignia on his forehead.
It was a Hidden Cloud shinobi.
Izuma immediately ran back to the desk, slammed his fist down on a big red button, and pulled a kunai from his pouch.
Almost instantaneously, a squad of ANBU shunshined into formation at the front of the gate - each brandishing a weapon of choice.
But the shinobi kept coming – approaching shakily, but approaching nonetheless.
"…please…. I need to speak to the Hokage… I don't have much time… left…" he choked out, before coughing up blood, and stumbling to the ground.
Minato peeled himself away from Naruto, who now had tears streaming down his face. He was looking at his son. After all this time, he was going to be able to talk to him.
He couldn't help but smile at the thought.
"…Dad… I'm… I'm sorry I died…" Naruto choked out, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, as he looked away in shame.
"Naruto." Minato's voice was stern and convicting, and very fatherly – much to his own surprise.
The boy looked back up into his father's eyes, which were also wet with tears. "You're not the one that needs to apologize."
Naruto's expression crinkled up into one of confusion. "Huh? What do you have to apologize for?"
Minato chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, for giving you that beating a minute ago, for one." His expression hardened, and he looked deep into his son's red eyes. "But… most importantly, for not being there for you. While you grew up, while you studied at the Academy, while you went out on your first few missions as a genin..." Minato saddened immediately, before lowering his own head. "I'm sorry I couldn't be your father."
Naruto immediately reburied his head into his father's shoulder, who let out a slight "oof!" sound at the connection.
"Please, don't be sad. You did what you had to do, and without your sacrifice, I wouldn't have been able to meet any of my friends. Or you," he added after a moment, voice muffled by Minato's shirt.
Minato gently pulled his son away from him, and smiled at him warmly, eyes closed in happiness. His son was very brave.
"Thank you for saying that, Naruto."
Then, he frowned a bit. "And you're not dead."
Naruto blinked, before lowering his eyebrows. "Huh?"
Minato grinned again, and rubbed that back of his neck. He did that a lot. "Well… it's just that earlier you said you were sorry for dying… and, well, you're not dead. You're here with me, after all."
Naruto sweatdropped. "But you're here, and you're dead."
His father shrugged with a small smile. "Well… actually, it's complicated." He stood up, hand still on Naruto's shoulder. "When I sealed the Kyuubi into youOOF-"
He was cut off by Naruto's punch right to the gut – which sent him stumbling back a bit, while he stared at the boy in confusion and shock. Naruto's face was now contorted into one of anger.
"What the hell was that for anyway? Sealing the Nine-Tails in me, when I was a baby? Do you know how much crap I went through my entire life?! I know you did what you had to do, but did you have to seal that thing into me of all people? Why not someone else?!"
Minato sat down in the water – both because of the shock of the question asked, and because of the pain from the sucker punch.
"Well… you have to understand that no one else would have volunteered their children to bear that burden. I wouldn't force it upon anyone else. It killed me to do it – literally – but I had no choice." He sighed, and leaned forward a little bit, setting his hands in his lap. "But mostly, I did it because I knew you could handle it. You have great potential, Naruto. I believe in you completely."
Another neck rub. "Besides, you are my son, after all!" he grinned cheekily.
Naruto smiled a bit at his father's joke, before he walked over and sat down next to him. After a few moments of just relishing in each other's presence, Naruto finally spoke again.
"Wait… what were you saying before I punched you?" he said, before scratching his own neck in embarrassment, and smiling a bit.
Minato chuckled a bit to himself, before pulling his son in to a side hug. "Well… like I was saying, when I sealed the Nine-Tails inside of you after your birth, I did so because I knew you would be able to master its power. However…" he looked down at his son, who was watching him intently, "…I knew that you might run into a hiccup on the way. So, I sealed what was left of my life force away inside of you as a precaution – in the eventuality that you would break the seal somehow on accident. That way, at least, I could have this conversation with you, as well as to convert what little of my life I sealed away into chakra, allowing me to reseal the Nine-Tails away again."
Naruto blinked. "But I didn't break the seal…"
Minato sighed, anticipating the reaction. "Well, there was a second safeguard I set in place – one that would reanimate me after you… died."
Naruto sat up off of his father's shoulder, and frowned at him. "But didn't you just say-"
"Yes, I know what I said," Minato sternly replied. "You didn't die – at least your spirit didn't die – it's… it's incredibly complicated. I'll get to that in a minute." He smiled back down at his son. "Regardless, I'm here now. And as a plus, since I didn't have to sacrifice what was left of me to reseal the Nine-Tails, I can stay here with you for quite a bit longer."
"Wait…" replied Naruto dumbly. "I thought you had your soul taken by the Shinigami when you sealed the Nine-Tails away into me? Lord Third told me that, back before he… died…" he trailed off after that, recalling the sad fate of his grandfather figure during his chuunin exams.
"Nope – I actually only sealed away half of the Kyuubi's chakra into you. The Yang half, that is. The rest I sealed into myself, using the Reaper Death Seal."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but why didn't the reaper take your whole soul? I mean, when Lord Third used the Reaper Death Seal, he only cut away Orochimaru's arms, and he lost his whole soul just for that."
Minato smiled grimly. "Let's just say that I had a lot more training with that Jutsu. It takes a tremendous amount of chakra to cut a deal with the devil like that, but since I only sealed away half of the Nine-Tails, the shinigami only took half of my soul. An eye for an eye, so to speak." He scratched at the space under his forehead protector. "Poor Hiruzen. To resort to that jutsu, considering his mastery of it… must have been one hell of a fight to force him to use it."
Naruto nodded solemnly, nestling himself deeper into his father's arm. "That makes sense… I guess."
A few heartbeats passed.
"So…" Naruto finally added, "What do we do now?"
Minato sighed. "Well, it would help if you tell me what all has happened the last few weeks, considering you are now stuck inside the Nine-Tails' body. There's probably a way to reverse it, I just need to know more."
Naruto quickly ran through his training regimen with Jiraiya, and up until he mentioned the sealing jutsu the Sannin used a few weeks ago, Minato was silent. When he heard his son say the name of the technique, he shivered, went wide in the eyes, and looked down at his son.
"Wait… did you just say 'Four Quadrants, Untamed Beast Seal'?"
Naruto frowned, and nodded slowly.
Suddenly, Minato leapt up to his feet, causing Naruto to jump at the sudden loss of contact.
He ran across the seal border, and to the husk of a body that his son once inhabited.
He lifted the boy up into his arms, grimaced at the sensation of carrying a dead body so tenderly, and sprinted back across the seal to his actual son, who was standing at the sealed gate helplessly.
He quickly fell to his knees, set the body in the water in front of them, and ripped his shirt up, exposing the seal patterns to the Hokage.
Minato hung his head when he saw what he saw.
He admired his own handiwork for a moment, staring at the detail and intricacy of the Eight Trigrams Seal, before shifting his attention to the ring of symbols that surrounded it in four distinctive quadrants.
His worst fears had been actualized.
So it really was the Four Quadrants Untamed Beast Seal.
Suddenly, his rage began to bubble up to the surface again, and he slammed his fist down into the water, causing it to explode away from him in a rather vivacious manner.
Naruto jumped at his father's rekindled anger, and began to back away, in case he was at fault.
Minato gritted his teeth together. "Damn it, Jiraiya. You dare call yourself a seals master? This seal… it's forbidden for a reason!"
Naruto stopped in his tracks. "Wait, forbidden?"
Minato immediately uncoiled at the sound of his son's voice, and slumped over forwards in sadness. "Yes," he said quietly, as the cloud of mist from his outburst began to resettle around them.
Now it was Naruto's turn to get angry. "What?! What do you mean forbidden? What does this mean for me? Am I stuck like this?! Dad?!"
Minato turned around to look at Naruto's exasperated face, before frowning, and looking down at the ground sadly.
He sighed, and fell backwards on to his backside, sitting next to his son's previously occupied body. "Please forgive me. I am usually not this brash." He sighed again. "Although I think I at least have an excuse. My son was sealed away into the body of the beast that was sealed inside of HIM, and it was done by none other than my own sensei."
Seeing Naruto's confused face, be began to explain. "The Four Quadrants, Untamed Beast Seal was the signature sealing jutsu of the Tensou clan. They lived in a small village on the border of the Lands of Fire and Lightning. The Tensou had a close relationship with the Uzumaki clan, and thus, had a few very skilled sealing jutsu specialists among their ranks. I actually met a few of them, back before they wiped themselves out.
"They had a jutsu – a very powerful jutsu – that used seals to help them tame the wilderness around their rather… dangerous little village. There were many large beasts and other mean-spirited animals that would periodically attack them for no discernible reason, other than to cause havoc. The jutsu they used to combat these pests was only used as a last resort, for a very good reason.
"This jutsu, the Untamed Beast Seal, would use the caster's life-force to overwhelm and incapacitate the beast's. In the process, the mind would be transferred to the animal, leaving the host's body dead. Soon after, due to having such a strong mind inside of such a mentally weak body, the beast's body would also die – meaning it's completely irreversible. It was only ever used as an act of desperation, and one that ultimately led to the Tensou clan's demise; certain factions found the jutsu to be too morally ambiguous, while the rest saw it as a noble sacrifice worthy of a shinobi. But… then the Third Shinobi World War broke out… and they were caught in the crossfire between us and the Land of Lightning." He frowned. "And that was the end of that."
Suddenly, he snapped back to attention. "Where did Jiraiya-sensei get this jutsu from? Do you remember?"
Naruto blinked a few times, before nodding. "Yeah, from a village not too far from the border. I don't remember the name of it, but we went to an old, fancy library. All I remember was practicing chakra control while the Pervy Sage chased after some librarian girl."
Minato sweatdropped. "Some sensei he was. I can't believe him." He sighed. "Actually I can. Anyways, do you remember him saying where in the library he was searching for jutsus?"
The red-eyed boy frowned in thought, before shaking his head. "No, I was asleep." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But… I do remember him saying he would search high and low, and in every cabinet and secret compartment if he had to. He said that's where the good stuff usually was."
Minato palmed his forehead. "Yeah, I'm sure he did," he mumbled. "That damn pervert."
The Hokage sighed again, before standing once more. "Well, that makes sense then. I just don't understand why the sealing jutsu didn't work exactly the way it was supposed to…" He trailed off as his eyes went back to the seal on Naruto's body's stomach.
He began to trace a few of the symbols that looked slightly different from the rest – like they were in a different handwriting.
"Aha. That tricky bastard. He thought it would have problems with the Eight Trigram's trickle charge chakra system. I suppose I could understand that." He shook his head. "But if he knew anything about seals, he would know that this seal doesn't transfer chakra, per se, but rather life force. The chakra is drained in the process." He pursed his lips in thought, as he continued down the seal. "Ah yes, so he set it up on a trickle system not unlike the Kyuubi's seal, in an attempt to stabilize it and let it flow through the other seal freely. Very resourceful. That would explain the delay in life force transference…"
Naruto just sat back and listened to his father mumble mumbo-jumbo about seals and sealing jutsus uninterestedly. He supposed that if the Fourth had anything important to tell him about his findings, he would do so in a language that a fourteen year old would understand.
Suddenly, a sharp pain ricocheted off of his upper chest, and he felt his chakra control slipping.
"Damn!" he said, as the henge failed and he suddenly reverted back into the form of the fox.
Minato heard the jutsu dispelling, and after the smoke cleared, he frowned at the 10-story high fox that was standing behind him, looking bored. 'It's still unnerving to see the great Nine-Tailed Fox standing there, pacified like that.'
The big orange beast yawned, and plopped down next to Minato in a very Naruto-like manner.
"It's gonna be tough getting used to a different chakra. I can't keep my henges up for very long, before my chakra control slips."
Minato nodded. "Yes, I can imagine. I'll have to teach you a stronger henge jutsu." He sighed, and stood up again, dwarfed by the beast in front of him. "I figured out why you're not dead. Well, at least, why the fox's body seems fine with you inhabiting it."
Naruto blinked, and looked down at his father. "What do you mean?"
"Well, the Kyuubi isn't really alive to begin with. It's immortal. Its body can handle your consciousness. By having your soul and chakra implanted in its body - that means you are now as well. Which means you actually accomplished - accidentally, I might add - something that a rival of mine spent decades of his life devoted to. Boy, I'm sure he'd have a field day if he got ahold of you." He frowned. "Not that I'd let that happen."
Even though he was trapped inside his own decaying body, Naruto could have sworn he heard Orochimaru sneeze magnificently from across the five great nations.
Naruto snickered at the thought, then was brought back to reality when he heard his father's most recent words. "Wait… are you gonna stay with me? Seriously?!" Nine fluffy tails began swirling around behind him, rippling the water and Minato's hair quite significantly. He grinned back at the fox that was now his son.
"Well, of course. Now that I don't have to sacrifice the rest of my soul for enough chakra to reseal the Nine-Tails away, I can help you control its power, and keep you out of harm's way." His smile quickly turned to a grimace. "However, what I have in mind would require you to stay sealed in this cage for the time being. If word gets out that the Nine-Tails, even if it's just you, is on the loose again, there will be a massive clamor from every able-bodied nation to capture you and seal you away in some unsuspecting jinchuuriki."
Naruto blinked. It was weird to think of jinchuuriki from the other perspective now – not as the jailor, but as the jailed.
Minato paused for a moment to let his previous statement sink in a bit, then continued. "However, the Eight Trigrams Seal wasn't designed to work off of a dead body. It requires an active chakra network – or, at the very least, a trickle of chakra flowing through it to stay locked. That means that all it would take is for you to lean against that gate, and it would break and you would be thrown out into the world."
Naruto opened his mouth, revealing a set of sharp teeth – before Minato cut him off. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. I've been actively holding the seal shut with my own chakra since I got here. However, since I don't have a set of chakra coils, I can't regenerate any. That means my time with you is limited – and we have to get as much done as possible before I fade away."
"What do you mean?" growled Naruto. Well, it wasn't really a growl, but everything the Kyuubi said that wasn't a powerful shout came out sounding that way.
He stretched his arms behind his head, and looked at Naruto in the eye. "I have a few weeks, maybe a few months at the most." He quickly decided to change the subject. "Just so you know, we are going to be training quite a bit while I'm here with you. I want to get you used to using the Nine-Tails' chakra as your own, and that means relearning all of your basic chakra control techniques, how to use your jutsus properly with this new body, and also a few other tricks I have up my sleeve."
Naruto's face went from an expression of unimaginable anguish, then confusion, then overjoyed excitement. "Are you gonna teach me some of your cool moves?!"
Minato smiled warmly. "Yep! You'll need all the help you can get now that you're a Tailed Beast. Everybody and their dead aunt is going to be after you once I'm no longer around – and that day will come sooner than either of us think, unfortunately."
The fox saddened immediately. "Don't worry about it right now though. Think of it this way – you lived and thrived just fine without me before today, so you can more than handle it when the time comes," Minato quickly added, after sensing his son's depressed attitude.
"For now," Minato said, "We need to get you on your feet. Well, your dead body's feet. I think you can probably control your body like some sort of puppet, if you pump enough chakra into its system. And considering you've basically got unlimited chakra now, that shouldn't be a problem." He then turned, and looked at the sealed gate behind them. "I also want to teach you how to hold the seal closed yourself. The sooner you can get it down, the sooner I can stop using my own energy to keep it shut, and I should be able to stay with you for as long as I want to. It'll be tough, and you'll still have to be very careful with it, but I know you can pull it off." Minato smiled warmly at the fox, who was simply sitting there letting the information sink in.
"Alright then! I want you to try to push chakra through the seal – carefully, I might add – and see if you can see anything."
Everything went black for a moment as Naruto shut his eyes in concentration, trying to accomplish what his father suggested, when suddenly Naruto's eyes shot open… and he was no longer in his mindscape.
He was in a white-walled, very sterile looking room.
A hospital.
"Oh, great," he mumbled to himself in his mind. "I'm in the damn morgue."
"Hmm…" came Minato's voice from inside his own head. "I suppose that makes sense. If Jiraiya-sensei found you lifeless, face down in the mud, then he'd probably rush you to a hospital, where they'd verify that your physical body was dead." There was a moment of silence, as the Fourth Hokage thought to himself a bit. "Although I'm surprised the Jiraiya didn't notice that the seal hadn't faded. Or that the Nine-Tails escaped."
Naruto pumped some more chakra into his body, and heard his father grunt from within his head. "Easy does it, now, Naruto. Don't try to force too much through at a time. I can only handle so much with the seal being the way it is."
Naruto mentally frowned. "Does that mean I have to keep just trickling chakra into my old body until I build up enough to move?"
Minato sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. Luckily, you have quite a bit of time to work with. Don't worry about doing it all at once like this. Pace yourself, do things slowly, and you'll be up and out of here in no time."
Naruto nodded, as he shifted back down into his mind, before pouting a bit. "Fine. At least I can come here now, instead of having to actually be there."
Minato chuckled. He was now leaning against one of the great pillars of the sealed gate, arms crossed, and head low. He sat motionless for a moment. Then, he let out a massive sigh.
Naruto blinked, and bent over to look down at his father. It was still unnerving to see him so small, but in all actuality, he was the same size as he was when he was Hokage. It was Naruto that was the wrong size.
Well, wrong size for a human. He was the Kyuubi now, after all.
"Dad… what's wrong?"
Minato just smiled softly, then looked up to meet his son's massive red eyes. "Nothing is wrong at all. I'm just… relieved that what could have happened, didn't happen."
The fox crinkled his brow is confusion. Minato just laughed a little, and pushed himself off of the pillar with his back. "What I mean is… I'm just glad that you're okay. You're in another body, but you're okay. That's all that matters to me. And… not to be selfish or anything-" Minato rubbed the back of his neck again with a cheeky grin, "-but I'm glad I get to spend some more time with you."
Then, his expression hardened almost immediately. "But that being said, I think there's actually a way I can help you get back to normal."
Naruto blinked, and smiled brilliantly, tails beginning to move again. "What? Are you serious?! You can reverse the process?"
Minato shrugged, still with a smile on his face. "Well, it's worth a shot, I suppose! Now, listen closely. It'll be tough, and really dangerous, but we might be able to pull something off..."
"LADY HOKAGE!"
Shizune burst through the doors of the library, panting heavily. She had a dozen or so scrolls stuffed into her hands haphazardly, and was struggling to keep them all from falling to the ground. Her hair was disheveled and askew, like she had been running from across the village, and it was now soaked in sweat. But her eyes were the most notable thing about her. They were wide open – in shock, in terror, in fear. She didn't know what to think.
When she came into the room, all four shinobi were sitting at the table, talking quietly amongst themselves, and all frantically scribbling notes down on whatever paper they could find. Tsunade in particular had a worried look on her face.
Then she noticed Shizune, and her look got even fiercer.
"Yes? What is it?" She said, in complete seriousness.
"Lady… Hokage… You… need to come… with me… immediately…" she panted, as she desperately tried to catch her breath in the doorway.
"Spit it out Shizune!" bellowed Tsunade, quickly standing up, bumping the table and sending her chair flying onto the ground behind her. Her compatriots all jumped and flinched unconsciously as their leader began to ooze anger like a leaky faucet.
Shizune's eyes only got more terrified. "You… We…" Then, she gulped, before looking down towards the ground.
"The Hidden Cloud Village has been completely eradicated."
THUMPTHUMP.
Two paled bodies hit the floor almost simultaneously, crumpling into each other in a pile of death. Their dimly lit surroundings barely provided enough light for their shining Hidden Cloud forehead protectors to be seen.
Hidan grunted and immediately collapsed into a sitting position on his perch. "Whew! That was a doozie. Tell me again why we're wasting all this damn time in the first place? I've been sitting still for so long that I have spiderwebs on my elbows. Not to mention how angry Lord Jashin is going to be when he doesn't get a sacrifice-"
"Shut up, Hidan," grumbled Kakuzu from the position next to him.
Hidan opened his mouth to retort, most likely in a profane manner, when Kyuubi spoke first, dual-voices resonating across the room.
"Are we done here? I have other matters to attend to." He grimaced, before flexing his shoulders and shuffling around a little on his spot in front of the Gedo Statue. "This body is starting to fail me."
The purple eyed leader raised an eyebrow. "Your body?"
Kyuubi sighed, before running through many complicated hand signs, his red eyes bristling in concentration. Finally, he snapped his fingers, and his form disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
After another few moments, the smoke began to dispel, and another man was standing before them.
One that the Akatsuki knew quite well.
His cloak was torn and tattered, just like the Kyuubi's was only moments ago. His skin was coming apart as well, and a violent cloud of red chakra could be seen swirling around underneath it. Apart from the facial features, everything looked startlingly familiar to his henge.
Most notably, however, was his brilliant blond hair, tied haphazardly in a ponytail, leaving quite a sizeable amount of hair dangling in front of his face, covering his left eye completely.
Pain raised his other eyebrow, in a rare exhibition of emotion. "So that is where Deidara went."
Deidara smiled evilly, eyes just as red as when the Kyuubi's body was standing before them instead. "Well, he did attack me. And I ruined my old body in the fight. So what else was I supposed to do?"
Hidan jumped to his feet. "Wait, what? Deidara? I thought he went rogue or something?"
Kakuzu grumbled to himself, obviously annoyed by his partner's voice.
Sasori's husky voice, this time, was what echoed throughout the cavern. "Is he still in there somewhere?" It almost looked like he was smiling under his facemask.
Kyuubi laughed maniacally with Deidara's body, before he looked back at the puppeteer. "Why, do you want to have a little chat with him?" His laughing face quickly grimaced again. "Oh my, he's quite angry right now. Fine." He snapped his fingers again.
Deidara's body shook vehemently for a moment, before the crimson red faded from his eyes, and they were returned back to their original slate grey appearance.
"GET THIS ASSHOLE OUT OF ME! HNN!"
Deidara keeled over slightly, panting as he did so. "Please… he's killing me… everything hurts… I can't fight it."
"Well, well, well – look whose art is superior now?" snickered Sasori from across the room. "Couldn't even take down a tailed beast by yourself." He sighed slightly, regaining his composure. "What's it been now, two years?"
"It wasn't that simple, hnn! The Nine-Tails is different… I don't know how… but he just is, okay? Don't take him lightly! He's gonna betr-"
Suddenly, his body shot straight again, eyes once again redder than blood. "I think that's enough of that."
Pain lowered his eyes slowly, peering at Kyuubi accusingly.
"Regardless of bodies, I have other things to deal with right now. Call me when you get the next Tailed Beast. I think you lot can handle the rest, I pulled in four single-handedly."
Before Sasori or the rest could retort, his figure began to fade away. "I'll see you all around."
Pain closed his eyes, before addressing the rest of the Akatsuki. "Very well. Sasori and Konan will capture the Three-Tails. Hidan and Kakuzu – silence, you fools – will go after the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. I will personally track down the Six-Tails. The Seven-Tails will be your responsibility, Kisame."
Despite the slight interruption due to Kakuzu being paired up with Hidan again, the rest of the Akatsuki grinned at the chance to get to work. After a slight nod from Pain, the entire assembly of S-ranked missing-nin vanished…
…except for Pain himself, and Itachi Uchiha.
Pain blinked slowly at the sharingan wielder, before turning and looking at him straight on, metallic purple, ringed eyes meeting blood red, tomoe-speckled ones.
"What is it, Itachi?"
"I worry about the loyalties of the Kyuubi."
Pain simply grumbled in agreement, signaling Itachi to continue.
"I fear his loyalties lie elsewhere."
Pain raised an ethereal eyebrow. "Where? The Leaf?"
Itachi shook his head slowly. "No. He holds quite the grudge over them, after the death of Jiraiya. I feel he has his own ambitions that may threaten to impede our own."
Pain was silent for a moment, before nodding methodically. "I want you to trail him. Find out what he is after. And capture him if necessary, so we may seal him away when the time comes."
Itachi bowed his head, eyes closed, before shimmering out of existence.
He blinked, and looked up from the small gathering of stones that he and Kisame were perched upon, still holding a hand seal upon awakening.
His hands moved back down to his sides, and he stood up slowly, before turning to his partner.
"It would appear we each have our own duties currently."
Kisame smirked. "So it would seem. Until next time."
Itachi nodded, and with a small bow, he exploded into a cacophony of crows, leaving the Tailless Tailed Beast alone in the middle of the forest.