Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Speech"

Thought

Jutsu

Naruto and the Tornado of Konoha

By: Sealed-Dragon

As the week went by, each of the genin began to drift to their own things. Naruto was constantly training and guarding Tazuna, at the same time. Ryuu could be found, training and reading. Hinata, was somewhere. Every time they'd look for her, her Byakugan would see them coming, and she would move to another area. Needless to say, the destroyed area the boys would find, was immense.

As the week went by, they began to wonder if they should try to do something to wake their sensei up, but they didn't know what he'd react strongly to. They tried all sorts of different things, what simply didn't work.

Now, as the week finally ended, they gathered together again. Ryuu decided to break the silence first. "Hello everyone."

Naruto nodded. "Hey, how's your training been going?"

Ryuu tilted his head around. "Well, it could be going better, and a lot worse. How about you?"

Naruto shook his head. "I'm getting along well enough." He smiled at Hinata. "How's your training been going?"

Hinata didn't answer, instead she just shrugged. Naruto noticed that there was wrappings on both of her arms. They extended upward, but she didn't know how far they did. He expected that it had something to do with her training.

"Well, another day, another try." Ryuu walked over to Kurogane. "Hello? Kurogane-sensei? Are you there? Can you hear me?"

Kurogane didn't move. Ryuu shook his head. "It's probably useless. He'll never wake up."

A sudden thought came to Naruto's mind. "Hey Ryuu, come here." He whispered something in his ear.

Ryuu grinned, and walked over to Kurogane. After a moment, he leaned down and whispered something in his ear. Kurogane's eyes bolted open and he shot up. "What do you mean Naruto has sworn never to eat ramen again? It defies the laws of the world!!!" He looked around and noticed his settings. "Oh, hello everyone."

Everyone face-vaulted. "You have some nerve sensei, sleeping through a natural crisis." Naruto sent him a death glare. He was about to walk forward and punch him, when the door opened, knocking him behind it.

"I heard Naruto gave up on ramen, is it true?" Tazuna had a happy smirk on his face. Kurogane matched his grin and was about to say something when Hinata slapped her hand over his mouth.

"No, it was just something that we said to wake up our sensei." Tazuna looked dejected. He was going to have to put up with the eating machine.

"Would someone, please help me." Ryuu looked over at the door. They'd totally forgotten about Naruto in that moment. Kurogane pulled on his shirt. He really wanted to see him suffer a little more.

Ryuu sighed. Why had he been placed with insanity? Why hadn't he been able to go somewhere else? He smacked his head. He'd chosen this, now he had to tough it out.

l – l – l

It was the middle of the night, and Ryuu was traveling from tree to tree. He looked around. The area looked pretty secure. He might just make it, but he had to make sure he wasn't caught. If he was, he wouldn't be able to do it.

"And just where are you going?" Ryuu froze. He'd been caught! Well, then again, he really didn't see the point in being surprised by this. After all, the Byakugan could see quite a long ways away.

"What do you want Hinata?"

"Just to talk." She jumped down and faced him. She looked him dead in the eyes. "I want to know just how far you're willing to take your promise."

Ryuu smiled at her. "Well, I still see you as the crying girl in the alley. And no matter what sort of mask you put on to hide the pain, I'll see through it." He glanced over at her. There was sympathy in his eyes, just like there had been in the alley. "You're in so much pain, and you're trying to bottle it up? That will never work."

Hinata glanced down. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you? Then look me in the eye, and say that you're ok." Ryuu looked at her.

Hinata glanced up. She really wished she hadn't. His glare was much harsher than anything her father had ever leveled upon her. But that was because, unlike her father, his eyes held true emotion. She gathered herself up and looked into his eyes. "I d-d-don't k-know w-what y-you're…"

She couldn't take it anymore. She quickly dropped her mask and started to cry. Ryuu walked over to her and grabbed her up. She flinched for a second, and then finally she grasped him, using him to support herself.

Nearly a half hour later, she finally stopped crying. Ryuu glanced at her. "Better?"

Hinata nodded, not trusting her voice for the moment.

Ryuu sat them both down, looking up at the sky. "Hinata, what's it like?"

Hinata glanced up at him. After a moment, she finally answered. "It's like, your mind isn't safe. It's like, you try to think for yourself, only to find that someone else is in your mind. They are armed, and ready to hurt you, no matter what you do, no matter what you say, they will do anything for that person. It's like a dam. You have pain as the water, and the Main Branch has the keys. They can open it at any time, for any reason, even if it's just to see you suffer."

Ryuu nodded. "I figured as much. The seal seems to feed off anxiety. It makes it so you don't feel safe, like someone is constantly watching you. By doing this, they hope that the Branch members will be discouraged from thinking of showing up the main house. That, and the thought of any pain can be a large incentive."

Hinata nodded. It made sense. They wouldn't want anyone to go against them, so they would have the constant feeling of invasion. If anyone got over it, they would activate the pain part, and make them suffer from it.

"I think I know how to change the seal, but I would have to know how it was first placed on you." Ryuu smiled. "That means, I'd have to find a traitorous member of the main house who would get the scroll for me."

"That's not likely to happen. All of the Main Branch are loyal to their secrets. If I was still a main branch member, I could look into the secrets." She gave him a small smile. "I guess we'll have to keep trying."

Ryuu looked at the sky again. "I have another thing I need to do tonight, so if you'll excuse me, I need to complete it."

Hinata glanced up to him. "What are you doing?"

"Secret training, like you're doing." He smiled again, and then took off for his meadow.

Hinata sighed, and stood up. She felt stronger, and more relieved. I should do this sort of thing more often. She thought with a sigh and ran off.

A moment later, Kurogane peeked out of the bushes. A small grin crossed his face. This would be so much fun! All he'd been doing was finding out what Ryuu was doing, and he'd gotten a two for one! He would have to tease the crap out of them at breakfast.

l – l – l

The next morning, Naruto woke up with a rather loud yawn. He quickly got up and began his work out. Slowly counting, he began to notice that some presence seemed to be missing. He looked around. After a moment he shrugged. Nothing to worry about, right?

As he started downstairs, he felt a small tingle run down his spine. He turned around and began to look around. No one was there. That seemed to make it all the more terrifying. There was a presence he could feel, but not see?

He turned around again, and nearly walked strait into Ryuu. "Oh Ryuu, you startled me." He looked down to see that he'd instinctively drawn a kunai and was holding it against his throat. He slowly pulled it away. "Sorry about that."

Ryuu glanced at him. "No, I should be sorry." He seemed to have a hard time moving his kunai away from Naruto gut. He looked a little sheepish. "So, you felt it too?"

Naruto nodded. "There's a powerful, something here. Whatever it is, we're not able to see it. And that's what scares me."

Ryuu nodded. "If I hadn't pulled at the last second, you would've been toast."

Naruto laughed. "Yah? Well the same for you."

"While I'd love to stay and chat, shouldn't we go downstairs and eat?" Hinata said from behind them. They both jumped and ran down the stairs.

l – l – l

After a while, Kurogane decided to have a little fun. "So, what were you two love birds talking about?"

Ryuu looked over at his sensei when he heard this. "What are you talking about sensei?"

"Oh, just that little chat you and Hinata were snuggling about last night." He grinned madly when Naruto spat out his water in surprise, Ryuu looked horrified, and Hinata took such a dark red, he was sure she would pass out. He loved this job.

"Sensei! Why were you stalking us?" Hinata yelled at him, while Ryuu just glared at him. Naruto looked confused, and decided to ignore the conversation for now.

Kurogane's grin widdened. "So, you admit to having a secret affair? What a shame, I really wanted to torture it out of you, and you just go and put it out."

Hinata's face went an even darker shade of red. While it was true she wasn't having any sort of affair, she couldn't help but blush at the thought of her and Ryuu together. Ryuu was getting angry at his sensei because he was implying anything like that. He swore that if stalked him again, he would kill the stupid man.

After another few moments, they finally went back to eating.

It was while they were eating, Inari walked in to see the genin eating food. "Why?"

Naruto looked up. "Why what?"

Inari glared at him. "Why do you train? You'll never be able to beat Gato! He'd kill you without looking twice!"

Naruto put his bowl down. "Well, we need to protect your grandfather, and there's no way he could kill us. I mean, after all, I'm going to become Hokage." Everyone else at the table noticed that the air around them changed. Naruto had put bait in front of Inari, and now, Inari was caught, hook, line, and sinker.

"Well then, you'll never become Hokage if you're dead!" It was like he'd said some incantation. Naruto was in his face and holding him against the wall. There was a kunai next to his face, almost poking into the poor boys head.

"I'd like to see what you can do to stop me." He was breathing heavily. There was just something in the air that seemed to be making him angry, and almost violent. He might've hit him, but there was no way that, under normal circumstances, he would threaten the boys life.

Noticing that Inari's breath seemed to be getting shallower, he felt a sudden grin. "Do you feel it? Your heart beating faster and faster? That is your fear. You are afraid, so instead of conquering those fears, you let them slowly consume you. Sooner or later, you'll be nothing but an empty shell."

Finally regaining control of himself, he dropped Inari. "I'm going to go train. I've suddenly lost my appetite."

Ryuu glanced at him. "Hey Naruto, do you mind coming with me for a moment or two?"

Naruto shrugged. "There's nothing better to do." He walked out. Ryuu followed, a small frown on his face. It looks like I may have to do it now after all. He thought as he lead Naruto to his special training ground.

Hinata looked around the room. Everyone was staring at Inari, who looked almost, hollow. He was dealing with the thousand new emotions bouncing though his head. Hinata glanced back to Tazuna. "Um, please forgive Naruto, he's never acted like this before, and I really don't know what caused it."

Tazuna waved it off. "He may have baited Inari into saying what he wanted, but I've taught Inari better. I've shown him how people will bait them by laying out their dream, and giving you a look that dared you to threaten it. Still, that wasn't like Naruto at all."

They all looked to where Naruto had left, and wondered what was happening to their Naruto. The one who always yelled he'd become Hokage, who could take a hit about it, and tell them that he'd prove it. This Naruto, was scary, and they wanted the other one back.

l – l – l

Naruto was fuming. How dare that, Inari kid tell him that he would die. That was worse than telling him that he wouldn't become Hokage. It was telling him that he wasn't strong enough to help his friend. That he wasn't strong enough to take down an opponent.

"We're here." Ryuu said, pulling to a stop.

Naruto looked at the field. There were some sort of markings all through the ground. It was almost like some sort of seal. "Ryuu, what's going on?"

Ryuu quickly turned to him. "Naruto, the Kyuubi's getting out." He walked towards the center of the circle.

Naruto was shocked for a moment. "Hey, wait! What do you mean that the Kyuubi's getting out?"

Ryuu sighed. They had reached the center of the circle. "Remove your shirt and channel some chakra, and I'll tell you everything." Naruto was curious, and quickly did as he was told. Ryuu nicked his thumb and drew a circle around his seal. "The seal meant to hold the Kyuubi back has a flaw. The Kyuubi has found that if he forces high enough amounts, he can get more and more control over your surroundings."

"Wait, why is he trying to get control of my surroundings? Why not just take me over?"

"He wants you to feel inadequate. He wants you to take his chakra, and let him take over so that he can have some fun against your enemies. But to make you feel inadequate, he makes the rest of us go into a fear state. We're afraid of his chakra, and therefore, we react in anger, without thought."

"So that's why you drew your kunai on me? And why Inari tried to put me down?" Naruto felt his head spinning. It was a bit much in his books.

Ryuu nodded. "I'm going to attempt something that has yet to be done, so hold on." He wiped a bit of blood onto his palms and began to go through a long string of hand seals. After several moments, he looked up. "Oh, Naruto."

"Yah?"

"This might hurt a little." Ryuu quickly slammed his palms into Naruto's stomach. "Dark Soul Purge!"

The scenery changed. They were in front of a large gate. A giant beast stood behind it. There was lots of its chakra leaking out, and a large grin was on his face. "You think you can get rid of me?"

Naruto looked over at Ryuu. While he was wearing what he normally did, he also noticed that there were seals all over his body. They were almost exactly like what he'd seen on the ground. With his eyes closed, Ryuu held up a hand. "Your reign of terror, is coming to an end."

Naruto jumped. His voice was, hollow, and yet held a lower, resounding volume. The Kyuubi glared at him. "Ah, so it's you."

Ryuu nodded. "Yes, it's me. I, the one who imprisoned you through the Fourth Hokage, the Shinigami who first imprisoned you. And now, I'll finish what I started."

Ryuu raised his other hand and leveled it at the Kyuubi. After a moment, the seal flew off into his hand. The Kyuubi chuckled and rumbled out of his cage. More and more of his body emerged, eight of his tail were flying towards them, with one tail, just within the gate.

Ryuu crossed his hands, severing the Kyuubi's ninth tail from the rest of him. It cried out in pain, but it was free now. Ryuu walked forward, pulling a knife from his weapons pouch. He put forward, and struck the Kyuubi.

The Kyuubi cried out in pain. It was something new, a weapon that actually pierced his hide. This had to be the weapon that had first drawn him out.

Ryuu held his free hand towards the Kyuubi again. "It is time to finish what I started all those years ago."

He closed his hand, shrinking the Kyuubi down to Naruto's size. He then walked over and grabbed him. He turned to Naruto. "Naruto, while this is the last time you'll see this version of the Kyuubi, you'll know his new form when you see it. Until then, farewell."

As he spoke, he opened his eyes. there was nothing in his eyes. No pupil, nothing. It was like looking into an abyss. For a moment it was silent. Then, there was some commotion behind them. They turned to the sound.

The Kyuubi's tail was bouncing around, pushing the gates open. Ryuu looked at him, with those creepy eyes. "If you wish to live, you will allow me to complete this ceremony." For a moment, Naruto was silent. He wasn't sure what this ceremonies true purpose was, but he was more than willing to let it go on. He slowly nodded.

The tail flung towards the rest of its body. Ryuu held out a hand and caught it, shrinking it again. He turned to Naruto and placed it on him.

There was a weird feeling within him. Almost like, something was trying to get within him. Then, there was pain, horrible pain. The tail started to move within him, and go through him, and after several minutes, it finally stopped. Naruto felt like he was being rent in two. It was truly painful, like nothing the villagers could ever make him feel.

Ryuu looked down upon him. "Now is not your time to die, Naruto. You still have much to do, much to see. You will become the first perfect, fused soul. You will live, and become strong."

Finally, Naruto felt his body had taken enough and fell down, unconsious.

: Later :

Ryuu sat down, panting. He'd always heard that using that technique was difficult, but it was much harder than he'd feared. His body wasn't used to taking that sort of stress.

But, at least the Kyuubi was gone. He wasn't quite sure what had really happened, but he'd sworn when his grandfather had left, he'd said something about giving the Kyuubi another form. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but he was sure that it would be fine.

He smiled, and finally allowed himself to pass out.