A Long Road Ch 7

A Naruto Fan Fiction

I do not own Naruto

Ch 7: The Cave

5 months after Naruto left Konoha.

Naruto opened his eyes, a dim glow emanated from the other side of the room. Turning his head he could see that a fire was burning in the hearth of a fireplace. Despite the thick blanket that was covering him he still felt a chill run up his spine. Moving to stand his body sent a shot of pain from his arms and legs. He couldn't remember how he arrived here; thinking back he could faintly remember a battle. But with whom? The memories slowly trickled back into his mind. The fish-man? There was someone else there to, a man dressed in black. He must have been the one to bring him here.

Since Naruto couldn't move he took the time to observe his whereabouts. From the seamless stonewalls he figured that he was in a cave; there were a few candles scattered around the space but not much else to see. There was a desk in the corner, a chair, one dresser and another bed all of witch looked to be hand made. The cave was much bigger than Naruto had ever seen with walls that stretched just over 20 meters from side to side, and the roof was 4 meters tall.

He realized that the man in black was nowhere to be seen. For whatever reason the man had left, Naruto had decided it would be best to leave before he returned. Stretching his aching joints he was able to sit upright on the bed. Judging from the withering fire he knew that the man could come back any time now, in a rush he stood before he was ready and fell to his knees. "Damn-it." He cursed, he was hurting enough as it was without falling and scraping himself. He heard foot steps coming from the mouth of the cave; he panicked and his eyes grew wide looking around he could se there was nowhere to hide.

He stood there and waited for what was to come. If he needed to fight he didn't think he could win, not in his condition. The man entered and they locked eyes for a moment. "Your awake." He noted. Naruto didn't respond just stood there unsure of what to say. The man nodded as if understanding what was going through his head. "Would you like something to eat? Its fresh." Walking over to the fire he dropped a dead buck at his feet and sat in the chair. If Naruto moved now he would be able to run for the entrance and escape. But he didn't. He felt no foul intent from the strange man sitting in the chair. His stomach growled and Naruto sat on the edge of the bed once again. "I'm guessing that means yes." He said pulling out his knife and reaching for the buck. Naruto supposed that it couldn't hurt to get a free meal. "You have been out for two weeks. I'm surprised you aren't lying down I've given you water but I cant force you to eat while you were sleeping." Naruto had noticed that he felt faint when he woke up and the hunger had started to creep in for a couple of minutes now.

When it was cooked they both sat in silence by the fire. Naruto quickly downed his first helping and then continued to eat greedily. It tasted better then anything he had ever eaten in his life. "My name is Deus." He spoke not looking directly at Naruto. Naruto stopped eating for a moment peering at the man known as Deus. "Naruto." Was all he said. "So you can speak." The insignificant comment made Naruto grin. It had been a while since anyone had talked to anyone and this man seemed friendly enough. Content with the silence both men enjoyed the rest of the meal.

Afterward Naruto went back to his bed still not completely rested from his fourteen-day nap. It had been two weeks. Naruto was sure that Jiraiya was not coming back from his fight to get him. Maybe it was shock but he felt no need to cry for his masters' loss. Instead a strange feeling of uneasiness came over him. "Do you have anywhere to go?" Deus said breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. "No." "Well you can stay here for as long as you need to if you don't mind doing a few things to help out." Naruto nodded. How would he go back to the leaf with Jiraiya dead and nothing to show for his time? The truth was that he blamed himself for what happened and didn't feel like he could go back until he became strong; strong enough to defeat the Akatsuki. A thought collected in his mind and he turned to Deus. "My master died in the forest a while back." Deus looked over at Naruto "I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto walked over to him and bowed deeply. "Will you train me? Please! I have nowhere else to go!" Deus grinned and looked down at the boy, thinking about the proposition. "How far are you willing to go?" "I'll do anything you say!" Deus could see that true determination burned within the boy. Would he be able to over come his right of passage and become his apprentice? "How much do you remember about the battle with the man Kisame?" Naruto looked up at Deus. "Everything." "In his final moments do you remember the pain that gripped him?" "Yes" he replied. Deus paused for a moment and continued "If you want to become my disciple you will need to abandon your current power otherwise I can not help you. But you must understand that it comes with a great price and first you must experience a pain that only a few people alive have lived through. Do you still wish to continue?" "….Yes." Naruto spoke his voice filled with conviction. "Good, give me some time to prepare we will start in an hour."

…

Deus had prepared a chalk seal on the floor; it was unlike anything Naruto has seen in Konoha. It appeared to be based off of a circle on the outer layer with many symbols on the inside and out. Most of the seals in the ninja world were based on formulas and chakra paper but Naruto could not see the power source. It just all looked like gibberish to him.

"What is this for?" Deus looked at Naruto seriously. "It is to keep the demon inside you at bay so I can deal with it after the transformation." Naruto looked shocked "How did you know?" "I can feel it living within you. When your chakra is gone the monster inside will also change and the seal caging it will no longer be effective. I will need to create another after you have stabilized but until then the seal on the floor will stop it from coming out." Naruto was getting nervous for the task at hand, Deus had explained that at first it would feel great. He would feel invincible but within a short time the chakra receptors would be overwhelmed and the pain would feel like nothing he had experienced in his life. It would be as if he was doused in fuel and set ablaze. It would last for three days and in the end he may not survive like many others before him.

"Its time." Deus announced finishing the seal on the floor. Naruto took a position sitting in the center of the circle. Naruto remembered Kisame before he had died, he had had his neck cut open and he didn't seem to feel a thing. Was the pain rally that great? "No mater what happens you must stay strong. This pain is only temporary and when it is over you will feel normal. The power to influence energy around you and within you will be yours, and whatever you do over the next three days you must not leave the seal. Got that?" "Yes." The seal began to glow brightly Naruto felt like he was more powerful then he had ever been. He began to think that this wouldn't be so bad after all. Then the screaming began. For kilometers around the echo's of his voice sounded as if someone was dying a slow and very painful death.