This has to be my longest chapter in this fiction yet. Hope you guys enjoy.

By the way, I have a question to you all. The way things are going, and you'll read the part I'm talking about, I think one of the genres will have to be horror, but I'm not exactly sure. What do you guys think? Please tell me either through PM-ing or through a review.

And one other note: One of you guys brought this to my attention, and I thought that I had talked about it last chapter, but maybe not. Basically, some of the jutsus here will not have a translation in parentheses. Why? Because I'll be using them frequently, and it might be more annoying to have parentheses for some jutsus. But, if you do not know what jutsu is what, go to my profile. I wrote the entire list of jutsus, their names, and descriptions so that you can remind yourselves of what is what.

But anways, let's get started!

Distust Chapter 5

Naruto hid in one of the trees nearby. Zabuzza had just used his Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Jutsu), attacked Sasuke stealthily, but was just blocked by Kakashi. Then, Kakashi moved his headband that was always over one of his eyes to the right position.

'A red eye?', Naruto thought. It seems Sasuke recognized it.

'That's the Sharingan. It's a doujutsu that allows users to not only see chakra but copy jutsus.', Kyuubi said.

'So, he can copy my jutsus too if he sees them with his red eye?', Naruto asked.

'He might be able to copy the Kageken and the other basic jutsus, but he shouldn't be able to copy the jutsus that need the Kagegan to do. He shouldn't be able to copy jutsus from bloodlines either.'

Then, the huge battle started. Huge water dragons crashed into each other. The two Jounin-level ninjas performed hand signs faster than the eye could see. The two didn't seem human. They even stood on water.

While Naruto was attempting to pick his jaw up from the ground in surprise, he noticed a shuffle in the leaves. It was very subtle, which isn't suspicious in the first place. But…

'Any animal that decided to stay here after all this must be crazy or stupid.', Naruto thought. 'Someone is watching this battle.'

With all of his experience from sneaking away from the villagers, he slowly crept over to the tree that the movement came from. When he got there, he saw someone in a blue coat with a white and red mask.

"Yes, Zabuzza-sama, you got him.", the mysterious person whispered.

'Zabuzza-sama?' Naruto looked over the person's shoulder and saw Kakashi in a sphere of water. Another Zabuzza was approaching Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto rolled his eyes. 'For fuck's sake, Kakashi-sensei. You couldn't even protect your students?'

The Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone) walked towards the two Genin. "Your teammate had the right idea. Knowing what fights to avoid is a good quality of a ninja.", Zabuzza said.

"Sasuke! Sakura! Run away!", Kakashi shouted from inside the sphere.

"But, what about you, sensei?", Sakura shouted back.

"Just leave me. Find Naruto, and get out of here!"

"That won't be necessary, Kakashi-sensei.", Naruto said, as he walked out of the forest. He was holding the unknown person, holding the Kageken up to the person's neck with one hand and covering the person's mouth with the other. The mask was in the person's hand. "Zabuzza, I have one of your comrades. Stand down."

The clone stopped. Naruto grinned, until Zabuzza said, "You must be mistaken about something, kid. That's a hunter-nin you have there. They hunt down missing-nins like me."

Naruto clicked his teeth in frustration. He was hoping things were going to go smoothly. 'What was his nickname again? Demon of the Mist? Maybe he'll let his comrade die in order to complete his mission.'

The person grabbed Naruto's hand over his mouth and tore it off. "Zabuzza-sama! Run! It's a trap!", the person shouted.

Naruto growled. He turned the person around to face him and kicked the person in the stomach. After sending him or her flying into a tree, stunning them, he blocked the attack from the clone. While he defended, clones of Naruto flew out from the forest. Five of them headed towards to the original Zabuzza holding Kakashi; five of them went to help the original Naruto; and, a few went to grab the mysterious person and made sure he or she couldn't run.

The clones heading to the original Zabuzza started to perform hand signs. Kakashi realized what jutsu they were performing. "Naruto, what are you doing?!"

Zabuzza, realizing something was wrong, grabbed his blade and swung horizontally. Two of the clones were hit, but three of them weaved under the blade. Zabuzza, then, tried to swing back, but he still missed one of the clones. The last surviving clone finished his hand signs and said, "Bunshin Daibakuha!"

The clone exploded. Zabuzza was sent flying into the tree. The blade cut above his head, almost decapitating him. Kakashi, however, was only pushed a bit. 'The water acted like a shock absorber. Did Naruto know that?'

The Mizu Bunshin burst into water. The original and the other 5 clones breathed a sigh of relief. A one-handed Zabuzza who couldn't move was easy to defeat. But, Naruto had to give it his all just to make sure he wasn't slammed by the giant blade.

Kakashi managed to pick himself up from the water and walked over to Zabuzza, who also managed to pick himself up. Both of them were exhausted, one due to lack of breathing and one due to being exploded.

Zabuzza looked over at the mysterious person for a little while, but before Kakashi could stop him, he performed a few hand signs, making more Mizu Bunshins. The Mizu Bunshins attacked Kakashi, letting the original get away.

After Kakashi defeated all of the clones, he walked over to his team, Tazuna, and mystery person. The clones had used some ninja wire to tie up the mystery person. After they succeeded, they poofed out of existence.

Sasuke suddenly grabbed Naruto by the scruff of his jacket. "What were you doing?!", he shouted.

Naruto immediately brushed him off. "I was saving your ass, teme.", he answered back harsly.

"You abandoned us. Why are you not with us when we fight?", Sasuke yelled.

"Come on, Sasuke, Naruto-kun", Sakura said, trying to calm them down. But, it had no effect.

"Right, like I'm going to stay in plain sight of an enemy when my life is in danger.", Naruto said sarcastically. "Why the fuck would I stand out here if my chances of survival are better hiding?"

"Your chances? I thought we were a team!", Sasuke yelled.

"Don't screw with me. You don't give a shit about any of us on the team. We were ready to abandon Sakura during that bell test. If you're going to give an excuse, at least give one that you haven't contradicted within the past month!", Naruto retorted.

"Alright, that's enough.", Kakashi said. But, even his word was ineffective.

"That was before we were actually on a team. The next time Kakashi-sensei can't help, we might be in danger if we don't work together. You can't just run off without telling us anything.", Sasuke said.

Naruto suddenly grabbed Sasuke and threw him to the ground. The shock from hitting the dirt stunned him, making him unable to say anything back to what Naruto said next.

"Danger? Don't give me this teamwork crap. The only reason you want me around is because you're weak. That's why you're freaking out, isn't it? Having your life in danger two times in one day too much for the pretty boy? I'm not your guardian. I have no obligation to keep you two safe. If you can't keep up, then just go and die!"

"Naruto, that's enough!", Kakashi shouted. This time, no one said anything more, but the damage was already done. Kakashi sighed. "Tazuna-san, do you mind leading our way again?"

Tazuna managed to nod. He wasn't faring too well either, but he had expected the danger.

Zabuzza had reached back to the hideout. He grabbed a basket that Haku always kept full of herbs, bandages, and other first-aid items. After cleaning out his wounds, he began to bandage the shallow ones and sewing up the more severe ones.

After he had treated himself, the door opened. Three men walked in: two big, burly men and one very short and stout man. The short man, unlike the other two, was wearing rich clothing and had an air of greed and pride.

The short man chuckled before saying, "So much for the Demon of the Mist? You couldn't take care of an old man?"

Zabuzza put back the items back into the basket. "I'll get them next time, Gato."

"Next time? You think you'll get a next time?", Gato said. "You don't even have that bitch with you anymore. What use do you have anymore?"

The two big men laughed with Gato. Zabuzza stood up and walked towards them. Gato continued. "Our deal is off. I don't need a useless mercenary. Get your stuff and get-"

Zabuzza suddenly rushed the three. He kicked the man on left, sending him flying. Then, he swung his right fist against the right man's temple, knocking him to the ground, unconscious. Then, he picked up Gato by the neck with one hand, who began to flail.

"I may be hurt, but I could still kill all of you.", Zabuzza said menacingly.

"Gah, please, don't kill me!", Gato managed to say.

Zabuzza dropped him. Gato landed on his butt in a quite unrefined manner, but he got up, brushing himself off and tried to be graceful. "Fine. But, the next time you fail, I'll have your head and that bitch for myself." He straightened his clothes and left in a huff. Some other men came in and dragged the two unconscious men out.

Zabuzza went to his bed and laid down. He needed to rest. The wounds weren't serious, but without Haku, it was going to take a while.

'Haku' It has been years since they were separated like this. He wondered if his partner in crime was alright.

"I think she's a girl.", Naruto said, looking at the bound captive. They had reached Tazuna's house safely. Tazuna's daughter and grandson were the only ones besides Tazuna living here. The daughter, Tsunami, was very nice, but the grandson, Inari, was rude; the first thing he said was for them to give up because it was hopeless.

"Naruto, get over here.", Kakashi said. "We all need to have a talk."

Naruto grumbled, but he walked over to his team. Tazuna and his family had retired to their rooms for the day, so only the ninjas were awake. They all sat around the dining table. Sasuke sat away from Naruto; Sakura sat next to Naruto, but she looked uncomfortable; Kakashi sat between Sakura and Sasuke.

Kakashi began, "Look, truthfully, I believed that this team should never have been formed. I wanted to send you back to the Academy."

The three Genin began to complain, but Kakashi stopped them. He continued. "Your teamwork is the worst I have ever seen." He looked at Naruto and Sasuke. "If you guys hadn't worked together in the first place, I would've trusted my judgment and sent you back. Why can't you guys work together?"

Sasuke immediately spoke up. "How could we work together if this dobe isn't even there in the first place? He immediately runs into the forest, leaving us."

Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, like I'd want to work with this teme who froze both times against our enemies. Sorry, but I'm not interested in dying any time soon."

"And you think I do?!", yelled Sasuke.

"Calm down", Kakashi said. "Naruto, why won't you work with Sasuke or Sakura?"

Naruto laid on his arm, as if he just didn't care. "Why do you think? These two are too weak. They'll end up dragging me down."

Sasuke tried to argue, but Kakashi again calmed him down. "But, that's the point of a team, Naruto. You have to watch each other backs."

Sasuke spoke. "Or, is that too hard to get into your head, dobe? At least, tell us when you're going to just disappear like that. Don't leave us to fend off ninja while you're safe and-"

Naruto cut him off. "Watch each other's backs, telling you my strategies? Isn't that something you only do with someone you trust?" He glared at Sasuke, who seemed lost in his argument, and then, he continued. "Teme, I don't know why you were alone or why you don't have any friends. But, I'm sure now that whatever the reason is, it isn't the same reason as me. You said that we were the same, and that's why we could be friends, but obviously, we're not. If we were, you would have abandoned Sakura and sensei for the security of the trees like I did."

Naruto stood up over Sasuke before finishing. "We are not friends. I refuse to be friends with someone who is as weak as you are. No, I don't even want to be around someone as weak as you are."

Sasuke, now enraged, stood up as well. But, Kakashi suddenly appeared in between them. "Enough! You two are going to work together as a team, or I will send you back to the Academy. Do you understand?"

Sasuke managed to calm down again and grumble as a yes. Kakashi nodded and looked at Naruto, expecting a similar answer, but he was surprised to hear, "Fine. Send me back. Better than working with them. I already got what I wanted from the Academy, anyways. I can just drop out if you send me back." Naruto then walked out the door.

The three left were shocked. 'What does he mean he got what he wanted?', Kakashi thought. Sasuke was surprised to hear that answer as well, but soon, he went to being angry. He was insulted multiple times, and now, he might lose the team he got on since they wouldn't have enough members. His goal was much farther away now.

Sakura, on the other hand, seemed just as shocked as if she was thinking of something, but she stood up from her chair as well. "Sensei, I'm going after Naruto." She ran out the door, looking for her crush.

'Hmm, this may be a problem. The Council won't like their precious Uchiha being prevented from working as a ninja, and if they find out that the reason is Naruto, it would cause an uproar.', Kakashi thought. 'Maybe we need a break away from this and try focusing on bonding before teamwork.'

Outside, Naruto had managed to walk to the lakeside. He wasn't angry. He was just frustrated. 'Why can't people understand that I don't trust them at all?'

'Because you humans are always trusting each other, sometimes, too much too easily.', the Kyuubi said. 'It's quite normal to assume someone of your own species is like you.'

Naruto shook his head, almost disappointed in humanity. But, he heard footsteps behind him. He activated his Kageken and spun around. 'If someone tries sneaking up to you, charge them!', Naruto thought. He had learned that stealthy people were always caught off guard when you did. It works until they learn that you might not pose a threat, like the villagers did.

He held up the Kageken up to the person's neck. The person almost screamed, but she muffled her voice. Before Naruto could question her, the moonlight made it possible for him to see that it was Sakura. When he realized it was one of his teammates, he sighed and moved the blade away from her neck. "What do you want?", he asked.

Sakura, still trying to recover from the shock, managed to squeak out, "I wanted to ask you a favor, Naruto-kun."

"Favor? What is it?", Naruto asked, confused. He did just chew them out kind of, so he wasn't expecting something as friendly as a favor.

Sakura took in a few breaths. Then, she bowed in front of Naruto and said, "Please, tell me how to get strong."

Naruto was so taken aback by her request that his Kageken dissipated. "Strong?", he said, unable to say anything more.

Sakura lifted her head and nodded. "If you don't want to be around someone weak, then I want to be strong."

Naruto was silent. Sakura couldn't see his eyes and wondered what he was thinking about. Finally, Naruto responded. "Why? Why are you chasing after me?"

Sakura blushed. "Well… I mean, you know…" She stammered, her face getting redder by the second. But, she stopped, took in a deep breath again, and looked at Naruto directly in his eyes. The stare was so intense, it made Naruto want to move away from it.

"Because, I love you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit, but he soon broke into laughter. Sakura was confused, and a little scared, that Naruto just began laughing. Was her love that funny?

But, the reason Naruto was laughing was because he knew the answer. He knew she loved him, just as much as she used to love Sasuke. That voice inside him used a jutsu on her, making her chase after him, but until he heard her say she loved him, it was just something he didn't want to believe.

'Kyuubi, and you, voice, she is trustworthy, right? She won't backstab me?'

The voice and the Kyuubi answered at the same time, since the Kyuubi couldn't hear the voice.

'Of course. Like I said, you can take full advantage of her, and even use her for your sick desires and pleasures. If you want some ideas, hehehehe.'

'I believe in her words, kit. She probably will follow you to the ends of the earth if that was what was required.'

Naruto stopped laughing and looked at Sakura, who seemed extremely unsure and meek right now. He realized that his laughing could have been misinterpreted and felt a little bad. He, now, took in a deep breath and said seriously, "Sakura, I have a question."

"Yes, Naruto-kun?", Sakura said, a little more relaxed.

"What if you were being tricked into loving me?", Naruto asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?", Sakura asked.

"Just, what if I could somehow make you fall in love with me, so you never were really in love with me in the first place. What would you do?", Naruto asked. If you listened carefully, you could hear a slight tremble in his voice, but Sakura did not catch it.

She thought hard for a while. It was uncomfortable, the silence. Naruto began to fidget a little, and almost jumped when Sakura spoke.

"I think… I'd still love you."

"… Huh?", Naruto responded. "I'm sorry, what? How could you still love me if it wasn't true love?"

Sakura smiled cutely. "Heehee, cause I feel like you're a good guy, Naruto-kun. Even if I wasn't in love with you at first, I can still love you now. So, although the thought is a little disturbing, I'd still love you."

'This girl…', Naruto thought. The other two voices were also chatting in his head, but he couldn't hear them. He was still in shock.

"So Naruto-kun, you never answered my question. Will you help me get stronger?", Sakura asked.

Naruto scratched his head nervously. "I don't know why you're asking me. I mean, Kakashi-sensei probably knows more than I do. All I know how to do is hide and attack from the shadows, but I have a lot of experience doing that."

"Experience?", Sakura asked. But, Naruto shook his head, saying it was nothing.

"Sorry, but I can't teach you anything. I don't think my moves would suit yours.", Sakura looked a little down, but she perked right back up. 'Plus, I'd rather you not get that voice in your head, either.', Naruto thought, with the voice chuckling.

"Alright, Naruto-kun. I understand. I'll ask Kakashi-sensei tomorrow.", she said.

"Well, actually, I was thinking of going clothes shopping tomorrow. And, if you still want to help", Naruto said. Sakura nodded her head immediately.

"Of course! Oh yeah, do you have any outfit or color in mind? Anything at all?", she asked enthusiastically.

"Well, I guess I should be going for stealthy, but truthfully, as long as I can get some new clothes, I don't really mind much."

There was a silence, and they both awkwardly laughed. They decided to walk back to the house for now.

Naruto sat in his bed, thinking of what just happened. He lost a "friend", but he gained a new companion, one that he could trust. It seemed unreal. He never thought that a day would come that he could trust anybody besides himself.

'And, it's all thanks to me! Maybe you'll listen to me more. Oh! I have a suggestion!', the voice said.

'Yeah, right. No. I am grateful for this moment, but what you did was still unforgivable.', Naruto thought.

The voice went quiet, and Naruto just was not sure what to do. How should he talk to her now? Well, he probably should stop being so hostile, but still, a part of him didn't want to trust her. He was still afraid.

As he thought, sleep overtook him, and he fell into dreamland with the pink-haired girl in his mind.

"Alright, we are going to some training.", Kakashi said after they ate breakfast. Sasuke looked determined, and Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, giggling that the opportunity they were talking about came without their input. Kakashi noticed the lighter atmosphere around the two and wondered what happened.

They all went outside and walked into the forest. Kakashi turned around and said, "We're going to do some tree-climbing exercises."

The Genin began to complain, but Kakashi stopped them. "Let me show you what we're going to do." He turned back around to a tree and began walking up it. All of the Genin's eyes bugged out, watching a man disobey the norms.

"Apply chakra to the bottom of your feet and put it against the tree. If you do it right, you'll stick to the tree. If you put too much chakra, however, you'll be pushed off. Too little, and you won't even stick.", Kakashi explained. He reached the first branch and threw down three kunais in front of their feet. "Use that to mark your progress." He then leapt off and seemed to leave.

Sasuke looked at Naruto and glared. He then ran towards the tree. When his foot touches the tree, he slips off. "So, that's not enough."

Naruto calmly walked up to the tree. He tried to get a normal amount of chakra on the bottom of his feet. When his foot came in contact with the bark, the entire base of the tree exploded, and he flew into a tree behind him.

"Naruto-kun!", Sakura screamed. She ran up to him and helped him get up.

"Hehe, sorry, Sakura. It was way too much chakra, I guess." He went back to another tree and tried again, and although it wasn't too severe, the tree still exploded. "Dammit!"

Sasuke managed to get a few steps up and looked over. When he saw Naruto fail, he smirked. 'I'll show you who the weakling is, dobe.'

Sakura helped Naruto get back up again. "Do you need help?", she asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, just go do your thing. I'll figure it out." She seemed reluctant, but she nodded and left to another tree.

Naruto looked at the destruction he caused. 'Why is it so hard?'

'For the same reason you can't do the normal Bunshin jutsu.', the Kyuubi said.

'Why is that? You never did tell me.', Naruto asked.

'Because of your chakra pool. Your natural chakra reservoirs are naturally high, but with me, you have monstrous amounts of chakra. That makes your chakra control just naturally bad.', he explained.

'So, what should I do?'

'Practice?'

'Ugh, thanks.' Naruto tried to limit his chakra to the lowest level possible and put his foot on the tree. It almost stuck, but it slipped off. 'Fuck, this is going to be difficult.'

He heard some snickering from Sasuke. He flipped him off and got back up. 'There's no way I can do this at my current level. I'm not even sure how much training I would have to do in order to master this.'

He performed a cross hand sign, and two Kage Bunshins popped on either side of him. "Alright, you two catch me if I go flying, alright?" The two agreed. Naruto ran up a new tree, and again, the trunk exploded. He flew back into the arms of his Kage Bunshins, but the force sent them in different directions. One hit a tree with his head, and the other got impaled into a broken branch; both poofed out of existence. The original just hit the ground.

"Owowowow, fuck. God, alright, I got to be careful. I should probably remove that branch too.", Naruto groaned.

'Wait, kit, how did you know about that branch?', the Kyuubi asked.

'Huh? What do you mean? I got stabbed through the stomach by it. What, is your memory getting worse or something?'

'Kit, your Kage Bunshin was the one that got impaled, right? How did you remember that if you weren't the one impaled?'

Naruto stood there speechless. It was true. He didn't even look back at that branch before declaring that he was impaled. How did he know that?

'I think the memory of your Kage Bunshins pass back to you. If that's the case, we might be able to fix your horrible chakra control sooner than we thought.', the Kyuubi said, grinning.

'I can think of doing some things too if the memories pass on. Like-', the voice started, but was cut off by Naruto.

'Don't want to hear it. Kyuubi, what's your idea?'

Sasuke managed to get a couple of meters up the tree and sliced the tree where he stopped. It was slow, but it was much faster progress than Naruto. He looked over to see more failures, but instead of running up a tree, Naruto summoned twenty Kage Bunshins. All of them began to climb trees. All of them were pushed off the tree immediately due to too much chakra, dissipating 20 of the 21 Narutos. The blonde got back up and summoned twenty more and started the process again.

'What's he doing?', Sasuke thought. 'Does he really think Bunshins would help him climb better than I do? Heh.'

Sakura had reached halfway up the tree, but she was winded. She sat on the branch and looked over to see how Naruto was doing, but she was just as confused as Sasuke by the blonde's actions.

The twenty clones dissipated again, but this time, Naruto ran up the tree himself, reaching the first branch easily, higher than Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise then realization when he understood that the Kage Bunshins were helping somehow.

'I'm not going to fall behind. If you're going to use that jutsu to get better, then I can do it too.', Sasuke thought. He made the cross hand sign, gathered the chakra, and shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!".

A moment passed, and a poof appeared next to him, revealing a sickly clone. His eyes couldn't believe what he saw. 'I failed? Suddenly, the clone disappeared, and he was hit by an extreme fatigue. Before he could even question what happened, he fell unconscious.

When Naruto and Sakura heard something hit the ground, they stopped their practice and saw the knocked out Sasuke. Kakashi appeared beside him. He checked his vitals and made an "ok" sign towards his other students. He took him and disappeared again.

'I wondered what happen.', Naruto and Sakura both thought.

Sasuke woke up in a bed. He tried to stand up quickly, but he suddenly felt the fatigue again and dropped back down into his bed. When he stopped struggling, he finally noticed Kakashi standing next to him. He said, "You shouldn't have done that jutsu."

Sasuke, realizing that Kakashi was watching, scoffed. "If that dobe can do it, I can do it too."

"No, you can't. I can't even do what he does.", Kakashi said. Sasuke turned around, eyes wide in surprise.

"Not even you? But, you have the Sharingan and know more than a 1000 jutsus.", Sasuke said.

Kakashi chuckled. "True, but just because I know a 1000 jutsus, it doesn't mean I can perform all of them consecutively."

"I know that. I'm not stupid.", Sasuke replied, offended.

Kakashi sighed. "Look Sasuke, you have to understand that Naruto is unique in that way. Just like how you have the Sharingan due to your genetics, he has a high chakra pool because of his. He has the chakra necessary to continuously use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which is a forbidden A-Rank jutsu. You don't, and the next time you try using that jutsu, you'll die. Remember that." He turned around and left, leaving Sasuke to his thoughts.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. 'I can't be weaker than him. I have to be strong. I have to beat Itachi no matter what happens.', he thought. 'That dobe has no idea what I've gone through. Whatever he experienced, it is a lesser tragedy than mine.'

Naruto and Sakura walked through the streets of the Wave Village after they finished their training. It was in the evening, and it was depressing. No city should have its poverty so clearly written on the faces of their citizens. No matter where they looked, someone was starving, dying, crying, or all three. And, Sakura had tried to give some food, but Naruto stopped her after she had given some of her leftover lunch to some kids. The adults had a look he didn't like. He recognized that look. It was a look he used to see in a mirror every day.

They had found a clothing store. It looked just as run-down as any of the other buildings. An elderly woman with an extremely thin face looked at them and gave them a raspy, weak greeting.

They nodded to the woman and began to search the store for new clothes. After searching for a while, they picked out what looked best and decided to buy a few outfits like it. It was black from head to toe. The sleeves reached his arms with a criss-cross of dark cloth decorating them. Naruto wanted dark sleeves so that he could have an easy source of shadow at any time. The torso part of the top was pure black as well, as Naruto wanted, but Sakura insisted that it needed more color, even if the point was for stealth. Because of that, he wore a blue vest with the Uzumaki sign on the back. His bottom part were just normal black ninja pants. He wanted to get some black shoes as well, but Sakura said, with the blue vest, it would look top heavy in color, so she made him wear his old blue shoes to even it out. All in all, it looked darker than his previous outfit.

After they finished clothes shopping, they paid for as much as they could. The woman broke down in tears, thanking them. Both of them looked at each other and smiled. They were happy too that they could help someone.

But, as soon as they walked a few meters from the shop, they heard a crash and screams. They turned around and saw thugs breaking into the store they just left.

'I knew those looks weren't good. Shit, what should I do?', Naruto thought. But before he could figure out a plan, Sakura suddenly ran towards the thug with kunai in hand.

'Shit, that dumb girl! What does she think she can do in this situation?', Naruto thought. He chased after her, but it was too late. Sakura had reached the thugs who dragged out the old woman, who was covered in bruises. She pointed her weapon at them and shouted, "Stop this immediately!"

The thugs all turned around to face her. One of them, seemingly the leader, walked up to the front of the group. "Hey, little girl, we're a little busy right now, so if you don't mind leaving-"

"No! I won't let you hurt that old woman!", Sakura shouted.

Naruto finally got to Sakura and saw the leader's expression. He looked furious that anybody was opposing him, but then, he suddenly grinned. He nodded in their direction. Sakura pushed it off as insignificant, but Naruto realized that it was a signal in their direction. And since there was no one in between them, that signal was meant for…

He turned around swiftly, but it was too late. Three guys were behind them. Two of them lunged for Naruto, grabbing him and his hands. The other grabbed Sakura and forced her to drop her weapon. The leader laughed and clapped. "Brats should stay home. There are scary people out there, you know."

He waved them off. "You guys can do whatever you want. You two, follow me. Help me carry the cash they dumped into this store." Two of his men grinned, and the three disappeared into the store again. The rest of the group, about 5 men, excluding the ones holding Naruto and Sakura approached them. They began to whisper. Naruto couldn't tell what they were saying, but it was most likely about what to do with them.

He calmed himself down and began to think. There must be a way out of this mess. He can't make any hand signs, so he can't perform any jutsus. Can he get to his weapons? No.

'Dammit, this is why I don't fight in the front lines.', Naruto thought. 'Okay, calm down. With our ninja headbands, they'll probably be hesitant about killing us since 4 ninjas on a team is the norm. So, if I just think calmly-'

One of the men spoke up. "Hey, why don't we do that? I mean, when are we going to get fresh meat from this place? All the villagers here are too crafty and hide them when we come. And plus, she does look quite delicious, doesn't she?"

"Delicious?", another man said. "You do know she looks like 12 years old, right?"

The first man shrugged. "Does it really matter? Is it a good idea or not?"

Sakura was unsure about what they were talking about, but Naruto realized it immediately. This sounded like what a certain voice has been saying to him recently. 'Shit, I have to get these guys off me!'

The men started to crowd around them. Sakura began to panic, not knowing what was going to happen. The thugs then looked at Naruto and said, "What about him?"

One of the other men grinned a disgusting smile. He looked at Sakura and said, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Sakura blushed a little at the word "boyfriend", making the man laugh. He then looked at his fellow thugs and said, "Let's make him watch and kill him afterwards." The other men seemed to like the idea. Sakura, still not knowing what was going on, realized still that they were planning on killing Naruto. She began to struggle, but the man behind her began to crush her, forcing to stop moving.

The two men shoved Naruto to the ground, still holding his hands. Naruto struggled as hard as he could, but he couldn't do anything as the group slowly reached for Sakura.

'No, no, no, no, NO! What do I do? Get them off, get them off, get them off! Please!', Naruto thought, thrashing, looking anywhere for help.

Naruto then heard, 'I could help you.'

Naruto closed his eyes to blink, and when he opened his eyes again, he was in the sewers where he met the Kyuubi. But this time, he was in a different room. There was no cage or seal or Kyuubi. In front of him, he saw a silhouette of a throne and someone sitting on it. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see the face of the person. But when that person spoke, he realized who it was.

"If you ask for my help, I will give it to you.", he said.

"Why would you want to help me? All you've suggested were horrible things. And even if you could, how could you? My hands are bound", Naruto replied.

"You seem to forget that I did one of those jutsus that you learned without any hand signs to make Sakura like you. I can do that with any of the Intou jutsus. And concerning my suggestions, they may have been horrible maybe to you, but I've always suggested things that would increase your happiness. "

"Happiness? You think that murder, rape, and fucking tricking people will bring me happiness? Why the hell does every guy I've met so far seem to agree with you?! Do you really think that I would be happy?!"

"Yes, I do, but although it might be enjoyable to watch that pink-haired girl be brutalized, I decided that it would be in our best interests to save her. And so, if you want my help, just ask.", he said.

Naruto thought about it. Whenever the voice did suggest something, it was always something to do with getting rid of someone he didn't he didn't like or physical pleasure, so he wasn't lying.

"How can I trust you?", Naruto asked.

Naruto couldn't tell, but he knew that the person was grinning. He leaned forward and said, "Because you have no other choice."

The person then went back to his normal position and pointed to his wrist. "You might want to hurry though. Time is slowed here, but not as much as when you are with Kyuubi. If you don't give me an answer in the next 10 seconds, I might be saving a non-virgin."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he gritted his teeth. Then, after a few seconds, he looked at the shadow and said, "No matter what, you do not hurt anybody besides these thugs, got it?"

The silhouette stood up and bowed. "Of course. I wouldn't dream of it.", he said sarcastically.

In the outside world, Sakura had been screaming for help and at Naruto, but nothing came to her rescue. They had already opened her limbs wide. She had realized then what was happening and tried to get away, but it was too late. One of the guys picked up the kunai she dropped, and with a creepy smile and voice, said, "Better not move unless you want to be cut."

Sakura was in tears, and she began to give up all hope for help. But suddenly, she heard a scream from where Naruto was. She looked over, expecting the worst, but Naruto was unharmed.

The scream came from the man holding his hands. He was bleeding from where his hands used to be, spewing blood everywhere. Before the other man could react to his comrade's sudden loss of digits, shadow blades suddenly came out of his own shadow, impaling him and killing him quickly.

The men holding and around Sakura immediately dropped her and assumed a fighting stance. But, instead of attacking them, Naruto looked at Sakura and said, "Sakura-chan, close your eyes for a moment. Trust me, okay?"

Sakura nodded frantically, still in fear. She obeyed him and shut her eyes shut as hard as she could. When Naruto saw that she couldn't see, he lifted his hand and snapped. It looked like he said something at the same time, but no one heard it.

Suddenly, the thug with the kunai looked to his friend next to him and screamed, "You're not going to backstab me! She's mine!" He slammed the blade into the neck of his friend, creating gurgling sounds. The other thugs began to kill each other as well until only one remained. Since he was the only one with a blade, he was, of course, the one who survived.

Naruto grinned. 'Intou: Warugi (Shadow Style: Distrust). Has to be one of my favorite jutsus.' Meanwhile, the real Naruto was horrified at the slaughter that just happened. Even if they deserved it, the voice had so easily broken down any bonds that they shared and made them kill each other. It felt corrupt.

The surviving man then looked at Sakura, eyeing his prize. But, Naruto stopped him. He grinned and, with his head, motioned to the left as if he was saying to go away. When he did, shadow tendrils came out of the man's own shadow and crept up the leg. The man, noticing the feeling, looked down, and when he saw the tendrils, he began to scream and thrash, trying to get them off.

But, it was to no avail. One tendril reached the top. Naruto then said, "Intou: Habikoru (Shadow Style: Infestation)". The tendrils began to dig into the man, making him elicit screams louder and higher than any of his previous ones. He kept screaming as the tendrils dug beneath the skin, into his muscles, and began to scrape them, as if trying to scoop them out. The pain was so unbearable that the man collapsed, no longer screaming, but his eyes were wide open, meaning that he was conscious but in so much pain that he couldn't stand anymore.

The tendrils eventually dug through the muscles and reached the bone where they began to dig through it too. The man twitched uncontrollably as the tendrils made a horrifying scraping sound on his bones, sending the vibrations to his head. Eventually, the tendrils in his head reached his brain, and after a few seconds, dug out too much for him to be alive.

Naruto grinned madly. He looked around for an audience, but everyone had retreated to the safe reaches of their homes when the ruckus first started. He made a 'Tsk' sound in frustration and passed over control to the real Naruto.

When the real came back into his body, he realized two things. One: he was standing in a pool of blood. And two: maybe it was because of the voice just being in control, but he felt exhilarated, as if he enjoyed the slaughter. It made him sick that the feeling was there.

"Naruto-kun, can I open my eyes now?", Sakura asked, still trembling in fear.

Naruto looked at the blood everywhere. This was not a safe place for Sakura to open her eyes. It might scar her, if that experience hasn't scarred her already. He came over and picked her up. She flinched at first, but when she realized that it was Naruto, she relaxed in his arms.

"Sorry, Sakura, can you wait for a moment? I'll tell you when you can open your eyes, okay?", Naruto whispered into her ear. Sakura nodded, and Naruto began to walk back to Tazuna's.

Well, that's it, people! Remember to review!

And please, if you did read what I said in the beginning, please tell me if I should change the genre into horror.

Thanks for reading!