Distrust

by Demonic Insanity

In order to keep himself safe, Naruto decides to be a ninja so that he can hide from the world. Not trusting anyone, even the Hokage, he learns all he needs to protect himself. However, when in the Forbidden Scroll, he finds a new type of jutsu that looked seemingly harmless. Going insane from his new powers, will he destroy what he cares about or keep the monster at bay?

7. Meet, Understand, Contradict Darknes

Hey, guys! Man, I think it's been more than 6 months since I last updated… or something like that. I want to apologize. I have been extremely busy with college during the school year, and I have been busy during the summer as well.

But unfortunately, it's going to get worse. I do want to finish this story, eventually, but I'm in my senior year of college… For those who are not there yet, prepare yourself. It is one of the hardest years of your school life, especially if you want to go to graduate school.

Anyways, I'm sorry it took so long, but this chapter is slightly longer, so I hope that makes up for it even a little.

Again, if you want to know what certain jutsus say, they are on my profile page. I'm sorry, but I use the names of certain jutsus so much that it is just better if I write it down on one page that everyone can check.

Thanks for reading this intro, by the way. I know some people skip this part… including me. XD

"Normal speech"

'Thoughts'

'Dark Naruto internal voice'

'Dark Naruto speaking"

"Jutsu names or Kyuubi speaking"

'Internal Kyuubi voice.'

This time, all four shinobi of Team 7 sat in the living room. Naruto and Sakura sat on the couch, Sasuke sat in the chair, and Kakashi stood in front of all of them.

Kakashi, making sure he had their attention, said, "So, the reason we're having this meeting is that we got some information about Zabuzza. He'll probably attack in 2 days."

Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened. It was already evening, so there really was not any time left at all. At the very most, they had about 15 hours to train.

"So, what's our plan? How are you going to train us so that we can be ready?", Sasuke asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry, but even if you were able to master another jutsu in the time we have left, I doubt it will make you any more ready than you are now." At this, Sasuke's brow furrowed as he began to think what he could do, and Sakura began to show signs of panicking.

Naruto was the only one that was calm. He simply looked at Kakashi and said, "Then, what will we do until Zabuzza strikes?"

"Teamwork exercises and stuff of that nature."

Naruto's eyes looked at his sensei in surprise and anger, as if telling him to reconsider what he just said. Sakura seemed to calm down since a plan was put forth, and Sasuke looked over to Naruto and back to Kakashi. If what Kakashi said to him was true, then this was the worst exercise for Naruto to be doing.

"Hatake-", Naruto began, but Kakashi cut him off.

"Naruto, let me finish. What I mean by teamwork exercises is making this team work. I'm not suggesting we try methods taught by the Academy or anything like that. If those standard methods worked, we wouldn't be having this problem."

At this, Naruto's shoulders relaxed slightly. "So," Naruto said, "what exactly do you have in mind?"

"Well, the biggest issue we have is that Naruto's fighting style doesn't match Sakura's or Sasuke, right?" All three nodded. Kakashi continued. "Then, we just have to make them match."

"Like how, sensei?", Sakura asked.

"Well, as you should have learned in the Academy, there are different roles that a team can play on a battlefield.", Kakashi said and then looked at Sakura.

She nodded and answered, "Hai, sensei. It was tank, scout, fighter, assassin, and support. Those five are general categories that can be split up further, and there are other categories, but usually a team fits into one of these."

"Good, Sakura. Well, if we take those roles and apply to each of you", he pointed at Sasuke, "you're a fighter", he pointed at Sakura, "you tend to be support," and he pointed at Naruto, "and you're more of an assassin." All three students agreed.

"Then, actually, this is a good team.", Kakashi said, "If Sasuke takes the front line while Sakura stays in the back, Naruto can take care of any stragglers or other assassins while giving you two support." Kakashi then looked at Naruto. "And since your job is to support and protect instead of fighting with the other two, you don't really need to trust them, do you, Naruto?"

Naruto thought for a moment. 'It's pretty much what I've been doing already. I guess this plan of his is to assure the other two.'

He then felt the voice smile, somehow. He didn't know how, but there was an evil grin within him. "No, it's different. You're being forced to protect them. If they do something stupid, it's your job to make up for it. Instead, hehe, why don't you just abandon them and use them as bait? You get the benefit of ridding yourself of our annoying teammates and the enemy, right?' Naruto shook his head, trying to silence the voice.

"Naruto-kun?" Sakura's voice helped Naruto suppress it. He looked up and grinned, letting her know everything was good before turning to Kakashi.

"Fine, this plan sounds decent enough.", Naruto said. When Naruto agreed, Sasuke relaxed a little, now that he knows Naruto is actually willing to work with them while Sakura smiled and tried to give Naruto a hug, who dodged the invasion of personal space.

Kakashi smiled. "Good, so for tomorrow, we will be discussing new formations and such. Got it?"

Everyone nodded.

The next day, that was exactly what happened. They went through simulations, trying to discuss what they would do in what situation. It was over quickly and without argument since the formation was such a basic one.

After they were done, Sasuke and Sakura went inside. When the other two members of the team looked at them, they could see it in their walks.

Naruto shook his head. "They're not ready", he said.

Kakashi agreed. "Well, unlike you, they haven't had the chance to face a situation where they might lose their lives. They're actually dealing with it quite well."

"Yeah, about that," Naruto said, "how the hell did this happen? I mean, simple espionage would have given us enough information to know that Tazuna was lying."

Kakashi thought for a moment before responding. "It's possible that because of the Wave's village lack of trade or political presence that the higher-ups decided it was not worth checking out, or it could be that Konoha has been too busy dealing with the Chunin exams."

"Chunin exams?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, once this is all over, I was thinking of submitting you three into it. It's basically the exam you need to achieve a higher rank," Kakashi explained.

Naruto snorted. "You mean, if we survive this."

"Look, Naruto, I know you don't trust me, but I will do everything in my power to protect you," Kakashi said.

Naruto snorted again. "Like you did sooooo many other times, right, 'Inu-san'?"

Kakashi was taken aback. He didn't realize that Naruto knew that he was the ANBU in charge of him before. It was true that he didn't protect Naruto all the time, but unfortunately, the Council got in the way. Right now, the Council has no right to interfere on how he treats his students, so he meant what he said, but that blow made him speechless.

Naruto turned around and walked back inside as well, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts.

The next day, they practiced the formation. Kakashi would try to simulate different threats, throwing kunai from different angles or going to straight taijutsu with each member to see how the other reacted.

At the end of the day, Kakashi smiled. "Well, it seems like it works." If he targeted Sasuke, he could defend himself, but Sakura could come to help just in case. If he targeted Sakura, Naruto or Sasuke would step in to help, but it was normally Sasuke. And if he targeted Naruto…. He sighed inwardly. If Naruto is attacked, no one can help him since his teammates don't know where he is after the battle starts. However, this team formation is much better than the others that the Academy teaches for this team.

After training, it was nightfall. Kakashi dismissed the group to go back, but when Naruto began to walk in the other direction, all three of the other members of Team 7 looked at him. "Naruto, where are you going?"

Naruto, without turning his head, said, "Going for a walk. I might come back late."

Kakashi furrowed his brow. "Naruto-"

"I understand, Hatake-sensei," Naruto said, cutting him off. He jumped off into the forest, leaving the group with their worries.

Unfortunately, Naruto would end up causing more worries had he stayed. That other voice had been getting louder and more persuasive. Sticking around Sakura for long periods of time wasn't good for his heart or mind. Usually, they would only see each other for a few hours due to training or missions, not days on end. He sighed.

He found a good patch of grass growing on good soil. He sat on it and leaned against a nearby tree. He closed his eyes. It was time for a confrontation. If just being with Sakura was going to make this worse, then he needed to deal with this now. As long as they are on Team 7, his sanity and her health were in danger.

He closed his eyes. He hadn't been there in a while, and honestly, he wasn't sure he was prepared to see his mindscape again.

The rest of Team 7 reached Tazuna's home and went into the living room, each taking a seat. The genin were still on a high from practicing, but not only that, they had some questions that they would not be able to ask around Naruto, namely because they were about him.

Sakura spoke up first. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

"Hmm?" he responded.

"Wouldn't our current team formation leave Naruto-kun in danger?" she asked.

He sighed before nodding. "Yes, but unfortunately, Naruto is unwilling to cooperate unless he can fight alone. If I changed the formation so that Naruto would be in helping distance of you two, he might abandon the formation for his own plans and leave you two to your own fights. At least, this way, he is willing to help if necessary."

"Then, why not clarify on why he won't help," Sasuke said. "You told me that the reason he is how he is now is due to fear. What is he afraid of?"

"Maa, maa, Sasuke. Don't get too riled up. I told you before that only Naruto would be able to tell you that," Kakashi said.

Sasuke slammed his hand on the wooden armrest of the chair he sat in. It didn't create a big sound, but it got the message across. "You think I care? The reason I thought we could be rivals and good teammates was because of our similar pasts, but you told me that I was mistaken. Why the hell should I let him cover my back then?" he shouted. Sakura looked at Sasuke, confused. She didn't know what similar past Naruto had. It was common knowledge that the Uchiha clan was massacred, but it was also common knowledge that Naruto had been an orphan from the beginning. If that's the similar past Sasuke was talking about, then what did Naruto go through? And why would Kakashi-sensei say that Naruto had a different past?

Kakashi crossed his arms and thought for a minute. He then looked at his genin before sighing. "This team is a lot more troublesome that it's worth," he whispered to himself. "Fine," he said, "but understand this. However Naruto reacts to you two knowing this, you must understand that it is not an absurd or undeserved reaction, got it?" The two genin nodded. "So, where should I start?" he asked.

"First, what is the difference between his past and mine?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm…" Kakashi thought. "Sasuke, I know that you weren't the top of your class due to what your family taught you before the incident. Who taught you the taijutsu you know today?"

Sasuke, not seeing where Kakashi is going with this, snorted. "The teachers of course. Who else?"

Kakashi nodded. "You're right. Who else could teach you how to fight? Without them, you wouldn't know any of your stances or moves." Both genin nodded. Kakashi leaned forward. "Well, unfortunately for Naruto, he didn't have that chance."

"What do you mean by that, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I mean," Kakashi started, "the teachers refused to teach Naruto anything. Naruto can use taijutsu, yes. But if you have ever seen him spar, you should know that his style isn't the Academy-taught one, but instead, something more akin to street fighting. The teachers also refused to teach him proper chakra control, which if he had any sort of control, he would have passed the exam the normal way. He could have created a Bunshin. But according to my sources, only Iruka was willing to teach him, but with his responsibilities, it wasn't enough."

Sakura started to look horrified, learning that the teachers that taught her so well was also the reason Naruto almost failed. Sasuke, however, looked at Kakashi curiously. "Why did the teachers refuse to teach him?" he asked.

Kakashi shook his head. "Sorry, Sasuke. I can't tell you that." Sasuke opened his mouth to interject, but Kakashi stopped him. "Not because Naruto doesn't want you to know. It is an S-class secret that was forbidden to tell by the Hokage. I may be your sensei, but I'm not risking execution for something Naruto himself is allowed to tell you." Sasuke opened his mouth to complain, but Kakashi cut him off. "What I can tell you is that because of this secret, not only did the teachers not teach him, but Naruto also had to face many horrible things."

"Like what?" Sasuke asked. This was the information he wanted. What horrible things did Naruto go through that made their pasts so different?

Kakashi took in a deep breath before looking at the two genin. "He suffered beatings every day until about the age of 10. At the age of 8, he entered the Academy, where he did at least learn the basics of stealth. Afterwards, Naruto had perfected it himself by the time he was 10 so that anybody who wanted to beat him could not find him."

Both genin looked horrified now. But before they could say anything, Kakashi continued. "He also had many assassination attempts on his life. Thanks to learning the basics of trap-making in the Academy, he was able to booby-trap his entire home. No one attempts to kill him anymore when he is home, and no one can find him outside of the Academy. Now that he's a shinobi, he has the protection of the Hokage, so he no longer needs to trap his house. Still, I would advise not entering his home uninvited."

Sakura began to cry lightly. And Sasuke looked angry and horrified. But, it was Kakashi said next that really sent both over the edge. "And, as you know, all food places are owned by civilians. Well, those civilians, even if they weren't those who beat him, did not want their reputation to plummet for having Naruto around, so the nicer ones shooed him away while the not as nicer ones attacked him until he left. Because of this, until he started learning in the Academy, he was forced to eat left overs or eat from the dumpster. The only place that did accept him was Ichiraku's Ramen. But, he didn't find this place until he was 8. From the age of 4 to 8, he ate garbage. His immune system is so strong that he could withstand any of the microbes that could kill him, but even he knew how disgusting eating out of the garbage was."

Sakura was full out crying while Sasuke looked like he could burn down the village. Sakura was of course just appalled at what happened to her crush. But, Sasuke's reaction was a surprise to Kakashi. "How could anyone do that to a child?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. "I thought you only cared about Naruto as a potential rival in order to kill Itachi."

"That is not the point!" Sasuke shouted. "I hate Itachi for not just killing my family but for betraying me as well. But, all of those people are monsters. I cannot believe I thought they were nice people who I could use to help me accomplish my goal. No person who could let a child suffer that fate is worth trusting. The village is a place where people go to feel safe. That's why people live there instead of a remote town like here! They have all betrayed Naruto, just like how Itachi betrayed me. I cannot forgive traitors!"

Kakashi was taken aback from this. A lot of the shinobi that know the truth felt the same way, but that was due to the Yondaime wishing Naruto to be the hero of the village, and by hurting Naruto, they were betraying the late Hokage's wishes. But, Sasuke here felt the same betrayal simply from Naruto's own personal history.

He smiled. Maybe this team really had something to give after all.

Sakura agreed with him. "Naruto-kun doesn't deserve that behavior. Even if he is distant, he's always tried his best to be on a team with us. He has never cast us aside or betrayed us."

Kakashi felt relieved that everyone on his team felt the same, but Sakura worried him. The issue was that everyone felt the same. "Sakura, why do you feel so strongly about Naruto?"

She blushed. "Well… I like him. I look up to him, and I don't feel it is fair that he is treated so wrongly."

"And, what about Sasuke? I remember it wasn't long ago that you were chasing him," Kakashi said. Sasuke glared at the one-eyed jounin, trying to prevent all opportunities of Sakura fangirling over him again.

She shrugged. "I guess I moved on."

Now, this in itself wasn't disconcerting. But with what he learned about Naruto's jutsus after interrogating Haku, the sudden change the pink-haired girl displayed made him wonder if Naruto had a hand in it. As Sakura said, he didn't seem like the type to betray his team, but what else could explain the sudden change?

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke called out.

He looked up and saw the curious looks on his students. "Yes, Sasuke?"

"What kind of jutsus is Naruto using? I've never heard of anything like his except the Nara clan trademark jutsus," Sasuke asked.

Sakura wasn't as curious since she always assumed that was Naruto's clan jutsus. Of course, that line of thought was what led to her curiosity as well. "Does Naruto have a clan? I know his parents passed away, so I thought he might be the only member."

"No, Naruto isn't a part of a clan," Kakashi lied. Technically, Naruto was the member of one famous clan, and he does have a father who has jutsus and knowledge people would kill over, but that was also a S-class secret. "As for his jutsus, you are right. I myself have only seen the Nara clan use jutsus like that. However, Naruto is not using Nara jutsus. He is using the element of darkness almost more proficiently than the Nara's."

"Then, Naruto has a better understanding of the dark chakra?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm, maybe," Kakashi said. In truth, he doubted it. That ritual he performed was probably the cause of his mastery. It worried him greatly.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked, seeing the worry in her eyes.

"Naruto-kun has been out there for a while," she said. "You don't think…"

Sasuke shook his head. "I doubt that dobe would get into any trouble like that. He can take care of himself."

Kakashi said, "I agree. Of course, there is the chance of something out of the ordinary occurring, but Naruto is smart. He'd find a way out of any sticky situation, and if he couldn't, he'd find a way to contact us."

Sakura nodded, only slightly convinced.

Naruto opened his eyes. He was already in front of the cage. He walked up to it and called out, "Kyuubi?"

"Kit. Long time no see," the beast behind the cage replied.

"It was kind of hard to come back, considering that the new voice in my head," Naruto said.

"Yeah, about that. Turn around," the Kyuubi said.

Naruto spun around slowly. He wasn't expecting anybody else to be in here. In actuality, this was the safest place in the world.

So imagine his surprise when he saw a shadow with white sclera and blue eyes staring back at him. He, of course, screamed and fell back into the water. The shadow laughed and said, "You are a fucking retard!"

Naruto opened his eyes wide. Recognizing the voice, he pointed at the figure. "You're that voice in my head!"

The figure clapped. "Congratulations on sounding like a complete loon. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that you have the Kyuubi inside you, the old man should have put you in the mental hospital. Hehehe."

Naruto growled. "What the hell are you doing in my mind?!"

The figure gave a toothy grin. "The same thing you're doing. Being in my mind."

Naruto froze. "What do you mean your mind?"

The figure sighed. "You shouldn't try to ignore the obvious. I know the only reason you're asking is because you're afraid of the truth."

Naruto was silent for a few moments. Without the sky or a clock, it was hard to tell how long it was until Naruto spoke up again. "You're me?"

The figure smiled again. "Of course. Who else would have such filthy thoughts?"

Naruto shouted, "Those thoughts aren't mine. I would have never done that to Sakura, you bastard!"

"True. You'd never do it. I said thoughts though. You desired it, didn't you," the figure said accusingly.

"I… I would…. Of course, I wouldn't!" Naruto responded loudly.

The figure glared at him. "Enough! No one is here but you, me, and the Kyuubi. The beast knows your thoughts as well as I do, being stuck in here. Stop trying to hide your shame!"

Naruto was a little taken aback due to the sudden change in tone. But… what he did say had some truth to it. He did want Sakura. Maybe it was due to her bright hair color that caught his attention, or maybe it was because he sat next to her, but at one point, he became attracted to her. "I still wouldn't do what you did. I wouldn't even think about it."

"You wouldn't think about it because you are afraid of the consequences. However, the Intou jutsus you learned remove those consequences entirely. Think about it. If you could control everyone that you meet, what would you have done?" the figure asked, calm now.

Naruto thought. Honestly, it sounded good. If he could control everyone, he could not only have Sakura all to himself, but he could make sure he never got hurt again. It would be perfect.

It was immoral.

But what did he care now? He might not have willingly forced Sakura into liking him, but he forced Haku to tell him everything and betray Zabuzza.

Naruto calmed down as well. "You're right," he said.

The figure smiled again. "Of course I am. I'm you."

"So? What do we do now?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you're supposed to integrate with me, but things didn't go that way at all. The only times that we had any syncing up was when you lost it when Sakura was in danger," he said.

"Wait, wait, wait; what do you mean by that? If you're me, how do you know something that I don't?" Naruto asked.

The figure sighed. "So start from the beginning beginning. I'm the product of your dark side and that ritual you did, which summoned the memories of the predecessor and the creator of the Intou jutsus."

"… So, I'm not crazy? You're like a dark me?"

The figure deadpanned, "Oh my god, what is with you? How did you get to that assumption after I said if it wasn't for the Kyuubi, you'd be in a loony bin right now?"

Naruto shrugged. "Hey, I didn't have the most normal childhood. It could have been a possibility."

Dark Naruto shook his head. "Well, you're not crazy. But, you can't fully master Intou jutsus until we integrate. Until we become one being, essentially."

"Why? I was able to use all those jutsus, even the advanced ones," Naruto said.

"Those jutsus were created by your predecessor. He was a twisted man who desired to control all those who mocked him, letting him get whatever he wanted. Of course, it did not end up his way. After the Hokage found out, he was eliminated. But due to the advice of his advisors, he kept it in the Forbidden Scroll that you got. The power was too tempting to give up, so much that even that old man had his thoughts clouded. If he was thinking correctly, he would have destroyed any record of the style," he explained.

Naruto nodded, showing understanding the whole time. "So, I have to create my own?"

"Well, you don't have to, but the reason you're against some of those jutsus is probably because they weren't made for us. They were made for that guy and his corrupt side. You need to make your own to fit your own tastes; otherwise, you'll never reach the full potential of this style. Hence why we have to integrate."

A loud growling was heard behind Naruto. They both faced the source. The giant, red eyes glared at the figure. "You speak the truth that you are a part of Naruto. I know this because all those memories are suddenly here. I just checked. However, you forgot to mention the part about how the corrupt side becomes sentient not to integrate but to take control of the person!" he roared.

Naruto's eyes widened, and he turned around with a glare. "What the hell are you trying to do?"

Dark Naruto crossed his arms. "You are right. The predecessor's corrupt side's goal was to take over. However, this was because the predecessor began to lack the desire to achieve his dark wants. His corrupt side was no longer a part of him but a sentient voice in his head. So, naturally, this should have happened. But either due to the size of your darkness or due to the infinite anger and hatred from the Kyuubi, I am not your full corrupt side."

The Kyuubi's growls became quieter. "I see."

Naruto looked at the both of them. "Wait, wait, I don't understand."

"The reason the corrupt side took over was because its goal was to achieve its corrupt desires. But because the original person no longer had a corrupt side, he had lost his desire to achieve any of those things. Therefore, the corrupt side saw it necessary to overtake him. You, however, somehow managed to keep a part of your dark side with you. Meaning, you still have those dark desires, even if they are suppressed like the one with taking advantage of Sakura." Naruto opened his mouth to object, but a look from the dark him shut him up. "Therefore, I see no need to take you over. And considering that doing so to the last guy ended up with his execution, it would be quite stupid to try the same thing with you. No, the best thing to do is to integrate."

"So, what does integrating change exactly?" Naruto asked.

"Basically, you'll stop hearing my voice for a while. Unless something relevant to the memories of the creator or the predecessor comes up or if you need some advice for the Intou jutsus, you'll only have one other voice in your head, you loon." Naruto glared at him. "You'll also have your full corrupt side back, but since you're more aware of it, you'll be more willing to do what your heart desires."

Naruto nodded. "Alright. So how do we do this?"

The figure stuck out his hand. "Shake?"

"Really?... Is that it?" Naruto grabbed his hand. And as soon as they made contact…

Everything went black.

Whatever Zabuzza needed, Haku was there to fulfill it. This time, he wanted a hunter-nin to be in the background just in case he needed an escape. He was ashamed to fail by being detected by that blonde boy.

But, Haku has disguised himself as a civilian, a woman, a slave, a ninja from a nearby village, and a prisoner. His last disguise had got him into a situation where he had sealed handcuffs much like the ones he had on now.

Meaning he knew how to escape.

Meaning he had already escaped. 'It's almost dawn,' Haku thought. 'I better get out of here before any of the shinobi notice I have escaped.' Unknowingly to him, a shadow was following his every footstep.

Haku reached the forest nearby and kept on running in the direction of Gato's hideout. Once there, he could warn Zabuzza that that the Konoha shinobi were aware of his attack and that the blonde boy had some type of odd style of jutsus that could prove extremely dangerous.

But as he was thinking about Naruto, he came across the very person. He seemed to be sleeping. If he was meditating, Haku's stomping through the forest should have alerted him.

Haku walked over to the boy. 'This boy…. This boy made me betray Zabuzza,' he thought bitterly. He took out a senbon. 'To make anyone do that to their precious person, he is a sick and evil person. Killing him would be a favor to the world.' Haku took another step closer to Naruto, ready to strike his jugular.

Naruto suddenly snored and moved, freezing Haku in place. 'Did he hear me?!' But to his relief, Naruto didn't wake up and continued sleeping. Haku sighed. He looked at the senbon in his hand. 'What am I doing? Even if this boy is evil, I can't kill someone.' He had always used non-lethal methods since he didn't want to experience killing again. Killing his father and the mob were more than enough killing for one life.

Haku looked around. He was surprised, but there were tons of herbs around here. He could recognize some of them immediately because they were good in healing oils and balms. He began to pick some, just in case Zabuzza ever needed them. By the time he was almost done, it was bright outside. He had a huge armful of herbs. He smiled. This was a good haul.

"You!" Haku heard behind him. He spun around to see the blonde ninja awake, with a black blade coming out of his sleeve.

'Crap, I took too long.' Haku smiled at Naruto. "Hello."

Naruto stayed silent while his entire body tensed, ready to escape into the foliage above so that he could have the advantage.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I saw you sleeping, but I didn't think you'd want to be woken up," Haku said.

Naruto showed a tiny hint of surprise. 'She knew I was sleeping and didn't attack me?' he thought. The amount of herbs in Haku's arms supported this. Slowly, Naruto put away his Kageken and stood up straight. "Why didn't you attack me?" he asked.

Haku, noticing the slight calm coming over the blonde, was relieved. He wasn't sure what this kid could do, and right now, he didn't want to go into a fight with a mystery. "Well, I probably should have since you made me betray one of my precious people, but I'm not a fan of killing," he said.

"Precious people?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Zabuzza-sama is my precious person," Haku responded.

Naruto shook his head. "No, no, no, I mean, what is a precious person?"

Haku's eyes widened in surprise. "A precious person is someone you're close to, someone you want to protect," Haku explained. "Don't you have anybody like that?"

Naruto snorted. "I don't need precious people. For all I know, everyone will betray me one day, so what's the point?"

Haku thought, 'So he wasn't trying to be evil by making me betray Zabuzza-sama. No, it's worse. He didn't understand he was doing anything wrong.' "Well then, you'll never be strong then."

Naruto glared. "I could kick Zabuzza's and your asses if I wanted to."

"Even if you could, you wouldn't be truly strong. Only by having precious people and wanting to protect them can you be truly strong," Haku said.

Naruto scoffed. "Whatever."

"Well, you'll see today. Zabuzza-sama will attack today… will you stop me?" Haku asked.

Naruto thought for a moment. "No. You somehow got out of those handcuffs, and I don't have anything to restrain you better than those. Though now that I know you managed to escape, I'll need to keep that mind and talk to sensei about letting a girl go so easily. But, I rather meet you on the battlefield where I can see you than have you escape again and surprise attack me."

Haku bowed. "Thank you then. I must return to Zabuzza-sama now." But before he left, Haku turned around and said, "By the way, I am a boy." He jumped away, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

"You know, he's right you know," Kakashi said, coming out from behind a tree.

"Perverted cyclops."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Not the gender. Protecting a precious person truly does make you strong."

Naruto glared at him. "I don't care if one could get some super strength from doing so. I am just fine on my own, and in actuality, have been worse off by trusting people. I'll find my own strength."

Kakashi smiled. "Well, you'll see one day for yourself. But right now, we have to go protect Tazuna-san. He'll wake up soon. I doubt Zabuzza will attempt to surprise attack since he is going to know that we know he will attack today, but we should be on guard."

Naruto started following Kakashi back to the house. "Yeah, yeah, I know…"

When the two got back, both genin were still sleeping. Naruto said, "I think I'll retire to my room for a bit."

"Are you still tired?" Kakashi asked.

"A little bit. I won't sleep though," Naruto said, yawning already. He walked upstairs and went into his room.

He sat down on his bed and began to think. At the moment, all the jutsus he had at his arsenal were made for stealth, escape, interrogation, and basic close combat. There was literally nothing made for the battle up ahead, and if Zabuzza attacked them on the bridge, there wouldn't be anywhere to hide.

Therefore, he thought it was time to make his own jutsus.

…

How though?

He went back into his mindscape. "Oi! Dark me! Where are you?!"

"Would you mind shutting up for a moment? We're in your mind. You don't need to shout, you idiot," the Kyuubi groaned. There was already enough on his mind with what happened earlier.

Soon after that, a small area of water in front of Naruto had begun to rise up. It slowly formed Naruto's own shape and form, darkening as it went. Soon, the figure of dark Naruto had been fully created. "Hmm? Ah, right. Jutsu making."

Naruto's eye twitched. "You know, it's slightly annoying when you read my mind."

"I'm not reading your mind. I'm just remembering our thoughts," the figure said. "Now, with normal jutsus, I have no fucking idea. The predecessor had studied tons of chakra theory and hand signs, but even though I have those memories, he had started with a higher than normal understanding of the subject when he performed the ritual, so I have no idea what any of the books he read says. But with Intou jutsus, it depends on the user. The predecessor wanted to be a better shinobi, so he made his jutsus look like normal jutsus with his new hand sign. So, what do we want?"

"Hmm," Naruto mumbled, "I don't really want hand signs if we don't need them, considering that night with Sakura."

"Alright. No hand signs. You already mastered the Kageken without hand signs, so it is possible," he said.

"I also need more offensive and defensive jutsus. The Kageken is great for assassinations, but during battles, it's kind of hard to use," Naruto said.

"Well, we don't have the experience to wield it proficiently. It's just another blade at the moment."

"Can you help with that? With the predecessor's memories, I mean," Naruto asked.

Dark Naruto shook his head. "Even if I told you and showed you how to use it, you lack the experience. But, the predecessor didn't make up this style. I'd say go to the library and check it, but I rather we not get spit on and thrown out again. Maybe ask the Hokage?"

"Would he really help? He knows about these jutsus, and Hatake seemed repulsed by Intou: Warugi," Naruto pointed out.

"True, but that's if you want to master that style. He might be your only chance at that."

Naruto sighed. "Guess I'll have to stick with kunai and shuriken for battles then."

The dark personality shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe the old man might help."

"Maybe… I wish I knew if he was the type to betray me."

As soon as Naruto said that, both looked at each other with open mouths before shouting, "THAT'S IT!"

"A jutsu that allows you to see the darkness in people. That would work completely fine! And knowing those darknesses would help manipulate people better!" dark Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"Urg," Naruto groaned. "I rather not manipulate people like you did with Sakura though."

"Why? You know you love every single ounce of attention you get from the girl now."

"Yeah, but it's not true attention from her. If you hadn't pulled that, she wouldn't pay attention to us whatsoever."

"Hehe, you suuure? I mean, think about it. All the kunoichi your age at your feet. That's a good image, isn't it?" dark Naruto said with a sly smile, knowing full well that the thought would spark that image in Naruto's head. The dark personality burst out laughing when Naruto turned red and had to cover his nose as blood shot out. "Fine, fine. Nothing like that…. What about manipulating people so that they at least consider you to be a decent human being?"

"Nah, I feel like having people who used to beat me and insult me suddenly treat me normal would give me a stomachache."

Dark Naruto sighed. "You know, if I didn't intervene, you'd never get laid."

"Hey!"

"It's true. You're too nice, even when we have integrated. But, alright. Let's go back to our topic. How can we make us know what the darkness in other people are? I don't know how adding chakra to our eyes would work in doing so, even if it is dark chakra. And, connecting with their shadows to get a more direct connection wouldn't be the best since we need this to be covert."

They both thought.

For a long time.

I mean, a really long time.

But, in the end, they both started screaming, steam coming out of their ears. They didn't know anything about how any doujutsu worked. They just learned about the Sharingan and the Byakugan in class and what they could do.

"I thought I told you to shut the fuck up! Can't a fox get some silence around here? Back when Naruto barely thought for himself, it was paradise!" the Kyuubi roared, gaining a couple glares. "What the hell are you two doing anyways?"

"Well, technically, there's only one of us, since we're the sa-" A glare from the Kyuubi shut him up. "Fine, fine, we're two people here."

"We're trying to figure out how to make a doujutsu from scratch basically," Naruto explained.

The Kyuubi snickered. "Good luck. I have been around for a long time, and I know for a fact that the Sharingan and the Byakugan that you Konoha shinobi fawn over started from heavenly and demonic gifts essentially. You can't just make one from scratch."

"Demon? Wouldn't you be able to help us then?" Naruto asked.

"Fool. You humans keep calling me a demon, but I am a Bijuu, a Tailed Beast. I am made of pure chakra, which as you remember a couple days ago, is a mixture of physical and spiritual energies. Demons are pure spiritual energies; so no, I am not a demon."

"Dammit, I thought we had an answer there," Naruto said.

The other Naruto spoke up. "Well, the creator of the style was a demon. Would that help any?"

Both Naruto's eyes and the Kyuubi's eyes widened at this new information. "A demon created this?"

He nodded. "That's what the Kagegan ritual is for. It's a demon summoning ritual that summons that particular demon. He gives you the ability to use dark chakra and makes your dark side, me, sentient."

Both listeners' jaws were on the ground. "I summoned a demon?!"

"Well, that works out then. Kit, if your dark chakra isn't naturally from you, it might have hints of that demon in it. Use that dark chakra and focus it in your eyes."

The two Naruto's high fived. "This is awesome! We can develop another jutsu then since all that requires is chakra."

"Another one? Hmm? Well, what about something defensive. At least for offensive, I have a few jutsus like Kageken and Tsukikasu. But, if I get into a sticky situation where I can't hide, I would like it if I could at least survive long enough to get an opportunity to escape."

"If I may interject," the two Naruto's look at the beast, "since your survival means my survival, there was one jutsu I saw that may interest you. It was used by Jiraiya. He made his hair elongate and cover his body while somehow making it into a weapon by sharpening it. It hurt like hell when I tried to step on him."

The two Naruto's took this into consideration and sat down to think. After a little while, both of them perked up. "I got it!/I got it!" they both shouted.

They looked at the Kyuubi and told them their idea. The Kyuubi deadpanned, "You do realize that what you will do will create enough attention that might possibly attract people who weren't even going to be in your fight in the first place, right?"

"That's why it is such a great distraction and defense! / That's why it is such a great distraction and defense!" they both exclaimed.

The Kyuubi sighed. What was the hell was wrong with his host?

Naruto opened his eyes and was surprised at how bright it was. Realizing what it meant, he cursed internally and looked outside the window. Sure enough, it was way past dawn, almost noon he would say.

He was about to call out for Kakashi, but he heard loud voices downstairs. Curious but cautious, he snuck down and saw two men, one holding Inari by his hair. Inari was kicking and thrashing, but he couldn't do any damage to the one holding him.

Tsunami yelled, "Please let my son go!"

The man on the left, not holding Inari, smirked. "Sorry, boss's orders. We have to capture both of you alive."

The other man held up a knife to Inari's neck, making him docile. "However, he didn't say anything about having you unharmed."

Tsunami froze as the blade lightly grazed Inari's neck, not enough to draw blood, but it was enough to get the point across. Inari was sobbing at this point.

"I… alright… Take us to Gato," she said.

Both of the shared an evil smile. "Welllll, you see, the boss won't need you for a little while, so for now." The man on the right advanced towards Tsunami.

'Shit, I'm going to have to be quick about this,' thought Naruto.

'Wait, wait, wait, this might be heading in an interesting direction,' dark Naruto said.

'You can't be serious!'

'I mean, even as a mother, Tsunami looks absolutely beautiful. You could save her juuuust a little late, right?'

The man grabbed Tsunami's shoulders. "Don't worry; as long as you don't do anything stupid, we won't kill you or your son. We need you for bargaining chips for that bridge builder after all."

'Ah, dammit!/Ah dammit!' the two Naruto's thought.

'We have no choice. Now the client's life is on the line. No more arguing.'

'Dammit. I really was hoping for something.'

The man began to look at Tsunami lecherously. Tsunami could only look away. "Inari, close your eyes!"

"Mom! Get your hands off her!" Inari shouted.

"Inari! Do as I say!" Tsunami shouted.

Inari was about to shout again as the man began his advances, but he heard behind him, "You really should do what your mother says. It's about to get rated R." Inari recognized it as Naruto's voice right before a spurt of blood shot over his head.

Naruto slid the Kageken from the man's throat, letting the man crumple onto the ground. Inari escaped his grasps before he collapsed.

The other man, noticing his partner's death, stopped what he was doing and turned around. He reached for a weapon, but Naruto was too quick for him. "Intou: Sessuru!"Performing the hand signs, his shadow raced along the ground to meet the man's shadow. "Intou: Tsukisasu!" The shadows leapt up from the floor and impaled the man. Blades of shadow pierced his legs, arms, stomach, and upper torso. It was a brutal death to watch, but it was quick. Naruto released the jutsu and looked at the two. "Are you alright?" The two nodded. Naruto helped Inari up, who still looked horrified at the deaths. He looked at Tsunami. "Where did my team go?"

"T-they…. They went to the bridge with f-father," stuttered Tsunami, still horrified like her son but also relieved that they were safe.

Naruto nodded and summoned two Kage Bunshins. "They'll protect you while I go help my team out." When he saw their answer, he left as quickly as he could to the bridge.

As he ran out, his dark self decided to speak up. 'You know, using those jutsus, you could have fun with Tsunami while Kakashi takes care of things here.'

Naruto groaned. 'Seriously? What is the matter with you? Why is every single thing about sex?!'

'We're fucking teenagers, and you lack a sense of morality. It's not too hard to figure out.'

Naruto reached the forest and jumped into the trees. 'You know that I'm not going to listen to you when you say those things, so would you mind not bringing those things up?'

All he heard was a sigh before he got an agreement. Naruto rolled his eyes. I mean, just because he was a teenager couldn't mean he would be that obsessed with sex, right?

…. Right?

Sasuke grunted as a senbon hit his right arm. He didn't know how Haku had escaped, but he was pissed off at the person who let this happen. Surrounding him were crystal ice mirrors in a dome shape. Haku was able to enter the mirrors, which he couldn't break or melt, and not only create illusions of himself in the other mirrors but moved so fast Sasuke couldn't even hit him outside.

When his Sharingan activated, he was able to see Haku, but the most he was able to do was singe the bastard's clothing. Haku moved too fast for any of his attacks to hit him, even though he knew where Haku would be.

He had one idea, but it would cost an incredible amount of chakra, so if he failed, he wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight.

His Sharingan tracked Haku go into the top mirror. After dodging the senbon, he performed some hand signs. "Katon: Hibashiri!" He breathed out streams of fire that lined the bottom and middle rows of mirrors. When Haku left the mirrors again, he dodged the attack and used the Katon: Hibashiri jutsu again, lining the top mirror with flames. He smirked. Now, there was no way to get back to the mirrors without burning oneself.

"Not bad," Haku said, "but I can tell that you're losing a lot of chakra trying to hold that up." He blocked a kunai strike from Sasuke with a senbon.

"I have enough chakra to defeat you," Sasuke said, trying to kick Haku, missing when he jumped away. He charged Haku, blocking any attack, trying to get close so that he couldn't perform any jutsu.

Haku made some one-handed signs and shouted, "Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō!" Needles formed from the water around them and again surrounded the two. He jumped to the top in order to not get hit by his own attack.

But, Sasuke, thanks to his experience with that jutsu and his Sharingan, saw this coming. He quickly performed some hand signs and looked upward. "Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!" A huge fireball erupted from his mouth and raced towards Haku. Sasuke smirked. He finally got the hunter-nin.

However, Haku performed some hand signs quickly. "Suiton: Mizu Tama! (Water Style: Aqua Bullet)" The excess water on the ground formed into a ball of water and moved between him and the fireball. The fireball consumed the water, since it was a more powerful jutsu, but it gave Haku time to escape.

"I seriously doubt you can keep this up, but you are proving to be somewhat of a danger. I cannot risk my victory," Haku said. He performed some hand signs and shouted, "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" From the water under the bridge, a dragon made of water burst out and hit the dome of ice. The water extinguished the fires, and while Sasuke was slammed against an ice mirror, Haku, using chakra to stay put, jumped back into a mirror above when the torrent was gone.

Sasuke laid against the mirror. He had no more chakra and no more options. His Sharingan was off; he couldn't even go for basic taijutsu at this point. He was going to die here. He gritted his teeth in frustration. He didn't even get close to getting the power he needed to avenge his family. Was he going to let Itachi go so easily?

Haku quickly moved to the mirror that was at the far right from Sasuke. He had the perfect angle for his target. He threw two senbon that were aimed at his neck. The battle was over.

"Intou: Sessuru!"

A shadow raced in from outside under the mirrors and connected with Sasuke's.

"Intou: Tsukisasu!" Blades of darkness rose from Sasuke's shadow, but they were farther than they usually were. Instead of impaling Sasuke, they created a barrier of blades, blocking the senbon.

Suddenly, a form was between Haku and Sasuke. Sasuke looked up in surprise to see his teammate. "Naruto…" he said with wide eyes before returning to his exhausted expression. "You're late."

Naruto looked at Sasuke, noticing the injuries. "Teme, you know that being hit only works strategically if they're close range, right?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto, who turned back around. In actuality, he was relieved. He had been funneling his chakra to his eyes as soon as he saw the bridge. There wasn't too big of a change at first, until he got close. He started to see groups of words floating from afar. They were moving around at high speeds, except two of them. The two that were stationary had calmer words floating around.

When he saw the words "If my students die… I'll fail everyone. I will fail the village, the Hokage, their parents, and especially Obito," he realized that those must have been the dark thoughts of Kakashi. Whoever this Obito person was must have been someone he had failed before because most of the words were grey or grey-ish black, but Obito's name was pure black. It must have symbolized the darkness in his thoughts. That was his only conclusion.

So imagine his worry and fear when he saw Sasuke's thoughts. He had almost not made it in time. A second later, and Sasuke would have been…

Naruto's eyes widened. He was looking at Haku. Now that he was close, he could see that the words were circling the person. (Think the anime adaptation of Umineko no Naku Koro ni) But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was what Haku was thinking.

Naruto grinned and got into a battle-ready stance. Haku immediately began flashing through his hand signs for Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō, but Naruto rushed towards the mirror with Haku in it.

Haku smirked. There was no way Naruto could break the mirror in time. Even when he saw the black blade come out from his sleeve, Haku kept up his confident disposition.

Of course, when he felt the pain, he stopped making signs. He looked down. The blade didn't crack the mirror. It didn't break it. As if it was light, it was just simply going through the mirror.

And yet,

It managed to stab Haku in the arm.

As soon as the blade was removed from the mirror, Haku jumped to one of the higher mirrors, clutching his wounded arm. He began his maneuver again. Jumping from one mirror to the next at high speeds, throwing senbon from every single mirror. But, it was ineffective. As soon as Haku got to a higher vantage point, Naruto had grabbed Sasuke and created the barrier of blades with Intou: Tsukisasu.

"What the hell… How is he appearing in all those mirrors? Genjutsu?" Naruto muttered to himself.

Sasuke heard him. "No, dobe. She's just moving fast. If I had my Sharingan, I could see her, but I'm out of chakra."

"… Sasuke, don't look at me funny, but Haku is a guy. I heard it from his own mouth."

Sasuke groaned. "Guy, girl, does it really matter right now?!"

'Well, if she was a girl,' dark Naruto started. But, Naruto immediately shouted "Shut up!" and began to think. He noticed that he had a slight headache but put it off as not getting enough sleep.

"Do you have a plan?" Sasuke asked, trying to get up.

"Well, I could try my new jutsu, but I wouldn't be able to protect you while using it. It requires too much focus since I haven't even tried it," Naruto answered.

"If you haven't even tried it, how would you know?" Sasuke asked, eyes filled with curiosity and jealousy that Naruto got a jutsu that required that much concentration.

Naruto ignored the question, pissing off the Uchiha, but he let it slide. Sasuke asked again, "Do you have a plan at all?"

Naruto shook his head. His headache was getting worse.

'Oi, you can't keep up this barrier for long. It's not like the Kageken. This has a complex structure, and the repeated battering is not helping. The mental strain is going to keep building.'

'Shit. How long until it breaks?'

'It should be for another minute or so.'

'Got it. I'll think of something before then.'

'Well, hurry up. You might have less if-'

The sounds of the metal hitting Naruto's barrier stopped but were replaced with, "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"

'If he tries something like that!'

The water dragon smashed into the barrier. The headache was so strong that Naruto clutched his head and began to scream. All jutsus were released, including his new eye doujutsu. The darkness surrounding them faded back into the shadows, leaving the two exposed.

Haku, seeing the opportunity, threw tens of senbons at Naruto. He had to get him out of the way first if he wanted to stand a chance.

Naruto, through the pain, saw the senbon coming, but any thought to summon an Intou jutsu just added to the pain. He shut his eyes for the oncoming wall of needles.

He heard the needles hit flesh, but he didn't feel any force or pain. He opened his eyes to see Sasuke, in front of him, with even more needles than before.

Naruto was speechless. Sasuke turned around and smirked. "What's with that look?" he said weakly.

"… why?"

Sasuke began to laugh lightly, obviously in pain as he shuddered afterwards.

Naruto stood up and glared. "I asked you! Why?! Why did you protect me?!"

Sasuke shook his head. "I… I don't know. My body moved by itself, and before I realized it, I was taking the hit for you."

Naruto's headache finally calmed down enough to activate his Intou doujutsu. Sending chakra to his eyes, he saw the words around Sasuke, and his eyes widened to see that they had not changed.

Sasuke still wanted to live and avenge his family. And yet, he risked his life for him.

Naruto knew how strong the darkness was in people. It consumed them, and even lead them to acts like beating an orphan child for something he wasn't responsible for.

So why? Why would Sasuke do this?

Even dark Naruto was up in arms. He was freaking out, saying things like Sasuke must have tricked the system or that the jutsu had failed.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered, bringing Naruto back outside of his thoughts. "I spent all my life… trying to get power… trying to achieve my goal. I… was even going to use you as my rival." Naruto wasn't too astonished at this. He knew Sasuke had other plans behind his acts of friendship. They always did. "But… it doesn't seem like… I'll be able to."

Sasuke now fully turned around to face Naruto. "So… please, Naruto, from your teammate, please… avenge my family. Kill Itachi." When he finished, he collapsed.

Haku watched the entire monologue. And when Naruto began to shake Sasuke and start screaming why he saved him, Haku couldn't help himself. He walked out of the mirror and spoke, "It was probably because somewhere deep inside, your teammate saw you as one of his precious people."

That had stopped Naruto. He looked up at Haku with a glare. "That shit again…"

"Call it whatever you want, but as you can see," as he motioned to Sasuke's body, "it's always in effect. He shouldn't have had any chakra, and yet, he moved as fast as I did to save you." When Naruto didn't say anything, Haku opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by said person.

"I know… I can see it. Sasuke isn't dead. You refuse to kill people unless your fucking precious person tells you to," Naruto said.

Haku's eyes widened. He was about to jump back into a mirror to get ready, but Naruto kept on talking, "I know that… Your dark thoughts show me that you hate killing. Your father… your mother… I can see them in your thoughts."

Haku was stunned beyond belief. He hadn't told Naruto about his past on how his mother was murdered by his father due to the hatred of bloodlines in Kirigakure and how he had killed his father in self-defense for having a bloodline.

Naruto continued. "I know all that. Sasuke isn't dead. He can achieve his goal." He looked up, showing red demonic eyes to Haku, who froze in fear. "And yet… why the fuck is this pissing me off?!" He roared, red chakra leaking from his system.

The sight of the red chakra and the burning feeling in the air snapped Haku out of his fear. He jumped back into the mirror behind him, and he began to speed through all the mirrors.

Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, "If you think your speed will save you, think again!" The chakra exploded, taking up the space in the dome. It began to change color, getting a blacker tint to it, making it look rusty. Every time Haku went out of the mirror, it felt like he was flying through acid. And every time he threw a senbon, the chakra would just push the metal object out of the way.

'This is impossible! Chakra can't be seen normally, and it definitely can't move objects like this! What is this chakra?!' Haku thought. Fear began to seize his heart again. 'I'm going to die… this will be my end…'

Naruto looked up at the mirrors and shouted, "You got that right. You're not leaving this place alive!"

Haku was now afraid and confused. It was as if Naruto had heard her last thoughts. But before she got a chance to do anything, Naruto crouched down. His shadow running up his pants and up his back and chest, covering him in darkness. When his entire back was covered, he flexed his entire body outwards in a star position, shouting, "Intou: Tatetoken (Shadow Style: Shield and Sword)!"

Blades of shadows appeared all over, and they shot out like spears. Each mirror was hit. Haku, seeing the range of the attack, jumped out of the dome through the back of the mirror at the last moment before he was skewed.

The entire dome was filled with darkness. Haku was about to ready another jutsus, but as soon as he got his hands up, the mirrors began to crack from the force. Eventually, the mirrors shattered. But instead of going outwards like it was originally going, the shadows returned to show Naruto.

His entire body was covered in shadows. His face was covered as well, so the only things you could see that would identify a human under that darkness was his hair shape, since the shadows covered that, his eyes, which didn't even look human but more like a demon, and his mouth, which had canines sharpened like some animal. To add to the nightmare factor, barely visible images of tormented faces would phase in and out wherever there was shadows on him.

Haku threw some senbon. It simply bounced off as if it was armor. Haku remembered that a heavy jutsu like Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu had broken the barrier before. But before he could even start the hand signs, Naruto sped off in his direction. Haku had no time to react as Naruto made blades cover his fist and smashed them into his mask. The mask had protected him from the blades, but the force of the impact sent him flying. He landed on his feet, only to hear a chirping sound.

Meanwhile in the other battle, both Kakashi and Zabuzza noticed the new chakra enter in and clash with Sasuke. They ignored it and continued their battle, but they were forced to pay attention when a burning chakra that imbued them with fear ripped across the bridge.

'This… this is the Kyuubi's chakra! But… no… this is also Naruto's. It feels darker… Even I feel afraid of him right now. What's going on?' Kakashi thought. He spoke in the direction of Zabuzza in the mist, "Let's wrap this up. Unfortunately for you, I have a busy schedule." He took out a scroll, and after wiping blood from his wounds on the scroll, he summoned his ninja-dogs.

Following the scent of Kakashi's blood on Zabuzza's blade, the dogs quickly incapacitate him. The mist fades, showing Zabuzza covered in dogs ripping into his flesh. Kakashi quickly performed the hand signs of his original jutsu. "Raikiri!" Lightning chakra flared up in one of his hands, forcing him to hold his wrist with the other.

Zabuzza saw the jutsu. 'Shit, a jutsu that allows chakra to be seen? It has to be at least B-rank. This isn't good.' He tried his best to get out of his situation, but the dogs had him good.

At the same time, Haku, seeing the mist fade, saw Zabuzza about to be killed. "No!" he shouted. He made an ice mirror to teleport to Zabuzza right away. But before he could even take a step in it, Naruto moved faster than Haku and grabbed his arm. Pulling Haku towards him, he wrapped his arms around him, preventing him from moving. Haku struggled to save Zabuzza, but Naruto's grip was like iron.

Haku turned around to plead to Naruto to be let go, but all he saw was a grinning, red-eyed monstrosity. "Intou:" Naruto started. Haku's eyes widened as he realized Naruto was about to perform a jutsu. But without a way to escape, it was futile. Naruto said the last word slowly. "Tsukisasu" Blades of shadows erupted from Naruto, not only immediately killing Haku but impaling every single area of his body, including his face. When the blades retracted, if it wasn't for the clothing, no one would have had been able to identify Haku.

And again, at the same time, Kakashi's Raikiri hit its mark. Zabuzza died quickly as his heart was obliterated.

After which, everyone but Sasuke heard clapping. Looking over, Gato stood there with an army of bandits there. He laughed. "For all your bragging and costs, you were useless after all, Zabuzza. Some Demon In The Mist," Gato said, still laughing. Of course, Zabuzza couldn't answer.

"Well, ninja, I thank you for getting rid of that annoyance for me. However, you must die. I bought these bandits using the payment I was going to give to Zabuzza. Unfortunately for you, this is your last day alive," Gato said, smirking. Kakashi pulled away from Zabuzza's corpse. He reached for his pouch for a soldier pill and ate it without anyone seeing him pull his mask down. He should have enough chakra to sustain him for this last fight.

"So… you're the reason Haku and Zabuzza attacked us…" Everyone looked behind Kakashi and saw the nightmare that was Naruto walk up, still laughing, still covered in blood. "If you didn't exist, I wouldn't have had to kill Haku or feel this rage… Hehehehe, I see…" Naruto disappeared, only to reappear in front of Gato. He grabbed his neck and lifted the short man up before anyone realized he moved. Gato took one look at Naruto's eyes and wet himself. The bandits around him froze with fear.

Naruto stopped laughing and glared at Gato, who somehow felt even more fear than before. "Your life is mine," Naruto said before letting the blades form in his hand and slice up Gato's neck.

He dropped Gato's body on the bridge floor. He looked at the bandits, who inched away. He turned around to face Kakashi, who had tensed up for a fight. And then, he looked at Sakura and Tazuna.

Sakura had felt the chakra and worried the entire time for her teammates. When Naruto came out, she was afraid, but she was relieved at the same time, especially when he attacked Gato. When he looked at her, she smiled and was about to shout his name.

But, she was interrupted. Naruto grinned and said something that brought the fear back full force. He stared at everyone before uttering,

"Who's next?"

That is it for this chapter!

Sorry if it got confusing with the conversations between Dark Naruto and Naruto himself. I thought about calling him Yami, but honestly, he shouldn't pop up too much…. I hope…. I really hope….

But anyways, please review! No flames though. =.=