Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 12

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were all at the bridge over the river, just like the old days. There was, however, one difference. Naruto didn't look at Sasuke at all. He just looked at the ground, a depressed look on his face. Sasuke looked exactly the same as before, with his black shirt emblazoned with the Uchiha fan. Naruto had his black and orange sweater on, his modified Konoha forehead protector on. Sasuke didn't have his, because Naruto still had it in his pack.

Naruto remembered, and took off his pack. He slowly searched for it with his hand, then tossed it over to Sasuke. "Here…"

Sasuke caught it, and looked it over. Images of their fight at the Valley of the End flashed through his mind, ending up at when he had punched Naruto. Naruto had then tried to attack, but only had enough strength to scratch Sasuke's forehead protector.

Sasuke hadn't had this "Hn. Looks like I was wrong. You did put a scratch on this."

Naruto didn't respond. He just kept looking away.

Sakura was really worried now. Naruto wasn't acting like himself since Sasuke had arrived back in Konoha.

A small exploding sound later, Hatake Kakashi appeared from inside a cloud of smoke. "Hey, everyone!" Kakashi looked at the Missing-Nin. "Welcome back, Sasuke. Before we can all start a mission, we all have to meet the Hokage for a little meeting."

"Whatever." Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets. Naruto still had that sad look on his face, and Sakura was looking worriedly from one boy to the other. Kakashi looked at all of them with a knowing eye.

The group started walking over to the Hokage Tower.

A/N: Tower? You've gotta be kidding me. It looks more like a pudding than a tower!

Anyways, back to the story.

Tsunade was sitting in her office, her finger tapping a rhythm on her desk. She wondered how Naruto and Sasuke were getting along. Jiraiya was sitting on a chair by the wall of the office. He had his legs crossed, his arms folded, his eyes closed.

The door opened, and Team 7 entered. Tsunade straightened up, and looked Sasuke straight in the eyes. Neither of them flinched at all.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You are a Missing-Nin from Konoha. You left here because of your greed for more power. Why did you return?"

Sasuke stared Tsunade straight in the eyes. "I came back because someone was in my way of completing my job."

Everyone from Team 7 recognized where that came from. They remembered it all too quickly.

I wouldn't consider it a dream, but a desire. I have to kill a man with my own two hands. Even if I must eat the devil's fruit, I am on a path where I must gain power!

Tsunade also remembered this from what Kakashi had told her before. Jiraiya stayed in the exact same position, looking really serious.

"Well, that clears up some paperwork." Tsunade tossed a scroll over. "Here's your mission. It's B-rank."

Naruto didn't have that spark in him like he used to. He didn't look over Kakashi's shoulder and say "Ooohhh! What is it? What is it?" He just looked at the scroll from where he was standing. His face was totally unreadable as to what he was feeling at that moment.

Tsunade continued, puzzled by the lack of excitement from Naruto. "Your mission is to track down and retrieve a scroll of A-rank techniques stolen from the Country of Sand. You will meet with the Kazekage for more information."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, and he knew exactly what was going through his mind. Although his face was unreadable, his eyes reflected everything he thought.

Perfect. Another way to gain more power. If we get the scroll back, I'll sneak a look at it, and learn as many techniques as possible before we have to return it to Gaara.

Naruto looked away again, saddened by how much he understood Sasuke, how he would always want power to defeat Itachi, and there was nothing he could do to change his mind set.

Tsunade dismissed the group, and told them to be ready by tomorrow morning to leave.

Naruto was dreaming in his bed again. Actually, it wasn't really a dream when it was actually happening to him. This time, however, things were different.

Naruto once again followed the path to the Kyubi's cage, but this time, things were different. Naruto stood right in the middle of the room, staring at the great demon, then abruptly sat down. The Kyubi was quite surprised at this action, but he (I'm speculating it's a he) didn't show it.

"Hey, demon fox…" Naruto's voice was loud enough for the Kyubi to hear, yet soft enough to sound as if he just wanted to talk. "Why is it that everyone hates you so much?"

"Che. It's probably because of what I did to them 15 years ago. I swung my tails in a frenzy, crushing buildings, upturning crops, and killing many people."

"But why did you do that?"

"I was actually influenced by my older brothers and sisters. Shuukaku is the oldest, and then there's nee-chan Naoko. They're the eldest two."

"The Ichibi and the Nibi?"

"Correct. Sanbi Wanizame came next, then Yonbi Katatsu, Gobi Godanju, Rokubi Ikkatsu, Sichibi Furudanuki, Hachibi Aodaishou (hah, what a lie), and me … I can't remember…"

The Kyubi's eyes had something strange in them. Naruto squinted to see what they were. Were they tears? They disappeared soon after they came out, so the boy didn't have enough time to clarify what they were.

"So, you're the youngest of all the Biju?"

"Yup."

"You just followed exactly what everyone else did?"

"Yup."

"You never questioned why they wanted to destroy everything in their path?"

"Well, I can't remember what I did when I was really young." Naruto nodded, knowing how he couldn't remember much when he was just a baby. "What I do remember is that everyone else started making me go through harsh training. If I lagged behind in my practice, they would whip me with their tails. I grew bigger and stronger, and when I was strong enough, we used to travel the lands, destroying everything."

"You mean that you used to be as small as a normal fox?"

"Yeah, at least I think…"

Naruto listened to some more of the Kyubi's stories of "fun" for a while. Then, the Kyubi paused. "After many years, Shuukaku nii-san disappeared, and eventually, everyone else. I was alone to fend for myself as people attacked me. Then came that fateful day fifteen years ago. That blond-haired guy used a weird Jutsu, locking me in this body."

Naruto's hand subconsciously slid over his stomach, where that seal was placed. He then got up, and dusted his pants, surprised that none of the water had been soaked up.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…"

Naruto left the room with a little more knowledge of the Biju.

End of Chapter 12