Note: I have just reallized a bit slip up that I wrote in chapters 3 and 4. In chapter 3 Naruto recognizes Kakashi while in chapter 4 he has to ask his name. Sorry for this inconsistency. I will try to fix this soon.
Disclaimer: I DO own Naruto and I AM making money off of this...in my dreams that is.
Chapter 6: The Fox
Naruto trudged through the grimy and wet sewer of him subconscious mind. He really hated this, going to talk with the Kyuubi. He didn't even know if the fox would tell him anything that would help and if he did, well Kyuubi was the last person he wanted to get help from anyways.
It wasn't that he was afraid of the nine-tails or anything, he just hated him. After all it was the fox that was the source of all the suffering of his early life. He supposed that it wasn't really fair to blame the fox for that. It was the prejudiced villagers that gave him so much pain.
Nonetheless as he approached the familiar rusty bars that kept the demon at bay he couldn't help but feel a slight tug of apprehension at his gut. But he had learned long ago that showing that in the fox's presence would not be wise.
"YO RABBIT EARS!" He called out, "YOU AWAKE!?"
A deep rumbling in the back of the cavern signaled the movement of something huge. After a moment two large and piercing, red eyes appeared from just behind the bars.
"What do you want now brat?" The nine-tails asked, his voice itself making the cavern shake.
Naruto shook his head. Even after all these years he still cringed at the feeling of malice that permeated the air whenever the demon spoke.
"You know exactly what I want rabbit ears." He spoke with a confidence that he didn't feel, "What the heck happened back a few minuets ago back when I used your chakra? Why did so much of it surge into me? And why don't I feel like hell like I usually do after using your power?"
The nine-tailed fox chuckled, creating a noise that seemed to cut through the air and into Naruto's soul, "Once again you show a pathetic understanding of what you really are. First of all, you do not use my chakra, I allow it to increase your strength but it is I that use it."
Naruto glared at the demon. He honestly didn't care what the fox thought about this. It wasn't why he was here.
"As to what happened to you, I would think that painfully obvious even to a human like you but I suppose I am just overestimating you. It all has to do with the seal that that disgusting human used to seal me into your body so many years ago."
Naruto frowned, "Stop beating around the bush rabbit ears, if you know what happened then tell me."
The Kyuubi growled, "Don't call me that brat! I do not have rabbit ears!" The demon paused for a moment while Naruto smirked, "The seal that contains me was, when it was first created, divided into two parts. One of the two parts has simply dissolved that's all. So there, you have your answer now leave."
Naruto blinked in shock. Dissolved? What did that mean!? Could the nine-tails break out of his seal? Was he in danger!? What about Zabuza and Haku?
"Hold it furry! You owe me a better explanation then that. What do you mean dissolved?"
The demon sighed, "I suppose you aren't going to give me any piece until I explain it will you? Very well...the original seal had two parts, one that was meant to be permanent and keep me sealed away, allowing a certain amount of my power to leak out into you whenever your or your comrades lives were in danger. In other words when you are under extreme emotional stress. The other part of the seal was meant to stop the power from leaking out and was designed to naturally dissolve as you grow."
Naruto shook his head, "I don't understand."
The Kyuubi smirked, "I wouldn't expect you to. You see my power leaking out into you is meant to protect you if ever your life were in danger but that same power is also extremely destructive. A human's chakra coils continue to develop until they are about the age of sixteen. A mere child could not hope to use my power without damaging themselves and so the Hokage of Kanoha placed a second seal on you that would stop you from using my power until your body could contain it. You are now at the age of twelve which he considered the time at which your chakra coils have advanced enough to safely use my chakra."
Naruto was confused, "But I've used your chakra before idiot. If this temporary seal was supposed to protect me from your chakra then why wasn't it doing it's job?"
The demon grinned at Naruto, an effect that caused the boy to sweat slightly even though he was only a mental representation of himself and not actually real, "You over powered it," replied the fox, "during the time when you believed your precious adopted brother seemed to die your emotional trauma was such that you pulled my chakra straight through the seal, damaging it. Since then the damaged seal has disrupted not only my own chakra but yours as well."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "I still don't understand fox."
The Kyuubi mimicked Naruto's rolling eyes, "Think of it like this brat, that seal is like a dam, blocking my chakra but letting your own through. but since you damaged it, it has been blocking parts of both of our chakra. This has also incidentally slowed down your learning curve quite a bit since it has been extremely difficult for you to mold chakra. If not for the intense training of that Momochi human you would have been pathetically weak after that. Unfortunately those years of disrupted training can't be gotten back but now that the seal has dissolved and both of our chakras are unblocked you can continue learning at a much faster pace."
Naruto nodded, "Okay...I think I understand now, so then the aching feeling that I usually get after calling on your power is because my body wasn't strong enough to handle it yet?"
Kyuubi chuckled, "I don't believe it, the brat actually got one right, and I didn't even have to explain it at all. Perhaps you are smarter then a three year old. Indeed, though thankfully even damaged the seal was able to hold back enough of my chakra so that you weren't permanently harmed."
Naruto grinned, "Thankfully? I didn't know you cared, fuzz butt."
The fox growled, "Don't get cocky whelp, and don't forget that if you die then so do I."
Sasuke was annoyed. He walked down the path that lead to the Land of Waves. He had only been half paying attention to the old man talking about how his land was bankrupt, about how some tycoon named Gato was trying to kill him for building a bridge that could be the last hope to save his home, about how the ninjas that attacked them were assassins and that there would probably be more coming before the bridge was done.
He really didn't care. All he cared about at the moment was finding that demonic blond-haired boy and fighting him again. That was why he was walking in front, trying to speed the others up, so that they would reach their destination as soon as possible and Kakashi would be able to train him.
He would become much stronger and then, the next time they met up with Momochi Naruto, he would be the victor.
Well it wasn't exactly true that he was in front. Kiba, the damn annoying Inuzuka was doing his best to try and take the lead from him. He couldn't let that happen of course so every time the Inuzuka passed him he would increase his walking speed.
It wasn't long before the two of them were much farther up then the rest of the team.
And as such it was no surprise that none of the other Kanoha ninja heard when both of them were attacked from behind, taken out before they could even call for help.
Sakura was worried. She had ran up a few feet ahead after she had lost sight of Sasuke-kun and Kiba-kun but she couldn't find them again. She took one last look around to make sure she hadn't missed anything and turned back to the Jounin.
"Did you find them?" asked Kakashi as she approached.
Sakura shook her head, "No, I don't know what happened to them. They seemed to have disappeared."
Kakashi shook his head, "I don't like this...Kurenai!" The female Jounin turned her attention to him, "You stay here with the Gennin and Tazuna. I'm going to go and see if I can find Kiba and Sasuke." Kurenai nodded and Kakashi turned and jumped off through the trees.
Zabuza was angry. When Naruto had told him that the famous Sharingan Kakashi was with the old man he had been angry that he had been placed into a position where his two prize students might be in danger. He had no doubt that he could take on Kakashi and win but if Naruto or Haku was forced to fight without him then he wasn't sure what would happen to them.
He was also angry when Naruto had told him about the strange recent affects of the Kyuubi's power. Odds were everything would be fine, from Naruto's description it didn't sound like anything dangerous, but he hated not knowing for sure and he hated not being able to do anything to help his student.
Finally, he was angry that Gato had been so difficult to reason with. The man practically wanted something for nothing. He was not going to put his prize pupils lives in unnecessary danger for nothing, and Gato had taken so long in negotiations that he had missed his chance to meet his enemies himself and take the element of surprise. Now Naruto had mentioned his name and for someone like Kakashi he was sure that it was recognized. He wasn't angry with Naruto, but he was angry that he hadn't been there himself to oversee things.
One of the two unconscious Gennin that were slung over his shoulder twitched and he roughly jabbed him in the gut. He had been surprised to find that two of the kids had wandered off on their own but never one to look a gift horse in the mouth he had quickly knocked them out and taken them into the trees.
He smiled for the first time that day as he saw the famed Hatake Kakashi appear in the distance. He watched as Kakashi passed by the tree that he was hiding in and them stop.
Kakashi tilted his head back and spoke, "I know that you're up there, and I know that you have Sasuke and Kiba, now come down where I can see you."
Zabuza smirked and hopped down, making sure that the Sharingan user could see the two unconscious forms of his Gennin teammates slung over his shoulders. "Just as I would expect from someone of your reputation Hatake-san."
Kakashi glared at him, "Momochi Zabuza, I've heard a lot about you as well. I don't suppose you might mind giving me my student and his teammate back."
Zabuza turned his head back in the direction that the rest of the Kanoha ninja were and then tossed Sasuke onto the ground, grabbed his famed guillotine sword and positioned it's tip as Sasuke's throat.
Kakashi tensed up but Zabuza didn't move more then that, "I have to say Hatake, I really don't give a damn whether this kid lived or dies here today. As I'm sure you know, my target is the bridge builder. So I'm proposing a trade, him for the two of these brats."
Kakashi frowned, "Are you sure that you're Momochi Zabuza?" He asked.
"What are you talking about?" Asked Zabuza in an increadulous voice.
Kakashi shrugged, "Well from what I have read about Momochi Zabuza he wouldn't be wasting time making deals. He would try to kill us all just for the sake of killing us and then take the bridge builder."
Zabuza frowned. That certainly did sound like him, when it came right down to it, it was a surprise that these two kids were even still alive. He slowly shook his head, "I don't have to explain myself to you Hatake."
Kakashi tilted his head away, as though in indifference, "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me."
Zabuza was about to respond when he heard a familiar sound heading toward him from behind. Faster then the normal human eye could perceive, the swordsman twisted around and knocked the approaching Kunai out of the air with his blade. The second Jounin and the rest of the Gennin had arrived.
"Kurenai," spoke Kakashi, "I thought that I told you to wait with Tazuna."
The other Jounin nodded and smirked, "Yeah but apparently Shino attached a bug to you before you left and when it came back with a message that you were in danger I thought it best that we come and help you."
Zabuza scowled in annoyance, "It doesn't matter, are you going to hand over the bridge builder or not?"
Zabuza's eyes flicked down to the comatose Gennin and a look of shock appeared on his face. The boy was gone! He looked to the other one still slung over his shoulder only to see that the Inuzuka had been replaced with a lumpy sack of what he could only assume was sand. Zabuza's eyes flicked left and right for a moment but then the obvious answer hit him and he smiled evilly.
"Not a bad genjutsu," he spoke, "But not clever enough to trick me."
Zabuza pulled his sword into the air and made a motion as if to swing it down. A look of fear appeared on Kakashi's face and he took a step foreward, lowering his guard for a half of a second as he did so.
With unbelievable speed Momochi Zabuza charged the silver-haired Jounin and slashed his sword at his enemies waist. Somewhat surprised Kakashi was only just able to get a kunai into each hand and cross them into the path of the blade.
Unfortunately this left him with nothing to defend from Zabuza's fist which slammed so hard into his chest that, if not for the protective Jounin vest, it would have surely shattered his ribs.
Kakashi went flying into a nearby tree and Zabuza smiled at his momentary victory. He had not long to celebrate though as immediately Kurenai was behind him, a kunai positioned at his neck. Zabuza just kept smiling.
Hinata rushed to the side of her fallen teammates, who had reappeared as soon as Kurenai had stopped focusing on the genjutsu, and placed her hand on the side of Kiba's head, checking for a pulse. She couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief when she found him unconscious but unharmed.
Although she had only known him for a short while Hinata had found herself strangely drawn to the rough and ragged dog-ninja. He seemed to be a complete contradiction to everything she had ever known growing up. He was brash, reckless, didn't seem to give a darn about things like manners and social status, and best of all he seemed to like her unconditionally. In all her life she had always felt as though she needed to earn affection from the people around her but this simple boy, though he could often be crude and harsh, he didn't think any less of her for what she was. She had never met someone like him before and she was certainly not going to lose him now.
Gently she nudged his shoulder and rubbed his head in an attempt to wake him.
Meanwhile, Satsu had lumbered up to the side of Uchiha Sasuke. The cruel boy smirked at the prone figure. It amused him to no end to see the same arrogant and proud Uchiha reduced to a completely helpless state. Any idiot could walk up with a knife right now and slit his neck and no stinkin bloodline was going to save him.
Satsu turned his eyes to where Hinata was attempting to kindly wake up the Inuzuka and smirked. He decided he was going to try a more direct approach. And so he swung his foot back and with as much force as he could muster, slammed it into the Uchiha's gut.
The effect was immediate. Sasuke's eyes opened wide and he began coughing violently. A small splatter of blood appeared out of his mouth. Once he had recovered enough he turned to glare angrily at his attacker who was laughing cruelly at the other boy's pain.
"C'mon Uchiha-san, Kurenai said all the Gennin have to protect the old sardine while she and the cyclops fight that sword jerk, so no laying down on the job now."
The three battling Jounin were standing in the middle of the lake. Kakashi was panting slightly, his injured rib cage making breathing far more difficult then it should be. Kurenai's nose was bleading, most likely broken from when Zabuza had elbowed her a moment ago. Zabuza himself seemed unharmed.
Kurenai attacked first, creating a genjutsu that made it seem as though vines were growing out of the ground to attack the mist swordsman.
Zabuza jumped into the air and threw a pair of shuriken at the genjutsu user, who effortlessly deflected them. However as she did so the vines stopped moving for a split second, letting Zabuza know that they weren't real. He fell back to the water, slashing through vines as he went. Although he knew that the vines were illusions, he also knew that the effect that they had on his mind could harm him.
As he landed and more vines shot up from under the water he quickly re-slung his sword over his back and made a strange, unique handseal.
"Kirigakure no jutsu." he whispered. In an instant the entire battlefield was covered in an impenetrable mist.
No longer able to direct her genjutsu Kurenai cursed and jumped back onto the dry land, allowing her illusion to dispel itself.
Zabuza dashed through the mist, making hardly any sound on the water's surface. He felt a strong wave of chakra, obviously the efforts of Hatake Kakashi to disperse the thick mist, not that it mattered.
Kakashi twisted his head around as the fog disappeared, searching for his enemy but Zabuza seemed to have vanished along with his mist.
Then a high pitched scream cut through the air and Kakashi turned his head, almost in panic, to where the six Gennin had regrouped around Tazuna. There stood Zabuza, in the very center, his sword held high above his head, more then ready to slice the bridge builder in half.
And Kakashi knew that he would never be able to make it in time to stop him.
TheUnrealInsomniac: Yeah, it was an aftermath chapter. Hopefully this one will be better.
nadini: Did I write Kahona!? That's kind of stupid of me considering that I get really annoyed when people mispell things...sorry :(
Satsu-kun: I'm sorry about that. I honestly didn't think that anyone actually had that name. Have you ever typed it into a japanese translator though? There are other words that it also means but the first three traslations are murder, kill, and butcher, so I thought that it would make sence for him.
For everyone that said Naruto should be stronger after training with Zabuza...I hope that my pathetic attempt to explain his weakness makes up for it.