Here's the Fourth chapter of the Violet Maelstrom! I actually updated pretty quickly this time... ahahha... but im going on holiday tomorrow so i though i should get this over and done with aha :*
Review replies;
Okay, i know theres no itachi in this chapter either.. but there is in the next so dont worry! :')
Disclaimer: I don't own the ideas behind this story, im simply extending and twisting them a bit.
It took several minutes for them all to gather at the roof, only to find their new sensei sitting down on a ledge reading a little orange book. When she saw the title, Naruto gathered a violet aura around her and her eyes glowed with slit pupils. Ignoring her now terrified teammates, Naruto stormed over to Kakashi before stopping a mere metre away from him. Kakashi looked up and gulped the moment he saw her furious expression and violet aura.
"Kashi-nii." She said, her voice sickly sweet. "What did I tell you about reading that book in my presence?"
Kakashi laughed self consciously and slowly put the book away before holding his hands up in surrender. He had learned long ago not to argue with Kushina or her daughter when they went into what was secretly thought by all of Konoha to be a new bloodline in the making.
"Ah not to?" He asked.
Quick as a flash Naruto reached up at boinked her big brother figure on the head, causing the watching genin to both wince in sympathy and open their mouths in awe at the sight of one of the most famous jonin in Konoha being treated like this by a six-year-old.
"Then why are you still reading it?" She demanded.
Kakashi rubbed his now sore head and gave his little sister an eye smile.
"Sorry little sis, you know me though, always one to appreciate good literature when I see it."
Naruto huffed and muttered before turning away to sit down a couple of metres away. Only when her aura faded completely did the other genin consider it safe to approach.
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way." Kakashi said, ignoring the quiet mutters Naruto were still making. "Why don't we all introduce ourselves to each other. Our likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams ect. We're a team now after all. You go first dog boy."
Takeru frowned and cleared his throat. "Hi. My name is Takeru Inuzuka. I like Riki, my dog partner that I'm going to get soon, and training. I dislike anyone who is cruel to animals and people who hurt my friends and family. My hobbies are running with Riki and my dream for the future is to become the best tracker shinobi I can."
Kakashi nodded and gestured to Akio. "Ok yellow eyes, you're next."
Akio sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, my name's Akio Harushi. I like my friends and ninja tools. I dislike people who look down on others and underestimate them. My hobbies are finding and restoring antique ninja tools for my family's business and my dream for the future is to prove to everyone that a shinobi from my clan can live past 28 and fully master our jikanteido."
Takeru frowned in confusion but Naruto and Kakashi nodded in understanding. They understood, even if they thought it was a foolhardy dream.
"Alright then, pineapple your next."
Naruto instantly gained her violet aura back and glared at Kakashi, who immediately backed down. "Hehe you know I'm only joking, Ru."
She glared at him one more time before sighing and returning to normal. "Hi, my name is Naruto Namikaze. I like my friends and family, training, and ramen. I dislike pineapples and people who only like me for my name. My hobbies are training and my dream for the future is to be an even better and more powerful Hokage then my father so that people will start seeing me for myself and not just my family."
Kakashi already knew all this and cleared his throat. "All good introductions there. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like my friends and good literature. I dislike people who try to harm my comrades. My hobbies are reading good literature and my dream for the future… hmm… I don't really know actually."
They all sweatdropped at the last comment and shook their head in half amusement, half annoyance.
"Well. This has been fun. Meet me at training ground 4 at say ahh 7 o'clock. Don't be late. We're having the real genin test then. Also, I would advise you not to eat breakfast, we don't want you throwing up now do we?"
With a parting eye smile, Kakashi disappeared, leaving two confused genin and one deep in thought blonde haired girl.
The next morning, Naruto took her time waking up, had a hearty breakfast, and made her way down to training ground 7 in her own time. She arrived a couple of minutes before 10 to see her two teammates sitting there, bored out of their minds and with grumbling stomachs.
"Where have you been?" Takeru demanded angrily.
Naruto sighed and sat down beside them. "I knew Kakashi-sensei wouldn't get her until at least ten so I took my time. He is infamous for being late in this village you know."
Both male genin scowled and they sat in silence for another couple of minutes before Kakashi made his appearance, exactly at 10'oclock.
"Hello my precious genin." He greeted. "I hope you all hadn't been waiting long. I'm sorry but I got lost on the road of life and had to find my way."
Naruto smiled sweetly. "Not at all." She replied while the two boys just glared.
"I'm glad." Kakashi said slightly sourly. He knew Naruto would have turned up only minutes before. That was the disadvantage to teaching your little sister, they knew all your tricks. "Now for the real genin test."
He pulled out two bells from his belt and held them up. "See these bells? To pass, you have to compete with one another to get one from me before noon. Whoever doesn't get a bell gets sent back to the academy for another year. To get them, you'll have to come at me with the intent to kill."
Both Akio and Takeru suddenly got on the defensive to each other while Naruto frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"Kakashi." She said slowly after a moment. "There's no point us doing this test."
Kakshi frowned now. He knew Minato hadn't mentioned the bell test to his daughter at Kakashi's specific request and they had been careful when talking about it so there was no way she had any fore knowledge of the true purpose. "And why is that?"
"Because Akio and Takeru can have the bells. I'm only six, I can go back to the academy for another year no problem. Sure it would be annoying but I'd suck it up. These two on the other hand can't do that as easily. It's really quite simple when you think about it."
All three males stared at her in shock. None of them had expected such a mature decision to come out of her mouth. Kakashi was the first to recover. "Are you sure about this Naruto? Once I give these bells to them you're not getting another chance to take your words back. You'll really be sent back to the academy for another year."
Naruto's determined eyes faltered for a second before remaining strong. "Yeh, Kashi, I'm sure."
He was about to open his mouth when Akio spoke up. "No! It's not fair if only you have to go back, you would be the youngest person to graduate ever in Konoha! You can't just shrug that off and say well better luck next time. I'll not have a bell and go back, my dream can wait."
Takeru, not one to be outdone, spoke up as well. "Or me. It doesn't matter to me all that much if I have to go back, although I can imagine the crap my brother will give to me about having to repeat. But Akio's right Naruto, you're breaking records here, you can't just throw that away. And Akio, you can't just give up your dream for the moment, it's really important. Mine can wait another year."
Kakashi watched the proceedings with pride. His genin instinctively got the true meaning behind the test without even having to fight. He couldn't have been prouder at that moment and cut off Naruto's next words quickly.
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash." He paused for a moment so they could absorb the information. "You three have just passed the test. You proved that you can remain loyal to one another even when tested. Congratulations, new genin of Konoha."
All three of the newly made genin cheered and jumped up to hive five each other. Today marked the next step in their lives – one that they would acknowledge and remember forever as being one of the most important.
The next couple of weeks went by smoothly. All three genin became fast friends and neither of the two boys held any sort of resentment for her being just as, if not more, powerful then them despite being half their age. Their teamwork was excellent, with Akio revealing a clever mind able to deduce a solution to a tricky situation quickly. Because of this, Takeru and Naruto often referred to him when they were on a mission and wanted a plan. Since Takeru's specialty was close combat taijutsu, he was often their lead up in any attack to either distract or push back the enemy. Then Naruto would follow with her ninjutsu attacks. Finally, Akio would use his ninja tools long distance to finish of the opponent whilst they were occupied. Besides his bloodline, the Harushi clan were well-known for their use of unique ninja tools, like long chains with barbs on them or double bladed kunai. Akio had almost completely mastered the use of at least 15 different weapons and usually kept at least one of each sealed into scrolls always kept on his person.
They continued to do D-rank missions for several more months, preferring to train in their spare time and work on their teamwork rather than take on more difficult missions just yet. Whilst the D-ranks were boring, they could be completed quickly and Naruto found herself actually enjoying them sometimes. Especially the one to find the Fire Daimyos cat, Tora. The cat was a very intelligent creature and it was good stealth training to try and sneak up on him.
When they were completely missions, they spent their spare time training together. Kakashi taught the boys chakra control exercises like tree walking and Naruto water walking as she already knew how to climb trees. Besides that, they worked on their teamwork skills and low ranked jutsu.
Kakashi was impressed with all his students improvements but mostly with Naruto's. She progressed in leaps and bounds, getting stronger everyday. He would give it another six months tops before she started asking to enter the chunin exams. Today however was the six month anniversary of their team beginning and he had decided it was finally time for them to do a C-rank.
"Ok team." He said, casually strolling up to where Akio and Takeru were waiting impatiently. Because it was such a monumental day, he had decided to only arrive an hour and a half later then the agreed time, not two. "Where's Naruto?"
The boys scowled at him in unison, looking creepily similar in that moment. "She isn't here yet, she's almost as bad as you when it comes to turning up on time."
Kakashi sweat dropped and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Her parents weren't going to be happy when they heard about this.
It was another twenty minutes before Naruto came running up to them, her long spiky blonde hair streaming out behind her. "Sorry guys!" She said cheerily. "I was walking here when out of nowhere I accidently stepped on a drain. To get rid of my bad luck I had to run around the village counter-clockwise seven times. Hope I didn't miss anything important."
All three male shinobi stared at her with open mouths, Kakashi's showing even through his mask. Her excuse was just as ridiculous as his, but genius. He beamed at his little protégée. "Not at all, in fact, I have some important news that I want to tell you guys."
They leaned forward in anticipation, all curious to what would be so important to get Kakashi to turn up less then 2 hours late.
"Today, we will be taking our first C-rank mission!"
The three genin smiled and hive-fived each other without even looking. They'd done it so many times before it was second nature to them now.
"What are we waiting for then?" Naruto demanded, conveniently forgetting that they had been waiting for her. "Lets get going!" And with that she disappeared in a blur, speeding on her way to the missions tower and leaving the rest of team 7 to sigh and follow behind at a much more casual speed.
When they finally arrived they saw an impatient Naruto bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet with a scowl on her face. Without another word she stormed in and ordered a C-rank mission off the poor unsuspecting chunin there. Needless to say, the chunin didn't take being ordered around by a six year old very well and completely ignored her. Naruto growled and stormed up to the desk, her eyes only just managing to see over.
"I said, we are here for a C-rank mission. Please." She growled out, trying to speak more nicely.
The chunin looked at her briefly before returning to his paperwork. "Go away little girl, go play ninja somewhere else."
Naruto was about to yell at him once more when a hand landed on her spiky blonde hair and she looked up to see her sensei giving her an eye smile before addressing the chunin.
"Ano excuse me, but I believe that my student here has requested a C-rank mission for us?"
The chunin looked up once more and his eyes widened when he saw the jonin in front of him. "She is your student?" He asked, gulping almost audibly. He had heard that the hokages daughter was being taught by Kakashi Hatake and when he got a proper look, she did look a lot like the yondaime.
"Yah, let me introduce you to her and her fellow students. This is Naruto Namikaze, Takeru Inuzuka and Akio Harishu. Now." His voice hardened slightly. "If you will, we would like a C-rank mission."
The chunin spat out apologizies and quickly threw them the first C-rank mission he got his hands on, wanting them as far away as possible as quickly as possible.
Takeru caught the mission scroll and they left the room, their laughter sounding out through the closed door behind them.
"That was brilliant sensei." Akio chortled. "Did you see his face when he saw you and realized that Naruto wasn't just a little kid?"
Naruto frowned at being called a little kid but let it slide, still too amused after the whole incident.
"Of course I did Akio. I was standing right in front of him."
Akio flushed and grinned sheepishly at his sensei's retort. "Oh yeh I guess so then aha…"
Meanwhile, Takeru had opened the mission scroll and was reading through it speedily.
"Hey guys, we got a good one!" They all crowded around him to get a look except for Kakashi, who carefully pulled out a little orange book to read while they were distracted.
Mission level: C
Mission Description: You are required to travel to the border of Fire country and the land of swamps and relieve the team of Konoha ninja's already there doing border patrol. You will be non-aggressive towards the land of swamp ninjas unless provoked into fighting. You will not abandon your post unless in extreme circumstances until another verified Konoho team arrives.
Estimated time: 20 days, not including travel time.
On the bottom of the scroll was the yondiame hokages signature. They all smiled at one another and agreed to set out the next day at 7am. Kakashi said it would take roughly three days to travel there if they didn't rush and wanted to take it easy as they hadn't been out of the village before. Warning them to pack wisely, he shunshined away, eager to get back to his reading.
"Wow, our first proper mission!" Takeru exclaimed excitedly. "I'm gonna head home to tell my dad!" And with that he ran away, leaving his two teammates alone.
They walked together for some time, talking about meaningless things. Akio had found out that although Naruto had her childish moments, most of the time she was much more mature then other kids her age. Akio and Takeru both saw her as one of their closest friends, even if they did annoy the hell out of each other at times. Once they reached the cut off where they had to go their separate ways, Akio ruffled her hair and turned away before calling out over his shoulder.
"Catch ya later pineapple." Then bolting away so fast that he was a blur, not wanting to be caught by the furious six-year-old.
Naruto was going to chase after him and took a step forward before thinking about it for a second and letting it go. She could get him back tomorrow and right now she had the rest of the day to spend with her family. With this in mind, the exuberant child leapt onto the rooftops and ran home ninja style.
Her mother was waiting outside for her when she arrived, most likely because she had sensed her chakra approaching. Because of the Kyuubi, Naruto's chakra was more potent and different then anybody elses, and made it easier for sensory types like Kushina to detect. This was something that Naruto would have to work on fixing if she ever hoped to be any good as espionage and stealth.
"Ru, your home early." Kushina smiled. She was wearing an apron covered in flour and other kinds of cooking ingredients, causing Naruto to wince. Believe it or not, but her mother was actually terrible at cooking and it was usually her fathers job to cook dinners for them, or when he couldn't, her grandma Tsunade. Whenever Kushina got into the kitchen, it usually ended with fires and lots of yelling.
"Yeh! Kashi-nii said we could have the rest of the day off today…" She paused for a moment to built anticipation. "To be ready for our C-rank mission tomorrow!"
Kushina's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't expected her nearly seven year old child to be given one so early on.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" She fretted. "You're not even seven yet and it's different outside of the village. You're father has lots of enemies who would jump at the chance to use you to hurt him."
Naruto's smile dropped as she was once again reminded of the responsibilities that rested on her young shoulders. "Yeh mum I know. But I cant let fear run my life. If I do that, I wont ever be happy."
No longer in the mood for company, Naruto trudged past her mother and up the stairs to her room, where she spent the rest of the day thinking to herself and packing before eventually falling asleep.
She woke up the next morning early with a loudly grumbling stomach, sincerely regretting skipping dinner last night. Luckily, her parents had predicted this and by the time she made it downstairs, at 5:40 in the morning, there was a full breakfast set out on the table and both her mother and father sitting there smiling at her, even if they still looked half asleep. The effort they put into her send off touched her and Naruto ran forward to give them both a hug.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for being so moody yesterday." She apologized.
Kushina smiled and kissed her forehead lightly before waving her to a seat. "It's perfectly fine baby, it was my fault anyway. I'm just being a silly overprotective mother. I know Kakashi wont let anything happen to you anyways."
Minato smiled and wrapped an arm around his wifes waist. "Have some faith in our daughter Kushina, she was trained by the best after all." With a wink at Naruto, Minato disappeared in a flash of yellow light only to reappear a second later with a scroll in hand.
"I almost forgot. This is a sealing scroll that I prepared for you for your trip. It's pretty complicated to make but easy to use to I don't think it will be a problem. It's got three sections to it. The first is for your bag containing your clothes, money, and whatnot, the second for your weapons, and the third for anything else you pick up during the trip. You can activate it by channeling chakra into the particular seal that releases the section." He handed the scroll to her with a smile.
Naruto beamed at her father and quickly sealed all the things she was taking into it; making her travel weight much lighter.
"Thanks dad." She said.
The three Namikaze's ate their breakfast together and continued talking and catching up. They wouldn't be together again for several weeks so they were taking their time and before they realized, it was 7:30am and Naruto was bolting out the door with over the shoulder goodbyes being said. Kushina tried smiling but couldn't hide the worry and sense of foreboding that she had despite Minato's reassurances. He had double checked that there had been no reports of hostile behavior anywhere nearby where she was going for several months. Everything would be fine.
"She's growing up so fast Minato." Kushina sighed.
Minato kissed his wife's cheek. "I know, and by the looks of it she's picking up some of Kakashi's less desirable habits."
Then, the two elder Namikaze's walked back inside to prepare for their day.
Naruto herself hurried through the streets, ignoring the greetings the villages threw her as they set up their business' for the day. She usually would have replied except for the fact she was running late…. Extremely late… To her very first proper ninja mission. She moved as quickly as possible to get to the gate however when she was just around the corner she slowed down and waited for her heartbeat to return to normal. Then, once she was breathing normal again, she walked casually to where her team was waiting impatiently.
"You're late!" Akio and Takeru yelled at her.
Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry guys, I was eating my breakfast when I realized that we didn't have any juice so I had to go down to the shop and buy some. However, when I got to the shop, they only had pineapple juice, which is a disgusting abomination that is going to be banned when I'm Hokage. By the time I finally found a shop that sold something other then pineapple juice it was already past 7 and I had to rush to get ready."
All three male shinobi sweatdropped at the six-year-olds antics but didn't say anything in reply. It seemed that the child had an even greater talent then Kakashi at making up lame excuses. The two boys stared at her in annoyance whilst the 19-year-older jonin looked at her with eyes filled with pride; her excuses rivaled his own.
"That's understandable then." Kakashi smiled. "Ok team, it should only take a couple of days to get there so we'll move at an easy pace to get you guys settled in. Team 7 move out!"
They leapt into the trees and set out at a pace that they would be able to hold for hours on end. Naruto's Kyuubi enhanced stamina came in handy here as she was able to keep going strong even when her fellow genin grew tired. Eventually Kakashi called it quits for the day just before dusk. Immediately Takeru and Akio collapsed on the ground with groans, completely exhausted while Kakashi and Naruto looked on in amusement.
"How…" Akio began, panting. "Are you not even out of breath Naruto?"
Naruto smirked evilly. "I guess you two are just super unfit and need to train more."
Takeru groaned again and muttered under his breath something about 'maelstrom six-year-olds' and 'ridiculous stamina'.
"Come on Naruto," Kakashi said. "You can help me set up camp whilst these two recover."
She nodded and between the two of them, it was quick work to set up a couple of tents and start a fire. Because they weren't in hostile territory, they were able to have the fire and not worry about enemy ninja spotting their campfire. The two boys crawled their way over to the fire and held their hands up to warm them against the sudden chill that was approaching like the shadows of the night.
After a simple dinner, they each crawled into their own one man tents and fell asleep quickly, trading off shifts of guard duty every four hours.
The next morning they all awoke with the sun and did an hours training before setting off on their travels once more. The next couple of days passed exactly the same as the first one, no events of any note occurring. Finally, after three days of travelling, they finally reached the rendezvous spot. Kakashi held up one hand and they all stopped immediately, breathing slightly elevated.
"We are being approached. Prepare yourselves." Kakashi said, his voice serious.
All three genin tensed and prepared to be attacked. Naruto slowly slid a kunai out of her pouch and held it at the ready, her heart thudding loudly in her ears. With her advanced hearing, Naruto could also faintly hear the sounds of her friends hearts beating erratically as well.
"Get ready everyone. This is your first real world situation. It's not just fun and games, you could die. Everyone. Prepare yourselves."
It took several tense moments before they were able to detect the approaching shinobi as well and a couple more before four shinobi landed in front of them. Naruto was so tightly wound that she almost through her kunai at them before she really saw who they were.
"Ka-ka-shi." Naruto said, pronouncing each syllable individually. "You knew they were our comrades, not our enemies, didn't you."
It was more of a statement then a question.
Kakashi laughed. "Well… I thought it would be funny?"
The three chunins in front of them sweat dropped whilst Akio, Takeru and Naruto grew tick marks.
All at the same time, the three genin leaped forward and bonked their sensei on the head, leaving three lumps. Kakashi cried anime tears while the genin high fived.
"Well." Kakashi said, miraculously recovering. "We are team 7, reporting for relieving border duty."
The oldest chunin stepped forward, a sigh of relief on his lips. "Thank God, it's been quiet the whole time we've been here. I think the boredom would have killed us before any enemy did." The other two chunin laughed and nodded in agreement.
"All right then." Kakashi eye smiled. "Lets get to work."
It was just like the chunins had said. There was absolutely nothing. Naruto was dead bored by the third day and they had another seventeen. She stuck it out though and counted the days until she could go home. Finally, with five days to go, something finally happened.
Naruto had been doing a round with Akio while Takeru was with Kakashi. They had been running close to the Iwa border when they sensed shinobi running parallel to them. They had stopped running immediately to see what the Iwa nins would do, and Naruto was disheartened to find that they stopped as well.
Damn, Naruto thought. She could sense the power level of the shinobi and she could tell that there were at least one jonin and two chunin. There was a third shinobi however that she couldn't sense. Either because their power level was so weak it didn't even register, or that they had chakra suppressing abilities – which wouldn't go over well for them, Naruto especially.
"Naruto?" Akio whispered uncertainly. "What are we going to do?"
Naruto gulped. She was six. She wasn't ready for this. "I-I think we should try get back to Kakashi-sensei."
Akio gulped and nodded. "Lets go."
They got two hundred metres before the shinobi cut them off, two infront and one on each side. Naruto's heart stopped for a moment. The Iwa shinobi had just crossed the border and were on enemy territory. Their instructions had said to remain non-aggressive unless provoked, did this count as provocation?
"Are you Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze?" The jonin shinobi asked. "Daughter of Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash and Fourth Hokage?"
She could see Akio glance at her, alarmed, and flinched. Any chance she had of bluffing was just ruined. She nodded slowly. "Who's asking?"
The jonin laughed. "You don't get to ask me that. You're what, the height of my elbows? No I don't think so. I'm going to be the one talking here."
Naruto gritted her teeth to stop herself from saying something she would most definitely regret. They were in a lot of trouble.
"So. Here's how things are going to go down. You're going to come nicely with us and not struggle or try escape." He tilted his head, reading the defiance in her eyes. "Why? Because if you don't…" Suddenly the man from behind them had grabbed Akio and held a blade to his throat. "The boy will die."
Akio gulped and his neck got cut, causing a stream of blood to trickle down his neck. She knew, in that moment, that she would do anything the Iwa shinobi asked of her. She had no choice. She wouldn't let anything hurt her friends.
"Alright." Naruto said, and somehow, her voice was strong.
Akio's eyes widened. "No! Naruto-"
He was cut off as the Iwa chunin closed his mouth forcibly.
"It's okay Akio." Naruto said, not looking at him. "I'll be fine. I'm worth more to them alive then dead. You can go get Kakashi and kick their asses when you come to find me."
Akio tried protesting again but it didn't work.
"Okay." She said, addressing the jonin. "Are we going now?"
The jonin smiled, but it was a horrible smile. "One second. Lets just make a couple of preparations, you could call them."
The shinobi she couldn't sense was suddenly beside her and placed a seal on her forehead. Immediately, Naruto felt her strength drain and her small body slumped. Her vision dimmed and her hearing became muffled.
"Okay." She vaguely recognized the jonin's voice. "Now that she's out of the way, lets go. Kill the boy."
Alarms went off in her mind. No. This isn't what he said would happen.
"Yes sir."
Naruto tried struggling out of the haze she was in. It was like she was underwater, all her movements sluggish and heavy. There was the strange sound of a wet slice and then a heavy thud. Naruto was thrown over someone's shoulder and her head rolled to see a form on the ground. With her dimmed sight, it took a couple of moments to realize what it was. It was Akio. But his head was weirdly positioned, like the neck wasn't as thick as it used to. Naruto felt like throwing up as she realized that it wasn't as thick as it used to be. His throat had been cut so deep that half of it was missing. There was no way he could survive that.
Red pulsed at the edges of her vision, making everything clear once more. Anger, as sharp and deadly as a knife cut through her. Her blood pulsed in her ears and she tensed for a moment, alerting her captors that something was wrong.
"Wha-?"
He never got to finish his sentence however as a moment later her fist had sent him spinning through the air by his face. She landed on the ground in a crouch and felt herself gain more grip then usual. It only took a moments glance to see that she had claws growing out of her fingers. The tattoo on her chest felt like it was pulsing, not painfully, but enough for her to notice. Naruto didn't understand where all this strength came from suddenly, but she knew she had to use it, to get revenge on the people who killed her friend. The Kyuubi stirred in her head.
Naruto growled and launched herself at the man who killed Akio. Red chakra swirled around her hands and when she swiped at him, his flesh bubbled and melted away. He was a mess of bones and blood within seconds. In some part of her mind she was horrified at what she had just done, but it was a very small part. Naruto wasn't satisfied with just that though, and sent out a burst of chakra in a wave that split the remaining shinobi clean in half before they could jump away. The whole thing had taken less then two seconds from when she landed in a crouch to when all of them were dead.
That's right. Kill them. Kill them all.
The voice in her head unnerved her endlessly, but it was strangely compelling as well. She wondered distantly if it was the Kyuubi.
Go over to that bad man.
Naruto made her way over, still on all fours. Once there, she stared at his body, well half of his body, and looked into his sightless eyes.
Mark him. Let all who see his body know who it was that killed him, let them know that you are strong.
Naruto let lose an ear splitting growl and a beam of red chakra exploded from her to shoot straight up in the air. Then, with one burning hand, she placed it on the mans chest. The sound of cooking meat reached her delicate nostrils and when she took her hand away, a sign had been burnt onto his skin. It was a fox's face, with nine lines sprouting around it like a sun.
Good little kit. Somehow, the voice sounded satisfied. Rest now. You've done well.
As quickly as the strength had come, it faded. No longer able to hold herself up, even on all fours, Naruto fell. She was asleep by the time she landed on the blood and gut soaked ground. Her clothes, which had once been purple, white and brown, were now red. Red all over.
(Meanwhile with Kakashi)
Kakashi had been running North along with border with Takeru, and was just about to turn back when he felt it. Pure maliciousness, hatred that could only come from one thing. With a gasp, he whirled around and ordered Takeru to follow him. A beam of red chakra shot into the sky for a moment and Kakashi headed that way without another thought. If the Kyuubi was escaping, he needed to get to Naruto and stop it. Cold dread wormed its way into his stomach, he was a realist enough to know that he was no match for a jinchuriki. If the fox really was escaping, there wouldn't be much that he could do.
"Sensei, whats going on?" The genin asked, his voice shaking. The panicked look on his sensei's face scared him more than anything else.
"Something might be wrong with Naruto, we have to get there quickly." He said urgently, picking up the pace.
By the time they reached the battle scene, Takeru was gasping for breath and Kakashi's one eye was wipe open in horror. Blood and gore was everywhere. And he meant everywhere. At the back, Akio's dead body lay there, carelessly crumpled on the ground. Lying in the middle of everything, right in front of a mutilated body, was his sensei's daughter.
"Naruto?" Takeru whispered. There was fear and horror in his voice. "What did she do?"
Kakashi didn't even bother to answer and instead walked forwards, his boots squelching against the wet grass, to pick up the small child. He didn't know whether to feel relief that the Kyuubi hadn't emerged, or downright horror at what his student had done, his little sister. He could feel the blood from her soaking into his clothing and it sent a shiver down his back. But he was a shinobi, and shinobi had to grow accustomed to horrible things.
"We're leaving, Takeru." He said emotionlessly. He had failed. He had failed to protect his students. One was dead, and the other unconscious with unknown mental damage. And now a third was probably traumatized from seeing this.
The single conscious genin tore his eyes away from the body of his teammate, from the gaping slit in his throat, and followed his sensei as he made his way out of the clearing. This was supposed to be an easy mission. How had everything gone so wrong? They didn't speak that night. Kakashi summoned one of his ninja dogs and sent a message to the Hokage requesting immediate relief from duty and then they ate a cold dinner. Kakashi had done his best to wipe the blood off Naruto but her clothes were still soaked and he was too drained to bathe her. He should probably have spoken to Takeru, who had never seen death before, but the boys expression had hinted that he just wished to be left alone. Well, not really hinted, more like made blaringly obvious.
Naruto didn't wake up at all the next day. Or the next. Or the next.
In the end, Kakashi did have to bathe her in a nearby stream, scrubbing the blood from her soft skin and dressing her in some of their spare clothes. He went back to the scene on the second day to clean up and burn the bodies. The half that had a foxes face burnt on it with nine lines disturbed him greatly and he hid it before the genin could see it. He buried Akio's body however, and Takeru stood next to him as they said there last farewells. The brown haired boy had cried but Kakashi didn't comment on it and instead just placed a hand on his shoulder, silently letting him know that he wasn't alone. Their relief arrived on the third day but Kakashi didn't tell them why they were there, just passed over his identification. The less people who knew about the incident the better. He did tell him that there were Iwa shinobi in the vicinity however.
Kakashi carried Naruto on his back the whole trip back. Once again, the there was silence between student and sensei, until finally, on the very last leg of the journey to Konoha, he breached the subject they had been avoiding like the plague.
"Takeru." He said softly, pulling his student to a halt. "We need to talk."
The genin exhaled slowly and dragged his eyes up to meet his sensei's but didn't say anything, waiting for Kakashi to broach the subject.
"I need to know how your dealing with this."
"How I'm dealing with this?" Takeru repeated flatly, no trace of his former exuberance on his face. "How do you think I'm dealing with this?!" He shouted, desperation creeping into his voice. "One of my teammates are dead, DEAD! He's never, ever going to come back! And the other one…" Takeru took a deep, shuddering breath. "The other one is a monster."
Kakashi couldn't stop the involuntary widening of his eye in shock. Of all the things he had expected, that hadn't been it.
"You saw the bodies just as well as I did. She cut them all in half, sensei. Half. What's to stop her from going psycho and doing that to any of us next time?"
"Now listen, Takeru, that wasn't Naruto's fault. You know that the Kyuubi is sealed inside of her. Seeing the loss of her teammate probably just made her lo-"
"Lose control?" He interrupted. "And what's to stop that happening again? Except next time it wont be from something as major. What happens the next time she gets angry at someone, will the Kyuubi take over again then?"
"I'll get Minato-sensei to tighten the seal."
"And you think that will work?" He demanded, anger showing through. "You can't contain a demon forever. She's already been tainted, its too late for her. It's better to just get rid of the demon while we can."
Kakashi couldn't believe the words he was hearing. "You cant honestly believe what your saying." He choked out, but the look in the boys eyes was clear enough. Yes, he did believe it.
"Don't worry though." Takeru said, turning away from the shocked silver haired ninja. "I'm not fool enough to believe that I could defeat you so I'm not going to make a move on her. But once we get back to the village, I'm requesting a new team."
Kakashi felt a horrible feeling in his stomach and after a moment recognized it as shame. Shame and guilt. Now he'd failed all three of his students. So much for being a good sensei.
"If that's what you want."
There must have been something in his tone that alarmed Takeru because when he turned around, his eyes were softer.
"It's not you, sensei. You are and will always be my sensei." He assured him. "I just cant work with her anymore. I cant work beside someone I don't trust."
And with that, they headed off once more in dead silence.
(Meanwhile in Naruto's mindscape)
When the blonde haired girl opened her eyes, she found herself floating in water and she had no idea how she got there. Warm water. The strange thing was though, when she stood up, she was completely around, she noticed that she was in a sewer like construction, with water dripping off the ceiling and walls. After several minutes of just standing there, she eventually started heading through the tunnels, deciding that she may as well see where they lead. In the distance, she could hear voices and sounds but they were muffled, like coming from the other side of a wall. She thought she recognized her teammates voices but wasn't sure. Wait, her teammates! Akio! Suddenly her memories came rushing back to her and she doubled over at the shock and pain that overwhelmed her. Akio was dead, and it was all her fault! She stumbled forwards a few more steps and suddenly collided with a ginormous metal prison that she was certain wasn't there a few seconds ago. A paper with the word 'seal' on it was holding the gates closed.
This must be where the Kyuubi was contained.
Movement sounded from behind the bars and one large eye with red irises and slit pupils stared down at her, sizing her up.
So. You are my jailor.
The voice boomed from the cage but reverberated all around the room, bouncing off the walls and seeming to get even louder. Gathering all the strength she could, Naruto glared up at the massive fox demon with all her six-year-old might.
"Yeh, what of it, Kyuubi?"
Ha ha ha. He chuckled, amused by her cute anger. So you know who I am. That is going to make this easier.
Naruto's brow crumpled in confusion. "Make what easier?"
Or maybe not… The Kyuubi sighed. You appeared her much sooner then I had expected. I'm not sure if you're ready to hear what I have to tell you.
"I'm ready," she said, her eyes years older then a normal six-year-olds. After what she had just experienced, she had to be. "What is it?"
I have some things to tell you, concerning both my attack on your village six years ago, and your future.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and she settled down on the wet floor, preparing herself for a long story. "I'm ready." She repeated. "But first, what should I call you? I'm sure that Kyuubi isn't your real name."
Something akin to shock and approval shone in the demons eyes and he bowed his head the slightest bit.
Names do not hold as much meaning to my kind as they do to yours, but I was given the name Kurama by my creator at my 'birth' if you want to call it that. Naruto nodded and gestured for him to begin. Okay. If you are sure you are ready, I will begin the night of your birth. When I felt the seal weakening, I struggled against it, wishing for my freedom more then anything else. You have no idea what it's like to be trapped in a cage every second of every day. Eventually, I managed to escape, and was preparing to retreat as far away as I could before that damn mortal could seal me up again. Naruto could both see and hear the scowl Kurama had in his voice. As I was leaving however, I was intercepted. A man with those accursed sharigan eyes caught me and forced me to attack your village. I had no wish to do this, but was made to against my choice. He paused to allow her to digest the information.
"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" She asked after a moment, staring him in the eyes. "For all I know you could be lying."
Kurama sighed, annoyed. I was hoping you would be just a trusting little child like you should be, but it seems not. Come closer, I shall show you my memories. It will be easier this way anyway. It will hurt however, so prepare yourself.
Naruto steeled herself and walked through the bars of the gate, stepping right up until she could touch his nose. Her hand didn't even cover one-fiftieth of the size of his nose alone. Like he had said, it hurt. Pain shot through her head, causing her to gasp and squeeze her eyes shut. Images ran through her mind.
He was so close. He could feel the chains tying him down giving up. He could feel them about to break. One more heave. Okay. Just one more. And one more. Okay this was definitely the last one. Okay, definitely this one. Damn how strong were these things? He growled and heaved with all his might and, with one last groan, the chains snapped from their position on his furred mass of a body. He burst out off the burning flame mortal that kept him captive and took his first breath of fresh air in far too long. It was heaven. He knew he had to get away quick, before they could seal him again, and he headed for North, for his home. Suddenly, a figure stood before him. A masked man with red eyes. He growled and tried looking away but it was too late. He could feel his thoughts slowly down and his willpower being crushed. Within seconds his body was moving without him telling it to. No matter how much he thrashed against the control, he couldn't gain even the slightest bit back against those horrible sharigan eyes. He felt as his body attacked and destroyed all around him, and then came the tightening feeling of a seal sucking him in. He squirmed and tried to fight it. No! He refused to be sealed again! He was so close to getting away! He couldn't fight it though, and he was once again sealed into a mortal body, a shining gold child this time. It's cries pierced his ears as he was locked in a cage deep in its mind. Helplessness and therefore rage overtook him. He was trapped. The great Kyuubi No Kitsune was nothing more then a prisoner once more. He was so close.
Naruto threw herself out of the memories. The sheer amount of pain and helplessness that Kurama had felt was so strong that it shocked her young heart, unable to withstand the emotions of a creature with a millennia of years under its belt. No wonder he tried to possess her every time she got mad or in danger. They were the only times he would be able to sense the outside world after all. She would probably have done the same thing if the roles were reversed.
"I understand." She said quietly. "Thank you for showing me this."
Once more Kurama bowed his head slightly. Thank you for understanding. Now, for the next part. Now that you know that I am not merely a creature made of hate, I believe that we could benefit one another.
Naruto frowned and stroked his coarse fur softly. It had the weirdest feel to it, soft, and yet rough at the same time. It would be comfortable to lie on. And so she did, much to Kurama's amusement.
"How so?"
Well, you are currently weak. Whilst you are strong for your age, any half decent chunin could take you done without much of a problem. Also, you become overwhelmed by your emotions the moment you touch my chakra. The reason why you get so bloodthirsty when you use my chakra is because you don't have enough control. Right now, you can only access it in times of great emotion, and this only happens when you're feeling rage or pain. In the future, you will be able to use my chakra at will and whilst you might be still more emotional then usual, you wont lose control.
Naruto took all this in, processing it and then nodding for him to continue.
What I propose, is that we make a sort of… truce, or deal between us. I want you to allow me access to your senses, the ability to see, hear, smell, touch, and taste, and redesign this stinking cage you have me in. Also, you have to promise to kill the man with the sharigan eyes and mask sometime. In return, I will train you in how to be a jinchuriki to your highest potential, and will also show you how to use the gift that you were gifted with upon my sealing. Seeing her frown, he smirked slightly. Ahh, you haven't awakened it yet. Fret not, you have plenty of time. Once you have awoken it, I will train you in how to use that as well.
Naruto weighed her options mentally before deciding. She had experienced first hand Kurama's emotions during the attack, and knew that he didn't mean to harm Konoha that day. On top of that, him being able to sense the outside world through her wasn't that bad, she wouldn't even notice it probably. With killing the masked man, it seems that he was against Konoha anyway, and she loved her village deeply, and would eliminate any threat towards it so that was fine as well. And plus, she was the only Jinchuriki in the village, if Kurama didn't train her, chances were that she wouldn't be able to reach her full potential.
"Okay, Kurama." She said, grinning up at the huge demon fox. "I accept. From now on, we're partners, kay?"
Partners… He mused. Okay, we shall be partners, Kit. Now rest. Your mind has come under a great amount of stress that even my chakra cannot heal. I have done my best to keep off the pain while you have been talking to me, but I wont be able to do that whilst you're awake. I'm sorry. And there was real regret in his voice. Now that I have your consent, I can rearrange my surroundings myself, and form the connection between us, just don't resist if you suddenly feel dizzy for a couple of moments every now and then when you wake up, it's just your body getting used to it.
Naruto nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on leaving the sewer place and, much like falling asleep, she drifted off into darkness.
Minato brushed his daughters hair back from her forehead tenderly. It had been a week and a half since Kakashi had brought her home unconscious. He had, in short, clipped sentences, explained what he thought had happened on his mission. Minato was probably the one to know the copy ninja the best out of everyone, and had clearly seen how much his former student was suffering. The hokage had gritted his teeth when Takeru's new views had been brought to light, but couldn't do anything about it. The boy hadn't acted on his feelings, and he was perfectly entitled to his thoughts.
As it turned out however, acting upon it had been made unnecessary on the third night of their return. The Inuzuka's family had found him in his bedroom the next morning in a pool of his own blood. His suicide not had stated that he couldn't live with the feelings inside himself, and needed to do it. His parents were hit hard, but Kakashi possibly harder. Whilst his parents only felt grief, and possibly anger, Kakashi felt grief, anger, shame, guilt, and more guilt, and more guilt. He was blaming himself, despite Minato's constant assurances that there was nothing he could have done. Since then, the silver haired ninja had barely left his single remaining students side, only leaving to sleep and eat. The very same thing Minato and Kushina had been doing. It was Minato's shift to watch her tonight as Kushina and Kakashi went home and got some sleep.
His hand stroked his daughters hair again, and, when he glanced down, was shocked to see violet eyes staring back at him.
"Na-Naruto?" He stuttered, barely believing his eyes.
Hers filled with tears as she rolled over and buried her face in his chest, sobs wracking her small frame. He held her tightly as she cried herself back to sleep, rocking her and murmuring in her ear. His baby had woken up. She was going to be alright. Eventually.
fourth chapter written! Like i said before, advice and ideas are always welcome like seriously reviews guys ahah ;) but nah i guess just thanks for reading my story! x