Hourglass
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
― Andy Warhol
As dawn broke, the Sandaime Hokage arrived at the hospital room of the young Uzumaki, who had once been the container for the Nine-Tailed Fox. He had expected to briefly check up on the girl and her blond boyfriend before heading to his office and starting on the paperwork that was surely piling sky high.
He didn't, however, account for a silver haired man and his entourage to charge into the room as if the gates of hell had been opened behind them.
"Hokage-sama! Are you alright?" The tall, masked shinobi exclaimed as he barged into the hospital room.
Hiruzen and Minato, who was reclining against the wall beside the bed, blinked in surprise. Both trying to understand just what had occurred.
"Sakumo? I'm perfectly fine, more importantly, why are you here so soon? I didn't expect you to arrive for another day or two from your mission."
The silver haired Hatake instantly scanned the room. His steel orbs widening a fraction when he spotted the redhead.
His eyes lingered thoughtfully on the young woman before he met his superiors gaze. This was noticed by both blond haired Jonin, who frowned at the older man, and the baffled Hokage.
"Sir, there's been a complication..."
Dismay swept instantly through the middle aged Hokage at his words.
"Your mission failed?", Sarutobi quickly replied, unable to hide his surprise and disbelief.
Sakumo shook his head. "No sir, the mission is a success. It was completed as ordered however, the way it was done is rather complicated and lengthy."
A tense silence followed his words.
"We'll leave this conversation until we're at my office.", Hiruzen's sharp tone said finally, telling nothing about what he was currently thinking of.
Knowing a command when spoken, the lower ranked men shuffled for the door behind them. Never upset the higher ups, the life motto of Chunins. Only Taiga remained in his spot beside Sakumo.
The Hatake was about to follow after his retreating men out of the bleached room, when he halted momentarily. His dark eyes flickered over to the slumbering woman before returning towards Sarutobi.
"Before we go, may I ask why you are at the hospital?"
Hiruzen scanned Sakumo's masked face for a good long second as he replied, "I'm here to check up on Uzumaki Kushina, she's suffered a collapse." He gestured toward the red headed young woman laying on the white bed with a baffled blonde at her side.
Sakumo glanced at the woman, before briefly meeting the eyes of his Hokage. With a sigh, he called back his men into the room, closing the door firmly behind them.
"Sir, would you please place a privacy seal in this room. What I'm about to reveal to you may have a connection to the girl's sudden condition."
Astonishment raced over the faces of Minato and Hiruzen at the Hatake's words. 'Did he know what happened to the Nine-Tails?'
Sarutobi turned to face a pale Minato. "Do as he says."
"Yes, sir." The blond responded quickly, just as anxious to learn what the silver haired man had to say.
Once Minato had secured the room, he gave the okay to his leader.
"Very well, Sakumo. Please go on."
Having the floor, the Hatake approached an unoccupied bed next to where Kushina laid. He placed the green, worn blanket in his arms gently on the bed.
A blanket, which until now, had been overlooked by both blond Jonin and Hokage. He unraveled it and stepped back so the others could get a better look.
"This may be the answer to all your questions."
Despite still being angry at what the Bijuu had done to her, Naruto's curiosity won over. She asked nonetheless, "Why'd you get so quiet all of a sudden?"
Crimson orbs peered down at the pouting blonde with annoyance, before gazing out into the distance as he had done earlier.
"I am watching what will happen to you."
"Huh?", she replied with a raised eyebrow.
A sigh escaped the towering orange furred beast. "The altered seal lets me view the outside world without having to depend on you being conscious like before. Right now, we are in Konoha. In the hospital by the looks of things. Your mother has collapsed, more than likely from having my present form removed from her seal."
He glanced down at her abruptly with a calculating gaze, almost as if he was trying to decipher something. "Your father and the Third Hokage are here as well."
Naruto questioned with surprise, "We're in Konoha?"
"Yes, we were brought by what I surmise is the sire of your Jonin sensei."
"Kakashi-sensei's dad?" Now more curious than before to know what was occurring in the outside world around her.
Kurama chuckled faintly at the girl's reaction. "Yes, their resemblance is uncanny. When I appeared momentarily from your mothers seal, I had initially confused the two before I remembered the time differences."
She nodded at this before asking, "If we weren't in Konoha before, where did that time seal take us then?"
"We were still inside that cave you had been trapped in."
Naruto's cerulean eyes widen in realization. "Right, that was located on the border between Fire and Wind country. It's also pretty close to Earth from what I remember."
Kurama nodded in agreement, as he informed her of what had transpired at their arrival. "We appeared amidst a battle between Suna, Iwa, and those tree-huggers. The chakra expulsion removed the majority of the threat, but there were some stragglers that managed to survive. I took care of them."
Seeing the smug look of satisfaction on her partner's face, worried the blonde girl. "You didn't do anything to the leaf ninja right?"
A snort of contempt escaped the immortal beast. "Of course not. Our plan would fail, if I had."
She looked up at him with an uncertain expression. A frown prominent on her lips. "Yeah, that's for sure. I still don't know if I agree with all this."
Kurama retorted with some exasperation lacing his words, "There is no better course of action than the one I have explained to you already, brat."
Naruto shook her head, but knew that he spoke the truth. This was the best plan they had. "Alright, alright. Don't get your fur in a bunch, fuzzball."
"You may have to awaken soon." Kurama spoke suddenly with urgency in his tone.
"Why? What's going on?" Her body automatically tensing, preparing for whatever was a threat.
Kurama grimaced as he heard what the men in the room were talking about, and he knew that he had to drastic measures soon.
"They are getting worried by your condition and the seal."
Naruto's earlier mirth was instantly replaced with one of panic. "But, I don't think I'm ready! What if I say the wrong thing?!"
The Bijuu contemplated the young girl's words. Just as he was going to respond, he saw an opportunity to set things into motion.
'Drastic measures indeed...'
Making his decision, he stood up from his reclining position in his cage. "Very well, if you do not wish to speak to them yet, then I will have to do so for you."
The blonde's previous worries vanished with dumbfounded shock.
"Wait what!? "
Kurama waved Naruto's concerns away. "Do not fear Uzumaki, I will make things right."
"No wait! What are you going to do?" She exclaimed frantically. Several rampant ideas and images swarmed her mind at the thought of Kurama in front of the people he had no love for.
"Wait and see." Sparing no more words, Naruto watched as the mighty Bijuu disappeared from within its cage. She could still feel the familiar thrum of his chakra within her, so she knew he hadn't completely escaped from the seal.
'And now I'm alone...' Naruto thought gloomily as she bowed her head in resignation. 'I hope you know what you're doing, Kurama...'
A wall of silence surrounded them. Hiruzen and Minato had listened intently to what Sakumo had to tell them. They were absolutely appalled by the tale the silver haired Jonin and his team had told them.
Sarutobi recovered first and turned with a grave look on his face to the frozen in shock blond.
"Minato, I need you to examine that seal. Normally, I'd wait until Jiraiya was here, but we have to make sure that the seal is stable before anything else."
Hearing the urgency in the command, snapped the young Namikaze from his perturbed thoughts. His mind was racing as he approached the unconscious blonde little girl with hesitation heavy in his steps.
He may have trusted Kushina and her seal, but this girl was an unknown factor and a potential threat.
All stood ready, prepared for anything, as they watched the blond seal master examine the young Jinchuuriki.
His cerulean orbs narrowed in thought as his previous unease vanished to be overtaken by fascination as he watched the complex lines appear underneath his expert hands.
Unable to take the wait, the feared Sandaime asked after a few minutes of tense silence, "Minato is that seal secure?"
"Yes, incredibly so. I've never seen anything like it." His tone of voice gave away his amazement.
Intrigued by what the blond was doing, Sakumo inquired, "What does it do?"
"It was just as I said earlier, Hokage-sama. This seal has a beacon like function for the Nine-Tail's chakra, among other things. Who ever created this is a sealing master of the highest caliber." Minato internally praised the creator, before continuing with his explanation.
"Not only does it safely seal the Bijuu, but it acclimate's its chakra slowly to the host. This girl is going to have the largest chakra reserves than anyone in the village, even you Lord Hokage."
Sarutobi and Sakumo gasped in astonishment at the implication. "That's astounding. Who could have created such a thing?"
"Well, sir, I don't know how relevant this is, but where I found the girl there was a man next to her. He was dead, but the strange thing is his eyes had been gorged out." Sakumo commented offhandedly.
Hiruzen turned toward him. "So you believe this man could have been the one to create the seal?"
"Truthfully, I don't know what to believe. This whole thing is just so crazy." Sakumo said as he rubbed his temple. He could feel a headache coming on.
Minato nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're certainly right about that."
"One of my main concerns is who is this child? Where did she come from?" Hiruzen said with a sigh.
"In the location I found her suggest that she had been with shinobi from Iwa." The silver haired man responded, making the others look at him with an interested gaze.
"Iwa? This is not good. If Iwa truly is behind this, then it means that they are after another Bijuu. With two, they are a problem, but three is certainly a threat." Now, Sarutobi began to get nervous. After all, he had never expected one of the other major villages to try to capture the Nine-Tails from them.
Understandings his Hokage's unease, Minato glanced down back toward the battered, whiskered cheeked girl with a thoughtful gaze. 'I need to know more about how this seal works.'
Making a decision, Minato turned to lock his eyes with the Hokage's.
"Sir, if I may, I'd like to channel a larger portion of my chakra into the seal. It'll give me a better idea of how the chakra is circulated within the girl."
Sarutobi looked at him with an uncertain look on his face, something he didn't feel very often in regards to the blond Jonin. "Is it safe?"
"Generally speaking, it shouldn't affect the seal at all." Minato replied with an easy shrug.
Sighing, Hiruzen turned his gaze back to the village, unsure as to what was the best course of action to take next in regards to this unusual predicament. "Very well, but be careful." 'I hope I don't regret doing this...'
Minato nodded sharply, "Yes, sir. If you may all stand back, just to be on the safe side. I don't know much about this seal's capabilities."
Once everyone was a safe enough distance away, the young Namikaze started to pour his chakra into the darkening seal. A sharp gasp left Minato's parted lips in surprise. An alarming sight to all those gathered in the room.
"Minato! What is it?" Hiruzen gave Minato a startled look.
Suddenly, red chakra began to pour out of the seal in retribution to the invasion of the foreign chakra. Its foul presence engulfing them.
"What the hell is happening?!" One of the previously silent Chuunin exclaimed in horror.
"It's the Kyuubi's chakra." Minato replied gravelly.
Sarutobi's eyes widen at the answer. "The Bijuu? I thought you said the seal was secure?"
"It is! But when I channeled my chakra deeper inside it, I realized too late that there is a small portion of it outside the seal." The young seal master retorted with a sour taste in his mouth. 'I should have known better! Dammit!'
"What?!" Sakumo and Hiruzen exclaimed in unison, staggered at the revelation.
"This chakra isn't contained by the seal, the Bijuu controls it!" Just as those words left Minato's lips, a large explosion of white smoke went off.
"Well put, flesh bag." A deep, amused voice rang throughout the room.
The sudden unfamiliar voice caught the coughing shinobi off-guard. Instantly all had fallen into a practiced defensive stance with sharp blade's in their hands.
"Who said that?" The blond Jonin inched closer protectively to the Hokage as he turned to face the heart of the cloud from which the voice seemed to originate.
The white smoke slowly cleared away revealing an orange, crimson eyed creature from within it. "Are you blind? or are you simply an idiot?"
Six pairs of eyes widen in astonishment, staring down at the figure.
"Th-That's the..." Taiga began to say before being cut off.
"Yes, I am. But there will be more time for that later. Right now you must listen to me humans."
The blond Jonin felt his blood run cold when he noticed the nine swaying tails behind the orange furred fox creature.
"It's outside the seal?!"
The Bijuu shook his head. "Not quite. This the greatest amount of chakra the seal permits me to utilize as I wish outside of it. Now if you're done urinating on yourselves, I can explain why I have bothered to speak to you weaklings."
Swallowing his fears, Hiruzen turned to the frozen teen and commanded sharply, "Minato contain it!"
Before the young Namikaze could reply, Sakumo cut in, "No, wait sir. I believe we should hear it out!"
The tan Hokage gaped, wide eyed at the masked Jonin.
"Why on earth would we listen to it?"
The silver haired Jonin glanced at his trembling team before responding, "It spoke to us before. It actually led me to the girl. I think there's something it wants from us."
A snort escaped the large dog-sized Bijuu. "At least there is one intelligent among you monkeys."
Despite the numerous warning bells going off in his head, Sarutobi had to admit that there was some logic to Sakumo's request after hearing the mission report.
"Very well, what is it that you wish to say." He finally agreed with a wary glance at the bemused fox demon.
Standing up on his four legs, the Bijuu approached the bed on which rested the little blonde child. "The silver haired one is correct. There is something I must ask of you, but before we get to that, I must request a favor."
"What is it?" If the Sandaime was surprised by the Bijuu's politeness he certainly didn't show it.
"Before I can or will continue, those two cowering fools behind you must be taken care of first." Crimson orbs flickered toward the figures petrified behind Sakumo's tall, masculine form.
Seeing that they were the one's whom the Kyuubi was referring to, the only two Chunin in the room passed out from fear onto the cold floor.
The Nine-Tailed Bijuu chuckled with satisfaction at seeing the reaction he caused. "That was easy enough. However, make sure that their memories are wiped of all things to do with me and the girl. I can tell that they will have loose lips."
Knowing that the last part was directed toward him, Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "It will be done." 'I was going to do it anyways. These two don't look reliable in the least. How are they Chuunin?'
Kurama nodded before resting on his haunches as he began to explain his purpose in appearing before them.
"There is a danger, far more dangerous than even I coming. It will wipe out this entire village and all the other countries until there is nothing left, but the dirt on which it once stood." Kurama stated sharply, cutting directly to the chase. He had only a limited amount of time after all. 'So little time and so much to do.'
Stone-shocked at the sudden, blunt revelation, the three S-ranked shinobi stood appalled, unsure how to answer.
Clearing his suddenly dry throat, Hiruzen finally spoke with a hint of skepticism. "How do you know this?"
Kurama's crimson, slit-like eyes grew hard as they focused on the four tense ninja. "When I was taken from the red headed one, the seal allowed me a glimpse into the distant future. I foresaw my own and my brothers impeding doom." Not exactly the whole truth, but close enough. Improvisation at its finest.
"Someone killed you and the other Bijuu?" Minato interjected with a shocked gasp.
"No, something far worse." He closed his eyes for the moment and said gravelly as he locked gazes with each of them, "I will reveal to you a secret that must not leave this room. Understood?"
The four nodded hesitantly.
Kurama's eyes seemed to glaze over, losing himself in past memories of a time yet to come. Images passed in front of him of battles against the Snake Sannin, against Madara, and the damned Akatsuki...
He spoke solemnly, "When all nine Bijuu are gathered and contained within one living container, a creature of immense power is created. The Ten-Tailed Juubi."
"This being is even more powerful than you?" Sakumo asked with a raised brow.
Kurama nodded reluctantly. How he loathed to admit his own weakness. "Yes, its power greatly overwhelms my own."
"Is this the danger you're speaking off?" Minato inquired with narrowed cerulean orbs.
"No, the man, who will bring forth its creation, is the true enemy."
Sarutobi sighed heavily as he interjected with a grave voice. "Alright, if what you say is the truth, then you must know who it is. So tell us who is the enemy you are referring to?"
The Nine-Tailed Bijuu stood up abruptly and began to pace across the room with agitation in his step. "A damn bastard who is the bane of my existence! Uchiha Madara!" Kurama snarled angrily with clear disdain in his tone.
The four conscious shinobi looked among one another in complete surprise, obviously not having expected such an answer from the immortal creature. That was until the Hokage exploded in fiery shock.
"What!? That's not possible, he is dead!" Hiruzen retorted vehemently.
The orange furred Bijuu shook his head. His crimson orbs narrowed to snake-like slits of pure unadulterated hatred. "No, he is not. I will never forget the man who first ensnared me with those cursed eyes. He was there in my vision. He wishes to use our powers for his own selfish goals."
"All of this is madness! How do we know you're even telling the truth?" The Sandaime Hokage ran his hands roughly through his thinning, brown hair.
He knew it had all had to be a farce. What the beast was spewing were ideas so farfetched, it was almost laughable. He could feel a mad laugh on the tip of his tongue at the thought.
A creature who had been imprisoned for almost a century wouldn't be so forthcoming with such information if it was actually true. A prisoner would always try to break free from their chains of oppression after all and seek revenge on their jailers.
Kurama t'ch in distaste at seeing the panicking Hokage. "Believe what you wish, humans. If you do not heed my words, you will soon regret it. I will not allow myself to be captured by that bastard once again."
'To think I, the once feared Harbinger of death and destruction, reduce to helping save the very lives of the ones who had help keep me imprisoned inside ramen obsessed women.'
Oh, the irony of it all...
While the orange, long eared fox demon was wallowing in his woes, the Sandaime Hokage, God of Shinobi, was plagued with his own thoughts.
Things that had been permanent and unquestionable were suddenly thrown into doubt. He could feel a great weight burden his already cumbersome shoulders by the sheer magnitude of what all this could mean if it were true.
His plaguing thoughts were running rampant, and Hiruzen forced himself to calm down with deep breaths after noticing how his own unease was causing increasing worry in his two Jonin.
'Then again... The Kyuubi hadn't asked for his freedom, instead what he's telling us is just a warning of something to come. Something more powerful than even him, the greatest of all Bijuu. Could it be he is telling the truth after all?'
Once he had managed to compose himself again, he gave the sneering Bijuu a stern gaze before saying, "Alright, if we are to believe you. How do we stop this? How soon into the future will this come true?"
Crimson eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the more serene looking man. He had seemed to finally find his equilibrium once again.
A part of him wanted to forget asking the humans for help after seeing how weak willed they were when facing the unknown, but he knew just how capable and powerful they could be given the right motivation.
"In this vision, I saw the girl, who now contains me, to be in her adult years. She is the one to help save your pathetic village from destruction." Kurama chose to give them the timeline that he knew best, and given Naruto's current age she would be much older than her seventeen year old counterpart. That is if Madara didn't change his plans too much from their meddling.
Minato couldn't help glancing at the unconscious blonde child in disbelief. "Her?"
The Bijuu already knew what was running through the teens's head. He was still surprised to see how far back they had managed to arrive. That damned Namikaze couldn't be any older than fifteen by his looks.
Kurama wanted to scoff at the boy's skepticism, but he really couldn't blame him for it. Naruto did look pretty pathetic in the state she was in now.
"That is correct. She may not look like much right now, but with proper training she will be strong enough to prevent the future that I saw from coming true."
Kurama frowned when he saw the doubt begin to resurface on the men's faces once again. He knew he had to win them over even if he was loath to side with humans. It was unavoidable if he wanted to finally take down the bastard Uchiha and that damned Black Zetsu.
"If you do not wish our help, very well. I will make my container strong enough to protect herself by myself, and we will leave this place." He really didn't want to do that, the girl would be unbearable.
If they were to leave, things would fall apart quickly, and the war would happen as it once had before. The timeline wouldn't be changed and that cursed man would inevitably win just as he almost won before.
That didn't, however, mean that he wouldn't try to minimize the damage, though.
"Hold on a second! This seal doesn't allow for you to take full possession of her! You can't force her to do what you want!" Minato quickly interjected with a raised fist in a so utterly familiar fashion. Kurama idly wondered who Naruto took more after, if both her parents acted so similarly on some occasions.
He smirked at what the blond man had just said. It seemed the sealing idiot had just given him the opening he needed to finalize the deal.
"No, it does not, but she has also seen what is coming. She will listen to me even if none of you do." He tried to hide the satisfaction in his voice, he really did.
Sakumo perked up at this and asked aloud, "What do you mean she has seen it?"
"The vision was shared between the two of us. Now you blond one, you were always with the red head even as an infatuated boy from what I remember from being sealed within her, correct?" Kurama turned toward a abruptly flustered Minato.
The blond teen blushed at the sudden question. "Ah, how do you know that?"
"I can see what my container does. This new seal however, allows me the manipulation of my chakra outside of it. That is how I am here now." The Bijuu replied flatly.
A flash of understanding hit the young sealing master.
"Oh, I get it now. You're not the actual Kyuubi, but a manifestation of him, an extension so to say. That also explains why you're so small." The last part Minato mumbled quietly to himself. Though, Kurama still heard him.
'If I was in my original form, I'd squash you like a bug monkey bastard...'
He bite back a sarcastic remark that was on the tip of his tongue, instead he chose to stay on topic even though he was loathe to do so. "Yes, as I was saying, you may understand best the capabilities of a person who contains one such as I, and the only one now to know what else this seal does."
A somber expression crossed Minato's features at the reminder. He had almost forgotten about that little aspect of the seal. The poor girl to be saddled with such a fate at such a young age. "If you're referring to the soul binding, then yes, I understand."
Hiruzen, Sakumo, and Taiga looked on intrigued by the conversation between the pair.
"What is he speaking of Namikaze-san?" The elder Hatake asked politely. He hardly knew the younger man. By reputation only was all Sakumo knew of the famed prodigy of Jiraiya the Sannin, but it was enough to know that the teenager before him was gifted in the sealing arts.
A sigh escaped Minato as he answered. "When I was examining the seal, there was a section of it that attaches the host and prisoner for all eternity by their souls." He glanced at the sleeping child with pity in his eyes.
"When this girl dies and her chakra stops supplying the seal, then the Kyuubi will die with her, unable to ever reform again."
Minato ran a rough hand through his messy hair in slight disbelief. "This seal is powered by the Shinigami, the Shiki Fuin. The entire seal is a masterpiece of Fuinjutsu. Whoever did this is an absolute genius."
'This idiot is pretty much bragging about himself. It's almost as if he knows he's the one behind it.' Kurama thought sourly.
The Sandaime nodded slowly, taking in the information. "So what you're saying is that if this girl dies so does the Kyuubi?"
The blond nodded. "That is correct. However, he can still be extracted from within her. So I imagine it was set as a final resort."
Kurama couldn't help but nod amicably at this. "Precisely. As you can see, I am not a threat to you tree-huggers. I merely wish to ensure the survival of my kin and I." Really had he stooped so low as to be nice to these flesh-bags.
'I disgust myself, but... this is for the greater good. Remember, this is all to stop and completely annihilate the Uchiha bastard.'
"Well, he did save my comrade's lives and my life, so I'm all for taking his warning as serious. And he hasn't done anything to gain our mistrust so far anyways." Sakumo said with a small nod, oblivious to the Kyuubi's inner struggle.
Minato agreed with the older man. "He can't possibly gain anything for lying or fabricating all this besides what he said earlier. It just sounds like self-preservation to me. There's nothing wrong with that after all. It's the nature of all things."
While Taiga chose to stay quiet on the matter, Minato and Sakumo turned their eyes toward the pensive, silent Hokage. They had already made their decision regarding the matter.
Hiruzen was left in a mental shock. It wasn't like him to be so indecisive, especially ever since he took the mantle of Hokage from his late sensei.
Looking at both his expecting Jonin discretely, he knew they weren't going to budge on the matter once they made up their minds to help the orange furred Bijuu.
He sighed heavily as he asked the final question bothering him. "If what you say is true, what guarantee do we have that in the future you won't turn on us?"
The Bijuu rose an eyebrow. "I have no desire to rule over humanity. It would be too much of a hassle. With that said..." Kurama replied with a shake of his head before continuing with a more serious tone.
"I am a creature of my word. My vow to you weaklings will be to not turn on you or your pathetic village, so long as you do not endanger my container nor I."
Hiruzen crossed his arms with a reserved expression. A wall of silence surrounded them. His brown orbs stared out onto the peaceful village outside the window like a gambler calculating his odds.
Turning his attention back to the Bijuu, Sarutobi made his decision, consequences be damned. He would face whatever fate had to throw at him.
His village and his shinobi would always stand strong after all. It was in their nature.
Their Will of Fire.
"Very well. Konoha shall aid you in whatever we can to prevent this future from happening." Determination rang clear in Hiruzen's voice.
Kurama's shoulders slumped in relief at the final answer. He hadn't noticed how tense he had been the entire time until they finally agreed to help.
"Well if it's any reassurance, I have already changed something."
Hiruzen rose a brow. "Oh and what was that?"
Crimson orbs flickered to the masked silver haired shinobi.
"The survival of one Hatake Sakumo."
A stunned silence fell upon them.
An audible, harsh swallow was clearly heard in the deathly silent hospital room.
"You mean... on that mission, I was suppose to die?" Sakumo asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.
Kurama nodded. "Something like that, yes, and that mission failed previously as well. Congratulations on more years of living flesh-bag."
"Well I'll be damned..." The silver haired man muttered softly under his breath before meeting the Bijuu's red gaze. "You have my thanks then, I'm in your debt." He finished to say with a low bow.
Kurama was startled at the display of respect the masked man was showing him. He was even more shocked when the clearly Uchiha man next to him bowed as well. Gods... he really hated them...
"I realize that you hold a hatred for my ancestor, but if that mission had failed and Sakumo died then it is most likely that I perished alongside him. I am in your debt as well. If you have ever a need for an Uchiha, I will gladly join your side." Taiga bowed low as well. It was obvious to all that the fox had no love for his family.
"I'm going to need a stiff drink after this." Hiruzen grumbled as he rubbed his temples tiredly.
Minato chuckled ruefully. "I'll join you."
"I as well." Sakumo chimed in with a small, humorless laugh as he rose to his full height.
"Count me in." Taiga sighed heavily, the past days weariness finally catching up to him.
Kurama's crimson eyes flickered around the four men in confusion, before sensing the strain on his corporeal body as his chakra was slowly being pulled back toward the seal.
"Being outside the seal like this drains me after some time. So until I've recovered my strength, I will not be able to communicate with you monkeys unless it's through the girl." He stated abruptly, interrupting the slightly manic looking men.
"Understood." Hiruzen spoke more calmly than he had earlier.
Just as the last of his chakra remained, Kurama left some final parting words of advice. "Before I go, humans, there is one final thing. When this girl wake's up, she will not remember much of her past."
Four sets of brows rose in surprise.
"Um... What will she remember?" Minato asked, unsure of what to make of the statement.
Sakumo could see that the Bijuu was turning more and more transparent, time was running out. He quickly asked what he had been wondering ever since he found the young blonde child.
"Hey, you only refer to her as 'the girl', do you not know her name?"
Kurama glanced curiously between the man before deeming it safe to respond somewhat honestly. "She will remember the visions to the future, but anything of her past is a blank. I can tell you that her family is dead and her name is Namikaze Naruto, Naru for short."
'Looks like the brat is going to have to get used to being called by that childish nickname she hated.' The orange furred Bijuu thought sadistically. 'Oh sweet revenge...'
"N-Namik-kaze?" Minato stuttered in astonishment, but the Nine-Tailed demon had already fully merged with the seal once again, leaving four incredibly confused men to ponder on his words for the time being.
A/N: REWRITTEN!
Let me know what you think!
Until next time dear readers!