Kyuubi's regenerative powers

Naruto: Many of you are probably wondering why the Kyuubi didn't just reattach my leg or regrow one (heh, regrow one, how ridiculous. Never mind that doing so would take years off my already limited lifespan). Well, the answers rather simple. He can't. Demon fox biology is quite a bit different to human biology. Besides, you're really giving the fur ball's chakra too much credit.

Kyuubi: I heard that.

Naruto: Good. Really, it's ridiculous some of the things people say the Kyuubi's chakra can do. Sasuke's chidori very nearly killed me three times, for god's sake. If Kyuubi has a hard time causing cell regeneration at an acceptable speed to save my live, then how the hell is he going to be able to reattach a severed limb? Closing a hole and reattaching severed sinew are two very different things that require very different approaches. There's a reason why puncture wounds are very serious, you know (as opposed to losing a finger. Given a quick enough response that is fixable. A bullet through the head will kill anyone, even me).

Kyuubi: It can't be that different.

Naruto: Do you even know what muscles are in a human leg?

Kyuubi: No…

Naruto: Exactly. Also, it was clearly stated that my leg was severed at the knee. The means it was severed through the kneecap (or at least around). That messes up more then just two tendons, and those are the ones that the author can actually feel. He is willing to bet that there are many more complications in reattaching a severed leg then he has the (very limited) medical knowledge for, and remember, Kyuubi is just a giant demon fox (Technically he's not even that). There is no reason to assume he's any more knowledgeable of the human body then the average human. It doesn't help him kill them faster. Well, let's face it, if he does anything more then sneeze at a human, he'll probably kill them (hell, the sneeze would probably do it). Anyway, the point is that even if the Kyuubi is a source of ridiculous power, he's never been shown to possess true knowledge, especially in human matters. He knows of his circumstances, but how much of that is a bleeding effect from Naruto? As far as we know, the Biju may not have even been intelligent before being sealed (Remember that being intelligent and being able to speak/think are two very different things).

Chapter 10,
The Secrets of the Rain

-

The city of Amegakure was far from what Hinata had thought it would be. Prices for regular, every day necessities were higher then their Konohagakure counterparts, but on the whole, everyone seemed to be far nicer and more compromising. It was especially jarring to see a pair of children steal a pear from a food stand, and, even after the owner saw them, be allowed to get away with it, as if the two children regularly did so.

"Don't think lowly of those two." The stand-owner spoke up, garnering Hinata's attention. "They're parents were killed in the recent wars down in Kusa. No one has the money to take them in right now, but we make sure they have food and clothes. It's the most we can give right now."

"Is that common here?" Hinata asked. The shopkeeper sighed.

"More so then any of us would like. Ame is constantly training more ninja to make up for the ones we lose. As I'm sure Pain-sama has told you, without the backing of a Daimyo we are not an official Shinobi nation. We don't get the tax breaks and privileges that come with it. The fact that we're in no-mans land doesn't help, either."

"How did you know that..." Hinata started, but the man cut her off with a wave.

"That you had an audience with Pain-sama? My girl, most of the village probably knows by now. We have to be careful of hidden enemies, after all." The shopkeeper sighed again, checking his tiller absently. Hinata felt a small frown form on her face.

"We aren't trusted?" She asked. The man glanced up at her, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Oh, we trust you. Two of the Akatsuki members went so far as to vouch for you." He replied. "Pain-sama is more worried about the possibility of an tracker seal being hidden on your body."

"Then, why would..." Hinata found that she'd been cut off again long before finishing her question.

"Shh... It isn't safe to speak of anything Pain-sama has spoken to you about unless you are in the presence of an Akatsuki member." He stated softly. "I'm sure your companion has been given a similar warning by now." Hinata nodded in understanding. Naruto was an Akatsuki member – he obviously had ways of disabling any tracker seals.

Still, it was a rather disturbing thought that Konoha would go so far as to put a tracker seal on her.

-

Sasuke, on the other hand, was currently enjoying the view from the top of one of Ame's tallest buildings, looking down on the city with interest. It was strange, how in the streets it was difficult to see ten metres away, yet upon this building he could see the streets with almost impunity.

"I see you have discovered one of my guilty pleasures." Sasuke jumped as Konan walked straight past him, sitting down on the side of the tower. "It's beautiful, in a strange way."

"I don't see it." Sasuke replied. "I'd go so far as to say this would be a place that Naruto would find beauty in, not me."

"You dislike Ame?" Konan asked curiously. Sasuke shook his head.

"I hate rain." He answered. "It reminds me of that night."

"I see. Was it raining then, too?" Konan seemed genuinely interested, but Sasuke couldn't help but feel weary. This was a ninja who was in regular contact with his brother. There was a good chance that before the end of everything, they would be on opposite teams.

Unless what Itachi had to say was truly groundbreaking, of course.

"Itachi speaks of you often." Konan continued after a moment, seeing that Sasuke wasn't going to continue. "He keeps talking of how his little brother is growing strong, of how he has so much untapped potential. He even went so far as to call you the second coming of Jiraiya." Sasuke's head perked up at that.

"The second coming of Jiraiya?" Sasuke muttered, almost questioningly, but not quite. Konan giggled at the sound of the wonder in his voice.

"Don't let it go to your head, Sasuke-san." Konan admonished. "You still have a long way to go before you become a ninja of Jiraiya-sama's level." Sasuke didn't feel too disappointed at that, as he continued to think on it.

"I wonder..." He muttered. "We're we meant to be a parallel to the Sannin?" Konan glanced at him, her mouth a small, wry line.

"Nagato-kun seems to think so." Konan replied. Sasuke flinched at the addressing of Pain by his name, especially in such a personal manner.

'So she's close to Pain.' Sasuke thought, filing the information away for later. It provided an interesting insight into the possible workings of Akatsuki. Briefly, Sasuke wondered if Naruto, too, was on a first name basis with Ame's leader.

"He is." Konan said, waving a hand in front of the now surprised Uchiha's face. "Work on guarding your face, Sasuke-kun. Your far too easy to read." With that, the female Akatsuki member began to walk away.

"He's what?" Sasuke asked, more for confirmation then anything. Konan glanced over her shoulder, amused.

"Naruto-kun is on a first name basis with Nagato-kun." She replied. "Oh, don't speak of anything you talk of with an Akatsuki member out of their presence. Our rings are capable of disturbing the ambient chakra in the air around us. It makes tracker seals useless." With that, she vanished into a veritable whirlwind of paper, leaving Sasuke with far more questions then he had answers.

"Why me?" He wondered, as he began making his way back to his room. "Every time I think I'm getting somewhere, someone throws a curve ball at me and I'm back to square one."

-

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Why do you refuse my aid, child." Kyuubi growled softly, staring at the black robed boy before him, garbed in the Akatsuki mantle and straw hat. Naruto merely stared at him, waiting.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"This game is not amusing." The Kyuubi grumbled barely two minutes later. Naruto cocked his head slightly to the side.

"I do not require your powers at this time." Naruto replied, remaining formal with the beast. Kyuubi let out a small snarl at the teens response.

"You 'do not require' my powers? What do you think I am, boy!" Kyuubi roared. Naruto shook his head.

"Your increased cell regeneration would remove my ability to reattach my leg, something that my ninja career cannot afford." Naruto retorted. "In addition, your chakra is highly unstable, and would remove what little ability I have left with the Shikotsumyaku. I will not use it, not because it is not useful, Kyuubi, but because if I use it, I will have to throw eighty percent of my current Jutsu set out the window. I am not a chakra control master, and you would do well to remember that." The Kyuubi and Naruto continued to stare at each other for several moments, before the beast finally backed down.

"Very well, boy." The Kyuubi grumbled. "I don't know why you don't just..."

"Do you even know what muscles are in a human leg?" Naruto asked, cutting the beast off. When he got no answer, Naruto continued on. "Do you even have any muscles?" Again, no answer. "You do realise that this isn't like any other injury I've ever had. I can't afford for you to just pump me full of chakra and expect my body to know how to fix itself. As far as my leg is concerned, it was never there."

"Your mind is a different matter." The Kyuubi finally spoke up, but Naruto shook his head.

"What my head thinks doesn't matter. It's what the rest of me thinks that counts. Face it, Kyuubi, we need help. We need a professional."

"Very well, boy. I will withhold my chakra. However, if I find that you are in unacceptable danger, I will utilise my chakra, your leg be damned." The Kyuubi conceded, laying its head on its paws. Naruto nodded, turning around and walking away from the beasts cage.

"I can live with that."

-

"I see your back, Hinata-san." Sasuke muttered as Hinata walked into his room, taking a seat at a small table. The pair sat in silence as they went about their own work Hinata recording their status in the mission scroll, Sasuke himself studying a lightning Jutsu, when the door creaked open again.

"I hope Ame is to your liking, because we're staying here another day." Naruto stated as he entered the room, garbed in the Akatsuki mantle. Sasuke let out a snort.

"We're on a time limit, Naruto. We're leaving today." Sasuke replied, wondering if he could rile Naruto up. Naruto snorted in return.

"Remember that Akatsuki member that passed you on the way into Ame?" He asked. "The one that overheard Jiraiya say 'Take your time'? That was me." Sasuke flinched.

"But you went in the gate." Hinata muttered, but Naruto heard her.

"Check your left sleeve." Naruto stated. Hinata did so, only to find a small piece of bone sticking out of the cuff, inscribed with little lines. "Nagato-sama used a Fuinjutsu on that bone that allows me to hear everything that is said within about a metre of that bone. It took him quite a bit of work to get that seal to work, actually."

"Ano, why?" Naruto couldn't fault Hinata for being curious. As a Genin, it was unlikely that she'd been exposed to the horrible underside of the shinobi world. Even Naruto still couldn't grasp the true scope of it.

"The rings worn by the main members of Akatsuki disrupt the ambient chakra in the air around us,which disables tracker seals and eventually starves them, if they're left in the vicinity of a ring long enough. Unfortunately, this also means that, under normal circumstances, we can't use tracker seals, either. Actually, the rings work on most Genin level seals in general, as well as the majority of the covert ones, due to the fact that they get their chakra from the world around us. Other seals, like Sasuke's, for instance, are nastier pieces of work, requiring something else's chakra to function. Sasuke's works by corrupting his own natural chakra and feeding it into a second reserve, as well as purifying this second reserve and feeding it back into his natural one. It creates a form of chakra friction, which keeps the seal stable." Naruto explained.

"How the hell would you know that?" Sasuke asked. Naruto smirked.

"Sasori-senpai used to be Orochimaru's partner in Akatsuki. He knows how the bastards seals work." Naruto replied. "You'd be surprised at just how much information is gathered within Akatsuki. Between us, we know just about everything on this side of the planet."

"Just how much do you contribute to this knowledge?" Sasuke was outright mocking with that line, but Naruto merely laughed it off. He could see the amusement in the Uchiha's eyes.

"Unsurprisingly little. Most of my contributions were to the studies of others. I did spend a week following you two, after all. My body was free for use."

"Wait, you followed us?" Naruto flinched at the strength of Hinata's voice. He could very easily tell the subtle difference between her being upset and being annoyed. She was definitely annoyed. "You followed us and didn't think to talk to us?"

"To be honest I didn't find you until I got to Tanzaku town." Naruto replied, scratching the back of his neck. "That reminds me, if you two are going to hide in plain sight, change your names and at least try to look like someone else. Your appearances aren't exactly secret knowledge." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He asked, almost dreading the answer. Naruto frowned, his eyes going hard.

"I mean, thanks to you two being careless, I made my fourth and fifth kills." He replied darkly. Naruto could almost see the pairs looks of guilt, but he was no longer looking at either of them. "Come on, we may as well do some training while we wait." Naruto grunted. Sasuke silently stood up and followed him, whilst Hinata quickly finished writing in the scroll before sealing it and hiding it in her bags. She was out the door barely five minutes later, and caught up to the boys just outside the building.

-

"It shouldn't be possible for it to rain so much." Sasuke muttered as Naruto led them out of Ame's gate and into the flood plains, rather apparently uncaring of the Uchiha's dislike of rain.

"Toughen up, Sasuke-chan." He teased. "It's not like this is Nagato-sama's rain."

"I wasn't aware he could make rain." Sasuke retorted. "And I wasn't aware there was a difference, for that matter."

"Ame no Katsu Moya." Hinata stated softly. Naruto chuckled.

"That's one of them. Ame no Jutsu does just that. It makes rain. Nagato-sama knows who's in the rain and where, but he won't tell me how he does it. Ame no Katsu Moya, on the other hand..." Naruto frowned. "Well, let's just say it's not for humanitarians. Think raining acid, and your halfway there." Sasuke didn't complain about the rain again for the rest of the trip, knowing full well it could have been worse. The trio soon ended up in a small clearing surrounded by cliffs, perfectly isolated.

"Well, this will do." Naruto grumbled. "Anyway, there's a Jutsu you two are going to need to know if your going to transport my body back to Konoha. It's called Marionetto no Sangeki."

"Tragedy of the Marionette." Sasuke grunted. "I heard Itachi using it once on a clansman." Naruto shrugged.

"That might explain how he knew it. I'm told by Sasori-senpai that the Uchiha made it. Anyway, its meant to create a small, purple field of chakra around the users hand, which, when applied to injuries, reopens them completely. It has a side effect of paralysing the victim, and apparently was the second half of an Genjutsu attack that tricked the target into murdering himself. It's got only seven hand seals. U, Tori, U again, Saru, Hebi, Hitsuji and Jin." Naruto explained. Hinata raised a hand, stopping any further explanation.

"Ano, two questions. Why can't you use the Jutsu, and what is Jin?" She asked. Naruto sighed, but gave her a small smile.

"I can't use the Jutsu on myself because I have the same chakra as myself. It simply doesn't do anything. I actually can't use the Jutsu because I don't have the means of practising it. Sasori left the day before Nagato-sama forced my mind into the Shoten no Jutsu and taught me the Shoten Kugutsu no Jutsu. Before then, I was completely bed bound and chakra-less." Naruto answered. "Nagato-sama doesn't have the time right now to take a break from his work and help me learn it, and he's the only accomplished ninja medic in Ame at the moment. Anyway, the Jin hand seal is commonly affiliated with Suiton Ninjutsu. It's kind of hard to explain it, but I'll show it to you."

"One more question." Sasuke cut in. "Why did Pain bring you here?" Naruto's face fell.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but that's private information." He replied. "Let's get started. One of you has to be competent at this before tomorrow, or we're going to be set back another day."

"Wouldn't Jiraiya-sama know how to do it?" Hinata asked. Naruto shrugged.

"I'm not betting my ninja career on a maybe." He replied.

-

Naruto really wasn't surprised that Hinata was the one to become competent with the Jutsu, in record time, too. It had only taken seven hours for her skill at chakra control to shine through. He was perfectly aware that she'd never pull it off in combat, though. The trio returned to Ame not long after, where Naruto bade the others good afternoon and cancelled his marionette Jutsu, leaving the doll in his room. Sasuke and Hinata returned to the Uchiha's dorm, where they continued their own work until the door opened once again.

"I take it that the mission was unsuccessful." Jiraiya stated as he entered the room. Both leaf teenagers looked up at him in surprise, just in time to see Naruto holding a bone knife to his throat, a thin line of blood trickling down Jiraiya's neck, proving that, if nothing else, he wasn't using a Henge.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto demanded in a soft voice. Jiraiya sighed.

"Kid, drop the weapon before I kill you. You're bloody green." Jiraiya retorted. Naruto chuckled.

"Your greener if you haven't already realised that this isn't me. Answer the question." The teen pressed, forming a half-hand seal and flooding chakra into the room. Jiraiya glanced at the Akatsuki member, only for his eyes to widen.

"He's the target?" Jiraiya asked Sasuke, who was struggling not to burst out laughing at the scene. He didn't know what was funnier, the fact that someone had almost got the drop on a Sannin and was still alive to talk about it, or the fact that Naruto hadn't recognised one of the most famous ninja in the world (then again, to be slightly more fair, Sasuke hadn't either, but Jiraiya hadn't had his scroll with him at the time). Hinata wasn't anywhere near as amused.

"Naruto-kun, that's Jiraiya-sama, our guide." She said softly. Naruto sighed, looking at Jiraiya again.

"Sorry, thought you were Kabuto, or worse, Kimmimaro in disguise." He stated softly, returning the bone knife to dust.

"Good, you've got a healthy sense of paranoia on you." Jiraiya examined. "Some of the best disguises are the ones that change as little as possible."

"But you have a completely different body type to Kabuto-san." Hinata muttered, although Sasuke's eyes had narrowed. Naruto had given away information that he clearly hadn't intended to tell them... yet, anyway. He knew things that they clearly did not.

"The less complicated the Henge, the harder it is to notice it." Jiraiya muttered. "Body height and mass are some of the easiest things to hide. It's only when you start changing colours and clothing that things get complicated."

"I think they're referring to the academy Henge." Naruto muttered. Jiraiya shrugged.

"Well, then that's something I'll have to teach them on the way home. How long until we leave?" Naruto shrugged.

"We'll be ready as early as tomorrow. I need to give Pain-sama my report." Naruto replied. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

"Joining organisation's not affiliated with your country could be considered treason, you know." Jiraiya stated. Naruto shrugged again.

"Technically I'm not in an organisation. After all, Ame is not a shinobi nation, therefore, Akatsuki officially doesn't exist. All Konoha will see is that I've acquired a new fashion sense." Naruto replied. "Besides, who do you think helped Pain-sama set Akatsuki up? No matter how strong a ninja is, he couldn't set up something like this alone." Naruto turned back to face Sasuke and Hinata. "Akatsuki's starting fund was donated by the Yondaime Hokage about two months before the Kyuubi attack. In essence, Konoha is responsible for the groups existence."

"I thought it originated in Mist." Jiraiya muttered. Naruto sighed.

"Sorry, I don't know if you have the clearance for that information." Naruto replied. Jiraiya scoffed at that.

"A chunin thinks he can keep secrets from a spy master?" He asked. "Naruto, I know just about every secret in Konoha."

"And I've been sealed." Naruto replied. "Pain-sama added it into the Shiki Fuuin array. If I attempt to give the information to someone who isn't to know of it, I'll need a seal-master really, really quickly." Jiraiya understood the implications behind Naruto's words. The seal-master wasn't to save his life. The seal-master was for ensuring the Kyuubi went to the next life with Naruto.

"Who does have clearance?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto frowned, hand cupping his chin as he thought.

"I don't know. As far as I know, only the Sandaime and the rest of Akatsuki. Some pieces of information are sealed to only Konoha ninja, and others I'm entitled to give to these two, but for the most part, I can't say a word." Naruto answered. "It's mainly a fail safe if I get tortured. I know things that we can't afford to fall into enemy hands."

"And mind readers?" Jiraiya pressed. Naruto chuckled.

"There's only two doors into my mind. The one that isn't for me leads right into his cage." Naruto replied cryptically. Jiraiya could read between the lines.

He pitied the idiot who tried to read Naruto's mind.

-

Of course, the little showdown between Naruto and Jiraiya sparked a small questions and answers session from Hinata and Sasuke, but the pair knew when to leave well enough alone. Naruto would tell them when he was ready to, and that was good enough for them. It really wasn't long until Naruto bade the three goodnight, directing Jiraiya to a room across the hall before returning the doll to his room. Sasuke slept fitfully that night, as if it were the storm before the calm.

What a correct analogy.

-

"Wake up." Naruto whispered, shaking Sasuke awake. The Uchiha let out a yawn as he looked at Naruto, rubbing his eyes.

"Dobe..." He started, lapsing into his old address for his friend. "It's four in the morning."

"I know. Get dressed and stay quiet. There's something you need to do." Naruto said no more, walking out of the room. Sasuke groaned aloud, hopping out of his warm bed and pulling on his clothes. He didn't bother grabbing his Hitae-Ate, opting to hide a kunai up his sleeve as he left the room, where Naruto was waiting.

"Follow me, and whatever happens, wait for an explanation." Naruto stated, moving down the hall at a brisk pace. Sasuke followed silently as the teen led him into the rain, leaping from arc to arc as he approached a particularly tall building. It wasn't long until the pair reached the top, where a single man stood waiting for them, garbed in the Akatsuki mantle and hat.

"I brought him, senpai." Naruto said clearly. The man didn't move. "I'll leave you two alone." With that, Naruto leapt from the building, leaving Sasuke alone with the Akatsuki member. Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat when the man turned around to face him.

"Hello... otouto..." Itachi whispered, his eyes coal black, but dancing with amusement at Sasuke's shocked expression.

"It's been a while since we've talked, hasn't it?"

Jutsu Glossary

Tousha Fuin (Tracing Seal)

A-rank Fuinjutsu, Total Range unknown

A small and almost unnoticeable seal which records audio data through residual chakra in the air and sends echoes of this data towards its sister seal. Due to its reliance on natural chakra, this seal is almost completely undetectable, and is small enough that finding it is a waste of time. Of course, crafting one of these seals requires excellent penmanship and a microscope, but Ne ANBU, and Danzo especially, think it's worth the trade off.

Of course, Akatsuki have long since made counters for this seal, the Jyuringu (ten rings) of Akatsuki being only one of which.

-

Fuinjutsu: Tousha Ankaa (Sealing Art: Tracing Anchor)

S-rank Fuinjutsu, 10-20 metres

A variation of the Tousha Fuin that is almost useless for long range spying purposes, the Tousha Ankaa is a seal that, instead of recording audio data, routes the information straight back to its current target. However, the use of this seal requires that a chakra link be maintained, which is highly visible at any distance beyond about eight metres. However, this seal is the only tracking seal that is currently known to be able to bypass the Jyuringu of Akatsuki.

Of course, the chakra link is almost dense enough to run into, making this Jutsu woefully inefficient. The seal is a bit larger then the original, too.

-

Ame no Jutsu (Art of Rain)

Unknown rank Ninjutsu, Total Range unknown

A Jutsu which causes immediate rain in an area. The specifics of this Jutsu are known only to Nagato. It is known that Nagato knows the exact location and identity of everyone in the rain, though.

-

Marionetto no Sangeki (Tragedy of the Marionette)

B-rank Medical Ninjutsu, 1 metre tops

A medical perversion that is used to keep wounds bleeding, if only to prolong the targets suffering. Admittedly, it does have certain uses when searching for a ninja to reattach severed limbs. The Marionetto no Sangeki is the second part of a Ninjutsu-Genjutsu combo, in which the target is tricked into killing himself via kunai to the throat.

Well, that took a while. Sorry, but I only just got a new computer. Anyway, a lot of information was passed along in that chapter. Be sure to keep it all in mind.

The next chapter, the Uchiha brothers have some words, and maybe a little more.

Maybe.

Anyway, if any of you care, we aren't going to be back in Konoha for a while. You'll find out why next chapter.

Oh, and sorry about the little rant up top. Sure, the Naruto gets help from Kyuubi plot was original. Now it's just overdone. It doesn't help that the Kyuubi is sometimes attributed with abilities he has no business being given (freezing time, anyone? Believe it or not, I've seen that before), but hey, its fanfiction.

Til next time.