Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Warnings: Violence , Gore and Lemons(Much Later)

Credits: If I may have used some Ideas that are not my own, I apologize. Some of the Jutsu's were taken from The Legend Of Kyuubi's Profile page so credit goes to him

Chapter 14

"So~, was I fast enough?" Naruto asked his teammates cheekily.

His teammates smiled tiredly at him, and Naruto went over to Mei and Sakiko to check up on them and Yugao walked up to the downed form of Twinblade, making sure that he had been dealt with. They were the only ones in the clearing; the rest of the bandits had run off as soon as they saw their leader getting his ass handed to him. Yugao knew that they would have to deal with them, but was too tired to think about chasing them at the moment. What could a handful of bandits accomplish anyway?

Walking up to the smoking crater, she admired the amount of damage that Naruto was capable of dealing to his opponent. Sure, she had been aware of his strength during their spars, but they couldn't go all out against each other, lest they injure themselves without reason. Seeing Naruto fight had been breathtaking, he had utterly destroyed his opponent, and she had a feeling that Twinblade had been much stronger that her opponent. Shaking her head, she looked down at Twinblade's body. Amazingly, he was still alive; no doubt it was due to his armour that he was wearing, which was in bits and pieces around his body. Taking out her sword, she cut his head clean off.

'I really need to up my training, I can't have Naruto-kun be stronger than me, and I'm his sensei, Damnit. I get to protect my cute little students.' Yugao thought smiling fondly, as she made her way back to her team.

Naruto caught her eye, and she gave him a short nod. She knew what he was enquiring about.

"Alright Team, let's go back to the hotel, we'll discuss the mission there." Yugao said. "Naruto, if you aren't low on reserves, please create some Clones to take care of rounding up the bandits we knocked out."

Naruto nodded, and created 50 Shadow Clones, and tossing a scroll to them, said, "You know what to do."

Naruto walked up to Mei, and gently placed her on his back. She immediately put her arms under his and hugged herself closer to his back, releasing a soft sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You comfy Mei-chan?" Naruto asked softly. She was injured after all.

"Just perfect." Mei said tiredly, and as Naruto carried her back to their hotel, she fell asleep to the rhythmic motions of Naruto's soft breathing.

"Naruto, please come visit me as soon as possible, it is urgent." Naruto was startled by Zangetsu's voice, and nearly lost his footing. He wondered what was it that he wanted to talk to him about. Thinking back on his fight, he remembered feeling something that had unsettled him. Something that he hoped was not his thoughts. A battle-craving, bloodthirsty warrior was not something he wanted to become.

(Break)

Sakiko let out a tired sigh as she flopped down on the couch in their hotel room after taking a bath together with Mei. She was still injured, and she really didn't mind helping her bathe. She was her best friend and sister-wife, and she wasn't about to let her further aggravate her injuries when she was capable of helping. Mei was sleeping, after she had finished her bath and Sakiko had run a diagnostic on her injuries again.

She let out a startled "Eep" when she felt something cold press against her cheek. Looking sideways, she saw a grinning Naruto holding a can to her face. Scowling playfully, she swiped the can from Naruto's hands and opened it taking a deep gulp of the refreshing juice.

Naruto sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. Sakiko leaned on him, and continued sipping from her can. She thought back to the fight that she had, and couldn't help but feel angry at herself for not being strong enough. Naruto had to come and rescue her again.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Hmm . . . What for, Sakiko-chan?" Naruto asked as he tightened his grip around her shoulders, bringing her closer to him. Sakiko trembled slightly as her mind began to play images before her, all of them showing brutal possibilities of tonight's events. She closed her eyes and buried her face in Naruto's chest, trying to rid her mind of these images.

"I-I wasn't strong enough. You told me that you didn't like the plan, but I acted like a spoiled kid who doesn't get her way and forced you to follow through with the plan. I-I nearly got Mei-chan killed. I-I was nearly k-killed." Sakiko said, her sobbing muted by Naruto's chest.

"It wasn't your fault Sakiko-chan. The blame doesn't lie with anyone, circumstances forced our hand, and at the end of the day, as long as I have all of you, together with me, I try not to think about it." Naruto said gently, kissing the top of her head.

Sakiko thought about Naruto's words, going over them in her head. It was a really corny way to look at things, but thinking about it, she realized that it helped calm her down immensely.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I promise that I will get stronger, be it any circumstance, I will be ready for it." Sakiko said, as she tilted her head up, looking at Naruto directly in his eyes, determination shining in her eyes.

"You and me both, Sakiko-chan. You and me both." Naruto said.

(Break)

After Naruto had deposited Sakiko on the bed, Naruto tucked both Mei and Sakiko in. He heard the door to their room, close and figured that Yugao must be back after informing the Mayor of their success. They had been unable to locate the kidnapped merchants, but the bandits were taken care of.

"Yugao-chan?" Naruto questioned unnecessarily, he had identified her Chakra signature already.

"Yes." Came the tired reply. Naruto walked over to the hall, and saw Yugao sitting on the chair, her head thrown back rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"That bad?" Naruto asked.

"The Mayor was pleased enough by our mission, but that bastard head of Police was there as well. I could barely keep myself from killing him on the spot." Yugao said.

Naruto remained silent. He had a feeling that he was the one who had informed the bandits of their arrival, he would make sure that the Mayor was aware of his suspicions.

"Anyway, how are the girls?" Yugao asked. She sat up upright, and sunk down into the chair.

"Mei will make a full recovery by tomorrow morning, and Sakiko was a bit exhausted due to using up too much of her Chakra, but she wasn't physically harmed." Naruto said sombrely.

"What about you?" Yugao asked.

"I'm as fit as a Bijuu." Naruto exclaimed exuberantly.

"I'm sure." Yugao said smirking, and got up going towards the bathroom. "You should sleep, we have to get back to Konoha tomorrow evening, and it's almost dawn."

Naruto nodded non-committaly and seated himself onto the floor, crossing his legs and closed his eyes, appearing inside his Soul-Scape. He wondered what it was that Zangetsu wanted to talk to him about.

(Break)

"So what's so urgent Zangetsu-san?" Naruto asked.

"Did you feel anything different while you were fighting earlier?" Zangetsu asked bluntly.

"I-I don't know. Maybe." Naruto replied.

"Try and remember Naruto. It is of the utmost importance that you do." Zangetsu said.

"I-I felt like . . . a monster. I wanted to kill him, rip him to pieces. To . . ." Naruto said, unable to continue saying anything.

"I was afraid of that." Zangetsu sighed. This could complicate matters for his wielder if it wasn't nipped in the bud.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned hesitantly. He didn't like the sound of that.

"You told me that Kyuubi-san had channelled her Chakra throughout your body when you gained the Sharingan, is it not?" Zangetsu asked. He started moving towards Naruto.

"Yes. But I thought it had no effect on my other Bloodlines. She told me so." Naruto said.

"That is where you are wrong. It did have an effect." Zangetsu said. He was standing right in front of Naruto now.

"What was it?" Naruto asked. Fear began gripping his heart. Things were going so well for him recently. He knew that there would be something that would put a wrench in his relatively happy life.

"Uzumaki Arashi." Zangetsu said shortly. He hoped that hearing his story would help him deal with his problem.

"What?" Naruto asked confused. Really, what was Zangetsu playing at.

"He was the first Uzumaki to successfully manifest his Blade. You could say that he was the founder of the Uzumaki clan. Much like you will be for your generation. He was the strongest person alive during his time, and his power was what led him to a situation much like yours." Zangetsu said.

"Could you tell me the situation I am in first?" Naruto asked a bit annoyed. He was tired of Zangetsu's round-about way of teaching things. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but this was different.

"An alter-ego. That is what has been created inside you. You might have created it much later in your life, but due to Kyuubi-san's Youki, the process seems to have been accelerated. I think that it is advantageous that it had happened now." Zangetsu said calmly.

"Advantageous? How can having a split personality be advantageous?" Naruto asked incredulously. He didn't know much about split-personalities. But what he did know was that most of the Ninjas that had this problem were forcibly retired of either turned traitor to their Village, going off on their own to complete whatever task that their alter-ego demanded of them.

"It is advantageous that I am sufficiently powerful enough that I can control him." Zangetsu said in the same calm voice of his. You would think that he was commenting on the weather.

"Him?" Naruto asked warily.

"Yes. He is a part of you, but inside the Soul-Scape, I can forcibly keep in control. If I were to let the control go, he would manifest himself here as well." Zangetsu said.

"So I will be . . . myself?" Naruto asked, hopefully. He was honestly afraid of what his alter-ego was capable of. And he hadn't even met him!

"Yes, but only for the time being. He grows stronger the same as you. Eventually I won't be powerful enough to control him. It would be best if we take care of this now. I wouldn't have you meet the same end as Arashi." Zangetsu said. His voice glinting with determination.

"How do you know him?" Naruto asked with a quizzical expression. He had noticed that Zangetsu spoke of Arashi as if he knew him personally.

"Arashi . . .he was my first wielder." Zangetsu said.

(Break)

" . . . that's all Hokage-sama." Yugao finished giving her report.

"Well done Team 11. Excellent work, and congratulations on your first C-Rank mission." Sarutobi said. This was the first team of this generation that had completed a higher class mission. Despite the strained relationship with Naruto, he was proud of him. He was growing up to be a Ninja that would make his parent's proud.

Team 11 smiled glumly at their accomplishment, vowing collectively to grow stronger to make sure that such an event didn't occur again.

Sarutobi watched their muted response and raised a questioning eyebrow at Yugao. She shook her head in response, indicating that she didn't know what was wrong either.

" Since you have completed the mission much earlier than expected, you can either have the rest of the time off or you can begin taking missions after you have been properly rested. I would recommend that you take a few D-Ranks before you shoot for another higher mission. Very well, you are dismissed." Sarutobi said.

Yugao watched her team walk out the Hokage tower silently. She knew perfectly what was wrong with them, heck; even she was feeling that she needed to get stronger. But she had a feeling that there was something else that was bothering Naruto. He had been unusually silent throughout their way back and didn't interact much. Mei and Sakiko who had gotten used to his affectionate ways and constant closeness were feeling even worse. She just hoped that he would get out of his funk quickly. Looking at her team, she didn't realize the contribution that Naruto made in their team, as well as their lives. Without his sunny disposition, they were utterly lost.

(Break)

Soul-Scape

Sounds of metal clanging together could be heard, echoing throughout the area that Naruto was sparring in. He quickly ducked under a sideways slash and dashed towards Zangetsu's open guard, stabbing his sword at him. Zangetsu, stepped sideways avoiding the lethal strike and brought up his sword just in time to block another of Naruto's swing. They tested their strength against each other for a little while, and as soon as Naruto felt that he was losing, jumped back and put some distance between them.

"You are progressing admirably. It is time that you face your other self." Zangetsu said his tone even. He wasn't even breathing hard after two hours of fighting. Naruto was in much the same condition.

He had come straight to his training grounds in his basement. He had avoided meeting with his Baa-chan and Nee-chan and had virtually locked himself inside. He had not even visited Kyuu-chan last night. But seeing as she was inside him, and was privy to everything that was going on with him, she understood his reasoning perfectly, even though she thought that it was perfectly stupid. She had decided that if he didn't fess up to his girls in the next few days, she would give him a headache that he would remember his whole life.

"Yeah. I think that I am ready." Naruto said, steeling his nerves for what was about to come.

"I will stop the fight as soon as I think that you are losing." Zangetsu said helpfully. That relieved his nervousness a bit.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Naruto said sarcastically. Zangetsu had informed him that his real body will be under danger and would start rampaging as soon as he began fighting his alter-ego. He had placed Chakra suppression seals covering his whole body, and had upped his Resistance Seals to the maximum. He hoped that it would be enough. He had also had the forethought to place a Silencing Seal on himself as well. As to the sounds that he may make if he would begin destroying his Training grounds, he hoped that the other residents would think that he was simply training.

Zangetsu smiled as he began to fade, and as soon as he was invisible, or vanished to god knows where, a ripple appeared in the fabric of space in front of Naruto. He got into a ready stance a soon as he had spotted him. Fat lot of good that did him, because as soon as he saw him, his jaw dropped and he resisted staring at his opponent.

It was practically his twin, except that he had slitted red eyes, and his Hair was blood red.

"Yo! The names' Yami and I think you have lived long enough."

(End Chapter)

A/N:- First of all, sorry for the long delay. I got caught up in my Harry Potter story and couldn't tear myself away from writing that story. So then I will be updating each of my stories at-least once a week from now on . . . no promises though.

I would like your opinion if I should add another mission before going to the Wave Mission or should it be the next one. Review!