"That's two seals that I have reversed." Jiraiya said sadly. It had been 2 weeks since he had started working on Naruto's seals. The first seal he reversed was the one on Naruto's brain that tapped into his senses and relayed all of it to Orochimaru. The second was the tracker seal. He decided he should work on the one on Naruto's back next. He wanted to get rid of the danger of Orochimaru and kabuto as much as possible. Naruto was kept constantly unconscious so Jiraiya could work.
Inside Naruto's Mindscape…
Naruto's mind was completely unrecognizable. All of the pipes were twisted, broken, and rusted. The once sturdy brick walls were now nothing but rubble. The floor had holes in it that seemed to be growing slowly. Naruto lay still and silent in the chamber that houses the cage for Kurama. The water in the cage was so toxic it was purple but the water was freezing over as well. Naruto was laying on a patch of purple ice. Inside the cage, a war was being fought.
"Damn that Orochimaru! I swear as soon as I break this accursed seal I'm killing that bastard!" Kurama screamed as he kept slamming into the seal. He had tried using his chakra in every conceivable way but it didn't even touch the seal. So he decided to use brute force to try to shatter it. He was hoping Jiraiya would help him. He couldn't communicate with Naruto…but that didn't mean he couldn't communicate with others. He decided to sit down and he got into a meditative state.
Back in Reality…
"Hey, you…Toad Sage." Jiraiya heard in his mind.
"Is that you, Nine Tails?" Jiraiya asked as he sat down in a meditative state.
"Yes. I wish to help you. I need you to have the toads loosen the seal some. Orochimaru doesn't realize that he blocked a fraction of my power. If the toads loosen the seal a bit…" Kurama started explaining.
"You could blow apart all of the seals! Why didn't you contact me earlier?" Jiraiya asked curiously.
"Because I was so enraged I was slamming into the seal constantly and I just wasn't thinking straight at all." Kurama admitted. Jiraiya bit his finger and made the signs for the toad summoning contract. Suddenly Gerotora appeared. "Gerotora…The nine tails and I just had a discussion…I need you to loosen the seal." Jiraiya stated seriously.
"ARE YOU THAT INSANE YOU OLD PERVERT!?" Gerotora yelled at Jiraiya.
"No. See, the best way for us to remove the seals is for Kurama to have more power. I trust him. He genuinely seems worried about Naruto. Please Gerotora?" Jiraiya pleaded. Gerotora sighed.
"You'll have to wait. We'll need the approval of the elder. Summon me tomorrow." He said as he was about to return home.
"STOP!" Jiraiya yelled and Gerotora looked back in shock. "We may not get tomorrow. We need to remove these seals now!" Jiraiya seemed very stressed and concerned. Gerotora sighed reluctantly.
"Very well." Gerotora replied. He opened his scroll and Jiraiya went to work, loosening the scroll. He loosened it just enough for Kurama to do as promised. Suddenly Naruto became enveloped within a cloak of dark red chakra. The seals began burning off of his body until none of the seals remained. Jiraiya knew that Kurama's chakra was powerful. But what he saw went beyond conceivable power. He was questioning how his student managed to subdue such a power. Once all of the seals had dispersed, the chakra receded back into Naruto and Naruto woke up slowly. He looked around but remained silent. Hinata soon walked in and when she saw him awake she immediately ran to him and hugged him. Naruto refused to talk. Suddenly his eyes became red and his pupils morphed to look like those of a fox.
"INSULANT BOY!" Kurama yelled into the room. Kurama was in control of Naruto's body. He began to stand.
"Is that you, Ninetails?" Jiraiya asked fearfully.
"Yes. However, please refrain from calling me that. I have a name you know. I am Kurama. Pleasure to meet you." Kurama reached his hand out towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya hesitantly shook his hand.
"You don't seem like you want to destroy everything. Why?" Jiraiya asked, confused by how Kurama was acting.
"That is because I never wanted t destroy your village, per say. I was enraged because I had been ripped from my previous container. I was on a rage induced rampage. I have no ill intentions towards your village, toad sage." Kurama replied honestly. Jiraiya looked relieved. Then his face started to look confused again.
"If that's true…then why are you in control of Naruto's body?" Jiraiya asked, waiting to hear what Kurama had to say. Kurama suddenly growled then punched the wall. Hinata looked scared.
"That stupid boy decided he was done and gave me his body…" Kurama said, pissed and saddened at the same time. Jiraiya looked at him shocked. Hinata was on the verge of tears. "Do not fear, young princess. He is not dead. Basically his willpower has dropped to zero and now It's up to me to keep him alive. You could say that I'm protecting him from himself." Kurama stated, trying to reassure the young girl. "Right now we have many things to work on. Hinata?" Kurama asked as he looked at her.
"W-wait. You know who I am?" Hinata asked confused. Kurama chuckled.
"Of course. I see, feel, smell, hear, and taste everything that Naruto does. It's part of being sealed within him." He replied.
"I guess that makes sense." She said, still clearly saddened. "What did you want me for?" She asked curiously.
"I'm going to help teach you a jutsu that will allow you to enter Naruto's mindscape. I'm tasking you with bringing the boy back. Can you handle it?" Kurama asked her.
"Of course. I'd be happy to bring him back to us." She replied firmly with determination.
"Okay. Jiraiya, would you help me with training this body? I'll need a body in peak condition if I'm going to rip Orochimaru and Kabuto apart piece by piece…" Kurama said as he began to smile sadistically. Jiraiya shivered at the sight before him.
"Okay. I'll help. As long as you promise not to destroy his body." Jiraiya stated.
"I agree to your terms Toad Sage." Kurama replied. He then looked over at Tsunade as she had just walked in. "Hello, Tsunade?" Kurama said, trying to get her attention. Tsunade looked scared.
"Naruto! Did you just call me Tsunade?" She was horribly confused. Kurama and Jiraiya began laughing and Hinata chuckled a bit as well.
"Not quite princess." Kurama replied. "My name is Kurama. However, you're probably more familiar with the term 'Ninetails.'" Kurama replied. Tsunade looked shocked but held back her urge to punch him. After Jiraiya explained everything to her, Kurama continued. "I have a place I need you to locate for me." He stated. She looked confused.
"What kind of place would you be interested in?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"It's a nameless place. But it is full of ancient masks. One of the masks is the mask of the Shinigami. The same Shinigami that ate the souls of all of the Hokage. Within that monster's belly is my other half. I want to be whole again, so we will need to revive Naruto's father. I think tht would be an interesting meeting." Kurama explained. Everyone looked shocked. Hinata more so because she was the only one in the room that didn't know the secret. Kurama continued. "See this meeting serves two purposes. One, I will regain my full strength. Two, since the fourth Hokage is Naruto's father, I think him giving a talk to Naruto may help. Can you take care of this, Tsunade?" Kurama asked, almost pleading. Almost.
"Yes. I'll get right on it." She nudged Jiraiya and the two of them left Hinata alone with Kurama.
"So you're a Hyuga, right?" Kurama asked. She nodded her head in affirmation. "I sense much hidden strength within you. But we aren't here for that. I know what you want to ask. Yes, Minato Namikaze, also known as the 4th Hokage, the Yellow Flash, is Naruto's father. Also, I'm not as dense as the boy is. I would like to thank you for all of the times you helped Naruto when he would pass out in a dangerous place from over training. You've saved our life more than once." He said as he stood and bowed. Hinata bowed back. "You should get some rest. Tomorrow, we start trying to bring Naruto back." He stated.
"Yes, Kurama." She replied. She went to the chair.
"You can have the bed. I'm taking Naruto's body out for a test drive. I need to get accustomed to his body better. Don't worry, we will be fine." Kurama told her as he leapt out the window. Hinata laid in the bed and silently cried until she fell asleep…
A/N: Hello guys. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter. I have so many ideas for this story that I want to work on. As always, please feel free to criticize me as much as you want in the reviews and look forward to the next chapter!