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Last time: Ayame turns out to be the host of Rokubi no Taka, the six tailed falcon.

This time: This Chuunin Arc ends and Naruto begins to see the consequences of his actions.

"Yes, and with this control, I will end your legend here and now!" Purple chakra burst from the ground beneath the other demon's feet, swirling and rippling like wind currents that had become visible, the light turning her into a ragged shadow of wind and youki.

The purple chakra became an inverted tornado, spewing high into the air before the middle bulged outward and expanded into massive wings. The chakra receded from the wings as the remaining whirlwind took on a more defined form.

Kyuubi watched impassively as the purple energy continued to withdraw.

"So," he remarked. "Taking this seriously are we?"

The huge hawk, easily as large as Gaara's Shukakku form or Gamabunta slammed to earth, its wings, seemingly as mammoth as a mountain, folded to her sides, even that mere movement making the air billow outward and forcing the demon to crouch and cling to the ground.

Back at Konoha, the shinobi forces had assembled on the wall and even from their vantage point miles away, could see Rokubi sitting calmly among the trees.

"Tsunade-sensei," Sakura asked as the two Kages and their entourage arrived at the wall. "What do we do?"

The Hokage frowned as she looked at the massive raptor sitting in the forest. "There's nothing we can do." She said finally, getting looks from those arrayed around her. "That creature is a Bijuu, just like the Kyuubi. Unless any of you have a Jinchuuriki waiting and know the Shiki Fuuin, all we can do is hope that Naruto has a plan."

"But even Naruto's never faced something like this!" Shizune protested. "Besides, just what exactly happened over there? I wasn't aware that a Jinchuuriki could take full form like that!"

"It's possible," Gaara rasped. "I did it during my battle against Uzumaki Naruto and I've heard that the Hachibi and the Nibi were capable of it as well."

"Naruto could use Gamabunta," Sakura suggested hopefully. Tsunade was shaking her head even before her student finished.

"No. Gamabunta is famous for putting his kids before anything else. Even revenge comes secondary. That toad has a saying. 'Revenge is a dish best served cold'. He'll wait until his summoner bumps into the target again then he'll exact his revenge. Gamakichi was heavily wounded. There's no way Gamabunta will come if Naruto calls."

Rokubi's massive wings opened then flapped once and the entire horizon was altered, a dark cloud of dirt and rock springing up from the forest floor and even the clouds in the sky were blown away. There was a second of lag then the shock of the displaced air reached them, knocking more than one shinobi on his or her ass.

"I hope Uzumaki Naruto was able to live through that," Gaara said solemnly.

"So do I," answered the Fifth.

In fact, Naruto, or rather Kyuubi, had managed to live through the attack. The moment Rokubi's wings had started to open, he'd darted forward and sank his claws into her leg and began reeling himself in. He'd gotten under her just as the wings had flapped.

'Naruto.'

'Yeah?' the cage grunted.

'Rokubi is too massive to take on like this.' Kyuubi didn't need to finish. Naruto knew that no summon would be a match for the six tailed demon, or rather no one powerful enough would come should he call. Kyuubi had the power, but Rokubi had the mass right now. The falcon probably weighed several tons and just had more mass than they could deal with on their own.

'You're saying…'

'Yeah. We need to do it.'

Naruto's eyes dropped shut. He still couldn't handle the Kyuubi's full power. Despite being in physical form, the transformation still had chakra coursing through it. These beast forms were less flesh and blood and more like chakra made solid. That being said, it meant that the Jinchuuriki was still liable to be affected by whichever attribute their demon took after.

A water Bijuu would run the risk of drowning. A wind demon would run the risk of massive lacerations or a sudden vacuum sucking away their breath and a fire demon risked incineration as Kyuubi and Naruto had found out themselves.

'I'll last as long as I can. Go for it.'

There was a welling of power inside the Jinchuuriki, like a volcano was about to erupt within his body. The youki surged forth as an unstoppable river of lava and Naruto shouted with effort as he intensified the chakra barrier around his body.

Outside, Kyuubi became a ragged shadow, much as Rokubi had done, then the red youki surged forth, blasting out from the demon's body like so many tails or tentacles. The chakra spun and blasted high into the air, a crimson tornado that made the rock beneath it hiss and the trees around it burst into flame.

The villagers in Konoha were all suddenly rocked by a tremendous flash of killing intent so violent that that many hardened shinobi vets dropped to their knees, clutching their heads and screaming out in terror. A red glow lit the world near the Rokubi and smoke began to rise from the forest around it.

"Tsunade-sensei…" Sakura asked, choking on the words, as if her very lungs were being paralyzed. "What's this…chakra?"

Tsunade didn't answer. The Sannin was staring out over the leafy fields of trees with a tremendous sense of déjà vu.

"Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi shouted as he blurred from this air right next to her. The Copy-nin looked to be in a state of near panic. Tsunade couldn't blame him. After all, it was something similar to what'd happened the night Namikaze died.

An eerie shadow began to rise from the tree line. It was dark, with glowing red eyes like embers from a massive firestorm. Nine tails waved in the sky behind the creature, outlined in red with chakra.

A massive dark maw opened and a shrieking roar echoed across the village, shattering windows and making the very earth tremble, as if giants were stomping across it.

"The Kyuubi!" a hysterical ninja shrieked and the wall's top dissolved into chaos.

Indeed it was Kyuubi, in all his demonic glory. Fangs as long as a man lined a massive jaw that could bite the Hokage's tower in half with a single closing, nine tails that could summon fire and tsunamis in a single wave, claws that ripped furrows in the ground with an ease that would make any farmer jealous, but, despite that frightful presence, the demon's scariest features were his eyes.

They were bloodshot, catlike and glowed like lava in the dark. They would look at you and contemplate your demise while you just looked up at them, helpless, like a rabbit sighted by a hawk. You would piss your pants, empty your stomach and wish to die under that gaze. And most did, but if you were lucky enough to survive looking into Kyuubi's eyes and sane enough to tell the tale, you would be haunted in you nightmares for the rest of your life, jumping at every shadow, expecting to see red slitted eyes then the flash of ivory fangs glistening with saliva lunging at you.

"So you've shown your true form, Kyuubi-sama," said Rokubi. Even though she hated the nine tails with all her avian heart, no one, not even a fellow Bijuu, could look the fox in the face without attaching the honorific.

Kyuubi didn't deign to answer. The Lord of Demons simply crouched and leapt at her, nine tails trailing behind him, slapping the ground and causing it to shake, no, causing it to tremble, as if the earth itself feared Kyuubi's wrath.

'But that doesn't matter. The King of All Demons is no match for me.' Rokubi thought with a huff. She flapped her wings and, in a swish of a tail, was three hundred feet above the leaping fox, 'for I am the Queen of the Skies.'

Kyuubi landed, spun, crouching low in preparation for his next attack. Behind him, the trees, all wet from a storm a few nights before, simply burst into flames, their trunks exploding as the water within them was superheated in seconds.

The fires were extinguished almost immidiatly with the hurricanes that came with each flap of Rokubi's wings. The ground beneath the fox's feet glowed red as the rocks began to melt.

The winds swirled angrily as Rokubi gained even more attitude.

Kyuubi leapt.

Rokubi dove.

They slammed together with a thud that echoed for miles then fell to earth in an earth-shaking crash. Howls and yelps of pain filled the air as the two grappled with each other.

Kyuubi's massive maw latched onto the root of Rokubi's wing, purple chakra gushing forth like blood, rushing hard and fast like a wind.

Rokubi's beak buried itself in Kyuubi's shoulder, a hissing noise filling the air like a thousand angry snakes as crimson chakra burst from the wound and melted the ground and sent the burned hulks of trees alight once more, the falcon's free wing flapping and slapping madly at the fox that had bitten her.

"What kind of battle is this?" Sakura asked, horrorstruck as she listened to the cries of the villagers and watched the incredible battle that was going on miles away from Konoha yet seemed to be right at their front gate.

"It's a battle between Jinchuuriki," Gaara answered. "This is what would've transpired had two villages possessing Bijuu gone to war with one another. The demons would sweep the enemy army aside without thought then proceed to do battle with each other."

"But Kyuubi's the strongest Bijuu right? So it'll win, right?"

"Perhaps, but the six tails has the power of flight. She could simply get above him and batter him with hurricanes. That is why the nine tails is trying to hold her on the ground." Sure enough, even as Gaara, the only one who had experience in Jinchuuriki battles, spoke, Rokubi's free wing had ceased its battering and was flapping madly, trying to lift the falcon's bulk off the ground. The shaking worked, because a cloud of debris was thrown into the air as Kyuubi lost his grip and fell to earth.

"Time to die, Kyuubi-sama!" shouted Rokubi as she flapped her wings. The wind became a tornado that arced for the ground. Kyuubi lunged to one side, then darted forward, paws flashing as the funnel cloud etched the ground he'd just vacated. He skidded to a stop and looked up at the hawk floating over him.

A low rumble issued from his throat like a peal of thunder then his mouth opened wide and a fountain of foxfire spewed forth, the scintillating colors lighting the sky like a fireworks display. Rokubi rolled to one side with the grace and poise of a humming bird then sent another tornado earthward.

The fox hopped backwards as the whirlwind slammed to earth in front of him in an explosion of air that almost knocked him off balance.

Rokubi cackled like some annoying crow. "Come now, Kyuubi. Is this all the lauded Lord of Demons has to offer!? You're pathetic, just like your host!"

'Dammit. That little sparrow won't come down. Rokubi's well known for being able to stay aloft for weeks on end.'

'Well think of something fast, furball,' Naruto snarled. 'I can't keep this up much longer!' Even as the blond spoke, Kyuubi could feel the heat of his own youki on Naruto's body, embedded within the shell of demonic energy that enshrouded it.

'That's it! All I have to do is hit Rokubi's host.' One fang curled in the demon's version of a smirk. Now all he had to do was get her to come down.

Thunder rolled overhead and dark rain clouds began gathering overhead.

'Perhaps my foxfire will take care of that for me.'

The tremendous heat that the demonic fire gave off had superheated the air around the battlefield, causing it to rise rapidly. As the air rose, the moisture in the air was condensing. Within minutes, the sky had gone from a pleasant sapphire to an angry black, with lighting lancing between the clouds.

A lance of pain surged through Naruto's true body, making the demon shell everyone saw stagger.

'The poison. Gotta hurry. We only have a few minutes left at best before I have to get back to the village!'

Rain began falling, brought about by the colossal clash of power that was going on.

"To be able to change the weather," Sakura marveled. "This is really something else."

"And something that's going to be rather detrimental to Naruto's career as a shinobi," Tsunade said grimly.

"What do you mean, Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune.

"Look around you."

They did and the two kunoichi weren't pleased. The shinobi assembled, most of whom had been at the wall when Sasuke had attacked and witnessed Naruto's fight with the Uchiha, were all glaring at the Kyuubi's monstrous form in the distance and muttering sullenly.

"-played us like a violin."

"Should've never trusted a demon."

"Can't believe he just used it to get at us."

Sakura was horrified. "How can they say that when they loved Naruto not even a month ago!?"

"You have to look at it from their perspective," Tsunade answered, sounding like she was about ready to bust some skulls. "We've learned to see the man behind the demon. They've only seen a demon for twenty years and, just when their trust was restored, it was shattered again. They see Naruto as being taken over by the demon from the very beginning and playing us for fools."

"But that's not…"

"I know," Tsunade said forcefully. "I know, but they don't. Naruto may save the village, but he may have just forfeited any chance he had of living peacefully in the village."

Inside his mind, Naruto coughed violently and felt his concentration waver. The poison was getting to dangerous levels. If this next attack didn't end it, they might have to retreat and leave Konoha to the mercies of Rokubi, and that was something that couldn't be allowed to happen.

The chakra buffer was failing as well. Naruto had maybe another minute inside him at best.

'Hurry fox, getting kinda tight here.'

'Hang in there. I've got an idea.'

Outside, the village blinked as the Kyuubi sat down on his haunches and tilted a long-eared head towards the sky. Rivers of red youki billowed into the air from beneath it and began to gather at the demon's open jaw.

The ball of energy crackled as it grew then suddenly shrank and vanished.

There was a flash like a star going nova and a river of concentrated youki spewed forth from Kyuubi's maw, lancing into the sky as a shaft of pure energy ringed in condensation bubbles as the beam broke the sound barrier.

Rokubi was caught off guard but dropped in altitude, forcing the attack to detonate early in an effort to reduce the damage done.

The horizon was lit by a second sun, the shockwave of the explosion rolling across the forest, visible because of the leaves on the trees getting torn from their trunks and thrown into the air before bursting into flame in the heat wave.

The brunt of the explosion had spent itself by the time it slammed into Konoha, but still, even with the weakened force, windows on the other side of the village blew out and shingles were torn from their roofs just as the leaves in the forest had been.

When the mushroom cloud in the distance ceased billowing, Tsunade beckoned to Gaara and Sakura. They leapt from the wall, landed in a cushion of sand that sprang up to meet them, then sprinted into the forest.

Almost immidiatly, the stench of burned flesh met them. That would be all the cute little fuzzies in the forest that were now cute little charcoal briquettes. Close behind was the wave of heat that made them sweat instantly right before the moisture evaporated, but didn't leave them any cooler.

Then the forest gave way to the burned and seared hulks that used to be trees, some even on fire from the intense blast wave. Soon they were forced to leave even that behind as they blew across the blackened stumps and out over the clearing Rokubi and Kyuubi had chosen to fight in.

"Oh…my…god!" exclaimed Sakura when they beheld the scene before them.

The rock was charred and blackened and small rivulets of molten rock were glowing here and there, cooling with gentle hissing noises. An oppressive heat hung over the entire field as flames still burned both on the blackened trees and even on some of the rock, the fire itself sparkling with different colors like crimson and green and brilliant orange, colors that never existed in natural fire.

In the center of the shallow crater, for that was what it was, were Ayame and Naruto, both devoid of any hint of youki, though their eyes and faces were still showing their demonic sides. Naruto's orange shirt was gone, nothing but an cloth scrap that was tucked into the hem of his shredded pants, which now resembled shorts more than anything. A kunai holster with a wasted strap was laying on the ground beside him and the other pouch was sagging dangerously. His body was in bad shape. Deep gashes ran all over his body and there was a massive amount of blood on the left side of his back, where Rokubi had been pecking at Kyuubi's body.

'The damage done to the demonic body must transfer to the host's!' Sakura realized. Then she noticed Naruto's arm. His right arm was a sickly shade of purple and black, something that spread over his chest, down towards the seal on his stomach and up his neck and to the elbow on his left arm. The poison was spreading fast. So fast in fact that if Sakura took the time to watch, she could actually see the discoloration moving ever so slightly.

"Naruto!" She shouted, taking a step towards the blond.

"Stay back!" he shouted, his voice still deep and brassy. "We're not finished here, girl."

"Indeed we aren't, Kyuubi-sama," Rokubi answered with Ayame's mouth. "It appears that my host's sister's poison is working wonders, is it not?"

"Shut up. I'll kill you both here and now."

"Bold words, Kyuubi-sama," the falcon answered. "Your legs have been affected as well. You're getting close to the point of being unable to move."

"So are you, Rokubi. We're both at our limits. I poured all of my youki into that last attack and even if you did dodge the brunt of it, you're still weak." Kyuubi's lip curled into a fanged smear. "You shouldn't have challenged me when you knew the results would turn out like this."

"True," she replied, taking a few tottering steps forward. "But I'm still able to move." After the third step, she twitched then coughed, blood bursting from her mouth before falling forward, collapsing without a noise.

"Looks like I did more damage than we both thought," Kyuubi remarked before he coughed violently, bringing up blood himself then mimicking Rokubi to tip back and land, spread eagle, flat on his back.

"Naruto!" Tsunade shouted with Sakura before the trio ran forward and knelt next to the fallen blond, who seemed to be fading in and out of consciousness, his red eyes fading to sapphire and the whiskers returning to their usual length.

"Sakura…-chan…" Naruto wheezed out, trying to smile and failing. Even in the scant minutes they been standing there, the discoloration on Naruto's neck had spread to cover it before coming up to just behind his ears. The only healthy spot was on his stomach, where the seal lay and even that was being penetrated by the first tendrils. "Hows…it…going…?"

"Shut up and don't talk," the medic snapped as she began to perform a diagnostic jutsu on her friend. "You'll just make your condition worse."

"Gaara…how's…Ayame…?" asked the dying man. The Kazekage glanced at Ayame's limp and bloody form.

"Dead. You and your demon have done it, Uzumaki Naruto."

For some reason, the blond teared up at the pronouncement. "Idiot," he murmured before his eyes dropped closed and he faded from consciousness.

"Tsunade-sensei!" Sakura called, looking rather alarmed. "We have to get Naruto the poison treatment ward at Konoha now!"

"Why?"

The pink haired woman turned grim. "He's got about fifteen minutes to live."

That was all Tsunade needed.

In a heartbeat, she'd scooped her brother/grandson up in her arms and dashed back towards the village, knowing it would be a close call. It would take her ten minutes to reach the hospital, which only left five to get him hooked up and stabilized.

The Sannin, though much older than either Gaara or Sakura, outdistanced the pursuing shinobi, pulling ahead with ease and dashing through the gates of the village, barely taking note of the angry throng on either side of her who were clamoring to let him die. However, what she didn't see was the Konoha Eleven in the crowd, who noted their leader's grim face and dashed off after her, darting from rooftops to power lines and back again as they followed her to the hospital.

The ground back at the site of battle rippled and convulsed before Tobi rose from the earth.

"Well. Looks like Naruto-kun has become a fierce enemy indeed," remarked the Akatsuki. "Itachi-kun is on his way, but it looks like he'll be too late to collect the nine tails." Ayame stirred slightly and her crimson eyes opened, her vision blurred for a moment before focusing on the hem of the man's black and red cloud patterned cloak. "No matter," the man above her said as she faded again. "You'll do just fine."

With that, he picked her up, slung her over his shoulder and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Naruto awoke to a fierce pain shooting through his being. He gritted his teeth against the spears of hot iron that were piercing him, but couldn't and screamed from the sheer agony he was in, his body arching on its own, only to be roughly restrained.

"Hold…down!" A voice called. Naruto, in his pain-induced haze, didn't recognize it at all. "Hold him dammit!"

The agony redoubled and Naruto shouted again before he couldn't take it anymore and dropped back into the blackness.

Sakura had jumped when Naruto had woken up and screamed abruptly, but she kept working, using an antidote that her teacher had come up with soon after bringing the fading blond into the ICU ward for treatment. Even Tsunade was hard pressed to keep Naruto's feet down as the blond arched and his wrists almost broke through Gaara's sand.

They and Shizune were the only four in the room at the moment, but the rest of their friends were waiting on tenterhooks right outside for news of their boisterous friend.

"Sounds like he's dying," Chouji said with a shudder as Naruto's yell reached them.

"He was poisoned," Neji replied, tapping a finger on his crossed arms. It was the only sign of how tense he was. "And even for Naruto, poison is a very dangerous thing."

Tenten didn't talk to anyone as she paced back and forth, a whole host of emotions raging inside her, from concern to anger to confusion over that anger to hopelessness, a whirlwind that made her feel faint, as if she would keel over backwards at any time.

"Tenten, you need to sit down," Lee said gently. "You'll feel better…"

"How the hell would you know!" The weapons mistress snapped as she rounded on the lanky man. She seemed to catch herself and sat down heavily next to Neji. "Sorry, Lee. I guess I'm just worried."

"It's understandable for a student to be worried about her teacher," Ino said gently.

"Y'know, this wouldn't have happened if he didn't get poisoned in the first place," Kiba pointed out.

"You trying to start something, mutt boy!?" Tenten demanded as she shot to her feet, one hand reaching for the huge scroll that was ever-present on her back.

"Bring it on, bitch," Kiba returned just as heatedly, one hand cracking in anticipation. "I could use a good fight."

Neji was between them before either could do something they regretted. "Enough," he snapped coldly. "we are all just worried about Naruto. Let's not add any other casualties to the list shall we?" Tenten looked for a moment like she would ignore him, then sighed and returned to pacing.

Kiba turned to leave, but a hard grip coiled around his elbow. When he turned, he found himself staring at an activated Byakugan. Despite his bravado, the Inuzuka flinched. "Understand this," Neji snarled. "I stopped the fight this time, but if you ever threaten one of my team again, you'll sincerely regret it."

The dog user spluttered, trying to get a decent comeback, but while staring down the Byakugan, his mind had suddenly gone blank. Finally he responded in typical Kiba fashion, but it was obvious that all his bravado was gone.

"Keh, name the time and place and Akamaru and I'll wipe the floor with you!"

He jerked his arm out of Neji's grip and stalked away, and was quickly replaced by Jiraiya, who looked rather grim.

"How's he doing?" The Sannin asked to the room at large.

"We…don't know," Tenten answered softly. "Tsunade-sama and Sakura-chan have been in there with him for the past few minutes, but so far…" she shrugged, "we haven't heard anything."

"How long's he been in?"

"Fifteen minutes," Neji answered, his answer as precise and clipped as ever.

The Toad Sannin relaxed visible. "Well, if it has been that long, he should be fine, or at least over the majority of it."

"What happened to him anyway?" Shikamaru asked the Sage.

Jiraiya's eyes closed as he contemplated his answer. "Have you all heard of a poison called 'Demon's Downfall'?"

They shook their heads.

"Well, I'm not surprised. It's not really well known, but it's a poison designed to bring down even a Bijuu and his Jinchuuriki."

That got a rise out of them with every eye in the area focusing on the Sannin.

"So how did Naruto not die within the first few minutes of getting hit with it?" Ino demanded.

Jiraiya sighed. "I don't know. There're rumors that it spreads slowly unless it comes into contact with youki, or in other words…"

"A demon's chakra," Shika finished.

"Right. It's a special poison known only to a few. How Yumi got her hands on it, I can't imagine." A solemn silence fell over the assembled shinobi.

Change began with the red syringe light over the ward's door blinking off. It made no sound at all, but none of the ninja missed it. Sakura staggered out, sweating like a pig, the moisture soaking her face, making her hair stick and coloring the front of her dress.

"Well, Forehead?"

Sakura huffed deeply, trying to regain her composure. Finally she smiled weakly.

"Tsunade-sensei has him stabilized."

Relieved looks broke out all around the waiting room. "But he's not out of the woods yet," the medic cautioned. "Ino, Tsunade-sensei wants you in there to help heal his basic wounds while I try to get some of my chakra back."

The blond nodded grimly and strode into the ward without another word. Sakura watched her part time rival and part time friend go then dropped with a huff onto the benches that sat on either side of the double doors.

"How close was it?" asked Jiraiya. He'd caught a glimpse of Naruto as Tsunade had hurtled past. He'd known the violent woman for enough years to know when she was nervous or skeptical about something and this had been one of the rare times he'd seen her this tense.

Sakura glanced at the man then looked away, knowing she would never slip anything past him. "Very. We…lost him twice. His heart failed and we had to restart it. But once we got a lot of the poison nullified, then his healing factor began to take over."

"So why send Ino in?" Shika asked.

"Well, it's still going slow, so we're gonna boost it a bit, so his body can concentrate on recovering from the venom."

It was several hours later when Naruto was finally moved to a step down unit. He looked horrible, with white bandages over much of his exposed chest, covering the wounds and chakra burns that had begun to crop up partway through the examination, a side effect of his use of Kyuubi's full power. It was proof of just how far the duo had pushed the blonde's body to the limit. They'd gone right up to the very max, risking incineration in order to protect the village from the Rokubi no Taka's wrath.

Tsunade, looking over the equipment in the room, sighed as the angry voices of the villagers outside came in through the open window. In just under a couple of hours, the story of how Kyuubi had appeared in Konoha had spread through the village like wildfire, turning almost every shinobi and civilian alike against Naruto. It wasn't as bad as it had been before, some of Naruto's new supporters had turned out to be not so fair-weather as the rest and still stuck by the blond.

Among the new supporters were Yamato's ANBU squad along with Sai's squad. Now those two squads were keeping the floor of the hospital that Naruto resided on closed off from the public, so none of them could get any funny ideas and try to assassinate the incapacitated Jinchuuriki.

Tsunade finished her examination and swept from the room after shutting the window. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't stay by her adopted little brother's side twenty four seven. She still had obligations to fulfill.

A week passed and still Naruto remained comatose. Different members of the Konoha Eleven stopped by and stayed for as long as they could every day, but still, they were shinobi and had missions to do and paperwork to fill out. The only one who never left the blonde's side was his sensei, who was contemplating how to train the blond next. It was clear that the man was getting close to the level of a Sannin and with the Kyuubi's input, he was probably beyond even that.

"Minato and Naruto," Jiraiya muttered to himself with a light chuckle, referring to his eldest student by the nickname that Jiraiya himself had picked out. "Two of a kind."

"Oh! Jiraiya-sama!" said a startled voice near the entrance. The Sannin looked around and noticed Tenten standing in the doorway. Of all the blonde's friends, she had been the one to come by the most, staying the longest and did the most to help the man get back to the world of the living.

"Tenten-chan! Finally come to be the subject for one of my books!?" Jiraiya asked loudly with a perverted laugh. He was hit in the face by Tenten's massive weapons scroll.

"Jeeze, old pervert," Tenten sighed as she scratched her head. "He's worse than Gai in some ways." Moments after they had met earlier in the week, the old man had asked her to be the subject for one of his books. Of course, Tenten had heard of the 'Icha Icha' series and she would die before she'd be the main character in one of the smutty novels.

After stashing the old Sannin safely in the hall, she sat down beside Naruto's bed and watched him. It'd surprised her somewhat when she'd begun doing this. In the brief month they'd worked and trained together, Tenten didn't think that they'd gotten so close, but somehow they had and now Naruto was a valued and cherished friend instead of a good acquaintance.

Jiraiya stumbled back into the room with a massive knot on his head and didn't say a word as he leaned against the windowsill. Tenten reached for another weapon as discreetly as she could, but when the old man made no more lecherous advances, she relaxed.

Naruto floated in simple blackness. He couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything and couldn't feel anything.

'Am I…dead?' He wondered.

'Tough luck, brat. Sorry but we lived,' said a deep and brassy voice that reverberated through the blonde's entire head.

Naruto's vision came to life, swimming into being and before him stood the massive form of Kyuubi as the demon stared down at his host, who was lying on his back in their mind's damp chamber.

'Mornin' sunshine,' Kyuubi quipped.

'How…long?'

'A week, and I'll be out of it for at least another three days or so. I have way more chakra than you, so it'll take time to refill.'

Naruto shrugged, then headed for the waking world.

"So, why do you hang out with Naruto so much?" Jiraiya asked curiously. "I was under the impression that you two didn't know each other that well."

Tenten looked at the blond on the bed. "Well, we've been training together for the past few weeks and…I guess we just ended up being friends."

"Yeah, he has that effect on people," Jiraiya said nodding. His own experience with the blond had been much the same. At first the only thing the sage wanted from the Jinchuuriki was his Orioke no Jutsu, but as time passed, he became the surrogate son Jiraiya never had, ranking right up there with the Yondaime.

"Well, I'm gonna go now. Got some business to take care of in town." With that, the Sage left, where to Tenten hadn't the foggiest idea, but something told her it was better to remain ignorant.

The sage had been gone about twenty minutes when Naruto stirred, grunting feebly with either pain or discomfort. Then his eyes opened, fogged, as if he didn't know where he was, wincing as the harsh light from the bulbs overhead and the sun from the window stabbed him in the eyes.

"Naruto!"

The blond looked at his teacher/student, squinting, as if he didn't recognize her. At last the indefinable shape over him swam into focus.

"Tenten…-chan?"

The weapons mistress sighed, relieved and sat back in her chair. "You really gave us a scare, Naruto," she told him as the blond tried to clear the fog from his head. He tried to sit up, but hissed with pain before he even cleared the halfway mark and sank back against the mattress.

"Hurting?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Naruto answered, his voice dry and rasping from disuse. He scratched at his neck. "Got some water?"

"Sure."

As she fetched the water, Naruto's eyes fell across the mountain of get well soon gifts that were piled up on his bed stand. A note for three free meals at Ichiraku that would be gone the day Naruto was discharged, Kazekiri, its black lacquer sheath gleaming, probably polished and sharpened by Tenten, various herbs from Neji, a set of Icha Icha books from Kakashi and Jiraiya…Naruto would burn those the first chance he got…and other things that he couldn't begin to guess at, but his cloak, cleaned, washed and mended, was hanging from the coat tree that was beside the nightstand.

"So, you finally decided to quit slacking off."

Both shinobi looked at the entrance and saw the Fifth standing in the doorway with a frown on her face, arms clasped behind her.

"Hokage-sama!" Tenten murmured, bowing.

"Hey Baa-chan. Miss me?"

The Hokage grinned. "You little brat. I oughta throttle you for that stunt you pulled." She strode over to his bed and loomed over him, "but I'm not. Here," she tossed something that weighed a few pounds into his lap. "This is for you."

"Baa-chan…" Naruto breathed, looking at the object with amazement. It was a green Konoha chuunin's vest.

"And that's not all," added Tsunade, unrolling a certificate in her other hand. She cleared her throat. "Gotta make this official. I have to read it and there has to be one witness of jounin rank or higher, and since Tenten-san here meets that requirement…Let it be known that on this day, Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha chuunin, is hereby promoted to jounin in recognition of his valor in service of the village." She handed him the parchment.

"Congratulations Naruto!" Tenten gushed, looking like she was about to cry with happiness.

The blond looked rather dazed. "Wow," he said, "that's gotta be some kinda record."

"Second fastest promotion in the village's history," Tsunade told him proudly. "The only one faster was the Fourth, who skipped Chuunin entirely and was made Jounin right after his Exams." She ruffled his hair. "Nice job, kiddo."

"Heyheyhey!" Naruto protested. "Isn't manhandling your patients against your code or something!?" Tsunade laughed, ignoring him, Tenten joining in after a while.

It was another five days before Naruto was allowed to leave the hospital. During that time, everyone from Sai to Konohamaru dropped by to check up on him and see how he was doing. Naruto thought it was all well and good, but he was naturally full of energy, and by the end of the first day of his regaining consciousness, he was anxious to leave.

Naruto's wounds healed rather quickly, but it was still slower than normal until Kyuubi had recovered enough chakra to speed up the process. Tsunade had a fit and nearly gave him a concussion when she walked in to check on Naruto, only to find the blond out of bed and doing pushups on his fingertips. It was only a few hours later that she'd declared him fit to return to duty and discharged him.

So that was where Naruto found himself now, striding down the streets with his new vest hanging open, showing off the new shirt he'd had to buy. It was a darker shade of orange, with a black stripe that ran up the center and the collar before running down to the sleeves. On the back, hidden beneath the green Kevlar vest, was the symbol of the Leaf village, embroidered also in black. His pants were still black but there was an orange panel on the inside of each calf and the hem was tucked into the new pair of sandal boots he'd gotten since he'd worn the old ones into the ground while away from the village.

For once, he was without his cloak since he'd left it at Tsunade's house so he could show Old Man Ichiraku and his daughter the new acquisition.

'We're being followed,' Kyuubi cautioned. Naruto cast his senses around and picked up on the two interlopers in seconds. He didn't give any sign of catching on, not breaking stride or looking back. Hell, his chakra didn't even twitch. The blond turned into an alley that had no one in it and simply waited. The alley was a dead end, with a massive wooden wall where its exit would've been.

The two pursuers had stopped just outside of the alley's entrance, one on each side. It appeared as if Naruto was hemmed in with no way out.

"You can come out," he said without turning. "I know you're there."

The two men, chuunin by the looks of them, stepped into the alley, forming a wall with their bodies. "Demon!" one hissed. "You'll pay for your deception!"

Now their prey faced them. "Really?" He remarked casually. "You're willing to assault a higher-ranked shinobi? Doesn't that carry a death penalty?" His hand, until now causally in a pocket, slipped out and dangled, fingers loose, by his kunai holster, now repaired after breaking.

The chuunin flinched, but quickly steeled themselves, each pulling a kunai. "The killing of subordinates also carries a death penalty, but I guess a demon wouldn't know that!" The one on the right snapped out.

"Okay, so how about if I knock you out?" asked a voice behind them. Before either shinobi could react, a hand grabbed their heads and slammed them together before letting them drop to the floor.

The Kage Bunshin poofed out of existence.

Naruto sighed. Now he would have to report the incident to Baa-chan.

'Looks like lunch'll have to wait,' Naruto grumped to himself as he picked up both men and leapt up to the roof, beginning his trek to the Tower.

Well, that should've been much better than the last chapter. At least I hope. So, there you have it, Naruto makes chuunin then gets promoted to jounin for defending the village from a demon attack. I think that would warrent a promotion, wouldn't you? So next chapter begins another arc where old and new faces appear and some other things happen...Well that's all I have really, so see you later and remember to read and review!