The Leaf's Naruto Chapter 17: Butterfly's Wings, a naruto fanfic

Chapter 17 – Butterfly's Wings

The sun peeked just over the top of the horizon, and its last rays caused strange shadows on the Hokage monument, where four solemn faces looked out over their village. Yet, despite the calm muttering of civilians in the streets, there was something off.

Of course, Kakashi reflected, it could just be that Gai had forgotten to use his deodorant again.

"We should have a most glorious battle!" Maito Gai exclaimed enthusiastically. "To test our mettle, our muscles against each other, while we are still young! Don't think I have forgotten that first time we truly fought all-out, in the Chūnin Exams! You defeated me then, but no more!"

Kakashi sighed as he glanced over to his excitable friend. "Hmm? Can't we just decide by Rock-paper-scissors today?"

Gai clenched his fists, grimacing. "Not that again! Can't we have a more heated battle for once?! You call yourself my rival?"

Kakashi shook his head tiredly. "Not today, Gai. I want to meet with Minato-sensei later, and if I'm all beat up and bloody, that's not going to happen. Besides, you were the one to first claim me as your rival, don't you remember?" He thought back to that battle in the Chūnin exams and frowned. That was back when he had a proper team. Gai probably didn't understand that he had some awful memories associated with that time, because he lost so much of what made it great. He looked away. "Hey, Gai, do you feel something weird? The air feels cold..."

"What is with your attitude?" Gai exclaimed, fuming. "We'll never be young like this again! Let us fight!"

Kakashi ignored his excitable friend, frowning. Perhaps it was just nervous jitters, because of what he knew was happening outside Konoha, in a secluded location. Tonight was the night that Minato-sensei's child would be born, and he and Kushina-san had everything prepared. It was natural to be a bit nervous when he couldn't help out at all.

"Kakashi…" Gai said, for a moment looking almost serious. "I see that you have many deep thoughts that fight for your attention. I will go train for our next challenge, then!"

"Sure..." Kakashi carded a hand through his hair as he tried to relax. He was on his way somewhere else before he had even fully decided where to go. When he passed the first field of graves, he knew. Fourth from the side, four rows in. He stopped lightly before the headstone, a few flowers arranged around the plaque. It read: 'Nohara Rin'.

He stood in silence for a long moment, hands in his pockets, eyes downcast. "Hello, Rin. I'm sorry I don't come more often."

The stone, of course, didn't answer. Kakashi came here after every long mission, but as a Jōnin, those could last for weeks or months. He was still young, but he knew well enough that it would only get worse with time. He remembered well how often his father would be gone for long periods, how he would complain about being away from Konoha for so long.

He remembered, too, the horror of finding his father after one, crumpled on the floor. He winced at the memory, shuddered at the other deaths that it brought to mind. There had already been too many. For all his complaints, his team had been his team. After Obito and Rin, he wondered if he could ever have a team like that again. He had friends, he supposed, but not like those two. The only one that really still counted as close was his sensei.

Soon, another point of light might be added. He smiled sadly at the thought. A new Namikaze, the child of his sensei. Who knew; perhaps he would get good enough to be the brat's teacher when he or she graduated from the academy in a few years. It was a comforting thought, to know that new people would be born to fill in the gaping holes left by others.

He looked down on the headstone with his one open eye. "Rin... this is all top-secret, but Minato-sensei's child is probably already born by now. That child is from a new generation, one that doesn't know about war. If only we, too, were born a little later..."

The Third Shinobi World War still weighted heavily on his mind. Kakashi he had earned a bit of a reputation of late, for his actions. Not unlike the Fourth's, or his father's. It was inevitable, he supposed. People sought out someone to believe in, someone to put their trust into. He himself did: He looked up to Minato-sensei, and even a little to his teammates who showed him how to be a better shinobi, a better person.

"I have to tell Obito, too," Kakashi said after a moment. "Goodbye... Rin."

He did not really want to leave, but the restless feeling wouldn't go away, even while he tried to distract himself with physical exertion, by socializing with people of his generation. He headed back towards the village at high speed more because he needed something to do than because he believed that he needed to hurry. The chilly feeling wouldn't leave him, and he was so deep in thought that he almost ran into someone in the road. He managed to halt himself in time, cursing himself for his inattention. He almost toppled over his own feet and immediately told himself that if he was going to do this again, he'd take the roof.

"Ah, Kakashi-san!" the man he almost bowled over exclaimed, smiling warmly. "You shouldn't run in the streets, you know, you could get hurt. Though I suppose I should not be too strong in that sentiment, or I'd be all out of work!" He shook his head in amusement as he pulled Kakashi to the side. "You are intact, right?"

It took Kakashi a moment to place the dark-haired man, since he wasn't wearing his usual working clothes now, and that had thrown him off. He gave a tiny bow. "Mochizuki-san. I apologize."

The man smiled ruefully. "Ryosuke, please. I am still kind of young, there's no need to get so formal." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "You know, it's funny that I should find you here, really. I'm just on my way to the hospital, and I guess you might as well tag along. I have some delicious tea and cookies, plus there are all sorts of interesting new tests I could do on that eye of yours! Extraordinary, you know, having an implanted Sharingan like that, truly marvellous. I swear, if it wasn't for that girl you had along, I'm sure you would have-"

"Ryosuke-san?"

Ryosuke paused, and then grimaced. "Ah, sorry about that. I do get carried away sometimes. But my offer for delicious tea at the hospital was genuine."

Kakashi glanced around him, but the street was clear. "Now that you're here to answer me... Do you have any news yet?"

"Not yet, that I've heard," Ryosuke noted shortly, frowning momentarily. "I can't really tell you everything, but… All right. Kushina's health is great, as always, but she will be tired from the process, like any other would. There are good people caring over her, though. You shouldn't worry too much."

"Can't help it," Kakashi admitted. "Why aren't you involved?"

"I'm only a junior medic, you know, despite all the times I had to patch you up. Just a mere Chūnin." He smiled. "Perhaps in a few years, I'll have the kind of authority to be at these kinds of things. One of the Elders is with Hokage-sama, and I'm certainly not that high up the food-chain."

"Minato-sensei must be terrified..."

"Probably, but that's like any father, right?" He glanced around quickly, whispering conspiratorially. "I'll tell you a secret: I'm pretty certain that it's going to be a boy."

"A boy, huh?" Kakashi smiled warmly.

Ryosuke nodded eagerly. "Of course, the jutsu could be off, but I'm pretty sure I got it right. Little Namikaze junior."

"Do you suppose he'll take after Minato, then?"

"I don't really know, I can't determine that sort of thing ahead of time," Ryosuke said with a shrug. "But I'm sure he'll make his father proud."

Before Kakashi could respond, there was a rumble in the air, and the feeling that had been edging on his consciousness intensified a thousand times. It was chakra, unbelievably powerful chakra, burning and itching in his throat as if it suffused the air itself. Kakashi only had enough time to whip his head around in the direction of the sound before all hell broke loose.

He had been blown off his feet, Kakashi realized. It took a moment to reorient himself. His hitai-ate had slipped off, and Obito's Sharingan blazed alight, more acute that it had ever been. He could not move, as his arms and legs seemed frozen. Ryosuke was panting beside him, and Kakashi could not manage to speak to the man. Not that he had the words.

A towering mass of red dominated the sky, a massive hulking form wreathed in blazing chakra. The creature had nine huge tails, and a single swipe of its claws demolished a dozen houses, bodies flying around like ragdolls.

As senior Jōnin arrived across the rooftops, Kakashi managed to breathe again. Before he fully realized what was happening here, he was being dragged along by an ANBU operative, dragged away from the huge beast. His heart nearly stopped as he realized what it meant. He knew why Kushina's birth had to be outside the village. Had something gone wrong?

It had to be. This creature tearing apart the village, it was the unleashed Kyūbi.

"Not quite," the boy said under his breath, his eyes blazing red.

Kakashi's blood felt like it solidified to ice in his veins as those slit pupils focused on him, and he forced the feeling aside. Chakra licked at everything around the boy, bubbled and burst across Naruto's skin. This wasn't Naruto. This was the Nine-Tailed Fox looking through his eyes, and it was smiling. Had Naruto lost control of his Tailed Beast? Now, even after all the assurances that he was fine, that he could control it?

A kunai appeared in Kakashi's hand in a second as he stared wide-eyed at the monstrosity before him. It didn't matter why right now, what mattered was what to do about this development. Shino was dying or already dead, and the Kyūbi had a hand on him, literally. He could not easily save him from harm. But, there were others. Sakura and Sasuke were behind him somewhere; they most likely did not know about Naruto's status as a jinchūriki at all. They would not get involved if he could help it, and he would not let the creature anywhere near them.

"You're the Kyūbi," Kakashi said slowly.

The fox in Naruto's body glanced at Shino's body below his hand for an instant, and his chakra began to ooze outwards down his arm and onto the boy's chest. It was not quite bubbling anymore as it first had, but the angry red still flowed like a wildfire. Shino clearly tried to scream: Even unconscious, the pain had to horrendous. Eerily, there was no sound.

"Hatake Kakashi."

The fox knew his name. Kakashi was not sure what to make of that, but at least he had its attention. The creature was still bent over in Naruto's body, so perhaps it could not move yet; that was an advantage. If he stayed between the angry beast and the rest of his team, the fox most likely would not care to attack them.

"Let Naruto go," Kakashi snapped, blocking off sight to Sasuke and Sakura. Both were stretched out on the ground, possibly unconscious or hiding from the dreaded chakra that filled the air. The Kyūbi's presence was intense, and the only reason Kakashi didn't visibly react was because he had been here before, he had felt this before. He pulled up his hitai-ate, exposing his Sharingan. "You can't have him."

"So sentimental, sensei," the fox whispered. "You, with the stolen eye, ripped from your closest friend's skull. Pathetically trying to live up to a failure." He sniffed. "Tell me, Hatake, do you believe in destiny?"

Kakashi shuddered. It was talking to him, and he was not sure how to take the revelation that it was intelligent, that the creature was capable of conversation. He knew it was a creature of hate, but to be so cold and calculating as well? He remembered talking about it, long ago, when his sensei was still around; Kushina had spoken to the fox, and all she had gotten in return was hate and bile.

Kakashi kept his kunai out, trying to find a solution to this mess. There was one that came to mind, but it was not an appealing one. Killing Naruto to prevent the creature from escaping had to be his last choice. Keeping the fox talking might work, though. If there was an internal conflict, it could allow Naruto to get back in control. The seal was not broken yet, at least; Kakashi could see it shining from beneath the boy's clothes. "What do you mean?" he asked warily.

"Destiny. That the world's end is predetermined," Kyūbi said slowly. "That all will come to the same end, no matter the actions of those who suffer through it. Do you think that is how it works?"

Kakashi frowned darkly. "No, I don't. Now, let him go. You don't want to die, and if you try to escape-"

"You'll do what? You'll kill me?" The fox chuckled as he glanced back at Shino's body. A shudder ran through Kakashi as he took in the eerie expression on Naruto's face that the fox forced it to take on. It looked almost… hungry. "Interesting… He used the connection," the Kyūbi muttered.

"I will not let you go free," Kakashi said coldly. "If that requires Naruto's…. death, then so be it. He would understand the necessity of preserving the village's safety."

The fox smiled and shook his head. "Going against your own principles, huh? Placing the mission before your comrades, does that make you lower than trash?"

Kakashi flinched back. "Shut up."

The Kyūbi chuckled. "I know why this is. You say you trust the boy, but you don't. Not really. You're the same as all the others. Stuck in the past, resentful of me and vicariously of my jailor. You might intellectually disagree with that, but your heart tells you differently, doesn't it? You blame him."

"I don't."

"You blame him for the death of the damnable Fourth Hokage." The Kyūbi shook his head. "Naruto embodies much of what you remember, and you resent him for it, isn't that true? He stole your sensei's place, did he not? Now he seeks to overthrow even that grand reputation with his own. And, though you will not admit it, you blame me for your own failing as well."

Kakashi's lightning-quick punch glanced off Naruto's jaw and the Kyūbi just smiled. The creature's burning chakra had destroyed most of his glove, and the hit didn't seem to have much effect. He launched his kunai forward with the other hand. "You're dead wrong." He aimed the blunt end of the kunai towards the possessed Naruto's skull, right at the temple. With the right amount of force, he should be able to deal a knock-out blow.

The Kyūbi, however, did not agree. The fox brought up his free hand with incredible speed, latching his fingers solidly around Kakashi's wrist. For a brief moment the Kyūbi's chakra burned like the sun and the scorching pain almost sent Kakashi to his knees; then it was gone.

The two met eyes for a long moment. They faced off, red eye against red eye, with Naruto's hand clasped tightly around Kakashi's wrist. "You deny destiny, yet you would kill its shaper? You are a fool." The fox loosened his grip, and then opened his hand. "Do not repeat the mistake you have made before. You will regret it."

Kakashi jumped back towards Sasuke and Sakura's direction, kunai still in his hand. This did not make any sense. If it was the creature in control, why did it let him live? If it were Naruto in control, why didn't he give a sign? The chakra had burned him, he had felt it, but the skin was unblemished now, if a little tender. That should not have been possible.

Shino's body trembled under the wash of demonic chakra, and Kakashi stared with apprehension at the boy's painful grimace and twitching muscles. He wasn't burning up, not yet, but whatever the fox was doing could not possibly be good for him.

"You're… a mixture of the fox and Naruto, aren't you?" Kakashi inquired slowly, rubbing his wrist.

The fox snorted humourlessly. "The brat would probably feel insulted at such a comment." He stared down on Shino with a grimace. Slowly its eyes edged back to Kakashi. "There are worse things than me, Hatake. Far worse things. Pray that you never come across them. Few of them would have the presence of mind to… plan ahead. To consider consequences. Some would consume the world, if they had their chance. Some of them are monsters in human form."

The last of Kyūbi's chakra finally bubbled away, until only a little stream remained, emanating from the palm that was still on Shino's chest. The Kyūbi straightened a little, taking in a deep, long breath. It looked almost calm for a moment, as if it was enjoying the moment for its own sake, as if the mere act of breathing was some long-forgotten memory. Perhaps it was, for the creature. It had been sealed for many years, now.

"What happened to Naruto? Is he still in there?" Kakashi asked, not sure if he would get an answer. It did not seem like the Kyūbi was going to break out; it seemed almost pensive. Had it overtaken the body entirely?

"The boy is an idiot," the fox murmured after a time. "To allow me this freedom, to allow me to move within the world once more, even in this diminished state…" He was silent for a time. "He is indeed a fool. Does that make me one as well, for answering his request…? We are in an illustrious company of failures, it seems." He closed his eyes.

A soft voice spoke up suddenly from behind Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei? Naruto?"

Kakashi twitched as his and the Kyūbi's eyes slid over to Sakura, who had slowly approached the two and looked uneasily between the two. Sasuke was behind her, his Sharingan blazing with two tomoe in each eye, staring at Kyūbi as if he had seen a ghost. Both looked horrible, their skin oily and their eyes fevered.

The fox laughed.

Naruto panted as his whole body fought against the influx of the Kyūbi's chakra, washing over everything and anything like a tidal wave. For a second there, he thought he had been behind the bars of the cage, locked into his own seal, with the Kyūbi smiling menacingly from the outside. That was not true, thankfully: He was in a place that had no walls or floor that he could see, though he was standing on something. It was white all around.

He recognized this place. This was where he would retreat when Kurama took over, where he had spoken to both his parets. Some section of his brain seemed to be set aside like this, some core of his being that the fox could not touch. He liked to imagine it was what some people called the soul.

Even though he was here, he could sense what happened outside, vaguely. Kakashi-sensei was there, saying something in a sharp tone, his Sharingan exposed. He seemed almost to move in slow-motion, as if everything in his head was running at top speed and the world could not keep up.

Trusting Kurama to this extent, Naruto realized, was probably a bad idea. Still, he remembered all too well that as a Genin in his original life, bad ideas were practically his trademark, second only to making such bad ideas work. Kurama was as vicious as he ever was, Naruto had no doubt about that, but he was certainly not stupid. Even if he knew he had a decent chance of crushing a few people on a rampage, Kurama would realize that it was counterproductive. He would die at Kakashi's hand if he tried anything, and he could take a decade or more to reform. By that time, Akatsuki would be ready for him.

For now, for better or worse, putting some trust in his jinchūriki was the intelligent option. If that meant doing a little emergency healing in exchange for a whiff of fresh air, he would probably do it without too many complaints; Naruto was certain of it. Kurama was helping for the wrong reasons, true, but at least he was helping. Perhaps that alone could mend some of the hate in the beast's heart.

Naruto jerked in surprise when he realized that he could sense more than just the outside. In the way that he usually felt his own limbs, his own body, he felt someone else's lungs, someone else's struggling heart. He winced as a flash of pain travelled through him, but it wasn't in his own body at all. Instead it was in the body that was attached to him through his… hand?

"Shino," he whispered in realization. "I can sense Shino."

It made sense, Naruto realized. Kurama's chakra served as a connection between himself and the boy. It was almost like the two bodies were connected, and through that connection, Kurama's healing ability was transferred. Yet, it was more than just a physical link, extending his own healing beyond himself. He was in this whiteness right now, but he swore it felt as if he could turn a corner, and walk into…

Between one blink and the next, the world changed entirely. Gone was blank void. He stood in a dimly lit hallway, meticulously maintained and decorated, with a towering glass roof above it. If it weren't for a few twinkling stars, he would have thought it was just painted black. The walls, on both sides, were covered with huge decorated plaques with thousands of insects pinned to them in neat rows. There was everything from tiny beetles to butterflies the size of his hand, with little worm-like creatures and mantises. Some of them looked just like leaves, or twigs, and there were hundreds, if not thousands, all around him.

The hallway ended only a little ways ahead, opening up into a gigantic hall with a little peaceful garden in the middle of it, a single tree hanging low over a small pool of water with hundreds of little insects zooming over the surface. The grass around the pool was yellowed, the soil a little dry, and perched on that soil with a plaque in his hand, wearing the same high-collared jacket that he always did, was Shino.

Naruto stepped forward with care, taking in the remarkable beauty of this place, and realized that this had to be a representation of the boy's mind. Unlike his own mind, which managed serenity by being completely empty, this was a more organized peace. The whole place felt very orderly, as if someone had meticulously arranged everything just so, with only this little garden sticking out as something more natural.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto stepped closer to the garden, frowning at the edges that were turning from yellow to brown. That did not seem like a good sign. "Shino."

The boy stood up very slowly, adjusting the collar that always seemed to cover half his face. "So… it is you that found me. I am surprised that it is your team that was sent to assist my own, because I was under the impression that you and Sasuke would be a troubling combination." He frowned. "You are not a figment of my cruel imagination, are you?"

"No, I'm real. " Naruto sighed, dropping onto the grass next to the pool. "And those problems between us are overstated. Lighten up a little. At least someone came for you, right?" He pointed vaguely over his shoulder. "I'm sort of healing you right now, by the way. So if you feel weird, you know what it's from…"

Shino looked at him with a raised eyebrow, adjusting his glasses. "…I see."

"You do know where you are, right?" He glanced around. "This bug house of yours? You know what it is?"

"I have come to the conclusion that it is a gateway from here to the other world," Shino said after a while, sounding vaguely wistful. "Why, you ask? Because when I came here, this place was alive, but it is slowly becoming darker, and quieter. The water is inviting, but I do not care to swim, so I have chosen to sit here and think on what occurred. Perhaps I will move on, later." He frowned. "Does that mean that you, too, are in the throes of death?"

"I hope not," Naruto muttered. "If I am, I'll have words with a certain over-sized ball of hair."

Shino sighed. "Even now, you remain a peculiar one with strange comments."

"You're not dead yet, Shino. Don't think like that," Naruto said at last. "I'm healing you, as I said. You can't heal the dead. In a few minutes, hopefully, you will start feeling better again. As for this place, this bug museum… It is your own representation of your mind." He glanced at the pool. "If I'm right, then the pool is what you would call your soul. The last piece to go."

"My mind?" Shino frowned. "My deduction seemed accurate."

"Take it from an expert," Naruto said, smiling warmly. "Your mind seems more inviting than my own, really. I suppose that means you're more stable." He snickered. "I can't argue with that. You always were the structured thinker, and the untiringly loyal one."

"…Always? I appreciate the compliment, but we have scarcely interacted."

"That's only because you never care to interact with most people, right?" Naruto asked knowingly. "You never treated me weirdly, or not weirder than you treat anyone else, at least. I thought those bugs of yours were creepy at first, but I got over it. I never really thought about that fact, it was just sort of there. Shino, the dependable one."

"You were… scared off by my kikai?" Shino frowned. He stretched out his arm, but no bugs appeared from his sleeves. "It seems as though they, too, are perishing. Unfortunate." He turned to Naruto suddenly. "Will the chakra burn them, as well?"

Naruto blinked. "Sorry?"

"You are using the Kyūbi's chakra to attempt to heal me," Shino said matter-of-factly. "Will it kill the last of my kikai?"

"…Probably," Naruto said, not sure how to take Shino's casual mention of the fox inside him, as if it was common knowledge. "You know about the Kyūbi?"

"Yes, I do," Shino replied, frowning. "My kikai have long tasted the chakra of every person in our class. Yours was atypical in some ways. I concluded after studying the nature of this chakra that it had to come from a non-human source. Why? Because it is generated from a separate place than your own chakra, which my bugs were able to deduce. The place from which the chakra emanated is marked with a seal. The conclusion was self-evident from that point."

"Huh." Naruto shook his head, bemused. "How long have you known?"

"Since our fourth month at the academy."

Naruto smiled sadly. "Figures that someone else would figure out before even I did. I didn't know about the fox until I graduated, you know. It was a pretty startling discovery." He glanced up. "Wait, if you knew all along, why didn't you treat me differently? Like all the adults do?"

Shino raised an eyebrow. "I do not see how the creature is relevant. You have done nothing to harm the village, or me personally."

Naruto blinked slowly. "Well, what do you know? You're a stand-up guy, Shino."

"I am an Aburame; of course I am," Shino replied, and a slight smile peeked over his collar. "Considering you appear to be attempting to heal me using the very fox's chakra, it seems that there are some advantages to the arrangement."

Naruto shrugged, but froze when a shudder went through the bug house, a slight tremor that rattled the plaques on the walls. Naruto realized that the stream of chakra that had been pouring in, and the vaguely reddish glow that seemed to flow behind his eyes, had suddenly vanished into nothingness. There was still a trickle, a little connection. His trail back to his own body.

He stood up, and frowned. Though Shino's pond was still clean and tidy, with insects skating over the surface, the plants around it had almost totally rotten away. The tree seemed like it had survived the worst of winters, the grass was dark brown and hanging limply. Even the last starlight, if that's what it had been, had vanished. He had not even noticed it happen.

"I think it's about time you get your body back, bug-boy," Naruto noted as he dragged Shino up by the arm.

Shino looked around. "…Everything is dead here. I doubt that is what constitutes health."

"It's dead, but only if you believe it to be," Naruto said. He reached out to the plaque with bugs that Shino was still holding. Very carefully he pulled off one of the largest butterflies, removing the little pin from is midsection and stabbing it back where it came from. "You know what they say about the flap of a butterfly's wings, don't you?"

Shino raised an eyebrow. "Yes… you are referring to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause or alter a storm, far away. I do not see how it is relevant to our situation."

Naruto smiled, holding up the butterfly, and for a moment it seemed as if the world came alive around him, as a spark of natural chakra travelled through him. Very gingerly the insect moved, and Shino's breath caught. It managed to work its way upright, its wings slowly flapping once as its feelers worked overtime. Then, it took off. "What do you think, Shino? Did I just alter the path of events? Can I change the path of a storm with that, or prevent it altogether? What do you think?"

The world shifted, changed.

Shino and Naruto found themselves on a hilltop covered in trees, next to a little dirt trail that wound itself upwards towards distant peaks. Before Naruto could wonder what happened to the bug house, people came up the path. Familiar people.

Kurenai walked in front, a large backpack over her shoulder and a smaller one at her waist, dragging slightly whenever she put a step forward. A second Shino followed her closely, possibly carrying even more supplies than she did. Kiba and Hinata came up the trail a little behind those two; Kiba carried Akamaru, and Hinata held a collection of water bottles connected by a string, which tapped softly together.

"This…"

Naruto followed the group with a pensive expression. "This must be a memory." He paused as he felt the finger he had just held a butterfly with. "I think each of the insects in that bug house of yours is one of them, actually. Pretty neat. Of course, the board you were holding only held your latest memories, the significant ones. This is a few days ago, I imagine. A significant memory. And for some reason, we're sort of like ghosts here." He shoved his hand right through a treelimb. "Weird."

"If this is indeed a memory, that is unsurprising," Shino observed. "We should continue our pursuit. If these are recent memories, perhaps they can help us deduce who was responsible for my wounds."

"You don't know?"

Shino shook his head. "I was incapacitated first, I believe, before I could ascertain the identity of our attacker. I was attempting to confirm the position of our attacker when something impacted my shoulder, even though I had placed a bug clone in plain sight." He winced, rubbing his shoulder, though there was no visible wound. "I only remember flashes after that. I returned to consciousness to find myself paralyzed."

"Yeah… I'm afraid you lost that arm you're holding," Naruto said bluntly. "I'm not sure if you're getting it back, either."

Shino was silent for a long time. "My arm would be an unfortunate loss, but not absolutely debilitating, considering my skill-set. The death of my colony could well be, since it might be years before a new one adapts to me. Unlike many of my senior clansmen, I do not yet have a colony so large that it requires a secondary hive at my home."

"I can't promise anything," Naruto said. "I don't know if any of the bugs survived so far, let alone after healing you. Honestly, I'm more worried about keeping you alive, and I think your family would agree."

Shino nodded, though he looked very subdued. Naruto decided to stop bothering him for a bit, focusing on the group before him, still making their way through the bush.

"Sensei, how many miles do we still have to go? My feet are killing me, and I think Akamaru's getting tired too!" Kiba exclaimed.

"You're carrying him, how's he getting tired?" Kurenai asked with a smile. "Don't worry. We've only a dozen more miles to cross before we're back at base. We should be glad that we had no contacts this time around, you know. No bandits is good."

"It seems embarrassing now, that we called for help," Kiba replied. "I mean, here you had like fifty of these bandits, and then suddenly they vanish into thin air?"

"Twenty," Kurenai corrected. "They disappeared from our methods of detection, but that only means that these people found a better place to hide. They're still harassing the nearby villages, and there's probably a dozen or more that we haven't seen. We will track them down eventually, preferably before they notice us."

The present-day Shino prodded Naruto in the arm. "We should move ahead a little. We may be able to spot the attacker there, before they assaulted my team."

"…Did you spot them from here? Because you can't just walk ahead and peek. That's not how memories work." He glanced over his shoulder. "Look behind you. The forest's completely frozen. These are your memories, Shino. Only the things you sense will be here. The rest is just noise. Something your brain made up to fill in the blanks."

"…That is a disconcerting notion. It appears I must focus on my sensory perception, if I leave such large gaps of observation."

The group made their way through the next copse of trees, and Hinata suddenly twitched. "Ah… Shino-san? Could you send out your insects, please? My Byakugan…" She frowned. "There is something like a blind spot at the edge of my range. It's straight ahead…"

The memory Shino tensed, and he adjusted his glasses. "Kurenai-sensei. Possible encounter."

Kurenai stopped walking immediately. "Right. Hinata's eyes are better than any of ours. If she says that there's someone out there, then I believe her. Kiba, get back in formation."

Kiba sighed. "Come on, I haven't smelled anything but some deer and a rabbit."

"The wise course of action is caution, when not all senses agree," Shino noted. "If there is an enemy in our vicinity that is capable of cloaking themselves from all but the Byakugan, this implies that it is a shinobi, not a bandit."

Kurenai already had a kunai in her hand as she gazed into the forest. "Stay behind me, should anything happen. Keep an eye out for enemies, all of you. This could be bad."

"Of course." Shino answered shortly.

"Sensei, why are you so worried? You're a Jōnin, right? You can kick ass!" Kiba commented. Slowly he set Akamaru down as he sniffed the air.

"Just... do it." Kurenai said tersely, stepping close to her students as she looked up into the trees.

"...I can't see anything, though," Hinata volunteered carefully. "It was there for a moment, but then it went away again. Strange…"

The current Shino stepped through his past self, taking a moment to orient himself. "This is where I stood when the attack began, when I switched out with my clone. I remember this moment very clearly. The next: Not at all. I was looking up on the distant trees when there was a sound."

Naruto frowned. "I don't hear anything." He paused. "Wait… you mean that buzzing? What is it?"

"Infrasound," Shino said shortly. "It is sound too low for normal human hearing, though I am capable of sensing it. Why is that? Because my kikai bugs transfer their own sensory perceptions to me, which allows me to hear it through them. I assume you are hearing it because I remembered it. The sound is often created by a shinobi who travels very softly; as such sounds cannot be detected by most. It is a frequency that their techniques do not block."

"Maybe," Naruto muttered. "Where's the attacker coming from?"

Shino pointed in the general direction of his younger self's gaze. "The bug-clone has already been placed. My true self is approximately four feet up and perched on the second large limb of this tree." He tapped on the bark to his side. "Thankfully, my insects allow me to receive more than merely sound perceptions. This is how I coordinate my attacks."

"Did they catch a glimpse of the attacker?"

"If they were able to, then I should remember. Since my conscious recollection of this moment is less than satisfactory, perhaps this unconscious element might fill in what I missed." Shino frowned. "I remember… the colour blue."

Just as Shino said it, there was a flash of blue from ahead. The team seemed to move very slowly, as if wading through molasses, and Naruto realized that he received some of the perceptions that the bugs had, far simpler but quicker than a human mind. He saw the memories that were created by the sensory perceptions of Shino himself, as well as his insects that seemed connected to him in a similar way to his own Kage Bunshin. Bugs had high speed of perception; this is how they avoided flyswatters, after all.

The flash of blue was, as it turned out, a piece of clothing. The charging attacker was strangely deformed; some parts of his body were crystal clear, while others were vague or stretched out. The bugs had perceived some things, but not all, and Shino had a poor view through the leaves, which distorted what remained. This was as close as the memory would get, Naruto presumed. The man, probably in his thirties, and wearing a long blue shawl tied around his neck, seemed vaguely familiar to him. He couldn't place what he could see of his face, nor the odd garb he wore. He wore a hitai-ate strapped to the his shoulder, depicting two boulders with a horizontal slash cut through them. An Iwa Missing-Nin, then.

The enemy ninja's hand was stretched out before him; all but the fingertips were covered by a white glove. He seemed to be grasping for Shino specifically, and Naruto wondered for a moment why that would be. Kurenai was the Jōnin, and certainly the greatest immediate threat to any enemy. Was he simply going to make an example out of one of the Genin to scare Kurenai?

The man's weapon shot out quickly, even when the world moved turgidly slow. It was a circular blade, almost half a foot in diameter. A poisoned one, Naruto realized, since the toxic solution applied to it glistened slightly.

The weapon found its way towards Shino's position, curving in mid-air, as if it sought body heat. At the last moment, Kurenai's hand appeared in the way, knocking the barrelling weapon aside, but she was just a moment too late. Though the cutting edge had been diverted from the course that would have beheaded Shino, it still hit him right on the shoulder.

Shino watched in horror as his past self's arm simply fell off, neatly cut away. His memory opened his mouth to scream, but the only sound that could be heard was like that of rushing water. The sound of blood rushing in his veins, Naruto realized. Shino couldn't remember any other sound from this moment.

The attacker passed by Kurenai's assault and reached out towards Hinata with his hand, not even balling it to his fist; it seemed almost as if he was trying to use the Gentle Fist, though ineptly. Hinata responded with a targeted attack, far more focused than Naruto remembered from her. This was Hinata in a crisis, then: All business. Her attack hit the man on his hand, and for a moment Naruto was sure it had worked. Then Hinata's forearm suddenly seemed to explode from within. A dozen wounds opened up along her forearm and blood sprayed as she screamed silently. She toppled over, probably unconscious from the nerve damage's sudden shock.

Akamaru attacked, but he was easily swept aside; the man's hand slammed around and into Kurenai, who looked wide-eyed as she fell backwards, her hand grasping at her stomach, where the attack had hit. Kiba tried to slash viciously at the enemy, but it did not work either; the image faded as Kiba fell out of view. Shino had lost sight of everyone.

The world turned darker as the memory's Shino toppled out of his tree like a dead weight, rolling down the hill and ending up spread-eagle in a shallow alcove. Darkness took over only moments later, bugs crawling across his body in a panic, some of them taking flight and buzzing around in a cloud, as if protecting the fallen boy.

"…I see," Shino said as he stood over his unconscious self, the only part of the memory that was not total darkness. "So that is what happened."

"We found you in that ditch," Naruto said, frowning darkly. "Did you see what I saw? That man, the attacker, he went for you specifically. He threw his blade directly at your hidden position, instead of going for Kurenai-sensei. Why did he do it?" He paced. "You are a Genin, there was no way this guy was anywhere in your team's league."

Shino frowned. "My team is not inconsequential, and I do not appreciate the negative comments."

"That's not what I meant. That guy had a reason to attack you," Naruto said. "What did you do? Is he some enemy of the Aburame clan, maybe? Does he hold some personal grudge? No, I would have expected him to at least address you, if that was the case. It seemed like he just wanted to kill you, to get you out of the way. He treated you like you were the most dangerous member on your team."

"My destruction bug's ability to drain chakra can be debilitating on any ninja," Shino said.

"You haven't tried me yet," Naruto muttered. "Maybe that's what's going on, but I don't think so. This guy had to be as fast as Kakashi, so that pretty much makes him a B-rank or A-rank, and he outmanoeuvred Kurenai-sensei without any trouble. Why would he go for a Genin instead of a Jōnin? Unless you had some advantage that could stop him cold…" Naruto stopped, narrowing his eyes. "The attack on Hinata, what was that about? It was like he used the Gentle Fist, but from the inside."

"Impossible," Shino said. "Interfering with internal chakra would be rejected by the chakra circulatory system, and hurt the one attempting to intercede. That is why there are only very few techniques that allow for chakra to flow between different people. It is also why medical techniques are so very delicate."

"But he did do it," Naruto noted. "It was like he turned the Gentle Fist back on her, and he tossed Kurenai-sensei around like a ragdoll. This guy means business. Why have I never heard of him?" He shook his head. "We're done here. Let's go."

The memory flickered and gave way.

They were back in the bug house, and Naruto tried to recall every detail that he could of the memory he had seen, for later reference. The face he had seen was unclear, but he recognized something about it. It felt like he had seen it before, long ago.

Shino gazed at him with a curious expression, and Naruto realized that the boy was actually impressed with him for his observations. First impressions, he supposed. Then the put the plaque down on his knees as he sat with his legs crossed at the water's edge. "It seems that you intend to rescue my teammates, if they are still alive. I will assist."

Naruto smiled. "Of course I'm going after the others; they didn't seem as badly hurt as you, so hopefully they were just taken captive. I'll see if I can convince Kakashi to go after this guy, and take him out. I don't think you'll be up for any such activity for a while, though."

Shino shook his head sadly, and the plaque upon his lap sprang to life. Every insect worked its way free from it, pins vanishing before they could even hit the dirt. Grass erupted from the parched earth around Shino ripples travelled across the pond, and the insects there began to flurry about once more.

Before Naruto could fully process the revitalization, there was suddenly sunlight. The black sky faded away, and clear light shone through the glass ceiling, illuminating the ordered rows of plaques along the halls. The floor shimmered with dancing reflections. Every insect on every plaque came alive, and the whole bug house filled with activity once again.

"…Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto," Shino said. "It seems I am recovering."

"You're welcome. Believe me when I say that I won't let my comrades die," Naruto said, smiling broadly. Beside him, the lone tree that had seemed utterly dead burst into full bloom.

"Stay back, Sasuke, Sakura." Kakashi stepped back from Naruto's prone form. "I mean it. He's dangerous, very dangerous."

"It is done," Kyūbi said, very slowly standing up. Chakra still blazed around him, licking at his skin like flames, though it did not burn. In places it turned almost yellow, and strange dark markings appeared momentarily, before they vanished again. "All that is required now, is time."

"You're the Nine-Tails," Sasuke said, shivering. "Aren't you?"

"One does not need the Sharingan to observe such an obvious fact," Kyūbi replied dryly, turning to Sasuke. "Those eyes are a sign of your forsaken ancestry. You are not at all unlike one from the longest time ago, who lost his honour to his own brother... Uchiha Izuna."

Sasuke shivered. "…And you expect me to know that person?"

The Kyūbi snarled and faltered suddenly, chakra receding. "It appears… that my time here has come to an end." He focused on Sasuke suddenly, the last of its chakra forming the shape of his head around Naruto's own. "I may not see you again, Uchiha, but I warn you… Don't… kill Naruto. You'll end up… regretting…"

The chakra vanished, and Naruto collapsed to his knees, wavering a little. His eyes rolled around in their sockets, trying to find some stability. Finally, they found Kakashi as his body sagged to the side and he caught himself.

"…Hi."

"Naruto?" Kakashi stepped closer. "Is that… you?"

"…I should have warned you about that, I think," Naruto muttered with an awkward chuckle, as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Didn't think you would freak out this much… You look like you pissed yourself there. So does Sakura, actually..."

Naruto rolled over with a wince, taking in Shino's slow but steady breathing. The seal had dropped off on its own, his chest healed entirely. There were slight chakra burns, but they would vanish in time. Most remarkable of all, perhaps: a thin, rather weak-looking arm lay where before there was only a stump. Its muscles were untrained, its skin untouched by the sun, and it would take time before Shino could use it properly again, but he had it. "He actually came through…"

"He, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, eyes narrowing. "How much do you listen to that creature? You nearly got us all killed. Do you know how close you came to breaking your seal?" He looked behind him. "You scared your team members half to death with that... outbreak."

"I didn't come close to breaking the seal," Naruto said sharply. "The fox didn't force his way out at all; I let it out, a little. It was the only way this could work." He winced. "The Kyūbi desires freedom, and he got some here. He desires other things too, though, things that he won't even admit. Those are the things which caused him to avoid harming you, which made him heal to the best of his ability, while he was under no obligation to do so." He smiled. "Kakashi… I think I finally understand what it is to be a proper jinchūriki."

"The… K-Kyūbi…" Sakura shivered, her eyes wide.

"It is sealed within me," Naruto confirmed, slowly sitting upright. "I wanted to tell you, in time, but…" He sighed as he shook his head. "I suppose that ship has sailed, now."

"You used that thing to activate my Sharingan," Sasuke observed. He stared at the seal that was still visible on his stomach; most of Naruto's jacket was simply gone, burned up by the intense chakra.

"It just added another tomoe just now, I think," Naruto said with a brief grin. "Yes, I did use that power. The Kyūbi... he's got a lot of hate. But, I think, he's capable of working through it just like anyone else. He just has it a little worse for the Uchiha. No offense."

Sasuke shrugged. "It seemed to dislike my family. The feeling is mutual."

Naruto snorted. "The stupid fox is safely in his cage, don't worry about that. The seal will keep him in as long as I wish." He tapped his stomach where the shape still stood out. "He's a bit mad that I called him stupid just now, but I think that's offset by his moment of fresh air. He didn't say anything too weird, did he?" Naruto grimaced. "He had a tendency to say confusing and menacing stuff. I think I caught most of it, but…"

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair tiredly, looking decidedly worn down. "It seems that our first C-rank-"

"- Isn't over yet," Naruto cut him off immediately. "Sasuke, you brought a Bingo Book, right? Can you get it for me? It's important."

Sasuke frowned, but slowly lowered the bag that he still had slung over his shoulder, and rifled through it. "Why? What's it for?"

"I know about Team 8's attacker." He glanced over to the unconscious boy. It would probably be hours to even days before he would get over the mental stress of nearly dying. "Don't ask how I know right now, it's complicated. There are butterflies involved."

Sasuke looked at him oddly, but thankfully he didn't seem particularly upset right then, about the revelation. Maybe he had already theorized something like this from the one time he was exposed to the beast's Killing Intent. Naruto grabbed the Bingo Book from his hands, flipping through the pages.

"I could have sworn that I'd seen the guy before, but I didn't know where. Then I realized that he was a Missing-Nin, and you can find a list of those in a very specific place." He flipped on, past a whole collection of shinobi he would rather never meet, then suddenly stopped. "…That's him."

This hadn't been in his own Bingo Book, the one that he brought to the Genin exam. That one contained his father, and a young Kakashi, but not this guy. No, he remembered this guy from way earlier. This had been in his first life, when he had just started on his three-year journey with Pervy Sage.

'So why are you crossing all these names out of your little book?' Naruto asked.

'Because they're dead,' Jiraiya said, frowning. 'What do they teach you brats these days? They're Missing-Nin, other shinobi go out and hunt them down, and get cash in reward. Most of these are weak ones, so they get taken out easily. I have to keep it up to date, so I know what kind of people I can run into out there.'

'Hmmm, so what about this guy…?' Naruto pointed at a small picture of a tall man with bright eyes and a long blue shawl. 'There's an A drawn on his shirt, what does that mean? A-rank?'

'…No. That means Akatsuki.'

Naruto blinked. 'He is one of the ones that are trying to hunt down... people like me?'

'You don't have to worry about that one anymore,' Jiraiya said, smiling slightly. 'I took care of that one with my own hands, actually. That was before I even met you. Tricky fellow, but I tricked him, and that was that. You can cross him out, he's on the bottom of the river somewhere.'

'Hah, Pervy Sage, are you sure you killed this one yourself? Aren't you a little old for that?'

"Akatsuki," Naruto mouthed, paling. "Kakashi-sensei, we need to get Kurenai and the others back, and quickly. If this guy's involved with the people I think he is…" He shook his head. "Sasuke, can you keep an eye out for foreign chakra? Hinata was the first to spot something for the others. Hopefully your eyes are more useful here. Sakura, you're responsible for checking Shino. I think the Kyūbi's chakra burned his internal chakra system because it forcefully invaded, so he's probably defenceless now. I think he needs to heal up for a week or two before he does any fighting again."

The two nodded, apparently glad that they could do something, anything, to get rid of the tense atmosphere that still dominated the group. Kakashi's eyes had not wavered one bit, still focused on Naruto.

"Kakashi… flip down the hitai-ate," Naruto said as he slowly stood up. "Man, I feel like I've been to one of Maito Gai's training courses… all my muscles feel like they're on fire. Damn fox." He stretched painfully. "Hey, I said to cover that damn eye. Can't have you fainting here."

Kakashi slowly shoved down the hitai-ate. "…This will have consequences, you understand? Severe ones?"

"Of course it will," Naruto said wearily. "Can we save all the threats and condemnations and interrogations until after we get Team 8 safely back from enemy hands? I just got Shino back from the brink of death, and there's three people still out there, two of which, at least, are hurt. Akamaru too, I suppose. I know our enemy, and I've got his data here in the Bingo Book. He's an A-rank Jōnin."

"Way out of a Genin team's league," Kakashi noted.

Naruto scoffed. "This is your team we're talking about. Besides, he was afraid of Shino. Afraid enough to try and kill him first, before even going for Kurenai. I assume he didn't have trouble breaking her Genjutsu, but he's probably much worse at fighting Ninjutsu, and he's covered up his weakness by always using surprise tactics to take such people out first. That's why he knocked out Shino, I think. In case you forgot, both of us specialize in Ninjutsu, so we have an edge."

"We cannot go chasing after some Missing-Nin on your word alone!" Kakashi snapped. "Much less after that stunt you pulled just now. Invoking the Kyūbi's chakra, its spirit, right in front of your team, without even telling anyone? Did anyone even know you could do that? Do you know how much it scared me to think that the creature was breaking free?"

"Enough to sock me in the jaw," Naruto muttered. "I felt that, you know. Don't take the fox's words too seriously, by the way. He likes to think the worst of people; even himself."

"You speak to that thing," Kakashi said. "You speak to the Kyūbi. How do I know that it hasn't taken over already?"

"Him," Naruto corrected. "I speak to it, but it's not in control. Our minds are separate, but I would be a fool to dismiss his knowledge. The Kyūbi is an ancient creature, Kakashi. He is older than the village, old enough to have personally known the Sage of the Six Paths, to have seen all the ages of the shinobi world. He told me I might be a little bit like that man, you know." He smiled. "He doesn't really trust me, not yet. But there's a beginning there. None of his previous jinchūriki could claim to control him even a little. I don't really control him at all, in the way that you saw it, but cooperation is key here. He was free to act through me, only tempered by my will, by the limitations that I placed upon him." He glanced down at the man's wrist. "He healed you as well, didn't he? There is some good in him. Kurama is more than just another monster."

Kakashi rubbed his wrist slowly. "You... know the beast's name. Nobody has been able..." He shook his head. "This does not change anything, Naruto. You're a Genin. A Genin that's treading all over the laws of the village."

"It doesn't change anything, you say?" Naruto cocked his head to the side. "You know how fast I heal, sensei. You've seen a hint of it just now. You know that the Kyūbi's power is at my disposal, at least a little. You know that I am capable of seriously powerful jutsu and I'm up there with the rest. With that chakra searing through my body, I am quick enough to catch your quickest punch. I am powerful enough to lock you in place with my hand alone. When I do that, I'm Jōnin-level. We can do this." He tapped his hitai-ate and winked. "Besides, I'm still the commander. Or are you going to relieve me from command for the crime of saving Shino's life and career?"

"ANBU are already heading this way," Kakashi said. "They're the type to deal with these things. I sent a messenger dog earlier, when we found the body. It will reach Konoha in a day, and the ANBU will not take long to reach us. Maybe two or three days."

"That's too long, and you know it." Naruto shook his head resolutely. "If any of the others are even half as hurt as Shino, they won't last. If we wait much longer, any kind of trail will be too cold to follow. We're only about forty miles from the border with Rain, and we really don't want to follow them in there, in case that's where they're headed. We need to cut them off, and soon. Perhaps he is travelling alone, in which case we can outright assassinate him with your technique. Alternatively, he could be a local powerhouse, and took out Team 8 to protect his turf. If that is true, we need to find this guy's base of operations."

"…And how do you intend we do that?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I did tell you that my stealth is advanced, right? My Kage Bunshin will scour everything, keeping out of sight. I will find the enemy, and figure out whether or not Team 8 is alive, and where they or their remains are kept." He was proud for not stuttering in that cold assessment. "Sasuke, Sakura, and I will form a distraction that can retaliate with powerful attacks if necessary, since nobody will expect a Genin team to have at least two members that are quite powerful for the rank. If this guy has any subordinates, they're bound to be weaker than him, or they would have already usurped his position. I am fast and strong enough to cover my teammates, and you can add Shadow Clones as well, if you wish."

Kakashi stared at him with narrowed eyes.

"As for you… you'll be the assassin." He tapped Kakashi on his hitai-ate with a smirk. "I know, you have like a thousand techniques, but this is different. I would do this attack myself, but I think that it would look rather weird on the mission reports, and they're bound to be odd enough as it is. You will keep yourself hidden, and ready that lightning move of yours. I know you're good enough to use it without warning the opposition. Try out my seals before you go, they'll give you the time advantage you'll need, so you're more effective. When the Missing-Nin appears to entertain himself with the Genin that supposedly stumbled into his camp, you skewer him from behind. No half measures either. Behead the murdering bastard."

He heard Sakura gasp from Shino's side, and he could practically feel Sasuke's eyes burning in his back.

"…You are the commander," Kakashi said after a long moment. "This is a very risky plan, Naruto."

"Not if we do it right," Naruto countered. "Kakashi, we have two Genin and a Jōnin that are either dead already or close enough to it, especially without our help. We have to act, since our ANBU support will only be in time to dust up the ashes of Team 8. Let me at least sent the clones out, and figure if the plan has a decent chance of success. If not, then we'll do it your way. If it's necessary, I'll act as bait myself, without involving Sakura and Sasuke at all."

"Like hell," Sasuke said sharply from the entrance. "This mission is just starting to get interesting."

Sakura trembled, but she bound Shino's chakra burns with a determined expression, her nervous gaze meeting Naruto's. Where Naruto expected the Sakura he remembered - focused on Sasuke, easily intimidated - he could only find conviction now. Something of the Sakura that had first appeared in the Exams, the first time around. "I... My answer is the same as Sasuke's."

Kakashi stared at the two for a long time, and then back at Naruto, who looked back unwaveringly. Finally, their sensei nodded. "...Alright. Send out the clones."

Author's Note: Begun, the Clone war has.

I know, not the same cliffhanger as last chapter. Fine, then. Let's make it a little fun. One of the members of Team 8 is gonna have to get used to, ahem, having a shittier life, let's say. Or none at all. Place yer bets.

The next chapter has action. Lots of action. Oodles of asskicking.