If I could describe Naruto Uzumaki in a single word, it'd be passionate. I'm not talking about a fox-eared casanova, alright?. When I say passionate, I mean fiery, wild, and most of all, hot-blooded. I could never quite figure him out. Whenever I think I have, he does something completely out of character.

In addition to being passionate, Naruto can be a reckless idiot. That crazy guy would take on the whole world with no limbs and a smirk on his face if it came down to that. He's a save-the-day super hero without even knowing it or trying to be one.

So far, I've seen different sides of Naruto that make me wonder just who Naruto Uzumaki really is, and the scary part is I don't even think I've scratched the surface. In and out of a fight, Naruto has this complex honor code. He lives by his own set rules, and he follows them relentlessly. Stupid guy he is, his weird honor code is pretty self-destructive sometimes.

I haven't known him for long, but I could go on for hours talking about Naruto. He's just that freakin' weird, but for all his weirdness, I just can't help but be drawn to him. Ya know, I'm pretty sure some of his stupid just rubbed off on me. Stupid Naruto.

- Fū's Diary: First Entry

Chapter 21: The Two Faces of Naruto Uzumaki

His eyes were wide open, but he wasn't seeing. His ears were twitching slightly, but he wasn't hearing either.

'Am I blind...?...Am I deaf...?' Naruto thought weakly. He couldn't tell where he was anymore. Whether Naruto was still in his mindscape or not, he was completely unaware. The lack of awareness made Naruto feel even more pathetic. 'Was I really beaten stupid?' Naruto thought to himself.

His entire body ached with his throat as the epicenter. As the memories of what occurred before he passed out for the second time came back to him, Naruto realized he wasn't blind. The malicious black chakra that came to his knees before was now all-encompassing. He wasn't deaf either. Simply put, there was no sound in his mind at the moment.

'This can't be it.' Naruto thought faintly. 'Fucking hell, this can't be the end.'

Naruto's body was currently being piloted by his darkest desires alone; that is, his innate bloodlust primarily. To put it into perspective, if Naruto was in Konoha, he would be hurling Scorch Bombs at everything and anything.

Fū backed away slowly, fear was evident in her eyes. She didn't delude herself. Fū knew something was terribly wrong with Naruto, but regardless, she didn't want to abandon Naruto.

"Naruto, it's okay. Whoever you were fighting before is gone. You're not in danger anymore." Fū said in a soothing voice. Naruto stopped advancing toward her. Fū felt some level of relief until Naruto started laughing raspily, the black and red shroud around him fluctuated as he did.

He gazed at his hands as he flexed his claws. He fixed Fū with a red-eyed stare. "Kill...kill...kill." Naruto said darkly with a slight smirk, "It just keeps repeating in my head like a fucking mantra, and right now, I want nothing more than to make it rain blood over the land."

Naruto stretched his arms experimentally. "I can't say I enjoyed the means, but I'm certainly enjoying the end." Naruto uttered. Orochimaru's Cursed Seal of Hell had one hell of an effect. It managed to separate Naruto's dark side with all his dark desires from Naruto's normal, predominant personality. The same evil incarnation Naruto encountered in his mind was the same personality piloting his body, and as it seemed, there wasn't a thing Naruto could do about it what with the seal ciphoning Naruto's strength.

The severity of her situation impacted Fū. Naruto, the guy she was seeking for almost a month and the guy that was supposed to be her savior, was seconds away from killing her and going on a murderous rampage apparently.

'How could this all have turned out so wrong?' Fū thought as tears stung her eyes. She stubbornly refused to let them fall. Instead, she stood her ground and faced Naruto with a steely gaze. Naruto seemed fairly amused at her defiant actions. He vanished from Fū's sight and appeared behind her. Fū was surprised by the display of speed and she spun around just in time to see Naruto rearing back for a strike. As he came forward with a clawed strike, Fū readied herself to withstand the attack. Before he could make contact, Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Fū spun around and scanned the entire cave for any sign of Naruto.

"He's gone." Fū stated absently with her arms dangling at her sides. "What the heck just happened and where the hell did he disappear to?"

With a predatorial smirk, Naruto swung his claws at the green-haired girl in front of him only to strike nothing but air. Naruto immediately straightened up and scanned his surroundings. He wasn't in the cave anymore. Everything around him was lush green. There were huge plants, toads, and massive toad statues. Naruto scowled as he realized he was summoned to Mt. Myoboku.

"What the hell happened to you, brat?" Naruto jumped back when the voice behind him reached his ears. From his crouched position, he looked up to see Jiraiya and Fukasaku. staring back at him with a horrified fascination.

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he charged at Jiraiya, hopped in the air, and Air Dashed straight down at Jiraiya with a punch. Jiraiya just barely reacted in time to jump out of the way of the punch, or more specifically, the red and black chakra shroud that preceded Naruto's fist. All in all, Jiraiya was glad he decided to jump out of the way instead of simply blocking the punch like he normally did when sparring with Naruto since the punch put a crater in the ground.

As Naruto rose from his crouched position, Jiraiya immediately noticed the blazing red mark in the center of Naruto's throat. The mark was eerily familiar, Jiraiya noted. It wasn't too much of a stretch to connect Orochimaru to that mark. Just the thought of Orochimaru manipulating Naruto was enough to get Jiraiya's blood boiling.

As Jiraiya dodged another punch from Naruto, he noted that Naruto was significantly stronger and considerably faster, though, he was fighting wildly. Naruto had a one-track mind in his current state. The only thought running through Naruto's head was kill. Driven only by the desire to tear his prey apart, Naruto's attacks weren't hard for Jiraiya to predict.

Even with that going for him, Jiraiya was still struck when Naruto managed to take hold of his clothing. The punch sent Jiraiya spiralling away and temporarily out of sight.

Naruto smirked viciously at his small success. His smirk only grew when a large toad approached him. He glanced up at the pipe smoking toad who regarded him as if he were merely an ant.

"You're that Naruto brat, aren't you? Taken on quite a freaky little appearance, haven't ya?" Gamabunta spoke condescendingly to the boy in front of him. Naruto vanished in a blur and appeared in front of Gamabunta's face. He swung his lengthened claws in an arc, leaving four deep gashes in the chief toad's face.

Gamabunta stifled his pain and swatted at Naruto who simply Air Dashed out of danger and in Gamabunta's face again. This time, he reared back and kicked Gamabunta with his black and red chakra shroud. The power behind the kick was enough to lift Gamabunta off his feet and send him several yards back.

Naruto's dark instincts warned him of incoming danger. He dodged an attack from a sasumata. He turned to face the sasumata wielding, magenta toad, named Gamaken, that was speaking about himself being clumsy and ungraceful.

The toad's self-deprecation was lost on Naruto as he ran up the metalic handle of the sasumata and Air Dashed at Gamaken with his claws ready. He made two quick slashes at Gamaken before kicking him toward Gamabunta.

Naruto landed and placed one hand out in front of himself. He formed a Scorch Bomb and kept gathering fire and wind chakra to strengthen it. The ground shook violently around him as the density of the Scorch Bomb increased dramatically. His intention was to completely destroy Mt. Myoboku.

"Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant!" Two voices belonging to the Two Great Toad Sages called out in unison. Since Naruto had such sensitive ears, the sound-based genjutsu was especially effective. Within seconds, he was completely trapped inside the genjutsu.

Jiraiya quickly appeared in front of the dazed Naruto and slapped a seal on his forehead. The seal quickly drained Naruto of the malicious chakra currently flowing through his body. Subsequently, Naruto collapsed, but Jiraiya caught him before he could hit the ground.

Jiraiya glanced around at the downed toads then back at Naruto. "I really hope I got you here before you could do any serious damage." Jiraiya said solemnly. He glanced down at the pulsing red seal on Naruto's throat. If he had to guess, Jiraiya would assume the seal was searching for Naruto's chakra.

'It's probably feeding off his chakra since he doesn't seem to be able to fight it.' Jiraiya thought to himself. He hoisted Naruto up and carried him to Fukasaku and Shima's place.

The Kyuubi was absolutely livid. Here he sat in a damn cage in some boy's mind being flooded by black chakra as a result of his container being branded with a seal. The intricate properties of the seal were quite astounding from an unbiased standpoint.

Orochimaru hadn't gone into this half-cocked. Within the Cursed Seal of Hell was another secondary seal; one meant to suppress the tailed beast while simultaneously and relentlessly draining its chakra. On top of using the recipient's chakra as a power source, the Cursed Seal of Hell uses the tailed beast's power as well. In that aspect, the seal was practically unbeatable. Sealing Naruto's chakra was a very temporary victory.

The Kyuubi growled in righteous anger. The inundation of black chakra greatly limited the Kyuubi's vision, but it could depict the almost lifeless husk of its container.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Do not be so weak as to be defeated by a seal. Rise and show your power!" The Kyuubi roared from its place inside the cage. Its chakra flowed from the cage to Naruto. A red aura began to form around Naruto. "Show your power." The Kyuubi repeated lowly, "The power I know you possess." The Kyuubi spoke before closing his eyes, succumbing the Cursed Seal of Hell once more.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times before glancing around his mindscape. He would have sworn he heard the Kyuubi. He clenched and unclenched his hand. Naruto stood slowly without stumbling.

"Wherever the hell you are, you shady bastard, come out." Naruto called out, referring to the dark incarnation of himself.

"I'm going to gain full control this time. You are a fool for rushing to your demise." The dark incarnation stated from its place behind Naruto.

Naruto turned to regard the shrouded incarnation. "You're supposed to be a manifestation of my own dark desires, am I right?" Naruto questioned. He growled and clenched his fists. "I'll be damned if I lose myself to my own darkness." Naruto stated as he entered Sage Mode within his own mind.

Dark Naruto merely sneered at Naruto. Both Naruto and Dark Naruto vanished and reappeared in front of each other. Dark Naruto was relentless with his wild attacks. Naruto was kept on his toes avoiding each vicious, rapid strike. Naruto Burst Stepped behind Dark Naruto to avoid a clawed swipe, and he countered with a Rapid Strike punch aimed directly at the back of Dark Naruto's head. Dark Naruto grabbed Naruto's fist in his hand. With a smirk on his face, Dark Naruto tossed Naruto away like he was nothing.

Naruto rolled to regain his bearings. He raised his arms to block an incoming punch from his quickly approaching dark counterpart. Naruto was pushed back a considerable distance from the force of the punch. While trying to recover from the recoil, Naruto flashed through hand signs and stirred up a large gust of wind with the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.

Dark Naruto had no problem strong-arming the technique. He pushed through and formed a black and red Rasengan in his hand. The chakra in the spiralling sphere was so dense the ground beneath Dark Naruto shook.

Naruto knew better than to let it come in direct contact with him. Naruto jumped just slightly above Dark Naruto, causing him to miss Naruto and slam the Rasengan into the ground. Not missing a beat, Naruto countered with a sharp kick to head that did little more than push Dark Naruto back several meters.

Naruto created a dozen Shadow Clones with a couple Fire Clones mixed in. Naruto stood defiantly before his dark counterpart who didn't bother making clones of his own. Instead, Dark Naruto took in the black chakra covering Naruto's mindscape.

'To hell with subtlety.' Naruto thought to himself as his clones scattered around Dark Naruto. He joined in the mix as well. Dark Naruto destroyed several of the Shadow Clones before he got to the Fire Clones. Destroying one of them set off a chain reaction between the rest of them. Dark Naruto was directly in the epicenter of the flames. Naruto's remaining Shadow Clones flashed through hand signs, took a deep breath, and shot out fireballs from their mouths.

Naruto, who jumped back slightly once his Fire Clones burst into flames, threw the Scorch Bomb he was charging up directly at Dark Naruto who was still caught in the flames. The resulting explosion dispelled the rest of Naruto's clones and threw Naruto back.

All of the flames cleared and there was no sign of Dark Naruto. Naruto, panting in exhaustion, fell to his knees.

'That damn seal is still draining my power.' Naruto thought as he stood back up. He sighed as he realized he was still under the seal's effect. 'At least I dealt with the immediate danger.'

A chorus of laughter behind him made Naruto freeze. His blood ran cold as he realized the immediate danger was still very much present. As he turned around to face his dark side, Naruto grimly noted that the immediate danger had also multiplied.

Naruto, still panting from exhaustion, counted six Dark Narutos, each smirking maliciously.

'Getting my ass kicked in my mind...It doesn't get much better than that.' Naruto thought to himself sarcastically.

Naruto watched helplessly as the six Dark Naruto's slowly approached him, purposely unnerving him. In a single instant, the tension vanished and the vicious punishment began.

Not much time passed outside of Naruto's mind. Jiraiya watched in horror as the red and black shroud began spreading around Naruto's unconscious form. He felt so helpless. Watching his student in pain, fighting for his life, without being able to do a single damn thing about it was such a troubling feeling.

Jiraiya was glad that Hiruzen contacted him when he did. He may have averted a possible slaughter, assuming, of course, he caught Naruto in time. There was no way Jiraiya could know for sure.

"Chalk it up to you, Naruto, to run off to take on all your problems on your own." Jiraiya muttered, shaking his head.

Fū, once she finally got over her shock, walked over and picked up Naruto's sage cloak. She held it in her hand and moved to the front of the cave where she sat and watched the rain fall.

She was content with waiting for Naruto to return as long as he came back as his normal self. Fū wasn't a fan of rain, so she only left the cave for food and wood to burn, though most of the wood she found was too wet to serve any purpose.

"Joke's over, where the heck did he go?" Fū complained aloud.

Naruto slammed into the ground as he withstood another punch from one of the Dark Narutos. It took all he had to avoid the more lethal attacks, but he just didn't have it in him to counter anymore. It took a lot out of him to take out the first Dark Naruto, and with the seal still draining Naruto's strength, Naruto was physically incapable of putting up a fight.

Naruto stood once more, staggering a bit as he did. The problem was Naruto had enough power left from the Kyuubi to stay conscious, stand, and avoid some attacks, but nothing else. Honestly, Naruto would have preferred unconsciousness.

The Dark Narutos Burst Stepped around him, taking jabs at him when they could. Naruto stood defiantly, braving the assault before one particularly hard strike drove him to his knees. One of the Dark Narutos took the opportunity to drill Naruto with a firm kick directly in the face.

Naruto skidded across the floor in his mindscape before coming to a stop face-down on the floor. Naruto struggled to his feet again. He clumsily avoided a Rasengan aimed at his chest, and he jumped away from a fireball. A Dark Naruto Burst Stepped behind him and blew him away with the Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. Naruto was knocked off his feet from the force of the wind. He landed on his back with a grunt that turned into a scream of agony as another Dark Naruto Air Dashed downward and kicked him in the midsection while he was still on the ground. Blood and spit flew from Naruto's mouth as a result.

'Damn, this is ridiculous.' Naruto thought to himself.

The six Dark Narutos surrounded Naruto in a circle. They smirked tauntingly as they began flowing through similar hand signs simultaneously. Naruto easily recognized the hand signs. The Dark Narutos were going to roast him six-ways.

'It's over, isn't it? Beaten by my own darkness. What a shitty way to go out.' Naruto thought to himself, snapping his eyes shut and clenching his fists tightly.

Naruto felt a strange sensation running through him. Chains shot out from his body and latched onto the Dark Narutos. The chains wrapped around their hands before they could finish the jutsu. More chains shot out from Naruto, wrapping around the Dark Narutos completely and dragging them to the ground where they lied in confusion.

Naruto was just as confused. Spontaneously shooting chains from his body certainly wasn't a technique he remembered mastering. Even so, Naruto couldn't help but be grateful for the interference, though it did confuse the ever-living hell out of him.

"Naruto." Naruto's ears twitched as he heard the gentle, feminine voice. He weakly turned his head to try and locate the source, but it seemed the voice came from nowhere.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Naruto found himself in a different location entirely. Naruto, still lying on his back, lifted his arm to shield his eyes from the new bright scenery.

"Where the hell am I now? I swear, this day makes less and less sense by the minute." Naruto whispered to himself, taking in the bright and entirely open location. "I would've sworn I was a second away from being six feet under."

"Naruto." Naruto ears twitched again. There was that gentle voice again. Naruto rose to his feet, ignoring the painful ache the simple action caused him. He glanced over his shoulder to where he was sure the voice was coming from, and he was surprised by what, or rather, who he saw.

A beautiful red-haired, violet-eyed woman with a warm smile stood before him. Tears seemed to be forming at the corners of her eyes, but judging from the smile on her face, they were tears of joy.

Naruto stared at the woman in confusion. "Who are you, and where am I?" Naruto asked gruffly. The woman started laughing to herself softly. "What's so damn funny?" Naruto demanded. "I still got some strength left in me. We'll see who's laughing when-"

Kushina Uzumaki started laughing even harder. "It makes sense you wouldn't know who I am." Kushina said between giggles, "How bout you guess?"

Naruto recoiled back slightly. Kushina watched him with a smile as he stared at her blankly.

"I just got through getting stomped by six dark incarnations of myself. Guess, my ass." Naruto muttered, "Just tell me."

"I'll give you hint." Kushina said as she started walking toward Naruto. Naruto's eyebrows rose, but he didn't move. Instead, he fixed Kushina with a guarded look, one that she absolutely ignored as she continued advancing toward him. His eyes shot wide open when Kushina embraced him tightly.

"What is this? What are you doing?" Naruto quickly stammered.

"It's normal for a mother to hug her son, 'ttebane!" Kushina exclaimed, tightening her hold around Naruto.

'Mother...?' Naruto couldn't be more confused. He was stunned into speechlessness.

Kushina pulled away slightly to get a look at her son again before smiling and hugging him tightly again.

"But how? This can't be real." Naruto said slowly in a quiet voice, "I never knew my parents. The old man would never tell me anything about them, so how can you be here? How can...how?" Naruto kept up his guarded look.

Kushina pulled away again and looked at Naruto with a sad smile. "Minato sealed my chakra into your seal the night of the Kyuubi attack, and if I had to guess, this weird seal," She said, poking at the blazing red mark on Naruto's throat, "Messed with this one." Kushina finished, now poking at Naruto's stomach.

Naruto correctly deduced Minato was the name of the fourth Hokage. Naruto pulled away from Kushina's embrace and turned away from her. 'How the hell should I feel about this?' Naruto thought to himself as he glanced down at the white floor beneath him. 'Happy...? Tearful...? Sad...? How should I react?'

Fighting was always much easier for Naruto. It was easy for him to immerse himself in the thrill of battle, forgetting everything but the opponent and his resolve for survival. 'Physical pain is nothing. Hell, I fucking thrive on it. It's mental, emotional struggles that I can't stand.' Naruto thought with a scowl. 'I feel like that's precisely why I'm getting usurped by Orochimaru's seal.'

Naruto suddenly felt a hand on his head ruffling his hair and being mindful of his ears. Naruto glanced up in confusion at the tall blond man before him.

"This day really doesn't make any sense." Naruto muttered under his breath as he took a step back out of reach of the intrusive hand. "Who is it this time?"

Kushina was surprised to see her love standing in front of her son. "Minato..." She whispered softly.

"Hello, son."

Jiraiya was halfway through creating another seal to keep Naruto's chakra and, subsequently, the Cursed Seal of Hell in check when he noticed the black and red chakra shroud that was encompassing Naruto suddenly halt before it completely covered him.

"It seems Naruto-boy hasn't given up the fight yet. Atta boy, keep your fighting spirit strong!" Fukasaku encouraged from his spot beside the unconscious Naruto, taking note of the sudden cessation and clenching his webbed hand enthusiastically.

Shima smiled kindly, taking a seat next to her husband. "It's takes more than a seal to knock-off a stubborn one like that, I tell ya." She said in addition.

Jiraiya was too lost in his thoughts to respond to their claims.

"A training trip?" Homura questioned tentatively, staring at Hiruzen suspiciously, "Where's the documentation to authorize and confirm?" The elder demanded. His wife, Koharu, was equally skeptical. They both suspected that Hiruzen was attempting to conceal something.

Hiruzen, very much prepared for such a request, produced the paperwork and handed it to Homura who eyed the writing by Jiraiya of the Sannin critically. The paperwork was signed by both Jiraiya and Hiruzen, giving the document some semblance of legitimacy.

"Do you believe me to be a fool, Sarutobi?" Homura asked rhetorically, "If the boy truly left to train with Jiraiya, why did you not simply tell us when we approached you previously?"

Hiruzen remained completely calm when presented with the questions, "You left no room for response when you first barged into my office. Before I could find the paperwork and inform you, you angrily stomped away much in the same way you had entered." Hiruzen could see how infuriated Homura was becoming. "You are aware of the Akatsuki, are you not? You should know why Naruto needs to train."

Homura was tempted to tear the paperwork in his hand in two. "The boy was spotted flying out of the village with no sign of Jiraiya. Why would he leave in that manner if he was simply going on a 'training trip' as you say?"

"Naruto met up with Jiraiya just outside of the village." Hiruzen stated, "How he chooses to exit the village is his choice."

'Whoever said lying was hard?' Hiruzen thought, mentally sighing and hoping for the elders to storm out.

"Hiruzen," Koharu spoke, garnering the Hokage's attention, "Something about this situation doesn't sit right with me. Do not think of me as foolish, and do not assume that I will simply stand back while this village's jinchuuriki's whereabouts are unknown." She said, favoring Hiruzen with a steely gaze, "Appropriate actions will be taken."

With that said, Koharu turned on her heels and walked out of the office with Homura following after he placed the "paperwork" on Hiruzen's desk.

'Naruto, you had better deal with the Akatsuki as soon as possible...For your sake as well as my own.' Hiruzen thought as he relaxed back into his seat and closed his eyes in an attempt to further his relaxation.

But...was that really enough? There had to be something that he, the Hokage, could do to aid Naruto in his self-commissioned objective. With the elders already suspicious, every move Hiruzen made was bound to garner their attention. Subtlety was a necessity. Keeping that in consideration, Hiruzen's options were incredibly limited.

'I am really tempting fate.' Hiruzen thought to himself as he came to a minor solution. He made a single hand sign that signaled an Anbu operative into the office.

"Tell Kazumi I need to speak with her immediately." Hiruzen commanded, "I have a special assignment for her."

Naruto thought he had it all planned out if he ever met his parents. He would show no violence. He would show no love. As far as Naruto was concerned, his parents would be strangers with a developed hatred of the Kyuubi, and subsequently, of Naruto, himself, as well. And so, Naruto would treat them with the same coldness that he treats everyone else who fears or hates him.

But that was only case in the event that his parents abandoned him.

Of course, the best laid plans weren't worth a damn thing to Naruto when he met his parents in his mind after being overtaken by a cursed seal after being defeated by Orochimaru and his mooks.

'The futility of preparation.' Naruto thought to himself, caught between an embrace from Kushina and Minato. They both whispered loving words and apologies as they held each other and Naruto who didn't struggle against the embrace. He really didn't have it in him to struggle. Naruto was understandably mentally exhausted.

"There's things I really need to know." Naruto stated in a soft whisper, "Things I need to know or I won't be able to really move on." He continued, gaining his parents' attention.

"Why me?" Naruto questioned. Minato had a fairly good idea of what he was referring to, but Naruto clarified nonetheless, "Why was I chosen to be the jinchuuriki?"

"Because you were my son...because I knew you would someday make the Kyuubi's power your own." Minato said, stepping back so he could fully see Naruto. "Naruto, you have encountered the Akatsuki, and you know what they are after, right?"

Naruto glanced at his father warily. "You knew of the Akatsuki before?" A ghost of a smirk made its way to Naruto's face. "Thought you were supposed to be the best of the best. Couldn't you handle it?" He quipped.

Kushina laughed at the jab at Minato's strength, Minato chuckled as well before composing himself. "I didn't know of the Akatsuki before, but I did encounter a man of unbelievable power on the day of your birth." Minato spoke as he recalled the man, clenching his fists as if he were reliving that day.

"I believe that man, that masked-man, is behind this, behind the Akatsuki. He caused the Kyuubi attack all those years ago." Minato said solemnly.

Naruto stared at Minato blankly before the weight of his words finally reached him. A man with the power to control the Kyuubi and give the 4th Hokage a reason to sweat was heading the tailed-beast hunting group of S-class shinobi. As if things couldn't get any better, there was no name or face to place with the man judging by how Minato kept referring to the catalyst as the masked-man.

Naruto sighed as he glanced up at Minato. "And you really thought all those years ago that I would be able to do anything about that?"

"Of course." Minato and Kushina said in unison whilst smiling brightly at their son.

Naruto quickly averted his gaze from his parents. The whole scenario was proving to be far too jarring for his liking. Regardless, there was something else Naruto needed to know. It was something that would constantly gnaw at him if it wasn't resolved here and now.

"Tell me, who am I? What am I?" Naruto suddenly asked keeping his gaze focused on the ground beneath him.

Minato and Kushina looked at each other sadly. Naruto was suffering from an identity crisis, and from the looks of it, he had been for quite some time.

Kushina stepped toward Naruto. She placed her hand under his chin and tilted his head up. "You are Naruto Uzumaki. You're a strong young man bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders." Kushina said lovingly, yet somewhat chidingly.

Minato stepped forward with a calm smile. "You're a man who lives by your own honor," Minato spoke, earning Naruto's attention. "A man willing to power through the impossible to follow your honor."

"You're very confused with your inner conflict." Kushina stated.

"You're struggling to find your true self." Minato said.

"You're our pride." Kushina explained before she laid an affectionate kiss on Naruto's forehead.

"You're our joy." Minato said softly before wrapping Naruto and Kushina in an embrace.

Naruto was stunned beyond belief. Everything, from their words back to the situation with the blazing red seal on his throat, felt so surreal. Naruto wouldn't have been very surprised if someone told him the events of the day were all one seriously peculiar dream.

Naruto half-heartedly noted his parents' fading forms, but he fully noticed the tears freely falling from their eyes. Whether they were tears of joy or ones of sadness, Naruto didn't know.

As their forms completely faded, Naruto was left with a warm, unfamiliar feeling. His ears twitched slightly as their final words reached him.

"You are our love."

The bright surroundings gave way to the darkness of Naruto's mindscape. Naruto rose to his feet, feeling rejuvenated. Naruto noted that the chains that held the Dark Narutos were beginning to fade, so he quickly jumped into action. He quickly entered Sage Mode, and charged up a large Scorch Bomb.

Naruto bellowed as he hurled the Scorch Bomb at the six Dark Narutos before the chains completely faded. The resulting explosion encompassed each of Naruto's targets successfully.

When the smoke cleared, the forms of the six Dark Narutos were gone just as expected. Naruto kept up his guard, expecting Dark Naruto to reform, but time passed with no sign of Dark Naruto. In fact, the black chakra was beginning to recede, and Naruto's mindscape brightened. It was beginning to look more like it did before the debacle with the Cursed Seal of Hell.

'Call me crazy, but I think it's brighter than before.' Naruto thought to himself as he relaxed his stance.

Naruto began feeling the taxing effects of the entire day. He glanced over at the cage that held the Kyuubi began walking toward it.

"You're still in there, aren't you?" Naruto called out, not receiving a response from the tailed-beast. "I heard what you said and I know what you did to aid me. I know plenty of other shit, too, but I'll keep it short since I don't even know if you can hear me."

Naruto collected his thoughts before continuing, "I got a new primary target: the masked-man who fought my father. Maybe you know him, maybe you don't. Regardless, I'm going to find out who he is, then I'm going to kill him for everything he's taken from me." Naruto stated firmly before walking away from the cage.

Jiraiya had been watching over Naruto for hours. The odd transformation that seemed to be spurred by the cursed seal on Naruto's throat had long since receded, signalling a positive result. Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima assumed Naruto had successfully resisted the seal.

Jiraiya focused completely on Naruto when the boy began stirring. His purple eyes opened slowly and scanned the room to try and deduce his location. He could only faintly remember what his body was doing while he was fighting against the seal. Naruto could faintly recall encountering Fū, and then being summoned to Mt. Myoboku.

Naruto sighed as he sat up. "I need to get back. Now." He said suddenly. "The fact that you got me here means the old man couldn't keep a secret. Before you say anything, I'm going through with this. I'm taking on the Akatsuki, and I'm going to kill Orochimaru." Naruto said quickly before Jiraiya could get a word in.

"I never said I was going to stop you. Big journeys like these build character." Jiraiya commented, "Just don't get yourself killed. I'll help anyway I can."

Naruto remained silent as he listened to Jiraiya.

"I'll go get Fukasaku, and you two can work out your reverse-reverse summoning or whatever." Jiraiya uttered before walking out of the hut.

Naruto stared at Jiraiya's fleeting form before laying back down as extreme fatigue hit him. 'I don't know if everything my parents said was true. Maybe I'd have described myself like the way they did before I changed.' Naruto thought to himself, gazing at his clawed hand as he held it up in front of his face. Then, Naruto allowed himself a small smirk at his previous thought. 'I guess the more things change...the more they also stay the same.'

Housekeeping: My new motto is "The poll is a lie." I left it open for a month and a half, and the end result was a tie. Well, I got a good laugh out of that. Thanks, lovleydragonfly, for the poll suggestion, but I think I'll decide the pairing on my own.

Anyway, I really need some practice writing emotional scenes. That's mostly what stumped me for a while, but I was also writing the prologue for an upcoming project of mine, Uchiha's Gambit.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this one. Later.