AN: Sup? been a while eh? sheesh. Just been busy lately. busier than normal but I think I have time to get back into writing my fics. I'm probably gonna focus on a couple of fics such as this one, Forlorn three and master of the art of puppets and team seven's escapades and I'm contemplating deleting a couple of my other fics as well. I personally think I have too many fics and too much A.D.D to focus. :P But i will try.

sorry for the delay yall

Enjoy the chapter

Chapter one

The inky blackness was like a solid object, unmoving, impenetrable and so utterly silent. It was a place not even rodents dared to venture, thus was the oppressive atmosphere.

It was like an ocean of silent shadow that rested un disturbed in any way for years...

Until the faintest of rumbles suddenly made its way through, and dislodging the tiniest bit of dust.

"Huh?"

A pair of eyes, glowing orange/red, and radiating with a malicious chakra as a pair of feline looking pupils contracted, suddenly snapped open in the darkness, seemingly hovering, suspended in the air. This...being. This demon that made this terrifyingly dark place its home, looked up, surprise flashing across the irises.

"What was that?"

The voice. it was so young. Still a child on the precipice of puberty, slightly rough yet higher pitched at the same time. A boy, a preeteen.

The eyes closed, once again submerging the room in utter darkness...but now, the steady rhythm of breathing seemed to echo all around.

"I know I'm not the only one who felt that."

His breathing began to steady and even out, the breaths were coming at a slower and slower rate.

He was concentrating...focusing inward. And for a minute, there was no movement, no sound...

"Guys?"

Then the boy's voice suddenly called out.

It spread out like a wave, pulsating through the corridors and connecting with the consciousness of every living being within the vicinity. Spoken words that were not uttered from a mouth.

It was a telepathic message.

"Guys, did you feel that?"

The eyes opened again but showed nothing beyond a faint anticipation of a common occurrence, with a bit of excitement and happiness mixed in as the boy waited.

He waited patiently for the others to wake up, opened his mind up and waited for the sensation.

It came, almost too suddenly. Eight other presences slammed into and fused with his in a sudden rush of emotions. Like a tidal wave, they smothered him and accepted him into the folds allowing for him to be willingly swept away. An inexperienced individual would have been lost. He smiled and laughed outright as the feelings of those he called his nakama flowed to, and over his entire body.

"Hellz yeah I felt that!" called a boy's voice excitedly. Raw emotion colored this voice. intense, pure feeling. this boy's feral sounding tone was honesty incarnate, unable to utter any sort of lie or bottle any of his true thoughts. Pure instinct drove this individual. Instinct that was inherited from the clan that abandoned him and enhanced by his demonic heritage. "How could I not man?"

"I know right!?"This one was a girl. Excitement and confidence stained this voice with a certainty. A strong person in both mind and body held claim to this voice, with a temper trembling just below the surface, just waiting for someone to say something stupid or insulting.

The glowing eyes flashed amusement.

"True," he began. "But the actual question is why are we feeling it?"

There was a pause. That was a very, VERY good question. Over the years, the nine of them had come to one of the most certain understandings of their lives.

They were underground. Deep, so very deep underground. Buried under the monument of the supposed heroes of Konoha. Nothing but the very few ANBU who knew of them would ever even know they existed. For a rumble to be strong enough to reach them all the way down there, if only barely, was...interesting.

"Something's happening up there. But what?" A smooth, almost monotone, lazy sounding boy made his opinion known. He spoke with sharp, crisp words, as if he had a perfect understanding of spoken language . His voice was tinged with barely hidden intellect that was wrapped in a thin layer of disinterest and boredom. "Any Ideas? Naruto? Sasuke? Shino?"

The boy with the glowing eyes chuckled. "You're askin me? AND Emo boy? hah! Though Shino is a good choice I guess."

There was an annoyed growl that came from one of the boys but no words were spoken, causing Naruto to laugh. Sasuke hardly talked to any of them, even after Ino discovered them and linked their minds. Though he did convey his emotions well enough to let them know he valued them just as much as they him. He just wasn't much of a talker. Quite a few of the group suspect that Sasuke wasn't treated as well as the others, which alone in itself is saying something. And they had given up trying to get him to confirm or deny the suspicions years ago. But considering the bigotry towards his clan and the slaughter of said clan at the orders of the higher ups, mounted with the blame being placed on the Uchiha clan for the kyuubi's attack, they wouldn't be too surprised.

"There is only one logical explanation for why there are rumbles happening above that are strong enough to reach us." The boy who spoke this sentence was quiet, emotionless and monotone. There were no wasted syllables in his words, no exaggerated fluctuations of the voice or anything. He was almost like a machine, driven by pure logic that was dotted on the very fabric of his voice. Many would assume that this boy knew nothing of emotions, would just assume he was a simple drone. But they would be so wrong. This boy was perhaps one of the most passionate of the group. His feelings, though hidden, drove him more than almost everyone else.

"It is a conflict," He explained.

all of them went quiet, as if mulling the thought in their heads.

"A...conflict? Are you...sure?"

Another girl laid claim to this voice. So soft spoken, so gentle sounding. This girl with her voice alone portrayed sense of borderline timidity, and her voice swirled with the reluctance to speak her mind. Yet...beneath all of that was a seething, cold anger and heartbreak that threatened to overwhelm her. she was the most affected by the knowledge that she had been abandoned by her so-called family. Even worse when she learned just what kind of people her family were.

So when she asked her question, it was with a bit f nervousness tinted with...anticipation.

"I am sure, Hinata-Chan," said Shino. "Konoha is many things but not stupid. At least Hiruzen isn't. He wouldn't be allowing any type of activity on such a large scale for risk of...compromising our prisons."

And he was right. All of them knew of the Sandaime Hokage, how he spearheaded the plan to "Bury the Hanyous " and erase them from history. He was always first on the scene when one of the nine developed a new power, and was always the one to create counter measures before said powers grew too strong. Him and that white haired bastard named Jirayia. The fact that Konoha seemed to be in the midst of a major conflict, possibly due to invasion, caused feelings they hadn't thought they'd feel for another century at the minimum to begin to bubble up from deep inside.

Another rumble.

This one could actually be heard.

"Oh wow!" exclaimed Sakura. "They're really going at it up there aren't they?" this comment was followed by a slight giggle. The others felt the same. Naruto, however closed his eyes in thought. He wanted to feel the same way. he wanted to let himself go to the excitement... but it was hard, it was so very hard to not be doubtful. He just couldn't bring himself to get as excited as the others. He was thinking ahead. His entire life had forged him into the man he is today, and that man itself was extremely patient and just a bit cynical. He was certain he'd be waiting at least one hundred years before there was any slight sign that his freedom would be at hand.

So this happening so soon...

"It just seems too good to be true," he muttered. His quiet words instantly shut out the rest of the chatter going on as they all focused on him, various emotions flooding through. But he ignored them. and pressed on, voicing his thoughts and concerns.

"It's too sudden," he began. "Konoha is in the middle of a conflict? Why? What's the cause? How come its happening now all the sudden?" There was a pause as the other eight contemplated his words. "I don't trust this."

When no one responded right away, he gave a sigh. "I just don't want you guys to get over excited, only to suffer the disappointment a second later, you know?"

Now he was hit with feelings of apology and slight sadness. He hated making his loved ones feel any sort of negative emotions but he just couldn't coddle them either. It was a necessary thing.

"...Naruto-Kun."

All of his thoughts were immediately swept away as soon as this girl's voice entered his mind. This voice...this girl...

"If you want...I can take a look."

Calm, resolute and loving. The girl who owned this voice was practically bursting with a maturity far beyond her time. It was flooded with a sort of serenity that came from experiencing the emotions of countless minds and growing up providing the nine of them with the means to live life once they escaped. Motherly affection poured into Naruto from this voice. Pure love and devotion assaulted Naruto.

And it wasn't just him. All eight of them suddenly found themselves focusing their love and their devotion on this one girl and in turn, basking in her loving emotions. Their emotions poured forth and flooded through Naruto himself and then on to the girl. Red/Orange eyes glimmered with a sudden emotion as he looked to the northwest.

And the name escaped his mouth in a loving purely devoted whisper.

"Ino-Chan."

Among the nine, It is Ino Yamanaka who is viewed as the most important. She is the one the others show their most absolute of loyalty. It is almost a zealous devotion, anything she has to say is listened to and taken seriously, no matter what. Even Naruto, who the others view as their leader or guide of sorts, will concede to this girl should she ever want to take on the lead position.

There was silence for ten seconds as it took Naruto that time to process what Ino just proposed. He closed his eyes and if one were to see his face, they would see the loving smile.

'That works," he began. "Do your thing, Ino-Chan."

BOOOM!

And all of that rimming emotion, and Ino's response was washed away as their chambers shook.

"WHA-?"

The earth lurched and threw Naruto off of his feet. the sounds of similar happenings to the others echoed through his mind and through the corridors as he smashed headfirst into the wall. lungs, not at all used to any sort of intrusion, sputtered and convulsed as the dust was kicked up. His senses were overrun and the emotions of the other eight began to mash together in a conglomeration of chaotic words.

"Ino-Chan!"

He lost all focus on himself and the others as his concern focused only on the object of his devoted affection.

"I'm fin-" Boom!

"INO-CHAN!"

Naruto launched himself to his feet, his glowing eyes wide in fear as Ino's consciousness suddenly faded from his mind. The ground lurched again and Naruto was thrown hard to the right. Stars exploded in his vision as he smacked his head.

"Arrgh!"

"Ow!"

"Shit!"

"My leg!"

"Dammit what was that!?"

These exclamations and many more echoed all through the minds of the Hanyou's as the ground began to steady and relax. The dust began to settle and clear as they all got their scruples back together.

It was silent for a good thirty seconds.

Then a voice echoed through their minds.

"Guys? are you...all okay?"

It was Ino. Her voice was shaky and muddled with pain. But the concern she felt blotted all else out. Instantly, Naruto was relieved. As were the others.

"Worry about yourself Ino-Chan!" exclaimed Sakura. "You're the one who lost consciousness for a second!" The tone in her voice suggested that Sakura was worried something far worse had happened to Ino. All of them were like that. The devotion and the worrying they all did for this one girl could be seen as weird and obsessive. But really, it's all they had.

"I just hit my head. I wasn't knocked out but I hit it hard enough to break my concentration on our link."

There was a pause as everyone took the time to get their scruples back together. Several of the Hanyous were hurt in some way. Minor injuries to be sure but it was still painful.

Naruto groaned.

"Well, shit if they are fighting up there they could at least take it a bit easier. I'm positive there's nothing up there that warrants an attack of that power. Jeez."

Hinata, Ino and Sakura giggled while Sasuke made an amused sounding snort.

"Who do you think made that attack?" asked Shikamaru in a rare moment of inquisitiveness.

"Eh, was probably the geezer."

"Hiruzen? what the fuck is causing him to have to go all out?"

That was a very good question.

However, before any of them could speculate any further, something happened...

It originated in Naruto's cell, but due to the mind link...every one of the nine Hanyous heard it.

It barely caught their attention. But the nature of the sound made every one of them freeze.

crack

Naruto's eyes widened as his entire cell suddenly exploded into light as all of his restraint seals suddenly began to glow. Glowing orange/red eyes swiveled in the direction of the noise and when he saw the source, he did gasp.

"No...way," was all he could say.

"What, what!?" came the abrasive instinct driven boy.

But Naruto was too stunned to reply. He just continued to gape at the ceiling, uncomprehending, at first for a full fifteen seconds, his eyes staring at the very small crack...splitting right through the middle of one of the seals. But once the implications of what this meant dawned on Naruto, his face morphed into a feral grin.

"One of my seals broke."

It was a kind of anti-climactic, sudden situation that would have had many others disbelieving and incredulous. But Naruto? he took it in stride. Like he was going to take it any other way.

A second later, golden orange chakra began to waft off of Naruto's body like a very feint mist, and his eight nakama gasped in sudden shock.

"Are...ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

Seemingly in response to that, the seals covering the walls and ceilings of Naruto's began to unravel and fade away. Naruto could not help the malicious surge of emotion. It poured into the others as he stared unblinkingly at the seals as one by one, they began to fade away. His toothy grin could be felt by them all.

"Y-yea...YEAH!" he exclaimed. "There's a broken seal in my room! I can already feel my chakra returning!"

After thirteen years of feeling...utterly powerless. The nine of them honestly didn't know what chakra felt like. Not fully. Over the years they had each developed a few different abilities, granting them but a very slight taste, but they never got to enjoy more than a day of those budding powers before the bastards arrived and cut them away...

But Naruto knew the feeling instantly, when his body began to swell and expand, Muscles and bones and skin, changing in an instant to accommodate the chakra, he basked in the feeling and relished it as the feeling intensified.

It swelled and swelled, with each new seal gone, the swell grew...and he knew it was just a mere nudge away...a mere few seals away from utterly exploding outwards.

And he waited with an excited grin.

"Naruto-Kun LOOK OUT!"

"Eh?"

a second later, something very large and made of medal burst forth from the ground beneath him...utterly obliterating everything in its path...

"NARUTO-KUUN!"

Uzumaki Naruto was only vaguely aware of the surge of chakra as the seals surrounding the rest of his nakama shattered and faded away...

(999999)

At first, it was just a simple invasion. The higher ups of Konoha already had some kind of suspicion that Suna was up to something, due to Orochimaru being spotted and the rather questionable action of allowing their demon spawn of a jinchuuriki participate in the chunin exams.

So when the forces of Oto and Suna made themselves known, the Hokage, the elder council members and Jiraiya were well prepared...

But when Orochimaru summoned Manda of all things in the middle of the village and nearly crushed the Hokage monument, he began to worry.

He tried...oh how he tried to keep the emotions off his face as his battle continued. His eyes burned with the impulse to look at the mountain in worry, his mind running a mile a minute and his attacks, getting just a bit more desperate.

Then the snake sannin summoned the First and second Hokage back from the dead, and that action alone shattered all restraints he had.

"Orochimaru! you idiot!" he shouted out before his mind caught up to his mouth.

The Sannin was amused, and intrigued even as he approached the two resurrected Kages and placed the control tags in their heads. He noticed right away, the discomfort that the old man was feeling and he picked up, immediately on the sandaime's wandering eyes.

And because of those wandering eyes, Orochimaru quickly lost interest in killing the Sandiame Hokage.

He turned, facing the mountain fully. Already a couple f powerful attacks had rocked the mountain but now...now he wanted to know his ex sensei's dirty little secret. So, even as Sarutobi had yelled at him, calling him names and such. Orochimaru was already in motion.

"Kukukuku, let's see what you're hiding, Sarutobi Sensei..."

"WAAAAIIIIITTT!"

"Kuchiyose..."

And the explosion rocked the Hokage mountain as the Rashoumon gate burst from the ground...

Time seemed to still as the Hokage looked on in horror, and all he could mutter was a single...fear laced sentence...

"what have you done? You've doomed...you've doomed the village..."

A second later there was an explosion of demonic power originating from the broken remains of that mountain.

And an unearthly wail that ripped into the minds of everyone within the vicinity of the Hokage mountain.

NARUTO-KUN!'

"ARRRGGGH!"

AN: God damn that took way longer than I wanted it to! Just couldn't get that last coupla paragraphs out! and even now they STILL feel subpar! ugh! oh well I'm done writing and rewriting and re-re writing this chap! the ending is as good as its gonna get so here it is haha. tell me what ya thought.

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