A.N.: So here finally comes the next chapter. I don't know when the next one will come.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do I look that rich to you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the fields~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo found himself hard-pressed to stay alive. Almost as soon as Hana had darted off, two Ame ninja had teamed up on him and judging from their abilities, one of them was a jounin and the other one would be considered for jounin promotion soon. One of them had a short sword and was engaging him in a furious kenjutsu battle. The other was standing on the sidelines and was assisting the other from a distance, either with projectile weapons or with Suiton jutsu. Tenzo's only advantage was that he couldn't use anything really powerful for fear of hitting his comrade. The Leaf jounin knew he had to do something to change his position soon or he would be a goner.

Then he noticed an opening in his opponent's guard. He quickly took advantage of it. His right arm shot forward, stabbing the Ame ninja in the side. In the next moment he realized his mistake. The water surface under his foot gave way and he began sinking. His blade missed its intended target. The man had twisted a bit and Tenzo's ninjato pierced only his jacket and got stuck in the thick material. He tried to push it out, but the Rain ninja turned in such a way to make it very hard. Tenzo had to struggle to keep his grip on the handle.

The sound of air being cut by sharpened steel was the only warning he had. He let go of his sword and leapt back. Or at least tried to, he couldn't do much without solid footing. But it was enough. The hail of thrown kunai had mostly missed him. Only one had embedded itself in his flak jacket and was now scratching the skin over his ribs. He pulled it out with haste. He did it just in time to use it to block a swipe from the Rain ninja, who still had Tenzo's ninjato lodged in his vest. A shuriken passed dangerously close by the former ANBU's ear. It reminded him that his situation had just gone from bad to worse. The need to do something to change it had skyrocketed.

He took a deep breath and plunged underwater. He didn't want to do it earlier, because the Ame shinobi were better equipped and trained for an aquatic battle, but he was a Mokuton user, which was composed form Earth and Water, and that meant he was still in his element.

It was a good thing that the water was murky and it took his enemies a couple of seconds before they located him. He felt a tip of a sword trying to pierce through his jounin vest, but it was too late. He was already finished with his handseals. His chakra spread into the water around him. The water rose in a wave, throwing his attacker off. The Konoha jounin didn't waste a single moment. As soon as he gained some distance between himself and the enemy, he began another series of seals. The first jutsu wasn't meant to incapacitate his opponents, but what he was about to unleash was. He concentrated to find out the exact locations of the Ame shinobi. He could feel one without a problem, but the other one was too far and he couldn't pinpoint the exact place. Too bad. He'd have to deal with him later.

The Ame swordsman didn't believe his eyes when little trees suddenly sprouted from the mud and water around him. He blinked once to clear his eyes and that little moment of hesitation cost him dearly. The trees continued to grow rapidly, twining around his legs, then reaching for his torso and arms. Their grip on him tightened. One branch snaked around his neck, slowly suffocating him.

'One down,' Tenzo thought. 'Now for the other one.' But first he needed to breathe. Casting two jutsu underwater drained a lot of energy from him. He broke the surface, opening his mouth, trying to take in the much needed air, and was hit in the face with a wave. The other Rain ninja wasn't idle either.

The former ANBU was forced back underwater. And what was worse, he inhaled a bit of water. His lungs were burning. He couldn't cast another jutsu, it would have made him faint and subsequently drown. He needed to get out, everything else be damned. He jumped out of the water. He inhaled the air greedily. A handful of shuriken impacted with his back, but thanks to his trusty flak jacket they couldn't cause anything worse than a couple of flesh wounds. He knew he should turn around and fight, but his body had other plans. He started coughing violently.

The Rain ninja was quick to capitalize on his indisposition. A spear formed out of the water, trying to impale him. The former ANBU had mustered enough strength to get out of the way, but only barely. A hail of shuriken headed his way. He had no time to move aside. He dived underwater again.

He swam as fast as his clothing allowed. He heard the projectiles hitting the water. He waited only for a moment before jumping out of the water again. He spotted his opponent close to the place where he had sunk underwater, looking for him. Thanks to the racket he had made when he had sprung out of the water he spotted him easily. He raised his hand to throw another handful of shuriken at him, but Tenzo was faster. He launched a pair of kunai at him, forcing the Rain ninja to dodge. The masked man had thrown his shuriken anyway, but his aim was off. Only one of them bounced off Tenzo's faceplate.

The Mokuton wielder felt still too shaky and weak after his near-drowning and didn't dare to use a jutsu, for the fear that such a drain on his chakra would send him right into unconsciousness. He stood on the water surface and ran to the strangled man to retrieve his ninjato. His abused lungs protested the strain, but he ignored them. He had a battle to win first, he can rest and visit a medic later.

The Ame ninja had no intention to allow it and rushed at him. He probably didn't have chakra to spare either and thrown weapons didn't usually do the job. It was a desperate race. Tenzo feared he was going to lose, when his opponent stumbled suddenly. The leaf jounin spared a glance over his shoulder to see what had brought him the sudden luck. He saw a kunai protruding from the man's calf. Behind him Hana stood, preparing for another throw. Further behind one of her dogs was limping towards them.

The Ame ninja, seeing the new development, turned towards Hana. He saw her as a young girl and therefore an easy target. He sent a water spear at her, which the Inuzuka heiress avoided easily. Tenzo used the brief reprieve to pick up his sword. It also gave him the time to catch his breath. He didn't feel like fainting if he used a jutsu anymore. He took a moment to assess the situation. The Rain shinobi was now facing the dog mistress, which meant he had his back turned to him. The former ANBU wasn't one to let such golden opportunity slip by.

Meanwhile the Ame ninja was trying his best to get rid of Hana. He decided to take care of her close and personal. Maybe because his chakra and shuriken supplies were running low or maybe because he was so cocky. He came to regret his choice soon; the dog mistress was no easy prey even without the aid of the Haimaru triplets. She fired a Great Fireball at him. The Rain chuunin avoided it by diving underwater. Or tried to avoid it. Tenzo's jutsu was ready. A wall of earth rose from the bottom of the pond, raising the Ame nin above the water and right in the path of Hana's Goukakyuu no Jutsu. The flames of the technique burned him into crisp.

The Wood user let out a deep sigh and leaned on the tree still holding the corpse of the other Ame ninja. The last technique had drained him more than he expected. Either his near-drowning had been worse than he thought, or he'd have to step up his training.

"Are you alright?" he asked Hana.

"I am," she answered, "but I can't find one dog." Her anguish over her missing partner was evident in her voice and face.

"Let's go look for him then," Tenzo decided. "And let's see whether the others need help." The kunoichi smiled brightly.

They didn't even have to search. Soon after they set off they spotted Hotaru with the canine in question in tow. The Inuzuka squealed in joy. The dog barked and ran to her, jumping with joy and licking her face.

"I see you're happy, but can you cut it short?" the jounin interrupted their welcomes. "We still should help the others."

"Yes," the purple-haired girl agreed. "Do you know where is everybody?"

"I think that way," the Mokuton wielder pointed, but before he could say anything else, the air around them was filled with oppressive red aura.

"Naruto's in trouble!" Hana exclaimed.

"If he's like that, it's his enemies who are in trouble," Hotaru disagreed.

"Only as long as he can control it," Tenzo added. "If not, then everybody is in trouble." He desperately hoped that his charge wouldn't lose control of the Kyuubi. He was too exhausted to use his demon-binding powers. If the young jinchuuriki went berserk and turned on them, they would be all doomed.

The trio ran among the overturn carts looking for their allies, who were still fighting. As they passed one overturned wagon, they came within sight of Naruto. They stopped dead in their tracks. The young blond was crouched on the ground, enveloped in red haze, two tails of chakra waving behind him. In front of him was lying his opponent, or what was left of him. The demon vessel was systematically tearing him apart, one little piece after another. The rest of Team Tenzo had the sinking feeling that the man was still alive. In that moment, they understood that their nightmares had just come true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a moment, Anko's heart froze in fear. She recognized the sinister chakra in the air immediately. It had been nine years since she had felt it and she had hoped she would never have to feel it again. But this was not the time for idle musings. She was in the middle of a battle, currently in an unfavorable position with an enemy standing above her, prepared to stab her. She couldn't afford to zone out now. She was only alive now because her opponent was startled as well. The moment the oppressive aura had filled the air, he had forgotten all about her and was now looking around, searching for its source.

It was a fatal mistake. The dark-haired woman quickly fished out a kunai from her coat and sprang up like an attacking cobra. Her hand was aiming right under the hem of the man's flak jacket. She buried the kunai in his guts up to the hilt. The Rain ninja screamed in pain, but he wasn't down for the count yet. The kunoichi twisted the blade in the wound for a bit before pulling it out. The Ame nin fell to his knees. The snake mistress finished him with a stab to his head.

With the immediate danger over, she could address the rest of the situation. Akame Iwana was lying on the ground, bleeding from the neck wound. Izumo was kneeling next to him, trying to stop the flow, but it looked like a wasted effort to her. Kotetsu was rushing towards her, prepared to assist her, but stopped when he saw she didn't need it anymore. Instead, he looked worriedly over his shoulder.

"Is that…?"

"Yes," she nodded, "it's exactly what you think."

"What are we going to do?" he asked worriedly. What, indeed? That was the question. It wasn't like she could do much against a demon when she was at her best and currently one of her arms was useless. They could only pray that they wouldn't need to do anything and that meant trusting Naruto to handle himself. For now, she had to prevent her subordinates from panicking.

"Take care of the wounded," she ordered Izumo, "and you," she turned to Kotetsu, "come with me and we'll look whether someone else needs help." Kotetsu nodded. Izumo looked up from his position beside Iwana.

"This one isn't needing my help anymore."

"What?" she barked at him.

"I think he just died," the chuunin elaborated.

"Oh," she paused. "So you'll be going with us too." Kotetsu nodded and joined the party.

They didn't get too far when they spotted Team Tenzo minus Naruto sprinting towards them. Hana was carrying a limp dog. The expressions in their faces didn't bode well.

"What's the matter?" Anko shouted.

"Trouble!" Hotaru replied. "Naruto lost it!"

"Can you restrain him?" the black-haired kunoichi turned to Tenzo. The former ANBU shook his head ruefully.

"No. I'm low on chakra."

"Too bad," the snake mistress grimaced. "What are we going to do now?"

"Run?" Kotetsu suggested.

"Good idea. Let's just hope he snaps out of it before he catches up." The two chuunin visibly paled.

"Where's Akame?" the Mokuton wielder inquired.

"Dead," the tokubetsu jounin replied simply.

"And the Ame shinobi?"

"We took care of ours."

"So did we."

They ran. They made barely a hundred steps when they noticed they were followed. And their pursuer was gaining rapidly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mind~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto felt like he was drowning. Everything around him was submerged in an ocean of blood red power. It was pushing on him from all sides, trying to suffocate him. He resisted with all his might, but there was nowhere to escape to. The space around him shook with deep vibrations and after a while Naruto realized it was laughter. After listening to it for a while longer, he thought he recognized the voice. It was one he dreaded hearing. Kyuubi's. But what had happened? Last thing he remembered he was finally gaining the upper hand in his fight. He wasn't in danger and he couldn't remember being wounded. There was no need for the Nine-tails' chakra to come out and he certainly didn't call on it. So what did happen? And did it even matter? He should be concentrating on getting his control back. But how?

He took a careful look around. The place, that at first had seemed so alien, suddenly became familiar. He was in one of the tunnels of his mindscape, only instead of darkness it was filled with sinister red light. He quickly decided which way to go.

The malignant red chakra grew thicker and thicker the further he went. Every step was more daunting task than the previous one. But Naruto refused to stop. He couldn't. The flow of chakra going in the opposite direction was trying to sweep his feet from under him, but he refused to give in.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, he entered the cavern that housed the Kyuubi. He stopped dead in his tracks on the threshold. The cavern was alight with the demon's chakra. He could now see how enormous it really was, but he barely spared it a glance. His attention was fully occupied by something else. The beast itself was standing close to the gate, grinning evilly, its tails pushing between the bars, sending its poisonous chakra through. Naruto squinted in the red light. He tried to find the paper seal on the bars, but the currents of demonic chakra obscured it. What was going on? How was the kitsune able to do what he was currently doing?

The monster suddenly moved, his head turning to face the child.

"So you could actually get here?" it snickered mockingly. "I'm impressed. But it doesn't matter. You are powerless to do anything anyway."

"What's going on?!" Naruto shouted.

"Foolish little mortal," the demon sneered. "Can't you tell? You really are just a stupid hairless ape."

"All I see is that you are out of your place!"

"My place?! Out of my place?! Don't you ever dare to tell me where is my place again, mortal. Though, I suppose, you won't have the opportunity ever again," the fox grinned evilly.

"Don't count on it!" the human snapped.

"Count on it?" Kyuubi cocked his head sideways. "I don't have to count on anything. You have already lost."

"I don't see it," the bond lad scowled. "I don't know how you got out of your cage, but I'm going to kick your sorry hide back in!"

"Such big words from such a tiny pest," the monster mocked. "I'd like to see you try, because you are inevitably going to get crushed."

"You wish!"

"I don't have to wish, I can simply do it!" the creature boasted. "And there's nothing you can do about it, you insignificant little bug! Soon I'll have my freedom back and then I'm going to tear apart everybody who had anything to do with the pest who sealed me in here!"

"I'm not going to allow it," Naruto stated. He punched one of Kyuubi's tails. His fist went right through.

"And how do you plan to accomplish that?" the kitsune taunted. "As you can see, all your efforts are in vain."

"We'll see about that," the jinchuuriki growled with conviction. It fact, he wasn't feeling confident at all. He had no idea how did the demon's chakra leak out nor how to plug the leak. The demon realized it as well.

"Try as you might, you fool!" the fox laughed. "You don't even know what allowed my chakra out!"

"Care to enlighten me, oh wise and ancient one?" the blond asked sarcastically.

"And why should I?" The Nine-tails raised an imaginary eyebrow.

"Because it doesn't matter anyway?" the boy tried.

"Nice try," the Kyuubi snorted, "but I don't think so."

"So it does matter!" the chuunin exclaimed triumphantly.

"Not really."

"Then why don't you tell me?" the youth prodded. "Are you afraid, that if I knew what happened I would be able to stop it?"

"No," the Nine-Tails denied, "but why take the chance?"

"So there is a chance," Naruto muttered to himself.

"Fool," Kyuubi commented, but the boy paid it no mind. He was fully concentrating on making his way through the cave. He was convinced that the key to the problem lay within the seal. The red chakra whirled and thickened, trying to block his path. The blond smiled. For him it was a proof that he was right.

Finally, after what had felt like years, he reached the gate. The demon fox was snarling into his face, but he didn't let himself be intimidated. He had to put up a strong front before his enemy. It would have been much easier if his knees weren't shaking so badly. He leaned against the bars and looked at the seal closely. At first he couldn't see anything out of order in the blinding light of the demonic power, but after he squinted a bit, he noticed a tiny tear in the paper. He wouldn't have noticed it at all if it wasn't soaked in blood. Naruto had never seen it before, but it still seemed familiar. But where from?

As he pondered it, his eyes strayed to the back of his hand that was holding on the bars next to the seal. The mysterious red mark was there, mocking him with its enigmatic presence. The genin stiffened. It was exactly the same shape as the tear in the seal. He did a double-take to make sure, but the result stayed the same. But how was it possible?

His thoughts turned to the last time he stood here. It had been during the fateful banquet battle in Suna, when he had needed the power to fight Roushi and the Yonbi. He had reached into the cage then and grabbed onto the chakra. He had thought that was the end of it, but obviously not. Could he have gained the mark back then? Could he have been wounded without noticing it?

"So did you finally realize it or is your tiny brain unable to process even such simple information?" the Fox interrupted his thoughts.

"I think I get it," he answered.

"You actually think?" the Nine-tails snorted. "That's a new one."

Naruto ignored him. He had more pressing concerns on his mind, namely stopping the flow of Kyuubi's chakra into his system. So there was a tear in the paper seal and it was soaked in blood. What could he do about it? Keep the edges together? Clean the blood? Something entirely different? He should start with the first two and see where it would lead him. He laid a hand on the rip. That presented him another problem. How does one repair a torn seal? It wasn't like he had glue on him and even if he did, he doubted it would be enough. And how should he wash out the blood? It wasn't like there was water around. Wait: no water? That was a new one. Every single time he visited here before, there was water up to his knees. But now… what was there? He looked down.

"So you realize the futility of your efforts?" The boy ignored the demon completely. Instead he focused on what was under his feet. It was hard to see, but when he crouched down and tried reaching around, his fingers sunk into water. So it was there. It was lower than usual and tainted with the sinister crimson currents, but it was still there. He scooped a bit into his palms.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" the beast sneered derogatorily. The young chuunin paid him no mind. He stood up carefully, concentrating on not spilling the water, and lifted his joined hands to the seal. Then he poured a tiny trickle of the water on the rip in the seal.

"What are you doing?" Kyuubi sneered, but Naruto thought he might have detected a hint of panic in his voice. He allowed himself a small smile. He poured more of the water and chakra on the bloody tear. It had washed a bit of the blood. And he wasn't completely certain, but he thought he could breathe a bit easier. His smile widened. He reached down for another palmful of water.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Real world~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Konoha group found themselves in a hopeless situation. They were tired, some of them even wounded, and they were being chased around by a jinchuuriki-went-berserk. And there wasn't a single place to hide around.

"Shouldn't we scatter so at least someone might get away?" Izumo suggested.

"Can't you do something?" Kotetsu shouted at Tenzo. The Wood wielder considered his answer. He still felt dead tired, but if he did nothing, they would be caught soon. And then… he didn't even want to think about it. The fate of the Rain ninja would haunt him in his nightmares for a long time to come.

"I'll try," he answered. He stopped and turned towards the approaching danger. Naruto was running on all fours, red chakra enveloping him, two tails swinging behind him. He was snarling, his eyes red and slitted and devoid of everything human. Tenzo's heart tightened with fear. Was there any chance that his charge would break out of the demon's control? What was the chance that he'd do it in time? He had no idea and he had no time to ponder over it.

He clasped his hands together in seals. 'Jubaku no Jutsu.' Trees sprouted from the ground, trying to bind the raging monster. The Kyuubified Naruto saw it and changed his direction. The trees moved their branches, trying to reach him, but he was too fast for them. One managed to touch him, but was ripped off by a red chakra claw the next instant.

Tenzo fell to his knees panting. The technique drained his last strength and it was utterly ineffective. The form of his student moved around the trees he had created, approaching him slowly. He pushed himself to his feet, but his legs felt too weak to carry him away.

'Is this it?' he mused. He had never expected to live long, but he didn't want to go like this. Not by the hand of the boy he loved like a son, who was currently possessed by the most powerful of demons, whom he housed. Before he could fully give into despair, a kunai flew past his head. It hit the red chakra cloak enveloping Naruto head on. In the next instant the Explosive Note tied to its handle went off, throwing the crazed jinchuuriki back.

"Come!" Hotaru's voice shouted. The Purple-haired kunoichi ran up to him, grabbing his hand and dragging him off. Hana stood close by, another kunai with a Blast Note held in her hand, prepared to throw at the recovering demon carrier.

Naruto scrambled to all fours with a roar of rage. The dog mistress threw her kunai at him, but the Exploding Tag was too damaged by the water and failed to detonate. The Inuzuka cursed. That was the last one that looked remotely usable. The situation had just gone from dire to even direr. She turned on her heel and ran after the rest of the group. But before she turned fully, she noticed something that gave her a bit of hope. There was only one tail swinging behind Naruto now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Naruto's mindscape~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The seal was clean finally. The rip was still there, but the red color was washed out completely by Naruto's chakra. The oppressive taint had receded back into the cage. The imprisoned demon was snarling in frustration, fruitlessly beating its tails against the unyielding bars of its jail.

"You might have won this round, human, but you are far from winning this war. You might have washed away the blood, but the tear is still there." Malice oozed from his words.

"I know," the boy answered. "Rest assured that I'll be looking into repairing it."

"You cannot do it," the demon growled. "The path was opened with your own blood and chakra."

"Stop telling me what I can or cannot do," the child scowled. "I decide such things for myself."

"It's a miracle you're still alive then," the kitsune scoffed.

"I love you too, Furball," Naruto shot back.

"Don't call me that!"The fox didn't appreciate his jailor adding insult to injury.

"If you have nothing else to say, I'll be going." He ignored the Kyuubi growling hatefully. He wanted nothing more than get out of there and sleep for a week. Cleansing the seal left him completely drained. And what was worse, he could still feel the Nine-tails pushing against it, trying to get free. He was using his chakra to hold the tear closed, but that wouldn't work all the time. He feared what was going to happen should his concentration slip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Real world~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto slowly came to. The red chakra around him had receded and his eyes had turned to their normal blue. He fell to his knees. He felt completely drained. For a moment, he only knelt there and panted. Then he found the strength to lift his head and look around. The rest of the Konoha group minus the one-eyed chuunin (what was his name again?) was standing at safe distance, eyeing him warily. Closest to him Tenzo was sitting on the ground, slowly bleeding from three gashes on his forearm.

"Did I do this?" the young chuunin asked in a small voice. His guardian was slow to respond. That was answer enough for the young demon vessel. He hung his head down, feeling extremely ashamed of himself.

"Why so down?" his tenant asked in his mind. "He's bleeding so beautifully. Or do you regret not tearing him to pieces? You can still do it, you know. I might even help."

'Shut up!' he shouted internally. The Kyuubi was the last person he wanted to talk to now.

"And why should I?" the Nine-Tails inquired. Somehow, Naruto could see the raised eyebrow in his voice. "You might have stopped the flow of my chakra, but you aren't going to get rid of me so easily."

'Just shut up,' the blond repeated tiredly. His only answer was the demon's evil laughter.

"Don't blame yourself, Naruto," Tenzo spoke. His charge looked away. How could he not blame himself for hurting his guardian? His sight fell on the mark on his right hand. That was the source of his trouble. Would the Kyuubi overwhelm him every time he bled on it? He sure hoped not. He'd have to ask somebody to help. And he should learn more about seals. His lessons with Kanou weren't enough.

"Quit the brooding, you two," Anko interrupted his train of thoughts. "We're still on a mission." The jinchuuriki nodded gratefully. Anything that would occupy his mind was welcome. He tried to stand up, but his legs refused to carry him. He fell back onto the road ungracefully.

"Help him up, Izumo," the snake mistress commanded one of her subordinates.

"I'm Kotetsu!" the underling in question protested. She double-took him.

"You don't have your bandage and your hair is down," she observed.

"I lost it and it's wet," he explained.

"You really look alike now," Hotaru remarked after studying the duo of chuunin for a while. "I wonder how Izumo's hair looks like when it isn't held down by his bandanna."

"I hope we'll find it," the ninja in question muttered.

"Quit joking around, we have a job to do," the tokubetsu jounin commanded. The group, in a lighter mood, headed towards the overturned carts to see if there was something salvageable of their cargo.

Next time: A bit of angst and the beginning of another mission.