Dead Man Walkin'

by Nirx

The Kyuubi's Chakra was split into two and sealed into Naruto's sisters. But there was another being there that night, and three possible hosts. Minato was able to survive the sealing by changing the seal at the last minute, not realizing that he had accidentally sealed the embodiment of Death into his son. Dark!Naruto(not evil), Fem!Kiba

2. Graduation of the Death Jinchuuriki

Disclaimer- See Chapter 1

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Six Years Later

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Today was a day Naruto, along with everyone else in his class, had been waiting for since the day they first started the academy, Graduation day. They had all passed the test the day before, Mito and Erza came joint top of the class, with Sasuke Uchiha coming a close second, and were now waiting to be give their teams and assigned sensei. Naruto was sat at the back of the classroom, as far away from everyone else in the room as he could get, in a corner where the light above him had stopped working and left it in shadows.

Physically, the blonde hadn't change much over the last five years other then growing taller, and still looked like a younger, and thinner, version of his father. Though he had started putting on both weight and muscle since he had started eating Souls. He had taken to wearing a sleeveless black hoodie since he started the academy, with black shinobi pants and heavy steel encased combat sandals. He wore a short black scarf with a white skull on each end, which covered the bottom half of his face, with the ends tailing down his back, his new forehead protector tied to his forehead. To finish off, he wore a pair of steel backed fingerless gloves, which instead of having the Leaf symbol had a skull engraved onto the metal.

He also carried a scythe with a massive blade and a long handle, which he mostly kept tied to his bad, which no one had ever seen him actually use.

Since joining the academy, Naruto had made an effort to keep himself in the class average, low enough that he didn't draw attention but high enough that his people would ask questions about why the son of two of the village's strongest ninja was failing.

Not that people would have thought him being weak was all that odd, what with his still thin and sickly appearance, and the other kids in the class didn't even know the Namikaze had a son until his sisters started bugging him in the academy.

No matter what he said, did or ignored, Mito and Erza would not leave him alone.

Back when they had first started, several kids had attempted to pick on him, thinking he was an easy target and not knowing about his family. Naruto didn't even have time to react before Erza came and started yelling at them in his defense, much to his annoyance.

They were both determined to 'be closer to their Onii-chan', as Mito would often put it, despite the fact he wanted nothing to do with them.

His parents were no better, always trying to get him to train with them, dragging him out of the house for 'family time'. He had even found a tracking seal on one of his shirts, so he attached it to the collar of a cat he had found and watched his mother chance it around for a day thinking it was him.

No one actually knew how strong Naruto was, whenever he was pared for a spar with another student the blonde would surrender before the signal was even given, but the few times he did fight he won. Iruka, the teacher, seemed to understand that he wanted to keep a low profile at least and for the most part let him slide. After all, you can't train a ninja, only to force them to give everything away.

The blonde listened as the other graduates talked loudly about who they wanted to be teamed with, most of the girls wanted to be paired with Sasuke, and most of the boy's wanted to be paired with one or both of his sisters.

Naruto didn't really care who was on his team, because he already knew who they would be, after all, the Hokage made the decisions. He knew he would be paired with his sisters, and that there sensei would probably be either Kakashi or Tenzo, both men being close to his parents. Though if he had to guess, it would probably be Tenzo, and Kakashi would be the sensei to whatever team Sasuke was on.

After most of his clan was murdered a few years back by his older brother, Itachi, the number of people with the Sharingan that would be able to teach him was next to nothing, almost all of the survivors were members of the clan that didn't have the bloodline.

It was a shame, Naruto had always liked Itachi, and they would run into each other from time to time when he snuck out at night to train. In fact, before the older Uchiha had his mental breakdown, Naruto was even considering showing the teen his powers, just to get a second opinion on where they came from and what else he might be able to do. Not that he needed to talk to someone else anymore, he had a theory about where his powers came from, and the only people that could confirm it were probably the last he wanted to talk to.

At least that's what people said happened anyway, that the stress from being a prodigy in the art of Ninja had made him snap, that he had been rushed through the ranks at too young an age and couldn't deal with the responsibility. Naruto didn't really care either way though, he never liked the Uchiha clan as a whole, always stuck up and self-centred. He had seen several of them throwing their weight around the village, using the clan name to get their own way, and every time he had wanted to walk over and kick them right in the balls.

From what he had seen of Sasuke, the currently youngest Uchiha wasn't much better, though he didn't throw his weight around. Sasuke would just ignore everyone around him, only talking to spew Uchiha superiority, though Naruto could tell it was always only said halfheartedly, or to mercilessly beat whoever he was paired with for spars in class.

In fact, the only people in class the Uchiha had ever beaten was Mito and Erza, both his sisters seeming to be on another level to everyone else in the class. Naruto sometimes wondered what would happen if he actually tried to beat them, not that he had ever spared with either of them, and what his family would think if he did.

But the fact was no matter how much he didn't like them, Naruto could admit that they were strong, even if he didn't know what it was that motivated them to train as much as they did.

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Over the last few years, both Erza and her sister had dedicated themselves to training and getting stronger for one thing, and one thing only, there brother. It wasn't that they didn't care about the village, and they did do it for Konoha a little, but for them their reason to get stronger had always been so they could protect their brother.

Ever since that day five years ago, when their parents had finally agreed to let Naruto train with them only to be shot down by him, Erza knew something wasn't right. So both she and Mito had pressed their parents for an explanation, and though they had denied the fact something was wrong with Naruto for another year, they had eventually given in and told them everything.

The knowledge that Naruto, their precious Onii-chan, was born with a genetic deficiency that made him unlikely to live more than a few years was a shock.

It had explained a lot of things that Erza had never understood when they were little, not her parents refusal to train Naruto, but also the way they had been distant from him, but would always send him worried expressions.

Now, while Erza didn't agree with what their parents had been doing for the first few years of their lives, she could understand them not wanting to get to attached to a child they were told would die before he even reached his teen years. Understand yes, agree not.

But then shortly after they had been told about their brother's illness, another realization hit them, one that made them both terrified. Naruto wanted to be a ninja, he going to the academy to learn, and there was a good chance he would get hurt on a mission. It was with this realization that they had both found their 'fire', there reason to train and get stronger, to push past their limits.

Mito had always had the most talent in Taijutsu and Seals, while Erza was a prodigy in the Uzumaki Solid Chakra Bloodline and Kenjutsu, and they had been refining those skills more and more every day.

Erza knew they she would be on the same team as her brother and sister, and that the most logical choice for their sensei would be Tenzo, the ANBU commander being the only known person currently able to use the Wood Release and the Demon chakra suppressing quality that came with it.

Neither Erza nor Mito had ever had a problem with the Kyuubi, or at least the halves sealed in them, but it would be stupid to think that it would never happen, and knew it would be better to be prepared for when it did. It was the reason Tenzo had been their official shadow ever since they were little, always keeping an eye on each of them in case anything ever happened, and was ready to jump in at a moment's notice.

She sent a look over her shoulder at her brother sat in his dark corner, and small frown in her lips at the fact he hadn't made a single friend in all the years they had been at the academy. In fact, despite him never showing any skill or ability that would stand out from the norm, Erza noticed that several people in her class were actually afraid of him. Naruto just always seemed to give off some sort of aura around him, which put people ill at ease.

It had been there ever since they were little, around the time he had stopped asking their mum and dad to train him and started locking himself in his room all day. That was also the point everything had changed between them, before that day Naruto had been a nice, if slightly frail and sad, little boy.

She remembered how Naruto would sneak into her and Mito's room in the middle of the night after having a nightmare, asking to stay with them, and it always brought a sad smile to her face. Even then, Naruto would come to them instead of their parents. But like everything else that had changed when he stopped asking for training, he also stopped coming to them, and had even turned hostile. It was as if he couldn't stand to be in same room as them, and if they tried to talk to him, Naruto would either frown and answer in the shortest way possible, or just ignore them altogether.

But Erza was an Uzumaki, just like her sister and mother, and no matter what she would keep trying until Naruto was worn down. She wouldn't give up until they were a family again, and she could hug her brother like they used to when they were younger.

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When Iruka-sensei walked into the room, clipboard in hand and both his mum and dad following him, Naruto frowned behind his scarf. He knew it was tradition for the Hokage to make an appearance at the team assignments, something about it being a morale booster or something, but didn't have to like it. And there was no reason for his mum to be there at all.

He watched as the scarred Chuunin stopped in front of his desk at the front of the class, a small smile on his face as he look at them all.

"Alright everyone, I would just like to say congratulations for getting to this point, everyone in this class has worked hard and earned their place here. However, before I assign you all to your teams and sensei, Hokage-sama has an announcement to give."

Stepping to the side, Iruka motioned for Minato to take his place, everyone in the class going completely silent so they could hear what he had to say.

"Hello, before I get down to business, I would just like to say I am also proud to see so many of you here today, and I am looking forward to seeing you develop further over the next few years. Now the reason I am here is to announce a change in the graduation ceremony."

At his words worried muttering filled the room, several people seeming to be afraid they might not become ninja after all, but before those thoughts had time to take root Minato started talking again.

"Don't worry, you all still passed, but in order to give you're soon to be Jounin-sensei a better idea of your current skill we will be holding a little tournament. It will be held after you are given your team assignments, with your Jounin-sensei there to observe the matches, and will be held in the arena."

This time the muttering was of excitement instead of fear, the idea of a competition making several of the new genin grin in anticipation. Naruto just stayed silent, wondering if it was really a coincidence that things were being changed the same year he and his sisters were graduating.

After that he tuned out most of the teams announced, not caring to listen to the groans and cheering of those that didn't or did like who was being put on their team. There were more than a few girls crying at not being put on Sasuke's team, and several boys that loudly protested at not being with either of his sisters, but Iruka had been doing this job for several years now and was used to hearing complaints about team placements.

"Team 7, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno-"

"HELL YEAH! Take that Ino-pig!"

"-and Sai. You will be under Kakashi Hatake. Sakura, please remember the Hokage is here, control yourself."

At the last comment, the pink haired girl blushed heavily, sending a glance over to both his mother and father before sinking back into her seat without another word.

"Team 8, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka. You will be under Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9 is still in circulation, so Team 10, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara. You will be under Asuma Sarutobi."

Naruto didn't miss the look his mum and dad sent him at that moment, or the small smiles on their faces, and it almost made him growl under his breath.

"And finally, with Teams 11 and 12 still active, we come to the last team. Team 13, Erza Namikaze, Mito Namikaze and Naruto Namikaze, under Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze."

Well…shit, the bastards had actually gone a step further then he was expecting, and actually made their mum the sensei of his team. How they had managed to convince the council to let that happen Naruto had no idea.

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The arena was only about a ten minute run from the Academy, by genin standards that is, though it took a little longer for the group to arrive because several were too excited to constraint on where they were going.

His family had tried to talk to him as they all left the classroom, but Naruto had simply walked passed as if they weren't even there, knocking his shoulder into Mito's when she didn't attempted to block his path. The fact the impact didn't even seem to slow him down in the slightest seemed to have gone unnoticed by them all though, still thinking him weak, so much for #looking underneath the underneath'.

He let his eyes wonder around the arena, taking in the terrain they were going to be fighting in, and the people watching them from the stands. He recognised several, like Kakashi, Tenzo, Hiruzen and his son Asuma. But there were a lot he didn't know. He also recognized several people from the council, all the current clan heads, and how he could only assume were the parents of the newly passed genin in his class.

What was his dad hoping to get from this? It was almost like a mini chuunin exam, it just didn't make any sense at all.

Naruto kept to the back of the group, keeping just enough distance between him and them so as not to draw attention to himself, and kept his head tilted down so no one could see his eyes moving around.

He knew once he became a genin he wouldn't be able to hide his powers anymore, hide the fact that despite what his family thought he wasn't weak, but he didn't think he would be showcasing them to so many people. It made him nervous, the more people that knew what you could do, the more likely someone would hear about it that would use it against you.

Then again, he was looking forward to seeing people's reactions to just how much stronger the black sheep of the Namikaze family really was, especially those of his family. Carrying on with that thought, Naruto realised that maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

He turned his attention to Iruka, who was stood at the front of their group, Minato and Kushina having joined the other spectators in the stand, as he held up a red bag and started talking.

"OK, I am going to explain how this is going to work, so pay attention because I will only say it once. When I call your name, you will come up and take a piece of paper from this bag, and on that paper will be a number. There is two of each number in the bag, and you will be fighting whoever had the same number as you. They will be two on two match up, except for one which will be a three way spar because of the odd numbers. Do not show or tell anyone else your number until it is called for your match. The fights will go on until either I call them, or your opponent is knocked out. You are only allowed to use what you have on hand right now, and participation is mandatory, so you will not be allowed to surrender before the match even starts."

At the end he sent a pointed look at both Shikamaru and Naruto, neither of the boy's missing the silent message that was clearly directed at them, before he turned his attention back to all of them. With the explanation finished, the chunin started calling out each of their names one by one, holding out the bag so they could take their number.

When it was his turn, Naruto stepped forward without a word, took his number and walked off without even looking at it until he was behind the group again.

It seemed he was fight number 15.

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Kushina watched as the first few fights went by, most not being anything special, except when the young Nara was paired against the Aburame. The bug user won, but his opponent didn't make it easy for him, and both were panting by the end.

She allowed her mind to wander through most of them, thinking about how much closer she would be able to get to her children being their sensei, especially Naruto. It hadn't been easy, convincing the council that it was a good idea to have all the Namikaze on the same team, but between her and Minato they had managed it.

Mito and Erza would always have been together, they both held half of the Kyuubi's chakra and worked well together, so it had been agreed on from the first day they started at the academy. Naruto was a little harder to sell. Everyone could see he didn't look healthy, his pale skin and skinny frame, even if it had been getting better over the last few years, though they didn't know what his chakra reserves were. In the end they had simply explained that even if he looked sickly, he was still a near copy of his father, and that would be more than enough for certain people to go after him and his team. Why have two targets and three other genin in danger when they could simply have them together.

As for Kushina being the sensei, it had been between her and Tenzo, but her past experience with being a Jinchuriki had won her the spot in the end. While Tenzo would be able to stop Mito and Erza if they lost control, Kushina stood the best chance of teaching them to control it themselves. The idea of having two Jinjuriki able to control their host's chakra was too juicy a prize for them to pass up.

Everyone knew it was a little unfair, and that they were playing favourites, but in the end they all trusted her and Minato to make the best choice for the village. Something they were actually doing in a way the council didn't know.

The fact was, Naruto had no ties to the village, nothing to make him loyal. His family knew he wanted nothing to do with them, not that they would ever give up on him, and he had made no friends while in the academy. He went off to train on his own, and refused to show any of his skills to anyone, going so far as to surrender most spars before they even started. None of them even knew where he had gotten the scythe he carried, of if he could actually use it, which made them even more worried.

It pained her to admit it, but Kushina knew Naruto was at risk of becoming a Missing-nin later in his life, something that could cause a chain reaction that could bring a lot of problems for Konoha.

If Naruto abandoned the village, Minato would be forced to declare his own son a Missing-nin, and have him added into the Bingo book. Kushina knew Minato would never be able to do that, and that he would be forced to resign from being Hokage, only for the new leader to do it in his place. If Naruto was declared a Missing-nin, both Mito and Erza would resent the village, something that never ended well when it came to Jinchuriki's.

They didn't explain any of their fears to the council, fearing that it would draw unwanted attention to Naruto that could be what led him to leaving the village, but it was a fear they both shared along with everyone else that knew of their strained relationship with their son. Not that many knew, Jiraiya, Hiruzen, Shikaku, Kakashi and Tenzo were the only people who knew, and they both trusted each of them to keep quiet about it.

Jiraiya had actually offered to take Naruto with him on his travels, maybe find a way to fix his illness and train him a little, but they just couldn't risk him getting more distant with them.

"15"

She was brought out of her thoughts when Iruka called the next match, looking to see who it would be, only for her eyes to widen in both shock and fear.

-BREAK-

"15"

Naruto looked up as his number was called, having set himself in a corner at the back of where the genin were watching the matches, the only people seeming to take any notice of him being his sisters. He stood up and made his way to the door, letting out a small sigh, before pausing when he noticed who else had gotten up and couldn't help but smirk behind his scarf.

This was perfect, not only was he apparently fighting in the three way match, he was in the three way match with both his sisters! What were the chances?

He saw both their eyes widen for a moment as they turned and showed each other their numbers, before turning to Naruto, their faces getting paler by the second as he slowly held it up for everyone to see. The sound of everyone in the room gasping almost made him laugh, but the whispers that started up a moment later only made him angry, and his hands shook at his sides.

They were all talking about how stupid he was going to look when his sister beat him.

Without a word or second glance at Mito and Erza, Naruto turned his back to everyone in the room and made his way to the arena floor, his sister following behind him quietly. That was actually a little surprising, they were never quiet.

He didn't miss Iruka sending him a worried look when they came out, Naruto moving to the far side of the arena with Erza on his left and Mito on his right, making him scowl. Then again, it wasn't like he ever gave any indication that he was better than average, so their reactions were understandable.

"Onii-chan…"

Turning his head slightly so that he was looking more at Mito, Naruto kept what could be seen of his face blank as he waited for her to get whatever she was going to say over with.

"Please, just stay back so Erza and I can get the spar over with, and after this we can all go out for ramen."

"She's right"

This time he turned to look at Erza as she spoke.

"Just let us get this over with, there is no need for you to fight either of us…"

"Begin!"

For a moment, Naruto considered not saying anything as they turned to face each other and got into ready stances, but their words stirred something inside him.

Turning first to look at Mito, then to Erza, Naruto spoke loud enough so that everyone in the stadium would be able to hear him.

"You self-righteous, arrogant, idiots. I'm going break both of you, in front of all these people, and I'm going to enjoy doing it…"

His words seemed to leave everyone that heard them shocked for a moment, though if it was because it was the first time for many actually hearing him speak or the words themselves was unclear, and could only stare with wide eyes as the blonde Namikaze as he slowly walked forward. He stopped when he was stood between them both, his entire body relaxed and at ease, before he started making a show of stretching.

"I have been waiting for this moment for six years, the moment I could stop hiding and pretending, to show both of you and our parents that I am not the weak, frail little boy you all think me to be. This couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it."

"Onii-chan…I don't understand…"

Smiling behind his scarf at Erza's confused face, Naruto slowly reached behind his back and removed his scythe, spinning it around in his hands lazily as he turned to look at her.

"You know something funny, when I first discovered what I could do I considered telling you, even went so far as to approach dad and try and tell him. I was scared, alone, had had no idea what was happening to me, I wanted so much for mum and dad to tell me what was happening. He sent me away before I could get more than two words out, told me he was too busy, that he needed to focus on teaching you because of the Kyuubi. That was the day I realised I couldn't rely on any of you."

He didn't miss the flinches from both his sisters at his last comment, or the confusion as the rest settled in.

"So I started training myself, trying to understand what was happening to me, and when I had enough control I started looking back at that night…when it all started…"

Here Naruto turned to look up at his parents, who like everyone else were listening to his every word with wide eyes, glaring at them both.

"When you made me, that night thirteen years ago, when you summoned the Shinigami to seal the Kyuubi! When you made me a Jinchuuriki!"

At his declaration, everyone in the stadium let out a gasp, staring from Minato and Kushina, then back to Naruto.

When he finally got ever enough of his shock to speak, Minato stood and looked down at his son, his face a mask of confusion.

"What are you talking about Naruto-kun, the Kyuubi was Sealed into your sisters, you are not a Jinchuuriki …"

Reaching up and loosening his scarf from around his neck, letting his smirk be seen to all, Naruto let out a humourless chuckle.

"Who said it was the Kyuubi you sealed inside me?"

Closing his eyes, Naruto took a deep breath, before letting it out.

With his eyes still closed, Naruto's body started to change, his skin turned grey and started clinging to his bones as his hair grew a little longer and shaggier. He opened his mouth, letting everyone watch as they sharpened, his tongue turning purple.

When the transformation finally stopped, the sight sent a shiver down the spines of everyone that saw him, an instinctual fear settling inside them all that none could understand. This fear was only increased when, with a relieved sigh, Naruto opened his eyes to reveal two empty pools of darkness, almost as if he didn't have any eyes at all.

Smirking at the fearful expressions around him, Naruto slowly turned back to his parents, his tongue slowly running over his lips. When he spoke, Naruto's voice had changed, becoming lower and rougher, nothing like his normal voice.

"I am the Jinchuuriki of the Shinigami…I am the Jinchuuriki of the Death God!"

XXX