Naruto jumped up and down around the field in utter celebration. He had on one of the biggest smiles in his life. And he had a good reason for it too. Naruto had done it. He made his own jutsu and it worked like a charm. Thanks to Kyuubi's advice, Naruto managed to make his jutsu work.
"Kyuubi-chan did you see that? I did it. I made my own jutsu," Naruto spoke stilling having his high fashion fun. Kyuubi chuckled at her container's words of excitement and in truth she was happy. For an eight year old it certainly was a nice katon jutsu. It looked to be well over a C-rank justu.
"I saw it kit. Nice work with that, but tell me, how did you do it?" Kyuubi asked dying to know her container's little secret. Naruto grinned and stopped his jumping around to answer her question.
"Breathe Kyuubi-chan. I wasn't breathing enough. I had always used a small amount of breathe to try and make the jutsu work, but it wouldn't cut it. Yugito-chan taught me that katon justus take lots of oxygen to all for them to work, but I forgot that simple fact. When you told me to breathe, I remembered Yugito-chan's teachings. And they worked out perfectly," Naruto said making Kyuubi chuckle. Naruto was about to return to camp until he saw Bee and Yugito running to position.
"Naruto-kun what was that explosion we heard?" Yugito asked. Naruto gave a simple grin which only aroused Yugito's ire about him, but Bee seemed to catch on to Naruto's smile. He remembered that he had such a face on when he made his first jutsu.
"The kid is certainly full of surprises. He's even younger than when you made your first jutsu," Hachibi said making Bee give a mock shocked expression.
"Hey Hachi don't be mean or I is gonna beat you like a bean," Bee replied making Hachibi wonder why he didn't strangle his container right then and there. Meanwhile, Yugito kept trying to figure Naruto's smile out. Nibi had an idea, but she wanted Yugito to figure it out. Her container would be so jealous. Nibi had to admit that ever since Naruto showed up, she had a lot more fun with Yugito that she thought possible. Yugito glared at Naruto before giving a small smile.
"Well Naruto-kun what happened?" Yugito asked. Naruto kept up his grin and motioned for the two to back up. Yugito and Bee raised their eyebrows, but complied with Naruto's wishes and backed up slightly. They suddenly saw Naruto go through various handsigns before the Kyuubi jinchuuriki yelled.
"Katon: Hissatsu Kasai no Raiga," Naruto yelled sending his spiraling flames of fire into a large boulder across the field making it explode and destroying it. Yugito widened her eyes at the fire and so did Bee. Yugito being the katon expert had gone through plenty of katon jutsus back in Kumo and she never saw one like that. When Naruto walked back Yugito quickly grabbed his shoulders while still in shock.
"How did you do that? Where did you learn that jutsu? Can you teach it to me?" All these questions and more Naruto was bombarded with by Yugito and it still made him grin. One thing about Naruto, he loved to see Yugito's shocked face. It brought some form of joy to the blond's life when he knew he could surprise her.
"Alright Yugito-chan in that order. Your a katon expert you know how I did it. I didn't learn that jutsu, I created it and lastly I can teach you it if you want," Naruto said not knowing the massive thinking Yugito was doing when she heard those words.
"He created his own jutsu? It's at least a high C-rank if not a low B-rank. I haven't even done that yet. Alright Naruto-kun I'm game. I'm not gonna lose to you," Yugito said giving a small grin. Nibi sighed and shook her head at her jailor.
"Great I wonder if I got this little crush thing confused with rivalry. Oh well, I'm sure Naruto-kun will give her a good time," Nibi thought to herself smiling. After a few minutes of explanation, Naruto told Yugito and Bee about his progress over the past few days in perfecting his justu. Both found the blond boy exceptional and told him that he should tell A about it so he could archive the jutsu. Imagine people's faces when they find out that an eight year old created a B-rank katon jutsu. The people would have a field day about it.
"Well Naruto-kun, you really surprised us. How did you come up with that jutsu anyway?" Yugito asked. Naruto explained to Yugito and Bee about his dream to make a katon jutsu of his own at it sort of came to him. He also mentioned that he went to the library to read up on some Justu theory books which Yugito noted for some later use.
"Alright lil nine. You da' man, but we got to rest or we're gonna be late," Bee told them. Naruto and Yugito nodded before returning to their campsite. All three quickly went to sleep to rest for the next day.
Next Morning
Yugito stretched herself awake and yawned before turning her head around in her tent. She turned to see Naruto's face right in front of her and the female jinchuuriki almost blushed at how cute his face looked. Yugito smiled seeing his face. He was always a handsome kid when he was asleep. It was sort of breezy today and the soft wind blew Naruto's hair making it sway slightly. It gave Naruto a calming appearance that didn't seem to fit him when he was awake. It almost made Yugito forget that he was a jinchuuriki like her. Also she knew she found Naruto to be her friend and her rival. She never got stronger for the sake of herself. It was always to simply do missions and get paid, but Naruto's drive to get stronger made her want to try harder also. The blond genin was certainly a mystery to the her, but she didn't mind in the least.
"He's certainly quite handsome sleeping. I just wanna ravish him right now," Nibi said bringing her opinion into things. Yugito rolled her eyes and simply stared at Naruto a little more.
"Hey Nibi," Yugito called.
"What's up kitten?" Nibi asked. Yugito brushed Naruto's hair slightly while she heard the small breaths that the blond made.
"Do you think Naruto-kun knows about the feeling of crushes?" Yugito suddenly asked. Nibi raised an eyebrow at the question as she wasn't expecting it, but did her best to answer.
"I'm sure he does Kitten. I bet he had someone in Konoha that he liked, but I'm not sure. I at least think he's starting to see you that way. Granted he might be a little young, but he did tell you about some of his life and having to do things for himself not to mention he sure can cook and clean when it shifts between you two. He's definitely more mature than most his age," Nibi replied making Yugito sigh. The female jinchuuriki walked out of her tent and quickly brushed her hair before putting her shoes on. Bee came out of his own tent with his usual clothes on and after a few minutes was a drowsy Naruto wearing his black shirt and black pants with purple stripes. Turns out that, Yugito's love for purple rubbed off on Naruto and the blond decided to get some of his own. After eating some breakfast, the three Jinchuuriki came together for one last meeting.
"Alright we are about 4-5 hours away from Rice country. Remember that Kumo and Rice are still at a few odds with each other so we have to play it cool ya fools," Bee said making Naruto and Yugito nod. Yugito was a bit nervous since she wasn't really the negotiating type, but she knew what was riding on this mission and it helped that she'd rather not have a war on their hands.
"Well then, we have no time to waste then. Let's get going and get this mission over with," Naruto said grabbing his swords. Yugito and Bee nodded and ran off to the trees following Naruto to Rice country. The dealing with Rice weren't anything major, but it did require some attention as did all the other missions. All three ran to their destination and as they ran Yugito decided to learn a little more about Naruto. She knew quite a bit, but she still wanted to know more.
"Hey Naruto-kun," Yugito spoke bringing the youngest blond's attention to her.
"What's up Yugito-chan?" Naruto asked. Yugito mentally stumbled at bit at how she should ask anything and wondered if this subject would affect her relationship with Naruto. Naruto in the meantime saw her struggling with herself and it made him wonder what was wrong. He didn't like to see her worrying and it only added to make him think of her a bit more.
"So Naruto-kun," Yugito finally spoke. Naruto turned his attention to her with his vibrant eyes meeting hers before the blond woman continued.
"Would you mind telling me more about Konoha and your life? It's been about a month and a half since you came to Kumo and I just want to know you more. You don't have to say, I just wanted to ask," Yugito added. Naruto's eyes lost their vibrant color and turned slightly ice cold. He looked in front of himself for a second and watched the passing trees. It was a sore subject for him and he really wanted to know why she wanted to know, but she pretty much told him why. It did make him slightly smile that she wanted to know more about him, but it wasn't that pleasant to talk about. However, he trusted Yugito more than anyone else and she wouldn't judge him so he turned to her.
"Alright Yugito-chan. It's not much to say, but I'll tell you," Naruto said making Yugito nod. Bee was also listening in as were their respective bijuu. Nibi and Hachibi wanted to know also, however Kyuubi regressed a little in her cage as Naruto started. He told Yugito about how most of his life was what people could basically call it a survival game. He talked about the sneers that people gave him and how he was treated unfairly by mostly everyone. How he would get beat for simply showing his face around the village. Yugito balled her fists at the story while Bee narrowed his eyes. Nibi and Hachibi weren't any better with the former thinking of ways to burn people to the ground. Naruto went on to talk about most of his friends who probably forgot that he was alive by now. He told about his once crush on a girl named Sakura and Nibi had to smile when she saw Yugito give a slight scowl at that recent news. However, Naruto told them it was unrequited love and she would berate him constantly. It only got worse when his birthday rolled around. People seemed to be extra pissed at him and he wondered how he barely survived those nights, but he had to thank Kyuubi for it which made the vixen blush slightly from the unneeded praise. Before everyone knew it, two hours had passed and Yugito looked at the ground.
"Naruto-kun did you have any happiness at all?" Yugito asked. Naruto chuckled softly at the question, but he could tell it was quite serious.
"Yes, I had a few people. I remember Iruka-sensei who taught me during the academy days. There was Hokage-Jiji along with Teuchi-oji-san and Ayame-chan. They made the best ramen. Those four were always the kindest to me. I really had no one else after that...well...until I met you Yugito-chan," Naruto proclaimed making the Nibi jinchuuriki blush. Bee chuckled at that and it earned him a glare from Yugito making him keep quiet.
Thank you Naruto-kun. I also know how it feels to be alone and hated. The only reason I'm here is because of Bee, Raikage, Samui, Karui and Omoi," Yugito said making Naruto raise his eyebrows at her wondering about the last three people she talked about.
"Who are those last three? Have I met them?" Naruto asked her. Yugito shook her head before smiling.
"No you haven't. Samui keeps to herself mainly, but she's known for her kindness at times. Karui is our very own loudmouth. And Omoi, well he's our laid back genin. He's a lot more suited to civilian by his nature, but he's quite good in kenjutsu just like you," Yugito explain. Naruto smirked and wondered what it was like to meet those three which really had the blond excited. The four hours had passed and the signs of Rice country were coming into view. The trio of jinchuuriki left the trees and walked along the road with Yugito in the middle while Naruto and Bee flanked her from the sides as they entered Rice country.
"Halt, state your status and reason for coming here," a chunin stated while Yugito, Naruto and Bee took out their identification papers. Everyone flashed them to the chunin while Yugito stated that they were here about the negotiations of Kumo and Rice country. The chunin immediately nodded and took the three to the hotel where the meeting would take place.
In Kumo
A and Mabui were currently in the Raikage mansion in the office looking at their three guests. A sighed and placed his elbows on the table. He knew this was coming, he just wished it wasn't when Naruto was gone.
"Well Hokage-dono, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" A asked making Sarutobi bow his head slightly at the Raikage.
"Greetings Raikage-dono, I'd like to apologize for the sudden intrusion, but I would like to see Naruto Uzumaki," Sarutobi said making Mabui narrow her eyes at him. Kakashi tensed slightly under her gaze and wondered why she was here, but her being the Raikage's assistant she had every right to be here.
"I see Hokage-dono, but I regret to inform you that Naruto Uzumaki is out on a mission right now and won't be back for maybe 2-3 days," Raikage announced. Jiraiya gave a small smile when he heard that, but knew better than to say anything. He also knew Tsunade was gonna be pissed when she learned that Naruto was alive. She definitely would have stayed in Konoha if she knew Naruto was alive, but that wasn't the case for either.
"Alright then Raikage-dono, may I request that we be given accommodations until Naruto Uzumaki returns?" Sarutobi asked. A narrowed his eyes at them before nodding and motioning for Mabui to get the paperwork done. Mabui nodded and started writing in her notepad while Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Kakashi left the room. The instant they left, Mabui turned to A and could only glare at him slightly.
"Raikage-sama why are we allowing them to stay? You know they are probably here to take Naruto from Kumo," Mabui said raising her voice slightly. Mabui had liked Naruto. He was like the little brother she never really got. He was also the funniest person. During some of his free time, the blond would help Mabui out with her paperwork and she loved the fact that he could use Kage bunshins. It made work so much easier. She would be damned if Konoha tried to take Naruto and A knew that for a fact.
"Relax Mabui. Trust me I know what I'm doing. No matter how they deny it or don't like it, Naruto is a Kumo shinobi and unless I hear from his lips 'I don't want to stay in Kumo anymore' I'm not letting anyone take him. Plus, Sarutobi wouldn't risk a war with us over Naruto. Rest assured Mabui, Naruto will be protected by Kumo and they have to realize that," A said making Mabui nod. The assistant soon left to do the paperwork while A leaned in his chair while looking out the window.
"It's become a livelier place with him around. He at least keeps Kumo interesting," A said to himself before making two kage bushins to help him with all the paperwork.
Back with Naruto, Yugito, and Bee
All three had made it to their hotel and placed their things in their rooms. The places weren't the best in the world, but they got the job done alright so the three copied with it all. After unpacking, the three sat in Bee's room and went over the plans for the meeting.
"Alright the meeting begins late tonight. Lil nine, I want you in the room with Yugi-chan while she deals with da' client. We gonna be cautious in case those fools be getting' obnoxious," Bee rapped while Naruto turned to Yugito for a translation.
"Basically Naruto-kun, your going to be in the same room with me to watch the negotiations go down and will act if you see anything suspicious from their side," Yugito translated. Naruto nodded immediately while Bee continued.
"While Lil nine does that, I'll be on da' roof checkin' fo' any other fools," Bee added. Naruto knew that one and nodded . They all agreed with the plan and were on their way to look around the place they were in. Bee went off while writing some things in his small book. Naruto decided to go to the Rice country library and see if it had any fuuton jutsu books. Meanwhile, Yugito went off into the woods to train her abilities since recently she found herself lacking in a few areas.
With Naruto
Naruto had just left the library disappointed that they didn't have what he was looking for. It made everything a pain. He had exceptional knowledge with Raiton from Bee and good katon knowledge from Yugito yet the blond couldn't find anyone who could teach him fuuton techniques. Naruto sighed and walked around the town they were in for a bit. He saw various people conversing and some of them were shady people at best. Naruto continued to walk through the town before he heard something near an alleyway that caught his interest.
"Are all the preparations complete?" a man asked his partner. Naruto narrowed his eyes and leaned on wall before peeking around its corner to see the two men. One was quite tall at least Bee's height and the other seemed a bit taller than Yugito. Both were either bandits or Rouges, but that was beside the point for right now.
"Yeah boss it's all ready. Can you believe Kumo actually came here. I never liked them or Konoha. I can't wait to teach those three Kumo shinobi a lesson. Although did you see the woman? She was kinda cute. How much do you think she's worth?" the younger of the two asked. Naruto felt his rage flare from hearing that. Bee and Yugito taught Naruto that the shinobi world is just about as dangerous as it gets. People like this show up everywhere and there's not much one can do to stop it. Naruto at the time didn't know what they were talking about specifically, but a little explanation from Mabui and he pieced it together.
"Whether she makes good money or not isn't the issue. Remember that. Though I can't believe that our contractor was the country's daimyo. He must really hate Kumo to do this, but we're not here to care about that. Remember we must kill the three before the meeting starts and that's still quite a long ways off," The older person told the younger with a menacing tone.
"Well looks like I have something to do," Naruto said startling the two. Both men narrowed their eyes when they saw the Kumo headband before smiling.
"So Gaki was spying on us huh?" one of them said. Naruto gave a small grin and took out two of his swords and take a basic kenjutsu stance.
"Don't think I'm gonna let you two go after hearing all of that," Naruto said to them. The two men chuckled before the oldest snapped his fingers. Hearing that sound, ten more people came out with clubs, wires, and broadswords. Naruto grinned at the odds of it being 12 on 1. So why not even those odds. Naruto crossed his fingertips before saying.
"Alright guys answer me this question, what does a fox do when it's cornered?" Naruto asked looking around for an answer. All of them men ignored the question and advanced on the blond while Naruto grinned.
"He gets allies to back him up. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto yelled making 12 clones, all with their own sword making some of the men sweat. Naruto charged at everyone with a fight erupting near the edge of town.
With Yugito
Yugito was currently out in the woods practicing her taijutsu again and she even found something interesting. She found out that being Nibi's jinchuuriki she was granted a great sense of balance and falling over was a rare thing to do. She always chalked that up to reflexes, but it turned out to be great for her taijutsu which she was able to add more flexibility to her forms. Nibi watched her container train and the female demon cat wondered what Yugito saw in Naruto that would make him a rival However she wasn't going to let this chance go for Yugito to go with her new feelings.
"So kitten now that you found yourself a rival what are you going to do?" Nibi asked while Yugito threw three kunai at a tree plating them in ascending order. Yugito stopped her training and wiped some sweat from her forehead before leaning against a tree.
"What do you mean Nibi?" Yugito asked. Nibi gave a small grin before snickering.
"Now that you have some common ground with Naruto-kun are you going to profess your love for him?" Nibi asked. Yugito narrowed her eyes at her bijuu's question and sighed. The woman was definitely seeing a pattern somewhere down the road.
"Nibi let's not go over this again," Yugito said before turning her head fast to the right. The blond woman got to her feet and felt a massive chakra signature in the town.
"Naruto-kun," Yugito said to herself before jumping through the trees and heading back to the town for an investigation.
With Naruto
Naruto huffed before he knocked out another bandit with the back end of his sword. They were certainly a tough group and the blond was having a bit of trouble. It turned out that one of them was a rouge shinobi and easily surpassed Naruto in skill. The others were simply grunts who did his dirty work. Naruto barely dodged a punch to the face and backflipped away from the rest of the group.
"Looks like I need more training," Naruto said to himself and for some reason or the other, he knew Kyuubi was nodding with a grin across her face.
"Your not bad Gaki, but it's time I got serious," the leader said going through some handsigns. Naruto turned his head to see multiple people watching and he didn't want anyone getting hurt in here. Naruto had to think of something fast and he smirked. The blond suddenly dodged a water dragon and hopped to the rooftops of a house. He then dashed away towards the forest making the others follow him. Not a moment later did Yugito and Bee appear in the streets looking at the damage.
"Bee did you feel Naruto's chakra?" Yugito asked starting to get a little worried. Bee nodded and they scanned for Naruto's chakra, but it was gone. Either he was suppressing it or something happened to him and both were really hoping for the former.
Meanwhile, Naruto had managed to bring the six extra members to the field, but they surrounded him and the blond still had the mysterious shinobi to deal with.
"I have to do something now. Yugito-chan and Bee-sensei can't fight with me all the time. I'll find some way to do this," Naruto said to himself, but all the guys laughed at him with one walking up.
"It's too late to come up with a strategy kid. Now your going to die for sticking your nose in our business," one of the grunts said making Naruto glare at him.
"I don't want to hear that from a grunt. Why don't you guys get lost and let me take that jackass right there," Naruto said pointing to the only shinobi in the group. Everyone started cackling while holding their sides.
"You think you can beat Hiryu-sama? You must be delusional," one of them said before everyone saw Naruto's grin. Hiryu walked into the circle and grinned.
"Well gaki, you've got balls I'll give you that, but that won't guarantee your survival here. It only brings death," Hiryu said summing two axes to his hands. Naruto looked at his two precious swords that Bee bought him and his gripped the handles tightly.
"I'm not gonna die. Not until I become the Raikage of Kumo," Naruto yelled charging at the man. Both clashed as the spark from their weapons dropped to the ground. Naruto gritted his teeth and knew he was at a disadvantage. This guy was so much stronger than him and more skilled. The blond would have to be a bit cunning in this fight. Hiryu tried to slash at Naruto, but the blond parried the strike with his sword before bring his other sword around trying to slash at Hiryu's stomach, but the man evaded the attack easily and backed away. Naruto narrowed his eyes and watched the man go through some handsigns while Naruto went through his own.
"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu," Hiryu yelled making a water dragon charge at Naruto, but the blond finished his handsigns also and yelled.
"Katon: SaikÅ Neppa( Fire Release: Supreme Heat Wave)," Naruto sent the blazing fire at the dragon and the two collied forming a mist that covered the entire field. It was difficult to see in the mist and knowing that he was surrounded didn't make this any better, but then Naruto got an idea. This mist still had traces of water inside and it made the best situation for the blond. Hiryu walked through the mist looking for his target while gripping his axes tightly.
"Come out kid! Take your punishment like a man!" Hiryu yelled out. Slowly Naruto's figure came into view and Hiryu readied his weapons. He charged the blond, and quickly appeared in front of him.
"Die!" Hiryu screamed sending his axes slashing through Naruto's small body. He smirked in that instant that he got rid of the small problem, but it only added to the shock he was feeling when it poofed into smoke.
"A kage bunshin?" Hiryu wondered, but it didn't last as seven more clones shot through the mist knowing they found him. Hiryu couldn't react in time before all the clones bomb rushed him into the ground keeping him still, but they were quickly losing their edge and told Naruto to hurry up. Hiryu looked up to see Naruto moving though quite a few handsigns before the blond smiled and made his right hand cackle.
"Lariat," Naruto yelled charging with his arm slamming into the man's throat. Normally a hit from an eight year old wouldn't do much, but considering that Naruto had charged his arm with raiton chakra and the fact they were still in a mist which is filled with water, well it would hurt a lot. Hiryu screamed out as the lightning in Naruto's arm intensified from the mist around them nearly frying Hiryu inside out. All the men on the outside heard the scream and wondered what was going on with them. Naruto huffed and dropped to his knees before looking at Hiryu's face. It screamed electrocution and the blond widened his eyes. He just had his first kill. Naruto gasped and saw Hiryu's lifeless face.
"I killed him," Naruto softly said, then the mist dissipated and all the men saw Hiryu's body and began screaming at Naruto.
"He killed Hiryu-sama. Kill that brat," they all yelled. Naruto flinched at the last words as they brought up some terrible memories for him, but the blond couldn't move. One from the overuse of chakra and two from the revelation of him having his first kill. It all made Naruto scared for the first time in his life. All the men neared Naruto, but they were stopped by a fireball and a shot of lightning. Everyone looked up to see Yugito and Bee in the trees before dispatching to the ground to help Naruto.
"Naruto-kun are you alright?" Yugito asked. Naruto couldn't look her in the eyes. He just couldn't. Not after what he did.
"Naruto-kun what happened?" Yugito asked while Bee turned to the remaining guys with a glare.
"What did ya fools do to lil nine?" Bee asked. Most of the men sweated and backed up from Bee and Yugito. Naruto in the meantime was in turmoil for the first time in his life.
"I killed him. It's my fault. It's all my fault," Naruto said softly, though not so soft that Bee and Yugito couldn't hear him. Yugito widened her eyes at turned to see Hiryu's body on the ground severely burned possibly from a raiton justu or katon jutsu.
"Kitten he just had his first kill. When this is over you should talk to him," Nibi said to her container while Bee quickly took care of everyone else. Suddenly, Naruto started to cry as the tears trailed down his face. His face screamed anguish to Yugito and Bee, but both gasp when red chakra started to swirl around him. Kyuubi was having a hard time trying to keep her chakra from entering Naruto's system, but the flow was too fast and she lost control.
"Naruto-kun calm down!" Kyuubi yelled, but it was too late as Naruto's claws sharpened and his whiskers grew more defined. His hair was riled up and there was just so much anger and sadness, but Bee and Yugito were now even more worried when Naruto turned to them with his eyes slitted.
"AHHHHHHHH!" the blond yelled as he charged at Yugito and Bee.