Disclaimer: If I tried to own Naruto I would only get my ass kicked.
Chapter 4: Wells of magic and madness
Naruto couldn't take it anymore; the blasted crystal ball had to go. He could never be certain at what time the Hokage would decide to take a peek, and it was driving him slowly mad. It wouldn't have been that bad if he hadn't been able to sense the connection, but with things as they were he would develop a severe case of paranoia if it didn't stop soon. Luckily the Hokage hadn't seen anything suspicious so far, but it was only a matter of time.
Which was why he and his parents had come up with a plan. It wasn't much of a plan; basically it called for him to be in the Hokage's office and arrange a distraction so that the old man would leave. After that he would cede control of his body to his father for a few seconds, long enough to disable the crystal ball. Naruto didn't know what his father would do and he didn't care, the only important thing was that the constant spying ceased. Last time the Sandaime had seen him taking a dump, and he valued his privacy thank you very much. To his credit the Old Man had cut the connection immediately, but that was hardly a consolation.
"What's this thing, Old Man?" he asked while pointing at a large scroll sitting on a table nearby.
"That is the forbidden scroll, Naruto. I'm consulting it to identify an odd seal one of my shinobi encountered a short time ago."
'Forbidden scroll, eh? Interesting, definitely a thing to remember for the future.'
To get into the Hokage's office had been easy enough, he had simply asked the Old Man to be allowed to watch him work for a day. Before he had come here he had set his distraction plan in motion. In fact, the results should become noticeable any moment now.
A secretary burst into the room. "Hokage-sama! There is a disturbance between the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan heads downstairs. We fear it will come to blows soon. Both claim they have scheduled a meeting with you at the same time about some insulting letters that the other one has sent them."
"I'm coming." The old man turned towards Naruto. "Stay here, Naruto. I'll be right back."
Perfect. It had been easy to find official looking stationary, fill it with insults about the other clan and smuggle it to their doorsteps. A second set of letters with the meeting schedule had been deposited earlier. Normally such an idiotically simple scheme would never have worked, but tensions were high because some Uchiha children had pulled a similar stunt two weeks before and the two clan heads hated each other. Normally he stayed away from any Uchiha, his mother had somewhat of a grudge against them and he found their eyes creepy, but the opportunity had been too tempting. The situation downstairs would be resolved in a few minutes, but a few minutes were all he needed.
Naruto played easily bored child and began to wander the room. Naturally the Sandaime didn't really leave him alone; there were four ANBU in the room who would interfere if he did something suspicious. He innocently poked a few of the knickknacks the Sandaime kept in this office until he reached his destination. Before him on a shelf sat the dreaded crystal ball. Feigning an interest he bent towards it. He quickly checked the position of the invisible ANBU guards in the room.
'Perfect, none of them will be able to see what I'm about to do.' he thought before initiating the next stage by pulling on his mother's chakra. Which she would tell his father, thereby getting things underway. Naruto's eyes changed to obsidian black orbs as Daiki took control. He poked the crystal ball carefully with a finger while scanning it with his other senses.
'Old, possibly several centuries. Minerals form a non-visible intricate seal structure threading through the entire sphere. Very likely protected against simple physical damage.'
That left only one possible course of action. Daiki didn't want to outright destroy the artifact, which would be impossible to do in an inconspicuous way anyway. If Naruto was in danger it would be safer if the Sandaime had a method of checking on him quickly, but they didn't want him spying on Naruto constantly. Fortunately he had now enough knowledge of this world to solve the problem.
A tiny grey flicker shot from the tip of his finger, hit the sphere and enveloped it before fading. There, it was done. From now on the Sandaime would find something else to do whenever he contemplated using the crystal ball to specifically spy on Naruto. Still, it would only avert the old man's idle curiosity. The subtle compulsion could be overcome if he thought the reason important enough, and he used the sphere rarely enough that he wouldn't really notice anything amiss. The spell would hold for perhaps two months if they were lucky, but by then the Hokage should be broken out of his casual spying habits.
It was a steady temptation to throw magic around like candy now that he could use it, but that would have been impractical. Direct behavioral changes would be immediately noticed by the victim or the victim's friends, and he couldn't channel the necessary power to make them stick anyway. A weak compulsion that was activated a few times per month to cause a slight shifting of the victim's attention was possible, but nothing more suspicious. The transformation of the eyes was bad enough, and he still wasn't sure why it happened. All the other side effects of the possession he had been able to suppress after a few tries, but the eye issue stubbornly refused to yield. It had probably something to do with some 'eyes are the windows of the soul'-crap in this universe. He could do a bit more energy-intensive stuff with Naruto's body, like teleporting and flying around, but not for long.
They had really to advance their plan to make magic more easily accessible, but it would be dangerous. He couldn't channel any significant amount of power without endangering Naruto's sanity to an unreasonable degree. It really was a quandary. They were nearly helpless if someone came after Naruto, but to change that they would have to put their beloved son in a great deal of danger. Still, it had to be done and soon.
The boy's eyes returned to their normal appearance when Daiki retreated behind the seal. Naruto had spent the last few seconds in a comfortable darkness, but was able to take over seamlessly. He moved on to examine the next knickknack. He didn't know if the operation had been successful, but he fervently hoped so.
It didn't take long for the Hokage to return. Naruto spent the rest of the afternoon watching him work. From what Naruto could see the Old Man clearly had a shitty job, wasting his time with tons of paperwork wasn't Naruto's idea of fun. He was becoming slightly annoyed by the Sandaime's continuing subtle attempts of praising his office. Apparently he wanted Naruto to aspire to become the next Hokage without directly saying it.
'Fat chance with me being a jinchuuriki. I wonder if he sees it as parenting or manipulating me. After all, if I'm striving after such a lofty goal there are all sorts of hoops he can have me jump through.'
During Naruto's brief lapse in attention the Hokage had begun to look at him with a thoughtful expression. When Naruto was about to leave the office for the evening the Old Man asked him a question he hadn't expected for quite some time. "Naruto, how would you like to join the shinobi academy next year?"
Naruto was surprised by this offer and was momentarily speechless, but he quickly recovered. "Wow, so soon? That would be great Old Man. Thanks." Before he left the office he did a little victory dance, and he could be heard shouting "I'm becoming a shinobi! I'm becoming a shinobi!" on his entire way out of the tower.
"…and I didn't really know what to do and simply agreed. Was that the right decision? The Old Man has been trying to get me interested in the shinobi lifestyle as long as I can remember, and I displayed some enthusiasm for it."
"I think you did the right thing. After all his influence it would have been decidedly suspicious if you didn't jump at that offer." Daiki said. "The important question is: What do you want? I mean, what do you want to do with your life? You should have enough experience by now to make some preliminary decisions."
Naruto sat back in his chair and thought hard. What did he truly want?
Freeing his parents was his top priority, but he hadn't the slightest inkling of how to do that. Daiki had already warned him that under no circumstances he was to release the seal. Apparently bad things would happen if he did that.
A family for sure. He had asked his parents about possible siblings some time ago but had been disappointed because their imprisonment prevented them from procreating. Still, that was quite some time in the future; he was only five going on six, plus his time with his parents.
Magic. It was just so cool and useful, because you could do all sorts of things with it. He wanted to learn everything about it.
Hunting. Naruto really liked the wilderness, discovering new species of animals as well as plants and exploring new regions. The contest of skill and strength between hunter and hunted fascinated him.
Shinobi were certainly interesting and he didn't mind becoming one, but it wasn't his heart's desire.
When he told his parents about his thoughts they looked interested and pleased.
"These are certainly worthy goals. It will be many years before you become truly proficient in magic though, and you would be terrible vulnerable in the meantime. There are enemies to consider."
"Enemies?"
"Yes, enemies, and I don't talk about people who simply don't like you. There are many who covet the power of the tailed beasts, and some may decide to come after you. Furthermore, Konoha will never let you go for the same reason. As long as you are associated with Konoha, the village's enemies will be your enemies too, and there are quite a lot of them. Then there are… beings who might attack you because of us. They might have noticed your father entering this world, but we are uncertain. He definitely tried to be as inconspicuous as possible." Youko explained.
"Then there is the matter that we still don't know how useful the magic of this world will be in direct combat for you, it would be reckless to expect it to be. You need to become a shinobi to learn to fight, and a good one at that. It should be possible to combine it with your passion for hunting. Tracking and laying traps are important shinobi skills, and your massive chakra reserves will enable you to use a lot of jutsu later."
"What about becoming Hokage? I don't really want the job."
"You're right, but there is an alternative. I think it would be best for you to tell everyone that your dream is founding a new clan and becoming clan head. It will appear slightly more realistic to people than becoming Hokage, and it is indeed something you want to achieve. After all, what are clans other than large family groups? It's still similar enough to the Old Man's intentions to deflect undue suspicion."
Naruto thought about it. Becoming a shinobi would take care of his need for security and open a new field for the application of his wilderness survival skills. Chakra wasn't that different from magic in many aspects, and jutsus were cool. He wanted a big family so that he would never be alone again, and it didn't make a lot of difference if it was the start of a clan. Yes, he would follow that path.
Decision made, he jumped up from his seat, pumped his fist into the air and shouted, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I will become the first leader of my own clan!" Looking at his parents he asked, "How was that?"
Both adults chuckled. "Quite convincing, son. Do you truly want to follow this path? We think it for the best, but it is ultimately your life and your decision. We'll find another way if you don't want to."
Nodding, he answered, "Yes, I'm certain. And thanks for giving me the choice."
"We will always give you as much choice as possible. Now, concerning the release of magic, I've made some progress. Next time I will…"
When Daiki became active on the next cycle he wasted no time before teleporting his son's body several kilometers into the sky. The air was very cold at this height, but Naruto had dressed himself in several layers of heavy clothing for just this opportunity. Each environmental hazard that he didn't need to compensate for freed a small amount of magic for other uses. On this night he was searching for a suitable location he could use to create the first planned spring of magic. The spring would be vulnerable at first, meaning he needed a seldom-traveled area that was still close enough to Konoha to be easily accessible.
As he surveyed the landscape he had to discard several promising locations because someone was already using them as hideouts, training grounds or travel lanes. Finally he found what he was searching for. The area wasn't the most inaccessible, but it was still almost never entered. It was simply completely ordinary and had no easily traversable connections to anywhere important. The different mountain ridges in Konoha's vicinity made it uncomfortable to approach, especially because there was absolutely nothing of interest there that made a trip worth it. It was only about ten kilometers from Konoha as the crow flies, but the distance was easily double that for any earthbound traveler. In short, it was perfect for his plans.
Unfortunately his limit was already almost exhausted. A closer inspection would have to wait until next week. He teleported his son's body back into his apartment before getting rid of the now superfluous extra clothing. Casually he noted the strain the multiple teleports caused Naruto's body as he carefully lowered it onto the bed. It was bearable, but it seemed prudent to limit the teleports to the necessary minimum in the future.
Naruto was excited. Today would be the day his father would try to pierce the barrier and establish a spring of magic. His parents had warned him forcefully of the dangers the endeavor posed before they asked his consent. Which he had given.
He thought himself aware enough to make such decisions himself, even if he still relied on the counsel of his parents to a large degree. His sixth birthday was coming up next month, and in the new year he would join the shinobi academy. It was very early for that, most of the children his age would not enter for two years, but apparently the Hokage thought him mature enough. No wonder, he had spent around five or six additional years behind the seal by now.
His training was only hampered by his physical development. There were sharp limits what you could do with such a young body, and he wouldn't risk his health by overtraining. After he had created several disguises and the spying tendencies of the old man were curbed he had begun to explore the woods surrounding Konoha. There were several small camps of woodcutters and hunters some distance away from the village that provided it with food, timber and other woodland resources. Even if they were too far away for him to visit regularly, it was easy to masquerade as the son of one of the workers who was sent to the village sometimes to trade the goods his family produced.
It was nothing out of the ordinary for the children to do that as the woods were considered safe, and there was no place for idle mouths in most families. Nobody batted an eye when he sold the fur or other parts of the critters he managed to bring down on the visitor's marketplace while wearing his disguise. He limited himself mainly to small game that he could catch with snares or shoot down with a sling stone. Some rooms in an abandoned building had been converted to a workshop where he could process his kills without anyone being the wiser.
One thing he had noticed was that village security sucked badly. Strangers came and went every day, and the guards at the official gates only made a cursory inspection if even that. After a bit of exploring he had already found several illegal entrances in Konoha's walls, which he used frequently. The inside of the village was somewhat better guarded by the Konoha police force and the occasional ANBU patrol, but it was a far cry from secure in his opinion.
'Well, there's nothing I can do about that aside from using it to my advantage.'
Soon he felt himself drifting to sleep, but something was different this time. The familiar timeless darkness that surrounded him each time he went to see his parents was somehow thinning. He could still feel his father's love for him, but more and more other things were leaking through. Some he could identify, like worry for the future or intense concentration, but the longer this state continued the more alien the feelings became and the more uncomfortable he felt. Naruto could vaguely feel the flow of a lot of power somewhere behind the protective darkness. Then the power spiked, and the darkness dissolved.
It was like a veil had been ripped away. He was hurled violently in random directions by a giant maelstrom, incoherent bits of alien thoughts ripping into his mind. He wanted to scream but found he had no mouth. Colors not found in any rainbow and impossible forms flashed before his eyes, each driving a spike of pain into his brain as it was forced to experience something it wasn't meant to. Naruto suppressed and purged the impressions as much and as fast as he could, but he was just overwhelmed. He observed a triangle with sixteen sides and a cube with only two. A flight of stairs that only went up formed an unbroken circle. A space that was bigger on the inside than the outside. Strange symbols formed greater structures that belonged to giant forms which threaded into infinity but were only part of something much larger that was in turn only a building block of… When he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the chaos calmed somewhat and the pain lessened.
Naruto was now drifting weightlessly in a space with no discernable borders. Multi-colored mists wafted around, and strange bubbles were hovering in the air. Somewhere in the distance he could see the chaotic stream that had held him before. As he neared a bubble, a tendril lashed out and connected to him. Immediately his surroundings dissolved into a completely different scene.
…A pitch black man that was only the visible part of something far bigger was writing in a book made out of human skin in a dark void. The finished work would sow delicious chaos in the ranks of the lesser beings. Suddenly he seemed to notice something and looked directly at the observer who gave the mental equivalent to a nod and withdrew…
He found himself somewhat disoriented back in the space from before. Now he knew what these bubbles were. They were memories of a sort, but they contained so much more than he could fathom. There were alien sensory impressions that went beyond his understanding, and concepts that slipped through his mind while leaving a painful tear behind. More and more bubbles came his way, eager to share their contents with him. As soon as he managed to free himself from one the next was already there.
…Four figures of great and evil power stood high above a world made of wailing red faces under a black sun. Before them a small army of humans was encircled by a number of misshapen creatures. A cripple was standing alone before the four demons, soundlessly uttering the words "I submit." before he was enveloped by a cocoon and the slaughter of the humans below them began…
…An enormous entity made of pure cold crystal in a void surrounded by a protective screen of neutron stars pondered how it could break the boundaries of its universe to find new feeding grounds after it devoured the last few remnants of life that remained in this one…
…Buildings rose from a blue-green world into the emptiness of space, forming a solid shell. But it expanded further, its masters creating matter and energy from nothingness to realize their dreams of a perfect world. Further and further they spread, until even the machines they created could no longer find the end and beginnings of the gargantuan structure. A plague swept through, killing the masters, and the whole thing descended into senseless madness. Servants without their purpose turned against those they were created to protect, adding to the chaos until…
…Unseen he knocked a tiny part of the mechanism of worlds a bit out of alignment. Nothing happened on the surface for a long time, but small disharmonies were created, gathered, multiplied, until the great mechanism ripped itself apart, bringing millions of worlds down with it in its destruction. His plan was successful, the forced stalemate was broken and room for new growth created. Now he only had t…
…Mountains of screaming flesh sprawled under a sky of blood, ever-changing yet constant in their grotesque mockery of life …
…he exhaled the breath of life, and the seeds were sown in the dead world. In the far future…
…in the deepest depths of the seas dwelled the deep daughter, for the black water extended into every world. Preparing for the war against the land dwellers, fortresses of black gold grew while her many-tentacled servants forged weapons from…
His drifting speed increased, and he could feel his consciousness fraying under the onslaught of alien thoughts and memories. The more normal ones he could take even if they were quite frightening, but the more alien ones tried to twist his mind until he could understand them fully. Even worse, each bubble twisted in a different direction. With a supreme effort of will he tore himself from the stream and lunged at one glowing structure to the side that felt somehow different. Abruptly the pain ended.
Naruto found himself flying along a path surrounded by a bottomless abyss, a small fox sitting on his shoulder with a gleaming collar around his neck. A chain with links made out of the symbols 'mother', 'father' and 'seal' connected to an identical collar on Naruto's throat. A gagged monkey with a blindfold over his eyes and rolled paper stuffed into his ears sat on a pillar in the distance before him, beckoning him closer with a funny hat in his hand. A banner hung behind him with sentences written on it. He only managed to read two before the banner flapped in the wind, hiding the script.
'I don't know who your parents are.'
'I don't know why the villagers hate you.'
Ghostly faces he had seen in the village before were floating around him. Hundreds of hands grabbed at him, a select few shoving him forward, some pulling him down and some trying to hold him in place. Finally he left them behind. About one or two dozen lights were now accompanying him, mostly filled with the images of children around his age. Two voices were speaking.
"Friends only hold you back." "Having precious people to protect makes you truly strong."
Blurred forms crossed his path, some trying to block his advance and others urging him on. Most were too distorted to discern, but some stood out. A faceless man with a giant sword and a girl made of soft snow made to attack him, only to change and urge him on before they suddenly crumbled to dust. A tanuki made of sand with bloody claws howled madly in loneliness before it spotted him and started to attack. A white snake slithered in the background, shedding scales that grew into distorted figures which proceeded to attack him. The snake climbed the pillar and brought the monkey down in a great cloud of dust from which only the wounded snake emerged.
A wrinkled slug who wore a face mask depicting a young woman and held a sake bottle in one tendril took the monkey's place, swaying dangerously. A black-haired boy with red-black spinning eyes appeared before him, a spike of crackling lightning in his hand. He thrust it forward, but Naruto couldn't see if it was aimed at him or one of his companions. The snake hovered in the background, smiling approvingly while a crow with similar red-black eyes cawed overhead.
"Hate gives you power."
A toad with white hair took him away, running a long time in circles before returning to the path only a short distance from where they started while a chorus of smaller toads croaked a song about prophecies. Faster and faster the specters came and went, leaving him hardly enough time to note some of the shapes. A beautiful seahorse bound with an ugly lash. A lovely flower encased in rotten ice. A shining angel riding a black dragon with many heads.
The mad rush stopped, and Naruto was able to perceive more of his surroundings again. Formless shapes wearing black cloaks with red clouds were circling him, only to dissolve in strands of shadow one by one. During their dancing they slaughtered countless people, who were walking blindly around them, unaware of the danger they were in.
"We want peace for the world."
Six orange-haired people standing shoulder to shoulder blocked his way, their features blurred and ever changing. A corpse with reddish hair sat in an iron throne from which streams of blood flowed, barely visible threads connecting him to the six bodies before him. His eyes were dead things with concentric rings inside them, hinting at an unfathomable power. A white paper flower was orbiting the throne, slowly losing its petals until only a bare pedicel remained.
"Pain leads to peace."
Behind the corpse on its bloody throne of iron stood a masked man with only one dark eye. The dark eye changed to a mixture of blood red and black in a strange geometric shape. It grew until it filled the entire horizon, looking down on an empty world made out of fire, corpses and streams of blood while piles of ash and white-black vines moved around senselessly.
"The only lasting peace is the peace of the grave."
Darkness swallowed all, but he could sense something moving in the darkness. Suddenly countless candles littered a featureless plain, each flame the shape of a living being. He saw humans, animals, even plants, but something was rapidly snuffing out the lights. Soon, he stood once again alone in the darkness. A grotesque creature made out of bone and shadow appeared before him, putrid with corruption. The stench of rotting corpses hung thick around it in a miasmatic cloud. Pale human forms without an inner light or life were lying on the ground and kissing the creature's feet.
"I am death. All paths end with me. Join the ranks of my worshippers, and I shall grant you the boundless freedom to destroy whatever you wish."
Panic engulfed him; he wanted nothing to do with that thing. Fleshless fingers tried to grasp him when he turned to flee. They were pinching, holding, shaking, choking…
The entire scenery shattered, and for a moment he was again in the chaotic maelstrom before everything went dark again. This darkness was different, it bore more resemblance to the usual protective darkness his father exuded, but it was far grander than anything he felt before. Slowly his vision reestablished itself.
The darkness wasn't truly dark, there were countless stars scattered across the jet black firmament. A big and yellowish-white moon rose rapidly and bathed him in his soft soothing light. He could feel the tears in his minds slowly closing and relaxed. When the moon reached the zenith, its movement stopped and thirteen bright stars appeared in a circle around it. Naruto could see after a fashion, he was standing some distance from a large dark lake. Beautiful trees and other plants made of crystal were swaying gently in a breeze he couldn't feel, glittering in the moonlight.
A deep feeling of peace filled him as he slowly approached the black lake. Its surface was as smooth as glass, but when he looked into its depths the darkness cleared. It was like a mirror, but it didn't show an exact reflection. It was like he was looking into another sky from the underside of the water surface. While the plants on his side where mainly white, blue, silver, purple and black, their mirror images on the other side were mainly composed of gold, red, orange, yellow and green. The sky was blue like at noon instead of black and speckled with stars, and in place of the moon the sun was blazing. Strangely, the corona was clearly visible and shaped like thirteen flames.
Naruto caught himself a moment before falling headfirst into the lake. He was feeling unbelievably tired, and the soothing surroundings made going to sleep incredibly easy. But somehow he knew that it would be the deadliest mistake he could ever make. If he lost the grip on his consciousness here, he would never wake again. This world around him wasn't hostile or hurting him, but it was so much greater than him that he would lose himself. Slowly, Naruto began to back away from the lake. Each movement was costing him incredible willpower, and every part of his body screamed for rest. He had to… get away… from… here…
With a cry Naruto awoke in his bed in the familiar cottage, his heart thumping rapidly. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. His mother Youko kneeled beside him, an expression of worry on her face and a hand firmly gripping his shoulder. He practically flew into her embrace and hugged her with all his power while he began to cry in relief while Youko patted his back and made soothing sounds.
After a while Naruto calmed down and fell asleep, still cradled in his mother's lap. Suddenly Daiki appeared in the room, looking worried. Youko looked at her mate.
"What is the kit's condition, and how did it go outside?" she asked.
"Naruto's sanity took some damage, but nothing we can't fix in time. I managed to push him into a relatively harmless region of my consciousness and have already provisionally patched up all the wounds in our son's mind. Before the end he touched upon my prophetic abilities, but after a few days he should be back to normal. Still, the damage under the patches will take quite some time to truly heal. I will have to reduce my possessions of his body to once per month for the foreseeable future."
He sat down on the bed, one arm around his mate's back while he used the other to stroke some errant hairs from Naruto's face.
"The creation of the spring went well. I had to use a lot of power, almost the complete amount I could channel with Naruto in the way, but I was successful. I couldn't stay long to watch, but after the initial shockwave the flow seemed nice and steady. Contrary to my earlier statement, I will have to take a quick look as soon as possible to make certain things stay on track. Only about a minute, that shouldn't put any undue stress on Naruto. Nobody but us should be aware that something changed in the world, but that is probably a bit optimistic. Aside from the shockwave, the spring is only a local phenomenon and should be virtually undetectable, but I will begin to add defenses as soon as practical. All in all, things went as good as we could reasonably expect."
"So the new plan is making progress?" Youko asked before she laid her head on Daiki's shoulder.
"Indeed, my dear vixen. With access to free magic things should go smoother. I will be able to do more with less strain on Naruto, and our son should soon be ready to use some minor magic. It will help him and us greatly. But I think we will have to explain more to him soon."
Naruto sighed in relief when he purged the last dangerous memories from his mind. It had taken him several days to restore everything, even if his father had helped. His mind still felt somewhat raw, but he was getting better. He kept some things that weren't actively dangerous, like the strange vision or the memories of his visit to the land of night. He had to talk with his parents about these two.
The opportunity came on the next evening.
"What was that dark place? It reminded me strongly of you, but it was so grand, it felt like it would swallow me."
"I purposely pushed you into that region of my mind, son. It was far safer than all the alternatives."
"But why was the feeling of the place so strong? The other things I saw were strange, but had not the same intensity."
"That is because of what we are. That place was a visualization of my divinity. We are gods, Naruto."
"Gods? Like in the stories, or what some of the villagers worship?"
"In some ways, yes, but most deities' that are worshipped here don't even exist. There are a few, but they aren't especially active."
"You don't really look like gods."
Daiki raised an eyebrow. "You've already seen that we can turn into foxes and command great powers. In addition Youko told you she was the Kyuubi, which was a mountain-sized fox demon. You've learned about magic and different worlds that nobody else knows about. After all this you doubt our claim on godhood?"
Naruto shrugged. "Yes."
His parents communicated with a short look into each other's eyes and seemingly came to a decision. Simultaneously, they changed. Their combined presence filled the room with power while lights and shadows without a source glided about every surface. Silvery waves seemed to constantly run through Daiki's dark hair while Youko's mane began to glow in a golden light.
But the most obvious change was the eyes. His father's eyes were abyssal black orbs, but after a moment a pupil-less pale yellow iris appeared. When he looked closer he saw tiny specks of light dancing in the black part of the eyes. All in all, they looked like the moon before the night sky. Youko's eyes had lost their pupil as well and were now a burning red color with a golden iris. It bore a striking resemblance to a sunset.
"These are the forms that are closest to our divine nature that still bear a human shape, but we can look any way we want." Daiki said before cycling through different human forms. Old and young, fat and slender, none of them bore any resemblance to his usual appearance. After the humans he assumed the forms of different animals and finally fantastic creatures before returning to his standard shape.
Naruto wore a bored expression. "Pfft, try another thing. That's hardly more impressive than turning into a fox."
Yokou had watched Naruto closely and stopped Daiki with a raised hand when he was about to do something even more spectacular. "I think that's enough of a show. Naruto, did you say that just to get a rise out of us?"
Aforementioned boy now wore a slightly guilty expression and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry. But I want to see something really impressive; it has been a long time since the castle construction."
His mother turned to his father with narrowed eyes. "I told you that the idiotic castle was a bad idea, but noooo! Mister Showoff had to do something that would corrupt the mind of our impressionable son. Now see what you've done, we tell our son that we are gods and he simply uses that to get us to show him something impressive. He shows absolutely no respect to beings of cosmic power. What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked in an angry voice.
To Naruto's surprise, his father wore a smug expression. "I say mission accomplished."
That answer threw both Youko and Naruto completely off course.
"You… did all that deliberately?"
"Yes, I did all that showy stuff in the hope that Naruto would react exactly as he did. With all that strange crap that exists in the outside world there is no worse thing than going all 'Ooh' and 'Aah' when somebody with an impressive power shows up or unexpected developments happen. If some hostile idiot tries to show off it's better to keep your cool and either shove a combat technique into the enemy's face or simply make a tactical retreat while he's busy parading his powers around. It's also a great way to rile up overly proud enemies. But be careful when you use that strategy, some people react rather poorly to it."
"Yes daddy. But how did you become gods? The Kyuubi was clearly a demon when it was last seen."
"The difference between gods and demons isn't as great as most people believe. We ascended, or in my case descended, to godhood when we pledged ourselves to each other for eternity and our natures mixed. Our domains are a bit unclear at the current time, but I'm mostly associated with the moon, stars, darkness, mystery and general ethereal themes. Youko deals with the sun, light, life and the more corporeal side of things, but we can easily use the power of the other. Together we are the Mirrored Path of Light and Shadow."
"The mirror lake I saw…"
"Yes, that was a representation of our connection." Daiki answered.
"We are that way since we forged our bond, but we still retain and share parts of what we were before. Someday you might get to see the memory of our bonding. I was the Kyuubi, and therefore we both have the form of tailed beasts still available, even if the label 'Nine-tails' doesn't fit either of us anymore. Your father was something that even most gods have no name for or are even aware of." Youko added.
"Actually, there are a lot of names. Eldritch abomination, outer god, cosmic horror, the names are legion, but they refer mostly to the far less powerful of my kind. But I don't really belong in that category anymore. As I am now, even the weakest could wipe me from existence with barely a thought. I was only a few hours from my ultimate demise before the pact saved my existence. Some of my reality-warping powers and worldview remain, but I mostly contributed the magic to our bond. I can't understand myself what I once was, I've lost too much for that. Add to that the memories of thousands of human lives and untold preserved memories of the avatars I created before my fall, and you get an inkling of what we truly are."
"Was it all an act? You acting as my parents I mean." Naruto asked.
"No. The human side of us you have known for the longest time is simply one of our aspects. Think of it as the faces of a crystal. They can be different, but they are parts of the same thing. And all the parts love you."
Naruto was nearly overwhelmed by the revelation, but his training helped him to come to grips with the reality of the situation. He reduced it to the most important facts. Naruto had already known that his parents were no humans, the details hardly mattered. What difference did it make if his mother was a tailed beast or a goddess? The important fact was that they loved him, everything else was immaterial.
"Umm, okay, I guess. Does that change anything between us?"
"No, but you deserve the truth. We might use some of my memories from other worlds for training purposes; at least some of them are safe for you to experience. And we don't need to pretend to be human-ish the entire time, that feels simply constraining."
"What about the things I saw on the path? The monkey, the snake, the corpses?"
"The future is ever-changing while time flows. I do have prophetic abilities, but you should never rely on knowledge of the future. You tapped into my power, and received a vision of what may come. That doesn't mean it will actually happen. Before I sealed the pact, I mapped out the possible futures for Kyuubi and indirectly you. The attack on you was completely unexpected, nobody had tried or would ever try to deliberately free the Kyuubi by attacking your mind; the chances of that happening were zero at the time of my vision. In the short time since the storm things had already changed to such a large degree that the formerly impossible happened simply because I entered this world, and we were blindsided. We relied on my vision, and it totally derailed our original plan."
"What do you mean? What was the original plan?"
Youko sighed. "The original plan was to consolidate our bond and internal structure before Daiki would emerge from the seal and undo it from the outside. With both of us free, we would take you to a place far away from any potential danger and find a loving family for you. Had the attack happened only two weeks later we would have been ready. But it was not to be, and you will have to face the threats we would have shielded you from."
"You would have sent me away?"
"We do love you, but you would have been safely out of harm's way. Besides, at that point in time we would have never truly met. It was a quite unremarkable destiny we envisioned for you, but now it will never happen. Too many people have their own plans for the destiny of Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. We will stay forever with you even if we should manage to escape this prison, if you let us."
"Of course I want you to stay with me. But what's the new plan?"
"We have a few basic goals like get you to a level where you can survive against most threats and simultaneously enable you to live a happy live. Find a way out of our prison that doesn't hurt you or us. Bring magic back into the world. Attain world domination in a spiritual sense and either kick the competitors out or form a pantheon with the more reasonable ones. Things like that." Youko said in a flippant way.
"Some knowledge from my visions is still usable, and we try to guide you on the best possible path. But ultimately, you must choose your own destiny. You must make your own decisions one day, as it is we can only speak once per week. We have faith that you will make the right decisions."
"Sorry young man, we don't carry such things."
"Okay, thank you for your time. Bye."
Naruto left the shop, grumbling under his breath. What was the problem with this village and footwear? He had nothing against sandals in general, but he wanted protection for his toes, dammit! Thorns, splinters and the dangers of animal bites were reason enough for him to prefer closed boots during his excursions into the forest, let alone that he didn't want to get his feet wet each time he happened to step into a puddle. But to his increasing frustration reasonable footwear seemed to be completely unavailable.
In a few days he would enter the academy, and he didn't fancy the handling of sharp tools that could easily slip out of his hands and hit his feet without some layer of protection. Unfortunately, it seemed he would have to do without that. Naruto had managed to purchase all other supplies he needed without too much problems. His kunai, shuriken and other shinobi instruments were all of reasonable quality and should see him safely through most of his academy years. He had seen no need to fork over the money for top quality products, sturdy and workable would be enough for now. The time for high-quality tools would come as soon as he had the skill to make proper use of them.
His earlier scouting of the different shops had paid off big time. He shuddered to think what overpriced crap he would have been sold had he simply wandered into the next available shop. The academy provided the tools for use on-campus, but it was widely known that one had to train in one's free time to become truly proficient, and for that extra training Naruto needed his own tools.
Briefly he had entertained the possibility of scavenging from the training fields, but a bit of research had shown that this wasn't allowed or even practical. The fields were cleared and repaired by genin and some chunin belonging to the maintenance division each day. Lost and found items made up part of their salary, and they wouldn't take kindly to scavenging attempts on his part that would hurt their profit margin. If he was spotted he would have to pay quite a bit of fines, and he didn't consider the risk worth it at the current time.
"…have you heard? They allowed him to visit the academy."
"Really? What are they thinking, allowing him to become a shinobi?"
Oh yes, the lovely villagers were once again gossiping about him. The whispers had died somewhat down after he left the orphanage and stayed mostly out of sight, but ever after the knowledge of him visiting the academy had spread they had picked up again. He had even replaced the recent death of the Fire daimyo as one of the most discussed subjects. Due to his increased hearing he understood most whispers clearly, making him quite well-informed.
Naruto wasn't able to divine the truth from the various rumors, but apparently the middle-aged daimyo had died unexpectedly and without foul play. Unfortunately the succession was unclear, and several pretenders vied for the throne whilst the Land of Fire was slowly descending into chaos.
The main reason for the chaos was the economic upheaval after the sources for several important trade goods dried up around the time of his father's arrival in this world. Naruto had always been curious about the cobbled together look of many pieces of technology or buildings. His parents had shown him some other worlds, and it looked totally different. Things actually fit together there. In addition, nobody seemed to really understand how most things worked as he found out after a secret visit to the library. Naruto had wondered how that was possible, after all someone had to build those things.
The answer to that question had been simple. There was no actual manufacturing base that produced them; they simply appeared in semi-regular intervals at fixed locations. Depending on the location different stuff appeared, from canned food to clothing to high technology. Whole trade cities had sprung up around these locations that now had nothing to sell. Luckily the supply had never been large enough to completely satisfy demand, and at least the native food production was slowly picking up the slack. There had been some failed attempts to recreate the artifacts, but mostly they were just used after someone had figured out what they did via trial and error.
After a bit of research Naruto had found that the exploitation of these resources had really started before the second shinobi war, or more accurately the economic imbalances created by that had started the war. Now the balance was tipping back in the other direction. Seal-based things like Konoha's water supply were still working fine, but the other technological stuff was breaking down rapidly. There was probably not a single working radio or camera left in Konoha. Last week the electric grid had failed and would stay down indefinitely. Non-perishable goods like clothing remained, and there existed huge stockpiles meaning the transition wasn't as catastrophic as it could have been.
In spite of it all there still was nobody who produced sensible footwear.
'Oh well, looks like I have to learn leatherworking myself. No matter, I know the basics already from my wilderness survival training, and mom and dad can help me with that.'
The night before the academy started Naruto was so excited that he could hardly sleep. The academy was a place where he could finally make some friends. He had attempted it several times before, but each time some adult would interfere and prevent him from interacting with the children if they didn't already keep their distance from him. His parents had warned him not to expect too much, but he still was euphoric. Soon he would learn all sort of new tricks. It would cut into his free time drastically, but it should be manageable.
Two classes started each year, one in summer and one in winter. During the five year education the prospective shinobi learned all the basics they needed for their future career. At the end of the five years the graduates of the elite class had the chance to be selected for a genin team under the tutelage of a jonin-sensei. The rest would be sent back for an additional one or two years of education before they were allowed to work as shinobi.
Most of what he knew he had discovered during his exploration of an old tunnel. A crack in the wall had allowed him to listen to a conversation between a senior academy instructor and some man who wanted to give his daughter a little money-fueled boost. Listening to the conversation had been enlightening and disillusioning at the same time. The Old Man surely didn't tell him about the elite part, he made it sound like every graduate got a sensei.
Sleep was still eluding him, but he needed to be fresh tomorrow. With a sigh he began to meditate. That usually helped him if he couldn't sleep. Tonight he decided on a different combination of meditation techniques than usual, he was experimenting a bit which were more efficient.
Suddenly he stood in ankle-deep water in an empty corridor instead of lying in his bed. Pipes ran across the ceiling and branched at intersections. Interestingly, he could see despite the lack of any light sources.
'What the hell did I do now?'
Well, standing around wouldn't solve his problems, so he examined the surroundings a bit more closely. The water was almost imperceptibly moving. Naruto decided to follow the flow to its source; it wasn't as if he had any preferred direction. After quite some time he entered an immensely large room. It was neatly bisected by gigantic bars that formed an immense door. A large scrap of paper with the kanji for 'seal' clung to the point where the halves of the cage met. Behind the bars he could see a large reddish-orange creature that vaguely resembled a fox with nine tails curled up and sleeping.
He knew only one creature of that general appearance, but why would he meet Youko now and in that fashion? The next cycle would only begin in five days. Apart from that, his mother had outright refused to take the form of the Kyuubi. Apparently she didn't like her previous appearance anymore and preferred a shape more true to a real life fox than the only vaguely fox-like demon that now slept before him.
"Mom?" he asked. Naruto had recently decided to call his parents mom and dad, his previous mode of address sounded too childish for an academy student in his opinion.
The fox didn't react in any way.
"MOM! WAKE UP!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?"
It wasn't the voice of his mother but his father that caused him to turn around. On a wall to the side a rectangle of stone had turned into an opening. His father stood on the other side, looking at him in astonishment. Behind him some very familiar woods could be seen.
"Dad!" Naruto ran to his father at full speed while ignoring the shouts to stop… only to crash into an unyielding invisible wall. "Ouch."
"When I tell you to stop I mean it, son."
Naruto rubbed his head where it had hit the wall. "Sorry dad. I just… didn't expect to see you so soon."
Daiki chuckled. "Neither did I. How did you come here?"
"Well, I couldn't sleep and meditated. I tried a different variant from usual, and suddenly I stood in this sewer. After that I simply followed the flow. What is this place, and why does it look like a sewer?"
"This is the mental interface between the seal and your consciousness. I think the sewer appearance is coded into the seal. Anyway, this is what it would have looked liked if I hadn't interfered. Currently it's only an illusion I have layered above the true appearance to deceive anyone who might come to visit. It really looks like this."
When his father waved his hand, the hall changed. The grey concrete walls were replaced by artfully carved white stone; the bars of the prison were encased in a thick layer of crystal and overgrown by green vines with multi-colored blossoms. Instead of the rusty pipes ducts made of glass snaked along the ceiling.
However the biggest change took place behind the bars. Instead of the Kyuubi a yellowish-red amorphous mass could be seen that was connected to an opening like the one his father was standing behind, only this one was opaque and much bigger. Naruto spied four concentrations of an angry deep red color and four white-golden ones inside the mass. Daiki noticed his interest and offered some explanations.
"That is where your mother was originally imprisoned. Even now she must keep nine tails of her chakra inside it lest the seal collapses, which would kill you. The rest of her and especially her consciousness is safely inside our realm, for which you can see two of the entrance points. Four tails of demonic chakra and four tails of divine, kept stable by a single tail of neutral chakra. In a few years you should be able to consciously draw upon it. For now you only get an automatic trickle of demonic chakra that increases whenever you are hurt to boost your healing."
"Yeah, I can feel the influx of mom's chakra. Does the seal do anything else?"
"The containment of the Kyuubi and allowing you to draw its chakra are the primary functions of the seal, but that's not all. There was an entire host of secondary functions, but I disabled them."
"What secondary functions?"
"The seal had a lot of connections into your mind, many more than are necessary for the primary functions. I can see the effects it has on the false mind I created to trick the seal, but I don't understand exactly how it does it. Like I said before, neither Youko nor I are really knowledgeable in the ninja arts. Me because I'm not from this world, Youko because she simply didn't believe that she needed to know. After all, when you're a mountain-sized immortal demon you become quite arrogant over time." Daiki explained.
"In the last three years I was able to figure out quite a lot. The seal acts as a mind-altering device. Negative emotions would be suppressed and discarded to a large degree. Basically, no matter what abuse you suffered, it would actually impossible for you to truly hate or keep a grudge. You would trust easily, and be incapable of giving up on people. A person you considered a friend would be able to shove a lethal technique into your chest, and you would still not give up on them."
Naruto looked skeptical. "Wouldn't I notice that other humans act differently from me and adjust my behavior? Acting like that seems suicidal to me."
"The Yondaime thought of that. Your abilities of critical thinking and logical reasoning would have been completely obliterated. As a side effect your general intelligence would have suffered, making it extremely hard for you to learn things in a normal fashion. Practical learning would still have been possible, though, even occasional bouts of brilliance."
"But in general I would have turned out a moron who believed in the good of the people despite all the crap they did to me?" Seeing his father's nod, Naruto shuddered. "That's monstrous."
"Yes, this seal is an abomination. It would have taken the power of choice completely away from you, turning you into some sort of 'savior' or 'saint'. I would call that an emotional cripple, but I have no doubt that you could have had a great deal of influence on people. After all, you would have endured quite a lot of hardship and still been convinced of the ideals the Yondaime set for you. No one would ever have known that it wasn't your free will and resolve but the long-term exposure to a mind-altering seal. Additionally there are quite a lot of fail safes."
Naruto felt sick upon hearing what the 'heroic' Yondaime had done to him, but his father wasn't finished.
"The first time you would have drawn on eight tails of the Kyuubi's chakra a clone of the Yondaime would have appeared. Depending on the situation he would have quite a lot of options, from strengthening the seal up to brainwashing or killing you. A second clone of the previous jinchuuriki would appear if you tried to subdue the Kyuubi, but we aren't entirely clear on how that was supposed to happen. Then there is a whole host of measures that become active if your mind develops into an undesirable direction."
"How did the Yondaime put all that into the seal? The attack didn't last that long and was a surprise. Everyone only talks about how he sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi, but that can't be right if the seal is that elaborate." Naruto wondered.
"Precisely. Even a seal master like the Yondaime doesn't develop such a complicated seal on the spot. He must have planned using it for years to create a 'savior', but I believe it was some time earlier than he intended."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because some areas of the seal look unrefined and raw, and some of the mind-altering effects make no sense. For instance, I can't imagine that the man intended to give you an obsessive love of the color orange. Additionally, I definitely know from Youko's memories that the release of the Kyuubi wasn't the Yondaime's doing, but that of a hostile third party who had his own designs on the Kyuubi. Namely using it to attack Konoha."
"Still, the Yondaime didn't have to use that seal, and he didn't have to die. The previous container was dying but still alive and could have sealed the Kyuubi back into herself. With her death the Kyuubi would have been dispersed for a few years, thereby ending the immediate threat to Konoha. Instead the Yondaime first used an invocation of the Shinigami to seal the Yin-part of the Kyuubi's chakra in exchange for his life and then proceeded to use his own seal to imprison the Kyuubi inside of you. If he wanted to keep the Kyuubi in possession of Konoha he could have used the same seal as the two previous containers, which leaves the one doing the sealing perfectly healthy."
"But what of the true attacker?"
"No one knows of him. The Yondaime didn't tell anyone before his death, making his claim that he sacrificed his own life to protect Konoha highly dubious. After all, if he was still alive he could make preparations, not let the enemy plot for years while Konoha wallows in ignorance. No, I think the Yondaime wanted to create a savior for a long time and saw the opportunity slip through his fingers."
"Does anybody else know of his plans for me?"
"No idea. We don't know if the Sandaime is aware of the Yondaime's plan. His actions towards you certainly serve to further that goal, but we are operating under a critical lack of information. Your mother thinks the Toad summons gave the Yondaime the idea, which makes the Sannin Jiraiya highly suspect, especially as the man is a seal master as well. A toad with detailed information on the seal and a key to lock and unlock it was certainly present at the time immediately before the sealing."
In Naruto's mind several things had come together. "So that is the reason besides hiding your existence and contact with me why you want me to play slightly dumb and happy. You don't know if the Old Man is part of the Yondaime's plan or if he has his own designs. Because it's the first time this sealing method is used he can't be completely sure of the precise effects it should have on me. As long as my behavior in public still resembles the Yondaime's plan I should be reasonably safe from additional influence."
"That's the idea. There is more, but we should talk about it another time when your mother is present. Tomorrow is a great day for you, and you should be rested. You can come here if you have urgent business to discuss, but our talking strains your mind and shortens the time span we can actually be together."
"Okay dad." he said, slightly saddened that he couldn't use this for more frequent contact with his parents. "Umm, how do I get out of here?"
"Just meditate and concentrate on leaving. Goodnight son."
"Goodnight dad."
Morning had finally come, and Naruto took great care to be on time even if his head was still swimming from last night's revelations. The whispers and stares he encountered on his way hardly fazed him anymore, by now he was used to them. Some families were already standing around before the academy entrance, but there were fewer of them than Naruto would have expected. It seemed this term's student population would be mainly made up from orphans.
'That won't make things easier. The other kids from the orphanage never liked me.'
Soon the yard was full even if there was an empty circle around Naruto, and the academy director made some speech about the greatness of Konoha and what role the young generation would play. Then the Hokage spoke some words in a similar vein before the students were divided into different classes and led away by their assigned homeroom teachers.
His teacher was a grizzled man with several scars and a stern demeanor who eyed him with thinly veiled hatred. The man's leg below his knee was replaced by a wooden prosthetic, giving him a pronounced limp. "My name is Kazuhiro Takaki, you will address me as either Kazuhiro-sensei, sensei or sir. I will be your main teacher for the next five years. When I call your name you will stand up and give a short introduction."
Kazuhiro took a sheet of paper in his hand and began reading names. "Aoki, Ai…."
During the process Naruto began wondering what most of the children even wanted at the academy. 'None of them seems to have any real idea why they want to become ninja. Most of their dreams don't even make sense from that perspective.'
It took some time, but finally it was his turn. Considering the role he had to play, he didn't stand up but jumped on the table. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and my dream is forming my own clan!" he shouted.
Kazuhiro's face twisted into a sneer. "A clan of good-for-nothings, I have no doubt. Sit down, and detention for your unseemly outburst. Congratulations, Uzumaki, for managing to get a detention on your fist day. You seem to be in a hurry to make a name for yourself and your… clan." The last word was spoken in obvious disgust. Naruto sat back down while the rest of the class erupted in laughter.
'Well, my first day could have gone better.'
Author's notes: And another chapter finished for you to enjoy and hopefully review. In the next chapter Naruto finally finds a few friends, it should be ready in about a week.
Originally I didn't intend to make the seal that bad, but that changed when I reread some of the manga. The part about the seal influencing Naruto's mind is my own idea, even if I think it likely considering the 4ths actions. The important thing is that the seal on Naruto and the Shinigami seal are two different seals. The latter was used to seal away the Kyuubi's Yin-chakra for no discernable reason (killing the Kyuubi permanently is a fanon theory and inconsistent with Minato's stated goal of maintaining the balance of the tailed beasts) and the reason for the Yondaime's death - prior to that he was not seriously hurt. The lethal claw attack happened later.
It's canon that the man knowingly condemned Naruto to a life as jinchuuriki even if his wife was perfectly capable of containing the problem for a time, more precisely resealing it into her. If Kushina died the Kyuubi would have reformed after a time - a time in which Minato could have told others about Tobi and make preparations and didn't leave his son orphaned. Just think how much damage could have been avoided if he had hunted Tobi down immediately (who was seriously wounded and tagged with a Hirashin seal). Heck, Kushina might even have survived if he got her immediate medical attention.
Then the man even had the gall to say he was doing all this for Naruto. Frankly, I lost all respect for him at the time. Sealing a bijuu into a human because there is no other choice at the cost of one's life is reasonable (while still shitty from the perspective of the now-jinchuuriki), but I consider deliberately creating a jicnhuuriki without need an evil act. The tailed beast taking over is a very real danger, like what happened with B's predecessors in Kumo. I wouldn't put it beyond him to put some additional things into the seal, just so that Naruto stays on his nice preplanned route. Naruto's reaction, or rather lack thereof, was very telling in my opinion.
What exactly was preventing Tobi from abducting Naruto after a few years and repeating his stunt with the Kyuubi? A teleporting enemy (that no one in Konoha knows about) is a security nightmare. He showed that he could undetectedly enter Konoha during the Uchiha massacre.
Note that in this story Minato had a (from his perspective) very good reason for what he did. It won't be revealed until much, much later, though.
So long!