Hello everyone.
This is the first story like this that I've ever written. At the time of me writing this, the story is in its infancy. Many things are still unplanned and only a rough framework for the story exists.
I don't really have a passion for writing, I just have enough of an interest in Naruto fanfiction and a spark of creativity. All criticism is appreciated.
I have not written something of this caliber since high school, so some aspects of the story be it grammar, explanations, conversations, etc.. may seem unnatural at times.
There will be no bashing, I will try to minimize cliches, and be as original as possible.
There is no doubt that some parts of this story will feature parts very similar to canon, but that's why so many fics of Naruto exist: the ease of writing ideas into canon and not having to create an entire new foundation of a story.
Original work is significantly harder to make than using a 'template' so to speak.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message.
I don't want to give away too much more, so… let us begin.
*Revised 10/24/23*
Reason. It's a funny thing. Most people never truly find it, they merely replace it with distractions to ebb their time away. Especially in the Shinobi world. You see, the shinobi world can only be described with one word; flawed. The reason for that is simple, it's the end result of humanities failures. Centuries of distrust and conflict in a seemingly infinite cycle of hatred. Naruto Uzumaki is just another human thrust into the imperfect world on his own search for reason. If only he knew just how many atrocities he would be forced to endure before he finds it.
Reaching Reason
Bartledoo41
Chapter 1: Night of Terror
Chaos. Destruction. Fear. Many words could describe the state of Konohagakure. All of them, however, relate in some way to catastrophe. The reason being; a massive fox with nine auburn tails swooshing behind it.
The fox flailed and rampaged in the center of the village. Each swipe of its clawed, fur covered hands decimated buildings, pulverizing concrete and steel into dust.
Fragile human bodies stood no chance.
Screams of the damned competed with the guttural roar of the beast as if they were in a horrifying contest to see which could drive a man mad first. The roar always won.
In an almost completely destroyed apartment building, a middle aged man could be seen crawling along the debris ridden ground. His heart pounded in his ears and the edges of his vision began to coalesce into darkness. However, in his mind he just had to keep searching for it. His leg had just been viciously ripped off during one of the many strokes of cataclysm.
He grunted as he used the last of his strength to move a heave a chunk of rubble, where he finally he found it. He analyzed the severed limb for a moment, making doubly sure it was his. The pearly white tibia extruded just past the torn flesh, which matched perfectly with the hole just below his knee! It had to be his.
The metalic taste of blood in his mouth finally registered in his brain, but that didn't matter to him. His achievement would not be squandered by something as insignificant as that.
Suddenly, his bloody grin vanished. In his elation at finding his beloved leg, he had overlooked the fact that said leg was missing a foot.
A scream of anguish had just begun to to tear it's way out of his throat when a large chunk of rebar infused concrete landed directly on top of him. Fine red mist exploded from the site of impact.
A few blocks away, a young brunette woman was wailing in grief and agony. Her evacuation to safety had been cut short by a poorly aimed ninjutsu from a leaf shinobi. Salty tears streaked through the dirt on her face as she clutched her now pathetically deformed abdomen with shaky, blood caked hands. In desperation and denial, she felt for another tiny kick from within.
After a moment of nothing, something within her mind broke. There was no point in living now. Her unborn baby was all that was left of her deceased lover. Without it, she had nothing.
It wouldn't matter, because a few seconds later she was promptly crushed by the beast's foot.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, used every single skill that he possessed to keep the fox at bay. His mind raced for possibilities and attack combinations that could potentially lead to victory.
So now he waited and watched closely for an opening.
The Kyuubi turned to swat at a couple of Jounin that were preparing a collaborative ninjutsu.
Seeing his chance, the retired Kage used his trusty companion Enma to force the fox out of the village walls.
"Adamantine staff!" he shouted, causing the black staff to extend to impossible lengths.
Furious at losing ground, the fox prepared a final attack. A massive sphere of unstable energy ready to collapse in on itself at any moment hovered within its open maw.
Then, it vanished in an instant.
The horizon illuminated behind the distant mountains and night became day. Everyone shielded their eyes at the intensity.
Above the carved stone faces of the village's great former leaders, a spiky, plant-like object slowly emerged from the ground.
The plant split open with a sickening squelch, revealing a man divided perfectly down the middle in black and white.
He donned a black cloak riddled with holes and a large tear in the torso of the white half.
"I think we did pretty good, huh? Isn't it amazing what the Kyuubi can do?" He gestured to the mushroom cloud in the distance. "I mean the size of that explosion! The Fourth Hokage sure is amazing! To be able to do that after all we put him through.." said the white half.
After a pregnant pause, the eye of the black half opened slightly revealing a Mangekyō Sharingan with the shape of three scythes.
"Yes.. This was a fundamental step in the plan."
The white half of their shared mouth turned downwards into a frown.
"Always so serious.. Say, since you have that eye, why do we still need to crawl around underground? I hate eating dirt."
The black half's crimson eye stared at the rampaging beast below dispassionately for a moment.
"I already told you Zetsu, it takes a substantial amount of chakra to use Kamui. I needed to conserve energy to control the Kyuubi."
Black Zetsu closed his eye, hiding the infamous ocular ability from the world once again. 'Evading the Hokage used far more chakra than I anticipated as well. No matter, I've done all that was needed.'
The white half shrugged its shoulder and yawned.
"Whatever you say. Let's just stay a little longer to enjoy the show, these leaf ninja are pretty interesting."
-1 Hour Ago-
An infant cried as it entered the world.
It cried because of the new sensations. The cool air on his sensitive skin. The noises that were no longer muffled ravaged his eardrums. The serene warmth from the womb was now gone. It's only solace was the pleasant sensation of someone stroking his nearly bald head.
All of this turmoil in exchange for a chance at life.
Kushina Uzumaki gazed lovingly at the bundle she cradled in her arms. She too was crying, though her tears were from relief and joy.
A few feet away, a man with spiky yellow hair looked at the baby in awe.
"Look, Kushina! Naruto has your hair!"
Curious at the new sound, the infant stopped crying for a moment and blearily opened his eyes to find the source. Cerulean irises peered into the blurry world for the first time.
After only being able to make out red and yellow blobs, he resumed crying.
"Yeah but he has your eyes, Minato," Kushina said as she continued stroking the crimson tuft of hair on Naruto's head.
Awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Minato gave a sheepish grin. "Yeah I guess he does. Those adorable whisker marks too!"
Just then, a shift. The smile on Minato's face fell instantly. 'What was that sensation.. like a shift in the atmosphere. The pressure in the room dropped. Something's wrong..'
Minato rushed to Kushina's side and lifted her shirt, revealing a black seal on her abdomen.
"Kushina. I need to check on the seal, to make sure it's still stable."
Before she could respond, a void in space appeared between them with a vortex spiraling from its center. It seemed to be absorbing Naruto and Kushina.
Minato quickly grabbed Kushina's arm, only for his fingers to pass right through her and bury themselves into the bedsheets below.
"Kushina! Naruto! Damn it!" he cursed as they disappeared in front of his eyes.
He clutched the sheets of the still warm bed so hard that his hands turned white.
He whipped around to look for Biwako, Kushina's midwife. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her dead in a pool of her own blood. Her throat had been cleanly slit.
"How?! How could anyone sneak in here? This location is classified!" Wasting no more time, he teleported to Kushina's location using the Flying Thunder God seal he placed on her just a few hours ago.
In an instant, he realized where he was; the top of the Hokage Monument.
Minato looked down at Kushina, only to feel his heart drop when he saw the look on her face.
Following her gaze, he watched in horror as a cloaked figure dangled his newborn son over the edge of the cliff.
Then he let go.
Seeing your newborn plummeting to their certain death mere moments after entering the world was something that even most shinobi cannot stay apathetic to.
It was only Kushina's ear piercing scream that startled him into action
"Nar-"
He flew into motion at a pace that most ninja could not even comprehend.
His fingers expertly threw a Flying Thunder God Kunai so fast in Naruto's direction, that the tip of the blade began to glow a dull orange. The friction of something moving through the air at that speed generated immense amounts of heat.
He teleported to the kunai just as it passed by a wailing Naruto and grabbed him before vanishing as if he and his son were never there.
"-uto!"
The cloaked figure hummed in two different tones. 'He's as fast as they say. He did all of that before the jinchuuriki even finished saying the child's name.'
'It's calm and peaceful tonnight. Something most would enjoy. Yet to me, something feels wrong.'
Hiruzen Sarutobi was having a decent night all things considered. Past failures were showing mercy to his mind for once, though that's likely because they were temporarily replaced by a new anxiety.
After taking a long drag from his tobacco pipe, he sighed.
"I passed on the torch already, surely Minato could handle anything. I just need to learn relax, like Biwako keeps telling me."
A gust of air whipped around the room and he knew immediately that his fears were not without reason.
He turned away from the window and saw what unfortunately confirmed this theory. A frantic looking Minato cradling a clearly distraught infant.
Hiruzen tensed, preparing himself.
"Minato, my boy. What's happened? Where is Kushina?"
Minato didn't bother to respond, and instead gently set Naruto down on the nearby sofa.
"It's alright, daddy's here. I'm going to give you a little tattoo Naruto, just don't tell your mother." Developing a look of concentration, he placed his hand on Naruto's stomach. After just a moment he lifted his hand, revealing a series of symbols.
Seeing that his seal worked, he turned his deadly serious gaze to Hiruzen.
"Lord Third, the village is under attack by an unknown assailant. They killed Biwako, then took Naruto and Kushina. I'm unsure how they found out our location, or Kushina's pregnancy." He looked at his crying son and his expression softened. "I managed to rescue Naruto, and I need you to watch him while I save Kushi-"
A deafening roar came from the center of the village, shaking the glass of the window behind them. The two Kages expressions grew grim. They already knew what that meant.
They looked out the window and watched mortified as the daunting form of an enraged Kyuubi begin its slaughter on their citizens.
Minato looked at his son once more and clenched his fists, already forming a plan should the need arise.
"Nevermind that, Lord Third. I'll need you to buy me some time. I need to confront the assailant. I placed a Flying Raijin seal on Naruto just now should anything happen." Not waiting for a response, he vanished.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's decent night was now anything but.
He puffed his pipe once more and exhaled slowly, savoring the taste of the tobacco in the moment before battle.
The edges of his eyes stung with unshed tears that he refused to let fall.
"Biwako…" he croaked.
The God of Shinobi then steeled his emotions, it was time.
The night of terror had begun.
A chained up and exhausted Kushina glared at the monochrome man that stood before her.
"Minato is gonna kill you, you know!" she screamed.
The white half hid behind his hand, shivering in fear.
"Wow! You sure are scary with that look! Zetsu, make her stop!"
The black half was quiet, instead focusing on the complex seal on Kushina's abdomen.
"Be quite Zetsu. I need to focus. The Fourth Hokage will be here soon, I don't have much time."
Kushina slumped against the chains. She spent the last few minutes gathering her chakra. She knew she only had one shot.
'This freakshow can pass through stuff. It's only just before touching something that he's solid. If I time it right..'
Black Zetsu spread his fingers apart evenly and directed an extreme amount of chakra to his hand. Then he thrust his hand forward.
The black, texture-less extremity was mere inches from the seal when a glowing chain with a serrated blade at its tip shot out of Kushina's back, piercing white Zetsu in the chest.
"Ahhh, Zetsu! I can't feel my chakra!" White Zetsu screamed. He writhed around, trying with all his might to pull the chain out of his torso.
Black Zetsu growled and pushed closer regardless, ignoring the screaming from his inverse colored partner.
He slammed his hand into Kushina, dumping the energy into the weak points of the seal.
The chain dissolved in a shimmer and she wailed in agony.
'The Adamantine Sealing Chains likely would have gotten us if White Zetsu and I shared the same chakra. Damned Uzumaki.' He started building chakra in his stolen eye once again.
Kushina's eyes rolled into the back of her head and her mouth hung open in a silent scream. Then, without any warning, she exploded into potent, toxic chakra. The bright orange energy had a miasma of despair that immediately put every single person in the vicinity on edge.
Slowly, the form that was once Kushina morphed into the vague shape of a fox.
White Zetsu shakily pumped his fist in the air.
"Yay! The fox comes out to play! What *cough* fun!" he said with a rasp due to his punctured lung.
Having decided that the beast had formed enough, black Zetsu opened his eye revealing the infamous Sharingan.
"You are now in my control, Kyuubi," he commanded.
His Sharingan spun hypnotically until the crimson slitted eyes of the fox mirrored his own. The quivering monstrosity froze, its still form towering over everything in the area.
Acting with haste, Black Zetsu used Kamui to reappear in the village center. He quickly flew through five hand signs and slammed his hand on the pavement.
"Summoning Jutsu!" he roared.
The fox and its nine enormous tails appeared in all of its glory, still frozen in place. Zetsu grunted and put up his fingers in a single hand sign.
The Kyuubi turned feral.
Picking up a barely conscious Kushina, Black Zetsu used even more of his relatively small chakra reserves to use Kamui again. He reappeared on the Hokage Monument.
He tossed the lethargic woman aside and waited.
'That was phase one. Now, the difficult part. I don't have nearly enough chakra to go on the offensive. Kamui should be more than enough to evade.'
White Zetsu laughed at the crumpled form of Kushina.
"Hahaha! That's what you get for stabbing me you crazy Uzumaki lady! Zetsu, why don't we just kill her?" he asked.
"..Quiet Zetsu, he is here." As soon as the words left his mouth, Minato Namikaze appeared next to Kushina with a fierce look on his face.
The ice blue eyes never left Zetsu as Minato grabbed his wife and tossed a Flying Thunder God Kunai high into the air.
The couple vanished.
They appeared in the living room of the Third Hokage's residence where they saw the sleeping form of Naruto on the sofa.
Minato gingerly placed Kushina next to him and let out a shaky breath.
"Get some rest, Kushina. Watch him for me."
He was about to teleport back when he heard a faint whisper.
"M-Minato.."
He turned and looked at Kushina, his eyes betraying no emotion. He was a man ready for battle.
Tear filled violet met harsh cerulean.
"I love you.."
His gaze softened instantly and the corners of his mouth lifted upwards in a charming, yet strained smile.
"I love you too, Kushina. I'll be back in a bit once I take care of the stupid fox and plant man."
His smiling face then disappeared from her sight.
Kushina turned on her side with a grimace and shakily resumed her stroking of her son's hair.
"Naruto… my baby.. It wasn't supposed to be like this..." Her lip quivered and fresh tears streaked sideways down her face. "M-Mommy loves you.. Even if you never get to hear that from me, I hope that somehow you know."
She winced in pain, every cell in her body felt like it was on fire. "My chakra system is torn to shreds, I.. I honestly don't think I have very long."
The screams of the villagers and the crashes of destruction outside only served to amplify her feelings. She let grief overwhelm her.
Naruto must have sensed the discomfort, as he started crying too.
"Oh Naruto! There's so much I want to tell you! So much I wanted to do with you, to teach you! This world is flawed, baby. All anyone has is a lust for power, or selfishness. People kill, people die.. Vengeance is born. It's just an infinite cycle! If you survive this day, Naruto, I hope you find a way to break it." She sobbed along with her son.
The tri-pronged kunai had already reached the height of its trajectory and was on its way back towards the Earth. Just before it impaled itself into the dirt, it was back in the hands of it's owner.
Minato stood kunai in hand. His White cloak with 'Fourth Hokage' emblazoned on the back contrasted with the plain black cloak donned by his opponent.
Said opponent simply stared at the Hokage that stood before him with disinterest.
The tension in the air was palpable, yet both figures stood still, as if waiting for some unforeseen signal.
The rampaging Kyuubi in the village below them unleashed another ear rattling roar and they flew into action.
Minato threw the kunai he held at Zetsu, only for it to phase through him.
Just as the blade was behind the invader, he teleported to it. Reversing his grip on the kunai, he lashed out at several vital spots.
Each attack simply didn't connect.
Minato made distance once more, observing the odd man closely. 'My attacks are going right through him. It seems his ability is to make himself and objects intangible.' He took notice of the new holes in Zetsu's cloak. 'His cloak! He must not be incredibly proficient at this technique yet, or he must be trying to save chakra. I'm betting it's both.'
White Zetsu pointed a shaky finger at the Hokage. "You! Your stupid wife almost killed me and you are freakishly fast! I hate leaf ninja. Zetsu, I think it's time."
Black Zetsu considered his partner's words. 'Zetsu is right. Evading with Kamui is more taxing than I thought it would be. Maybe it is time to retreat, the fox has already done a great deal of damage. The villagers have been traumatized, many lost loved ones. The seeds of hatred and distrust have been sown.'
Minato narrowed his eyes, trying to piece together this new information. 'Kushina almost killed him? I see.. the wound on his chest. He wasn't able to phase through one of Kushina's chains. No doubt Zetsu had to physically destroy her seal, which means he had to become tangible when he touched her. So.. he has to be tangible if he wants to physically interact with the world.' His eyes widened. 'Interact with the world, that's it!'
He threw another kunai at Zetsu, this time aiming for the man's legs.
Zetsu didn't try to dodge the kunai. Then pain exploded from his feet.
'What?! How?' He looked down to see a Rasengan grinding it's way through his feet and into the ground. '...I.. see, my feet are always tangible so as not to phase into the Earth. This human is clever. Too clever.'
He waited for the jutsu to end and the Hokage to make distance once more before sinking halfway into the dirt.
"Fourth Hokage. Look around you, analyze your situation fully. Your village is being destroyed by a tailed beast and your wife is dying, yet you waste your time here with me. You won't be able to defeat me like this."
Minato glanced down to the destruction.
Zetsu used this chance to sink fully into the terrain, vanishing without a trace.
Minato cursed, having let his opponent escape.
Down below, the Kyuubi had been forced out of the village courtesy of the Third Hokage. Enraged, the fox ejected an enormous amount of yin and yang chakra into the air. It spread its nine tails and began to condense the energy into a single point in its open mouth.
Minato's eyes widened. "That's a lot of chakra, it could level the village!"
He threw his infamous kunai towards the danger.
As he waited for it to get closer, he was barely coming to terms with what he knew had to be done. There was only one way to stop this catastrophe now.
"Naruto… I'm sorry," he said before vanishing, leaving the battle scarred monument behind.
The Third Hokage could do nothing but watch as the fox prepared a final attack.
'That is far too much chakra. Minato, I've done all I could. It's too powerfu-'
Just as the energy was about to go critical, it vanished. Murmurs sounded in the crowd of ninja that were prepared to die.
Miles away, a massive explosion could be seen, then felt. It shook the village and the shinobi winced from the intense heat.
Hiruzen looked at the fireball in awe. 'That couldn't have been closer.'
The sound of shinobi cheering filled his ears as he turned to the reason of their survival.
"Minato. Did you deal with the attacker?" asked Hiruzen.
Minato shook his head and stared at the Kyuubi.
"No.. he managed to escape. I rescued Kushina.. but her chakra system was too intertwined with the Kyuubi. I'm not sure how long.."
Hiruzen nodded solemnly. "I see… That makes two of us then. Now, the fox. Do you have a plan?"
The Fourth Hokage took a deep breath. "Yes.. the Kyuubi cannot be beaten with conventional methods." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "We need a new Jinchuuriki."
He then bit his thumb and went through several hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!" he yelled.
A dense plume of smoke expanded from where Minato was.
The Kyuubi swooshed its tails to blow the smoke away revealing a gigantic toad that rivalled even the mighty fox in size.
Minato stood atop the toads head, his eyes never leaving the fox.
"Bunta, I need you to get the fox as far from the village as you can."
The giant toad exhaled from his pipe, blowing more smoke in the Kyuubi's face, causing it to roar.
Gamabunta reached for the sword strapped to his back and held it diagonally in front of him.
"A tailed beast? You're gonna owe me for this one, Minato boy."
Minato didn't respond and simply vanished once more leaving the two giants to dual.
He appeared in the house of his predecessor yet again and spotted Kushina cradling Naruto.
Sensing his presence, she looked tiredly over her shoulder.
"Minato.. is it over? I.. I'm tired."
His felt his heart breaking at the scene, and from what he knew he had to do.
"..No, Kushina. Not yet. I need to take Naruto with me, there is only one way to stop this."
Kushina miraculously appeared alert once more, as if she was never tired to begin with. Her eyes narrowed and she clutched Naruto closer to her chest.
"What are you planning to do Minato? How does it involve Naruto? You are not going to make him a Jinchuuriki are you?!" She yelled with righteous fury, her hair rising against gravity due to the sheer chakra she exuded.
Clenching his teeth, Minato raised his voice to the same level.
"There is no other option Kushina! It's either that or let the whole village and everyone in it be destroyed. Is that what you want? I don't want to do this either, but I ask you to have faith in Naruto. He will persevere... He has to."
Turning to look out the nearby window, he saw Gamabunta and the Kyuubi at a standstill.
"I need to go, there is no more time. I need to prepare the seal," he said, taking their son out of Kushina's arms.
Before he could disappear again, Kushina grabbed his arm and looked him dead in his eyes with a fierce look.
"I'm coming with."
Nodding, Minato quickly charged his chakra.
They disappeared, leaving the house empty.
The trio appeared in the clearing where Gamabunta and the Kyuubi struggled for dominance.
Minato raised a hand seal. "That's enough, Gamabunta! I'll take it from here. It was an honor to fight alongside you."
After having said those words the toad disappeared in the same way he came; a plume of smoke.
"I need to prepare the Jutsu," he said and started to rapidly go through hand seals.
Kushina set Naruto down on the altar that Minato had prepared and looked at the beast with disgust. Several chains shot out of her back which she quickly wrapped around the fox. It writhed and squirmed to get out of its predicament.
Now that the Kyuubi was immobilized, she looked at her son with concern. 'Naruto.. you are going to be a jinchuuriki like me. Now I know for sure that you need to change this world. You'll have the power to do it, don't grow complacent like I-' Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a tug on the chains. Turning quickly, she saw the clawed hand of the fox speeding toward her son.
Minato noticed as well, and they both reacted in the first way they thought of to stop the claw. The sound of flesh tearing and blood splattering on the ground echoed throughout the clearing.
Minato coughed mouthfuls of blood and grit his teeth in pain. "I… only have a few more hand signs to go. N-Naruto, *cough* What I am giving you now is both a blessing and a curse. I am not naïve enough to believe that the village will treat you as a *cough* hero. You will have a hard life, son. Just know, Naruto, both of your parents love you."
He rested his head on his wife's shoulder.
"Kushina, anything to say?"
After a few seconds of hearing no response, he checked her pulse.
'It's weak but she's still alive.. The fox has far too much chakra to be contained in an infant. I'll seal half of it back into Kushina and half into Naruto. But she will still die from her wounds…' His eyes widened in realization. 'Unless..'
"Reaper Death Seal!" screamed Minato.
A ghastly apparition appeared from the ground, visible only to him. The apparition wore a white robe and in its fanged mouth was a dagger.
Steeling himself, Minato spoke in a whisper seemingly to no one.
"Reaper, I ask you to seal the fox into Kushina and Naruto. *cough* T-Then seal Kushina into Naruto as well." Minato paused to cough the blood that had been building in his lungs. The edges of his vision were failing him, but he spoke once more. "..In return, you can have my soul."
The demonic entity didn't respond with words. Instead, it simply grasped the blade from its mouth with its clawed hand.
The shinobi watching from the trees shielded their eyes as the entire clearing suddenly illuminated in a blinding light.
The grin on the apparition's face widened as it used its free hand to grasp Kushina and the Kyuubi, then shoved them impossibly into Naruto. Still grinning maniacally, the god of death then tore the blade horizontally across its own stomach, exposing the broken and the damned. It then extended its skeletal arm, absorbing Minato's very essence.
As the remnants of his chakra faded, one thought remained in Minato Namikaze's head. 'Did I do the right thing? Kushina… guide him.'
Just as quickly as the light filled the clearing, it disappeared. What remained was a crying red headed baby and the corpse of the beloved Fourth Hokage.
That was the scene that Hiruzen took in as he arrived in the clearing.
"Minato… did you?"
Checking the crying infant's belly confirmed it. An intricate Eight Trigram Seal, though something about it was different from a normal Eight Trigram Seal. It meshed with the Flying Thunder God seal he saw Minato place there earlier. The result is in the center instead of the typical swirl was another smaller seal with concentric rings in the center of it.
'I don't think Minato planned for that. Where is Kushina?'
The Third Hokage, realizing that he was now the active leader once again, gave a command.
"ANBU! Search the area for Kushina Uzumaki."
"Sir!" Spoke the masked ninja in unison, before darting off in different directions.
The reinstated Hokage bent down and picked up the crying baby.
"Naruto Uzumaki.. welcome to the world."
Kushina Uzumaki awoke to the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
She cracked open her eyes and saw that she was on the inside of a massive red cage on an island surrounded by water. The island wasn't very big, only slightly bigger than the cage itself. But it still had enough room for a handful of palm trees to grow, their coconuts ready to be harvested by anyone brave enough to climb their steep trunks. Seagulls cawed as they flew around lazily in the sky, some even rested on the top of the cage she was in.
It was almost serene.
Then a deep, unsettling growl caused her to stand up straight and turn around.
The Kyuubi sat in front of her, resting its enormous head on its clawed hand.
"I was waiting for you to wake up, human." It's guttural voice said in a bored tone.
She took a step back. "K-Kyuubi? Where are we? Where is my son?!"
The fox ignored her question and stood on its four legs.
"I remember the torment you subjected me to, so now, I will return it. Tenfold." Snarled the fox. It walked closer to Kushina, eventually backing her into the very corner of the cage.
"I think you forgot just how I was able to keep you in line, fox! Adamantine Sealing Chains!" Several chains sprouted from Kushina's back and coiled around the Kyuubi.
Deep, raspy chuckles resounded in the cage.
"Foolish. You have no power here, this isn't your seal. I've already corrupted your chakra system. The damned Fourth Hokage split my chakra into the child and into you, a terrible decision."
Kushina gasped and fell to her knees as orange chakra bubbled out of her. 'M-My chakra.. it burns! What is this?!'
'Yes, that's right… succumb. This is my body now, you may watch through it but never speak or act. You will watch your son grow up in a village that despises him. You will watch his daily struggle. You will watch his will waver. You will watch when he comes to me in despair, and you will answer. You will watch him give in.' Spoke the fox in her own mind.
The massive form of the Kyuubi exploded into vibrant energy before being absorbed into Kushina.
She slumped over, unmoving except for her red hair which flowed gently in the salty breeze that came off the infinite ocean.
Red slitted eyes opened in place of violet. She lifted her hand and observed the wrinkles and details in her palm, then stabbed herself with her now sharp nails.
"..How interesting. This body is far weaker than the other." She created an Adamantine Sealing Chain and manipulated it around in the air for a few seconds. "Still, it has its benefits."
She hummed in thought. "Naruto Uzumaki. It will very be interesting to see how you turn out. What do you think, Kushina?"
Deep in the recesses of her own mind chained to a sphere, Kushina snarled. 'Fuck you, fox! My son will put you in your place just like I did. Your time will come. When it does, I'll be the one laughing.'
The Kyuubi gave an eerie, yet melodic chuckle.
"Oh, I don't think that will be the case. Don't you see? I will help Naruto whenever he needs it. Eventually, he will become dependent on me. What makes you think he will want to push away the only one that treats him fairly?"
Kushina slumped against the chains that tethered her. 'You underestimate humans, not every single one of us is garbage. There will be some that treat him fairly. Your plan is reliant on every single person to hate him. Given what you are, it's no surprise you hold humanity in such a negative light. How pathetic.'
Kyuubi smiled as she sat down in the corner of the oversized cage with her knees tucked to her chest.
Her crimson eyes gazed dispassionately out at the ocean. The corners of her mouth tilted upwards in a mocking smile, showing a small fang.
"We shall see, hmm?"
End of Chapter 1
Please, tell me what you think. Again, this is my first story. All criticism is appreciated.
Unfortunately, this will likely be the last you see of this story for quite some time. I don't plan to fully release it until the entire story is written unless demand for frequent updates is high.
This is because there is nothing worse as a reader than getting into a fic that will never be completed. It is an empty feeling that I will not subject anyone to.
Also, if my passion fizzles out and I never update it then feel free to adopt.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading.