Interlude 4: Naruto Uzumaki

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Two massive red eyes opened.

Naruto sat down, staring up.

Neither said anything. Naruto, because he did not know what to say, and the Kyuubi, because he had nothing to say.

The silence was broken only by the constant dripping of water.

"So..." Naruto finally spoke up. "My mom."

The eyes narrowed, glowing a bit more brightly.

"Your mother." The voice dripped with hatred. More than Naruto was used to. "Your. Mother."

"You really don't like her." Naruto stated the obvious.

"Don't like?" A massive hand flashed out of the cage, the claw slamming down in front of Naruto.

He didn't flinch. He just continued to stare up at the Kyuubi.

"Don't like does not even begin to describe your mother." The Kyuubi hissed. "Hatred does not even begin to describe the sheer disgust and murderous rage with which I regard your mother."

Naruto frowned. "Why?"

The Kyuubi's arm pulled back, disappearing into the darkness of the cage. "Why should I tell you?"

"I want to get to know you." His head tilted to the side.

"And yet, you call me an asshole."

"And?" Naruto shrugged. "I call Sasuke worse things. He calls me worse things. We're best friends. Hell, I called Kakashi-sensei jackass-sensei for the better part of three months."

"And I care, why?"

Naruto shrugged again. "Are you going to tell me why you hate mom, or not?"

The Kyuubi stared down at Naruto.

He stared back up.

For a while -Naruto wasn't sure how long-, the two simply stood there.

"Fine." The Kyuubi's eyes closed.

"You now know that your mother was my previous container. What you don't know is that she was my second container." The Kyuubi's eyes opened again, malevolent red glow fully in place.

"The first... was known as Mito Uzumaki." The Kyuubi gave a low growl upon speaking that name. "She was the wife of Hashirama Senju." He gave a much, much louder growl at that one.

"The First Hokage." Naruto nodded.

"Indeed." The Kyuubi spoke. "I despise him. I despise him so much that the only beings in existence who I hate more are your mother, and Madara Uchiha." A red haze bubbled up within the cage, silhouetting the Kyuubi's form.

"Madara Uchiha..." Naruto frowned.

"He was a despicable being." The Kyuubi spoke. "One that possessed a particularly evolved Sharingan. One which allowed him to seize control of the minds of the Bijuu."

Naruto looked up, startled.

"He came to me one day." The Kyuubi continued. "And used his Sharingan to take control of me." The red haze flared brighter.

"He used me to fight against Hashirama. All of my power, that of the strongest Bijuu, bent to his will like a puppet on strings!" The Kyuubi roared, sending shockwaves through the room.

He settled down a few moments later, glaring at nothing in particular. "He lost. Hashirama used his Wood Release techniques to free me from Madara's control. He restrained me, preventing me from taking my rightful revenge on that little fuck." He growled again. "And when the battle was over, Hashirama told me 'Nine-Tails, your power is too great. I cannot let you roam free any longer'. That was the start of my imprisonment."

Naruto frowned. "You got mind controlled and then you were imprisoned for being too powerful?"

"Hashirama was a hypocrite." The Kyuubi stated. "All of his talks about peace and understanding, and he handed out me and my brethren like we were spoils of war. To foster peace, of course! To balance power between all five of the villages." He growled again.

"When I was sealed, I tried my best to break out." He continued.

"I... can't really blame you." Naruto noted.

"Hmph." The Kyuubi grunted. "Mito Uzumaki was able to prevent my escape. I almost achieved freedom at one point, when Mito gave birth and the seal was the weakest it ever was, but I was not successful. My accommodations within her seal were much like my accommodations within this one. I was allowed my freedom of movement, but was restricted within a cage."

He growled. "But then, as she came closer to her death, another member of her clan was picked to host me. Kushina Uzumaki."

Naruto shifted, straightening up.

"I hate your mother. I despise her." The Kyuubi leaned closer. "And the reason for that is simple."

"I spent decades inside of Mito Uzumaki. I hated every single second of it, but it was... bearable. To some very, very minor extent." His eyes closed, and the red haze faded.

"But Kushina Uzumaki!" The Kyuubi roared, Chakra exploding out of him, revealing his full form to Naruto. "That bitch! For years, I was sealed inside of her! I was bound to piece of rock floating in a void, impaled through my hands, my feet, my stomach, and every single one of my tails!" Lightning discharged, cracking through the air. "Unable to move! Chained up like I was some common animal! Every single second, I did my best to escape that hell!" His tails slammed down, shaking the ground.

He stilled suddenly, the devastation suddenly stopping. His head came down, eyes level with Naruto.

"There are some who say your mother was a kind person." His voice was flat.

Naruto didn't like that one bit.

"To me, your mother will only ever mean cruelty." The Kyuubi continued. "Given the chance, if I could kill both Madara Uchiha and your mother, I don't know which one I would slaughter first."

Silence rang out.

"O-oh." Naruto shook slightly.

The Kyuubi slinked back, the red haze fading, his eyes closing. Naruto could see nothing within the darkness of the Kyuubi's Cage.

"So then." The Kyuubi's voice rang out, echoing through the walls. "Still want to know about me?"

Naruto was silent.

"I said it before..." He began slowly. "I want to get to know you."

One great red eye opened up.

"You... Damn it..." Naruto sighed. "I told you months ago, I wouldn't mind being your friend."

The other eye opened up, before both closed shortly afterwards.

"Fuck off, brat."

Naruto slowly nodded.

"I'll... be back later."