Friendly Neighborhood Nine-Tails
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.
AN PLEAE READ: Hello people! I know, its been a while, but a LOT of stuff has happen in the last years for me, most of it bad. It was genuinely Hell for a while: I live with and was raised by my grandmother, who was in the hospital for a month back at the beginning of the year, due to a triple-wamy of pneomunia, flu, and a heartattack. From this there were family issues, trying to get things adjusted, trying to get the bills in order, its been rough. Don't worry she's home, she's back to her old self, and her doctors are loving her test results these days. However...more recently, my uncle had open heart surgery. He's been getting better and every too, but goddamn was that hectic. There were also several scares I had with believing my laptop might infected, whick thankfully seem to be just my paranoia.
Anyway, due to various such RL issues, I set up a pat-reon under my username. I'm not asking you to pay me for my fics, I'm just reaching out and advertisting through them. I won't hold my fanfics hostage and will keep posting unless I one day become unable. You also get free preview of some fics and access to original works I have in the making. If you are willing to tip me, you have my thanks. If not, I hope you enjoyed my fics regardless.
"-And that's what happened," Kakashi stated bluntly.
"...Are you high?! Seals don't work like that!" Jiraiya yelled in disbelief.
"I distinctly remember Minato-Sensei telling me you said something similar about the Rasengan," Kakashi commented offhandedly.
"Don't compare my deceased student's brilliance with this!" Jiraiya retorted, looking ready to pull his hair out.
"Umm, why is this impossible?" Sakura raised her hand awkwardly. "Didn't the seal already convert some of the Kyuubi's chakra into normal chakra for Naruto?"
"Why is she even here?" the toad sage asked Tsunade who was sitting behind her desk again.
"Teammate privilege," Sakura stated bluntly, daring him to try and deny her right to be here.
"And we already told the rest of the younger shinobi, so, you know," Kakashi added in with a shrug.
"Keeping it a secret is hardly practical now, obviously," Tsunade tiredly pointed out in agreement.
"Granted," Jiraiya grumbled before turning to the lone Genin in the room. "Okay, little pinky, let me explain this simply."
"I'm not an idiot," Sakura retorted in annoyance.
"Sealing, advanced sealing at least, is the one thing I will freely admit is harder to learn then any Medical Jutsu," Tsunade intervened pointedly.
"That's because when medics screw up, that's just another example of what NOT to do. When you mess up in sealing, well, that's how explosion tags were first invented," Jiraiya stated grimly. "And I am telling you, there is no way the seal went into overdrive just because a curse seal Chidori was put through it!"
"Then please explain the Megaton fox?" Sakura asked with a scowl, arms crossed.
"Hell if I know. The Bijuu are usually immortal, but since this seal was designed to take the Bijuu to the grave..." Jiraiya trailed off for a moment in thought. "Maybe it gave its chakra to Naruto rather than dying completely?"
"A willing and complete transfer, is that even possible?" Tsunade questioned skeptically.
"Tsunade, my princess, this is the Bijuu we're talking about. Everything we learn of them is bstrictly trial and error," Jiraiya reminded sagely as he headed over to the window. "Hey, Furbrat! You remember anything just before you changed?!"
It was both comedic and terrifying for people over the village to see a giant fox gain a tick mark. "I was a bit busy dying after getting stabbed by the other spikey haired asshole that has issues with women," Naruto retorted dryly.
"Well, someone is grumpy," Jiraiya murmured as he turned around and caught the leg heading for his privates. "Can we please stop doing that?!" Jiraiya requested as Sakura glared at him.
"You deserved it," Sakura stated with a scowl, yanking her leg out of his grip. "Lady Hokage, Kakashi-Sensei, may I be excused?"
"Yes, yes. Go make sure the brat is doing alright," Tsunade dismissed with a sigh. "Now, Jiraiya, I'm going to need your expertise."
"If it's about sealing Naruto into a smaller form, I'm not even sure where to begin," Jirayia stated in warning.
"Noted, but no. I need you to lie your ass off to explain how this happened," Tsunade said bluntly.
"...You want me to make this seem intentional?" Jiraiya questioned.
"Possible, but I need your help to avoid two things. First is to keep the civilians from panicking too much," Tsunade said, letting that sink in as her old teammate groaned. "More importantly, when this leaks to the other villages...I'd rather not have them start butchering their Jinchuriki trying to replicate this," she explained.
Jiraiya was wide eyed and pale. He had been so caught up in how this whole thing could have happened, he missed the implications. If Naruto could do it, theoretically any Jinchuriki could become a Bijuu. It was incredibly unlikely, but that might not stop some; some who would butcher children over and over again trying to replicate this.
"I think I have a few ideas. Hey, Naruto! We may need to make this seem like the Fourth's plan, kay?" Jiraiya called upwards, getting a grunt in response.
"You'd adapting to this pretty well," Tsunade commented curiously.
"Tsunade, I've lived with the toads. And unlike the slugs, they can't divide into smaller selves. This is quickly becoming nothing more than nostalgia for my sage training days," Jiraiya declared proudly.
Meanwhile
To their credit, the ANBU who remained on the mountain didn't even try to stop Sakura from approaching their charge this time. "Sakura, you know you can talk to me from literally anywhere in the village, right?" Naruto pointed out in amusement.
"Yeah, but, this just seems more polite, you know?" Sakura answered with a smile as she walked up to the massive pile of fur and muscle, supposedly all made of chakra. "So, did you have a nice nap before...?"
"Before I got stabbed in the back by a pervert and a toad? Yes, I did," Naruto answered, sounding more amused than angry now. "Once I managed to tune out the village for a while. And no, snake-lady, you can NOT make a pair of boots out of my fur!" Naruto hollered over the village to someone who, apparently, answered back. "I don't care if it was a joke! You already got to cut me when I was a kid!"
"...I can't tell if you're enjoying or hating this," Sakura commented.
"Eh, I take my enjoyment where I can," Naruto answered with a massive shrug.
"So, speaking of fur...can I...?" Sakura asked nervously.
"Come aboard," Naruto offered casually.
Rolling her arms, Sakura jumped up and began to use chakra to walk up the long tufts of fur. At one point, she nearly slipped, but caught herself. She paused with one hand in the fur of his snout. "By Kami, that is soft," she said before continuing her climb.
"Not touching that one," Naruto decided, resisting the urge to snort with her on his nose.
Sakura ignored him for a moment as she reached the top of his snout, looking out over the village. "Well, that's one upside. You have an amazing view no matter where you go," Sakura noted with a small smile.
Naruto stared at his long time crush. It almost looked like she was standing on a field of gold while overlooking the village. "Yeah, I sure do."
"So, does anything...hurt?" Sakura asked cautiously as she turned to face him, eyeing his massive form up and down. "I have absolutely no idea what becoming a Bijuu could have felt like, so I thought someone should ask."
Naruto breathed deeply, Sakura feeling the airflow rushing through the nostrils beneath her feet. "I'm fine, Sakura-Chan," Naruto assured with a weak smile.
Sakura stared at him in concern with an unconvinced look. She promptly sat down with crossed legs. "Naruto, I know I haven't been the best...anything since we became a team, but I am trying here. If you need to talk, I'm right here," she offered seriously. There was a long pause; one she thought would be tense or thoughtful, but grew uncomfortable as he stared at her rather intently. "Umm, Naruto? You okay?" she asked, not sure what had happened.
"...Your butt is on my nose."
Sakura blinked, looking down in surprise as she realized that was, technically true. "W-well, on your snout," she conceded sheepishly, about to get up, but stopping as Naruto reached up to cover his mouth as he started trembling. "Naru-?"
"HAHAH! You're practically sitting on my face!" Naruto's voice laughed at the absolutely hilarious instance for him.
Sakura stared for a second longer before she started to snicker and snort. "I-I bet you would have given an arm for this a few days ago!" Sakura exclaimed between her laughs.
"AHAH! Well, I gave a bit more, so what do I get now?! HAha!" Naruto asked in laughter, his tails waving happily behind him.
"Oh, I don't know~!" Sakura said teasingly as she scooted back some, essentially grinding against his nose.
"HM!?" Naruto grunted suddenly as a loud, brief rumbling sound was heard.
Awkward silence rang over the village as Sakura blinked owlishly. "What...was that?" she asked hesitantly.
Naruto didn't answer for a moment, glancing away. "Let's just say my tenth tail is out and I shouldn't stand up any time soon."
"Oh my kami!" Sakura exclaimed, scandalized. "I'm, I'm so sorry ,Naruto! I had nooooo idea you could, well, still do that."
"It's fine. Neither did I until just now," Naruto assured, happy this fur hid his blush as he refused to make eye contact.
"How would...well, obviously, I know how, but where could you even go to...?" Sakura wondered in morbid curiosity.
"Just no jokes about taking care of it for me or I will never calm down," Naruto forewarned in complete seriousness. "And, you know, everyone should avoid mysterious new lakes in the future."
"TMI! TMI! Oh, I am not getting that image out of my head today!" Sakura cried with a groan. "Well, I am never living this down. Going to be an odd conversation when I get home," Sakura said, hanging her head in dismay.
"Just tell them who you hit today, I'm sure that'll get more attention," Naruto advised with some amusement before scowling as his ears twitched. "Never mind, that killed my mood," he said with a mighty sigh.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Sakura asked in confusion. Naruto just said nothing, nodding to the side slightly as a silent request for her to get off.
Sakura did so, heading to the edge of the Hokage Monument, and quickly realizing what Naruto was unhappy about.
It had to happen sooner or later, but Naruto just wanted to get it over with.
The villagers slowly filtered out of the bunkers and back into the village, they were all eventually gasping and staring up at him with fear, disbelief, and...hatred. He did his best to ignore them, to just lay there and pretend to be asleep...
"It's the Kyuubi!"
"But it's gold, like the kid!"
"I knew it! I knew he was that thing all along!"
"Why aren't the ninja doing anything?"
"Did someone tame it?"
"Mama, is the fox going to eat us?!"
...but with ears like his, he just couldn't tune all of them out.
He eventually grunted, opening his eyes to gaze up at the crowd of scared and confused villagers. Before he could even say anything, they jumped and some even screamed as his sight fell upon them. He froze as all their feelings turned to terror before him, because of his sheer existence. He ultimately settled on a great sigh. "Yeah, yeah, you were all right. Hurray for you," Naruto grumbled as he turned to lay on his side, his head facing away from the village.
"It's just toying with us now."
"Maybe it's still too weak?"
"Maybe there's a seal or something that keeps it from hurting us?"
Naruto clenched his fists, unseen by any, and gritted his teeth. He needed to leave; he needed to get away before he broke something by punching the ground in anger or something. He needed-
Was that feet on his nose?
"Hey, Naruto."
Naruto's eyes shot wide open at that voice. His sight focused intently on the man standing on his muzzle, scarred face smiling at him. "Iruka-Sensei?" he whispered, silencing the village all together as they heard the name.
"I believe I told you many times that your ramen-only diet would leave you out of shape," Iruka mock scolded, arms folded over his chest.
Naruto just blinked, slowly, as his ears drooped ever so slightly; something that didn't go unnoticed by his academy instructor.
"I'd offer to buy you lunch, but I think you'd bankrupt the whole village if we even tried," Iruka joked, smiling genuinely at the Bijuu. "Shame, you deserve it after one of your biggest mission successes. Especially since you literally carried most of the team home."
Naruto didn't speak, but Iruka could feel the maw trembling underneath him as the enormous blue eyes glowed a bit brighter. Not with power or chakra, but the shine of the sun on unshed tears.
Sakura smiled at the scene from the tree lines, glaring out over the village. "You better get it through their head, you old pervert."
"ATTENTION PEOPLE OF KONOHA! I, JIRAIYA THE SANNIN, HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT! DO NOT FEAR THE GOLDEN FOX, THAT IS "NOT" THE KYUUBI OF OLD!"
Meanwhile
Sasuke Uchiha gritted his teeth from inside his cell. On the surface, his restraints seemed moderate at best, but a ninja knew better. A pair of gauntlets fashioned like metal gloves were locked together with the palms facing away from each other. This kept him from weaving hand signs and, unless he was wrong, something in the wrist of the gauntlets disrupted his chakra control even if he broke them. He was also blindfolded with something he was sure was designed for dealing with the eyes of Hyuugas and Uchihas.
All of this had been done while he was heavily sedated for medical care- for the safety of the staff rather than his own- and, frankly, he had been hallucinating a bit for a while. Thankfully, the drugs were already mostly out of his system, leaving him with a deep frustration of failure. As a shinobi and a proud Uchiha, he was not surprised by the amount of caution they put into containing him. He knew what failure would mean the moment he stepped foot outside Konoha. This place was no longer going to just hold him back but chain him down. He wasn't sure what his fate would be, due to the fact he was in fact the last Uchiha they had, but he didn't put much stock in getting off with a wrist slap or anything light.
He was honestly grateful when he heard Naruto's booming voice echo faintly into his cell during the Bijuu's louder moments. Less so because of Naruto's concern for his survival against the interrogators, but because it confirmed he hadn't been insane in remembering Naruto turning into a fucking Kyuubi no Kitsune of all things. Several others things were adding up in his head: Naruto's pariah status, his red chakra, his birthday. The puzzle was complete, he knew it, he just wasn't in the right state of mind to see it properly.
Pun unintended.
Perhaps what was almost as frustrating as his failure to escape the village, this imprisonment, and failure to escape said imprisonment was that he was very sure he wasn't imagining "it".
"It" referring to the sensation of what he believed to be Naruto staring at him. How a "megaton fox" knew where he was exactly, he wasn't sure. Maybe he heard of the guards talking about him, maybe he could sense his chakra? It didn't really matter, but he knew the Dobe was aware of him, of where he was.
Sasuke smiled an empty smile. He was desperate, he'd admit it, but being imprisoned forever was as good as being dead, so it was worth a shot.
"Naruto," he spoke, as if his teammate was in the same room. "Can you hear me?"
He smirked as he felt a very distinct rumbling. Not enough to shake, really, but to feel it in one's bones.
"I need a favor," Sasuke said, and he was sure he felt Naruto's ire and chakra grow heavier. Still, the Uchiha smirked.
"Please...kill Itachi for me."
He relaxed against his bonds as Naruto did something. Whatever it was, it made a fairly firm thump, so he took that as a yes.
Meanwhile
Naruto groaned and whined, rubbing his chest as he lay on his back with his ears hanging over the Hokage monument. The Nidaime's face, he believed, but didn't bother to check. The villagers, after Jiraiya's half-truth of an explanation, had mostly calmed down, but to say that they weren't afraid would be a lie. Still, like the ninja, they were growing used to him slowly. At least to the point of not breaking half way into a full village wide panic every time he moved.
"You okay, Naruto?" Iruka asked in concern.
"This isn't about earlier, is it?" Sakura asked with an uncomfortable blush.
"No, don't bring it up!" Naruto answered quickly. "Just a bit sore, I guess."
"Yeah, I think we can all live without reliving that mental image, Sakura," Iruka said, Sakura looking sheepish under her academy teacher's stern look. That wasn't something she was usually on the receiving end of
It turned out that while a mass of living chakra didn't feel as much pain as flesh and blood did, getting stabbed through the chest still hurt like hell. Or maybe it was because he was a new Bijuu? Point was, he was still sore.
Which gave him a convenient excuse to answer Sasuke, in the form of rolling over. Oh, most of any brotherly love he felt for his traitorous teammate had died with Naruto Uzumaki's human body, but he didn't see any harm in this. Regardless of Sasuke's actions, Itachi Uchiha was on Naruto's list of asskicking regardless. The elder brother seemed to be after the Kyuubi, and seeing as that was Naruto now, he was pretty sure they'd cross paths again. Which Sasuke was probably betting on as well.
Not to mention the principle of the matter. Sasuke had been only partially wrong about him not understanding what it was like to have everything taken from him. True, Naruto never had the bonds Sasuke had, with such a large family no less, but Naruto had often thought about what he would do to protect bonds like that. Solitude was a hell Naruto only recently felt he escaped, and it was not too hard for him to imagine the burning hatred of being pushed back into it. The concept of someone killing their own mother, father, uncles, aunts, and many cousins made Naruto repulsed enough as it was.
No, Naruto didn't mind giving Itachi some payback on Sasuke's behalf if the opportunity came up.
Granted, it was hardly a priority for him in the present.
"I'd say we could never get enough healers, but I'm not even sure traditional healing Jutsu would work on him now," Iruka murmured, scratching his head thoughtfully.
"Well, if he's technically all chakra, then it should either work even better or not at all...I think Lady Tsunade would be the one to ask," Sakura pondered contemplatively.
"Guys, I just need some rest," he assured as he carefully rolled over again, closing his eyes.
They shared an uncertain look before deciding they wouldn't get further with him right now. "If you're sure, Naruto," Iruka said in resignation.
"We'll see you soon," Sakura promised.
"Everyone sees me, Sakura," Naruto quipped as he heard them walk away, leaving him alone…mostly alone.
A better thing he had to think about, when would the approaching Hinata have the guts to talk to him?
It was true he could talk to anyone he wanted to. They didn't have a choice really, as he could hear everyone. But Sakura was right; Coming up here was about as close to getting face to face with anyone he was going to get. But that also meant seeing who was willing to not only go up to the megaton fox, but stand extremely close to his mouth of teeth and enormous claws.
He glanced to the tree he knew she was waiting behind before closing them again; obviously not today.
"...It's not because you're a Bijuu," Hinata's whisper reached his ears with ease.
His eyes shot opened at that puzzling statement, but when he looked towards her, she was already taking off in a run.
Not because he was Bijuu? What did that mean? If not that then why was she so scared to face him?
He looked out over the setting sun and wondered just how much more complicated being a tailed beast was going to become.
End of Chapter
Again, sorry for the long wait, but life happens. I actually had chunks of this written out for a while as potential starts for the chapter, but they all ended up weaving together nicely into one whole chapter.
And here we have our Megaton Fox having some heartfelt and deeply embarassing moments. Hope you all got a good laugh out of this.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!