Friendly Ninetails

Life for Naruto settled into a new normal. Staying at the village for a day or two, allowing him to talk with his friends and keep up to date with the village's going-ons. Then he would return to the beach with a pair of ninjas. Sometimes a Jonin or ANBU instead of two chunnin, but with the village still recovering from the Sound-Sand invasion, most of those were busy.

Regardless of who was keeping an eye on him, Naruto would go about his day either training or otherwise entertaining himself. And despite his progress with using elements with his tails, he hadn't made a lot of progress with water-walking yet.

Which was why he was currently far beyond the shore, deep below the waves.

Naruto didn't know a lot about science, but he did know the basic fact that the further underwater you went, the more pressure it put on you. He, however, had no problem at this depth. Oh, he wasn't surprised that it didn't hurt him or anything. He was a Bijuu after all. But he wasn't slowed down at all by the increasing pressure. At least, no more than he had been just below the surface. He was a bit more sluggish than on land, but that was normal for being submerged.

Was he just strong enough to completely ignore the force of the ocean? Or did it have something to do with being a creature made entirely of chakra? Chakra could control elements, but it didn't really follow the same rules as anything else in the world. After all, it wasn't a rock, water, or any kind of gas. Did they cover anything like this in the academy? He didn't think so, but he might have forgotten. Or slept through it. Or missed that day. Or-

He could hear the memory of Iruka's yelling just from this line of thought.

He abandoned his pondering as he turned his attention to the scenery around him.

His eyesight as a Bijuu was a lot better than a human's. But even that didn't let him see perfectly down here, not really. There was a space around him in every direction that was clear as day to him. He'd say about the length of his body, sans the tails. Beyond was just faint silhouettes against a black abyss.

It was, in a word, creepy.

He turned around, suddenly on edge and glaring into the darkness.

He had definitely felt something brush against one of his tails. Bigger than the average shark. But Naruto could see nothing except a hill on the sea floor...

Except, there hadn't been any hill. The floor had been relatively even for a while now.

The hill moved and Naruto was now very concerned.

Whatever it was, it was big enough to be a Summon Boss or a Bijuu. And it had...yep, that was eight limbs.

"Yeah, no," Naruto said as he flared his chakra, bubbles of golden chakra erupting from his body, causing the water to twist and turn around him.

Blackness erupted as ink erupted forth, mixing into the water and blinding him further.

Naruto growled. Even if he couldn't see the animal, he could definitely still hear it rushing around him. After all, he could hear everything on the surface. Down here? He might as well be a bat.

He slashed his claws, just missing the cephalopod by a single second.

Okay, a baby bat, but still!

Would water jutsu work well underwater? He suppose he would find that out right now.

Chakra flowed to the tips of his tails, and he spun in a circle, each one sending out a slash of condensed water at different angles, heading off in a full circle.

A garbled screech of pain filled Naruto's ears, as the scent of blood invaded his nostrils. He glared in the general direction, listening to it swim away. "That's right, you better run!" he roared out.

Once he was sure there wasn't a surprise charge coming, he decided it was time to head home before something else came along. Only...

"Which way did I come from again?" Naruto muttered, scratching his head. Amidst the fighting, he had gotten turned around and couldn't remember which was back to the shore.

After a few moments of frustration, he sighed and decided to swim to the surface, propelled upward by chakra expelling from his legs and tails. It didn't take him too long to reach the top, his head poking out from the water.

He couldn't water-walk, but he could hover in place a bit, his body halfway out of the water. He'd sink in completely if he tried to walk, but it was a step in the right direction. And it at least let him try to see the shore.

Only, there was no shore.

"How long was I walking down there!?" Naruto exclaimed in frustration before an idea came to mind. "Wait. This is easy. I just need to head north. Now where is the sun- oh you got to be kidding me!"

Naruto glared up at the offending sky, full of moderately dark clouds. Dark enough that he couldn't tell where the sun was.

"It was practically clear when I left, what the hell?!" Naruto said, letting his head droop in frustration. "Oi. Guess I just head in a direction and hope it takes me to land."

Meanwhile

"What do you mean, it's too safe?" Tsunade asked with a frown.

Jiraiya shook his head, half expecting Naruto to speak up, before remembering that Naruto was still at the beach. "Tsunade, the Valley of the End should be saturated in Naruto's chakra. I was worried it might actually be toxic to life, or cause side effects on the environment. But it's not. Because the place is clean of Bijuu chakra."

"How is that possible?" Shizune questioned in surprise. "Did Naruto maybe...reabsorb the access chakra, on instinct?"

"I doubt it," Jiraiya answered, his voice serious and troubled. "Naruto leaves plenty of chakra behind wherever he goes. It hasn't had any side effects, beyond the golden goose incident. Which I still think you planned as a money scheme, somehow."

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched but she didn't interrupt her old teammate.

"Even if Naruto had taken most of the chakra back into himself, there should still be...something in the area, from the battle he and Sasuke had if nothing else," Jiraiya pointed out. "So, the question becomes, where did all that ambient chakra just vanish off to?"

"There are two main concerns that come to mind," Tsuande said in thought. "Did someone else manage to...sweep the area somehow, perhaps absorb the chakra into a seal for study?"

"Orochimaru is a likely candidate. He's deeply interested in replicating whatever happened to Naruto if only to get immortality," Jiraiya considered thoughtfully. "But we can't rule out other parties."

Their eyes met and they both knew what the other was thinking: Danzo.

"The other thing I'm imagining is...What if we made a wrong assumption in all of this?" Tsunade suggested.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked, feeling something itching in his skull. Like Tsunade was onto something he should have already considered.

"What if the Old Kyuubi is no more dead than any other Bijuu has ever been?" Tsunade answered severely. "What if it's absorbing the chakra near its death to hasten its rebirth?"

Jiraiya said absolutely nothing, just staring at the Fifth Hokage with eyes wide, his inner mind working through that possibility and its implications.

"What are the chances of that...?" Shizune questioned uneasily.

"I'm not sure," Jiraiya admitted with a troubled frown. "I already told you I met the Nanabi, and Taki's Jinchuriki. Between what she said and what I've heard of Gaara of the Sand, saying the Ichibi was wailing? The Bijuu at least seemed convinced their...brother is gone."

"But if they're wrong?" Tsuande hummed with a headshake. "I don't see the Old Kyuubi being very happy with any of us if he came back, especially Naruto himself. A clash between two Nine-Tails could spell ruin for all of us."

Jiraiya hummed, cupping his chin. "Luckily, we can at least detect if a Bijuu is starting to resurrect somewhere after a year or two. But in the meantime, I'll focus on finding out if anyone else is making any chakra experiments that might have to do with Naruto's chakra."

Meanwhile

Naruto had reached the shore. But it definitely wasn't the right one.

"This...is an island," Naruto said, sighing in frustration as he looked upon it. It wasn't that big, less than a dozen miles across in any direction. There was a forest over most of it, but not much else of note.

He looked up, still unable to make out where the sun was. With a grumble, he decided to take a seat on the beach and consider waiting the clouds out.

He flared his chakra, the golden energy dispersing the water and drying his fur instantly. Tilting his head, water poured out of his ear, along with some fish he was sure.

He frowned as he realized it hadn't just been his wet fur. There was a strong wind now, and he suspected it would rain soon.

Naruto wondered what to do. Being a Bijuu, having to be careful around everything around him, he had force-learned patience. But by that same token, he didn't care for sitting around and doing nothing if he could help it.

There was one thing.

He propped one elbow on a knee, resting his head in the hand, eyes closing. He began to tune out the sounds of the world. The wind in the trees, the distant thunder, the roll of waves. They were still there, always there, but they dulled into the background.

It was harder now. He didn't know which way home was, he didn't sense anyone "staring" at him. How did the Hyuugas do it, looking in every direction at once?

He felt his recent foe, injured and bitter below. Naruto's chakra was still fresh on the wounds.

Something pulled at his mind. Like a scent, he could almost decipher, a sound he could almost make out. It was far, far away. But it was strong, and it felt...wrong.

Placing his mental gaze in that direction, he soon found his beach. Rich with his chakra, marked by the muffle of the Pervy Sage's genjutsu, and dotted by the Chunin who were probably wondering where he was by now.

He grinned.

His eyes sprung open as he heard a gasp of fear, his gaze snapping to the side.

Between the water and his own distractions, he had managed to miss a very important detail about this island: it was inhabited.

There, he saw people hiding in the trees, some bravely peaking their heads out up at him.

His grin must have scared some of them. His gaze made them cower and tremble.

He hadn't seen any port or large boats around the island. They had no idea what he was or what he wanted, and had no way to run away.

Slowly and deliberately, Naruto looked the other way, to the north, and stood as sand rushed off him while he headed back into the sea.

He didn't look back, not wanting to give them any more nightmares to endure.

He could have said something, he probably should have. But...

Naruto sighed before he sank beneath the waves. He had enough trouble convincing his home village he wasn't a monster. He couldn't imagine how hard it would be to convince another.

Maybe next time, if he ever found this place again.

With a direction obtained, he sped just below the surface. Propelling himself with chakra was strange. It was something between running and flying, or that was the best he could make of it.

In no time at all, he reached the beach.

In fact, it might have been a bit too fast.

"Wowowowow!" Naruto exclaimed as he came skidding and rolling onto the beach, crashing into the trees beyond the sands. A large wave followed him, sweeping over everything in the area and drenching him again.

"Hey, you're back!" a Chunin called from atop of the great pillars, fully aware Naruto could hear him. "Where have you been all day?"

"Lost in the storm," Naruto grunted out, laying where he landed- laying on his back, staring out at the waters with an upside-down view. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Okay, but...there's a shark near your...tenth tail," the Chunin informed awkwardly.

Naruto sat up so fast, it caused a gust of wind to roll over the immediate vicinity. With a growl, he grabbed the shark and chucked it back into the sea. "Why are the sharks here so damn stupid!?"

The Chunin didn't say anything.

Naruto sighed and sat there for a long moment. "Just so you know, the only reason I haven't attacked yet is that you didn't kill him just now," Naruto addressed, glancing up at the pillars.

The Chunin had collapsed, knocked out by an ANBU who placed him on the ground.

Naruto snorted, sensing various other ANBU in the area. "Well, I was wondering who'd be the next one to show up to see me down here," Naruto muttered, scratching his face idly, glancing to a nearby spot where the forest and beach met. "Well, are you going to say anything, you old war hawk?"

There was a brief sigh as a man walked out. "Tell me, is that your nickname for me, or the Hokage's?"

Naruto shrugged. "The Old Hag doesn't like you, but I don't have a better one just yet," he said casually. "But seriously, if you had killed my watchers, we wouldn't be talking right now."

"Good. That is exactly how enemies of Konoha should be dealt with," Danzo said evenly as he looked up at the Bijuu. Naruto either growled or hummed in his throat, and Danzo wasn't sure which. "Just how much do you know about me?"

"More than you'd probably like," Naruto answered vaguely, a dark look in his eyes. "Your AN-ROOTS have been sneaking around my ass a lot ever since I returned from the Valley of the Ends."

"So has a great many spies that boldly tried to sneak near Konoha. But I'm well aware you already know that," Danzo mused. "Despite your outbursts, I've come to believe you are still loyal to Konoha."

Naruto lifted his hands out of the sand, causing every ROOT member nearby to tense. Danzo didn't appear troubled, only raising an eyebrow as Naruto started...clapping?

"Congratulations, you just stated the most damn obvious thing you could," Naruto said mockingly. "Seriously, do you think I'd sit around, barely moving for days by choice if I didn't consider Konoha my home? All I'd have to do to kill a lot of people was roll off the mountain."

Danzo was unamused but didn't dismiss the point. "Then I'll move on to the next obvious topic I'm sure you're aware of. Other nations are considering trying to replicate the event that transformed you."

"Which is a coin flip for someone like you," Naruto murmured idly, glancing out at the sea. "Either they kill off their Jinchuriki and are down what you all consider to be a major military asset, or they succeed and you have more Bijuu running around."

"A troubling notion," Danzo noted. "Do you believe so?"

"Yes, but I'm not thinking like you are," Naruto muttered, still looking out at the horizon.

Danzo frowned and followed his gaze, but saw nothing but grey clouds over a steady ocean surface. "Your meaning?"

"You know what Gaara was like before we kicked each other's asses during the invasion, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. And what are you staring at?" Danzo questioned, seeing nothing out on the ocean.

"I ran into a giant octopus out there. I think it might have followed me home," Naruto explained in annoyance.

"I suppose you will be having a fine meal tonight then," Danzo observed idly, turning his attention back to Naruto.

"If what happened to me happened to Gaara, before I reached out to him?" Naruto paused, giving Danzo a pointed look. "There would be only four great villages."

"Yes, there is a chance they would turn on their villages, maybe even destroy them," Danzo agreed. "I've already considered that."

"You have? Really? I figured someone like you would want those odds. The coin flip, to me? Seems more like either they cripple themselves or unleash a Bijuu on themselves. Getting a friendly Bijuu is more like landing a coin on its edge, right?"

Danzo said nothing to that, appearing at least somewhat thoughtful. "Naruto Uzumaki."

The new Kyuubi narrowed his eyes at the use of his full name. His...human name.

"If it came to it? If Konoha required a Jinchuriki more than a Bijuu? Would you allow yourself to be sealed?" Danzo asked firmly.

Naruto stared at the man for a long, long moment before he answered.

"No."

Danzo frowned. "So, that is the extent of your loyalty, I take it."

What emerged from Naruto's throat now was decidedly a growl. "When I became a ninja, Danzo, I made a promise. As a loyal ninja of the Leaves, I would either become Hokage or die trying. And I held that promise, Danzo. I did die. Konoha got my first life. Sorry if I'm not eager and ready to give up living the second one."

"A true shinobi should be willing to die a thousand deaths for their village," Danzo countered firmly.

"From you, I think it's more cause a thousand deaths," Naruto countered knowingly. He stood at his full height now, his chakra radiating off him and swirling in distaste. "And I don't think you really thought this meeting through, Danzo."

The leader of the ROOTS narrowed his lone eye at the behemoth, wondering just what he meant, why his ire was suddenly brought to the surface.

"You came here in person. And I don't think you came here expecting a fight. So, somewhere along the way, I think you made a bad assumption," Naruto said, lips curling back to reveal his fangs.

Naruto's chakra flared ominously, golden tendrils lapping at the air like flames in the wind, and Danzo took a step back to brace himself against the sheer weight of Naruto's power and wrath.

"You assumed that I wouldn't see YOU as a threat to Konoha!"

For the first time, Danzo tensed, face setting into a stoic mask of one readying themselves for a battle. "Do you think killing me would go over well?"

"Better than you might think," Naruto answered with a smirk. "What are your ROOTS going to do? Report me to the Hokage? And just how do you think the Old Hag will react to finding out that you and your goons were down here, on my beach? All I have to do is tell them the truth: you were plotting to seal me behind their backs. And even if you got away with doing that, do you think she or the Pervy Sage will trust you having any control over the poor sap you seal me into?"

Danzo looked minutely surprised by that. "...You have thought this out too well. How long have you been expecting this meeting of ours?"

Naruto narrowed his gaze. "When did you think I wasn't expecting it?"

Danzo refused to react to that.

"But when all that said and done, I don't feel like having the first human I kill be a misguided old man," Naruto said dismissively as he ceased flaring his chakra. "Leave, Danzo. Scurry back to the hole you crawled out of. The next time we meet like this, I will either believe you aren't a threat to the village...or I will make sure you're not."

Danzo stared at the nine-tailed beast as if contemplating those words. "One final thing: Out of an old man's curiosity, just what would convince you I'm not a threat to the village we both want to protect?"

Naruto sighed. "If you have to ask that, then I doubt you'd ever understand. Now leave, and take your puppets with you."

Danzo remained for a moment longer before making his withdrawal, as did every ROOT agent in the area.

Well, almost everyone.

One of Naruto's tails lashed out into the forest, crushing and slicing through a great many trees. He lifted the mighty limb, looking at his tail pointedly. Namely at the smear on it.

It wasn't blood, no, for it was black and stained harshly against the gold of his fur. He brought it to his nose, sniffing it. "Ink?" he muttered, breathing in deep the smell.

And more importantly, the chakra of the caster.

Naruto slowly looked forward, off to the northwest. His eyes narrowed and a smirk appeared on his face as he whispered three little words, carried on the wind by more than just sound.

"I See You."

Meanwhile

"What do you mean, you can't get closer?"

Zetsu had a very displeased look on both sides of his face, a sentiment shared by Pain. "Well, we could, but he probably already knows we're watching him," White Zetsu explained.

"It's becoming increasingly clear that the brat knows when just about anyone approaches him," Black Zetsu explained in annoyance.

"It shouldn't be surprising!" White Zetsu pointed out. "He has big ears and a great nose!"

"Shut up!" Black Zetsu snapped.

"Even your powers don't allow you to be concealed from him?" Konan questioned skeptically.

"Even the best stealth arts may be useless against him," Black Zetsu said with a scowl to his voice. "Every time I've tried to observe him, he's always looked in my direction."

"It's super scary!" White Zetsu agreed with a grin. "It's like he's sensing something besides chakra."

Pain narrowed his eyes at that. "...Have any Leaf Ninja attempted to pursue or find you?"

"Hmmm...Nope!" White Zetsu answered.

"Never, not even once," Black Zetsu remarked.

Pain paused for a long moment. "Is it distrust or arrogance that holds his tongue, I wonder?"

"What are you thinking?" Konan questioned with interest.

"That Naruto Uzumaki is either overly confident in his new abilities, or lacks confidence in how much he can trust the leaf village."

"Both are very exploitable," Black Zetsu agreed, and Pain was sure he almost saw a smirk on the featureless side.

"However, we still need to be able to properly gauge his current level of power," Pain mused.

"Don't worry!" White Zetsu said with a chuckle. "He has a plan for that."

End of Chapter

And there we go, another chapter done. And Naruto had a deep sea adventure AND a surprise meeting for Danzo. Only thing is, the surprise is that Naruto isn't surprised at all. Yeah, despite having not met him, Naruto knows plenty about Danzo due to just overhear conversation with or about him. And here we get to see more of Naruto's scary side.

Oh, yeah, and something weird happened back at the Valley of End. Too safe, no chakra, very strange, very interesting. What it means, well, only time will tell.

Anyone, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, until next time!

Early viewing of chapters 16-17 avaliable on my pat-reon:

p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64