A Grimm Contract

by Jcrowe56

Attacked on his ninth birthday, Naruto Uzumaki was chased into the forest of death. falling into a chasm and finding a hidden temple filled with images and carvings of odd creatures with red eyes and covered in bone armor. In the center of this temple Naruto finds a scroll between the effigies of two dragons. See the rise of the Grimm Sage.

3. Chapter 3

An: Hey everybody, Crowe here with the next chapter of 'A Grimm Contract' this chapter is probably the longest one I've written to date. Now this is a bit of a info dump chapter which I have had some complaints about with my other stories, but rest assured I only do these types of chapters so as to cement the backgrounds of my stories. Thankyou to those who have Shown so much support to this and my other stories. My next release will be for 'Resident Fallen Hero' then 'Blood Ruling Hero'. Now without further ado; I do not own 'Naruto' and 'R.W.B.Y', they are owned by their creators and the studios that work so hard to animate them.

Chapter 3

Naruto's first step into the pool almost floored him. As soon as his bare foot went into the pool a feeling like lightning began to flow up Naruto's leg from the tenketsu points in his feet and up through his chakra network. Biting his lip to get through the pain, Naruto took another step and could feel the same feeling from his other leg. Fighting back a scream at the increased pain, the blond Jinchuriki continued his trek towards the statue in the middle of the pool. As more of his body was submerged in the blue waters around him, the pain and flow of energy increased as more of Naruto's tenketsu points were exposed to the powers around him.

As Naruto made it to the halfway point, something began to happen inside the young blond. Within the boy's body and soul a fiery golden energy flowed through his chakra pathways and radiated outwards towards his organs, bones and tissues. Naruto's chakra pathways were reinforced to carry even denser energies. The damage done to the boy's mind and body over his time in Konoha due to the beatings and early malnutrition were corrected causing Naruto to grow from his small height of one hundred-eight centimeters to one hundred-twenty centimeters. Naruto's small and skinny frame filled out to a healthy and well developed one, with light muscle definition. The energy then flowed into and through his brain, increasing Naruto's already immense ability to learn exponentially.

The last change to happen was in Naruto's genes themselves. the boy's Uzumaki genes were enhanced to the same level as a full blooded member of the almost extinct clan. This took his already massive chakra reserves and almost doubled them in amount, density and potency, and changing the color from a dark blue to a bright gold. This alteration in Naruto's genes led to streaks of Uzumaki red hair appearing in his blond spikey mop. Unknown to either Naruto or the energy changing him, his now increased regeneration and healing factor were now boosted to such a level it could recover from any damage if given time. The true consequence of this wouldn't be seen until many years later.

-Line Break-

Salem watching from the edge of the pool was starting to worry for the little blond boy that had appeared in her realm. As she watched the boy walk forward she could see and feel the energy in the boy change as the God of Lights power flowed into Naruto. It had started from his legs as lines of gold seemed to flow up the young Uzumaki's body, shining brighter at certain points (his tenketsu). Then when Naruto had reached the half-way point and was chest deep in the pool, his body itself began to change. Gone was the small skinny and malnourished blond child, only to be replaced by what could be considered a 'refined' version with streaks of red at the tips of his hair. Mouth open in shock at the complete change, Salem's eyes narrowed as she noticed the lines now outlined a pathway through his whole body except for his heart. Concentrating on the movement of the energy, Salem could see that the energy would make it to Naruto's heart when he would make it to the statue. Feeling her nerves rise again, Salem could only hope that Naruto would survive the final part of the trial.

-Line Break-

'It hurts so much, but I can't give up now! I'm so close now Dattebyo!!' Naruto could feel the pain in his body reaching a peak as it began to coalesce in his chest where his heart was. Feeling a final stab of pain as the energy finally complete its circuit of energy, Naruto roared out a scream feeling the changes that had been happening accelerating. It took about a minute to fight back the pain long enough to look and see where he was, to find that he had made it to the statue. The dragon now that he was up close seemed to be looking directly at Naruto and through him. As soon as the boy made eye contact with the statues golden glowing eyes… 'Wait! Were the eyes glowing befo-' before he could finish his thought, a flash of golden light engulfed Naruto's vision.

Closing his eyes against the sudden flash of light, blinking quickly to clear his vision, Naruto looked around to find that he was no longer in the Pool of Light. The second thing to hit the blond was the lack of pain, much to his relief. The last thing to catch the blonds attention was… the giant golden dragon staring down at him… 'WAIT, WHAT!!!'

Jumping back, Naruto gaped in shock at the sheer presence of the dragon in front of him. Seeing the deadpan stare the dragon was giving him, Naruto felt embarrassment before deciding to speak in a soft tone. "Um… hi? My name is Naruto Uzumaki… do you know how I got here? I was taking a trial to gain the Grimm contract and I was supposed to get to the center of this big pool, but the moment I stepped into the water it began to hurt really bad. Then I made it to the center and in front of the statue… that…looked like… you?" Eyes wide in realization, Naruto almost began to panic until a sudden feeling of warmth and comfort seemed to radiate from the dragon. Seeing that the young blond had calmed down the dragon seemed to stare through the young Uzumaki as if searching for something.

Naruto, worried that something was wrong, or that he hadn't passed the test was about to speak before he was silenced by a smooth male voice in his head. 'Hello young Naruto Uzumaki, I am the Brother God of Light, former God of Creation of the realm of Remnant.' Naruto couldn't help but stare in awe at this, he was actually meeting an honest to goodness god here! Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Naruto spoke with the god to get some answers. "Umm… hello there… sorry I don't want to offend you, but do you have another name I can call you? Because 'Brother God of Light' is a bit of a mouthful." At the end of his statement, Naruto's nerves began to get the best of him, and he looked down at his bare feet in worry and embarrassment. The god looked down at the young boy in a bit of surprise and bewilderment at how the boy in front of him only wanted to know a better name to call him by. Chuckling to himself the dragon reached forward with one of its golden clawed hands and gently patted the boy's head before responding.

'It's quite all right young one, my brother would often comment how our titles were too much of a mouthful. If it will help you relax, you can just call me Light.' Surprise lit the young blonds features, before a wide smile split his face. "It's nice to meet you Light!" The dragon couldn't help but smile at the boy in front of him before making a decision. Naruto was suddenly blinded by a bright flash of golden light coming from the dragon god. Covering his eyes and blinking to clear the spots from his vision, Naruto was about to yell at Light for almost blinding him. Only to be caught off guard by the sudden absence of said giant dragon, but in its place was a golden figure in the form of a man. The man had no discerning features, he stood at a height of over seven feet tall and was muscular. On the beings head were two horns that resembled the previous dragons in shape.

Caught by surprise once again, Naruto spoke out. "Light, is that you?" The figure nodded, confirming his identity and spoke. "Yes Naruto, it's me. I had decided to take this form so that we could have a conversation about the results of your first trial." Being reminded of the trial, Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself and looked back at Light before nodding for him to continue. "Now Naruto you can rest easy knowing you have passed my test-" Light held up his hand before Naruto could begin celebrating his first test's completion. "-although there were some changes that were made to your body while you were taking my test…" Light spent the next twenty or thirty minutes explaining what had happened to the blond, Naruto was at first excited at the prospect of gaining so much from just the first test. Then it hit the hyperactive blond that his chakra control had likely been shot to hell due to the increase in size of his chakra pathways and the density of his chakra.

"So light, is there anything else I need to know? Like if these changes have had any unknown effects on me or something?" Light's head nodded slowly and spoke, his regal tone returning.

"Yes Naruto, in addition to the increase to your natural abilities, I have also added a few… blessings you could say. First I have unlocked an ability called aura in you. In my and my brothers original world this was an ability that was used to give an individual the capability to protect and empower themselves using their very souls. When one unlocks their aura it surrounds them in a protective shield that will stop most forms of fatal harm and even accelerate healing. You could even think of aura as a type of external forcefield. Now usually when one gains enough experience in using aura, they will gain an ability called a 'semblance' that would give the person a unique ability or power."

Naruto, concerned by Light's use of 'usually' spoke with a worried tone in his voice.

"Um Light, what do you mean by 'usually'? Are you saying that I don't have a semblance of my own?" Sensing the boy's concern, Light placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder and explained the misunderstanding.

"No Naruto, that is not what I meant. I believe that your ability to create those chains from your body has fused with your semblance and empowered it. To what point it has been empowered I do not know, but that will be up to you to find out." Seeing the excitement in the young boy's eyes at this, the golden god's eyes seemed to narrow into a smile. "Now there are two more abilities you will receive from me. I will be granting you magic and the ability to create and manifest dust." Naruto gave the golden god a confused look and spoke up.

"Um light… what do you mean by 'dust'? Is it like the 'Dust Release' Kekkei Tota of the Tsuchikage?" Light's brow raised at the boy's question, and he asked what the 'Dust Release' was. Naruto, a bit miffed at how his question was returned with another question, answered anyways sure that Light would answer afterwords. "I don't know a lot about it to be honest. From what I have read in some of the reports published after the Second Shinobi World War as well as stories I had heard from the Third Hokage. The Dust Release is an advanced bloodline ability that literally means 'Bloodline Selection.' In fact this ability has only been seen in two users; the Second and Third Tsuchikages. Now from what Jiji Hokage told me the Dust Release combines three elements; earth, fire and wind, to create an energy that when it comes into contact with anything… erases it completely leaving no traces."

While he was listening to Naruto's explanation Light could only feel shock at the sheer power of such a technique used by the humanity of this world. In truth, the more Light thought about it, if Salem had access to someone on Remnant with a technique similar when she first tried to rebel against him and his brother… Stopping that train of thought, Light brought back his attention to the young blond to see that the boy was now pouting up at him with his eyes closed. Realizing that he had never answered the boy's own question and that their time was beginning to run short, Light apologized and answered the boy's question.

"Dust is the name of a substance in our world of Remnant. It is a physical manifestation of raw elemental energy. It takes the form of crystals who's affects are determined by their color; red for fire, blue/freeze, yellow/electricity, etcetera. Using your magic and aura you will be able to manipulate these energies and produce them. I would suggest maybe finding a way to combine them with your world's Shinobi arts, especially ninjutsu and fuinjutsu. Now magic will allow you to directly manipulate elemental energy to an almost instinctual degree." Looking around Light could see that the area the two were in was beginning to fade away, turning back to Naruto the god had only a few more words to say.

"Naruto Uzumaki, our time is coming to an end. Like I told you earlier, you have passed the first test. Your next test will take place at my brothers alter on the opposite side of these lands. Please be careful young Uzumaki, while my test was for your determination and mental fortitude. My brother's test will be many times harder for you." 'Especially if that dark energy I can sense from you is indicative of anything.' The world around them began to fade to grey, Naruto looked up to Light and thanked the god for accepting him and that he wouldn't let him down. Before everything went black, Naruto could hear Light's voice like a whisper.

"Never lose your light Naruto Uzumaki, for victory lies within a simple soul…"

-Line Break-

As Naruto came back to consciousness the first thing to hit him was that he wasn't in the pool anymore, second was that he felt like the energy in his body was filled to the point of bursting. Third and most awkwardly was that he was laying in Salem's lap with the Grimm Queen brushing her fingers through his hair, and to his embarrassment he was purring! Naruto blushing a neon shade of red rolled forward and hopped up to his feet almost tripping from how much force he unintentionally put into the action. With a loud 'Wah!' Naruto had to fight to find his balance noticing as he did how much taller he had gotten based on how tightly his clothes now clung to his frame. Blush still bright on his face, Naruto furtively glanced at Salem… only to almost faceplant at the small smile and light chuckles that came from the powerful being. Mumbling to himself in slight depression due to his embarrassment, Salem settled the boy with a hand on his shoulder surprising the blond having not heard her get up from the ground.

"Naruto, I am glad that you are okay… To be honest I was worried when I saw how the God of Light's energy was affecting you. Then when you had reached the statue you had vanished and I thought that maybe you had died… but you came back-" A teasing grin came to her face, much to the confusion of the blond. "-though I can't say that your trial didn't give some good results. Maybe in a few years I can see the extent of your 'blessings' hmm?"

Naruto was confused for a few moments… until the meaning hit him like a massive boulder. The only reason the blond could understand the double meaning Salem was teasing him with was due to where he had grown up. His time on the streets and in his apartment in the Red Light District ensured that the young man had learned about ehem more… mature… subjects. Though even with this knowledge, Naruto did not have any personal experience being on the receiving end of said teasing. So with next to no experience, Naruto did the only thing he could think of… he fainted with a light nosebleed.

Salem looked down at the now passed out blond boy lying on the ground with swirls in his eyes and a small trail of blood leading from his nostril. Raising her eyebrow at the boy's reaction and inwardly feeling a bit of pride at being able to elicit such a reaction just by teasing the boy a little bit, Salem shook her head slowly and snapped her fingers. Under Naruto's body a sigil appeared, it began to glow and engulfed the boy before flashing. Now laying in the same spot, Naruto's outfit had been changed to better fit him, and also fit Salem's style. Replacing his previous outfit Naruto was now wearing a long white sleeve compression shirt, his ninja mesh shirt still underneath for protection. Over the shirt there was a dark brown leather flak jacket with a motif of a fox-grimm over a black swirl pattern on the chest. On his lower body he had black military style cargo pants and black combat boots with metal soles and toes. Over his arms and legs were pieces of armor similar in style to ANBU, lastly Naruto wore a pair of metal backed fingerless gloves.

Looking over her work, Salem nodded to herself before stopping.

'there is something missing… but what?'

Looking over Naruto again, Salem thought for a few moments before a flash of a certain silver-eyed pain in her- ehem… old foe popped into her memory. Now that she thought about it… the boy's new hair color… 'I swear if the God of Light suddenly decided to grow a sense of humor I am going to be so freaking nettled.' Shaking her head at such an impossibility, Salem snapped her fingers again summoning a similar sigil and in another flash of light a new addition appeared on the blond. Now wrapped around his shoulders, Naruto had dawned a crimson red half cloak that went to just bellow his waist and covered his chest when closed. The cloak had a hood that when pulled up was pointed at the front to help shadow Naruto's face, a larger version of the fox-grimm and swirl motif was on the back of the cloak. Nodding to herself at the result, Salem then flicked her hand summoning a jet of water and splashed the still passed out boy sending him sputtering.

"AHH! What the hell! Who did that!? I swear I'll prank them so hard; their kids will hide from the embarrassment DATEBAYO!!" As Naruto looked around, the boy didn't notice as his clothes began to ruffle in an unseen wind and arcs of electricity were trailing from his clenched fists. Salem was shocked at what she was seeing but was ecstatic at what she felt from the boy in front of her.

'He has magic?! But how… wait did the GoL give him magic when he passed the test? I have to know what happened during the test!' Seeing that Naruto was still grumbling while looking for who 'pranked' him, Salem coughed into her hand to catch his attention. The boy turned around and saw Salem standing there with an eyebrow raised at his actions. Naruto remembering where he was and what had happened, gained another small blush and scratched the back of his head while apologizing. Salem shook her head and spoke in an amused voice.

"It's nothing to worry about Naruto, but I do have a few questions if you would be willing to answer them?" At the blonds nod, Salem continued, "Could you please tell me what happened when you reached the statue?" Naruto's eyes widened and he seemed to think for a moment before gesturing to a nearby outcropping of rocks to sit. When the two sat down, Naruto explained what had happened when he met Light and the blessings he had received from him. Excitement continued to well from Salem as Naruto concluded his story with him waking up. Not even a minute later Salem began to laugh in a happiness she hadn't felt since she had been human so long ago. This boy in front of her, Salem would ensure that he would learn everything she knew. Salem would make sure this boy was the most powerful being in this or any world!

After finally settling down, Salem looked up to see Naruto looking at her in concern? Before the Grimm Queen could ask why, Naruto reached up and wiped something from her eye. Pulling his hand back, Salem could see a black tear in his hand. Shock ran through her, Salem had never cried, not since she was betrayed by Ozma, and their daughters had died. After she had buried her daughters… or what had been left of them, Salem had sealed her human heart and had become the monster the Brother Gods had painted her as. Now seeing the care and compassion on Naruto's face in front of her, the last words that Light had told Naruto came back to her, 'A simple soul indeed.' Shaking her head again and giving the blond a soft smile Salem stood gesturing Naruto to come to her. When Naruto was standing in front of her, Salem activated a transport spell sending the two to their last destination.

-Line Break-

Naruto didn't know what to expect when they arrived at the shrine of the God of Darkness. As soon as the light from their transport vanished Naruto looked around and was shocked. Whereas the land where Salem's castle was stayed in a perpetual state of red twilight and the domain of Light was a life filled wonderland. The God of Darkness's domain was… bleak to say the least. The sky was black as pitch with no signs of stars or even a moon, there were no plants in the area, instead the ground was a sickly glowing purple. All around him, Naruto could feel eyes watching him and as he looked Naruto finally saw his first Grimm. The Creatures of Grimm came in all shapes and sizes some as small as a Pidgeon, and some as large as the fabled Biju. If he had been by himself, Naruto would have likely been frozen in fear at the red eyes that stared down at him from every direction. Salem took one look at the surrounding Grimm before she became irritated at how they stared at their possible new summoner.

Releasing a shockwave of power around her and Naruto, Salem glared at the nearby Grimm causing them to look away. Some of the weaker Grimm fled from the power of their leader while the stronger ones seemed to pause before looking down in deference to their Queen. Naruto stared in awe at the effect Salem had on the Grimm. Looking up at the pale woman in admiration, Naruto could only say one thing 'amazing.' Smiling down at the boy at this, Salem gestured to Naruto to have him follow her. Following Salem, Naruto was led up a jagged staircase into what looked like the caldera of an extinct volcano, its walls sharp and jagged like the teeth of a long dead beast.

Eventually their path ended at another pool. Unlike the pool of the God of Light, this pool resembled black tar rather than water. Black energy seemed to emanate from the liquid into the surroundings leaving a feeling of negativity in the air. As the duo drew closer, Naruto could feel the negativity begin to affect him. As the feeling grew stronger Naruto could feel his strength being sapped away, while inside him he could feel something begin to stir in response. Reaching the edge of the pool, Naruto looked to Salem surprising the Grimm Queen at the changes he had gone through once again.

The blonds eye's had slit like a cats while the blue was slowly being taken over by a malevolent red. Naruto's whisker marks had seemed to grow to cover most of the skin on his cheeks and his eyeteeth had grown to become real fangs. Confused what this could mean, Salem decided to bring up the change later after Naruto passed the last test.

"Alright Naruto, this is the shrine of the God of Darkness, the younger brother of the God of light. Now just like the last test you will have to enter the pool, but unlike the last test, not only will you perish if you fail, but you will be turned into a mindless Grimm. Once you enter the pool of Darkness you will be tested by your inner darkness, as well as the God of Darkness. So Naruto are you ready to take your last test?" Salem finished her question with a serious look to hide her concern from the boy. Naruto seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before his eyes, now almost completely red, locked with the woman's ruby red eyes.

"I'm ready, and I will not fall to my darkness." Without another word, Naruto jumped into the pool blacking out as soon as he hit the 'water.'

-Line Break-

Naruto awoke to the sound of dripping water around him. Sitting up and looking around, Naruto could see that he was now in what looked like a sewer. If sewers had glowing pipes the size of a grown man on the walls, and a familiar black fluid flowing down cracks in said walls that were slowly growing. Confused and concerned at what he was seeing, Naruto stood and was wondering what he had to do now. As soon as that thought went through his mind one of the pipes on the wall, glowing a vibrant and angry crimson began to oscillate leading further down one of the corridors. Fighting his doubts, Naruto decided to follow the light realizing that he might only have a little time to finish this trial before he failed it.

As he walked down the hallway, Naruto wondered what he would have to do to pass the trial of darkness. Salem had said that he would face his inner darkness, but what did that mean? Would he have to relive his worst memories? Face a scenario that would test his ability to control his anger? There was to many options of what he could face. Stuck in his thoughts, Naruto almost didn't notice that the hallway began to change until he reached a large chamber. Looking around Naruto saw that the room he was in now was huge, it seemed to be close to the size of the Chunin Exams Stadium in Konoha. Looking at the walls, Naruto could see that the crimson pipes ran on both sides of the room towards the far end of the arena. Walking further into the room saw that the pipes met at a large ornate gate that took up the majority of the far wall. Looking up the boy saw that the gate was even taller than it was wide, stretching up into the darkness that even seemed to swallow the light from the pipes in the room.

Looking back down at the gate, Naruto could see something over the center of the gateway seeming to hold it closed. Walking closer Naruto could see that the object was a large paper tag, like those used by fuinjutsu experts, the kanji for 'seal' stood prominently. Naruto was about twenty feet from the gate before he heard what seemed like an avalanche, only to shiver when he realized it was something growling. Naruto's fears grew when a large crimson blood-red eye with a slit pupil opened and glared down at him. The growling began to rise in volume to the point Naruto could feel his body begin to vibrate from it, the eye then seemed to turn before a second eye could be seen before they began to rise up. The blond followed the eyes as they rose almost entranced, like prey caught in the gaze of a predator before it strikes. After rising to stand over a hundred feet above the boy, light began to appear from somewhere, and slowly the form those eyes belonged to was revealed to Naruto.

There standing before Naruto was what looked to be a mountain sized beast in the form of a fox. The foxes fur was a deep orange near red color except for two black strips that ran from the corners of its still glaring eyes up the side of its head and ending in his long, almost rabbit-like, ears. The beasts torso was disturbingly humanlike; with long arms that ended in five fingered hands tipped with claws that looked to be able to slash through anything in their way. It sat on normal if large fox paws and swaying behind it were…nine long flowing tails. Realizing what this being in front of him was Naruto paled and spoke softly not even realizing.

"K-Kyūbi?!" Naruto realized that those long ears weren't just for show when the fox then gave the boy a cruel smirk, filled with way to many pointed teeth. Fighting through his fear and panic at the knowledge he was standing in front of the very being that was responsible for destroying his village on the day he was born; Naruto spoke up with all the courage he could muster.

"Kyūbi, what are you doing here, and where are we? I-I thought that the Yondaime Hokage had killed you nine years ago?" That last question was definitely a mistake, as the large eyes of the fox narrowed at the blond in hate strong enough that Naruto was surprised he hadn't burst into flames. Thinking that the fox wasn't going to answer his question, Naruto was about to speak again until he was stopped in his tracks by a deep and hate filled voice.

"Who do you think you are to ask for anything, you worthless Ningen!" Naruto flinched back at the sheer hate and malice that came from the Biju's final word, but the fox wasn't finished. With a derisive huff Kyūbi continued to speak.

"If you have to know you flesh bag, we are currently within your mindscape, or at least a part of it, that represents the seal that was used when your oh so precious Yondaime defeated me along with my previous host." When he heard those words Naruto froze, everything suddenly made sense to the blond in that moment. How the village had treated him since he could remember, how he could remember the whispers of the villagers calling him 'Fox-brat' and 'demon.' It also hit him that this meant that his personal hero the Yondaime Hokage had been the one responsible for his hardships-

'And Jiji knew too!' There would be no way that the Sandaime Hokage, also known as the Kami no Shinobi, wouldn't know that the Kyūbi had been sealed inside the young blond. A pang of betrayal went through the boys heart at that realization. The fox seeing the boys look of despair, smirked for a moment before something concerning began to happen.

Along the walls the light released by the pipes that represented his jailers, as well as his own chakra, began to be covered in a weird black sludge. As the sludge began to spread along the walls the light in the area dimmed. Worried about what this meant, Kyūbi looked down to the boy still standing in the same spot, but something was happening. The boy's skin began to whiten, turning an almost bone white, and black veins began to crawl up his arms. Naruto's hair began to whiten at the roots and spread, only stopping at the new red tips, that darkened to a red similar to old blood. Not liking this the fox decided to call out to the blond.

"Oi Ningen, what's wrong with you-" The fox flinched back when the boy raised up his now pale white face. Naruto's eyes had turned a glowing red orange, the sclera darkening to black making the glow seem to intensify. The black veins began to run up the now white haired boy's face, but the worse part was that a mask began to materialize on the right side of his face. Kyūbi's shock grew as the form of the mask took a fox like appearance. Deciding that this was not something he should let continue lest it cause his death, Kyūbi called out again.

"Hey, Ningen-" No response, "Oi brat…-" Still no response, now the fox was getting worried as the mask continued to grow, now covering two thirds of Naruto's face. Realizing that he would need to do something to shock the boy out of whatever this was Kyūbi breathed in.

"Kit!... NARUTO UZUMAKI WAKE UP!" That seemed to cause a reaction as the boy flinched hearing his name. the fox shaped mask on his face now covered all of Naruto's face and began to gain red mystic tribal markings leading to a red swirl on the forehead. Kyūbi could see the moment that Naruto came back from wherever he had been when his jailer tilted his head back and yelled out. As he yelled out a large burst of gold and black energy swirled around him stopping the progression of the black substance. Sighing in relief, the fox wondered what had happened to his newest host. Reaching out through the seal, a trick he had learned while inside of the boy's mother Kushina, the fox began to look over the boy's memories of the past to see what had led to this meeting.

As he sorted through the memories that led to the boy deciding to jump into a literal pool of darkness, the Kyūbi slapped his hand to his face and dragged it down in exasperation.

"I swear to my father and Kami, every gods damned Uzumaki wouldn't know the meaning of reason if you wacked them upside the head with a dictionary for a year straight… I mean his mother was bad, but this brat takes that and dials it to eleven." Groaning at the sheer ridiculousness of his new Jinchuriki's brashness. Kyūbi couldn't help but think that maybe this boy would be the one his father spoke of to him and his siblings. Deciding to lay back down and wait for the outcome the fox stared out at the twisting spiral of energy before his eyes closed again to take a nap grumbling about Uzumaki's and 'Crazy tomato heads.'

-Line Break-

'Ugh… what happened? The last thing I remember was…'

Eyes bursting open, Naruto jumped to his feet and looked around. Unlike the sewer like prison that he had found the Kyūbi in, Naruto now found himself standing somewhere completely different. Looking around the boy saw that he was now standing in… Konoha? The more he looked around the more Naruto could recognize his home village, except it was empty. No sounds, people and even the wind was silent. Looking up towards the Hokage Monument, Naruto was shocked to see that the mountain was bare. The four faces representing the previous Hokage were missing with only large craters in their place. In fact as the blond looked around, the buildings and roads looked to have suffered damage. Slash marks littered the walls and impact craters lined the roads.

Worried about what this could mean, Naruto was about to call out to see if anyone else was still here. As soon as he opened his mouth to call out, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and following his instincts Naruto jumped to the side. Hearing a collection of impacts, the blond looked to the side to see glowing crimson chains impaling the ground. Eyes wide, Naruto followed the chains and found a figure standing on one of the rooftops silhouetted by a familiar broken moon.

"Oi! Who the hell are you!?" Responding to the blonds question the figure seemed to vanish from the rooftop, only to reappear in front of the blond in a swirl of darkness. Now that the figure was closer, Naruto was able to see their features. White hair tipped with blood red fell around a tribal fox mask remnant of the Grimm he had seen at the alter of the God of Darkness. Naruto's blood ran cold at the sight of the familiar attire of the figure, so similar to his own only in blacks and whites. That bad feeling only increased when the figure reached up with pale white fingers lined with black veins to the mask to remove it.

The face behind the mask was revealed to be a dark parody of his own, though his whisker marks were larger and more jagged. The apparent copy also had large fangs that stuck out in the manic grin the doppelganger was sporting. The last difference was the familiar crimson red and orange eyes surrounded in a sea of black that stared at him with contempt and manic glee. Naruto was shaking at this point finally realizing that the one standing in front of him was likely the 'inner darkness' he had been told about. Before he could speak up to his dark double, Naruto was cut off by the voice of his double.

"Well hello there Faker." Naruto flinched at the tone his double used towards him, seeing his light half's reaction the Dark Naruto's smile grew even further seeming to split his face.

"What's the matter Faker, aren't you happy to see me… unless you don't know who I am? I mean even a worthless fake like you should understand.-" Dark Naruto's smile was now gone, replaced by a dark frown. "I am the real you, I am the parts you sealed away to survive in that worthless cesspool of a village. I am your anger, your grief, your sadness, I am everything you want to be without useless morality. And now I am finally set free from the depths of your pitiful self to take my rightful place as the ruler of this body!" The manic smile was back now revealing his sharper than normal teeth and fangs, and in a rush of speed the Dark Naruto jumped towards his other.

Eyes widening, Naruto jumped back to dodge his darkness's first strike, the doubles attack leaving a small crater in the ground. Fear began to grip Naruto as he saw that this version of himself was serious about harming him and taking over his body. Realizing that he needed to fight back, Naruto reached for his chakra and began to mold it forming eight of the now familiar golden Adamantine Sealing Chains. Following his instincts Naruto threw his arm forward, launching four of the spear tipped chains at his double. Only to be caught by surprise as a similar number of crimson chains burst from the Dark Naruto to wrap around his own. Dark Naruto laughed out in glee and spoke to the boy in a tone usually reserved when someone was speaking to a especially dim individual.

"Did you honestly forget that I could use these chains as well? Well what should I expect from a useless Faker that would let all of those bastards in that village just walk all over him. Let me teach you a lesson my foolish self. I will show you what we could be and what I will be when I erase you and take my revenge on that home of liars and idiots."

Reaching up to one of the free chains on his side, Dark Naruto placed his hand on the chain and in a moment pulled and manipulated the chains form. Now in the dark doppelganger's hand was a crimson scythe. Its blade was long and jagged leading to the head of the haft that was in the shape of a snarling fox head. Its haft was a darker crimson than the blade with lines of black tracing patterns down its five foot length. Spinning the scythe expertly around his body, Dark Naruto ended his show by readying it behind him with the blade facing his light counterpart. Dismissing the rest of his crimson chains the dark copy rushed forward to attempt to slice Naruto across his chest.

Barely having any time to respond to his copies ridiculous speed, Naruto only had enough time to put up his guard while wrapping two of his chains around his arms for protection. This action was the only thing that saved him. When the scythe hit it couldn't cut through the links, But Naruto was flung back smashing through one of the buildings and out the other side into the main square in front of the Hokage Tower. Groaning in pain from his launch and landing, Naruto struggled up to his feet looking to the hole he was just launched through. Naruto's thoughts were racing, realizing that his double was stronger, faster, and had a better grasp of their abilities. Slowly as he watched the figure of his double walking through the buildings interior, his scythe sitting on his shoulder, the blond was losing hope.

'I don't know what to do… is he right? Am I just a fake made to defend the "real" Naruto from the abuse of the village?' As his thoughts continued to spiral, Naruto didn't even notice as he sunk to his knees. The previous revelations of the Kyūbi and how his Jiji had lied to him had shaken Naruto's beliefs. If he had been older these revelations likely wouldn't have affected him this badly, but the fact that he was only nine years old combined with the negative nature of the God of Darkness's alter were wearing down the usually stalwart blond.

Seeing his foolish self, down on the ground and doubting himself, wiped the smirk from the dark copies face as it was replaced by disgust. Growling a deep and animalistic sound, Dark Naruto lashed out with a fierce kick launching the real Naruto back into the wall of the Hokage Tower. Seeing his slumped form now sporting a bleeding scalp from the impact and his chains fading, Dark Naruto's disgust grew as he yelled out to his other self.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS! Are you seriously just giving up now? Is that who we are, just a coward who would give up at the first emotional hardship to appear?"

Confusion filled the real Naruto hearing his copies words. He thought that his double wanted to kill him so that he could take their body… but now he was just calling him out and calling him a coward? Naruto's confusion slowly changed to a burning anger, and he slowly began to stand up. Dark Naruto seemed a bit surprised at the change, but when his light copy looked up Dark Naruto was forced to take a step back. Where before Naruto's eyes had been dulled due to his discordant thoughts, they were burning a bright lustrous silver!

The now silver-eyed blond reached out with both his hands, chains appearing from his shoulders and falling towards his palms. As soon as the two chains landed in his palms, they began to change shape taking the form of twin short swords. Both swords resembled falchions with three foot long curved blades, the edges gleaming a sterling silver and the backs a familiar adamantine gold. The hilts of the swords were a combination of silver and gold in the form of twin dragons. Along the back of the blades five holes lined the back of the blade, each were filled with brightly glowing gemstones. The right swords gems were red, blue, cyan, brown and black, while in the left the gems were yellow, green, orange, white and sapphire. Connecting the two blades was an adamantine chain that wrapped Naruto's arms before disappearing into his shoulders.

Shock, awe and worry ran through Dark Naruto looking at the change in the original Naruto. Opening his mouth to speak, Dark Naruto was forced to dodge the original as he blitzed forward cloaked in a green aura slicing down with no hesitation. Mouth agape at the burst of speed, Dark Naruto looked behind him and gulped softly seeing a trench was cut in the road behind him going about twenty feet from the left handed blade. Looking back at his original, Dark Naruto flinched at the pure anger and determination that filled the silver orbs facing him.

"O-Oi what is this? What's going on with you? What's with those swords… and your eyes they're-" before the dark copy could finish his statement, the wind was knocked out of him as Naruto was once again in front of him with a black and brown glow incasing his right fist as it lashed out hitting his stomach. Now kneeling and coughing to regain his breath Naruto spoke from above him his tone hard and cold.

"Shut your mouth, you were the one that wanted a fight, and now that it isn't going your way you are throwing a tantrum…" Dark Naruto looked up to give a snarky remark before Naruto slammed a chakra empowered kick to the others chest launching the dark clone to the other side of the square. As Dark Naruto rolled to a stop, fear began to fill him at this change in his other self. Frustrated at this Dark Naruto looked up at his still approaching original, dark tears started to stream from his eyes as he decided to lash out one more time.

"WHY… it's not fair, why do you get to live in the light, while I am left in the dark to be forgotten. I am the one who kept us sane in that hell we called home! Don't you remember what they did to us! WHO'S to say that once you go back to that place it won't get worse! The old man already lied to us once, what else is he hiding from us!" Tears were now spilling from the dark clones eyes as he began to fall in on himself, sure that at any moment his original would kill him to be rid of him. "I-I don't want to die… I don't want to be alone anymore… it hurts so much…"

Now standing over his dark self, Naruto stared down at the culmination of all his negativity. All of his previous anger faded away hearing his words, listening to Dark the original's memories ran through his minds eye. The copies' final words sent a shock through the blond as he realized the true purpose of the test. Neither Naruto noticed as the original's eyes returned to their previous blue, though a ring of silver now surrounded his pupil. With just a thought his swords faded to nothing as the energy was returned to his chakra coils. Reaching his still sobbing clone, Naruto kneeled down and reached out to him.

Dark Naruto flinched when he felt the arms of his original wrap around him expecting pain. Only for none to come, opening his eyes the dark clone was met with the sight of his original holding him in an embrace tears of his own now falling from his eyes. Eyes wide in surprise Dark Naruto spoke with trepidation in his voice.

"Wha-What are you doing? A-Aren't you going to finish me off? And why are you crying?" The original Naruto was quiet for a moment, and Dark was about to speak again to demand an answer before the original spoke softly.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry that I left everything bad that happened to you. You didn't deserve to be the scapegoat for my negative emotions." Dark's eyes looked into the originals as the blond continued to apologize, confusion filled Dark wondering how their fight had turned into this.

"What happens now? W-will I disappear now? I don't want to disappear…" Naruto shook his head and embraced his darkness again before responding,

"No you won't disappear, we will just become one again, because a person cant be either light or dark and remain whole. It is only when a person can accept all of themselves that they can become truly whole. Apart we are different, we are Light and Dark, but together we will become the true Naruto Uzumaki." As he continued to speak, neither Naruto noticed as the world around them began to repair itself. The shadows that had been slowly swallowing everything as the two fought were fading away. Before they knew it, suddenly the lights of the village snapped on illuminating the now pristine Konoha to the two. The original slowly stood up, the rips and tears in his clothes fading as if they never occurred. Reaching down to Dark the Original smiled his megawatt grin which the double returned with a smirk of his own.

Grabbing the outstretched hand, Dark was pulled to his feet and stood with his original while still clasping his arm. Slowly the veins of darkness faded from his pale skin and color slowly returned to Dark's skin. He was still pale but not the previous bone white. Darks facial features were next to change, his hair was still white, while whisker marks and fangs shrunk to resemble his original again. The last to change were his eyes, they were still the same colors but now had a human shape. Nodding to the original the two Naruto's began to glow and then in a flash of light everything disappeared.

-Line Break-

Kyūbi was softly snoring in his cage as the hypnotic shadows cast by the spiraling pilar ebbed and grew. It had been almost three hours since the spiral had encompassed Naruto, and the fox had waited for just over one before he had fallen asleep. The only reason he could relax was due to the fact that the black liquid had frozen in place when the pilar had appeared. In his mind the fox was currently dreaming of disemboweling a certain arrogant ghost of the Uchiha when he awoke to the sound of a loud cracking sound. Eyes snapping open and ears up, Kyūbi looked to the spiral to see that cracks had begun to run up the spire glowing a bright white. Realizing that something was about to occur and sensing the energy in the spire preparing to explode out, the fox hurried to wrap his tails around him while reinforcing them with his chakra.

No sooner had he finished had the spire exploded in a bright flash of light and energy. The blast eradicated the black liquid on the walls and flowed out the entrance to the rest of the boy's chakra system. When the flash receded, Kyūbi released the hold on his chakra and moved his tails to reveal that the representation of the seal and mindscape had changed. In place of the sewer, now was a giant forest with golden trunks and blood red leaves. The fox stared in awe at the beauty of the new space he inhabited. Even the cage itself had changed; it now took the form of a ring of obsidian obelisks that reached high above the biju. In place of the gate now stood a ornate Tori Gate kept closed by a golden gate, the tag for 'seal' still in the center.

Kyūbi was so distracted by the changes that it wasn't until he heard groaning that he turned his attention to his jailer. The boy didn't seem to change much, the only things the fox could notice were the white streaks now running through the blonds' hair now adding a sharp contrast to his Uzumaki red tips. The boy's whisker marks were also a tad bit larger than before, and his eyes… 'What the fuck?'… Naruto's eyes now had a ring of almost mercurial silver around the pupil and within his pupil an orange red spark seemed to flicker from time to time. Kyūbi's Jailer stood there for a time seeming to evaluate himself, flexing and stretching out his body. The fox irritated at having to wait decided to speak up and find out what happened.

"Oi Brat! What happened back there? Where is that weird mask and why's your hair, whiskers and eyes different?"

Naruto turned to the fox in surprise seeming to only just notice the change in the area he was in. Before Naruto could answer, a voice suddenly sounded from behind one of the trees in the clearing behind the boy.

"Well, well, well, isn't this interesting? I honestly never thought that someone would have passed my test… but here you are hmm?" The voice sent shivers down both the Biju and Jinchuriki's backs when they heard it. The voice was deep and filled with a slimy quality that grated on the nerves of those who heard it. Kyūbi could feel the sheer amount of negativity this unknown carried… and it terrified him. No being that he had ever encountered before since he and his siblings had been born had such a twisted aura. Before the Biju could lash out at the unknown the voice returned.

"Ahh, calm down construct, I mean neither you nor the boy any harm. I am only here to congratulate and give my blessing to the only one to pass both mine and my brother's tests in either of these worlds." Hearing the beings explanation, Naruto realized who this must be and spoke up with a small grin on his face surprising both the Unknown and Kyūbi.

"You're the God of Darkness right? Light-Osan told me a little about you. Do you also have an awesome dragon form? Could I see it Dattebyo?!" The clearing was silent for about ten seconds then the sounds of the now revealed God of Darkness's laughter and the groan and facepalm of the Kyūbi rang through the clearing.

"Oh my me, that is just hilarious, this is probably the first time anyone has had the audacity to call my brother an 'old man'. Then you just come out and ask about my dragon form with no fear at all… This is probably the best day I've had in eons. You're right kid I do have a dragon form want to see it?" At the blonds' rapid excited nods followed by another groan of exasperation from the fox, the god chuckled again and replied. "Alright then, hold on to your buts, cause here I come!"

A concussive sound of wingbeats is heard in the clearing before a dark shape falls from the sky landing in front of the jailer and prisoner. Unlike his brother the God of Darkness's dragon form is styled like a western dragon. With a head reminiscent of a rams skull with spiraling horns pointing upwards and a lower jaw that extends further outward than the upper jaw filled to the brim with needle like teeth. It has no visible eyes seeming to be empty pits filled with darkness. Its body, like its brothers, seems to be made of living energy only a dark violet instead of gold. Finally its size stood at almost twice that of the Kyūbi and just as long, much to Naruto's awe and the fox's consternation.

"Wow you look so cool Dattebyo! Hey could I call you Dark for short? Because God of Darkness seems to stiff you know?" Kyūbi could only look at his Jinchuriki in shock at how he had just asked that out of the blue, sure that the idiot was about to be vaporized by the dragon as it stared down at him in… was that amusement?"

"Hehe, sure kid you can call me that. To be honest I was never one for all the prompt and circumstance. That was more my brothers role, I only appreciated when my followers would be honest with me. Now that the fun part is out of the way-" A sudden flash of violet light blinded the other two and a moment later the god stood in humanoid form. In his humanoid form the God of Darkness was slimmer than his brother with two spiraling horns growing from his forehead. Unlike his brother, Dark did not have eyes in this form, same as his draconic form. "I must congratulate you, young Uzumaki Naruto, for being the first being to pass my test and conquering your Inner Darkness, or should I say you accepted your Darkness and merged with it!"

Behind Naruto, Kyūbi's eyes widened at the gods words, the brat had actually done something no other human he had known had accomplished. By accepting and merging with his inner darkness, this boy… no Naruto had completed one of the prime necessities of his fathers ideals of Ninshu; peace of the soul and body through understanding oneself.

'Is it him… the one father spoke of before he passed, the one who would finally save this world from the curse of hatred.' While Kyūbi was distracted by his thoughts Dark continued his conversation with Naruto.

"Now Naruto, since you have passed both of our tests, this means you will be privileged to sign the Grimm contract, but don't think your journey will end here. There are secrets hidden within this contract I expect you to discover. Now before I go there is something I believe you should know."

Naruto was excited at the gods words, especially the talk of their being hidden secrets to the contract, but his last statement brought a moment of worry to the blond.

"When you passed my test a piece of my power bonded to you. This bonded power has manifested as a sort of… power up you could say. When you use this power it will enable you to take on attributes of the Creatures of Grimm; such as their negative emotion sensing and the ability to create bone armor. There is however a downside to this ability; if you fall into your negative emotions, the power will attempt to drive you feral attacking both friend and foe. So be warry." After his last warning Dark's form began to fade from the mindscape, before completely vanishing the god had one more thing to say.

"One more thing, you should make sure to look through your mindscape. I sense that something has been here with you since that large fox was sealed here. Now goodbye young one and good luck on your path forward." With that cryptic news and goodbye, Dark finally faded while giving a wave to the boy and fox.

Sighing in relief and excitement at passing the last trial, Naruto wondered how he was going to leave this place when a thought occurred to him. Turning around to face the new Tori gate that represented his seal, Naruto gave a small tentative smile to the distracted fox that seemed to be staring at something in the distance.

"Hey Kyūbi, I had a question. I was wondering… do you have a name?" The moment the question registered to the Biju, the fox focused his complete attention on the boy, surprise lighting in his eyes.

"Why do you want to know kit?" Surprise filled the blond at the lack of aggression that filled the fox's voice at the question. Hurrying to reply before the fox thought he was ignoring him, Naruto explained.

"Well it's just that, Kyūbi is just a description of the number of tails you have, and its obvious you are intelligent. So I thought it would be likely that you would have a name you were given by your parents or something." Towards the end of his explanation, Naruto's voice began to get softer as his thoughts ran through his mind, "I know how it feels when no one will acknowledge you as who you are rather than what they see you as. So I thought that you might like hearing your name from a friendly face rather than an arbitrary title given by those who only use it in fear." Silence filled the clearing for a few minutes and Naruto lowered his head thinking that the fox probably didn't want to talk anymore. Turning around to exit the clearing, Naruto was suddenly stopped when a voice spoke softly behind him.

"My name… My name is Kurama kit, thank you, we'll speak again another day." Jumping around and with a large smile on his face, Naruto almost couldn't contain the joy at meeting someone he might be able to call a friend.

"It's nice to meet you Kurama, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, lets work hard together to get stronger Dattebyo!"

Kurama huffed in amusement before waving off Naruto and lying down in his now grass filled cage to take a nap, sighing in contentment as a soft breeze blew through his fur. Naruto chuckling to himself went to walk again, his vision darkening as he left the clearing.