Hello everyone before we get started, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to oliviar0se9 for drawing a fantastic piece show casing Naruto and Tsunade at Ichiraku enjoying so ramen. You can see it for yourself on my profile's image If you wish to have your own commission done you can reach out to her on Instagram at oliviar0se9. Once again thank you so much to oliviar0se9 for your wonderful art. Now on with the story!
It had been a few days since the message from Tsunade arrived before Naruto and Jiraiya, meaning the pair had been on the road now for a week. Jiraiya had ignored the letter as was predicted. "Why did you ignore the letter you damn pervert?" Jiraiya looked down at his traveling companion, who was becoming an annoyance. "Because she wrote me that letter to throw me off her trail. She obviously found out somehow that I am on a mission to locate her and she doesn't want to be found" he explained with confidence.
"OR MAYBE SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS MISSION AND IS TRYING TO RECALL US SINCE SHE IS THE GODAIME!" shouted the irritated blonde as his chains once again made an appearance. Jiraiya turned his head back to the road but his attention was firmly on the chains until the blonde would have them receded. He no longer feared the chains, at least externally. On the inside he was praying that the blonde would not hurl them at him again.
Jiraiya replied, "I told you before kid, if she was in Konoha my spy network would know about it." His response seemed to only irritate the blonde even more. Quickly remembering his experience with Kushina, as long as he changed the subject fast enough, she would calm down and not hurt him. He wasn't going to tell Naruto about his parents yet, he wasn't sure the boy would take it well given how he grew up.
He then thought of something, "By the way how did you know the message was from Tsunade before it was even handed over?" Here Naruto looked rather happy as the chains receded once again, "Because she is the Slug Sannin" Jiraiya could slap himself for such an easy answer, "and she allowed me to sign the Slug Contract" finished the blonde, hoping that would get the Gama Sannin to believe him so they could return to Konoha. "Not possible kid, the last person she allowed to sign the Slug Contract was Shizune her apprentice."
"Hey! I'm her apprentice too!" shot back the blonde. "Yeah," Jiraiya said with a wave, "just because you are good at iryo ninjutsu doesn't make you her apprentice" waved off the white-haired man. "I am too her second apprentice!" Naruto was attempted to forego what Shizune taught him about keeping summoning affiliations a secret, despite him already saying that he signed the slug contract, just to prove this pervert wrong but he started to take deep breaths with long exhales to stop himself.
Just as he was calming down Jiraiya asked him, "So how did you know that they liked apples?" This time Naruto kept his eyes on the road, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Oh? Try me." Naruto shrugged. "Tsunade-chan told me" he said nonchalantly. "You're right I don't believe you" replied the Gama Sannin. At that Naruto pulled out the green scroll Tsunade sent him with all his training materials. Opening it up, he held it up so Jiraiya could read it but channeled chakra through his hands, to solidify his grip, and into the scroll to prevent it from tearing if Jiraiya tried to snatch it from him.
Seeing the boy holding out a scroll, Jiraiya put his hand out. "Let me see the scroll" he ordered. "No! replied the blonde adamantly. "There are Clan secrets in here so you can see with your eyes and read the message I'm showing you." Irritated Jiraiya reaches out to take the scroll at a speed Naruto was not prepared for only for him to find he couldn't take it. The scroll itself was stiffer than any metal he had ever come across while the boy seemed to be rooted to the ground like a tree.
"Let … me … see … it" Jiraiya grunted out as he pulled only shifting the young blonde at the shoulders. "NO! See with your eyes not your hand!" retorted the blonde. Not getting anywhere with attempting to take the scroll from him, Jiraiya viewed the message the blonde was showing him. 'The boy is either really strong or telling the truth' thought the Gama Sannin.
When he leaned back up, Naruto rolled the scroll backup and put it back in his large utility pouch. When he looked back up at Jiraiya, he noticed the taller man appeared irate. "So you were in contact with Tsunade and didn't tell anyone!" Naruto shrugged, "She didn't want it know she was in Konoha" he replied with indifference. Now Jiraiya was the one losing his patience. "So what?! You should have told someone! If you did, we could have talked to her before she left and we wouldn't be out here tracking her down!"
Now Naruto's irritation came back. "She is back in Konoha! If you would listen to the message she sent you, we could go back and not be out here!"
"I keep telling you! She isn't there! If she were my spy network would tell me! Since it hasn't, it means she isn't there and we need to keep looking!"
"Agh!" whined the agitated blonde.
Back in Konoha, Kakashi was in Tsuande's office. He was surprised to see two more Tsunade working on the paperwork he had often seen the Sandaime complaining about. "Can I help you Kakashi?" asked the blonde Hokage. "Umm sorry to disturb you Hokage-sama" said a sheepish Jonin. "I was wondering if you knew where Naruto was. I know it has been a few days after your inauguration but I can't seem to find him and was wondering if you may know where he is."
Tsunade let out a long sigh as she leaned back in her chair. "Yes, I know where he is" she said, annoyance rolling off her in waves. "That's good. I hope he isn't in any kind of trouble" replied the silver haired Jonin. Letting out another sigh, "He isn't in trouble. My former teammate Jiraiya has taken him on a mission to locate me and have me become the Godaime Hokage."
Kakashi looked at his leader with a disbelieving look in his eye. "Surely you are joking Tsunade-sama." Tsunade shook her head. "Sadly, I am not." At that she pulled out the mission form the council had filed to make the mission official. Kakashi looked down at the document in disbelief, mostly that Jiraiya didn't already know Tsunade was the Godaime.
Kakashi looked at his Hokage once again. "But …" Tsunade cut him off, "Yes Jiraiya doesn't seem to believe I am in Konoha." Letting out another sigh Tsunade spoke off handedly, "It's really cutting into his training time." Kakashi believed she was talking about his training of Naruto. Granted most of it was centered around his taijutsu with some chakra control but the route of a medic was surprising choice the silver haired Jonin didn't see coming.
"I mean I still wasn't sure what to train him in other than refining his basics. He didn't really show an interest in any other field beyond ninjutsu but he needed something to supplement such a field. Especially if he wanted to progress in rank" said the Copy Nin. "Still, becoming a medic was quite the shock."
Tsunade smiled fondly, remembering her time she spent not only with the younger blonde but his eagerness to learn when she and Shizune got past his academic insecurities. She spoke with the fondness she was feeling, "Oh once we got past his remedial lessons he took to it rather well. Honestly, it's probably the large amount of things to learn that keeps him interested" theorized Tsunade.
Kakashi just stared wide eyed at his Hokage. "Pardon me Tsunade-sama, but how would you know that about Naruto? I mean no offense, but Naruto wasn't exactly the most studious of individuals." Once again Tsunade looked off fondly into the distance as she spoke. "Well it was interesting to see his rapt attention as I talked once Shizune and I got him to open up. He wouldn't stop with the questions. He can be quite astute you know." She next spoke as she leaned on the desk again. "I mean he reads the text Shizune or I give with fervor. Sometimes he makes a Kage Bunshin just to help him take notes or talk things over. Shizune certainly found teach a class of them rather entertaining as they seem to ask out of the box questions or ask things that many medics don't ask or write off."
Kakashi and the Anbu in the room looked at their Hokage in shock. From what they either knew or had experienced with Naruto, he wasn't studious in the slightest. In fact Naruto seemed to be the furthest thing from a studious individual. Kakashi thought back to the times he saw Naruto struggle with the concept of chakra before traveling to Nami no Kuni. Now here was their Hokage speaking rather highly of him in such a manner. With a cough Kakashi asked, "Umm pardon me Tsunade-sama but it kind of sounds like you trained him."
With that Tsunade turned her attention back to the masked Jonin. "I did train him." The answer greatly surprised the masked Jonin. That was not something he had ever anticipated happening between the two blondes. "Well I see" said the surprised Jonin. What could he say to that? How does one take that their Genin had been taken under the wing of a Sannin, especially one that has a skill set that you don't expect them to take to? "If you will excuse me Tsunade-sama, I need to inform the rest of my team about Naruto's absence."
Tsunade nodded. "Very well. Oh and when Naruto returns I will give you a schedule that will detail Naruto's time studying under you and myself. Just because he is my second apprentice does not mean I will remove him from Team 7." Kakashi nodded at what he was told by his Hokage and left the office.
Kakashi had made his way to the spot that many of the older shinobi hung out. It was a well-kept bar that had a modern design to it called the Forests Peak. In back of the building but close to the bar is a rather large booth where Kakashi found most of his friends, the other Jonin sensei, meeting up and trying to relax from the recent conflict. In a bit of a daze, Kakashi joined them at their table.
The Jonin took in Kakashi's dazed expression and got rather curious. The one to voice it was Guy but not in his usual boisterous manner. "Greetings Kakashi! What's got you so shocked?" Kakashi said nothing until he took a pull from a sake dish. Once he set it down, "I just found out that Naruto is apprenticed to Tsunade-sama."
That got everyone's attention. "What?!" exclaimed Kurenai, shocked as much as everyone else at the declaration. It was then another joined the table. Yugao was wearing her Anbu body suit with her sword on her hip, though she placed it at the side of the table as she took her seat. She took in everyone's shocked expressions and asked, "What has all of you looking so shocked?"
Asuma spoke up. "One of your boyfriends Genin, Naruto, is apparently an apprentice to Tsunade-sama." Now Yugao looked as shocked as the rest. "When did this happen?" asked Yugao. Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know but apparently it's been going on for a while." It was then that the other Jonin sensei gained an understanding look. "Well that certainly explains the interest in iryo ninjutsu" commented Kurenai. "And what he nearly did to Neji" continued Guy. Though if he had to be honest, he was glad for the experience. It opened Neji up to learn that fate doesn't control a person's outcome in life.
Kakashi looked around the table looking sheepish. "Yeah I've been meaning to ask … what happened in Naruto's matches." This gained him an annoyed look from Kurenai and Asuma but a curious one from Guy who figured he would have heard about it by now. "Well if you weren't late you would know" spoke Kurenai. "Yeah sorry about that. But I ran into Yugao and wanted to make sure she was doing okay" spoke Kakashi as he took the purplette's hand under the table.
"Oh" replied Kurenai embarrassed at her recent words. "It's fine Kurenai" spoke Yugao, "But I'm curious to know how his matches went too as well as the other matches from the exam." At that Asuma looked downright embarrassed. Not keen on reliving his failure to train Shikamaru like a proper sensei for the exams while Kurenai was both pleased and upset that Shino didn't get to fight in official match but still defeated his opponent when all hell broke loose. As he held Yugao's hand, Kakashi remembered the oath he made the morning after the funeral, though he was still listening to the tale his colleagues were telling him.
Yugao had spent the night at Kakashi's after the funeral, holding him close as they slept. The morning after, Kakashi had awoken first. He gained a serious look in his eye as he looked towards the sleeping Yugao. His absence had led to the death of another colleague and one that hurt someone close to him. While his duties had taken him elsewhere, there were still those he could have protect in the invasion. Standing from his bed, he did so softly to not wake Yugao, he made his way to his chest of drawers. Hidden in one of the unused drawers he pulled out a box of a deep mahogany with elaborated wood burned patterns in it.
He unlocked the box, opening it to reveal the chakra saber he hadn't wielded since he was a child. He drew the weapon and made an oath. "I swear I will protect my comrades just as you did father." With that said he placed the saber with his equipment and returned to bed alongside Yugao. In the morning, she had seen the new addition to his equipment and held him close. She knew the negative memories the weapon once held for Kakashi so she was determined to stand by him as she had done in Anbu and he was doing for her now.
Kakashi had used his free hand to feel the chakra saber that sat horizontally at the small of his back above his utility pouch. Yugao noticed this and gave his hand a squeeze letting him know he didn't need to let the past rule him any longer. He returned the gesture showing he would be there for her no matter what.
It had been two days since Tsunade sent her first message to Jiraiya and so far, he had yet to acknowledge the messages. She had learned, when sending messages to Naruto about what was going on. That Jiraiya was ignoring the messages she was sending under the guise of "trying to throw him off the trail." When she had read that she felt an oncoming headache from the absolutely idiotic reasoning. The toads were unable to convince him either showing off that stubbornness that both kept him, her and Orochimaru alive as well as making it difficult to work with him at times.
Seeing as no progress was being made from sending him recall notices or Naruto telling the pervert she was already Hokage, Tsunade needed to implement other means. She may have to meet up with Jiraiya and drag him back to Konoha since he clearly wasn't listening to his Hokage.
Once again, the Elders were meeting with Tsunade in her office, her desk noticeable void of the paperwork that normally plagued her predecessor. "Hello Tsunade-dono" greeted Homura and Koharu. "Good afternoon, Tsunade-dono" greeted Danzo. The woman's strong attitude in dealing with foreign diplomats and refusal to back down in the face of their vague threats had done a lot in gaining the older man's support. "May I enquire to the reason you have called us here?" asked the Warhawk.
"Yes. As you are aware Jiraiya is out on a currently pointless mission with Naruto Uzumaki to locate myself to become the Godaime Hokage." She received nods of acknowledgement. "I have been sending messages to Jiraiya through my summons, using Naruto as a becon for them to locate the duo, to reach out him to recall him back to the village. Since the first message he has ignored my words and continued with his journey."
This was more of a sour point for the Warhawk than the other two. Once it was learned that Naruto was an up-and-coming iryo nin, he was happy to hear the boy develop a skill set that would make him into a one-man field hospital. While he would prefer something more combat oriented, anything was better than a shinobi only versed in the major fields of the shinobi arts. Every other jinchuriki in the other nations, aside from the Gaara boy, have demonstrated skills beyond the basic three areas of being a shinobi.
Having the boy as an iryo nin would boost the recovery of their shinobi during war effort. There was a clear example of this during the recovery of Konoha after the invasion of Suna and Oto. Now with the boy's absence, the efficiency of many of the field hospitals that boy had stationed his bunshins had fallen to a degree the Warhawk found unacceptable. They needed him back to lighten the load of many of their recovery facilities. It was already a good thing the boy was learning under Tsunade, now they need to bring him back to make him into ten walking field hospitals.
Tsunade continued her discussion with the Elders. "I have learned from my second apprentice, Naruto who I have had reporting to me since the second message was sent, that the reason Jiraiya is ignoring my messages is because he claims I am trying to throw him off my trail. Since his failure to heed my second message, I have been having Naruto send me updates as to their location and direction as well as if he knows what Jiraiya is doing while searching for leads. So far, he only reports the smell of booze on him as well as him eyeing women that catch his attention. Granted this does not mean that he is not meeting with any contact he may have but again this mission is pointless."
At this the Elders show their displeasure on their faces. Jiraiya had immense skill in being a spy master for Konoha. When he reported his findings, Konoha enjoyed the fruits of his labors as they were able to prepare for incoming threats or lead great counter attacks during prolonged battles. However, that was only if he reported in. Jiraiya had a bad tendency to get sidetracked or do things his way as he believed he knew what the best course of action was no matter the evidence to the contrary.
"That being said" continued the Godaime, "considering how he acts, I may have to meet him in person in order to get him to call of this search." They didn't like it but the Elders would have to agree. If the man was not going to heed the words of his Hokage as he believes she is not his Hokage as news as yet to confirm it for him it would not be wise to have him listed as a missing nin simply for being ill-informed, even if he chose to ignore the information. Though a good shinobi always verified any information so as to not be led astray.
"How do you plan to go about meeting with him?" asked Danzo, curious as to the operation his Hokage had planned to bring back the two shinobi. Given the boy's closeness to the Hokage, the one to worry about is Jiraiya.
Tsunade kept her hands laced before her face as she continued to lay out the mission details surrounding her setting out to tell Jiraiya that there was no need for him to continue his search. She also thought of the punishment she would give the Gama Sannin when they caught up with him for ignoring her letters and orders. "When we are prepared to leave, I will have Naruto give me their approximate location. With that I will move towards a city that Jiraiya would not find odd for heading there. This way we will not be wasting time when it comes to searching for where they will be headed to, instead using his search from me to lure him to us" clarified the Godaime. "I will even have Naruto send me messages to confirm that he and Jiraiya are headed toward my location to ensure things would be going as planned."
Hearing this detail, Koharu found that the idea of getting information from Naruto to determine their route was smart. It would save time to catch the Gama Sannin's attention and ensure a swift resolution to what became an unnecessary retrieval mission. "Who will accompany you for this?" asked the older woman. Tsunade's posture or demeanor did not change as she answered. "Shizune and Tonton will accompany me in the open, keeping to the appearance that we are traveling around Hi no Kuni. In the shadows will be the current contingent of my Anbu guard."
Danzo agreed to this. Utilizing the tactic of baiting your foe by showing them what they want to see is a great tactic, especially with a response team in the shadows nearby. He was also glad to see that she did not forego her Anbu guard like her predecessor nearly did during the Chunin Exams. Afterall leaving one's Kage unguarded, no matter how strong they are, is a poor lapse in judgement no shinobi could ever live down.
The last thing that needed that needed to be settled was how Tsunade would keep up with her duties as Hokage while she was indisposed. The one to ask about this was Koharu. "How long do you fore see being away and what of your duties while you are away?" Tsunade had a solution to this detail as well. Afterall, she grew up living with two Hokage, was tutored by another and knew one of the best who was unparalleled at handling his duties despite fretting over his pregnant wife. Since she could not simply teleport between her location and her office and back to where she came from, Tsunade had thought of another solution that used the idea of teleporting to and from her office.
"The timetable for this mission is set so that this retrieval will take at most two weeks with more time allocated based on Jiraiya's speed of travel to my location when he determines my location. From what Naruto has sent back, we know that currently they are walking to each town Jiraiya has been leading them towards" spoke the Godaime. "If this pace is maintained more time will be necessary until we can make our way back at much more appropriate pace" she finished.
Koharu did have a plausible question. "Hokage-dono, can you not simply summon them back?" Tsunade turned her gaze towards the older woman. "While it is true Naruto can be reversed summoned by the Slugs, Jiraiya cannot as he is not a signer of the Slug contract" she spoke. At that the Elders nodded in understanding.
Tsunade then continued her explanation to placate the worries of the Elders. "As for my duties, I shall let the various systems we have do their job while I have one of my summons retrieve that which is left on my desk and bring it to me so that a backlog is not made. When I am done with the documents, I can have them sent back in the same manner so they can be processed. While traveling I can leave any documents with my summons so that they are accessible to very few people while also being secure so there is no chance of losing them. In the event there is a breach we will know where to start an investigation."
Once again, Elders can agree to this solution. Danzo himself being very impressed by the woman's forethought and planning. Under his second term as Hokage, Hiruzen struggled to manage the bureaucracy of the position. Whether it was his age or some other factor the Warhawk didn't know. But due to his failings, his rival was behind in his paperwork and the management of the village that it was a miracle the village held itself together.
The next to speak was Elder Homura, "So when will you be leaving Hokage-dono?"
"I shall send a message to Naruto to tell us of his location so we can determine the town we are to head towards so we can draw Jiraiya to us. To that end we shall leave in two days at the latest once we know where we are headed" replied Tsunade. Once again Elders nodded at Tsunade's words. They agreed to her operation as not only was their spy master wasting his time but also the time of one of their up-and-coming medics. Now that the three were aware of what was going to happen, the meeting was dismissed.
As soon as the Elders left her office, Tsunade summoned Kazue once more to carry a message to Naruto for what she needed him to do for her so she could bring him and the pervert back to Konoha.
She would receive a message from Naruto before the day is done saying that he and Jiraiya were located almost a week's travel from Tanzaku Gai. Tsunade should have known they would be near that town. Jiraiya was attempting to use her habit of incessant gambling to track her down. A strategy that would work if she hadn't been weening herself of her vices to a more manageable level.
With her destination set, Tsunade ordered Shizune and her Anbu to prepare as they leave the next day.
Hidden within an underground facility located in Hi no Kuni, the Hebi Sannin Orochimaru was writhing in pain. Sweat rolled down his features as his arms felt as if lave replaced his blood and fire ants bit at his skin. He was now dressed in a simple black kimono while his arms were bandaged to hide the hideous gray they have become.
He was sitting up in a rather comfortable king size bed with a cushioned head rest that had the head of a snake looking towards the door. At his bedside is his assistant Kabuto, who was carrying a silver medicine tray that mostly carried pain killers.
Kabuto is a fair skin man with onyx eyes and ash-grey hair that he has in a low ponytail while his bangs were parted down the center. He wore large, black, circular glasses. Normally he wears a sleeveless dark purple shirt with a high collar and matching purple pants that stop mid-way down his shins. Under his purple shirt is a short sleeved, white shirt. Around his waist was a thick white sash. He also wore blue shinobi sandals. Whenever he was out on missions for his master, he would have a shuriken holster on his right leg while having a utility pouch on the left side of his hip and he would wear forearm length purple gloves that have a thick metal plate on the back of the hand while an Oto hitai-ate would be tied around his forehead.
"I'm sorry Orochimaru-sama" apologized the glasses wearing subordinate who was dressed in a full body medical gown. "But it seems that whatever the former Sandaime Hokage had done to you is beyond my expertise to cure." Orochimaru growled, though whether from agony or the poor news was undeterminable.
"If only that fool Mizuki had done his job and brought me the Sacred Scroll of Sealing. I would have had the notes of the Nidaime and made my Edo Tensei stronger. Instead, I was forced to retread the steps of another because he lost to a boy that had no proper training to do anything" growled the Hebi Sannin.
Kabuto wasn't as sure of that. From his infiltration of the records of Konoha all he could determine was that the Chunin had lost but not how. For all they knew the boy could have tapped into the power of his tenant and overwhelmed the former Chunin.
Having the most leniency as one of Orochimaru's subordinates, Kabuto spoke his mind. "I'm not so sure Orochimaru-sama. We have no idea what happened and the Chunin that brought in Naruto and the scroll refused to comment to anyone about the incident."
While the bespectacled subordinate spoke with no ill-will towards his master, Orochimaru felt as if he was being talked down to by someone who was clearly beneath him. If he were not so weak he would demonstrate to his subordinate why his will and desires are not seconded guessed nor why no subordinate should speak out of turn, no matter their status.
"Never mind that" spat the in pain Hebi Sannin. "If I am going to have my arms healed, I will need Tsunade. She is probably the only person who can heal my arms now." Kabuto felt a stab to his pride as a medic as he was compared to the legendary medic. Whatever was afflicting his master was not physical in nature, that much he could tell as all the functions of the arm were fully intact. However it was if there was a connection missing that science could not explain.
Kabuto was broken from his recollections on his notes toward the ailment that affected his master when Orochimaru spoke again. "Locate Tsunade and summon Guren. She will accompany us in the event Tsunade becomes … noncompliant" Orochimaru ordered his second in command.
Kabuto set down the tray of pain killers on Orochimaru's plain nightstand. He gave a curt bow and spoke "Right away, Orochimaru-sama." With that Kabuto left his master, who writhed in pain until he could be relieved of it by his former teammate.
It was the end to another day and Naruto found himself in a weird place. He was sure he fell asleep in the sleeping bag he packed for this journey and that it was you know, night. Around him was an open field made up of ankle high, soft, green grass with the sun overhead appearing to be in the position of mid-morning. All around him were several rivers that ran from a place off in the distance to all throughout the field. The water was either blue or orange with the orange rivers being larger than the blue rivers.
Off in the distance, the same place where many of the rivers seemed to lead was an incredibly large forest. The trees were so large that they would overshadow the Hokage Monument. Seeing as there was nothing around him other than the gorgeous scenery, Naruto made his way toward the large forest.
After what felt like hours, Naruto finally arrived at the edge of the forest. He was surprised to see that the trees that divided the plains from the forest took on the formation of a wavy fence, with the trees interwoven with the ground as if to withstand great gales, floods or great impacts. Directly in front of him were two trees that reminded him of what he usually sees around Konoha but were just as tall as the ones behind them. The branches of these trees seemed interwoven together as if to hold onto one another. Halfway up the trees was a piece of the interwoven branches that had a paper tag over it with the kanji of "Seal" on it.
Due to the light from the sun above he could see moderately well beyond the trees but the canopy prevented it from being illuminated as it was where he stood. Suddenly a gigantic orange blur slammed into the tree like gate, rocking wherever he was as the air pressure sent Naruto flying backwards and tumbling on the grass. Naruto landed in a seated position facing the gate. His eyes widened in surprise. Before him, behind the gate, was the Kyuubi. The great beast towered over him to the point where one claw was bigger than him. The great beast seemed to be much larger than Shukaku, maybe double the tanuki's size, though he was still not bigger than Katsuyu.
The Kyuubi has blazing orange fur with ears more like those of a rabbit than a fox. It had black fur that surrounded its blood red, slitted eyes that traveled up into its ears as well as around its muzzle giving the appearance of having lips. It has a sapien like upper body with front paws that have five finger like digits including thumbs with each digit having massive razor-sharp claws.
As Naruto calmed his racing heart, he noticed the Kyuubi seemed to be smiling down at him, showing off its massive teeth, as if entertained by his stunned visage. Naruto immediately shot to his feet, pointed at the orange fox and shouted "OY! WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR YOU CRAZY KITSUNE!" The Kyuubi continued to smile down at the blonde as it responded nonchalantly but with a booming voice, "Oh nothing really. I just wanted to see your startled face" the great beast replied while laughing at the blonde.
Naruto's anger grew considerably. "OY! THAT'S NOT FUNNY YOU ASS!" The Kyuubi's demeanor didn't change as it responded, "For a prankster you seem to not be able to take a joke." Naruto's anger grew even more. What he didn't notice while his anger grew was that some orange fluid began to make its way down the blue rivers.
After some time, Naruto managed to calm down. Looking at the Kyuubi in the eyes with a semi-angry look in his own eyes as he asked, "So is this the seal?"
"Yes" replied the Kyuubi. "But this place we are in …" it said gesturing to the world around them with its tails "is your mental representation of the seal. Though it is better than the sewer it once was" explained the great beast. Naruto looked confused. "This used to be a sewer?" he asked as his head tilted to the side.
"Yes. When I was sealed in here by your Yondaime it was blank as this place is a representation of how you feel about your life subconsciously. If you feel great it looks great and if you feel bad this place looks horrible. Over time this place became a sewer due to how you felt about yourself and the life you were living. However as soon as you began hanging out with those women, things in here began to change to what you see now" explained the Kitsune.
Naruto was happy to know about this place around him and that it became better than a sewer. But then something struck him, "How do you know about Tsu-chan, or Shizune-sensei? Can you see through me to the outside?" Naruto asked in a panic.
Once again, the Kyuubi enjoyed the panic of his blonde jailer. "No" it said casually, Naruto let out a sigh of relief. "But I can see your memories" it continued. Once again Naruto panicked. "WHAT?!"
"When you sleep your mental barriers fall, allowing me to see everything that passes through your mind. While the seal prevents me from influencing you it does not stop me from viewing everything I want to see. I can also do this while you are awake if you become tunnel visioned on a task and leave no room in your subconscious to block me out" it replied with a sharp grin.
Naruto felt a shiver crawl up his spine as he said what he felt about that, "That's just wrong."
"It is thanks to my power that I can do that" explained the Kyuubi as it looked as if it were reminiscing. "Though if your Tou-san would have split my chakra like he intended, I would be unable to do this and you would be unable to do what you call iryo ninjutsu." That explanation left Naruto stunned.
Not noticing Naruto's explanation, the Kyuubi continued. "Luckily, he didn't split my chakra as he intended due to my previous jailor reminding him that without my other half your body would be forced to endure the large influx of which ever half was sealed into you, denying you the ability to mold both my chakra and yours properly as you would forever be out of balance. Another issue would be that if you received my physical half, you would lose a portion of your spiritual energy as I would need to syphon some to keep myself alive as I am an entity of chakra. As I said, he seemed to forget chakra is both spiritual and physical energies and if he split me, you could never be a medic. Again, thank your Kaa-san as she reminded him the Hakke no Fuin Shiki he used could contain me as it had done before."
Naruto was left silent, unable to respond to what he was just told. "So then how did he die?" asked Naruto. The Kyuubi seemed to hesitate in its response. "The same way as your Kaa-san, intercepting a claw meant to slay you" he told the boy. Naruto was left silent.
After a while the Kyuubi spoke, "Hey now, I don't need my source of entertainment freezing up like this." This immediately got Naruto's attention. "What are you talking about?" Kyuubi shrugged its tails. "While you sleep, I can see your memories and some of them are quite entertaining. Such as your fight with the red head that held my otouto."
"Hey! Don't look at stuff like that!" shouted Naruto. "Be thankful I did gaki. For if I didn't you would not have received my help" replied the Kyuubi. Naruto looked indignant at that. "Hey! I don't need your help! In case you weren't paying attention I was winning that fight!"
"And if not for me you wouldn't have crushed Shukaku by summoning that massive Slug that crushed my uppity otouto!" shouted the Kyuubi. "What?" asked a confused Naruto. "You heard me. When you were about to summon your companion, I sent some of my own chakra into your system allowing you to summon her at her true size."
Naruto stood in silence once again before bowing at the waist. "Thank you" he told the Kyuubi. This was one of those lessons of etiquette from Tsunade and Shizune. If someone helps you, even if you didn't need it, you should still thank them for their assistance. The Kyuubi for his part was stunned. Not once since being sealed away was he ever treated with any form of courtesy.
"Tsk. Think nothing of it gaki" spoke the Kitsune as it waved off Naruto's gratitude. "I just did it so my jailor would not lose to my weak otouto" explained the Kyuubi. Though he would admit that the memory of watching Shukaku getting crushed by giant Slug still caused him to cry from laughter from time to time. He just wishes he could see the look on Shukaku's face right before he was going to be crushed.
"Well I was taught that you should at least be decent with everyone you meet until they give you a reason not to be" spoke Naruto. "And even though you pulled a really mean move when you startled me and killed my parents you at least helped me out. So even though you are an ass, you still should get thanks for helping me."
The Kyuubi was left silent, unsure of what to say next. It didn't feel comfortable yet about telling the blonde all the circumstances that led up to the loss of his parents and the deaths of so many but he would at least follow the path of understanding his own Tou-san preached about. After all the sins of the father are not the sins of the son.
"So now what?" asked Naruto. The Kyuubi said nothing as it was also unsure of what to do now. "Why don't you go rest in the field behind you. Afterall when you are here your mind is awake. It would do well for my entertainer to be fully coherent so I can enjoy every new moment I wish to see" spoke the Kyuubi.
While the idea of being seen as an entertainer irked the blonde to no end, if what the Kyuubi was saying was true he should get some rest. Before he left however, Naruto asked a question. "So how do I get back here?" The Kyuubi looked at the boy for only a moment. "Why?"
"Well, this place is nice. I feel really relaxed here" explained the blonde fondly. "Keep your mind clear as if you were meditating. Keep all distractions to a minimum and truly feel at peace. Then you will find yourself here again. The more you do it, the easier it will be to reach this place" explained the Kitsune.
Naruto nodded appreciatively as he thanked the great beast before he walked back into the sea of grass. The Kyuubi for its part was judging the boy as he left. 'Show me what kind of person you are Naruto Uzumaki' thought the Kyuubi before it went back to replaying the memories that Naruto had when learning the rasengan, taking great pleasure at how the boy left the Gama Sannin speechless and stunned.