Naruto crossed his arms as he looked away from Jiraiya, who was pleading with his hands held together as if praying.
"C'mon, kid, just trust me with this!"
Naruto shook his head.
"Not happenin', Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya looked up.
"Oh, why not?! It'll be fast, I promise!"
Naruto shook his head again.
"I don't even wanna look at the thing!"
Jiraiya sighed as he tried to think of a solution to Naruto's stubbornness. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done as the teen got his persistent personality from both of his parents.
"Alright, look, kid. The people I talked about, the Akatsuki. You already know what I told you about them. You can't just neglect the power that could come from the Nine-Tails' chakra. I mean, you've used it before, right?"
Naruto shook his head.
"Yeah, I did! And every single time, my friends got hurt! That stupid fox hasn't done anythin' but cause me trouble!"
Jiraiya sighed again. He looked down at his hand and stared for a few seconds. A hint of blue flashed across his eyes and he got an idea.
"Well, then, I guess you don't wanna learn this super awesome jutsu I was going to teach you."
Naruto shook his head once more.
"I already told you, I'm not doin' it! You can't convince me otherwise!"
Jiraiya grumbled slightly before he stood up fully with his arm to his side and his palm facing upwards. Naruto looked over at the man in curiosity once he heard the sound of wind whirling accompanied by a small hum. His eyes widened when he saw a ball of dense, rapidly spinning, blue chakra appear in Jiraiya's hand. The man ran towards a large tree at the edge of the clearing before slamming the orb into the side of it.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto watched in shock and awe as the orb drilled a gigantic crater into the tree. Jiraiya stepped back to admire his work. He smirked as he could already feel the excitement coming from Naruto. The moment he turned around to face the teen, Naruto was up in his face with stars in his eyes.
"That's so cool! Pervy Sage, you've gotta teach me that, please!"
Jiraiya smirked and Naruto's excitement died down a bit.
"I will. But you've got something you need to do first."
Naruto gulped as Jiraiya smiled at him menacingly.
X
Naruto squinted his eyes as he had been keeping them closed for some time now with no results. Jiraiya had told him meditating would help him get to a place called the "mindscape", whatever that was, to talk with the Tailed Beast sealed within him. But, if it meant he could learn the technique Jiraiya used, maybe it was worth it. After all, it was a jutsu that his father made, so it had to be good.
Naruto huffed as he felt no change whatsoever.
"Pervy Sage, this is takin' too long! How am I supposed to learn that jutsu if this meditation stuff ain't helpin'?!"
Naruto grew confused as he didn't hear his teacher.
"Uh, Pervy Sage?"
Naruto became worried as, not only did he not hear his teacher, he also noticed he couldn't hear anything else but his own voice and the echo it made.
"Pervy Sage!"
Naruto noticed his eyes weren't opening either and he began to panic. He moved his head around as he tried desperately to see. His worries were snuffed when he realized his eyes had been open for the entire time, it was just dark. Really dark. In fact, the only light was the glow of the pipes over his head.
"Alright, come on out, Pervy Sage! I know this is just some stupid prank!"
Naruto called out into the darkness only to receive no answer. His worry returned as he was beginning to doubt his own assumption of being on the receiving end of a joke. Without much other incentive, he began walking in a random direction to try and find a way out of what he managed to make out to be some kind of sewer with water that went up to his ankles.
X
After walking for what felt like hours, Naruto noticed the lights in the sewer becoming brighter. He was able to make out an opening at the end of the sewer tunnel. He smiled as he rushed forward, finally finding what he assumed to be a way out.
Naruto stopped at the entrance of a gigantic room that was rather well lit. He gazed at the massive bars at the other end of the room meant to hold what could only be a Kaiju of some kind. He looked around and spotted a large piece of paper on what appeared to be the gate. Walking closer, he made out the word "seal" written on the paper, which confused him.
"Child... come closer..."
Naruto's eyes widened as he heard a voice come from behind the bars.
"Who's there?!"
A chuckle was his only response. Not knowing what else to do, Naruto slowly stepped closer to the bars.
"Yes, that's it. Do not worry, I won't hurt you. I only want..."
Naruto jumped back with fear evident in his eyes as a giant clawed hand covered in orange fur reached out to grab him.
"To rip off your flesh and tear you limb from limb!"
Naruto fell backwards as his eyes widened as far as they could go. He stared up into the shadows behind the massive gate and at the red, slitted eyes that gazed at him murderously. The shadows slowly shifted and the pair of red eyes rose higher up. Soon, the shadows began vanishing to reveal a giant mass of orange fur. Naruto felt nothing but fear as he looked at the gigantic fox with large ears and nine swishing tails at its rear, its teeth bared in rage and murderous glee.
"Y-You... You're..."
"Oh? What am I, puny human?"
Naruto pointed up at the giant creature fearfully.
"You're way too big to fit in my stomach! Just how damn big are these seals?!"
The giant fox stared at Naruto and sweat dropped. After a second more of staring, the fox roared in fury, sending Naruto flying back from the shockwaves.
"You little brat! Let me out so I can tear you apart!"
Naruto rolled to a stop and groaned as he flopped onto his back. He shook his head to clear up the fog in his mind before sitting up.
"Hey, what the hell was that for, you stupid fox?!"
The fox roared again, making Naruto cover his ears in pain.
"You dare call me stupid, you filthy human?! I'll-"
"-Yeah, yeah, just shut up already! I don't wanna be here any more than you do!"
The fox stared at Naruto angrily as it was cut off. Even so, it stayed quiet as it waited for whatever the teen would say.
"I'm just here 'cause my stupid teacher thinks I need your power."
The fox narrowed its eyes at Naruto as it stayed silent.
"Well? Can I have some or what?"
The fox continued staring and Naruto crossed his arms, tapping his foot on the ground.
"It's rude to stare, you know!"
The fox growled.
"Shut up, brat! I need to focus so I can review these memories!"
Naruto raised his eyebrows.
"Memories?"
Naruto was further confused as he noticed the fox's gaze hadn't actually been on him, that's just how big its eyes were. It felt like he was being stared down while it was just looking in his general direction.
"Hm. If that old pervert thinks I'd give you even a fraction of a fraction of my power, then maybe he should go buy a lottery ticket as well if he's feeling so lucky..."
Naruto tilted his head slightly.
"... So, that's a no?"
The fox growled.
"The hell do you think?"
Naruto shrugged.
"I dunno, I just thought maybe there was like... a way of doin' this, or somethin'. Kinda like those old movies where the two business guys make deals while threatenin' each other."
The fox stared hard at Naruto who stayed silent.
"Gods above, you are so much more of an idiot than I thought possible..."
Naruto raised his fist angrily.
"Hey, I'm not that bad! I got this far, didn't I?!"
The fox gave a small nod, though it was obviously not convinced.
"Hey, if you saw my memories then you know why I need your power."
The fox stared at Naruto for a few seconds before grunting.
"If they kill you faster, perhaps it's better if I give you nothing."
Naruto crossed his arms again.
"Oh come on, if I die, then won't you die, too?"
The fox shook its head slightly.
"It would hurt like hell and take a lot of time to reform myself out of my scattered chakra, but otherwise no."
Naruto stared for a second before tilting his head down.
"And if I die, won't they just seal you again?"
The fox snorted angrily.
"As if they could do such a thing. The last person who could do that died by my hand. As I understand, you already know of your father and you know how he died, impaled on my claw."
"Shut up..."
The fox grinned maniacally.
"After all, he gave me more than enough time to remember every last detail. The blood staining my claw, his pained movements, the cough brought by his lungs filling with his own blood."
"I said shut up!"
The fox grinned wider as it saw Naruto getting upset.
"And I would gladly get sealed again if it meant impaling him through the stomach once again, watching the life fade from his eyes as he used his last dying breath to save his worthless child-"
"-I said shut up you stupid excuse for a fuckin' demon! If it wasn't where you came from, I'd enjoy watching you rot in hell for the rest of my fuckin' life!"
The fox stared blankly at Naruto as tears fell from the teen's eyes.
"Why do you get to sit here and watch as I risk my own damn life because of somethin' I had no fuckin' control over?! I have to fight actual fuckin' Kage level ninjas all because you had to go and escape my mom's seal! I bet you enjoyed when you killed her too, you fuckin' degenerate freak!"
The fox snarled angrily.
"You should've died that night just like me! Save us both the trouble! Maybe then my parents would still be happy and alive!"
"That is enough!"
Naruto quietly glared at the fox as the tears slowly fell down his cheeks.
"I hope whatever god there is smiles when he looks at us. I hope they're happy with the fuckin' mistakes you and I are."
The fox's eyes widened slightly before it's expression became neutral once again.
"You know nothing..."
The fox got up and turned around, walking further back into its cage. Naruto watched as it laid down away from the gate. Before it could close it's eyes, he spoke.
"Why did you do it...?"
The fox paused before it set its head down on its crossed arms and closed its eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Naruto stood up angrily and walked over to the bars.
"You know exactly what I'm fuckin' talk about, you god damn fox! That night you broke out of my mom's seal and killed so many people! Why the hell did you do it?!"
The fox yawned.
"You know why. That pervert already told you."
Naruto slammed his right hand on the bar to his right, making it echo around the giant chamber he and the fox were in.
"And I don't give a shit! You tell me yourself! You were there, so what the fuck happened?! Why did my parents really die?!"
The fox opened its eyes slightly.
"What really happened, hm?"
X
A red haired woman stared tiredly at her newborn son, wailing in the arms of the midwife. She sighed as it seemed to finally be over. Her husband, a man with spikey, yellow blonde hair, rushed to her side happily.
"Kushina, you did it. It's alright now."
The red haired woman, Kushina, nodded to her husband happily.
"Yeah... I just... need a moment..."
The man nodded before Kushina's eyes widened and she painfully pointed across the room.
"Minato!"
The man, Minato, looked over to see the midwife holding Naruto on the floor with her throat slit. In her place was a man in a strange mask and a hooded cloak, holding a bloody kunai up to the newborn baby swaddled in his other arm.
"Make one move and it will be the end of your child's life. And so soon after they arrived in this world, too..."
Minato stared at the man angrily. His wife patted his hand in hers. In the blink of an eye, Minato was already halfway across the room. The masked man threw Naruto up into the air as the blonde man approached. Minato jumped up and caught his son before landing, making sure not to hurt him. He looked back and his eyes widened as the man disappeared in a swirling vortex, dragging Kushina away with him.
"Enjoy the gift, Lord Hokage."
Minato's instincts flared up and he looked down at his son. His eyes widened as he saw the explosive seals on the swaddle cloth. Thinking fast, he used a technique to instantly teleport himself and his son away.
X
"In the meantime, the masked man took your mother someplace further away, where he forced me out of my seal and immediately took me under his control using his Mangekyou Sharingan. Happy now?"
Naruto stared at the fox in confusion.
"Yeah, but... why did you tell me? I know I asked, but... I didn't think you'd actually tell me what happened."
The fox sighed deeply.
"While I do wish to escape, I still have my pride as the strongest Tailed Beast on the line."
"Really?"
Naruto tilted his head slightly. The fox nodded silently.
"Indeed. You want my power? Very well. But know that it comes with risks. Many, many risks. Focus on control before you seek more."
Naruto nodded in surprise. As he had sat down to listen, he stood up.
"Alright. How do I get it?"
One of the fox's tails extended and pointed at the seal tag on the gate.
"Tear off a piece of this seal. Only a piece about the size of your palm. Any more and you may experience some backlash."
Naruto nodded before he jumped up and stuck to the bars. He walked up and crouched down before carefully tearing off a small piece of the paper covering what he could now see was a spiral shaped lock. He hopped back down and looked at the fox as it retracted its tail. Naruto felt as a swell of chakra erupted from his stomach. He looked down at his hands in surprise as it was just a tiny piece of the seal that he had ripped off. He could only imagine what it would be like if he did it even a handful of times more.
"I don't know what made you wanna give me your power, but... thanks."
The fox grunted as it closed its eyes. Naruto turned to talk away but stopped.
"I know I'm not gonna forgive you, yet. But I just wanna say that... I, uh... I hope we can work together in the future. We might have to anyways, but still."
The fox grunted again, not showing its slight surprise.
"Do you have a name? I don't wanna just call you 'the fox' all the time."
This made the fox's eyes go wide. It stared at Naruto in surprise for a few seconds before it calmed down.
"Perhaps I'll tell you some other time. Now, leave. I can feel your teacher growing worried."
Naruto raised his eyebrows.
"You can do that?"
The fox nodded simply.
"Emotion sensing is one of my abilities. Perhaps even a form of it has passed on to you from my chakra mixing with yours. Now, shoo."
The fox sucked in air for a second before blowing it out, sending Naruto flying back with his eyes closed, forcing him out of his mindscape.
"And be careful when you talk out loud with the mental link, people will think you've gone crazy."
Naruto opened his eyes wide.
X
"Mental link?"
Jiraiya stared at his now awake student in confusion.
"Uh... Welcome back, I guess. Did you manage to get some of the fox's power?"
Naruto nodded with a mixture of emotions swirling through his head.
"Is something wrong, kid?"
Naruto shook his head as he settled for a small grin.
"No. Nothin' at all."