Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. It apparently belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I also don't own Diablo, it belongs to Blizzard.

XxXxX

Trying a new format for breaks. Also, enjoy the story as I spin it like the Spider Queen's web. Hopefully I can make the chapters long and good. Good and long. Ready? Here's a little summary before I start.

Cast down from the heavens, what if the Black Soulstone found its way somewhere else? Somewhere new? During the sealing of the Kyuubi, a certain black stone falls into the path of the sealing, forever changing the path of history.

XxXxX

"Hold the beast back! Hold the beast till the Yondaime arrives!"

Various Konoha ninja were battling against a great beast besieging their village, a great fox demon with nine majestic tails swaying and thrashing about as it destroyed parts of the great village. Houses were demolished, flames were prevalent in the destruction wrought by the great beast. It had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started attacking, and Konoha's shinobi were there the defend their home.

Lead by the great Third Hokage, an all-out assault was laid on the fox, hundreds of fireballs smashing into it, the Sandime's adamantine staff smashing against the demons body powerfully at every opportunity. Finally, when it seemed the beast as to unleash a terrible attack at the Hokage Monument, upon which bore the faces of the Hokage's, the Yondaime appeared, swiftly teleporting the great orb shot by the beast away from the village.

"It's the Yondaime! Do not falter men! Drive the beast back!"

It appeared however that they hadn't a need to fight any longer, as the Yondaime used the same move he used on the beasts attack to spirit the great demon away from the village, a few miles away from Konoha. Not an ideal place to battle the beast, but at least it was away from where it could do any more damage to the great village.

For quite some time the Yondaime battled the great Kyuubi atop his trusted summon Gamabunta, the boss toad of the Toad Summoning Contract. To those watching it was an epic battle, one that ended with a great flash of white light, though some could have sworn a flash of black quickly followed before the light died down.

The battle was over, the village was saved, but it came at a terrible price. The Yondaime was dead, the body of him and his secret wife Kushina Uzumaki found near the cradle of what was presumably their child, a young red haired boy with three whisker marks on his cheeks. Honestly it was easy to tell he was the child of the two bodies next to him. He had his mother's looks and his father's eyes, bright blue orbs, fathomless as the ocean, sparkling like sapphires.

"Aww look, he's like an adorable little tomato!" One Jonin spoke, only for the previously quiet baby to begin crying and fussing angrily.

Immediately the ninja was silenced by the Sandaime, who chuckled and picked the fussy baby up, cradling him in his arms. "Shush now, no one here will call you that again little one." The old man spoke calmingly, giving his best impression of a kindly grandfather despite being in full battle gear.

"Whelp, that clinches it. He's their kid alright."

XxXxX

Within the Hokage's office, the sun was beginning to rise, yet the newly reinstated Sandaime was still awake, a crib set up in his office holding the young Uzumaki Naruto, whom was sleeping peacefully. The old Hokage was staring down at him with a small smile, an ANBU operative at his side, bearing a dog mask and spiky silver hair, gravity defying even.

"Do you wish to hold him Dog? I assure you after your duties resume you won't have many chances like this."

Staying silent for a moment, the ANBU shook his head reluctantly, "I apologize Hokage-sama, I'll have to decline. I'm… Not worthy."

"Oh come off it Dog, go on and pick him up."

Seeming to hesitate for a moment more, the ANBU operative reached down into the crib and carefully picked up the sleeping infant within, almost as if the small boy would break if he held him too brashly. After a moment he had the infant cradled to his chest, still sleeping peacefully. "I… H-Hokage-sama… Thank you…"

Smiling at his subordinate the old man shook his head, "It isn't a problem Dog. Truthfully, I have a very important mission for you pertaining to this boy…"

Blinking behind his mask, Dog turned to his leader and stood at attention as best he could with the sleeping Uzumaki in his arms. "Sir?"

Giving a great sigh and looking out of the large windows in his office, the Sandaime folded his arms behind his back. "It's been found out that his mother survived, Dog. She is in our hospital as we speak, Tsunade is taking care of her. However, even as we speak there are forces aligning against her and her child. I fear unless their protected they won't survive the week. Your mission is to take Naruto and meet up with Jiraiya in Kaza Village. I'll have Tsunade take Kushina with her and Shizune once the former is well enough to be transported."

"S-sir, you plan to separate Kushina from her child?"

"Not for long, mind you, but I'm afraid as of right now it is a necessity. Already word has spread about what young Naruto holds… Look."

Stepping to the side, Hiruzen allowed Dog to step forward towards the windows, said operatives eyes widening behind his mask. Out in the streets, gathering in an ever growing crowd, were the citizens of Konoha, carrying stereotypical pitchforks and torches, some even carrying actual weapons such as swords and maces, several kusari-gama and tanto, even a few Kanabo. There were ninja mixed into the crowd as well.

"H-Hokage-sama!"

"It's a shame… The hatred in their eyes, for a mere infant… No doubt they'll come after the mother as well soon enough. Hence why both must be out of the village by the time the sun finishes rising. I'll do what I can, but their safety must be obtained. Your mission starts now Dog. Flee, meet with Jiraiya at Kaza Village. Go."

ANBU Dog disappeared in a swirl of leaves as soon as the Hokage finished speaking. No sooner had he gone than did the Hokage, vanishing in much the same manner to address his people. The Kami no Shinobi was on the hunt for whoever had released the knowledge of what young Naruto held within him now. No doubt they would have let slip who held the beast previously had they known, as it was Kushina would likely be targeted simply for being the boy's mother instead. She was in no less danger.

XxXxX

ANBU operative Dog reappeared on the roof of a building a couple blocks from the Hokage's Tower, crouched low so as to reduce visibility. If he were honest with himself, he was frightened at the possibility of being attacked in his own home while protecting the Yondaime's child. He'd no idea why the villagers and some ninja were acting so hateful, but from what he had seen he dared not try to find out. The people looked to be out for blood.

Unfortunately, as he was moving to leave the roof he was on, he had to jump back and dodge several shuriken and a few poorly aimed kunai as four figures appeared on the roof with him. The first was obviously a Jonin, two more were Chunin, and the last seemed surprisingly enough to be a retired ninja, wearing no identifying sign of rank.

"Give us the fox, ANBU. For the good of the village, it must be purged from existence."

Staying silent, Dog prepared to defend the boy in his arms, hoping the boy didn't wake and start crying. It would be hell if he were to alert anybody else as to where they were. "Are you deaf? I said give us the damn fox!"

The Jonin's cry made young Naruto stir, and Dog grunted, but before he could do anything he saw the four hostiles stiffen, their shadows encroaching up their bodies to form hands which covered their mouths. A voice then spoke out behind them, "You should be more quiet. Can you not see the boy is sleeping? Mendokusei…"

The voice was soft, bored even, and the newfound quiet allowed Dog to subtly rock young Naruto back to sleep. "Arigatou, Nara-san."

"No need to thank me. We Nara aren't so stupid as to attack an infant. We'll hold our judgment till the child is older. We'll see his true self when he eventually returns. All things are revealed in time, after all. Now go."

Nodding, Dog dashed off smoothly, leaving the Nara male behind with the struggling group of hostiles, slowly suffocating them into unconsciousness as they struggled against his hold. "Mendokusei…"

Once he was far enough away from the group who'd tried to stop him and take Naruto, Dog stopped for a small rest, adrenaline making his heart pound in his chest. Of course, he should have expected to be stopped eventually by fellow ninja, but so soon after exiting the tower?

He silently cursed and Shunshin'd to an adjacent rooftop as yet more metal pointy things rained down on his previous location. Looking to where he'd just been, Dog found his path once more impeded by a group of fellow Konoha ninja. This time the group numbered thirteen. Quite the unlucky number.

"Drop the fox and we'll let you leave Dog. That abomination must be wiped out to preserve the village."

Great, another Jonin. This time the group with him was obviously all Chunin too.

Unexpectedly, he was saved here too, Three of the group stiffening, before quickly turning on their comrades. Four were knocked out before the rest were drawn into the battle.

When one took the time to motion for him to go, he simply nodded and dashed away again, thankful that the Yamanaka had his back. He'd have to thank them some time.

Next time he stopped it was because he was beginning to sweat, his arms shaking from the awkward way he was holding young Naruto.

Before he could jump away from something he felt coming, a giant hand grabbed him and baby Naruto, quickly shrinking as he was pulled into an alley way where two portly men and a curvy woman waited. Instantly on guard he was surprised when a small baby bag was thrust towards him by the woman. "We of the Akamichi will gladly lay down our lives to end this madness. You'll have no trouble from us friend."

The man who spoke did so quietly, and Kakashi nodded as he accepted the bag, the Akamichi woman moving to help correct the way he was holding Naruto, shifting the boy into a more comfortable position. "You'll have to learn fast how to carry this child, this way your arms won't grow tired as quickly, and the baby will feel safer in your arms. Just don't go jostling him about too much, okay?"

Nodding in thanks, Dog accepted the baby bag and Shunshin'd away once more, leaving behind to three Akamichi to vanish, off to help try and calm the raging masses.

Appearing several blocks away once more, Dog panted as he looked about, searching for any more unexpected attackers.

What he got were a series of growls, as several ninken appeared surrounding him, ready to leap at him at a moment's notice. A single man appeared among them, feral looking with two elongated blood red triangles on his cheeks and brown spiky hair. This was Kizu Inuzuka, and he looked like he was out for blood.

"I don't care if you drop the boy or not Dog, my dogs will just tear into you as well!" Pointing at the ANBU operative, the dogs growled and lunged. Dog tensed, ready to drop the baby bag and defend himself, but he didn't have to. Once again, he was rescued in the nick of time.

"Gatsuuga!"

A duo of voices called out, and two spinning cyclones of death collided with the dogs going in a circle till all the ninken had been struck, pained yelps coming from them as the cyclones came full circle and landed in front of Dog, revealing a tall feral woman with two red triangles on her cheeks, and a lone wolf dog with a snarl on its face.

"Leave my husband to me Dog… Me and Kuromaru will teach these mutts what it means to abandon common sense."

"I apologize for your loss…"

"Don't give me that crap, just make sure the pup there survives. I could always use a younger more obedient mate, Ahahaha! … Go!"

"Like I'll let you! Tsuuga!" Kizu spun into his own little cyclone of death, charging at Dog as he tried to go around the Inuzuka matriarch. "You sod, did you think I came here alone?"

A much larger cyclone impacted Kizu's with great force, waking Naruto and causing him to cry. Dog tried to shush him back to sleep, but his shushes died in his throat as he saw the fearsome three headed dog that had come from the larger cyclone. "Generation Twenty-nine, Haimaru Sankyodai. Cerberus Formation. Go Dog, get that pup to safety!"

Nodding, the ANBU barely had time to catch the pill tossed at him before he once more utilized the Shunshin to disappear from the battlefield.

Once he appeared again several blocks away, he popped the pill in his mouth, feeling his energy being restored to him. He was almost to the gates!

Making a dash for it, ignoring the crying Naruto for the moment, Dog dashed towards the gates with renewed speed. However, just as he was about to reach the main square for the gate he was heading towards, he had to once more dodge out of the way, eyes widening behind his mask as he beheld the largest force trying to stop him yet.

They numbered in the dozens, and there were even several civilians in this group.

Before any demands could even be made however, a female voice rang out from the rooftops. "Halt! You're all under arrest for attempted murder!"

Another voice rang out as well, "The Hyuuga lend their aid to the Military Police, ne."

And another, "It is only logical that the Aburame join in. Why? Because to attempt to do grievous harm to an infant just pisses us off…"

Looking behind him, eyes wide behind his mask as he beheld the gathered force behind him. There were four Uchiha women dressed in police retire, three Hyuuga in traditional clan robes, and three Aburame standing there stoically.

The lead police woman waved her arm, and the gathered ninja dispersed into the crowd, doing battle with them. None of the crowd were above Chunin, so they had nary a problem subduing them.

"Get out of here Dog, we'll deal with these scumbags. Go!"

XxXxX

Entering Kaza Village several hours later, Naruto once more asleep in his arms, ANBU Dog took a small break in an alley way, leaning against the wall as adrenaline surged through his veins, his breathing ragged, sweat coating his body and making his uniform and armor stick to his skin uncomfortably.

As he rested he was paid a little visit, a couple of women from the red light district it seemed, one looking for all intents and purposes like a model Yamato Nadeshiko, small and petit, with long black hair and chocolate brown eyes. The other was almost as tall as Dog himself, with exotic mocha tan skin and dark blue hair with honey brown eyes. Neither was particularly endowed, but they were no less curvy than one would expect of a woman working in the red light district.

"Ah, ANBU-san, we've been looking for you. Our client Jiraiya-dono has sent us to collect you, however he gave us orders to take you to him without the mask and armor. It wouldn't do for you to be recognized after all. Please make yourself decent and we'll guide you to Jiraiya-dono."

Listening to the Yamato Nadeshiko-like woman speak, Dog nodded and made a quick Kage Bunshin of himself, handing baby Naruto and the baby bag to his clone before undoing the straps of his armor, sealing them away piece by piece as the two women fretted over the baby held by his clone. With the women distracted, he was free to make himself a little more presentable, using a water manipulation technique to wash away some of the sweat and grime, before removing his mask and sealing that away as well.

Taking Naruto back from his clone, he dispelled it and gave a nod to the two women. "Lead the way ladies, I need to get my charge here to Jiraiya-sama quickly."

The women nodded and stood close to the man, now wearing a simple Jonin's uniform, bereft of the ANBU armor or mask which made up the uniform for ANBU when attached. They looked about past the exit to the alley way, before leading the unmasked Dog out and into the street heading towards the red light district, and no doubt towards Jiraiya of the Sannin.

Of course, he was a little iffy on taking a baby in there, but he toughed it out, ignoring the strange looks he got as they walked, the women talking to the bouncer once they got to their destination. It was a large gentleman's club, though that was putting it nicely, called the Leaf Lounge. Simple. The bouncer took a little convincing, but eventually let them in, though he did smoothly slip a pair of cutesy earmuffs over baby Naruto's ears, and a soft slip of silk over his sleeping eyes before letting Dog carry him in.

Well, nice to know the bouncer was taking such precautions, especially with the sounds Dog heard upon entering the place, his face burning with a small blush at the various sounds and smells that assaulted him upon taking even four steps into the building.

Carrying on, Dog was lead into a large open room, within which one Jiraiya of the Sannin sat surrounded by admittedly beautiful women, laughing and having a general good time. However, the man grew serious upon spotting Dog without his mask, and gave a nod. "Hand him over Hatake, let me see my godson."

While this information shocked him, the newly identified Dog knelt before Jiraiya and handed over the sleeping baby, the earmuffs and silk strip still over his ears and eyes.

Eyes softening at the sight of the infant, Jiraiya brought the boy close to his chest and brushed a hand through his spars red hair. Taking the strip of silk from over his eyes, he saw that the boy was awake, staring up at him curiously with big blue eyes. Coincidentally the women were all awed by the sight of their customer holding the baby so gently.

"Awww, he's so cute! Jiraiya-sama you didn't tell us you had a godson!"

"I love his hair, it's such a nice shade of red~."

"He's got such a chubby little face, he kind of reminds me of a tomato!~"

That did it, the boy heard that word in association with himself and started angrily fussing, wiggling in Jiraiya's arms. "Ahaha! He's his mother's kid alright! Little tip ladies, don't call this boy a tomato anymore, if he was older he'd probably try to do more than fuss about angrily about it."

The women giggled but the one who'd said it had the decency to at least look sheepish, wiggling a finger against the infants tummy, only for him to try and grab the digit and stick it in his mouth. He had no teeth, but gosh darnit he'd gum the hell out of the lady who called him a tomato!

XxXxX

It had been six years since the day young Naruto had been taken from Konoha under the Hokage's orders, for his safety. In that time he had been taken to a sacred place in the Elemental Nations, Mount Myoboku, home of the Toad Summons.

Little Naruto had been raised alongside the tadpoles, taught to fight by both the older toads and Jiraiya on occasion. Of course, the man couldn't always be there, but when he was Naruto was given all the man's attention, and was taught how to read, write, and fight by the man with the long white hair.

Due to this, even at the tender age of six young Naruto was already an accomplished little ninja, able to utilize his chakra and perform the amazing feats of transformation and substitution, as well as enhancing his muscles to jump, run and hit higher, faster and harder respectively. Of course, the boy had also started studies for fuinjutsu, a personal favorite of the white haired man, and something he took to like a fish to water.

However there was an ever present problem with the boy, and that was he had way too much chakra to properly control. Especially at his age, his reserves were far greater than what would be expected, making him incapable of performing the standard Bunshin jutsu. However, Jiraiya had a plan for that once the boy got a bit older. He may have had more chakra than most Jonin, but that didn't mean Jiraiya would go teaching the boy something like that all willy nilly.

Of course, today Naruto was in for two big surprises, Jiraiya had told him he was bringing someone to meet him who'd be living with him from now on, and the elder toads Ma and Pa told him they were going to start training him in something special.

So it was understandable that the boy was currently hopping all over the place excitedly, citing the other young toads to following his lead in hopping about with his exuberance.

That stopped soon enough with a whack to the head by Pa and his stick he liked to call a cane, followed by lumps given to all the other young toads, who whined and sent childish glares at Naruto for getting them in trouble. "Now now young'uns, off with the lot of you, Naruto-chan has a very important meeting right now. Someone who really wants to meet him is coming to live with us, so be on your best behavior, ya hear?"

A chorus of "Yes Pa" rang out and Naruto pouted as he stared at the old toad with his best kicked puppy face.

"None of that Naruto-chan, you just come along quietly, there's someone here to meet you who I think you'd want to meet, all things considered. Hop along now, times a wasting."

Quickly hurrying off, Naruto was made to follow, grumbling and pouting the whole way, adjusting his black shirt as it hung on his shoulders, reaching to tug his large orange shorts up a bit more as they hung somewhat loosely on his slim waist, only his hips keeping them up.

Wondering what all the hubbub was about, and also why he'd been stopped in his fun with the other young toads, Naruto followed Pa and was soon lead to the old toads little home. Entering the door, he stopped in the entrance as he spotted the white haired man, though he wasn't the only other human in the room.

There was a strange person with long red hair, violet eyes, a dress of all things, and two strange lumps on their chest. This must be one of the 'women' Jiraiya always told him about. It was his first time seeing one of the human variety.

"Hey hey, who's this Jiraiya-san?"

"Naruto, good you're here. This is a very big day for you squirt. This beautiful lady here is someone who's been dying to meet you since she woke up from a coma. Naruto, I'd like you to meet your mother, Uzumaki Kushina."

Naruto stilled completely, eyes widening as the words left Jiraiya's mouth. He'd heard the term mother before, it was what all the other young toads had, but he mysteriously lacked.

"K-Kaa-chan? Y-you mean I actually have one?!"

Instead of crying uselessly, Naruto exuberantly launched himself into the woman's chest, nuzzling all up to her and wrapping his arms around her tightly. Her arms went around him just as tightly, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at her baby for the first time since he was born. Though, he wasn't exactly her baby anymore, he'd grown so much!

"My Naruto-chan… Naruto!" Kushina let out a sob and buried her face in her sons hair, taking in his smell, his feel, holding him close as the boy giggled and hiccupped, seeming to cry himself without even realizing, he was so happy.

Jiraiya, Ma and Pa watched the reunion happily, their hearts warming at the scene before them.

Remembering that meeting his mother wasn't the boys only surprise for the day, Pa cleared his throat, catching the mother and son's attention. "Kushina-chan, Naruto-chan, we have one more surprise to reveal today. Naruto-chan will be getting some very special training starting today, and it's very important that he be ready should he accept."

"Hm? Oh yeah, this wasn't the only surprise you had for me today huh? What is it, what is it? Isn't gold? Silk? Come ooooooon!" Naruto spoke excitedly, almost bouncing in his mother's lap.

"Calm down Naruto-chan, it's nothing like that, sorry. No, as I said it's very special training. Naruto-chan, how would you like to become a sage?"

Naruto and Kushina's eyes widened at that, the former both shocked and excited at the proposition, the latter both shocked and angry at the proposition.

"Absolutely not! It's much too soon for something dangerous like that!"/"YesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesYes!"

The dual cries rang out at basically the same time, one denial and one obvious acceptance.

Immediately the two glared at each other, electricity seeming to spark between their eyes. This caused the trio watching to sweatdrop, specially as the mother and son eventually clashed foreheads, still glaring.

"I said no, you're much too young!"

"And I say yes, I'm super ready for some harder training!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I said No!"

"And I said Yes!"

"You'll wait till your much older, Dattebane!"/"I'll start training now, Dattebayo!"

"Urk!"

Kushina fell to the floor, dark clouds over her head with a trio of dark lines under her left eye. "He inherited it…"

Naruto took this as his win, fist pumping and giving Jiraiya, Ma and Pa the peace sign, a large grin on his face. Once more, the trio were sweatdropping, the beads of sweat larger this time.

XxXxX

It had been a year since Kushina had arrived on Mount Myoboku, and a year since Naruto had won their little argument and started his sage training. Of course, as Kushina had expected, it wasn't easy for the boy. In fact, it was the hardest thing in the world for him, taking months simply learning how to still his body completely as was required.

However, he had learned it diligently, and now had a pretty good grasp on the technique. He was able to successfully make the transformation into Sennin Modo, Sage Mode. Though, it was imperfect, giving him warts and webbed fingers and toes, and he could only hold it for three minutes. He would be able to use it longer, but something was preventing Fukasaku and Shima from combining with Naruto to gather the Nature Chakra for him in battle.

Of course, that brooked a very important subject to be brought up with the boy. Today was the day he was going to be told of a great burden he bared, that apparently his mother had held before him.

So there he was, taking a break from practicing Sage Mode for the day so he could sit with his mother and Jiraiya as they told him something that apparently was super important.

"Sochi-chan, I'm sure you're wondering why Ero-sennin and I have brought you here, right?"

Although Jiraiya was irked by the nickname Kushina had given him, and Naruto had taken up, he stayed silent as he watched Naruto, looking for any signs that the boy might take this news badly.

"Sure, I mean, it's not every day I get to take a break from mastering Sennin Modo, but hey I'll take what I can get 'Ttebayo."

While Kushina looked as if she'd been physically struck as her son's verbal tic made its appearance, she took a deep breath and sighed softly. "Well then, I think it's time you learn something very important. Sochi-chan, I don't know any other way to tell you this, so I'm going to go ahead and say it. You hold within you the greatest of the beings known as the Biju, the Tailed Beasts. Within you, you hold the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Naruto's eyes widened, breath hitching in his throat, looking himself as if he'd been struck. "Wh-what? K-Kaa-chan, wh-what… I…"

Before any more words could be spoken, Kushina scooped her son up in a hug, cradling his head to her bust. Of course they had educated the boy on subjects such as this, so he knew what the Biju were, and he certainly knew what a Jinchuuriki was. It was to be expected however that he take the news that he is a Jinchuuriki exactly how he was taking it, namely crying into his mother's chest.

Honestly, he was quite the mother's boy.

Gently shushing her child, Kushina held him close. If ever there were a mother who loved their child unconditionally, Kushina was it.

"There there Naruto, mother has you… Hmhm, you know, it might surprise you to know this, but… Well, before you ever got the old rug sealed inside of you, I actually had it sealed inside me. And before me, a relative of ours had him. Being a Jinchuuriki is nothing to be ashamed of sochi, it just means you're a little more special than other people. Because you keep everyone safe from harm, every day you keep that old fox inside you. You're my little hero, and I love you."

Naruto sniffled at his mother's words, hiccupping a bit. "R-really? T-this doesn't make me a monster?"

"Hell no! You're my son, and you rock, 'Ttebane!"

Naruto giggled at that, hugging his mother tighter, "You rock too mom, Dattebayo!"

It really warmed Jiraiya's heart to be able to see this scene, though he remembered there was something else he had to talk with the two about. Clearing his throat, he made his presence known again.

"This is sweet and all, but there's something else. It has to do with that strange black stone that appears with your seal whenever you channel chakra. I finally found something in my search." His voice was serious, and Kushina was instantly on guard, drawing Naruto's face closer to her chest, making the boy squirm and pout.

"Show us."

Nodding, Jiraiya reached into a backpack next to him, pulling out what had to be the thickest, evilest looking book anyone had ever seen. (The Tome Deckard Cain was writing in D3)

"That is so badass!"

"Naruto, watch your language!"

"S-sorry mom!"

Chuckling amusedly at the interaction, Jiraiya set the book on the table, the visage of some demonic face pointing towards the ceiling. "I found this in some old ruins, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. It's in some strange language I couldn't for the life of me understand."

Opening the thing up, Jiraiya showed it to the two redheads, who glanced at it curiously.

"Oi oi, I thought you said this thing was in a language you couldn't understand?! I can read this just fine!"

Naruto's outburst made the two adults eyes widen, before Jiraiya quickly flipped several dozen pages, till a picture of a strange black stone was shown. "Right here. This looks suspiciously like what you have on your belly when you channel chakra. If you can read it, we need to know what this part in particular says."

Blinking, Naruto nodded his head and scooted forward, bringing the open book closer to himself. Reading through the page silently, Naruto's eyes widened progressively, his hand quickly moving to take his mother's squeezing it tightly. Suffice to say the two adults were quite worried now.

"B-Black Soulstone…"

"Black whatnow? Naruto, what's wrong? What is that thing?"

"T-the Black Soulstone, f-forged by the rogue Horadrim known as Zoltun Khuul, i-it contains the essence of the G-g-great Evils! L-Lords of the Burning Hells…! D-Diablo, Lord of Terror. Baal, L-lord of Destruction. M-m-mephisto, Lord of Hatred… Three Prime Evils… Th-then… Andariel, A-Azmodan, Belial and D-d-duriel, the L-lesser Evils! A-all are contained within the Black Soulstone, souls crying out for freedom!"

Naruto withdrew from the book as if burned, turning in his mother's arms and sobbing fearfully into her stomach. Kushina gave Jiraiya a serious look, one the man returned. Standing, Jiraiya moved to exit the small hut, "I'm going to consult the great elder sage, if anyone would know what to do it would be him. When he's ready, have Naruto look through the book for anything that could help him resist whatever influence that stone may have on him."

"You didn't even need to tell me that, I'd have helped him do it no matter what."

Nodding, Jiraiya disappeared out the door, leaving Kushina to comfort her son as he cried fearfully, his sobs breaking her heart the longer they continued. Eventually she started crying with him.

XxXxX

It had been six months since Naruto had read aloud the information on the Black Soulstone, six months since the boy had started reading the tome, and five months since Jiraiya had learned from the great elder sage that said dark stone had been caught in the sealing of the Kyuubi. It was with great relief that he had informed Kushina and Naruto of this as soon as he had heard it himself.

Due to the nature of Kyuubi's seal on Naruto, namely the aspect that kept the beast locked up behind sealed bars, it was safe to assume that the same had happened with the beings Naruto had read about in the book. This was only confirmed by the Kyuubi itself when Naruto had been guided into his seal, meeting the Kyuubi for the first time.

Flashback

Naruto stood in awe at the great stone arches and toad statues that made up his mind, the inside of the seal to be exact. Everything was huge, and ancient looking, like old ruins or something. Walking along the great corridors, Naruto had no idea how he wasn't getting lost, let alone how he knew he wasn't lost in the first place.

Soon enough he found himself in a large chamber with a set of gigantic bars at the far end of it, held together by a small slip of paper he recognized as a seal. Before he could take another step closer however, a pair of truly large eyes, red as crimson with slit pupils, opened up a ways up the bars.

Behind the bars, of course.

Eyes widening, Naruto watched as a giant mouth appeared next, giving a toothy smile that was positively malicious.

"So… My jailor finally makes a visit…"

Naruto gulped, but strangely enough felt no fear, only a loss for words. "Um… H-hello. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, what's your name?"

"Ahaha! This is rich! Not an ounce of fear within you after that time! The moment you found out about them you started showing some of their traits!"

"What are you talking about?! Who's 'them'?"

"Did you already forget? I'm talking about the Great Evils… I learned about them the moment you did, honestly. Heheh, and to think I liked to call myself a demon… No. Now Them, of course… They are True evil. Of course, I'm still stronger than them, but meh."

Sweatdropping a bit, Naruto licked suddenly dry lips, tilting his head a little, "Question."

Getting the strangest hunch that the great red eyes were raising a not visible eyebrow, the deep voice spoke again. "What?"

"Um, Kaa-chan always told me you were a big grumpy pants, how come you seem so… amicable?"

"Tch, I'm not being nice because I want to. I'm being nice cause I have to. That Mephisto character seems to have absorbed all my hate into his cell. Probably thinking to use it to grow stronger. I Did have a considerable amount of hate after all. It is for naught however, as this seal by its very design will never allow him to actually use all that hate."

Nodding and tilting his head again, Naruto hummed. "Does this mean you'll be my frie-"/"I am not your friend."

"Awww…"

"I will let you know this, however. Due to the seal, you will eventually come to use their powers, their techniques. I may not like you, but your seal is loads better than the last two I've been in. When you start expressing their powers, I'll hold off their influences. But I suggest you find someone to train you in abilities which counter theirs, or get your hands on a weapon of a holy nature. Due to my own nature I will admit I won't be the Best at holding off evil influences. I'm a being of destruction after all."

Nodding again, Naruto gave a small smile, "Then I guess I have to thank you. Kaa-chan always says to thank those who show you kindness, and I'm guessing this is as close as I'll get with you. For now. So thank you mister Kyuubi." The grin on Naruto's face was almost infectious.

"Tch, get out of here brat. Now."

Flashback End

That had been just last month, and true to the fox's words, Naruto had begun to show traits of the Evils in his seal. His eyes had turned a burning gold color, which glowed like smoldering embers. His nails had sharpened and grew, turning to claws that simply grew back if he cut them. He'd also groan a little slimmer, more feminine, though his muscles had also grown lean, compact and dense. This made him a bit heavier than normal.

Naruto had also shown bursts of a great, powerful, but very dark energy, which the fox told him was magic. He'd had to be taken to a more secluded part of the mountain to continue training, and Jiraiya had gone back out to further inspect the ruins where he'd found the tome, hoping to find more like it, or at most find something that would help his godson with his new powers.

Over the last five months, Jiraiya had helped Naruto with creating a codex to help the old man translate the book's language, and using it he hoped to bring back some kind of help for his godson.

So it was, armed with the codex, that Jiraiya disappeared. For six months.

XxXxX

Whelp, that's it for this chapter! Quite a long one too! Up to snuff with my old ones! ^w^ I'm quite happy about that.

Of course, there will be a spin off story to this one, but that will wait till I'm several chapters into this one. Hopefully this will get me back into the practice of simply writing and not worrying about how long the chapter is, since I seem to write more when I do it that way.

As for the spin off, it will be centered around Jiraiya, and explain why he was gone for so long.

And now, a question. This will be a harem fic, so I want to know just who y'all think should be in it. I'll limit the number to five, with several others he simply has 'encounters' with. That said who do y'all think should be the ones he simply has said 'encounters' with? Suggestions only please, I won't be told who to put in or not.

Also, a question you may have for me, "Why did he grow more feminine? There's only one female Evil." Well, that would be ol' Diablos' fault. Its gender is malleable. Also, take into account that its last host was a female, and it's own form was feminine. Well in my story, that stuck, and carried over.