Chapter 15

At least the brats were ok.

That was the only good thing that Jiraiya could think of. The day had been an utter disaster.

It had started off fine, of course. He had set up the perimeter for Natsumi and Kakashi's spar. The barrier was designed to protect the spectators from any and all attacks that might have gone astray. It was indestructible in that sense, it would've been able to keep the full fury of the Kyuubi at bay if, for some reason, Natsumi lost control. The only problem was that he had not thought about outside bijuu attacks.

The sage ran a tired hand over his face, trying to smooth away some of the worry lines that the day was etching into his face.

Sealing was his passion, it was something he was good at and something that he could always work on. There was no such thing as 'finishing' seal training. There was an infinite amount of things that you could do with it, if only you knew how. The sole thing limiting a seal master would be their imagination, and guts.

Of course, just like everything else in life, there were some rules. These rules were absolute and could not be bent. There were also countless fatal mistakes that could be made if you didn't know what you were doing.

At the moment, the seal master was seated underneath one of the trees by the training ground that had been the host of the battle only a few hours ago, thinking about all the things that went wrong with the seal work itself.

The barrier had kept all of the chakra that was expelled during the spar contained inside of the large cuboid area. This function was purposely included in the overall design. Bijuu chakra was poisonous and it would be harmful for the spectators and the village. They also did not want to alert all of the ninja in and around the village of what was going on. Perhaps an improvement on this would be if the seal absorbed the latent chaka and used it to power itself, or strengthen itself.

Jiraiya made a note in his sealing notebook. He had to remember to test something like that soon, it was a good idea.

The next problem was that he had not designed the barrier to withstand any big attacks from the outside, simply because he had not realized that it would be necessary. He had not thought about it. So when an attack from outside did happen, and it was strong enough, the barrier collapsed and released all of the built up chakra from inside. If it was a normal attack, and if the people sparring inside the barrier were normal, this would not have been too much of an issue. However, one person inside the barrier had been a jinchuuriki and had been throwing around kyuubi chakra like an obaachan would throw one Ryu coins at a wishing well.

Kyuubi chakra was also very heavily slanted towards the element of fire. The jinchuuriki's own chakra element was wind. Kakashi's was lightning and earth, and the idiot that attacked them was a very strong water element. The result of all of these factors was that when the bijuu bomb hit the barrier, the shit hit the fan quite spectacularly. The bomb itself was perhaps not large enough to cause a great amount of damage on its own, but it ended up creating a very large, very dangerous explosion.

The Hokage could count his lucky stars that the village wasn't gone. Something had contained most the blast at the very last second. Something that was incredibly strong but what that something was, Jiraiya had no clue.

This something had also protected the Hatake brat, or else he would have been a small mound of ash.

After some time, Jiraiya placed his sealing book back into his breast pocket.

He was feeling very anxious, and it was not a feeling that suited him well. Things were not going well at all.

Naruto was quietly sitting with his head down and his eyes wide as he silently shook in his seat. He couldn't believe what had happened. He had been so happy that morning. He had insulted his aunt's cooking, again, because it was burnt, again. She had walked him to school and they had joked and yelled at each other just like they always did. They were supposed to train later tonight.

But that was not going to happen.

Natsumi-obachan was gone.

Someone had taken her.

Someone had been stronger than she was, even while she was using the Kyuubi's chakra. He had not thought that anyone could be stronger than her, but someone was.

It had all happened so fast, and before he even really knew what was happening he and all of his classmates were back in their usual classroom with two ANBU guards inside and two outside.

"Oi, brat."

Naruto sat up so fast he fell of the back of his chair. The whole class jumped a bit at the loud crash but no one laughed.

"Who's there?"

A startled Iruka looked up from his marking, a kunai held ready under his desk. He breathed a sigh of releaf when he saw there was nothing attacking the class, but a frown played at the corners of his mouth when he saw the look on his student's face.

"Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Iruka-sensei, did you say something just now?"

"No, everyone is supposed to be reading quietly Naruto."

"But- I can hear someone laughing." The silence was deafening. No, it was almost suffocating.

"No one is laughing Naruto." The scarred teacher replied after a moment, looking Naruto directly in the eyes as he tried to calm him down with a soothing voice. "Are you sure you are ok? You have had a big shock…. Perhaps I should take you to the hospital."

The atmosphere could have been cut with a butter knife as Naruto simply looked around the room in a panic.

A second later the tense silence shattered.

"Baka, if I can't hear anything then there is no way you can hear something." The whole class jumped a bit at the sudden outburst from Kiba. Even Akamaru looked a bit annoyed with his partner. But Naruto was grateful for it. It broke the quietness that was pressing at him from all sides. The blond chucked a bit under his breath as he moved to pick up his chair. He really was losing it. Natsumi-obasan would be laughing so hard when she hears-

"This is too funny. I should have done this ages ago."

Naruto felt as if something had stolen his breath, he stood still as a statue, all of the blood draining from his face. It felt like a block of ice was gliding down his spine.

The chair slipped through his fingers, crashing to the ground again.

Suddenly Naruto started sweating as if he had just run a marathon. He suddenly realized exactly who was talking to him.

"Naruto?-"

Iruka was looking very worried as he moved toward his blond student but Naruto saw none of it. He was looking at the ground.

"Kyuubi?" He whispered so softly that no one except the slightly trained ninken puppy could hear anything at all.

The menacing chuckle in his head suddenly exploded into laughter. "You should see your face, brat."

Quite suddenly Naruto was no longer staring at slightly worn wooden floor panels, but dark water shimmering in poor lighting, the smell of wet fur filled his senses.

Slowly the poor ten year old boy raised his head to look at the beast in front of him.

It was huge.

It was probably as tall as the Hokage Mountain itself.

It had bright red-orange fur.

It's lips were stretched into a menacing grin, revealing razor sharp teeth the size of buildings.

Naruto's knees gave up on him and he landed in the water with a splash. His body was like lead, his legs felt like soggy ramen noodles.

"K-Kyuubi."

The big fox snickered at him.

"Nice to meet you, mini brat." The orange face loomed even closer. If Naruto wasn't already sitting down he probably would have fainted right there.

With a gulp he tried his very best to be brave. "Wh-Whats going on? Where am I?" The blond hoped beyond hope that his voice sounded stronger to the demon than it did to him.

The fox's grin slipped a bit, "Calm your tits brat, your fine. – wait, I cant say that to you can I?" Kyuubi pulled his head back, calmly chewing on a nail as he thoughtfully gazed into the corner of his cell "– I'll think of something." The known destroyer of Konoha shrugged before focusing on Naruto again. "But anyway, you are here because I called you here."

Naruto tried his best to calm down. Narsumi Obasan told him that the Kyuubi was cool. That he wouldn't eat him unless he really pissed him off. That they were friends… But staying calm in the face of a fox the size of a mountain was another issue.

"But… why?" Naruto was pleased to hear that his voice sounded a bit stronger than it had before.

"I need to speak with your old and wrinkled monkey of a leader. Go find him."

"You wanna talk to who?"

"The Hokage you idiot." The fox was running his claws down his furry face as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Kami I forgot how stupid you used to be."

"HEY!" It took Naruto a moment to realize that he was now standing.

"Hey, do you want help Nar-Natsumi or not?"

"YOU KNOW WHERE BACHAN IS!?"

The fox looked at the dark ceiling of his cage as if to pray for patience. "Of course I do you fool. I'm inside of her aren't I?"

"WHERE IS SHE?"

Later, Naruto would realize that there seemed to be a snap in the air as the Kyuubi finally, completely lost the very last scrap of patience that he had. "SHUT UP YOU INSULENT SPECK OF USELESS CELLS. NOW GO GET THE HOKAGE BEFORE I SKIN YOU ALIVE AND SUCK THE MARROW FROM YOUR BONES."

"NARUTO WAKE UP!"

Naruto opened his eyes to see a worried looking Iruka. Not even pausing to get his bearings the blond jumped up and made a mad dash for the window.

"I-HOKEGEJIJI"

He was grabbed by the collar before he could even make it a few steps, an owl faced ANBU lifting him into the air.

"Hokage! I need to see the Jiji now!"

"Naruto what the hell is going on."

"Ky- HE talked to me."

Iruka was paler than Naruto within a split second.

"You can talk to the k-"

"Iruka sensei," The calm voice of the owl face drowned out the rest of his words "I'll accompany Naruto-kun to the hospital. It has been a difficult day for him. Please excuse him from class for the rest of the day."

In a poof of smoke both boy and assassin were gone.

"But what are they talking about?"

The thought nagged at Hiruzen as he stared out over the village from the roof of the Hokage building, slowly puffing on his pipe as he squinted at the occasional glint of light, high above the ground.

They had already identified the ninja that had caused all of the trouble.

Utakata, jinchuuriki of the six-tails.

Nuke-nin of Kirigakure.

Currently aged 20.

Known by Natsumi as a friend and ally but killed by Akatsuki in the future.

He was not supposed to be close to Konoha during this time, as far as they knew from Natsumi's memories. He was supposed to be in hiding from the hunter-nin of his country.

From what anyone could tell, the two of them were just sitting calmly in that bubble, with their fists slightly touching.

"I don't like this."

The old Hokage only got a sigh in return.

Shikaku didn't like this either.

The silence radiating off of the jounin a few steps away suggested that Kakashi didn't like it either.

As one all three ninja's on the roof turned to look at the newcomer, even before the soft poof and scattering leaves signaled his arrival.

"I DON'T NEED THE HOSPITAL YOU MASKED BASTARD, I NEED THE HOKAGE!"

"Shut up brat, we're here." With a nod to the Hokage, the ANBU disappeared back to his post.

"BUT I HAVE TO-"

Hiruzen did NOT have time for panicking children right now.

"Naruto-kun, I realize you are worried about your aunt but now is not the time for you to be bothering the ANBU."

"Wha- JIJI! HOKAGE- JIJI SIR! It's, it's IMPORTANT. I-HE NEEDS TO TALK TO YOU-."

The young boy was hyperventilating and unsteady on his feet. Looking around but not really seeing. He was in danger of going into shock right in front of them.

Hiruzen was going to have a word with Owl later. The man would have at least explained why he brought the child here instead of the hospital.

Naruto was now sitting on the ground, hugging his knees, rocking back and forth, his breaths coming in short bursts and his eyes a bit unfocused.

There was a resounding SMACK as Kakashi slapped the blond on the back of his head.

The blond seemed to gain his bearings a bit before whirling around to look at the person who had smacked him, ready to resort angrily, only to lose all of the remaining colour in his face.

"G…Ghost."

In a different situation, Hiruzen would nave chuckled a bit at the look on Naruto's face. The poor boy's fear of ghosts probably just became a fully-fledged phobia.

With calm but certain movements the aging man moved to where the blond was quivering, kneeled down in front of him and gently moved the child's head, forcing Naruto to look him in the eye.

"Calm down Naruto, what are you trying to say."

Determination filled his blue eyes as clarity returned and he stopped shaking.

"KYUUBI WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!"

A few minutes later the three seasoned Shinobi could be found attentively watching a ten year old academy student as he held a cup of hot chocolate between his small, soft, unscarred hands. The poor boy was shaking, taking deep breaths to calm himself down and pointedly not looking at the silvery haired jounin standing to his left. This even after the Hokage explained how Kakashi had not died but simply been knocked out. As a young child, it was perfectly understandable for him to assume the worst if someone was standing one second and suddenly not moving after an explosion. Even more so if the person was covered in blood from an exhausting sparring match just seconds before.

"Kakashi, please go wait outside."

With a nod Kakashi left the room, only to sneak back in a few seconds later as per the Hokage's hand-signaled orders. The boy was convinced he was a ghost, so having him visible was not helping the blond Uzumaki focus at all. Therefore, he would have to witness what the boy had to say from the shadows. The Sarutobi had already decided that the talented jounin had the right to know more about what was going on. After this was all sorted out he would be made aware of everything. The man was simply too useful and involved to be left out of the loop.

"OK Naruto, please tell us what the Kyuubi wants to say."

The boy took a moment to find his words but eventually he managed to form a sentence.

"He- He says that Natsumi-Obachan is fine, and that Saiken's fleshbag is an ally."

"So, you remember everything too?"

"Not just me, Naru. All of the jichuuriki do."

"Really!? That's great! Even Bee? And Gaara?"

They were floating peacefully above Konoha. He had never been there before, it looked like a nice place. He could see some children playing in the park. It was nice, peaceful.

The young woman in front of him was older than he remembered, she looked like she was probably his age, or a few years older even. Her hair was red now instead of blond but the look suited her. She had dark shadows under her eyes, her skin paler than he had ever seen and her cheeks were slightly sunken but it was hard to tell with the bright smile she was wearing. She was looking at him as if he was her favorite person in the world, like he had hung the sun itself.

"Yes. I have heard that the Raikage's brother has been taking a more active role in the leading of Kami no Kuni. He and Yuugito have been completely banned from leaving the village and apparently have a full ANBU guard 24/7 and-"

"I bet Octo-pops is not very happy about that." She giggled, her eyes closed as she probably imagined how the big man felt.

"Probably not. As for the future Kazekage, he sends his regards and hopes that you could arrange a meeting soon, however-"

"Really!?" Naruto interrupted him again, jumping on the spot, unable to contain her excitement. He let her have her moment without getting upset. Gaara had always been a very important person to her. From what he had heard, they grew close some time after the sand invaded the leaf. Only Naruto could make friends during a war. It was understandable that she would be so excited to hear her friend remembered her.

"Naruto, stop interrupting me. You are forgetting something important."

"What?"

"Madara was a jinchuuriki too."

Utakata sighed at the silent Uzumaki in front of him. Slowly massaging his temples before he continued.

"I came here so that I could share some of Saiken's chakra with you. I have been going around the nations trying to get everyone so that we can discuss what to do next. I haven't found everyone yet but at least we can get started."

Natsumi was still too stunned to do anything other than stare at him, her eyes wide but probably not really seeing anything. She had fallen to her knees as he spoke, the very picture defeat with her shoulders hunched and her body completely still.

"As you are the only one that has aged, I assume that you are the reason we can all remember in the first place."

She didn't react in any way but he didn't really expect her too. Curse him and his inability to ease bad news on people. Cursing under his breath Utakata joined her on the floor of his reinforced bubble and held out his fist. It took her a few moments but eventually she slowly raised her fist and placed it against his. Together they closed their eyes and fell into their mindscape.

A.N

I have an issue with cliffhangers... please don't kill me..

On the plus side, things are heating up! Lots of stuff will be moving along quickly now.

Sorry for the long wait, RL can be a bitch sometimes. Thank you to all the reviews and everyone that has been reading , favoriting, following. You guys really inspire me to keep writing. You are all AMAZING

Also, I've come to realize that i am too impatient to have a beta. I upload when I finish, otherwise i might never update at all. I hope there aren't too many mistakes.

N.K.