Naruto let out a heavy sigh as the chalk made a dull sound on the chalkboard. The teacher stood in front of the classroom talking about the infusion of chakra in the body or something like that. Naruto wasn't really paying attention, his eyes wandered over to a large number of girls who were staring at one of Naruto's classmates a few chairs over. He groaned inside, rolling his eyes.

Naruto tried to look up at his goggles and hair as his ears caught a few words said just a little too loud. "He's so cute." one of the girls said softly

"I know right he so cool." another said shamelessly gawking at a dark-haired boy a row behind them.

"Stupid fangirls" Naruto hissed under his breath

"Chakra is made up of a person's stamina and spiritual energies combined." Iruka-sensei chattered on. This was boring, he heard more soft giggling and that was annoying. Not wanting to deal with it all Naruto laid his head on his desk and waited for the bell to ring, which would be any minute now.

Three...two...one...now.

Iruka looked up from the board letting the students know it was now lunchtime, he dismissed the class allowing the room to be filled with talk and much to Naruto's annoyance more girly giggles. He glared at a large mob of girls trying to pawn off their food to the kid they were staring at earlier, and of course, that was Sasuke.

His black hair, cold attitude, few words, and this and that got all of the girls to adore him. In fact, they adored him so much that not a single one would even look at Naruto, which obviously did not come to his liking. That damn Sasuke Uchiha even got Sakura-chan to swoon over him, the bastard.

Naruto had a sudden impulse to get up in Sasuke's face and check the guy out for himself, pushing the girls out of the way he did so. He shoved past Ino, pushing her aside, she pushed back and started to yell at him. "Naruto, get out of the way you are getting way too close to Sasuke-kun!"

"Butt out Ino, I don't get what is so great about this guy anyway!"

Sasuke scowled at Naruto who was less than a foot away from him, Sasuke's scowl disappeared when a shocked-looking Naruto was suddenly yanked back by a very angry looking Ino. She held him by his shoulders, shaking him violently, "You don't tell me to butt out got it? Never get that close to Sasuke again you loser!" She yelled before ceasing to give the blonde haired student a head injury.

Naruto had been thrown behind the mob of girls saw stars circling around his head, he took a couple minutes to regain his balance. He wasn't going to go down so easily, Ino was going to pay for that shaking him like some rag doll. He silently laughed to himself as he scanned the room for his sensei. He smirked when there was no sign of Iruka, he pulled out a small probably harmless firecracker from his orange jumpsuits pocket.

He had been saving it for Iruka-sensei planning to 'surprise' him with it sometime in the middle of a boring lesson. However, pranking Ino with it sounded way better at the moment. He shoved through the hoard of giggling girls until he was close enough to Ino to put his plan into motion, he slowly moved behind Ino unnoticed while she was talking with...I mean getting ignored by Sasuke. Lighting the small amount of gunpowder with a match. he placed it in Ino's platinum blonde hair, it went unseen by the girl.

Hearing the sizzling made Ino's face morph into something between confusion and alarm, right before it popped and caused all of her hair to go into a style that Looked something similar spikey hair doo mixed with a hippie afro, it was a singed nightmare come to life. The small trails of smoke rising from her head as she turned around to look at him. her face was dark red and made her look more demonic. The blonde's laughter was suddenly stopped replaced with icy silence as the whole class began to laugh. He swallowed as the now embarrassed and pissed Ino stood above him fist raised.

"Detention after class Naruto, no excuses." Iruka has said upon his return. Naruto sat with a black eye with a glowing red lump on his head. While it was fun while it lasted, maybe that was not the best idea that had crossed his mind. He might as well stick to putting erasers and buckets on top of doors when his teachers leave the classroom.

"But Iruka-sensei! she started it!" Naruto said trying to defend himself.

Iruka glared at the short boy." I don't care who started it Naruto you could of severally hurt Ino with that stupid stunt! This is not the behavior of an Academy student!"

"And fawning over a bastard like Sasuke is?" Naruto fired back.

"Naruto that's enough! after school, I will decide your punishment, now get back to class and if I see you pull another stunt like that I promise to make it ten times worse."

Naruto frowned, it was only a firecracker. He sighed in defeat taking his punishment and continuing on with his day.

Several hours of writing 'I will not pull pranks in class' on a blackboard later, Naruto was on his way. He still was very annoyed but it didn't matter he'd just pull a better prank next time. Naruto was still grumbling about Ino teaching him a lesson she didn't have to hit him so hard the swelling had finally gone down but his pride not so much. The boy headed out to the forest to study for his class final, which at their school was making clones and throwing sharp shuriken at targets.

He took out all of his frustrations of the day out on a nearby tree, he did this until his entire supply had been emptied out on the target paper he had taped to the poor tree's trunk

A few of the weapons made their mark, but the majority missed, which was still a failing grade. He needed to pass this exam or he'd be damned he wasn't going to fail again. Usually, he would be here for an hour or two, but today he planned to be here until morning not wanting to lose a single second of training.

He sighed looking at his crappy aim before he went to go retrieve his fallen hopes and dreams. Turning around he was surprised to see Ino standing there in front of him.

She still looked pissed from earlier, in which her terrifying expression lingered and hair was still a charred mess of stray strands. "Oh hey, Ino...," a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. "Hey." She replied. "Uh...what are you doing here...?" he stammered. This time he did not get a reply, instead she began weaving a hand sign.

"I don't remember that hand sign in class...what are you doing?" he asked clearly scared. She took a step towards him, he took a step back away from the mad woman. "Hey, that's not funny Ino..." Another, and another. "Ino no please, I apologize for earlier, I didn't mean too." She continued her advance until Naruto lost his balance tripping over a tree root, the back of his head smacking into the trunk. He clasped his hand together and pleaded, "No Ino please, Noooooo!" he cried as she stood above him, tears running down his cheeks.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu," were the only words Ino said before her head slumped down and she slid down to her bum on the ground sitting. Naruto froze completely before a look of triumph spread across his face. 'Infiltration successful!' Ino's consciousness said from inside of Naruto's head. She had successfully taken over his mind, which was step one of her plan. Naruto stood up as per Ino's will but quickly doubled back over a moment later. Something was not right.

Inside of the boy's head, a deep voice resonated so loud that it shook Ino inside of his brain. A stirring and churning of power began to swirl, "Hm...what do we have here? Quite the young one to know such a jutsu." Red began to fill the space in his mind forming the silhouette of a demonic fox spirit. "Don't be alarmed, you're first time dying is always the worst, however as a reward for giving me this opportunity I'll end it in an instant. Now...LEAVE!"

With those last words her jutsu was broken and she was sent back to her body, waking to see Naruto on his knees yelling out in pain. The voice that ran through the air was not just Naruto's but also something with a lower pitch, coming deep from within him. It filled the air with such heavy energy that Ino could hardly breathe, it's raspy tone piercing her eardrums.

She covered her ears but it hardly stopped the noise, Ino froze as the howling voice of the creature stopped, a dangerous silence filled clearing as Naruto slowly started to get up. His upper body was slumped overhanging limply.

"Naruto?" her voice was uneasy.

The wind started to pick up in the small clearing, rustling Naruto's hair before whipping up into a frenzied gust. The boy had always had marks on his cheeks like short whiskers but now they darkened, becoming harsh lines etched into his face his fingernails growing into claws.

Ino stared in horror as something began to swallow his body flowing out of Naruto's body covering him from head to toe, growing thicker and darker with every second. A tail seemed to come out of nowhere bending the trees almost to a snapping point Ino was in shock.

"What the hell's going on?" she whispered eye beginning to water.

Naruto threw his head into the sky, letting out a deafening cry, his own mixed with the entity inside of him. His blue eyes had gone to the same shade of red, his teeth now having fangs. Rage dancing in his eye's like fire.

He looked down at Ino as if just noticing the terrified girl. Her body frozen and her mind had gone numb on what had just happened. What was going on? What had she done? Her body was trembling,

She had to get away.

Ino hoisted herself up, propelling her body through the dense foliage. Earlier something inside Naruto's head had talked about death, and making it painless. She had to get out to of here she couldn't marry Sasuke if she was dead, there was a lot of stuff she wouldn't be doing dead. The village was still ten minutes away how was she going to make it.

'It doesn't matter right now, just run!' She told herself running off pure adrenaline.

She whimpered as the creature growled destroying trees behind her. She looked over her shoulder, he was so close. She let out a scream as she collided with a solid body. It was a tall man dressed in Konoha battle armor, he wore a white mask with red detailing, small slits for eyes. His leaf village headband the only proof that he was friendly.

"Don't go that way..." she exhaled, being out of breath. "Naruto...but, not Naruto is over there... a monster..." She stopped talking desperately trying to catch her.

"We know," is all the man said before moving her out of the way.

she heaved heavy labored breaths

She looked wide-eyed noticing that there was more than one of them, Two of them were strong and muscular and the other was obviously a woman. The woman spoke out.

"We were just headed that way now to stop him. You need to keep running but we can't just leave you alone." She looked at the shorter of the two men. "Tenzou help her get back and regroup with us ahead." One of the men nodded grabbing Ino by the arm and ushered her to run, "Understood," He looked towards Ino. "Let's hurry, It is dangerous for you."

Ino wanted to warn them about the danger ahead yelling about how suicidal it was but only had the energy to nodded her head, before following the masked stranger through more of the forest.

A feeling of relief spread through her however a nagging feeling of worry still persisted she had to ask,

"Will those two be alright?" Tenzou continued forward but replied.

"They are two of the best in the village so I have no worries, and don't worry I will protect you."

That did, in fact, make her feel better, or at least until one of the Shinobi burst out behind them covered in cuts and bruises. Blood flowed from a large gash on his chest as he held a short sword in his hand aimed towards the forest he emerged from.

The commotion caused the fleeing pair to stop and turn as a group of trees exploded into splinters. The female kunoichi jumped out from the dust cloud, landing on one knee, holding a limp arm coated in blood just as her partner next to her. "The seal weakened more than Lord Third suspected. This isn't good."

Ino let out a small scream as Naruto, or what used to be Naruto launched out from the dust cloud. he stood menacingly on all fours, he looked around a predator searching for its prey. He launched towards the ninja, only missing them by a few inches, he destroying a set of trees as his fist crashed into the ground, causing Ino to shoot behind Tenzou for protection.

From the corner of her eye, a blur of hand signs flew before a wave of water burst forth, submerging the battlefield like a tidal wave.

"Watch out!" shouted Tenzou as he picked up Ino, jumping onto the branches of a tree before the jutsu was complete. The female ninja performed a flip, her hands a blur. A soft crackling sound filled the air, turning into a roar as dangerous blue electricity arched around her good arm. She thrust it into the water causing arches to ripple along the surface, burning everything that it touched, including Naruto.

Naruto growled out of anger, seemingly unharmed.

Once the light died down from the appalling combination attack, the monster remained with his arms raised defensively, rage bubbled across his distorted features. His wounds quickly fading away.

"Even that had no effect huh?" The kunoichi said astonished, turning to Tenzou who was still holding a shell shocked Ino.

"Get her out of her-" She was suddenly cut off by Naruto who had attacked her mid-sentence, slicing through the battle armor like butter.

"Hawk!" Yelled the man across the small clearing as she collapsed onto her knee's. He moved to protect his teammate however his injuries seemed to sever. He clutched his stomach, looking down at the blood with labored breathing, he couldn't hold out much more. The moment he looked up Naruto was already in front of him, poised to strike with a hard fist. It frightened Ino to think that this was Naruto at all.

The chakra which coated his arm burned the ninja, the blow sent the man flying into a tree, cracking the trunk in half with the force of the impact.

"I can't believe it..." Tenzou muttered to himself almost forgetting that Ino was still there. "Anbu agents were taken down as if it were mere child's play. The fox really is something else."

Fox... With another look, Ino noticed that the red energy around Naruto did, in fact, resemble a fox, with the claws, ears, and tail.

Suddenly there was a crack at her feet, followed quickly by Tenzou tightening his hold on her and leaping to the ground just in time to watch the tree they had been standing on splinter into pieces. Naruto's energy had latched on to the branch and snapped it, destroyed it and, threw it to the side like yesterdays garbage.

The beast locked eyes with Ino, she could have sworn she saw a smile arched across his face. Tenzou took a stance in front of Ino protectively, "Run, I'll hold it off for as long as I can. Get back to the village!" He pulled a kunai from his back pouch, readying for an attack while not daring to make the first move.

"Look out!" Ino exclaimed as the ground right behind her guardian cracked, as another extended arm grasped onto Tenzou's leg. Naruto didn't hesitate to dash in, striking Tenzou on the side of the face sending him reeling. He landed heavily on his side, struggling to get up. His eyes locking helplessly as the fox advanced towards Ino

The creature now stood above Ino, fangs showing, eyes crimson. The words '...I'll end it in an instant,' echoed in her mind. A claw raised above his head swung down to deliver the finishing blow. Ino closed her eyes not ready to accept her death.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?" Sakura's voice came out of the dark like a bolt of lightning. The girl seemed just as terrified as Ino, her face pale as her body was shaking in fear. Even so, she somehow managed to run to Ino's side.

Yet she couldn't think of a single reason why she did it.

He felt quite relaxed. He hadn't felt this calm in a long time, just floating in the darkness.

Naruto didn't really care where he was. Faint sounds could be heard from somewhere but they all seemed so far away, almost nonexistent. All of his worries faded to the distance as he closed his eyes.

He thought Ino's voice could be heard but he didn't care. She was annoying, he didn't want to deal with that fangirl if he could avoid it. Another boring lecture from Iruka-sensei seemed better than having to deal with her again. That annoying hair and her stupid mouth, in fact, everything about her was pissing him off.

This lifelessness continued on aside from occasional howls and booms, but Naruto wasn't really paying attention. He was probably imagining it anyway.

"Naruto! What are you doing!?"

That voice was Sakura-chan! Echoing throughout his space, she seemed to be out of breath, and scared. If Sakura was in trouble he couldn't just stand by idly.

While the thought of leaving such a calm place weighed on him slightly, he had to make sure that she was okay.

As the waves lapped at his sides, Naruto's eyes shot open. Swallowing a lung full of water brought him to his senses, causing him to bolt straight up. Luckily the water was only a few inches deep, but that was the only comfort in this alien environment.

The chamber he awoke in was quite large, with walls made out of some red stone all with intricate, unfamiliar carvings. The place was dimly illuminated although with no source for the light anywhere to be found.

Naruto finally stood up, glancing around to see an almost endless room with no ceiling in sight. Slight pulses could be felt in the shallow water as if the whole place was humming. Ripples could be seen traveling along the surface, coming from somewhere behind him.

Deep growls bellowed out from behind Naruto, leading him to peek over his shoulder at a massive cage, towering hundreds of feet into the air. Glowing red eyes dominated the room as the creature gazed down on the small boy.

As it began to shift in the darkness of its cell, the ripples grew into a wave, crashing into the blond. The force alone almost carried him away however he stood his ground.

"Hey! Are you the one messing with my friends?!" Naruto shouted to the beast, his voice barely carrying over the waves.

"Interesting..."

The voice boomed such a deep rough tone, echoing throughout every little crack and crevice in the massive space.

"So you have noticed me after all, you brat."

Almost immediately, Naruto lost his footing amongst the current, being drug under the surface, and carried away.

"Naruto you have to stop, please!" The possessed boy took a few paces back and stood seemingly confused, before howling into the air with a deafening cry. Sakura's eyes widened as he charged towards them, however in a blur of movement, it was over. The monster had disappeared, revealing two older ninjas standing in front of them, backs facing the beast. "It's alright now, it's over." One of them said as he turned toward the destroyed forest.

The one on the left held a head full of spikey silver hair and a face mask, while the other had a cigarette and black hair with a handkerchief containing a familiar symbol. They both smiled, or at least Ino and Sakura thought the white-haired one was smiling through his mask.

"We got Naruto calmed, he is going to be okay. Let's head back now girls."

Behind the pair, Ino leaned to see what had happened to Naruto since the wind and noise had died down. There stood the Third Hokage in his battle outfit, carrying the boy in his arms. His face looked worn and tired and even then he managed to smile at the two girls trying to calm their fears.

Even though she had seen him regenerate after being shocked by the ninja's combo attack, he was covered in dark red burns. Despite everything, Ino and Sakura managed a small amount of empathy for the boy. Maybe that cloak which had burned the other shinobi had the same effect on him.

"Hello, girls," Lord Third said, "I'm sorry about this whole thing, so let's go back to my office. I will explain everything there." A warm smile covered his face as he escorted them home through the woods.

Ino and Sakura looked at each other before following the Hokage on heavy feet, confused and scared about what had just happened. Everything seemed to be going way to fast, only an hour ago they had been in school, now they were being led away from a nightmare.

"Sakura?" Ino said.

"Yeah, Ino?" Sakura replied quietly

"Do you know what's going on?"

It was a very honest question and Sakura could only reply with a shrug. She had no way of answering.

The black-haired man turned to the other man, his cigarette dangling from his parched lips, both stayed behind. "So that is the Jinchuriki, huh Kakashi?" Kakashi turned to him,

"Yeah," Kakashi replied pulling an orange book.

Asuma rolled his eyes, imaging what Kurenai would do if she caught him reading something like 'that'.

"He must be quite the handful for an incident like this to occur," Asuma said, waving his hand toward the wrecked landscape. Both observed the carnage while other Anbu showed up to retrieve their fallen partners.

"Not necessarily, Asuma." Kakashi claimed, "He is the one who failed the academy exam three times so far, but he is still trying." Asuma nodded and inhaled on his cigarette. "Really, does he take your interest Kakashi?"

The silver-haired ninja chuckled. "He reminds me of an old friend."