Alright! Ch.2 left a notable sour note that brought the mood of the story way down. So I felt I needed to go on and get another chapter up to get past that. Glad I did because the almighty impulse took over and ran with my imagination to make this chapter.

On Naruto not needing the extreme to change his views, I disagree, with all the personal suffering he went through before, only the extreme could really alter his views. But with a support system, we see that kept to a moderate shift. However, what will happen in the future will further define his views.

I do ant to establish a greater connection between you my readers and the characters, IE. Naruto, and while that can be done with the healing, I admit fully, I also didn't want to spend forever at the academy either. So I hope this works to show some improvement in that area. For now, I'll do what I can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the Devil May Cry Series.

Naruto breathed as he held his pipe with determined focus, staring down his enemy. The other opponent was a taller man wielding a large sword, his hair falling down, a long coat, he seemed to be having fun with him. Naruto sneered at the man, but they both rushed at each other. Naruto swung his pipe to cut the throat bu the man leaned back and came back with a one arm neck to hip cut down. Naruto brought up his pipe in a hanging guard, letting the man's blade slide down the length of his blade before he stepped forward from the guard into a swing for the chest.

The man used a swinging block to parry his blade away, then sidestepped for an attempted decapitation swing. Naruto brought the pipe behind his back while ducking. the weapons making light contact before all contact was lost. A sign he didn't duck fast enough. Low to the ground, he went for a shin breaker but his opponent jumped back and took a ready stance. The man grinned at him, but Naruto scowled as he placed the pipe in his left hand, right gripping the 'handle' of his pipe sword. Naruto pumped chakra t his legs and suddenly dashed, drawing his pipe in an Iai strike that the man barely blocked, pushed back evident by the track marks on the ground from his feet.

Naruto took a two-handed posture and ready stance with his pipe. 'Come on Dante, what else you got?' He voiced in his head.

"That's enough Naruto. Good spar." The named Dante spoke. But as he calmed, he saw the visage of the man fade away, leaving a woman with long purple hair, a gentle face and Anbu gear standing in his spot, a long pipe held in her own hands. However, her pipe was bent all to hell at areas where it had a gentle curve, but now one point it bent it at almost a 45' of the other direction, making it useless as a sword analog. Naruto's though was still as straight as the day he found it.

"I never thought steel pipes would make a good training tool for kenjutsu, but I'm proven wrong. trains against hand shock, the sound against steel on steel grinding. The round shape is good for just form practice and the weight certainly helps and it lasts longer than wooden wasters. I still don't understand how your pipe remains straight after so many years of hard use though." She said, tossing her now broken pipe to the side where others were at.

"I told you, I channel my chakra through it." He said.

"I get that but how? No matter which pattern of chakra molding I try it's the same result." Yugao spoke, motioning to the growing pile of bent steel pipes they had on the side of their training ground. Each one saturated with chakra molded in a different way to test its traits. Yugao had become his instructor and sparring partner in kenjutsu, along with her boyfriend Hayate, arguably Konoha's defacto swordmaster, though Hayate had come later once Naruto's recovery had come up to pace.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. It's just something I did when I first grabbed the pipe. Ever since then I just find myself doing the same kind of channeling like that time." He spoke, pulling the pipe into his left hand.

"Well, have you given any thought to having that pipe forged into a proper sword? Being so skilled in kenjutsu is good, but that skill will only count for so much without a proper blade." Yugao spoke, motioning to the sword on her back, not the standard issue Anbu blade, but her own, a Gift from Hayate.

"Still thinking about it. It's not that I don't want a sword, but I've had this pipe for so long that it almost feels I'd be spitting on it just to reforge it." He said, a little self-conscious about it. The pipe had been with him for years, no doubt it was so heavily saturated in his chakra and the specific molding method he instinctively used that it was weapons-grade all it's own now. The entire pipe was polished steel with not a scuff or mark, not a dent or bend in it. It was the length of a long sword, which fit his wielding of it.

"But what about those designs you made? The O-katana, the bone greatsword, and the horned crossguard sword?" She asked and he sighed, thinking of those three very detailed drawings he made of the two swords she was talking about. They had been something he drew aimlessly many times, the actual designs in his dream journals that he continued to write. The katana belonged to Vergil, while the greatsword belonged to Dante. The other sword... he still wasn't completely clear on.

"I'm thinking about it. Let's move onto the next exercise." He stated and she nodded. Sighed as he looked around to the training area, it was an Inuzuka training ground, but it was abandoned for the most part due to some bad memories that happened there for a few members. He breathed a moment before chakra coalesced along his body and gathered around him, blue chakra turning gold as they formed into several blades, some the size of kunai, others the size of long swords, to zanbato and even spears. The blades all changed to the same longsword shape as he controlled them by will alone. The summoned swords gathered and spiral to form a rough shield of blades in front of him.

He then willed the blades to circle around him as if he were the center of a buzzsaw that spun around him rapidly before the blades broke free and spun on there own around him. This was the more difficult of the control exercises given he had to control each blade independently. Then he set them to fly around him. Yugao stood off to the side, watching closely as he continued the routine. This had become an exercise for him to work his summoned sword blade control. Using his hands to direct the motion made it easier, but it gave him away and a skilled opponent could read the motions to read the blades. So she had set him to this type of training.

The KGRD instructors had been excited by the blades and had him train the ability to its current level, but the control behind it was all her instruction. She drew several kunai and shuriken, then threw them, the unai heading straight at him, while the shuriken curved round to get at him from the sides. Naruto pulled the blades back, forming a spinning shield of summoned swords that blocked the kunai, but then two broke off and grew into zanbato to block the shuriken. She allowed a slight smirk at that, his control was improving, granted the weapons were thrown with the force a genin could produce, but she wanted him to develop his control first since the speed and force of his skills with summoned blades would come with more and more training, control came first.

"Good. The blades are responding to your will and intent very well." She stated as he dispersed the blades. "We've already gone over your other skills for the day, you should be more than ready for graduation tomorrow. You still plan on holding back?" She asked, looking at the boy who took a deep breath and nodded. "Well, alright then. Just remember it's a full battery of tests in each field, the new reforms to the academy have been useful, your class has had the benefit of getting them halfway through, so show them what you are made of." She spoke.

"Just enough to be wary of and a little feared Yugao-Sensei. If I reveal my strengths too early then it'll draw attention." He stated and she nodded. "It's almost time for your shift isn't it? Better get going, I'll head on back on my own." He said as he rolled his shoulders.

"You sure?" She asked, slightly concerned, it may have been years since then, but the memory of the boy curled up on that bed had stuck with her.

"I'm sure." He spoke, clutching the pipe harder, where the polished steel turned blue, then gold before returning to normal. She nodded and pulled her mask, putting it on and vanished in a swirl of leaves. He sighed, he had really been wanting to learn that technique, but she said it wasn't time yet. Walking over to the pile of bent pipes, he grabbed one and bent it back to roughly straight. After that incident, his raw strength had vastly improved and he was growing stronger every day. Despite that, he barely had any real muscle size to him, definition and form sure, but wearing clothes you could hardly tell he had any. Setting the pipes down, he wondered if he should take them to a smith, they had a lot of chakra in them and were made of good steel so they'd make more than decent blades... Maybe some other time.

Leaving the training field, he set off back for home thinking of tomorrow. It was finally time for graduation... in a way, he was having a hard time believing it. Four years... his first year had been the worst, but the years after it had gotten better. In those years plenty of things had changed. He had shifted from his whites to a proper choice of clothes for a Shinobi.

He wore a Royal Blue sleeveless Kimono-style shirt that hung low almost like a skirt, cinched closed tight with a black sash with a spiral on the back of the shirt and a spiral emblem tied onto the front of the sash, below that was a black mesh short sleeve shirt, the sleeves going past the kimono shirt to mid-bicep. He wore black pants tied with the same royal blue color bandages around both thighs, both having a weapon holster and midsize pouch instead of a belt pouch. From the shin down to the ankle the pants were bandaged with black bandages into black Sandals, anbu style. His hair now came down to his neck and shoulders in loose slightly spiky locks of snow white hair that hung across his face and over an eye at times. On his forehead, he wore a blank forehead protector with a black cloth, a habit he got into to get used to the weight and feeling. The only other thing was his nails, hands, and feet were all painted, a battle he kept constantly losing so he compromised on dark blue.

His choice of blue over his old color orange was a surprise to many, but he just said he felt like a change, regardless many liked the new change, made him less of a target and when he started his hell-raizing, hardly anyone if ever, saw him. However, with his slender figure, fair skin and hair, the form of dress he wore just confused the fuck out of everyone. Something he got a particular kick out of nowadays. After his recovery, he had secluded himself among the girls more and well, as he healed and adjusted, he found himself blending more with the girls than the guys, which in all honesty, he started to care less about as the days went on, hence why he had no problem with his current dress.

Slipping his pipe into his sash like a katana, he kept to the path back to the Inuzuka homes where his home was... That was a trip everytime he thought about it. Once he came out of his panic haze, finding out that Tsume and her family was now his family, as his 'caretakers' as a cover-up, but really they had adopted him in all but name. He was happy to have a family, though since he wasn't an official member of the Inuzuka, he couldn't larn Inuzuka secrets or methods of fighting, that was fine since he was developing his own styles.

Styles he was gleaming from his dreams. He couldn't explain it, but it was all of his dreams. That dream of the man garbed in blue with the Katana and the one in red fighting, twin brothers. Vergil and Dante. Fighting at the top of a tower, for several years that had been one of his greater recurring dreams among a few others. However, before he could ponder anymore he nearly ran into the front door of the house and shook his head. Opening the door, he stepped in and took his sandals off.

"That you pup?" He heard a woman's voice from the kitchen.

"Who else?" He asked, his smooth voice betraying his gender slightly. "I thought the Inuzuka senses were top notch. Guessed wrong, or are you just getting old?"

"Alright smart-ass, get in here, I didn't have time to cook after getting back from my mission so I grabbed some pizza." She said and Naruto stood a little straighter, sniffing the air. Smiling he went into the kitchen to find several boxes of said food waiting.

That damn crazing of his had been driving him mad for more than a year so finally, he'd gotten together with Chouji, his mother Chi-chi, and the Ichiraku's to help him figure it out. It took a little over two weeks but they had figured it out finally, and it was GLORIOUS, Naruto's craving had finally been met and the group had all been amazed by the dish. So much that the Akimichi asked to make and sell it in their restaurants, though the Ichiraku's not to be outdone maybe a pizza styled ramen, and Naruto may have inspired the diet killer dessert chocolate ramen that soon came after. It was funny how the two eateries had started competing with one another, lending both to quite the reputation and business flux that actually forced both to expand and hire more people. The Akimichi though paid a portion of all sales to him since he created it, something that was kept secret.

"Sweet. How was your mission though Mom?" He asked, looking to Tsume, his mother in everything but name.

"A pain in the ass. The client was an ass the entire time, security detail and escort, who I can't say. Just glad it's over." She said as she grabbed a plate and got her slices followed by Hana and Kiba. Hana was coming into her own now, she had moved out a year ago to get out on her own, though she stayed in the compound, Tsume was still sad that, as she put it, one of her daughters left home, much to his ire.

"Well, at least you're back home and uninjured. Plus it pays well." Hana stated and Tsume just grunted in response.

"I thought Jonin got more exciting missions than simple escort duty?" Kiba spoke out with a mouth half full of pizza before he even sat down at the table. Kiba had been a bit hurt over his newfound brother's reluctance toward him, but once he figured out what happened, he had become extremely protective of him since then till he really came back to his own. He still joked he had to look after his little sister

"It's not the excitement that goes up pup, but the danger. Be aware of that, as the mission rank goes up, so does the danger, a simple c-rank out of the village can still get you killed, merely the chances of it are lower than most." Tsume corrected once they sat down at the table. They all pulled some extra meat Tsume had gotten with the pizza and they feed the dogs from their plates, although one of the Haimaru triplets ended up with a slice of pepperoni between his eyes that he whined, trying to get at, only for Akamaru to jump over and snatch it before landing.

They laughed a bit at that before they started to eat their own food, the dogs eating their actual meals from bowls that had a nutrient mix they needed as canines to keep them healthy. "So why you over here Sis? Not to say I don't want you over just it's not Sunday." Naruto asked Hana who smiled at him.

"You two actually. Tomorrow is graduation and I want to hear about it as soon as possible on you two passing." Hana said with her smile still plastered on her lips.

"I know I'll pass. Kiba though..." Naruto rolled his head around a bit like he was unsure and got a punch to the arm for his trouble then he started laughing. "Joking, I'm sure Akamaru will make sure you pass." He dodged a swipe at his head this time, while the others were all laughing now. "Anyway, I'm sure we'll both pass. Any idea on our teams though?" He asked.

"Yeah, but I can't tell ya, you know that," Tsume spoke and the two genin hopefuls sighed.

"Eh, worth a shot." He voiced as he ate another slice of pizza. They continued talking for a while longer before he went to his room to lay down for sleep after getting showered. wearing a pair of linen sleeping pants and short sleeve shirt, he kept white for his casual clothes. he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

[Dreamscape]

He was here again in his dreams. experiencing it from the point of view as the man in blue, he watched as they passed through several events of watching the rise of a tower from a city. It was both frightening and awe-inspiring as he watched the tower rise. The man, Arkham, left and the one in blue, then dealt with several creatures he somehow knew to call demons. This is partly where the foundation of his kenjutsu came from, his style.

Vergil fighting his brother at the top of the tower, he saw this fight as a third person and as the one fighting. It was shocking to see them fighting so fast and hard to even cut the rain into a perfect dome.

Then came Vergil's betrayal of Arkham, cutting him down. The fight with Beowulf, cutting his head into quarters, which he still had yet to figure out how he did with that movement he did. Then the most interesting part of that fight. Literally taking Beowulf's soul and transforming it into a weapon, a devil-arm. How he fought with it was the style he had based his hand to hand with, paired with the academy style where he needed help at.

"Sparda."

Naruto's mind froze when he heard that. 'Sparda? What? But that's the name I chose for my Kekkai Genkai.' He thought as he allowed himself to dive deeper into the dream. Surprisingly going deeper, past the point he hadn't been able to pass yet. Watching the fight between brothers in the chamber, the amulets were the key to unlocking the door to the demon realm, there blood being key to undo the spell before a girl came into the mix. Then Arkham returned.

"You have lost. Because you underestimated humans." The now revealed Arkham spoke, posing as an eccentric clown moments before. His words were chilling. speaking of a spell, Sparda's blood, two amulets...amulets. The brother's amulets. But how? And the spell, he only saw Vergil and Dante losing blood. "Two amulets, a set of Sparda's blood," Sparda...he made it sound like Sparda was a person. "And now I need one more key."

Then he spoke of the spell, the tower, to suppress tower, the two things were sacrificed, Sparda's own blood. and a Priestess blood, before he stabbed the girl's leg with her own weapon. "It was quite the ride you know. If any of you had died before getting here, it'd be such a waste. But I also had to guide you here for this, but to make sure you battled to weaken you so I could have the advantage. But now... I have all I need." He spoke and started to laugh hysterically as the clown before they turned it around and had him at weapon point between the three of them.

"Impressive, I expected nothing less from the devil's descendants." Naruto felt cold at that. He analyzed the entire situation, but before too much longer Arkham kicked them all as tremors spread throughout the chamber and his vision went dark.

[Inuzuka house]

He woke with a start and huffed, he was in a cold sweat, his shirt was drenched. He rushed off his bed to his bookcase, grabbing the last incomplete dream journal and setting at his desk, where he picked up his pen and started writing, picking up from the fight with Beowulf and continuing the entry. Never glancing over a single detail, not even the fight. Not a single detail was glazed over.

Once he finished the blackout, he read and reread it, before he fell back into his chair. "No way. It can't be." He spoke, looking at the entry multiple times more. He pulled another notebook, his combat journal where he wrote things down, his styles, how he fought, techniques, uses of his Kekkai Genkai, everything. He disguised it as one of his dream journals. rereading everything in it, he then wrote down all the key details of the fight, and suddenly he remembered details from past fights, and pulled out all his dream journals, analyzing and writing down anything he felt was pertinent.

Once he was done he reread it all and felt his hands trembling. "Are these really just dreams?" He asked, setting the journals down. He had similar abilities to the two brothers, he could heal and ignore injuries like them, he was stronger and faster than normal people, even ninja his own age. Not to mention they all shared the white hair, and the name Sparda stuck out to him... Son's of Sparda, the demon...

"The hell is going on?" He huffed.

[Seal-scape]

Behind the cage, the demonic nine-tailed fox looked past its cell at the wall where the memory seal was that was now pulsing. The Kyuubi narrowed its eyes. "The seal's shape changed and went dormant years ago, Vergil. Why are you activating it again now?" He asked aloud as the seal, in the shape of a large, blunt, greatsword with two inverted horns protruded from the bottom of the blade beside the handle, where the Yamato's image once stood, was pulsing with energy once more. The memories had stopped right after that fight with Beowulf. He dived into those memories and found past memories were now clearer than they once were, new details coming to light, and now, he could progress past that fight. "Oh?" He mused as he experienced the memories of Vergil and his prison. "So he's finally putting together the pieces..." He spoke, wondering when he'd get the memory of their meeting.

[House]

"Oi, Naruto! Wake up or moms going to kick your ass." Kiba called and Naruto jumped before he looked at the clock and saw it was getting late. He cursed and quickly got his stuff put away, he'd think about it later.

"I'm up Kiba! You get your shower?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's free." He called back before he heard him step away. Sighing he left the room and grabbed his towel and quickly got cleaned, he desperately needed it right now. Still, his thoughts were so jumbled he couldn't make heads or tails of it at all. Finishing his shower, he dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist as he came down to get to his room, though in the kitchen, his room was closest to it, he saw Kiba who turned around hearing him and look at him.

"Okay seriously, You can't get mad at people for saying what they do, even now you look like a flat chested chick."

Hana quirked an eyebrow as she sat at the table drinking her morning Coffee with her mother. Then she saw a towel lash out from the hallway and crack her brother between the eyes like a whip before the towel vanished. She spat out her coffee as she started howling in laughter along with her mother even as Kiba dropped to his knees in pain as he held the space between his eyes.

"Might not be a girl. But I haven't seen a better retaliation to a flatchested remark than that in a long ass time!" Tsume barked as she held her gut. Hana couldn't talk she was laughing so hard. Kuromaru was snickering to himself while shaking his head as were the Haimaru triplets, while Akamaru whined over his companion's lack of...well, lacking.

"Say that again and I'll show you just how mad I can get." Naruto threated before he went to his room to get dressed.

"Say what? That you're flatchested or a chick?" He asked, only to be met with a paperweight to the face, knocking him down and out. Hana and Tsume fell out of their chairs they were laughing so hard. Soon enough they stopped laughing and Hana got Kiba awake and made sure there was no lasting damage, but she left the mark behind on his face.

"Come on sis! You've got to heal this! It'll make me look stupid and we have I.D. photo's right after we get our Headbands." He pleaded to Hana who shook her head.

"Nope, this is your punishment. Even if he's not a girl, you don't just say things like that and get away with it. Imagine if you had said that to a girl?" She told him.

"But what if they really are flat-chested?" He asked, clearly confused.

"You still don't say it," Naruto spoke, coming out dressed the same as he was yesterday. "Seriously, I'm going to have to hold your hand to get you a girlfriend aren't I?" He asked.

"Oi!" Hana and Tsume were laughing again before Tsume pushed a plate of breakfast over to Naruto. "I ain't that bad." He said and the three just quirked their eyebrows at him.

"Alright, let's say you were going to take Sakura out on a date and she asks you to tell her what you find attractive about her body, because no offense to her, but she is flat-chested for now, can you honestly tell me you'd find something good to say without being an ass?" He asked.

"Well, of course, she's um...um..." He was floundering a bit for something to say.

"That's what I thought. Looks like I will be holding your hand." He said and the two women laughed.

"What like you're any better? You're a damn trap, literally." He called back and he just got a smirk for his anger.

"Maybe. But I'm the best damn trap there is where even the real deal can't spot me." He stated and the women were snickering now. "Just be glad you have a brother who's friends with the girls our age and can teach you things so you can understand them." He said as he finished his breakfast and got up. "Alright, we're going. Wish us luck." He said, grabbing his pipe and Kiba by his collar and walking out of the house.

"Definitely picked up some feminine traits." Tsume said and Hana smirked.

"He's the best trap there is, don't you know that?" She quipped and Tsume chuckled a bit before silence fell over them. "That's going to cause him some trouble when he leaves the village for the first time."

"I've already talked to him about it during a session with Inoichi, he's aware and he says he's prepared, Just have to have faith in him. Thankfully he'll have someone there he trusts for it." Tsume spoke and Hana turned to her.

"Who's that? He doesn't trust many." She asked.

"Well, you see-"

[Academy]

"Hear me? You can't just d that around girls, women, or females in general, I know you don't do it intentionally, but it's something you have to work on."

"Alright, alright. Damn Naruto, sound like Mom and Hana." He grumbled.

"Well, that's because they actually have the first-hand experience about things involving not having anything between their legs." He spelled it out for him with a smack on the back fo his head. "I swear we should tie you to the end of a log to use your head as a battering ram." He spoke and Kiba growled. "Ah go growl at someone else." He waved it off before he left Kiba to his own devices.

Walking through the academy, he was happy for the distraction, he needed it after that dream and his morning. But he focused on the here and now so he could do his best for the day.

Getting to the classroom, he looked around and saw most everyone was there. Walking up he took a seat in his usual spot with Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. After the incident, the three had bonded closer and figured it out for themselves soon enough and really helped him as close friends. Hell, he'd go so far as to even call them sisters with how close they had gotten. In turn to helping him, it had helped his two shy friends come out of their shells to bring him out of the one he was trying to build. Sakura was now a bit headstrong, but she put that head of hers to great use and bettered herself to defend him, while Hinata got the confidence to be the support he needed and Ino made sure not a single bad rumor got spread about him from the class when whispers of things started floating around. The three weren't the only girls to help him, but definitely the most supportive and the ones he was closest to.

for a time Ino and Sakura had a crush for Sasuke, but by that time he was coming out of his depression and managed to make them look at the other girls and see how they were ignoring their own training just to swoon over him, and while painful at the time to mention, he reminded them what happened to him and if they weren't strong enough, it could happen to them. That shocked them out of their obsessiveness, but then he pointed out how he didn't give the girls the time of day either and pointed out how he treated them. That pretty much extinguished it from there.

Sure when the massacre happened they had tried to help Sasuke out, but he closed off completely, something Naruto recognized and brought it up with Inoichi, who managed to talk to his mom about and they got him into Therapy over it. That was something else, While Tsume may be his full-time caretaker, he had to have a Caretaker still come by when she was out on a mission. Tsume had been out on a mission and Mikoto was his caretaker for the day, so she hadn't been there at all for the massacre and discovered it and Sasuke passed out in the street.

There was no telling if the therapy sessions with Inoichi helped, but when he learned it was Naruto who spoke up about it, he resented him and pretty much anyone he associated with, which meant his sisterly friends. He apologized to Sakura and Ino for that, but that told him it was no big deal, if he was acting like this towards him, he wasn't worth it. That really touched him, and he felt that was when they had gotten closer.

Shikamaru and Chouji he was friends with, they had been patient with him, Shikamaru especially as he kept Choji from saying anything without realizing it, something he was thankful for. It wouldn't be until two years after he finally told Choji what had happened and why he acted like he did. Choji panicked and apologized for anything and everything he might have said, but he told him Shika stopped him before he did and then it all clicked for him. He was thankful for his friend for being so careful with him. The two along with his brother Kiba was pretty much his only guy friends, Though he spoke more with Shino, the boy seemed to just...it was weird, he acknowledged him, but he kept his distance.

Almost like he was afraid of him.

His time at the academy was okay, but it surprisingly got better after the massacre. Tsume told him that a large portion of the Village Council had also been killed that night, something her kids, him included got scared and paranoid over since she was also on the council. However, surprisingly it was the civilian side of the council and Fugaku obviously.

In light of that Mikoto had taken over as Clan head of what remained of the Uchiha clan, of which she and Sasuke were all that was left. The village council had been reorganized after that. As Tsume told them, it ran beautifully compared to how it ran before. It was after that the academy and other parts of the village experienced some reforms and honestly, it was for the better.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura called and he came out of his thoughts and looked at the girl, shoulder-length pink hair tussled a bit as she looked him over. "You feeling alright? You've been staring off into space for a little while now." She asked, a little concerned.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just had something I was thinking about...had a really odd dream last night that's bugging me." He admitted, it wasn't anything bad to say that much and it was the truth.

"Oh, well don't think too hard about it. Dreams are just that after all." She said and he nodded, though he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Yeah. Anyway, excited for today?" He asked his friends and each of them nodded.

"What the hell happened to you Kiba!" Ino called out seeing his brother walk in, a welt right between his eyebrows and a red mark in the center of his face in the shape of the flat bottom of the paperweight he threw at him.

"Ask him." He said, pointing accusingly at Naruto, the girls turned to him. He decided to screw with him, so he wrapped his arms around his chest and pouted slightly.

"He saw me in just a towel and then he called me flat-chested..." He trailed off in a pitiful voice. With his voice and looks though, it was pure girl.

Kiba felt very cold in that moment watching and hearing his brother like that, a cold he had never felt before, but he felt his heart drop like a lead weight into his stomach as Sakura and Ino turned back to him, the evilest kinds of expressions of fury he had ever seen gracing their faces, he swore he saw veins throbbing on their forehead and necks. They weren't the only ones, as other girls had the same kind of expression, even Hinata, given how kind she was, looked very...Hyuuga.

"KIBA!" The said boy turned and bolted out of the room, or would have if Iruka hadn't been there for him to bump into.

"What's going on?" Iruka asked and Kiba took shelter behind their Sensei. He quickly muttered out what happened and Iruka blinked, scrunching his eyes together looking at Naruto. "But you're a boy." He said and the feminine rage calmed down.

"And? Didn't change what happened." He said with a straight face. The girls quickly picked up on it and started to laugh. "Though I will admit, what's wrong with his face is my fault." He admitted and the girls were still cracking up as Kiba grumbled and took his seat. "Don't be too mad Kiba, I'm just putting Mom's advice to using everything we have to our advantage."

"Dude, that was four years ago." He said.

"And it's stuck with me ever since then."

"He's right. As shinobi, you need to find everything you can about a given situation to use to your advantage, including your opponent's disadvantages such as their weaknesses. Even your looks can be a weapon, your example sitting right there." He said pointing at Naruto who grinned cheekily.

"Damn trap," Kiba grumbled putting his forehead into his arms on the desk. The girls just chuckled.

"Cheer up Kiba. Promise to think before you leap and I'll help you like I was talking about earlier." He waited for his brother who eventually grumbled and sat up.

"Anyway, class, today is the day you graduate from the academy. Graduate from here and you'll have proven yourselves to have the potential to become Elite Genin of Konoha." He started and Naruto just zoned out a bit as he made his speech. He had no doubt his friends and the other clan heirs would pass, Sakura might only be second generation shinobi, both her parents started out as civilians, but she had the potential and trained hard so she was good. The others...well, they may pass, but he couldn't bring himself to care for them.

"Now let's head outside to do our practical tests." He spoke, Naruto coming back to attention and got up with the others to do their tests.

Once outside, they started with the basics, throwing weapons. Sasuke set out to prove himself early and volunteered, no doubt he'd go first everytime. Good, that'd allow him to set the bar and what he had to do to come just below that bar. Sasuke picked up a gathering of Kunai and shuriken from the table and thrown the weapons, scoring a 9 out of 10 on both. The fangirl crowd squealed and both Inuzuka and Uzumaki covered their ears, enhanced senses can sometimes suck.

Some others did just as well, though he scored in with an 8 of 10 on both, having grabbed a set from the table rather than the ones Mizuki tried to hand him. Sasuke smirked at him but he rolled his eyes. Seriously he and Mikoto were related? He didn't see it.

Next was the walking exercises, something the reforms made a standard, each of them showing they could reliably perform the tree and water walking exercises. There really was no holding back here. He just ran up and down the tree and across the pond for ten minutes each like the others, which also served as a small show of cardio. Some others, mostly civilian kids just didn't have the reserves and so couldn't maintain it and fell.

In a way he did feel a little bad for them, more than half of them were orphans like him, but then he remembered that their parents had either been in that mob that attacked him that night he almost died or were Councilor kids that were corrupt and had been killed. After that particular thought, any pity or care he felt was carried away on a breeze and he continued on.

Then came the Taijutsu spars.

"I want to fight the tranny," Sasuke called out, pointing to Naruto. Anything else he might have been thinking or feeling, anger took its place.

"Sasuke, that's not how it-" Iruka admonished.

"Nah, it's fine today. He wants to challenge me, fine he's got a fight. He just best not regrets it." He spoke, pulling his pipe and handing it to Kiba who was growling at the Uchiha, along with the rest of his friends. Naruto stepped into the battle circle, staring down the other boy who was smirking smugly at him. "I think it's time for the Uchiha to learn his place." He spoke coldly.

Iruka looked a little unsure, but Mizuki smiled and nodded to Iruka who sighed. "Make the seal." He stated and the two did before they then took stances. "Begin." He called out.

Naruto immediately dashed with greater speed than he displayed previously, closing in on the Uchiha and planting a fist directly in his gut, folding him over his fist. There wasn't much skill in overwhelming your foe with pure physical ability, but damn if it didn't feel good. The Uchiha dropped back to his feet and stumbled back, holding his stomach and gritted his teeth. He tried for several strikes on Naruto but he evaded them all easily, then coming in with a backhand slap across his face with the right hand and then stepping back.

Sasuke took a second to comprehend that and then shouted enraged as he rushed the snowy-haired Uzumaki. Naruto rolled his eyes decided to end it, swaying out of the way of his first strike whilst parrying it with the left hand to the side, lashing out with an open right-hand throat jab, before grabbing Sasuke's attacking arm and turning using an arm drag throw, throwing and hooking his right arm under Sasuke's while his left hand kept grip on the offending arm and then kneeling and pulling forward, Sasuke going down and rolling over his shoulder, landing on his back on the ground. He ended it with a hard punch to the jaw, knocking him out.

Getting up, he dusted himself off, looking to the two shocked instructors. "And that's his place. I believe the match is over." He said, making a motion as though checking his nails.

"R-right. Winner, Naruto Sparda Uzumaki!" Naruto walked out of the battle circle while the on-call medic checked the Uchiha. The fangirls were yelling at him, but he ignored them, taking the pipe as it was handed back to him. The girls seemed very... eager, as they volunteered next, challenging the fangirls, and showing off a bit. Ino though made a show of after the match by applying nail polish, commenting that since there were no more fights, she didn't have to worry about the poison in her nail polish accidentally poisoning anyone now. The girl she fought had a few bleeding scratches on one cheek, making her go extremely pale. It only made it worse when she offered some to Hinata and Sakura, and even a special dark blue mixture to him. He just smiled and pocketed it.

It was safe to say after all this time he had embraced his feminine appearance, he had it, might as well make use of it.

After Taijutsu spars, they moved onto to basic stealth, played off as a game. Hide and seek from the instructors for an hour, the longer you last, the higher your score. Here, Naruto decided to go for full marks, drawing upon his pranks and everything he knew, evading attention, creating distractions away from him, false hiding spots, e did it. He last the full hour much to some people's ire. They broke for lunch after that, Naruto eating with his friends and just talking. After that came the written exam where he held back a bit, going for a rough 80%, more than enough to pass.

The final part was the ninjutsu portion. One by one they were called to a separate room, and after a while, they'd come back with a headband and call a new name, or they just called a new name, the failures obviously just skipping on out. Due to being called Alphabetically this time, he and Ino were going to be the last ones called. He put a hand on her shoulder to calm her nerves, giving her a smile to encourage her that she returned.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He heard, watching as Sasuke came back in with his headband. He rolled his eyes at his smug expression before he got up and walked out to the other room.

"Alright Naruto, perform the three standard jutsu for us first please," Iruka spoke. Naruto nodded.

"Sure thing Iruka Sensei." He spoke, making a single half ram hand seal and he transformed into Iruka.

"No obvious details out of place. Definitely, among the better ones I've seen today. Good. next." He asked. Naruto just pulled out a kunai and tossed it to Mizuki.

"Catch." He told him, but as the man reached to grab it from the air, he made another half hand ram seal and replaced himself with Mizuki, catching his own kunai. "Thanks." He spoke with a chuckle.

"Very good! It's no easy feat to switch with a person. Now the last one please." Iruka called as they walked back to the original spots.

"I can't perform Bunshin sensei, you know that." He told and Mizuki's eyes seemed to gleam. Narrowing his eyes at the man, he wondered what was going on in his head.

"Then I'm sorry Naruto, but we'll have to fail you." The white-haired instructor spoke.

"Mizuki-Sensei, do you have memory problems or something. I asked the Hokage about that and he said he'll send a letter since anyone with an active Kekkai Genkai that inhibits use of another jutsu get's a pass on that Jutsu to performs something else instead, either their own or just their Kekkai Genkai. I mean if you got memory problems that's fine, even Old Man forgets things at times but you're a little young for that." Naruto spoke and the man growled.

"He's right Mizuki, I did receive that letter, all teachers did. Didn't you read it?" He asked.

"It...must have gotten mixed up with my paperwork somewhere. Apologies. Well, what will you be showing us then?" He asked, clearly a little tense now.

"Well, my Kekkai Genkai is already known, gives me a healing factor eclipsing anything else." He spoke, pulling a Kunai and stabbing his own hand. Iruka shot up but he waved it off... with the kunai stabbed hand. He pulled it out and showed it, seconds later, not a bit f damage and wiping off any trace of blood it was like nothing happened.

"Makes me a lot harder to kill. Aside from that, I've grown fairly competent in kenjutsu." He stated, pulling his pipe from his sash.

"Why a pipe though?" Iruka asked.

"Why not? Blunt force trauma to shatter bones, cause the bone fragments to splinter to cut and tear the surrounding muscle tissue. Don't need to worry about edge alignment or edge sharpness, I can use it any which way I want, use it like a stick, and easily replaceable. Plus it'll go father to keeping anyone I want alive, granted they'll be in excruciating pain, but alive nonetheless for interrogation if needed." He said with a straight face whilst holding the pipe out to the side like a sword.

"I...see," Iruka spoke, that was quite a picture to paint, certainly not one he enjoyed entertaining. But it was a valid argument none the less. "Well then, run through a kenjutsu Kata you know and we will judge it." He finished.

Naruto nodded and took up the pipe, deciding to use a known style, the one Yugao was teaching him, which as he fell into and started going through the motions became recognizable to the two Chunin as a Konoha style. Iruka was nodding silently as he marked down the appropriate points for the demonstration.

"Good form, balance shifts between the stances and movements properly, no obvious breaks in your guard nor over-extension. You've trained well." Iruka spoke, grabbing a headband and offering it forward. "Congratulations Naruto. You pass." Iruka spoke and Naruto smiled, taking the Konoha forehead protector and replacing his blank one with it. He tied the blank one on to the side of his sash and left the room. Walking back to the classroom with a proud smile, his friends cheered him on before it was Ino's turn, encouraging her as she went. Not too long after she left she came back with her own headband.

"I must say this is likely the best class I've had yet and the better ones produced in recent generations." Iruka started, going on into a speech. Naruto wasn't listening though as he looked at Mizuki who seemed tense and upset. He knew Mizuki didn't like him, was responsible for some sabotage, but it was small stuff, his ability to hurt him academically was pretty much strangled when the reforms went up. He never mentioned it because he actually liked messing with the guy ad his pathetic attempts.

But he'd been very insistent and pushy most of the day, the spat over the Bunshin just made it suspicious and clear something was up. What could he be trying?

"That's it for today, You're dismissed today. Come back tomorrow for Team assignments." Iruka finished and they all got up to leave.

"Naruto, a moment please." Mizuki spoke.

"I'll catch up in a minute Kiba." He said, looking up to his ow former sensei who was standing straight and looking down at him. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Naruto, I've noticed you seemed to be struggling a bit. things you seem to get or should come easily have some trouble coming to you. Honestly, I see your skill and would like to give you a chance to show it." He said smiling down comfortingly at the blonde who was now guarded but kept calm outwardly.

"And how's that?" He asked.

"Well, there's an extra test, a secret one, that can bring you to the head of the pack. make you Rookie of the year instead of where your scores got you." He stated.

"And just what would this test be?" He questioned, dubious over the whole thing.

"A simulated mission of information retrieval from a guarded location and subsequent escape. If you can pull it off, it'll show favorably on your level of skill. That's all the details I can give." He finished.

Naruto made the impression he was giving it some thought. In truth, this all smelled like rotten fish. Where was Iruka then? Why approach him, he knew he didn't like it...the conditions of the 'test' spoke something was wrong. Putting everything together, while no Shikamaru, he had a rough idea he was trying to manipulate him into something.

"No thanks, sensei. I've already graduated. Besides situations like this are a high-risk high reward. Rookie of the year is just a title for the blowhards to gloat with. Real worth comes in staying alive out in the field. I don't want to risk this on just a chance to get something that doesn't matter out int he real world. Thanks for the offer though Sensei." He spoke, leaving the man before he could reply, though the stunned and twitching face showed he was displeased with that answer.

'Just what are you planning Mizuki?' He thought, walking out and finding Hana and Tsume waiting with Kiba who waved at him. He waved back and joined them, but he was thinking of Mizuki as he walked with his family to go celebrate

[Inuzuka House]

They had just finished with a big dinner, they were talking back and forth before Naruto decided he needed to see something.

"What's in your head Pup?" Tsume asked, getting his attention, Hana and Kiba looking at him.

"Nagging feeling I can't get out of my head... I think I'm gonna go see Jiji. I know he's likely been too busy to come visit today. I think going and seeing him will settle this nagging feeling." He said, getting up and grabbing his pipe.

"Want someone to go with you?" She asked and he shook his head.

"I'm good. Thanks for asking though. I'll be back before too long." He said, leaving the house and took off across the rooftops at speed. He didn't hold back on the speed either, going full tilt.

He was being honest about the nagging feeling, something was wrong and he needed to see what, while he was there he could ask Jiji about Mizuki.

[Hokage Tower]

He dropped at the front entrance of the tower without incident and walked on in, long since have been welcome to do so. He gave the secretary a warm smile who smiled back. He really did like this woman, she put her best into her work and was nice to him. "should I alert the Hokage you're coming?" She asked.

"Nah I'm good. Quiet night, guess you're getting ready to head home for the night?" He asked and she nodded. "Tell Sakura I said Hi then." He stated.

"Will do. Again thank you for helping out my Niece so much. I'm not sure what would have happened to her if she didn't have you in her life. You sure you're not interested in her?" The Haruno asked, being a thoughtful aunt to her niece.

"Hehehe, no. We're good friends, practically my sister. Besides, she said and I quote 'I can't date a boy who makes a better girl than I do' is what she said, word for word. Not that I mind but it's not like I intentionally try to look like this, besides they're the ones who dressed me." He motioned to himself and the Haruno giggled a bit.

"Indeed. Her loss though, whoever you snag will be a catch. I'm sure you'll make someone a very happy husband." She teased and Naruto pouted.

"That's mean Saida." He spoke with that point, looking from behind his hair in the trademark way he learned girls did. She just laughed it off, obviously immune. "Ah whatever, I'm heading on up. I'll see you some other time." He said and she nodded. Heading on up, he knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Stepping in after opening the door, he found a curious sight of Mizuki standing in front of the Hokage, who looked over to Naruto now and smiled warmly. "Ah, Naruto, good to see you. I was about to send for you anyway." He stated and Naruto coked his head to the side slightly. "You see Mizuki here has been speaking some things about you that I find questionable. But since you're here it clears up the need to call for you." He stated.

"That so?" he spoke, looking to Mizuki who seemed to be sweating a bit, his hands cupped together behind his back at attention. "I came to see you because I've had a nagging feeling over something ever since a talk Mizuki had with me." He stated and the man seemed to sweat ever slightly more. "So what's he been saying about me?" He asked.

"Things along the lines of you threatening other students, unnecessary violence, cheating and a few other things." He said, glaring at the instructor. Naruto turned his blue eyes on his former sensei who seemed to wilt under his glare.

"Well, I don't believe I've been acting like that. You've met my group of friends and talk to me plenty. But he tried to offer me a hidden exam that would make me Rookie of the year, something I wanted to talk to you about. A simulated mission of information retrieval from a guarded location and subsequent escape." He stated and the Hokage's eyes widened before they narrowed.

"There's never been a test like that for academy students. Sure I give Merit to Naruto's pranks as practical experience, but there is no such test like that for the academy." He spoke, looking to Mizuki. "Anbu-" However before he got to finish, Mizuki reached into his collar and pulled something over his face and threw something on the ground.

The room quickly filled with a green gas and soon several sets of coughing were heard. Naruto coughed, but as he breathed, where he felt general weakness a moment before, he felt his body get itself back in order and he stood. At that moment the glass of a window was broken and they heard footsteps. 'Poison Gas!'

"Jiji!" Naruto shouted and ran to where he knew him to be, ignoring the burning in his eyes, mouth, nose, and throat from the gas. He tripped over the Anbu who had dropped down, but he got to the Hokage who was coughing hard into his hand, trying t use a cloth to cover his mouth to filter the gas. Slinging his arm out, a blue chakra cloud formed into a zanbato golden sword and spun with the flat like a face towards the windows, pushing the gas out.

"Saida!" Naruto hollered out, who came rushing to find Naruto pulling Hiruzen up from the floor. "Mizuki used a Poison Gas!" He cried out.

"Go after him! I got things from here. I'll make sure they get treatment. Go!" She told him, forming green chakra around her hand and applying it to the Hokage's chest and he nodded, jumping out of the same window and chasing the shadow he barely saw in the distance.

[Forest]

Mizuki gritted his teeth, pulling the gas mask from his face. This was great, the fox didn't comply to his plan and his attempt to distract the Hokage and send an anbu to collect the boy so he could poison him and get the scroll all failed due to the damn fox brat. Unsealing his weapons, he geared as he tree hopped since there was likely to be a chase on his ass soon.

He narrowly avoided a handful of Kunai thrown at his next tree limb to land on and he was forced to redirect and land on the ground in a clearing, looking up to see his pursuer as the cause of this whole mess. He smirked, well, he'd be able to get some compensation at least.

"Well well, look at that. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised, that healing factor of yours is really something." He said with a cruel smirk. "Too bad your Jiji doesn't have the same thing." He saw the boy's face tighten and he smirked.

"You hurt the Hokage of the Hidden leaf... but more importantly, you hurt my Jiji you bastard. Now, why?" He demanded, drawing his pipe.

"That's for me to know. But I will tell you this, I'm going to have fun hanging your tranny corpse from the Inuzuka gates." He said as he drew a Great shuriken and hurled it at the boy.

The boy scowled, holding the pipe in his left hand, and used an Iai draw strike to hit the Great Shuriken and send it tumbling through the air end of the end. "That can't be all is it?" He asked the man who sneered, drawing kunai and shuriken to throw at the boy. Naruto jumped from his tree branch and with one hand, performed a replacement with the great shuriken as the man aimed at him in the air. Appearing on the ground where it landed he rushed at Mizuki who was surprised over the move and speed but managed to react and used his remaining great shuriken as an impromptu edged shield to block the strikes from the pipe.

"You really are this pathetic... I can't believe someone like you honestly tried to sabotage me for years at the academy. I'd have to have head seals just for that to work like you were trying." He scoffed and pressed the man back.

"Who says I was even trying. After the reforms, there were redundancies to prevent it so I had to back off. If the reforms didn't go through I'd have had you as stupid as the bitches in the Inuzuka Kennels." He retorted.

"Please, the bitches there are smarter than most if not all humans," Naruto remarked with a smirk

"Who says I was talking about the dogs?" Mizuki fired and Naruto's smirk dropped, followed up by a crushing avalanche strike from over the head onto Mizuki's weapon he blocked it with, forcing the man down to his knees. "Oh come on, it's not so bad, I mean you were used as a bitch for one night everyone knows about. With the way you dress, I'm betting you got a taste and started putting out. Where better to do it than with the rest of the bitches." Mizuki baited.

Angry as he was, he bit that bait and dragged it as he started wildly bashing his pipe sword at Mizuki every which way he could, who was taking advantage of his sloppy work to mount his defense and... "Probably the only way someone like you would feel loved anyway considering what you are." He said, which made Naruto pause, just enough for Miuki to slash out with the Great Shuriken to cut across Naruto's stomach, while the shirt, sash, and mesh were cut, a little blood, the skin was fine at next glance.

Naruto backed up, dealing with the pain but shook it off and looked at Mizuki. "And just what would you know about me anyway?" He growled.

"Something that's been kept secret from you." Mizuki baited again, getting his breathing under control as Naruto took in that bit of knowledge. "You wonder about it, don't you? Why everyone hates you? Despises you? The glares? Everything?" He asked him, circling around the former blonde. "Sure it got better when word got around you had a Kekkai Genkai. But they are probably hoping you'll become a breeding stock so you can be of use to Konoha." He spat out venomously.

Naruto listened and narrowed his eyes, looking at the man who stood across from him from behind his white hair the hung over his face. "What. Do. You. Know." He demanded through gritted teeth. Mizuki smirked, he wanted to draw this out, but he didn't have the time, he had to finish this.

"12 years ago. The demon fox attacked." Mizuki started, holding his great shuriken at the ready. "The fourth Hokage fought it tooth and nail but you can't kill something like that. So they found another way. They sealed it." He led on, now using chakra to spin the shuriken to maximum speed, evident by the sheering wind scream sound it was emitting. "But not just anything will hold it. So they chose a newborn baby, the coils could adapt to hold it, but in turn, it would become the fox." He went on and then pointed his free hand at his stomach. "And the proof is on your own torso."

Naruto looked down, where he saw in clear detail a seal. his free right hand went to it, touching it... Mizuki chose that moment to rush him, using all his speed to get close and swing the arm with the weapon to decapitate him, surely that would kill him. "Now die Demon." He cursed out as he went for the kill.

There was a spray of blood and then silence as the weapon stopped. Mizuki grunted, but then growled as he saw the boy with his right hand up gripping the blade stopped in his palm that was sliced over on the edge and bleeding. He looked up though, blue eyes turned to ice as he looked at Mizuki.

"And so what if I'm a Demon." He answered simply before his grip tightened and crushed the metal of the great shuriken he had hold of.

Mizuki gasped, stepping back, but then cried out as his right arm was shattered by an Iai draw strike with the pipe to it.

"I told you sensei," He spoke mockingly as he walked toward the pained Mizuki. "Blunt force trauma to shatter bones, cause the bone fragments to splinter to cut and tear the surrounding muscle tissue." He reiterated from the graduation test earlier that day.

Mizuki bit his tongue to quell his urge to cry out in pain, holding his right arm. He needed to get out of here. Turning, he booked it, but before he could go much further, he did cry out in pain as he fell and felt something stab into his leg and turned to see a golden blade stabbed into his left leg. The boy holding out his hand as several more blades floated around him.

"You won't be escaping Sensei, I promise that. You hurt my Jiji, insulted my family and their clan, made me remember some painful shit, and then you tried to kill me. Like hell, I'm going to let you get away." He spoke as he approached the fallen chunin.

"Genin Uzumaki! That's enough." He stopped moving forward as a familiar Anbu dropped down from the trees. "The Hokage will live Uzumaki, he and the anbu received treatment fast enough. We just need to bring in the traitor now."

"Of course yu-Neko." He spoke, correcting himself before he revealed her identity. "Hear that? You failed." He spoke at Mizuki who growled.

"Maybe...but I won't give you the satisfaction of having me." He said, producing another poison pellet and throwing it at the ground, the area exploding in poison gas, he heard him take a deep breath some coughing and then retching coughs and silence.

Neko had jumped back out of the Gas, but naruto grew the summoned swords into zanbato he fanned the area with, clearing the gas.

"Coward," Naruto muttered.

"Now we won't be able to figure out what his aim was," Neko spoke, but Naruto stepped forward. "Naruto?"

"Yugao... if I were a demon? would you treat me any differently?" He asked her.

He heard her gasp before she breathed. "He told you of your Burden?" She asked and he nodded. "Naruto, you aren't a demon. You are the prison for the beast. Not the beast itself. I've known you for years... held you at your weakest, and watched you become stronger since. There's no way I could see you as a demon like the villagers do." She stated.

"...That's just it Yugao." He started, stopping in front of Mizuki's corpse, his features pale and slightly green from the direct deep breathing of the poison gas. "I think I may be a demon. At least half of one." He stated cryptically. By this time Neko had removed her mask, Yugao staring confused at him before he grabbed Mizuki's head and just let his instinct and will do the rest.

Remembering that dream, of Vergil taking Beowulf's soul to create a weapon, he breathed and felt himself channel his chakra into the corpse, which glowed as his chakra intermingled and combined with the chakra left in the corpse, he felt a presence there, trying to resist, but he squashed it with his will and seized it, then the body came together upon itself and formed a glowing sphere of green and white light. Holding it in his hand, he closed his grip on it.

Light spread across the area, blinding Yugao, but as it faded she opened her eyes and found Naruto, except now he was holding what looked to be an armor slayer sword blade on a ring. The blade was rounded at the tip with two spikes coming from either side for piercing armor and then an edge on the inside curve and down the length, the overall color a pale green.

Naruto looked it over a moment before he took it and started performing a variety of cuts, hooks, slashes, and strikes with it, twisting his body and rotating his body on the ground and in the air. Then he brought it behind his back, where she heard a metallic twang, and then the blade suddenly split into three around the ring into a unique folding great shuriken. He threw it, and she watched as it cut through several trees in its path before it curved and arced back, where Naruto jumped and caught it in mid-air, flipping down to the ground to land with the weapon posed in front of his body, the blades folding back to a single blade. He placed it on his back, where it flowed in light and vanished.

However, looking at Naruto, he seemed just as confused as she was. "Naruto...what was that?" She asked, stunned, amazed...and worried, the lead up to that display causing it.

"Something that apparently only demons can do." He said, looking at his hands. "Is the old man awake?" He asked.

"Yes, since he has gotten to so quickly they minimized the damage and was able to keep him conscious. He's waiting for news of Mizuki." She stated.

"Well, I got news alright, and some extra... I want to stop by my house first. I think I have something that can explain everything, or help anyway, and I want mom to know about this." He stated and she nodded, where they left to go collect what he was wanting.

[Inuzuka House]

"Naruto!" Tsume called as she rushed to the door and grabbed hold of her son, holding him and looking him saw the signs of battle, his torn clothes, the blood on his clothes and skin, smelled the traces on poison gas, but he looked alright physically, however she saw his eyes and her worry just tripled. "We heard of the poison gassing of the Hokage's office, and I thought..." She bit back a sob as she pulled her boy close. "I thought I lost you for sure. What happened?" She asked, seeing him, looking him over.

"It's...there's a lot." He said, sighing. "I'm fine. But there's some heavy stuff, I need to talk to Jiji, but I need to get some stuff and I want you to come with me okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"Whatever you need Pup, be quick and we'll leave," She told him and he nodded, but didn't get far as Hana and Kiba both pulled him into crushing hugs, just as scared. Healing factor or not, they still worried, something he was incredibly grateful for.

Tsume looked at Yugao as Naruto left, but the woman shook her head. "It's too complicated to even comprehend right now, and I was there for it. Let's wait till we can talk with Lord Hokage." SHe said and Tsume nodded. Naruto came back down with a backpack, one of the pockets had a notebook sticking out of it, one she recognized as one of his dream journals. He didn't say anything as he went outside and Yugao left the way. Leaving a confused and worried Hana and Kiba behind.

[Hospital]

Neko led them to the hospital room where the Hokage was located, obvious by the Anbu flanking the door. She nodded to them and they were allowed himself where they saw the old man laying back on a bed with Machines hooked to him and an oxygen mask around his neck, there for easy grab and breathing. He opened his eyes and smiled seeing Naruto.

"You're okay. That's good. I didn't know what Mizuki had planned or prepared so I was worried when I came to and realized Saida sent you after him." He said.

"Don't be mad at her. As soon as you were okay I was going to go after him anyway. Saida just helped it along." He said but smiled. "I didn't know Saida was a Kunoichi." He spoke and the old man smirked.

"That's the point. Keep it to yourself though, even now very few still know. Now since you're here I'm assuming Mizuki has been dealt with in some way, so tell me what happened." He ordered and Naruto nodded.

Taking a breath, Naruto started recounting the moment since the gas attack, detailing his experience in the gas, how it affected him only a moment before he overcame it, Saida, then the chase. Stopping Mizuki and the chase. Though when he spoke of the encounter, he didn't leave out a detail, not even what he said. So when they heard that Mizuki called him a tranny, a whore, and everything else that was said, two were ready to put the bastard in the ground, while the third was ready to revive him just to do it herself.

But then he got to the point of the break in the fight, admitting he let his anger get the best of him, that allowed Mizuki to continue. "He started taunting me with why everyone hated me." He continued, and heard two distinct gasps, but held up a hand. "I knew I shouldn't have let him keep talking, and I'm sorry Jiji for going against your trust since you told me you'd tell me eventually. But I was just so angry that-"

"Naruto, it's fine. I can't blame you for wanting to know, and you couldn't control it either. But please continue." He told the boy who nodded.

"He used the talking to get a break and prepare his next attack, dancing around it just long enough to get ready before he told me about the fox. That it was sealed into a newborn that night." He spoke and heaved a heavy breath. "That I'm a demon." He recounted.

"Naruto, That's not true. You aren't the fox!" Tsume shouted at her son, kneeling beside him and forcing him to look at her. "My son, official, adopted blood, or whatever the fuck otherwise, is not the demon that attacked this village 12 years ago. You hear me Pup?!" She told him firmly.

"She's right Naruto. Whatever Mizuki told you, he was using it to manipulate you so he could attack. You are its prison, Minato wanted you to be seen as a Hero for holding back the fox, for keeping the village safe from its rampage...Sadly, the council spread the word about you before I was wearing the hat again and I had to run damage control with a law that only helped you so much."

"I don't blame you Jiji, I know you did as much as you could for me. I'm just glad things changed for the better... The thing is though, with what happened after that. Mizuki was more right than he realized when he called me a demon I think." He stated.

"What do you mean?" Tsume asked, clearly worried.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably but sighed. "Step back please." He asked and Tsume did after a tense moment. Yugao was already steps away. He reached behind him, there was a glow of light before it formed back into the weapon, where he showed it to them and watched as it split and unfolded it's three blades. "This...is what used to be left of Mizuki's corpse." He informed.

"Wha? But how...that's..." Hiruzen spoke, clearly taken off guard by it.

"He's telling the truth, sir. I was witness to the event in question... I'm not sure what he did, but I watched as he grabbed Mizuki's corpse and transformed his body into a ball of light, that then formed this weapon, then displayed surprising and intuitive skill with it as though he were a natural wielding it for years." She surmised. "It's a powerful weapon just from what I can tell."

"That's...okay, but that's hardly grounds for calling yourself a Demon Naruto," Hiruzen explained.

"I know. But this isn't the first time I've seen this... I've dreamt about this. Have been ever since that night I nearly died. Only just that Last night I had a dream that was the clearest I've had yet so far and had details that connected so much and made things clear...about a Legendary Dark Knight, a demonic swordsman, named Sparda." He stated and the adult's eyes all widen, that was the name he chose to represent his Kekkai Genkai

Pulling off his backpack while Tsume brought forward chairs from the wall, they all took seats, as this as going to take a while, seeing how many journals he had with him. He started with all the details he had, reading and passing his journals around, filling in any of the blanks and gaps that were covered in later journals. Nothing was passed over.

"The one thing about my dreams though, they're all either from the perspective or a third person perspective of Vergil, not his brother Dante. It's Vergil's Iai fighting style I use with my pipe, his hand to hand style mostly. I feel a kinship with him through the dreams, it's uncanny. I think he somehow may be responsible for my change." Naruto spoke.

"I think you may be right. The details match up. His swordsmanship matches the description of the one we identified as killing the mob that was chasing you that night, the scent we found near you was unknown to any Inuzuka, and no one in Konoha back then has that kind of skill with a sword. But if he was responsible then where is he? He hasn't shown hide nor hair ever since then." Hiruzen spoke.

"I wish I knew... But last night was the first time in years I experienced a new dream, so something's changed. What that is I can't say. I've told you all I know." He sighed, falling into his seat. "You know it's funny. These past four years, people have been calling me a demon, and they never knew how right they were, and here I am accepting being a demon without even knowing I was one." He gave out a hollow laugh, holding a hand to his face.

However, a smack, a hard fucking smack, back to the back of his head rung his bell good and made him turn to his mom. "Demon or not. You are still y son, so get yourself out of that damn funk. What you are won't change that, I took you in gladly knowing about the fox, so being an actual demon isn't any different to me either which way. So stop your moping. Yes, you're a demon, or half or whatever the fuck you are. But you are Naruto, My son, and brother to Kiba and Hana. Clear?" She spoke. Naruto stared up at her for a long while, before he nodded, a small smile forming on his lips.

Yugao and Hiruzen smiled at the scene, happy that Naruto had a family that supported him like this.

"Jiji." He spoke and turned to Hiruzen who looked at him. "I want you to disband that law on the fox. compared to my being an actual demon, I think that one pales in comparison now." He said with an ever so slightly cheeky grin that made the Hokage chuckle.

"You sure?" He asked and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah...I plan to tell my friends about the fox so they hear it from me. But I only want us and maybe Hana and Kiba knowing about me being a demon. If it's not village secrets, then I don't want to keep secrets like this from my family." He spoke and Hiruzen thought it over.

"If you're sure then, I will. Though I won't make an announcement, just an official removal of the law from the active charter. Those that check it will know, but that might not be for a while. So you'll have some time to tell them at your own pace at least." The old man spoke and Naruto nodded. "Obviously aside from those of us here and your family, I want you to keep this as much a secret as possible unless you feel you have to reveal it."

"Hai Jiji," Naruto responded and the Hokage nodded.

"Alright. If there's nothing else, go one and get some sleep, you have team assignments tomorrow. We could all use the rest. If you have another dream, write it down and tell me about it later. Doctors are holding me for a day on oxygen just to be sure all the poison gas is out of my lungs."

"Alright, Jiji. Get some sleep." Naruto spoke, getting up and grabbing his bag with the journals packed into it. "Night Yugao."

"Goodnight Naruto. Till next time." She stated and watched him and his mother leave. SHe waited a good minute before turning to the Hokage. "The future is going to be interesting."

"And we have a front-row seat. Goodnight Yugao, finish your shift early and head home for rest, this night has been a wild ride for all of us. Understood?"

"Hai Lord Hokage." She called and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

[Tsume and Naruto]

"You going to tell them tonight?" Tsume asked.

"Yeah, I don't want to worry them by not telling them, no matter how long."

"Alright Pup, I'll be there to help explain it. Just remember we're there for you alright?"

"I know mom...and I love you for that." He said, smiling slightly and Tsume smiled herself.

"Love you too Pup, now come on. It's late, the sooner we get back and tell them, the sooner we can eat again and go to bed. We can pick up pizza, apparently, the food of demons, as we talk." She said with a shit-eating grin.

"Haha, very funny," Naruto said but fingered the torn lower section of his shirt that shod his stomach, but not his chest. He thought a moment before he dropped his hand and followed his mom home.

Well? Tell me what you think. Leave a review, suggestions, comments idea, especially constructive criticism, because that's how i learn where I need to improve. Not only that, but the more I hear from youguys, the more I know that you're interested in reading more. See ya at the next one.