Reposted: part of conversation concerning Suna between Naruto and Rahim was mysteriously deleted when first posted.

Chapter 71: A Glimpse of the Spirit World

Naruto sorted through the notes in the Whisper Box in Rahim's living room. It was the anonymous method Rahim and his subordinates had agreed upon as the method any employee could employ to give bad news or whatever they deemed necessary to whoever needed to hear about it without having to do it face-to-face.

"I'm an intimidating guy," Rahim had told Naruto while unlocking one of the boxes. "Some of my people are comfortable telling me to my face that my deadline is unreasonable and that I'm being an ass. Most aren't, but I need to hear it from them just as much. So we give them these boxes in every washroom, so they can put the note in discretely."

"Don't some of them use it just to write nasty messages?" Naruto had asked; he had had experience with those, though Neechan had usually managed to destroy them before he saw them.

"Sure, but I weed those out. If someone's not mature enough to express themselves without sounding like a rabid dog, then I've got to wonder why the hell I hired them."

Old Man Rahim seemed to question why he hired anyone a lot.

Naruto placed another note in the pile that concerned the head of Supply and fished out the next one. Most of these talked about this deadline being impossible or that part being a poor choice for this design, and so on. Naruto was supposed to mark down what each one concerned and whether he thought that it sounded like there really was a problem that needed Rahim-jiji's attention.

Apparently, many things required Rahim's personal intervention. Naruto had to wonder why Rahim had managers and supervisors working under him if he had to go running all over their authority continually.

"Done, boy?"

Naruto shook his head. "I do know that this guy's pile is huge though."

Rahim-jiji inspected his notes and snorted. "Always. He's a hard ass that likes to make threats. He's all for negative reinforcement. Luckily for him, he never has to make good on them because his subordinates are competent. It would be interesting to watch him try to wield a wooden spoon on them though. He's not a big man. Fortunately, his deadlines are always so ridiculously slack that only a slouch group wouldn't meet them. Most the of the notes about him are from the interns and co-op students from the local technical school who have yet to realize that he's funny, not scary. I'd do something about him, but most would be sorry to see the joke go. He's excellent at handling the stress of the design process, so it would be a waste. Flaws can be outweighed by positive qualities."

The fat boy sat on a swing, moving it with his toes in the sand. The atmosphere of those that walked past the park was tense, uncertain.

There were many reasons to be uncertain these days.

Denryuu had been banished, cast out of Kiri at the Water Lord's command. He could have been killed according to Water's laws, but he had been granted leniency because of his services to Water. Lord Anben's general had been put in charge of the royalist forces. The army was split now: ninja in the ranks were furious with how one of their own had been treated. Some of the regular military men were upset as well, but there was a growing division between the ninja forces and the regular military. Their war efforts would suffer for it, Mikoto was certain.

Kiri was in a sorry state. Rumour had it that the Mizukage had become paranoid with the loss of Denryuu. Apparently, the man had come to rely on the charismatic former Kumo-nin more than anyone had thought possible. Why, Mikoto didn't know, but there was no denying that Denryuu had a power that was far beyond normal.

Given how Kumo's bounty for him was higher if he were brought back alive and how diligently Kumo had been hunting him, Mikoto was fairly confident that her guess that he was a jinchuuriki wasn't far off the mark.

If that was true, no wonder the Mizukage had invested so much in him. Water had lost its jinchuuriki; Yagura had disappeared without a trace many years ago and then Sanbi had appeared in the North Sea. Ushira must have seen Denryuu as a godsend. And this order from the Water Lord to banish Denryuu must have seemed like a death mark.

So, Ushira had lost his greatest pawn against the puppeteer. He had good reason to be paranoid. Mikoto wasn't sure how thoroughly the ties between Denryuu and Ushira had been severed, but the jinchuuriki was definitely too far away to protect Ushira effectively.

All Mikoto had to do now was set off this powder bomb. But that went against the grain of her godhood. Anyone could make this situation explode, but only she could make it explode a certain way.

But what did she want to accomplish?

Momochi-san had wanted Kiri ruined, and that had been accomplished in a sense. He primarily wanted the shadow Mizukage dead since Yagura had apparently lost himself to Sanbi. So, to accomplish that, what strings needed pulling? If the shadow Mizukage were Madara, she needed to find someone who could kill him. She wasn't that person. Madara wielded the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan according to legend and apparently had for far longer than Mikoto was comfortable with. It was likely that he had mastered Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi and Susanoo and who knew what else. Who would know?

The fat boy narrowed his eyes. If, as Itachi had said, Madara had helped decimate the clan during the Massacre, then there was only one person she knew that would know.

She needed to question Itachi more closely. Unfortunately, the last person that had run into him had died. Mikoto spared a sad sigh for Snake. Her senpai would have found Itachi for her and would have asked him the right questions while Mikoto handled things here. Unfortunately, her greatest support was gone. Damn Kisame.

So, instead, she would have to do everything the hard way.

Shoving her hands in her pockets, she got off the swing and started wandering down the road. Itachi was in Akatsuki. What was the best way to contact him?

And what to do with Kiri, long term? It wasn't feasible to wipe the village off the map. The balance of power on the mainland had depended on Kiri being one of the five major villages. Although Kiri hadn't been asserting their presence or Water's much in years, they were supposed to be a player around to complicate the game, ruling the seas.

Though the power associated with flicking Kiri off the board was heady, Mikoto wouldn't exercise it. The complication of Kiri's existence could be useful yet. Besides, wiping it off the board might give the rebellion the advantage they needed to overthrow their Daimyo and implement their democracy idea. Mikoto wasn't sure what to make of the theory they spouted. Power in the hands of so many fools sounded dangerous, not that power in the hands of a few moronic lords was any better.

Hm, no clean cut choice there. Oh well.

So, her to-do list included luring Itachi into Water so she could question him or leaving this powder keg to explode without her being present to guide it so she could hunt down wherever he had gotten to, figuring out what she wanted to do with Kiri and Water, and eventually luring Madara in so she could somehow orchestrate his demise. None of these tasks seemed particularly easy.

Since Ushira would now be her new thread for dealing with Madara, Kiri would soon be in need of a Rokudaime Mizukage. Mikoto toyed with the idea of picking one out herself, but set it aside. There were too many other factors to take care of.

With Ushira so unstable, it would be easy enough to get him to do something stupid like challenging the power of the Seven Swordsmen. Would that lure Madara? Mikoto didn't know. Hoshigaki Kisame might though. He had been part of the Seven.

Luring Itachi would be easy, and where he went, Hoshigaki Kisame was likely to follow. Both would come, given her bait.

It didn't matter if Denryuu was a jinchuuriki. Mikoto just needed Akatsuki to think he was.

Nariko walked with them through the morning crowds, clutching Shiro's hand desperately. They couldn't go. They couldn't leave her!

She wanted the walk to be ten times longer than it was, but the gates appeared ahead of them far too soon. Shiro squeezed her hand back as Itsuki pulled out his flute and played a soft, haunting tune of regret and parting.

Junko took off her pack and adjusted a few items before tying it shut again and turning to her. "It's been wonderful getting to spend time with you at last," she said with an easy smile and a gentle handclasp that somehow evolved into a full-blown hug. "We'll write to you when this one chooses to grace us with his or her presence."

"Please," Nariko whispered into the mahogany hair, squeezing the gravid woman as tightly as she dared. "Thank you for being there for him. I was so worried he would fall back into the rut it took months to break him out of last time. I can't repay what you've done."

"Babysitting on occasion should do it," Junko insisted with a final squeeze and then she pulled away to shoulder her backpack again.

"Do I get a hug?" Itsuki complained at his most irritating, but she let him wring the air out of her lungs and spin her around to laud his height over her despite her reservations. "Don't forget: I want your hair the moment you damn yourself. You're lucky I'm not insisting that you completely shave your head. Eight centimetres is being more than generous."

"Says you," she grumbled back. "I might as well be bald as I nearly was during the last half of Dad and Mother's visit."

"Don't do it and you don't have to worry about it at all," he chirped as he set her down on her feet. "I'll send you a copy of my newest book the moment it comes out. You can add it to the rest that you keep carefully hidden in your closet. Are you that worried Naruto will find them?"

"Him and other people," she said direly. "There are all sorts of people that raid my house, though they left off because you three were staying over as guests. A closed door is an invitation to waltz right in to peruse my shelves. Locked doors demand to be picked open. Ninja are very strange people."

"It's that Hatake guy isn't it?" Itsuki laughed. "You don't want him to become a fan of my writing too. You dare deny me a customer?"

"No, actually it's my three friends—Mikoto, Anko, and Yuugao—but you have a valid point there with Naruto's sensei. You don't compare, but Shiro…"

He snickered outright. "I can't believe that you haven't beaten him."

"You try hitting someone that can kill you with a finger."

"Point," Itsuki admitted, kissing her cheek mockingly and letting her return the favour. "Keep safe and please stay out of trouble. I want you to live to see my children."

"You be careful too."

He nodded and set his hands on her shoulders, staring down at her with strangely wise brown eyes. "Keep faith," he commanded solemnly, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Compassion is not a fool's concept. Never forget."

She was almost startled at how well he had discerned her struggle. His words were a balm. Where had the bratty ward gone? What was this wise poet in her brother's body? She missed the child, but she could get used to this wise man. She nodded, and he smiled, the cheeky brat back in his eyes. He chucked her chin and patted her head, holding his height over her one last time before he scurried out of retaliation range and allowed Shiro to take his place.

"Well, youngling, we come to it at last," he said as her eyes began stinging. "You know, we would not have to do this if you just came with us. We four could walk down that road together and leave this all behind. Grazia can stuff it, Naruto would forgive you in time, and it's not as if you couldn't write."

"No, Shiro, I can't do that yet." She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "If I leave now, anyone who wants info on Konoha would hunt me down and would use you and the rest of the clan against me. In Kaijin no Mura, you are safe. On the road, you aren't. I can't leave until I'm completely ready to do so on my terms. The break will need to be complete, or we will never be safe. It's not time yet. I've still got some work to do."

"You always say that," he teased, messing up her hair. "I keep telling you that work ethic is hardly going to make you beautiful. Nothing can do that, Ugly." He laughed at how she rolled her eyes at him. "With your job, it just makes you old before your time. Well, don't wait too long. You don't have much time left. Okano-chan is beginning to consider whether to call you a liar."

"Not too long," she promised. "He's almost ready, if he manages to survive. Everything is almost ready."

"For what though?"

She smiled and shook her head. "When the time comes, you'll see. We'll all see."

ANBU walked along the piers, glancing around impassively. Puppets made way for her, flinching under her stare.

The activity at this harbour was lacking. No unauthorized ships went in or out without a Kiri escort. Any ship that left its berth without one would be burnt to cinders, no exceptions.

Sharingan scanned the area from beneath a flimsy henge as ANBU listened carefully, smiling at the whispers.

"A jinchuuriki…"

"Lightning…"

"Even an Uchiha couldn't…"

"…can't believe… in Water…"

The last of the casks of fresh water were loaded onto a boat. A squad of Kiri-nin got on board with the dregs of the sullen sailors. This boat was bound for Frost Country with a cargo of seafood only found in the oceans to the east of Water. An exclusive trading contract wouldn't be abandoned because of a little internal turmoil, not when it made a lord very loyal to the Water Lord so very happy and willing to equip the royalist soldiers.

The ship left the harbour, carrying whispers to the mainland that would grow into a long call. ANBU held the strings of several puppets among the sailors, of course.

Back in Kiri, Mikoto leaned against a building in an alley; her mind was clear for the first time in weeks with ANBU away playing on the coast. "Kami-sama," she whispered, reviewing her current plans. They were precarious at best, the weavings of one that believed in her power over all things.

When the shadow clone dispersed and ANBU returned to her, would Mikoto be able to seal that part of herself behind the wall again?

Mikoto shook and chafed her upped arms. She didn't know. She really didn't know. Fugaku had helped bind ANBU with the promise that had extended to the clan when they had married and he had become the clan head in truth. He and his were not puppets, never to be twisted by her. But, he was dead and so was her promise to him.

"Boy, are you all right?"

Mikoto glanced up at the jounin she had spotted a couple times, the redhead that believed showing cleavage and shoulders was essential to having a good day on the job. She didn't think much of the woman. Rumour had it that this Terumi Mei possessed the cardinal sin of two bloodline limits, instead of the offence of just one. It was amazing the woman was still alive. "Yes, obasan, thank you," said the fat boy, ignoring the way the woman's eye twitched at her title.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, obasan. Thank you for asking. I am just daydreaming. It is better than thinking about chores."

"Is your mother that strict?"

"No, obasan. My mother is gone. I was a runner at the military headquarters, but it moved to Lord Anben's lands, and I could not follow. I work at a shop now."

Terumi-san squatted down and patted the head of Mikoto's henge, genjutsu adding what reality henge couldn't for Terumi-san's mind. "Work hard," she said with a smile.

The fat boy smiled bravely. "Un!"

Jiraiya wandered out of the suite's bathroom, his long white hair still dripping from his shower. These Yiri sure knew how to design snazzy apartments. The kid was passed out at the table, with a dozen charts and graphs spread out before him. Jiraiya scooped one up—a PERT chart—and shook his head before patting the kid's head.

Poor Naruto.

Jiraiya frowned when the kid flinched and grabbed his neck, hissing with what sounded like pain. He pulled the kid's hands away and saw no mark. Naruto was dreaming again then. He did this a lot: nightmares had plagued the kid all through the early days of Hiraishin training. It had gotten so bad that Jiraiya had sent Nariko-san a note. She had told him it was the result of kage bunshin memories and that if Naruto talked about them, things would get better.

Naruto didn't talk though.

Jiraiya sat down beside the kid and set a hand on his head until Naruto subsided back into uncomfortable slumber. Maybe it was time to encourage the brat to spill. Letting things hang like this was making Jiraiya uncomfortable and all too aware that Naruto's lack of willingness to confide meant that the kid was still mad at him about the seal and didn't trust him completely. It was another black mark on his record as the kid's godfather.

Jiraiya had taken Naruto from Konoha with the hazy plan of using their time to finally play the role of the proper godfather so Minato would be happy in whatever place lay beyond the grave knowing that he had chosen his son's godfather wisely. It had sort of happened, but not really. The kid clung to Konoha with his letters and to the jinchuuriki with their speedy messages. And Jiraiya had written, caught up in meeting a deadline, and had investigated all the leads he followed for Konoha, from Akatsuki to the secret doings of other hidden villages, often forced to leave the kid behind wherever was fairly safe because the kid had been too clumsy for reconnaissance. Many days had gone by without much passing between them.

Sure, he had taught the kid and had endured his pranks, but Jiraiya felt that a lot of trust was missing from this godfather/godson relationship.

This had to end.

"Gaki," he said, shaking Naruto's shoulder gently.

Naruto answered with a snore.

Rolling his eyes, Jiraiya shook his shoulder harder.

"Gah?"

"Kid, we're gonna talk about this."

"Huh?" Naruto rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry about your seal. I only wanted you to be able to face Akatsuki and I'd heard about how the Eight Tail's jinchuuriki was able to handle his beast without a seal to create a barrier between them. I figured that because half the fox was gone, you'd have an easier time of it."

"Ero-Sennin?"

"I'm sorry, kid."

Naruto blinked blue eyes that were too much like Minato's for comfort and nodded. "Okay, I forgive you."

"Now, kid, what disciple keeps secrets from their master?"

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Brat, you've been having nightmares for months. It's Taijuu Kage Bunshin, isn't it?"

Naruto's eyes widened and then narrowed. "You asked Neechan, didn't you?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Kid, it's not normal to dream as violently as you do, especially when you're supposed to be a stealthy shinobi. Of course I'm going to ask your sister when you don't say anything."

Naruto sighed. "It's an awful jutsu, you know. I understand why Dad banned it."

"Then why are you still using it?"

"Because it's so useful." Naruto's voice was strained.

With a sigh, Jiraiya ruffled the kid's hair and let the kid think that the arm and how Jiraiya's head was turned to look out the window meant that he couldn't see the tears leaking from Naruto's eyes. "Tell me about it, kid. Talk it out."

There was a long silence as Naruto wiped his eyes with the back of his wrists, and for the longest time Jiraiya thought that he wasn't going to talk at all.

"The worst memories are from when my Hiraishin seal was still going through preliminary testing, when I was using two clones…"

When the kid had cried himself dry and talked himself hoarse hours later, Jiraiya hugged him briefly, ignoring how stiff the kid was as he patted his back, and let his godson go so he could ruffle that golden hair bleached pale by the desert sun again. "Go sleep, kid. Tell Rahim-san that tomorrow is your last day. We've got places to go."

"What about your manuscript?"

"What do you think I've been working on while you've been getting that Yiri coffee?"

Naruto managed a grin. "So it's done?"

"I'll mail it off to the publishers on our way out of Port Mure the day after tomorrow. We're heading north. I've got some friends who might be able to help us out way out in the boondocks beyond those Fence Mountains of Gloria-san's. You think you know enough about being Hokage from this civilian?"

Naruto frowned thoughtfully and shook his head. "Probably not, but I'll just send him lots of letters full of questions. He's been managing his company for years; I'm not gonna pick everything up in a couple months. Sasuke and Sakura have gotten to be real chuunin—leading genin teams and everything while I'm training out here solo. Rahim-jiji showed me all sorts of cool stuff, but I won't know whether I can do any of it until I can practice."

"That's a good thought, kid, but it'll have to wait a while yet. There's no genin where we're going."

"So you're going." Rahim leaned back in his leather chair in his office, turning the seat so he could look out the window.

"Yeah. Ero-Sennin's got stuff to do. I do too. I've been meaning to meet with somebody for Gaara."

"So, Gaki, did you learn enough about my plans to save your friend from me?"

Naruto sighed, not surprised that Rahim-jiji knew what had been going through his head when he had asked for training. "I've got some stuff, but Gaara will know what to do with it better than I do."

Rahim snorted. "Maybe, maybe not. Sabaku no Gaara is a shinobi, not a politician or a lawyer."

"But he's got enough clout that he could hire one."

One corner of the Yiri man's mouth twitched upwards. "So he could. And so would continue my struggle. Maybe they will kill Gloria this time when I beat them back. Or maybe it will finally be my end."

Naruto frowned. He could find no rebuttal for that. Gaara would protect his village in any way he deemed necessary. "Why cut their funding?"

"Because it is easier to convince the Wind Lord to cut their funding than to do away with them completely. As long as there are other villages like Konoha and Kumo and Iwa out there, the Wind Lord will want his own pet shinobi to hold against them. And as long as Suna ninja remain convinced that their country needs their presence, then they will do whatever misguided things they think will work to ensure their village survives. How attacking Konoha with Orochimaru qualifies made and still makes little to no sense to me given that Konoha was strong enough to wipe Suna out had your Hokage decided to declare war in retaliation for the attack, but there it is."

Naruto frowned as he mused over that. Why had Suna attacked them? How did attacking Konoha make sense? Now he had even more questions. Rahim-jiji wouldn't know anything about why Itachi and Kisame had killed Snake, but perhaps this?

The man shrugged. "Desperate people's logic isn't always sound. Orochimaru is not the most convincing of men to the rational from what I've heard, but to those cornered, those who are driven and desperate, anyone can seem like the saviour they need so long as the words sound halfway convincing. Suffice it to say that I don't understand completely and the Kazekage that decided this is no longer around to question. But his council is.

"Have you figured out what you need to do to tackle Akatsuki?"

Naruto blinked and leaned back into his chair to think. Rahim-jiji had said Akatsuki wasn't a clan, wasn't like a village, and was based around an idea. "How do you kill an idea?"

Rahim-jiji smirked. "Very good, boy. By overwhelming it with another one or by destroying every person and object that holds knowledge of the idea. Difficult, but possible. Conquerors write history, after all. Good luck."

ANBU stood on a high cliff, Sharingan gleaming in the scant reflected moonlight, watching two figures two figures run across Water's northern waters to the rocky coast.

Naruto slipped out of the monastery into the rocky gorge nearby, having finished the ten variant seal patterns Ero-Sennin and one of the monks had set him to drawing as they took turns lecturing about their prerequisites and effects. He had been made to dig out the weaknesses in the pattern, a daunting task when each dense seal pattern covered eight feet of scroll.

Taking a seat in the shade of a scrawny palm tree, Naruto cautiously did as Ero-Sennin had advised: delved into his mind.

The basement was filled with more water than Naruto remembered, more memories forgotten over time, but there was more light around, whatever that meant. Naruto could hear Kyuubi growling from the centre of the labyrinth and forced himself to follow the sound to the source, keeping a tight hold on his dread as the gate and the fox came into view.

Kyuubi growled at him, showing off his impressive teeth. "If it weren't for this seal…"

"Yo, fox man. Long time no see. Wasn't too impressed by your escape attempt way back, but I've decided we need to talk again."

Kyuubi didn't respond to Naruto's courtesy. "Be glad there is power dividing us."

"I know, I know; you'd take over my body and wreak havoc on the ninja world. I always wonder what ninja did to annoy you so much, though I guess I should be glad that civilians would be pretty safe."

"Insolent kit, I would not waste time on you pathetic ninja. You are beneath my notice entirely. No, I would find the one that interrupted my slumber."

Naruto frowned, wondering why Kyuubi was being particularly forthcoming today. "You mean that Uchiha Madara guy? Well, I asked Sasuke about him in my last letter and he said that Madara was the leader of his clan from over sixty years ago. Hate to break it to you, but this dude is probably dead. He did get into a huge fight with Shodaime. He's been dead for years."

"Your ignorance would be amusing if it were not so pathetic."

"Try sizing yourself down to my level and saying that to my face, fox-bastard."

"Your attempts to insult me are too amusing as well. Your litter-sister is not quite as stupid as I had thought her to be initially if she believes in the religion these Buddhist monks teach at this monastery you and the lame one are staying at. They are not entirely off the mark."

"What do you mean, fox man?" Naruto asked warily. This wouldn't be the first time that the fox had fed him misinformation. He still had yet to learn about that fox summoning scroll and the wolf that had taken it.

"Exactly what I say. One as wise as I am has no need to lie to one as dull and slow as you. All I have to do is speak above your level of comprehension, and you will be left just as adrift as you would be if I had lowered myself to lying. Lying is a human trait; one I will not dirty myself with. You ninja do not know the true power of truth. Your pathetic excuse for truth is based upon point of view. Truth as we bijuu know it is singular: there is only one way to understand it no matter who stands before it. It is an absolute that you puny humans have no hope of understanding. Your corruption would cause you to explode in its presence." The fox seemed amused by this prospect.

"Explain please," requested Naruto at his most polite, intrigued by Kyuubi's concept.

The fox rolled his red eyes and grumbled for a moment before complying. He must have truly been very bored and lonely. "For you humans, every truth is in the eyes of the beholder. If one human said that someone was a liar, someone else might consider that person trustworthy and would thus consider whatever the liar said true. It is based upon experience, perspective, and taught values. What is true in your puny village will not be true in Iwa.

"For example, in Konoha the blonde brat who dared to seal me away is a hero and a legend for his deeds. In Iwa, they consider him a dangerous villain for his actions against their shinobi in the war and a fool for sacrificing himself to end my attack upon your village: two perspectives, two opinions. Children in Konoha who have never met the blonde brat will consider him a hero because they are taught to value him and to value his actions and sacrifice as heroic. In Iwa, children are frightened out of doing bad things by the mere mention of his name in much the same way my name produces fear in enemies for you."

Naruto contemplated this for a moment before nodding. It did make sense.

"For the bijuu and for the other kami, there is only one version of the truth. Opinion, perspective, and taught values do not enter into it. We see past these illusions to the core of things. Modifiers like 'hero' or 'villain' are useless bits of baggage used to create ambiguity. We look at a person's soul and weigh it. Petty fears, evil deeds, misconduct; all are viewed and all are weighed and measured to give the true worth of a person. Shinigami gives the final reckoning."

"Okay then, what is the truth about Yondaime?"

"Hah, unsurprising that you would ask that. He is dead and has become part of Shinigami's truth. That is his worth." Naruto glared at Kyuubi, who sighed. "To us, his deeds no longer matter. He is a mere speck in history now. He is beyond the reach of the living. As such, he no longer matters. My memory stretches back before all wars, back to the beginning of things when we were all merely specks in the great emptiness that is the stomach of the Shinigami. Your Yondaime was a believer in life. He believed in his cause and would do anything for it. I cannot express his worth more clearly than that in your tongue. You have too many words with too many meanings to speak truth as it is meant to be spoken. Your human languages are for lying."

Naruto growled under his breath at the insult to his dialect and considered his next question. "Why hunt down Madara?"

"To kill him, of course. Why else waste time on a pathetic Uchiha? He is a great believer in lies of all sorts and powerful enough to make them truths. I would rather that power lie only with those it rightfully belongs to, like me."

"So your truth is everyone's truth?"

Kyuubi laughed. "My truth is fire. I am fire incarnate. I am bound by its principles, and it is bound to my will. My power is its power, and its potential is mine. Everything possesses the basest form of fire: energy and motion. This is why I am limitless. My truth is the world's truth, so all must bow before it. Law."

"So are you a part of the juubi like my grandpa said?"

"Juubi is past. His truth is division, of which I am one fraction. Juubi is no more and should never be again. What is broken imperfectly must not be reformed. The ten was broken to nine. This is why Madara must die. He dreams of ten where there can only ever now be nine." Kyuubi levelled a stern glance at Naruto. "For truth, he must die, brat. The importance of my escape back into the world is nothing compared to the necessity of his death. But, you and I cannot fight him. His blood was part of the breaking, and his eyes are our weakness."

"So because of you, I'm weak to the Sharingan?"

"He can hold our minds, for we are fire and Uchiha has fire in their blood. He is moving now, too quickly. Your task is to find someone who can kill him, for age cannot in time. This is more important than your puny dreams of gathering the nine and becoming Hokage. This is for truth." Kyuubi regarded him like a king commanding a knight. "Uchiha Madara must die in this world and the next so he can never be found within the limits of existence again. You humans have bound the gods, so you must deal with the mess yourself or suffer.

"No gods are left unshackled to answer your pleas, save Sanbi who cares not because his truth has been too distorted to be a god. Death's Messenger is bound in your blond. Wind and Wear is trapped in the redhead. Distortion and Poison is snared in the aged one. Earth and Deceit is blind and deaf. Local kami are too frail. Sanbi is fallen because of Madara." Kyuubi narrowed his eyes. "As am I. There is your proof. Now run, boy. Find the person who can kill him."