Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto. Original characters, abilities and bloodlines in this story (there will be) are mine. If someone out there thinks an ability or character of mine is cool and wishes to use it, feel free. I only ask that you give me credit.

Date: 06/21/09

Summary: While running from an angry mob on his birthday, seven-year-old Naruto finds himself in a strange land where a shinobi turned priest offers to train him as a ninja. Naruto eventually discovers there is more to the world then just shinobi when he unlocks his spiritual power. Not a super Naruto fic (I hate those ones) but more of a smart and wise Naruto fic.

Reviews: Please review. I enjoy reviews, even if its only one or two words. I do not appreciate flames. If you don't like this story, its concept, or my writing style then don't read it. Don't read it then complain to me about it.

Spiritual Fox
Chapter 24: The Invation Begins

Chaos, that was the only thing which Temari could call their current state of affairs. Many of the higher level Konoha shinobi had shaken off the sleep genjutsu that was cast on the arena, and they had awaken those that had fallen before or during the fights had broken out. Everything would have been assured if Gaara hadn't lost, and getting her brother treated was the one thing that was on her mind right now. Gaara may not have outright died from his wounds, but not even his demon could heal all those injuries. The only thing both Temari and Kankuro were sure of was that they needed medical help for their brother but they wouldn't find it during an attack.

Or, at least that's what they'd believed when they collected their brother and found a place to hide in the stands. They'd been trying to treat Gaara's wounds (the sand was hampering them) when someone familiar showed up. "Master Yoshi…" Temari stated as she held up her fan defensively.

The man wasn't wearing his usual smile, but was looking at them intently. "I can heal him. It is well within my power."

Kankuro had talked with Gaara much more in the past month then ever in his entire life. The younger boy had told his brother all about this man, including the fact that he did nothing for free. "And what price would we have to pay."

"You'll both have to put your own lives and Gaara's in fate's hands. I'll draw your own life energy to heal your brother, but that will leave you two unconscious for the duration of the invasion. If the wrong people find you, they could easily hold you captive, or just outright kill the three of you. If you're awake then you'll have a good chance at defending yourselves from whoever comes along."

Both Temari and Kankuro had the same thought, this man could easily have healed their brother completely on his own. He could have simply asked a price from one of them in order leave the other to guard. Instead, he'd asked for both of them to put themselves at risk and probably wouldn't have accepted any other payment. Though they did share one other thought, they wanted to help their brother. Someone who had started to act like a human being within the past year, and even more so since they came to Konoha. They didn't want to lose him.

The two nodded and Yoshi placed his hands on their chests, both of them fell to the ground asleep from the extraction which had taken place. Yoshi had taken out as much energy as he could without affecting the two's health or lifespan, he walked over to Gaara and began to chant as he pushed his sibling's life energy into the jinchuriki's battered body. The wounds began to heal even faster then they would have on Naruto.

He left the three like that, truly leaving them in fates hands. Normally he wouldn't involve himself in a ninja war, it simply wasn't the thing a priest would do. He would gladly give his help to heal civilians afterwards, but shinobi knew just what they were getting themselves into when they joined their village. They knew their home could be attacked by their enemies and they could die, it was the same for those who actually did the invading.

However, he had liked Gaara, so he'd offered his services to his siblings. He had to be quick about it though, for some reason he had a strong feeling that he was needed elsewhere. Someplace close to the Hokage.

Both Naruto and Sakura were sticking together. The invasion was in full swing and as genin of their village they knew they couldn't just sit back and do nothing at all. Kakashi had gone to fight with Gai, they were both among the strongest their village had at the moment and they needed to be on the front lines. The two Genin were strong, but not nearly as strong as the fully grown fighters which were attacking.

The two had taken the job of awakening those who had fallen under the sleep genjutsu, an important task which swelled their ranks with each Kai Release. Those they awoke quickly gathered their wits and ran off to fight or simply went to awaken another of their sleeping allies. Naruto had also summoned two human sized warrior frogs to protect them while they worked, the teammates could focus more on their jobs that way.

Within a few minutes, everyone was awake and fighting, both Naruto and Sakura had joined the ranks and were working with the frogs to defend the arena's sick bay where their friends were currently held. Naruto had a brief pang of worry when he didn't find Gaara among he injured, the boy may have been a Suna nin, but Naruto still liked the other Jinchuriki. There had been a few times when Gaara had been on the verge of telling him something about the exam and Naruto was sure this was it.

Naruto returned to his lookout, wondering how many more people he'd have to kill today. I tried to avoid it as best I could, but so far I've killed three Suna and Sound nin. Never before had Naruto been so conflicted about having Spirit Sight as a ninja. He could see his opponents souls, it was impossible to only see them as 'the enemy'. With Keitaro I was able to help him, but there are too many people attacking now. They're also just following orders, these fighters aren't hurt souls like Kei was. A sound ninja tried to attack Sakura from behind and before Naruto knew what he was doing his hand threw a few kunai and pierced the man's heart. One thing is for sure, I don't want to kill but I really don't want to see my friends killed either. I'm not skilled enough to disable these ninja, so if I don't kill them my friends might die too. I'll protect the people who are precious to me.

Near the Hokage's box, Sarutobi stood and watched the two coffins in front of Orochimaru open. He knew from his old student's words just what was going to appear from those boxes, the Hokage wasn't surprised when the first two Kage's emerged to do battle with their old student. You truly have crossed an even greater line, my old pupil. At least I was able to stop him from summoning the Fourth Hokage.

The snake had launched a full out invasion of the Leaf Village, attempted to capture the Hokage and failed thanks to Naruto's warning. His henchmen had trapped him inside a powerful barrier, one which Sarutobi knew wouldn't be penetrated by any of his men. For some reason, the old man hadn't been nearly as angered when he found his student had become a body snatcher. However, seeing his old mentors again, using them like some sort of weapon or tool, set the older man's blood a boil.

"We're sorry to trouble you like this, Sarutobi." Said the First Hokage.

"Now to make them perfect." Orochimaru stabbed his creations with sealed kunai and the two bodies became far more healthy then before. Their faces lost their expressions, making them into the perfect killing machines.

Sarutobi began to sweat, I just went from fighting a very difficult one on one battle to fighting a near impossible three on one battle.

"Three on two, Sarutobi."

Both the third Hokage and Orochimaru were shocked to find Yoshi standing with the leader of Konohagakure. "How did you get through my barrier?" Demanded Orochimaru. He looked to his Sound Four, but none of them could give an answer. They hadn't wavered in the slightest, there were no breaks in either shield.

"I wouldn't be a mysterious priest if I simply told people all my secrets." He turned to the Hokage, "I'll let you take care of that snake, I'll deal with those two summoned souls." Sarutobi noticed something slightly disturbing, Yoshi had lost his smile. In fact, he'd easily say the man was angry. "I won't even charge you for assistance this time."

"Although help is appreciated, I can't stop from wondering why."

"Because that person has committed crimes which I, as a priest, cannot ignore. Summoning the souls of the dead from their rest, forcing them to possess bodies, and binding them to his will are things which I cannot overlook. I will deal with the summoned ones, you fight your old student."

The third gave Yoshi a shrewd look. "You're quite confident that you can defeat those two previous Kage."

Yoshi made a dismissive gesture, "They are no more then souls which are possessing bodies. Even a novice priest can perform the exorcism to send them back where they belong."

"I doubt they will simply let you dispel their souls. Orochimaru has ordered them to attack, they will not let themselves fall." The snake extracted his sword from his body, greatly angered by someone bypassing his barrier and interfering with his attack.

A smile formed on the priest's lips. "You just focus on the snake. Trust me, I'll get the job done then assist you. Orochimaru must be punished for his transgressions." The smile was soon gone and the man's serious expression had returned. "Now!"

Sarutobi summoned his Enma staff and rushed his old student while Yoshi threw multiple kunai at the two previous Kage. The speed and accuracy of those daggers weren't something the summoned brothers could ignore, they were forced to dodge and focus their attention on the priest.

The snake didn't like the turn of events at all, his old teacher used his staff to block his strikes. This is not how things were suppose to unfold. It was suppose to be only the Hokage and I trapped in this barrier. Now my puppets will have to waste their time killing that other fool. I don't care what he says, he won't defeat those fighters that easily.

Both Orochimaru and Sarutobi had to dodge as the First used his wood jutsu to try and capture his opponent. Yoshi responded by using his smoke bombs to blind his opponents, he had a very simple method for defeating the puppets, the same he used for dispelling any possessing ghost. Under his cover, he pulled two paper talismans from his robes and prepared his assault.

Resurrected Hokage had retreated from the smoke, neither wanted to be caught unaware by their opponent. They could both tell that the man was not someone to be underestimated, especially if he could dodge the First's attack so easily. Then suddenly there were multiple priests shooting out of the smoke, Shadow Clones were rushing the two Kage brothers and they retaliated with deadly force like their master wanted. Soon all of the clones had been killed, just like their master wanted and they began to look around for the true body.

Then they felt something pressed against their backs, fearing an exploding note they tried to turn around to deal with the problem, but found they couldn't move their new bodies. "And you won't be able to move them either. Those are paralysis talismans, they are designed to freeze ghosts which are possessing humans, making them easier to exorcise." Yoshi walked in front of the two Kage. "However, the bodies you two are possessing are already dead. They have no true soul in them anymore, so by stopping your souls I stop your bodies as well." His hands made a strange sign. "And now for the exorcism."

Yoshi began to chant, and the two puppets could do nothing but watch as the man's hands began to glow. Then he began to make hand signs, which neither of the Senju brothers recognized, while saying single words. "Rin. Pyo. To. (1)" He placed his hands on the heads of the two Kage, and the two ghosts suddenly felt very peaceful and free. Whatever the man had done, it had released the jutsu which bound them. With a smile, the priest gave them the final words, "It was nice to see you again, Hashirama."

Sarutobi was on the ground and bleeding, his student with his young body had been too much for the elderly Hokage. He hadn't been quick enough to block the snakes sword strikes. Just as Orochimaru was about to finish off his former teacher, he became startled by the disappearance of the First Hokage's wood jutsu. His gaze swiveled to find Yoshi standing over the bodies of his two former minions, the one's who'd failed the preliminaries and he'd used for the Resurrection. Yoshi had a grave look on his face, he then made a slashing gesture toward the snake, as if he held a sword, without even looking in Orochimaru's direction. The Sannin hadn't known what to expect from the action, but he hadn't thought that his body would seize and leave him completely immobile.

"That was your first punishment, Orochimaru." Yoshi was calmly walking over to the snake, as if he had all of the time in the world. The snake tried to say something, but found he couldn't even speak. "You have committed three grave crimes, and you shall be given three punishments as well. The first is a duel punishment, both knowledge and physical. You are not the first ninja to become a body snatcher, snake, and you definitely won't be the last. However, the truth is that you haven't discovered eternal life, simply temporary youth. I've read records of people who have done the same thing you have, and they all found the same exact flaw." The priest paused for a moment to let Orochimaru absorb what he was saying before he continued. "A soul is suppose to inhabit only one body in it's lifetime. To force a soul to take possession of another body makes it unstable, causing the body to reject your soul after a time. Each time you transfer, your soul gets more unstable until it no longer is able to even inhabit another body.

"To put it bluntly Orochimaru, you only get a certain number of transfers before your soul becomes too damaged to jump again, and then you die. Every other person who's used this jutsu could only transfer seven times before the jutsu killed themselves. It is impossible to obtain eternal life, only imitations of it. What I just did was damage your soul further, causing the equivalence of three transfers at once and leaving you with three more transfers before you kill yourself."

"You're lying!" He'd finally found his voice and the snake was only too happy to voice his opinion.

With a smile back in place, this one darker then his usual smile, Yoshi replied, "You'll find out after another three transfers. Now…" He grabbed the snake's arm. "Your next punishment is a curse." Orochimaru's arm turned a dark color and hung helplessly against his side. "One's sins usually weigh down a person's soul, but this curse will make them weigh down your body as well. If you continue to commit such horrible crimes as you have in the past, then more of you're body will be weighed down as well. The next to go will be your other arm, then your legs, then the rest until you become completely paralyzed. You will never be able to escape this curse, because it is tied to you're soul and not your body."

Fear began to show on the Sannin's face. He had never been so helpless in his entire life, this man standing before him had just paralyzed his body and made his arm completely useless. Even as a child he could have struggled and ran, even those most basic defenses were taken from him.

Throughout the entire village, Leaf nin were fighting off the invasion. Nara clan members were using their shadows to bind and kill. Large Akamichi were fighting giant snakes along side Jiraiya's large toads. The Yamanaka clan members were turning their foes on each other and Aburame's insects swarmed over their enemies. The Hyuga proved their place as most powerful by keeping track of the enemies and using Gentle Fist to decimate the opposition.

The Ryuuza were finally glad to defend their new home and earn their place. Not even Orochimaru had been aware of the Dragon's Rite so none of the invaders knew how to deal with the dragons. Fire Dragons like Haruko were using taijutsu to plow through the enemies along with speedy Thunder Dragons. Wind Dragons flew over head and cut down the enemies they could find from the air while Water Dragons let attacks pass through them while they retaliated. Those that were Earth Dragons had activated their defense and turned their skin a bluish black color and blocked attacks with their bodies, covering their allies in times of need.

Naruto and Sakura got a surprise when Haruko and his team showed up carrying three unconscious enemies, but one of them was someone who the blond had been worried about. "Gaara!"

Satu set down the Sand Jinchuriki while his teammates set down the red head's siblings. "Looks like someone healed him, I'm not sure who though. The others were lying next to him."

The Ryuuza interrupted, "We heard you two were helping to guard the injured here, so we thought we'd add more and help you guard."

Naruto looked at the team with gratitude, he could feel Yoshi on the three siblings so he had a good guess who had healed Gaara. "Thanks, now let's make our village proud."

"I can feel it from here, Orochimaru. The invaders are being repelled by the Konoha nin, there isn't nearly enough Leaf deaths to be a sign of defeat. You have failed and in your ambition of destroying this village, and now for your punishment…" He placed his hand over the snake's face while he glared at his opponent. Orochimaru trembled with fear, terror evident on his features. "I will grant you pain, shame, and a scar that shall never heal. So that every time you look in a mirror, you'll be reminded of me." (2)

Pain and blood covered the snake's face, he'd gained control of his body once again and he brought his good hand up to cradle his head. His servants were calling his name, asking for directions. He'd wanted to kill his old teacher, but fear overruled that desire. I need to get away from this man. "We're leaving." He called to the Sound Four. At once, the barrier nin abandoned their posts and rushed to their master's side, making as quick an escape as possible. A few Leaf ANBU attempted to follow, but they were stopped by Kidomaru's webs.

Yoshi watched the retreat for a few moments but did not follow. He quietly walked over the prone from Sarutobi and smiled down at the old man who's life was slowly draining away. "I can heal you if you want, though I will charge you this time." He didn't usually help ninja, but the Hokage had been injured by Orochimaru so he decided to make an exception.

The Hokage simply laughed. "I believe I shall end things here, a new Hokage must be chosen."

Yoshi smiled sadly, "You can step down while you're still alive. Nobody will stop you."

"Yes, but I fell in battle so I'll end things here." His shaky hand trailed up to his headband. "There is one request I have of you. Please guard this village from the shadows until the next Hokage is chosen. It may take some time to find the one I believe will be chosen. I'll offer this as payment." He took off his personal headband and held it out to the priest.

Yoshi knew just what the action meant. A ninja's headband was a symbol of pride, even a missing nin continued to wear the proof of his or her's former allegiance. It would normally be buried or burned with the ninja as if it were a part of them, sometimes headbands were lost or stolen but it was never something one gave away . Yoshi took the item from the dying Hokage. "The payment is accepted, I will watch over and protect this village until the next Hokage is chosen." He placed his hand on Sarutobi's face and closed his eyes. "You have done things which you are not proud of, things which weigh heavily on your soul, things which you deeply regret. However, you're soul is still good, it will go to a good place." Yoshi smiled down at the man under him. "I guarantee it."

Sarutobi closed his eyes again and smiled. His life expired leaving the village without a Kage.

The invasion quickly fell apart after Orochimaru left. The remaining Sound Shinobi followed their master in fleeing the village, while the Sand nin didn't have any leader to follow at all.

Temari and Kankuro had escaped with Gaara. The two had awoken toward the end of the invasion and were quite relieved to find themselves unbound in the arena's sick bay. The Konoha village elders had been ecstatic to hear a group of their genin had found and captured the children of the Kazekage. For an instant, they thought they had the perfect bargaining chip, until they learned the Sand genin had escaped because the five genin guards had all "been too distracted by the other invading forces to pay them any attention".

Sasuke had awoken well after the fighting had stopped, he seemed particularly angry that he'd been unconscious for the duration of the attack. He calmed down slightly when Naruto and Sakura informed him of the fairly boring details. That most of the fighting had been done by the more experienced ninja, how it had taken most of both Naruto and Sakura's skill and ability to simply guard the sick room of the arena. Sasuke still brooded, but he did stop glaring at his teammates afterwards.

Slightly after the invasion, when Konoha stabilized again, Suna sent a message giving an apology for their involvement in the attack and a wish to open diplomatic ties with Konoha again. They had broken off their alliance with Hidden Sound, Orochimaru had betrayed them by killing the Kazekage in order to impersonate him. Suna also respected Konoha for not killing or detaining Gaara or his siblings, they now wished to re-forge their alliance. Leaf, however, first needed their new Hokage before they could accept such offers so Jiraiya was left the task of finding her (after declining the position himself), but he needed to talk to a few people before he left.

"Hey." The Toad Sage was in the forests outside the village, meeting with someone face to face for the first time. Someone he'd hoped to meet for a long time.

Yoshi nodded, he was sitting cross legged in the earth with his eyes closed, keeping his lookout as promised to the late Sarutobi. His spirit sense was much more advanced then Naruto's he could feel the presence of people for miles around, there was no way anyone with ill intent toward the village was going to slip through his radar. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin." A mischievous smile formed on his lips. "Or should I call you Ero-Sennin."

With a pained look on his face, the Leaf-nin responded, "You've been talking to Naruto, huh?"

"He was enthusiastic about telling me of our time apart. Was there something you needed from me?"

"I just wanted to ask a few questions. For starters, why did you help drive away Orochimaru and why didn't you just capture him."

"That man had committed crimes which I could not ignore, tampering with the souls of the dead is not something I can overlook. I simply punished him and let him go because I am a priest, and as evil as Orochimaru is I still believe that people can change. I took away one of his arms and left a curse which will continue to take away his abilities to limit the evil which he could commit." The priest smiled at the Toad Sage. "There is a way for him to gain back his arm though, if he can learn to care for others and do good deeds then control of his body will return to him."

Jiraiya looked down with skepticism, "Do you really think he could learn to care for others?"

"I believe in change, that people can change. Knowing that negative actions will have direct negative repercussions to his power will cause him to pause when ever he acts. Knowing that someone is much stronger then him will make him pause even more, and he will never be able to hide the scar I left on his face so he won't be able hide his shame."

Like with Naruto's refusal to use the Kyuubi's chakra, Jiraiya didn't understand but he was old enough to know he wouldn't get any other explanation. "I'm going to find my old teammate and convince her to become the next Hokage. You are going to stay and keep an eye on things, right?"

"I made a deal with Sarutobi, that I would watch over this village. I was given payment and I have no intention of going back on my word."

With a nod, the perverted toad continued. "I'll be taking Naruto with me, that kid seems to be good at changing people and I'll need all the help I can get to convince Tsunade. Plus I wanted to teach him a special jutsu."

"That'll be enough to get him to tag along," Yoshi said with a smirk.

Kabuto was used to working under pressure, but never under this much. They had returned to Orochimaru's lair, yet after that things had quickly gone down hill. Their master was angry, they failed to destroy the village and the snake lord had faced personal defeat at the hands of some unknown and unaffiliated ninja. That same ninja had left Orochimaru with a useless arm and a large X-shaped scar on his face, neither could the medic nin cure. Having a paralyzed arm was bothersome, but the facial scar troubled the Snake Sannin far more then anything else.

There were no reflective surfaces in the base anymore, Orochimaru had personally begun destroying mirrors when they returned and the remaining forces had quickly followed suit in darkening every other reflective surface in the caves. The snake had quickly developed a bad habit of flying into a rage when faced with the symbol of his shame. Kabuto was the only one to face the Snake Sannin directly, he was skilled enough not to let Orochimaru kill him with a first strike and his self healing let him quickly heal from his wounds. Anyone who even glanced at the snake's scar was struck down before they knew what happened, the Sound forces had quickly trained themselves never to look at their master's face for any reason. This had worked until the Sound leader began killing people for not looking at his face and reminding him of the scar that he held. They'd given up having the snake speak to his followers personally after he killed 20 people for either looking at his face or refusing to look at his face, any instructions were given through Kabuto who's scrapes with death were becoming more and more frequent.

It wasn't as if they hadn't tried to cover his wounds after healing them failed, but no mater what they did the marks bled through. A basic transformation technique didn't work, not even Orochimaru's personalized disguise techniques concealed the X. Makeup didn't work either, the scar seemed to burn off any physical application applied over them. The best they could come up with was to bandage the Sannin's face, but even that enraged the snake because the bandages covered his entire face it didn't trick anyone into believing the scars weren't there.

The snake knew there was only one hope, aside from his transference technique, to heal both his arm and face. "Kabuto, we're going to find Tsunade."

(TBC)

A/N: All right, another chapter down.

(1)- These are the first three words which complete the Kuji-in "Nine-Syllable Seals". The Kuji-in are nine words and hand signs which help focus one's inner energy. If you wish to learn what each word means and the hand sign that accompanies them, visit Wikipedia because I'm not going to describe them here.

The Kuji-in can be focused outward to dispel evil and bad luck by making nine slashing motions (5 horizontal, 4 vertical) over a picture or symbol. For example, one might recite the nine syllables and make the slashing motions over the word "road" to ensure a safe journey. The manga Ghost Hunt uses the Kuji-in slashes as an exorcism tool, which I plan on doing later in my fan fiction.

(2)- This is a quote directly from the manga The Young Magician.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, we'll be getting into an original story arc next chapter. Later.