How do you expect to protect your friends when you have no idea they are in danger?

Uzumaki Naruto was to remain oblivious to any foul play in this wicked plot.

Killer Nightmares

By DreamDevourer

Chapter Two
To kill a rival

Uzumaki Naruto entered his small apartment with a small smile on his face. His day had gone pretty well. He had won the training battle with Sasuke in the morning, had finished his ninja duties by the time afternoon rolled in, and had spent the rest of his evening with Hinata. He would have spent most of his night with her too, if her father hadn't sent a Hyuuga guard to fetch her.

He slightly grinned at himself. Someday, someday very soon, her father would approve of him. Who wouldn't approve of a Hokage?

He removed his black shirt while recalling the night when he had asked Hinata out for dinner, in which he had taken her to a ramen stand.

It was one year ago.

That year, everyone was still trying to recuperate from the war with Akatsuki. He had finished rebuilding a house that belonged to a family of eight when he caught sight of Hinata walking home from the hospital.

The first thing she had said to him was, "Sakura-chan is still working, I don't think she'll be finished until midnight." She had twirled a strand of hair around her finger, his presence always made her nervous.

Naruto had given her a sheepish grin and told her that he wasn't looking for Sakura, nor anyone else for that matter. "I just thought I'd walk you home, Hinata-chan, seeing that it is late."

Hinata had taken his offer the wrong way. "I'm not as weak as I used to be, I can defend myself just as well as you can," she had responded, proud of herself that she had not stuttered once as well as angry at him for his opinion of her. Will he always find her to be a weakling? A nuisance? A little girl?

Naruto had laughed then, which finally caused Hinata to raise her head and look at him. "Since that day you fought Neji at the genin competition, I thought you were one of the strongest girls I had met back then."

Hinata had blushed at the compliment. So he had paid attention to her even at that time? She was slightly pleased.

"Now, come on, let me walk home with you," he said, his laughter had died out, but his expression showed that he was still in a good mood.

She had nodded, and her legs wobbled—ready to drop her—the moment he placed his arm over her shoulders, and had pulled her body close to his. He smiled that boyish smile as he led her away from the hospital.

Halfway to her house, his stomach had grumbled and he had laughed awkwardly. "Say, Hinata-chan, lets go eat first. I know the perfect place!"

She had agreed again, and to her surprise, she hadn't fainted. He had indirectly asked her to dinner.

And then the outings became a ritual. He would finish repairing another home, and she would continue helping Sakura at the hospital. Then he would pick her up and take her to dinner. Though her stomach couldn't take another bowl of ramen, she didn't complain. He had finally begun to show interest in her.

With a small content smile, Naruto removed his headband and placed it next to the Team 7 photograph. He discarded his pants and flopped onto his bed with only boxers on. The last thought in his mind before he ventured into sleep was, "I should clean my room sometime soon."

He felt weird as he opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of the training grounds. Wow, he thought, the night went by fast. I can't even remember waking up and coming here.

He spotted Sasuke and Kakashi training and ran towards them. "Yo! Don't start without me!" he yelled out, smiling. The two men continued to fight as if he wasn't even there.

"Hello…" he said, waving his hand at them. He was standing a yard away from them, and yet they weren't paying him any mind. "Tsk, fine," he scoffed. "I get it, I'll just wait until you two are done, and then I'll beat both of you up!" He turned away from them, pissed at the fact that they still wouldn't acknowledge his presence.

Naruto walked to a tree, flopped down the on the ground, and leaned his back against the large tree trunk.

"He favors the Uchiha more…"

"Ever since he joined the team, he was always favored over you."

"Uchiha Sasuke was and will always be the best! You will never be liked, you will always be picked last, you will always be left alone!"

Naruto hit his head lightly, and laughed at himself for thinking that. He used to be jealous of Sasuke—everyone did like him...especially the girls—but that was nearly five years ago. He was a grown eighteen year-old who didn't care much about who was liked best anymore. Besides, he was just as strong as the Uchiha, if not stronger. He has sage powers now, not to mention the Kyuubi, and his own ninja techniques that could beat the Uchiha any day.

But if he weren't so jealous, then why was he trying to reason with himself? Why was he trying to talk himself out of being jealous? And why was he glaring at the duo that were training.

"Look at them…they look like father and son."

"He never looked at you so fondly, he never praised your efforts as much as he praised the Uchiha's."

"The Uchiha doesn't deserve a family! He doesn't deserve to have the friends he has! You deserve all the praise, all the glory, all the respect, not him!"

I do deserve praise, don't I? After all, I did kill Pain. I did stop Akatsuki, and what did he do? He simply went and got his revenge on the elders. He always only sought to make himself happy, but I never thought of myself! I always thought of the people around me! I always made sure everyone was happy and safe!

Naruto frowned, uncertain as to where those thoughts came from. Certainly not from his own mind. He was content with the fact that Sasuke was able to avenge his family and his brother. He was happy that Sasuke was able to stop Danzou because he was as great a threat as Akatsuki was.

If he was so happy with Sasuke's accomplishments, then why were his fists clenched? Why was he feeling angry with his best friend?

"Even as a missing nin, people still loved him more than you…"

"People still thought he would save them from the war with Akatsuki."

"Even though he was miles away, they believed in him! No one counted on you! You, who went away to get stronger for their sakes, were never sought for! No one prayed for you to come! No one needed you!"

Naruto let out a small growl. It wasn't true, none of that was true. Everyone was happy that Naruto came and saved them, everyone rooted for him to win. And everyone cheered for him when Pain was defeated.

The people of Konoha trust me now, they look up to me, Naruto thought, trying to calm his nerves.

Kakashi and Sasuke stopped fighting and turned their heads to Naruto.

"What is the dweeb doing here?" the raven-haired man questioned as he threw Naruto a disgusted look.

"Seems like he still doesn't get it," Kakashi said with an annoyed look. "You are no longer useful to Konoha, demon vessel, so leave."

Naruto stood up and narrowed his blue eyes at his teammates. Since when was he refereed to as demon vessel? "What is going on?" he questioned himself while keeping a cautious eye on the duo. "Guys, if you're pulling a prank on me…well, HAHA, okay I get it, jokes on me, but seriously it isn't that funny. And why are you two looking so serious? Where is Sakura-chan?" With each word spoken, the two men walked towards him, and Naruto took hesitant steps backwards.

"It is as they said, you are no longer useful to Konoha…"

"You risked your life for them, and they only think of you as a weapon."

"Are you going to stand there and let them run you out of your own village!? Who are they to tell you that you don't belong here—in your own village!? Remind them who exactly defeated Akatsuki! Remind them who is the strongest!"

Naruto's hands balled into tight fists and quickly got into a fighting stance when the other two men advanced towards him. He didn't fight them, only dodged every attack. "This is crazy! Stop it, both of you! Have you gone mad!?" he shouted, anger rising.

"Remind them who you are…"

"Remind them what you are capable of."

"Show them just how powerful you really are! Make them respect you! Only from fear can you earn respect!"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, damn it! This is my village! I will not be thrown out by the likes of you!" Dark rings appeared around his eyes and his nails grew, his teeth turned into fangs, and he readied himself in a animal-like position, ready to prance on his enemies.

"You are stronger…"

"I am stronger," Naruto repeated his thoughts as he attacked his sensei.

"You will be respected and feared."

"I will be respected and feared," ten Naruto clones said in union.

"You will kill anyone who tells you that this village is not your home! You will kill anyone who uses you like a dog! You will kill anyone who keeps you from becoming the Hokage!"

"I will kill anyone who tells me that this village is not my home! I will kill anyone who uses me like a dog! I will kill anyone who keeps me from becoming the Hokage!" What was going on? Why was he so fired up and bent on killing his teammates? Was this just a nightmare? Could he still be sleeping? But it all seemed too real, the pain from their attacks was just like any real attack.

Naruto was breathing heavily as he stared at the two bodies on the ground.

"Here is your chance to prove to them who is the strongest…"

"Here is your chance to get the respect you need."

"What are you waiting for!? Just kill them while they are still down! Kill the two who dared to tell you that you don't belong here! Kill them now!

That anger that was roaming through his head couldn't be his.

He would never get so infuriated over power…over strength…over proving someone his worth. And yet here he was, standing over his two teammates—one of the few teachers who bothered to give him a second chance, and his best friend—with a scary instinct to kill them.

His mind was restless, telling him over and over to kill them. Kill the ones that mean nothing to him, the ones that keep holding him back

But that was just the thing, they meant the world to him and they never held him back.

He unconsciously staggered closer to them with two katanas in his hands. What am I doing? he thought I can't do this…someone help me! He raised the two swords above the limp bodies and held his breath. And then a name floated into his head, Jiraiya. What would his deceased sensei do in a position such as this?

He would never hurt his friends, Naruto thought, already feeling his body turn ice cold as he prepared to stab the two bodies at the same time. He would never kill his friends—his teammates—over selfish acts. He would never let power elude his better judgment. And I will never let it either! I will never hurt the people I love…

His grip on the handles tightened as he swung the swords. "I would never hurt them!" he promised himself and whomever else was there to hear him as he fell to the ground. Blood dripped from his mouth onto the grass as a small smile appeared on his pale face.

Naruto waited for his heart to stop beating, for him to finally die, but it never came. Instead, he only felt more pain. It wasn't due to the katanas impaled in his chest but because of the anguish screaming in his head. Someone was there—in his mind. Someone had been there all this time. He tried to move his body, but couldn't. His teammates were no longer laying beside him. It was just him, laying on the grass covered with blood.

Get out of my head, Naruto thought, suddenly finding himself tired of speaking. The voices didn't leave, instead they continued to shout louder. Something must have displeased them. Get out of my head, Naruto demanded again as blackness started to surround him.

"Now you will see your mistake…"

"You had the chance to change things, to make things right."

"Look at the future you just made!"

His world spun round and round and he felt like throwing up. What was only mere seconds, seemed like hours, and Naruto found himself standing in the Hokage office.

The Hokage chair was already taken, but it wasn't by the blonde woman he grew to care about. No, it was by a crimson-eyed young man. He wore the white Hokage robes, excluding the hat, but the symbol on the robes was not that of Konoha, but that of the Uchiha clan.

Naruto found this to be the most amusing thing ever, and to prove that, he started to laugh until tears sprung from his eyes. "Now I know I must be dreaming!" he said in the midst of his laughter. "Sasuke-teme—the Hokage!? Yeah, right!"

His appearance was quickly noticed by the last remaining Uchiha, and Naruto found himself unable to move.

"Such dangerous eyes those of an Uchiha…"

"The only eyes that can control you."

"And he will continue to control you because you failed to kill your rival!"

If he was able to, Naruto would have punched his friend in the face for daring to think he could control him. But his thoughts proved to be correct, those eyes were dangerous. They beckoned him forward, and he walked steadily toward the Sharingan user. He unwillingly picked up a shuriken that was standing on its tip on the desk.

Naruto's eyes narrowed with confusion as a small grin appeared on his friend's lips. "Kill him," those two words brought a dreadful feeling to Naruto.

He found himself turning around and there was a chair he didn't see before. Tied to that chair was a male's body, whose head was in a black sack. And although he tried to fool himself into believing otherwise—he knew who that man tied to the chair was. The robes alone were a dead giveaway.

"Kill him," Sasuke ordered once more, now standing in front of Naruto, the body in the chair acting as a wall between them.

Naruto couldn't look away from those haunting red eyes as he raised the shuriken. He wanted to stop, there was no way he would kill Gaara. He was a Kazekage for crying out loud! Killing him would start a war with Sand, and not only that, he was his friend!

"What is the meaning of this!?" Naruto demanded to know but no words came out of his mouth.

"Kill him," he repeated for the last time and when Naruto finally was able to look away from his eyes, he found the shuriken embedded in the heart of the Kazekage. He stumbled backwards, shocked.

"Wh-what hav-have I done?" His back finally hit the wall and he slid down to the floor. His eyes never left the dead body…and the puddle of blood around the chair. "Oh, God, no…no…"

"Hatake, prepare for war."

Cerulean eyes moved to the new figure in the room. Kakashi-sensei was here all this time and didn't do anything to stop me—to stop Sasuke? Naruto was baffled. And the idea of war…

"The Uchiha will blame the war on you…"

"Afterall, you were the one who killed the Kazekage."

"No one will believe that you were forced to kill him! And there is no one else to blame but yourself! If you had killed the Uchiha when you had the chance, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Everyone will blame me," Naruto muttered, suddenly afraid. "Everyone will hate me just as they did when I was younger." Unconsciously, he rose to his feet and walked to the window.

"The Uchiha's revenge was never meant to end with the elders…"

"No, he blamed the entire village. He finally has the power to make them pay."

"Look at how he treated your village—you could have prevented this! You could have become Hokage and kept everyone safe!"

Naruto's knuckles turned white as he finally looked away from the village. His insides boiled in anger, rage. The houses were burned down, the people were out on the streets looking for something to quench their hunger, kids were dressed in rags…everything was destroyed.

"Do you know who they blame?"

"Only a powerful force could have brought such a destruction to this nation."

"But don't think you did it freely, oh no, one word from the Uchiha, and you were out doing his dirty work! Like some savage animal!"

It hit him then, that he did this. An Uchiha had controlled Kyuubi long ago, and now an Uchiha was controlling Kyuubi again—no, not just Kyuubi, but Naruto himself. His best friend was using him for his own vengeful plot.

His anger ignited once again.

When he turned around to face his enemy, he saw another disturbing scene.

"Sakura-chan…" he gasped. He tried to run to her aid, but found himself glued to his spot. His other option was to close his eyes and not watch what was happening, but that, too, he couldn't.

Sasuke struck her again and she fell onto the floor. She wiped the blood from her lips and slowly stood up.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun, I still love you," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her lips against his.

Naruto wanted to—he wanted to…kill.

His thoughts continued to taunt him about how no matter what, she would always pick Sasuke over him. That even if he abused her over and over, she would always go back into his arms. That a cruel, unforgiving Uchiha was better to love than a demon vessel like him. Nobody loved him, nobody needed him. Everyone was blaming him for the destruction of Konoha, and Sasuke was simply trying to restore order.

And it wasn't the fact that he was being used by Sasuke that arose his killing instinct, but the fact that he was hurting her!

She had bruises on her legs and her arms. Her left cheek was swollen and she just took another blow to her head. Even after being abused by him, she told him she loved him and kissed him. The scene before him kept on repeating over and over until she finally couldn't stand back up on her feet.

"If you had killed him, she could have been safe…"

"She could have been yours."

"If you had killed him, you would have been Hokage! Your village would have been safe!"

That was the final draw—she was the final reason for him to kill.

Whatever control he had over his murderous impulses vanished altogether.

He was back on the training field and he attacked without a thought. He was going to save Sasuke for last. First Kakashi had to be dealt with. Kakashi should have stopped Sasuke from becoming Hokage. Kakashi should have stopped Sasuke from controlling Kyuubi—from controlling him.

Kakashi said nothing to him as they fought to the death. Naruto was aware that Kakashi used only one move throughout the fight, along with simple combat moves, but he didn't question it. He was content with himself when Kakashi fell to the ground, dead.

The next to fight him was Sakura, whom he didn't want to fight but the moment his thoughts taunted him of how she would always go back to Sasuke, that she would never love a beast like him, he fought back. How she would ever love a man like Sasuke, he will never know, nor did he care anymore. He would end her pain even if that meant ending her life.

Ever so slowly, Uchiha Sasuke walked towards him with a smirk on his face.

"You plan on controlling me…?" Naruto repeated his thoughts with fury. The Sharingan user simply nodded. "You plan on destroying what's left of my village?" Another nod. "I'm going to kill you!"

It was all too easy, but he never questioned how it happened. He never questioned how his best friend barely fought against him; instead, he simply allowed him to put a hole through his stomach.

Naruto's body was frozen stiff, somehow he didn't feel any relief from what he had done nor did he feel any regret. He wasn't angry or happy. He didn't feel guilty or any of those feelings a person who just killed his best friends should feel.

What he did feel was lost.

He felt as if all this time he was in a trance. That all this time he wasn't in control of his body or his mind. In the back of his mind he felt something stirring awake and it finally hit him—this had to be a joke.

Because it certainly didn't look real. The trees were fake because he felt no essence from them, the sky was the wrong color. There was never a red sky, and the moon was up when it was the middle of the day.

He closed his eyes and reopened them to see if the world was back to normal. And he never felt more relieved at the fact that it wasn't normal because the scene before him frightened him.

He found himself hovering over a bleeding Uchiha Sasuke with a hole in his abdomen. "Sasuke-teme...what happened?" He tried to recall this event, tried to think when this happened but his mind was blank of anything after him falling asleep in his bed.

So he concluded that it was a joke…it had to be…maybe it was a genjutsu.

"Come on teme, wake up! It's not funny. I bet Sakura-chan is behind all of this...she's still mad about the training earlier, isn't she?" he chuckled nervously. He bent downward and extended his hand to shake him.

His cerulean eyes widened with shock as he saw his Rasengan activated in his right hand. "NO!" he yelled in anguish and his legs dropped him. "I couldn't have..." He knelt beside his best friend and tears sprung out of his eyes once he noticed the others. How could he have done this, and not remember any of it?

His other two victims were lying two yards apart, each with a hole the size of his fist in their stomach. His head wanted to explode.

And then Kyuubi was awakened.

"There is room for only two minds in this body. Uzumaki's and mine. Leave now!"

"So it was your presence that has ruined my mirage!?" Kazuo was furious at the fact that they had been interrupted when the demon vessel was nearly ready to really kill them.

A sadistic grin was formed by the demon as he stared at the three figures before him. Their faces weren't visible and they were see-through. It was only because of the blue chakra wrapped around their bodies that he was able to see their outline. "Who do you think you are—invading my home?"

Before any of the three could answer, Kyuubi went on to ask more questions. "Did you think that I wouldn't notice? Did you think I would allow you to harm this boy? What is your purpose here? And why fill the boy's head with such images?"

"You knew we were here all this time?" Jirou asked, a bit amused that the demon would have allowed them to torment the boy as long as they did.

The scarlet-colored demon laughed its appeasing laugh and the walls around him shook. "You think I'm stupid? I sensed you were in here the moment Uzumaki closed his eyes."

"I see…then why did you allow us to remain in his mind for so long?" Jirou inquired as he kept his eyes on the lock and from the looks of it, they were safe from his clutches.

"It was amusing to see how you would try to break his spirits," Kyuubi replied as he played with the lock. "Don't feel so secure…all I have to do is alert the boy and you are all done for."

Ryuu was fascinated by the demon in front of him. He never imagined being in the presence of the nine-tailed fox, and it certainly was alarming. The demon released so much power around him that it was hard for Ryuu to maintain the connection between his time and Uzumaki Naruto's time.

"So what are you waiting for?" Ryuu asked the demon as he took a step forward, suddenly wanting to be closer to this awe-inspiring power. "Why aren't you alerting the boy?" He didn't understand how such power was able to be contained in the mind of that boy, just being in the demon's presence was about to bring him down to his knees and he wasn't even physically there! He held the boy to high regards now; to have to carry this overwhelming burden around for all these years must be tiring and yet the boy never complained nor did he lose his way. Naruto has kept the demon under control all this time and never has let the demon's influence control his thoughts.

The demon laughed, highly amused as he recalled the images these three figures had placed into Naruto's head. "I liked your plan," he mused.

"How do you know of our plan!?" Kazuo demanded to know. They messed up, their hard work was all for nothing. The demon vessel would come looking for them soon.

"I know that you are trying to kill Uzumaki's team, for what reason I do not know for certain though I do have my assumptions…but watching the Uchiha bleed—ah what a sight!"

"You want the Uchiha dead?" Ryuu quickly asked, a small plan already forming in his head.

"Dead!? Not just dead! I want those eyes of his to be plucked out! Those eyes—no man should have such power! To be able to control a demon—to be able to control me is a power no mortal or immortal should have!" he growled, steam flying out of his nose.

Just as Ryuu, Jirou also understood the significance of the hatred the demon had for the Sharingan user. "And say that we do kill him—"

"If you kill him? You weaklings actually think you can…" Another laughter erupted from the fowl demon. "Those Uchihas don't die so easilyespecially this last one," he said with disgust.

"You think we are not capable of killing him!?" Kazuo was outraged at the fact that they were called weaklings by a demon who himself was trapped in a cage.

"Only in illusions and dreams are you able to kill that rival of mine," the demon said in mockery. "In life, you can't do anything…because if you could, then you wouldn't waste your time venturing into this boy's mind; instead, you would be out there right now fighting him…" he chuckled hoarsely "Unless…"

Ryuu quickly returned to his position between the twin brothers. The tone the demon used…he knows.

"Oh, I see it all so clearly now."

Yes, he knew. He might not know who exactly they were or what their actual plan was, but he still knew enough to tarnish their plan.

"You cannot touch them…can you now? You aren't from this time, oh how fascinating!" The cage rattled from his new found amusement. "And here I thought the clan that used mind-time traveling were all dead! Oh, let me guess which one of you is the last remaining of the Maindo Ryokou clan…let's see…"

Ryuu was dumbfounded. He had never heard of a clan by that name, nor had he ever known of anyone else wielding the power he did. He made a mental note to look further into that once he was back into his own body.

"How does it feel to be the last of your kind?" Kyuubi asked, pointing his claw at the smoky figure.

"I don't know what you are talking about, I do not belong to any clan. My parents are street vendors not shinobi ninjas," Ryuu replied. It was a lie, his parents weren't street vendors, he was told they were by his team leaders, but he investigated and found out that his real parents were killed a long time ago. Danzou had a way of recruiting soldiers without ties to any family. He wasn't going to let the twins know of his questionable feelings towards Danzou.

"Don't try to fool me, boy. Only two clans have ever been able to see me inside a vessel. The cursed Uchihas and the old Maindo Ryokou. Though I must say, I don't know how you survived…that clan has been gone for decades…or have your kind been in hiding all this time?"

My kind in hiding? Ryuu thought, uncertain if he should believe the demon. Could there possibly be a clan…one that I belong to?

"I understand why you guys would be hiding. It hasn't been safe for powerful clans in this time. I mean, look at the Uchihas. Hate them I do and I could careless that they are almost extinct, but they were betrayed by the very village they gave their lives to protect. And I can very much imagine that your clan was lost in the same way—"

"Enough!" Jirou demanded.

Ryuu narrowed his eyes at the twin that never lost his temper. Jirou must have felt threatened somehow for him to shout like that. He knows something about this…there is some truth in what the demon says…that means what I'm doing now isn't as justifiable as it was in the beginning, he thought, bewildered at the fact that he may be on the wrong side. Though he wasn't going to get too carried away by the thought. He fought for what he knew, and all he knew right now was that Team 7 was standing in the way of a better and stronger future for Konoha.

Kyuubi simply grinned and kept his gaze glued to the middle figure. So this team isn't as stable as I presumed…no…their plan will fail, whatever it is. But maybe I can get something out of it, he thought, his grin widening at his last thought. The death of the last Uchiha.

"Okay, this has quickly gotten boring, I think it's time I wake up this child," he stated as he closed his eyes.

"Wait, wait for a moment," Jirou pleaded. There was no way that their plan would be ruined by the demon. They were obligated to destroying Team 7 and then they had to help bring Danzou back into power. They couldn't fail now.

"Yes?" the demon snarled, hiding his amusement.

"If we do kill the Uchiha, then you won't tell Uzumaki Naruto of our presence?"

"Hmmm…" he taped his claws on the metal cage for a good minute as if he was thinking it over. "If you, by some chance, are able to kill the brat, then I shall forget this encounter."

"Alright, and how long will you be giving us?" Jirou inquired.

"Well, seeing how easily you failed with Uzumaki—"

"We wouldn't have failed if you hadn't disrupted us!" Kazuo grumbled.

Kyuubi growled warningly. "As I was saying, seeing how easily you failed, I'm willing to give you four months and not a second beyond that last night."

Kazuo laughed while remarking, "Four months? You really underestimate our power."

"No, it seems that you are surely underestimating this infuriating team's power—Team Seven seems to have some unknown force on their side."

"Unknown force?" Jirou questioned while skimming through his own thoughts, trying to find out what special technique Team 7 had developed over the years, but he found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Yes, somehow they always end up back together…some force binds them together…" Kyuubi was finally getting bored of this chit-chat. He yawned but it came out more of a growl.

By the looks of it, Jirou understood that they have overstayed their welcome. "Take us back—"

"Wait," Kyuubi demanded in a low hushed tone. "I said I want the Uchiha dead—"

"Yes, we understand that, we'll kill him!" Kazuo cut in, slightly annoyed by the demon and its demands. No where in his orders was he told that he had to listen to a demon, much less kill his enemies for him, but he knew he had no choice, which was what bugged him. Having a demon telling him how long he has…giving demands…ugh, it made him furious!

"No, I don't think you understand. I said I want the Uchiha dead, and only the Uchiha, which means that Uzumaki is not to be harmed. And if I sense that you are indeed going to harm my vessel then it is all over."

"It seems you have taken a liking to the boy. Demons usually don't care about their vessels," Jirou remarked, highly amused that a demon could actually feel something for someone other than itself.

"You mistaken me greatly," he said through clenched teeth. "If the vessel dies, then the demon is trapped in that body forever. And I'm not a fool to let such a powerful vessel to be harmed. You have been warned, now LEAVE!"

Fire erupted out of the cage and not waiting another second, Ryuu pulled them out of the mind of Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto mumbled something in his sleep but did not stir awake. He continued to snore as if nothing happened.

Kyuubi would make sure the young man didn't remember any part of this night.

At least for now.

Once his rival was killed, then those three would be next.

He chuckled lowly as he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

"Four months!? Who does he think he is bossing us around!?" Kazuo shouted as he left the group.

"I warned you—I said we needed a weaker mind. If the demon hadn't sensed us this first time, he surely would have sensed us later on," Ryuu remarked as he stood up. It had been a long day and he needed some rest. And not just rest, but answers as well.

"Then lets discuss what we have learned from the two subjects," Jirou said, watching the young boy carefully. He wasn't a fool, he knew that Ryuu would go out and look for answers. He inwardly cursed that big-mouthed demon. "Okay, so Hatake Kakashi was able to fend us off because, as you said Ryuu, he has a special bond with his students. He'd rather kill himself then harm his teammates, possibly because of his past incidents with his own genin teammates."

Ryuu simply shrugged, he was in no mood to discuss any of this. He wanted to know more about the Maindo Ryokou clan, and maybe even the true reason for the Uchiha massacre. If he knew what exactly opted for the killing of the Uchiha clan, then maybe he could learn more about the disappearance of the Maindo Ryokou clan.

"Now, Uzumaki Naruto still fought us off until the very end— "

"It was that demon's fault for our failure!" Kazuo cut in, still mad. He glared icy daggers at his twin brother. He needed to punch something...his anger was rising by the second. He wasn't keen to failure, especially not twice in a row.

"No, not entirely, at least not in the beginning. Kyuubi left us alone until the end, but in the beginning, Uzumaki still fought us off. He did believe they were his thoughts, so that's good, but he still didn't trust them. He didn't trust himself into believing that he had reason to kill them. He wasn't affected by jealously nor power," Jirou paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"It was the girl," Ryuu said a minute later, deciding to finish this fast so he could have time to think of his own problems.

"What about the fucking girl? She didn't do anything! It was the Uchiha against Uzumaki…rivalry was what finally got to him!"

"Idiot, it wasn't rivalry for power or any of that nonsense," Ryuu finally had it with the twins. One was definitely keeping secrets from him while the other was plain oblivious to the most obvious facts. "It was when he saw the girl all bruised that he finally acted—of course you were too busy trying to fill his head with murderous intent instead of watching how he reacted when he saw the interactions between the Uchiha and the medic."

"What does it all mean?" Jirou asked while giving his brother a cautious look. The last thing he wanted to do was to anger Ryuu. They needed his skill and it was pointless into forcing him to helping them. No, he had to freely help them.

"It means that none of them—even though we haven't yet tested the last two—believe that their teammates would become traitors in anyway. So we can't use that illusion anymore. Nor do they really believe that any of them would harm their village, so that idea has also failed us. Hatake felt certain that the Uchiha wouldn't use the Kyuubi to his advantage, and even Uzumaki didn't quite fall for that trap. Which leaves us with the girl…the one that seems to be weak and yet has the greatest power of all three of them."

"And what might that power be?" Kazuo scoffed.

"She is the one that relates to all three of them. She is like a daughter to Hatake, even in our time, she is Uzumaki's best friend, past and present, and last, she is the Uchiha's lover in our time, which could only mean he had some feelings for her years earlier. So place images of her getting hurt then the subject will certainly kill whomever dared to touch her. And in our case, placing images of her getting hurt at the hands of her friends, then the subject will definitely kill them."

"So that leaves us with Uchiha Sasuke," Jirou sighed, not happy that already two of the subjects had failed. What if the Uchiha failed? All they would have left is the medic...the useless medic.

Ryuu shrugged and walked to the door. He could have told them what a better plan would be, but didn't bother with it.

"Where are you going!?" Kazuo huffed as he sat next to his brother, already prepared for another mind invasion.

"To rest. Unlike you two, I have used up my chakra," he replied and didn't wait for a reply from the twins. It was a lie of course. He still had enough for one more travel, but he didn't want to go back until he had some questions answered. Tomorrow he planned on sneaking into the Hokage tower to take a look at the old scrolls, and for tonight he was going to question the minds of Hatake and Uzumaki. It took a lot of power to get them to hurt one another and it must be because of that unknown force the demon mentioned.

Uchiha Sasuke wanted to kill.

To kill her and him.

Both.

How dare they sneak behind his back?

To be continued

Hey readers!
Um..I did make up the clan known as Maindo Ryokou (Mind travel)...it wasn't something I planned on doing at the beginning when I first wrote this, but I thought that Ryuu deserved some family background which will better help him decide whose side he should be on.

Thank you for reading!
DeeDee