Author's Note: Hey readers! This is my first real attempt at a fanfic, and my second attempt at writing fiction in a long while. I always thought that Haku's bloodline was really interesting and wanted to see more of it. I was inspired by the few fanfics where Naruto had Haku's bloodline, and wanted to make my own attempt at it. Please leave reviews, I'd like to grow as a writer!

Important Note for Story: Haku and Naruto told each other about their pasts when they met at the clearing, obviously leaving Zabuza and Kyuubi out.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Konoha's Arctic Fox

Chapter One: Change

CRACK

The impact of Naruto's fist slamming into Haku's hunter-nin mask flew the ice user through his own mirror constructs. Haku didn't know what power this blond boy had, but it far surpassed his own, and his masters. Ashamed he had failed his master Zabuza, Haku struggled to stand on his own two feet again to accept death.

Naruto, still in his berserker rage flew at Haku with every intent to kill him and avenge his teammate. Haku knew it was pointless to attempt to dodge and he waited for death, as his mask began to slide off his face due to the damage from the battle.

Haku was confused. Why wasn't he dead? Opening his eyes he saw a stunned Naruto, a fist an inch from crushing his skull. Soon the initial shock wore off. The demon container needed answers right now.

"Y-you! You are that b-boy from the forest! Why are you helping that creep Zabuza?" Naruto stammered out.

"You should know why, Naruto-san. Zabuza-sama saved me from the darkness in return for being his tool. He told me to help him fight you, and I did." Haku told Naruto while trying to stay standing.

Naruto definitely understood, but he didn't like it. The boy in front of him was so similar so him it was scary. Both were hated by their homes, but were saved. For Naruto it was the Sandaime Hokage, Tenten and Iruka-sensei. Was it really Haku's fault his savior was a less than pleasant individual? The demon container's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of what seemed to be chirping birds. Both boys looked over to see Kakashi about to kill Zabuza with a Raiton jutsu.

"I am sorry Naruto-san, but it seems like I still have some use left to Zabuza-sama." said Haku while making a single ice mirror.

Haku stepped into the single mirror made of ice and it allowed him to speed toward the path of Kakashi's assassination jutsu. Meanwhile, Naruto subconsciously pumped some demonic chakra into his legs and ran after Haku. He couldn't let the boy who was so similar to him get killed. The smell of flesh melting filled the air.

Standing in front of Zabuza were Naruto and Haku, Kakashi's fist sticking out of Naruto' and Haku's back. A fatal wound for both boys, their blood intermingling while their hearts were still able to beat.

Kakashi looked on in horror, he had just lost another one of his teammates. His own subordinate, accidentally killed by his own hand. Why did Naruto do it?

"K-ka-kashi-sensei... Sorry... Haku... like me..." Naruto whispered to his sensei.

After speaking his final words, Naruto slumped over, still being held up by Kakashi's arm that was now being removed from the chests of the two ninja. Zabuza began to chuckle, snapping Kakashi from his thoughts.

"Well, it seems that Haku proved a useful tool after all. Shame he had to die to serve his purpose though." praised Zabuza.

Clapping accompanied the arrival of Gatou and his thugs.

"Well well, it looks like the Demon of the Mist is not much of a demon after all. Oh and your little friend died to. Serves the brat right. Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway. We were going to kill you both after the bridge builder died anyway. Get him boys!" Gatou ordered.

The men began to charge but stopped when a spiral of red demonic chakra spilled forth from the blond that was laying next to Haku's corpse. All looked on in horror as the sound of cracking bones accompanied the hole in the boy's destroyed chest being filled with new flesh. The boy seemed to grow taller before their eyes, his hair lightening into a bright ice blue and becoming wild. Fangs lengthened, nails became claws, and the whisker marks adorning the boy's face became thicker and deeper. Eventually the chakra died down and the boy struggled to his feet. The bandits were terrified by the cold killer look the jinchuuriki's slit red eyes held for them.

"Play time." the jinchuuriki growled out at the thugs.

In a blur the boy seemingly vanished before a thug suddenly found a clawed hand piercing his chest. Naruto ripped his hand out from the lifeless body and ducked below two incoming swords. With a swipe of his claws one of the attackers had his chest slashed open. Turning around the demon container lunged at the other's throat, biting and tearing the man's windpipe out. While the other thugs stood still, shocked by the brutality, Naruto began a flurry of swipes and spins, removing heads, limbs, and destroying torsos with a brutal efficiency. By the dozens men were brutally slain by the Genin. Kakashi was officially afraid of his student at this point, hoping that the demon fox had not escaped.

"Well I guess we don't need to fight anymore, so could your dogs let me go? I wanna kill Gatou before your brat gets him first." said Zabuza, prepared to kill the man who dared try to cheat him out of payment for a job.

Kakashi nodded dumbly and unsummoned his nin-dogs. Zabuza was gravely wounded but still joined Naruto in slaughtering the bandits. For almost every bandit the Demon of the Mist took down he was impaled by another weapon. Gatou was horrified, his army was being reduced to nothing before his eyes. After a few quick moments that seemed like an eternity Zabuza and Naruto were standing before the short shipping tycoon. Zabuza held his arm in front of Naruto to stop him, and the boy managed to calm down from his bloodlust. Back in control, Naruto had no idea of what he had just done.

"Sorry brat. This bastard is mine." Zabuza told the demon container while holding his arm out to stop the boy from trying anything. Zabuza grabbed Kubikiri Houchou and struck.

And so the reign of Gatou ended by his head rolling off his shoulders. Satisfied, Zabuza collapsed and was caught by Naruto.

"Hey brat... I'm not gonna make it... but I'd like to see Haku before I die." whispered Zabuza, he didn't have the strength for much else.

The boy nodded and carried the badly bleeding nukenin toward his fallen friend. He settled Zabuza down gently.

"Haku... I know you are going to a much better place than me, but I wish that I could join you. I'm... I'm sorry I treated you like a tool; you were like a son to me. Goodbye... Haku-kun. ...And you, brat. Take Kubikiri Houchou. Use it... well. Don't come visit me... too soon. Later brat." Zabuza whispered with dying breath.

Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Mist, was dead. Naruto grasped the handle of Kubikiri Houchou and held it out in front of him in awe. The zanbato was incredibly heavy, but with chakra flowing through the muscles of his arms he was able to at least carry it. Next, the boy walked over to the remnants of Haku's mask and placed both halves into his empty weapons pouch. Naruto then noticed that Sakura was wailing over a now awakened Sasuke, and Kakashi was behind him.

"Naruto, do you have any idea what just happened? Is the seal okay? Am I even still talking to Naruto?" Kakashi asked of his student, on guard in case he was attacked.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei. It's me. No idea what happened. I remember trying to save Haku, and the next thing I recall Gatou was dead. I think the seal is okay." Naruto explained to Kakashi.

Kakashi accepted that for now. He was glad that his students were indeed okay, Naruto did not remember his wholesale slaughtering of over one hundred men, and neither Sasuke or Sakura had seen what happened. Naruto had enough problems interacting with others, the last thing he needed was his teammates completely terrified of him. The copy ninja was intrigued that Zabuza passed his sword on to Naruto, although the boy had grown enough to potentially use it. That probably had something to do with the fox, but Naruto didn't know what happened and Kakashi didn't have the ability to investigate further until they got back to Konoha.

"Ne Kakashi-sensei, why does everything seem smaller?" asked Naruto with his head tilted to the side.

Well that proved it was still Naruto. Only he could not notice that he had grown over a head taller than he used to be, or how he was completely covered with blood. Kakashi hoped Naruto would think that it was his own and Haku's.

"Naruto... after you tried to save Haku, demonic chakra came out of the seal and healed you, but it also seemed to break your bones and make you taller. I am not really sure, but I think it was because of your tenant. We'll have to talk with the Hokage about this when we get back." Kakashi explained, mumbling to himself that he didn't sign up for this when he decided to take on a Genin team.

"Sure Kakashi-sensei. Hey sensei, could you help me bury Haku and Zabuza. They deserve at least that much, and I doubt Sakura-chan or Sasuke would help." asked Naruto, praying his sensei would say yes.

Sakura and Sasuke had both fallen unconscious. Sakura in relief for her Sasuke-kun being alive, and Sasuke due to Sakura squeezing him as hard as she did with his injuries. Kakashi agreed to help Naruto before grabbing his other students and used Shunshin to take them back to Tazuna's house. After a few moments Kakashi returned and helped Naruto with the bodies.

Naruto led Kakashi to the clearing in the forest where he met and befriended Haku after explaining their lives. Making some simple markers for their graves using some tree branches and rope, he and Kakashi lowered the two bodies into the graves. Naruto placed the right half of Haku's mask into the grave with the boy's body.

"Zabuza... Haku... I'm... I'm sorry it had to end with way. I know for sure that had we met under different circumstances we would have been friends. I promise now on your deaths that I will make you both proud. Zabuza, thanks to you I realized how stupid I am. Before this mission I thought that being a ninja was all about flashy moves and being cool. I realize now that this is a dangerous and serious lifestyle, and my life could end at any moment. I hope I can do my best to grow strong. Haku, you showed me that I can only be truly strong when protecting someone I love. I'll keep you both with me always." Naruto spoke to the bodies, hoping Zabuza and Haku could hear him.

Naruto took the other half of Haku's mask and placed it over the left side of his face, attaching it with some chakra.

"Haku, you will be my armor. You will help protect me and all who I love." Naruto swore.

Grabbing Kubikiri Houchou, he held it over Zabuza's body.

"Zabuza, your sword will help me stop those who threaten my friends and allies." said Naruto while slashing the sword once.

Having said what he needed to say, Naruto began to cover the bodies of Zabuza and Haku. Kakashi was proud of his student, although he knew Naruto would never be the same after this mission, but he didn't realize how much the deaths of Zabuza and Haku had changed the jinchuuriki.

Kakashi and his student returned to Tazuna's house late in the evening. Everyone had gone to sleep after that day's events. Kakashi and Naruto were both exhausted as well. The boy bid Kakashi a good night, set his mask and zanbato next to him and went to sleep.

Naruto awoke in unfamiliar surroundings. It appeared to be a dark sewer. The boy began exploring the slightly flooded pathways and entered a room with a large gate. On the doors of the gate was a slip of paper bearing the word 'Seal'. As he neared the gate a claw almost took his head off.

"Hello human. Welcome to my humble abode." spoke an ominous voice.

"K-kyuubi! What are you doing here?" stammered Naruto.

"We're in your mind idiot. I need to explain some things to you." the Kyuubi told to Naruto.

"You sure as hell do! What happened on the bridge?" Naruto ordered to the source of his suffering in the village.

"Well, you got the brilliant idea to get a hand shoved through your chest. I had to fix the damage. My regeneration works through rapid multiplication of cells near the damaged area. In the process of healing the gaping hole some of the other humans' blood was multiplied as well. Turns out that other brat had a strong dominant bloodline and using his cells to repair you caused a chain reaction leading to most of your body being altered to accompany the genetic material of the bloodline. I took some... liberties to alter you a bit while I was at it. I happened to remove any impurities of the bloodline that occurred over the generations, as well as made you taller, and increased your muscle mass a bit. You embarrass me still, but not quite as much as before." explained the demon fox.

Naruto stood there for awhile trying to process all of this information. He had a bloodline. The Kyuubi directly altered his body without his permission. How could the Kyuubi do that?

"When you used my chakra as much as you did I gained some control of your body. Please do so more often, it was rather fun helping and watching you slaughter all of those men on that bridge. Here, let me show you, since you don't remember all of the fun you had." the Kyuubi told Naruto, reading the boys thoughts and chuckling at the memories of the slaughter now playing in the boys mind.

"...No. I couldn't have. You... you made me do it!" muttered the traumatized boy.

"I did no such thing human. You used my chakra. You wanted those men dead. I just helped a little. Now get out of here and let me out to play more!" the last order barked out before kicking Naruto out of his own mind.

Naruto awoke sweating profusely and quickly took in a large breath of air. That was too real to be a dream. He never remembered his dreams, but whatever happened was not a dream. There was no way he was going to go to sleep again so he slipped on his backpack, put Haku's mask in his weapon pouch and grabbed Zabuza's sword. Immediately after entering the forest outside the house, the memories of what he had done returned once more, causing the demon container to vomit at the brutality of it all.

'I can't let that ever happen again, so I need to become strong enough to not need the demon. I doubt I can ever forgive myself for what I have done, but I need to learn from my mistakes. If I really do have Haku's bloodline I should probably see if I could find where he and Zabuza were staying. Since Haku was the last in his bloodline he probably made notes as he developed his own techniques with it. I won't let myself be the idiot any longer. I'm going to learn how to use my new power and protect Konoha and it's people.' thought Naruto, eyes showing fierce determination.

Naruto recalled that Kiba could increase his senses by putting chakra into his eyes, ears, or nose. He attempted pushing chakra to his nose and the result was rather overwhelming.

'I must remember to work on chakra control more, that was way to much.' noted Naruto, having received such a massive boost to his sense of smell he almost passed out from sensory overload. The next attempt was more manageable. He sniffed Haku's mask before putting it away and attempted to find a scent trail. After wandering around for a half hour he picked up a trail. The jinchuuriki quickly followed the scent to Zabuza and Haku's hideout.

The place was rather simple, but he knew it wasn't a permanent residence. Despite this it was rather well put together. He found Zabuza's room first. The decorations were nonexistent, but he did make a rather interesting find. In a drawer was a scroll of Suiton techniques, most likely stolen from Kirigakure. The blue-haired boy looked down at his shredded clothes and searched for something he could wear due to being around Zabuza's height now. He found some basic black pants and a white muscle shirt. Naruto put the new clothes on and continued his search of the room. After finding nothing else of note the boy entered the other room. Haku's room held much more warmth than Zabuza's. There were a few pieces of furniture outside of the bed. Naruto felt bad for stealing from these two men, but he needed any help he could get. He knew he was weak. He only beat Haku because of the damn fox. Naruto never wanted to use the fox's power again after learning what it let the fox do, and what he did when he used it. Shortly after that thought he found a chest containing several scrolls.

Inside the scrolls were some very excellent finds. Not only did one scroll contain notes on Haku's bloodline, but there was one for his notes on using one handed hand seals. There were also some scrolls on human anatomy, with annotations, most likely made by Haku as well. Placing his findings in his bag he stood up, and finally noticed his reflection in the mirror.

'Holy hell! My hair is blue! Well that is... different.' thought Naruto, wondering when the surprises would ever cease.

While exiting the hideout Naruto noticed a new scent, that of a fox. It wasn't the Kyuubi, how could something sealed into him have a smell? Curious, he moved around the house to investigate. Turning a corner he found a white fox tied to a tree.

'Must be another pet of Haku's like that rabbit. I should let it go. Can't let it starve.' Naruto thought. He had a soft spot for animals since they never treated him any different from others.

After removing the rope around the fox's neck he expected it to go running off into the woods. Instead it just stared at him for a bit before the silence was broken.

"Thanks mister!" a chipper voice said.

Naruto jumped at the sound. He didn't sense anyone nearby.

"Who's there? Who said that?" Naruto asked, head whipping side to side trying to find the source.

"I did silly. Look in front of you." the voice from before ordered.

"I only see a fox." Naruto stated.

"That's because I am a fox, duh." explained the voice, now revealed to be the white fox.

"How the hell can you talk?" asked Naruto, confused on how a fox was talking to him. Maybe he was losing his mind.

"I'm pretty sure I'm doing what I normally do. Maybe you can understand me like I can understand you even though we don't speak the same language." the fox lectured.

'Well I guess Kiba can understand Akamaru when he barks. This is probably because of Kyuubi-bastard.' Naruto thought, scowling at the thought of being influenced by the Kyuubi once more. He had nothing against foxes, but the villagers would probably be even more convinced he was the demon itself.

"I see... So what is your name. I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto introduced himself while slightly bowing.

"Haku-kun calls me Yukiko. I smell him on you. Where is he?" greeted the newly named Yukiko, perking up hoping to hear about Haku.

Yukiko noticed that Naruto's face fell at this. Whatever the boy in front of her was going to say it wasn't good. Haku was very nice to her, but she did wish that Haku would let her fight alongside him.

"I'm very sorry Yukiko... Haku is dead." Naruto sadly informed the fox in front of him.

Yukiko was surprised that Naruto pulled her into a hug. She had been pet before and received the occasional scratch behind the ears, but never a hug. Haku was dead, now what was she going to do? She supposed she could try living in the wild, but that probably wasn't the best idea. She had lived with Haku since she was a kit. Maybe this boy Naruto would let her come with him.

"Thank you Naruto-san. I have only just met you, but you have shown me great kindness. I would like to accompany you if you let me. I've always wanted to be a nin-fox since Haku found me but he always kept me as a pet instead of an ally in battle." Yukiko asked hoping he would say yes.

"I uh... well... I suppose that would be fine. I should warn you though, people at home don't like foxes very much. Twelve years ago the Kyuubi no Youko attacked Konoha and killed many people before it was sealed in me. Most people see me as the demon sometimes and take their pain out on me, so I wouldn't want to put you into danger because you are a fox." Naruto explained to Yukiko, not realizing he just told a stranger that he was container of the Kyuubi, even if that stranger was an animal.

"I am glad for your concern, but I hope you will find that we can protect each other. I won't let anyone hurt you." Yukiko promised to Naruto. She didn't mention the Kyuubi since she imagined it was a sore subject to the boy in front of her.

"Thanks Yukiko, I won't let anyone hurt you either. Let's go do some training. I can't sleep, and we can't go into a battle together if we don't practice can we?" rhetorically asked Naruto with a smirk on his face.

With a yip of approval the new partners Naruto and Yukiko moved quickly to a clearing near Tazuna's house. Naruto formed a few Kagebunshin and ran through a few different drills to work on his teamwork with Yukiko. His new nin-fox companion was very adept at finding his shadow clones and sneaking up on them. She lacked in her damage abilities, but that could be worked on. Unfortunately Yukiko's stamina could not hold a candle to Naruto's. After wearing herself out she curled up by a tree for a nap. While she slept Naruto practiced with his newly obtained weapon, making horizontal and vertical slashes in the air. The sword was rather heavy, and its weight made stopping the sword once it started moving very difficult.

'Damn this sword is heavy, but I think maybe I could take advantage of its weight once I get used to it. Lifting this all the time will definitely help make me stronger and faster. I'm starting to get used to the weight already, although it would be nice if I didn't have to lug it everywhere. I'll look into storage seals later. I need to become good at sealing to see if I can completely block the fox' Naruto mentally noted. He had plenty of work ahead of him.

Filing his thoughts to recall them later, Naruto moved over by where Yukiko was sleeping. The sun was rising now and he had enough light to read the scrolls he had obtained. The blue-haired boy figured that it would be best to work on the techniques that were not part of his bloodline, and learn anatomy. He couldn't remember if they taught much about it at the Academy, and he was mad that he didn't take his education seriously. Naruto read about the basics of human anatomy for an hour before his boundless energy made it hard for him to sit still reading. He would have to work on his patience later, but for now he needed to do something else.

Grabbing the scroll he found in Zabuza's room, he quickly looked at the first jutsu in the scroll. It was a jutsu he knew all to well thanks to this mission. Kirigakure no Jutsu was a D-rank technique that let him pull water from the air into a dense mist. According to the scroll it could be used anywhere, but it worked best near water. Always enjoying a challenge Naruto stayed by Yukiko to practice the jutsu.

Naruto focused on the air around him and imagined the air around him thickening while he did the hand signs. The result of his attempt were rather lackluster, but he didn't expect to get it on the first try either. He kept working at it until Yukiko woke up around 7:00 am to find the area covered with a thick enough mist she could only see a few feet in front of her.

"Naruto-kun was this your doing?" asked Yukiko, finding Naruto from his scent.

"You bet Yukiko! Been practicing for hours. The others are probably up now, lets go meet them for breakfast. I'll introduce you to my team and the family we are staying with." the blue-haired boy told his new battle companion with a fake smile. Inside he was still disgusted with himself about how he killed those men on the bridge, but he did not want to make his new friend worry about him.

The air began to clear as Naruto deactivated the jutsu. He scratched behind Yukiko's ears for a few seconds before speeding off toward Tazuna's house. Naruto could smell breakfast cooking already and went inside, announcing his arrival.

"Hey guys I'm back! And I found a friend!" yelled out the always energetic ninja.

Yukiko shook her head at her partner's antics before following him in the house. Tsunami walked out of the kitchen to greet the energetic boy.

"Hey there Naru...to...kun..." stammered out, trying to understand how it could be Naruto in front of her.

"Uh. Hi Tsunami-san. Why are you looking at me like that? Oh wait, thats right. Only Kakashi has seen the 'new me'. I'll explain at breakfast so I only have to say it once." said Naruto, grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

Tsunami nodded dumbly before going back to making breakfast, trying to figure out exactly what happened to Naruto. Said boy placed Kubikiri Houchou against the wall before sitting down at the table. Yukiko walked up beside him and sat next to him, both of them waiting for breakfast to be ready.

Sakura and Sasuke grumbled sleepily as they slowly walked downstairs to breakfast. Sasuke was wondering where his idiot teammate was. The dead last was gone before he woke up, and he knew Naruto was a heavy sleeper. His question was replaced another question after he saw a taller, older looking version of Naruto but with pale blue hair sitting at the table with a white fox at his side. Sakura wailed out the unspoken question.

"Who the hell are you?!" shrieked Sakura, hoping he wasn't there to hurt her Sasuke-kun.

"Oi, Sakura-chan! Sasuke! It's me, Naruto. I know I look different. I'll explain once everyone is down here." Naruto told his teammates.

"You better you idiot! What's with the fox?" inquired Sakura.

"It's part of my explanation." Naruto told Sakura, not wanting to repeat himself several times.

Neither of them really wanted to accept that, but they knew Naruto was stubborn so they didn't bother arguing anymore. Both Genin were trying to take in Naruto's new appearance while they waited for everyone else. He was much taller, and seemed more muscular than before, but not overly so. He was wearing new clothes, but they did not know where he got them from. He must have been in town buying them before they woke up. The other obvious difference was his hair. The blond idiot was now a blue-haired idiot. Sakura idly thought that Naruto was much better looking now, but still couldn't compare to her Sasuke-kun. Proud of her loyalty to the Uchiha she turned to him and smiled brightly. Sasuke ignored Sakura and figured that while the dead last may have gotten bigger and had a dye job, the idiot was pathetic compared to an Uchiha such as himself. The Uchiha was curious about why Zabuza's sword was against the wall near Naruto though. He could use it to kill him.

After a few minutes breakfast was done cooking and everyone else in the household joined the three Genin at the table. Naruto grew rather nervous at the stares from everyone in the house. Rubbing the back of his nervously while giving them his big fox grin he figured he should start explaining.

"I guess you are wondering why I look different huh?" Naruto asked knowing the answer.

He received nods from everyone, and Naruto continued.

"Okay, well I guess during the fight on the bridge I activated a bloodline. I'm not really sure what I can do yet other than my physical changes. The fox here is Yukiko. I found her in the woods while I was wandering around since I couldn't sleep. She likes me so I am going to keep her." explained the boy, leaving out quite a few details and bending several truths. He really hoped that it would be enough and they would drop the subject.

Kakashi knew his student wasn't telling everything, but he probably didn't want to tell his teammates too much information. He was very curious about the fox as well, one wouldn't find a fox that color in this part of the Elemental Countries.

"Hey dead last. What is Zabuza's sword doing here?" the Uchiha prodigy asked of his teammate.

"Oh yeah. Before he died Zabuza told me that he wanted me to learn to use his sword." Naruto stated like it wasn't a big deal.

To say that the Uchiha was mad at this was quite an understatement.

"What?! How could a dead last like you learn to use a sword? Zabuza should have given his sword to me. Give me the sword dead last. I can use it to kill him." an angry Sasuke yelled out.

"No." Naruto deadpanned.

"What?!" asked the Uchiha, growing angrier by the second.

"I said no. Zabuza wanted me to use his sword and I will honor his dying wish." stated again, hoping his bastard of a teammate would get the picture.

Being the last surviving loyal Uchiha, Sasuke did not really know the meaning of the word 'no'. Enraged, Sasuke jumped out of his seat and ran towards the sword. Everyone was surprised at his actions and did not move to stop him. It did not matter in the end though. As soon as Sasuke's hand wrapped around the grip of the massive zanbato, spikes shot out piercing his hand. He yelled out in pain, clutching his injured hand.

"NARUTO! What did you do to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, punching him in the head. Yukiko growled at her for this. She had just met Naruto's teammates and already she didn't like either of them.

"What? I didn't do anything. I guess Kubikiri Houchou just doesn't like him, or something." Naruto said trying to save himself from more hits. Sakura always hit him so hard when she was mad at him. He thought at least Sakura would be happy he activated his bloodline and obtained a sword, but maybe there was no point trying to impress Sakura. She only had eyes for arrogant bastards apparently.

Kakashi was rather ashamed of the actions of Sasuke and Sakura. He expected much better of both of them. He could see the hurt in Naruto's eyes from his teammates not accepting him.

"Sasuke, Sakura. Stop it. Sasuke, that sword is Naruto's, so don't try to steal it again. Clear? Sakura, the sword most likely has a self defense seal on it so only those allowed can wield it. Naruto made no action himself to hurt Sasuke. Now then, I'd like to talk with Naruto outside for a bit." Kakashi scolded before stepping outside the house.

Breakfast continued as normally as it could after an event like that. Kakashi led Naruto outside while Yukiko trailed behind them. After a good distance away from the house Kakashi stopped his student.

"Alright Naruto. I know you weren't telling the whole story to everyone, but I need to know what happened." demanded Kakashi.

Naruto sighed. He figured he would have to explain this to Kakashi and the Hokage later, but it didn't mean he wanted to do it.

"Okay Kakashi-sensei, I'll tell you what the Kyuubi told me and what happened afterwards." Naruto said waiting for the reaction to this bit of news before continuing.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the mentioning of the Kyuubi no Youko. Naruto was in touch with the demon inside him? This could be very bad.

"Ya, I met the Kyuubi. Guy is a real bastard, but he was the cause of all my changes. He used Haku's blood to help heal the hole in my chest which led to me getting a purified form of Haku's bloodline. Apparently using the chakra of the Kyuubi allows him much more control over my body versus the nonexistent control he has the rest of the time. I never want to use that bastard's chakra again. I know what he did to those thugs on the bridge yesterday." the last part Naruto whispered while looking down, the events playing again in his mind. A reassuring hand on his shoulder from Kakashi helped him continue, "After waking up from my meeting with the fox-bastard, I couldn't sleep. I thought since I had Haku's bloodline I should see if he had any notes on it wherever he and Zabuza were living. I tried a sense enhancing technique Kiba mentioned in class once and managed to find the place. Found his notes, these clothes, and Yukiko here. She was Haku's pet, even though she told me she wants to be a nin-fox. I was hoping to make that official when we get back to Konoha, Kami knows I need at least someone I can depend on to work with. I am not too sure I can ever fully trust Sasuke after this, and Sakura will just follow his lead." explained Naruto, still leaving out some information. He really didn't want to tell Kakashi how he had a scroll that Zabuza probably stole from Kirigakure.

"She told you?" asked Kakashi, hoping he heard his student correctly.

"Ya. I can understand what she says. Probably because of Kyuubi-bastard but whatever." the jinchuuriki said, showing his obvious dislike of the demon sealed inside him.

Nodding, Kakashi filed through all of this new information. It sounded so far fetched, but then again this was Konoha's Most Surprising Ninja he was dealing with here. He didn't see any lie in Naruto's words, but he was assuredly talking with the Hokage about this as soon as they got back. Hopefully Naruto didn't actually remember what happened on the bridge. That could easily traumatize anyone.

"Alright Naruto. We'll have a talk with the Hokage when we get back. I agree with your decision to not use the fox's chakra. Nobody had any idea what using it would do to you. I'm sorry about Sasuke's actions earlier. I will also be having a talk with him later about respecting the property of others. I'd ask you to give them a second chance, but I know you have problems with people who break your trust." Kakashi told his student before dismissing him. Kakashi offhandedly thought he definitely did not sign up for this. His team had to have the most difficult group to work with possible.

Naruto was glad that Kakashi was his sensei. Sure, he was absolutely terrible at teaching, but he was a pretty good guy once you got past his lateness and addiction to smut.

In the next week the bridge was finished due to newly motivated workers and a large amount of Kagebunshin labor from Naruto. Their job finished, Team 7 was ready to go back to Konoha. Naruto spent his free time practicing with Kubikiri Houchou, Suiton jutsu, and teamwork with Yukiko. The snow fox really didn't like her companion's teammates. Sakura and Sasuke were still really mad at their teammate but left him alone for the most part. Tazuna and his family watched the ninjas from Konoha who had changed so much for their little village.

"Well the bridge is done, but it needs a super name!" the elder bridge builder said to himself.

"How about the 'Great Naruto Bridge' Ojii-san?" Inari suggested to his grandfather.

"I like that name a lot Inari. I like that name a lot." muttered Tazuna, as Team 7 disappeared from his sight.

Jutsu List!

Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique) Creates a dense mist in an area limiting visibility.

Author's Note: And thus ends the first chapter of Konoha's Arctic Fox. Hope you all enjoyed it! Next time, the return to Konoha.