Chapter Seven, Scratching the Surface

"Yeah know, if I'm going to keep popping in here every few minutes why can't we talk?" mused Naruto, watching several red tails wave to and fro.

Kyuubi wordlessly examined a claw, tuning out the boy's every word.

"I mean, since you're stuck inside me with no hope of escaping, what's the point in being such an asshole? Can't you help me out somehow? Like now? Teach me something to make me even more kickass? So I can bust out of Doctor Asshole's clinic, and so we don't die, Nataki?"

Three tails twitched, but Naruto's 'pet' didn't otherwise respond.

Naruto grunted, kicking at his soggy mind-scape ground. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness splashing loudly into the sewer. Lights flickered on and on, casting intermittent shadows along the milky water.

"Hey, Nataki?"

Kyuubi ignored him.

Naruto frowned, slipping through the bars, "Nataki, are you feeling down? Do you need a hug?"

Sighing and closing its eyes, Kyuubi felt the insect grab its foot and rub his face in.

"It's okay Nataki, I'm here for you." the boy murmured into its fur, "Why don't you tell me what's wrong? I can help you."

"You really want to know what's wrong?" Kyuubi whispered lightly, shaking the room, "Do you really?" it asked again, making Naruto nod into its fur.

"I have a flea, an annoying little flea, clutching onto my side like the insect it is, messing up my fur, making pathetic little noises, and calling me a stupid human name!" Kyuubi shouted, "Why don't you make it let go?"

Naruto nodded, used to his pets frequent mood swings, "Okay, I'll do that. How do you get bugs on you when you're never outside?"

The giant fox sighed again, "Remembering to breathe must be very difficult for you."

"Nuh, uh! I don't need to remember, because I never forget!"

Biting off a curse of frustration, Kyuubi thought, 'Once again the idiot monkey fails to understand my witty insults. Every time that doctor makes it pass out, I have to endure its annoying chatter until it wakes up again. The only way for it to shut up would be...'

Kyuubi opened its eyes as Naruto finally let go, "Boy."

"-and then I- huh?" he turned his head to the giant fox, blinking, "What?"

"What does the parasite look like now?"

"Para-what now?"

Biting off a scathing remark, Kyuubi muttered, "The crystal attached to your body, can you describe to me what color it is now?"

"Uh." Naruto looked at his bared chest, "Purple, but it looks a little darker than it was. I can't see my lung anymore."

Kyuubi nodded, lip curling into a malicious grin, "Good. We're a little short on time now, so I'll have to be brief. When you wake up I want you to imagine your arm and leg getting thin enough to slip out of the binds. Once you do that, think of your fingers and imagine them sharpened like my claws."

The fox laid a gargantuan paw next to Naruto, showing off claws the size of large men, "A little smaller of course, but if you do that you'll be set for freedom."

Frowning, Naruto looked at his hand and to the claws, "Why? What's going to happen?"

Laughing, the Kyuubi turned a single crimson eye onto the boy as everything faded away, "You're going to scratch the surface of the parasite's potential."

Naruto blearily opened his eyes, grunting as everything throbbed and screamed. A hand glowing green hovered over his head, before running down his chest and closing the incisions dotted all along. Muscle knit back together as skin seamlessly healed, leaving no sign of his agonizing surgery.

"Heart palpitations steadying," Hideki quietly noted, "blood pressure below normal- need to transfuse more blood-, and breath rate is slowing. Findings are interesting, while the crystal covering nearby injuries is of little surprise, the books appear wrong when it comes to the rate of crystalysis. Surrounding regions of the skeleton are showing the first signs as detailed in book three, and the thoracic section of the spine shows minor changes in structure. If book was correct- subject is far too young to show either even if he formed a symbiosis the day he was born."

Naruto grunted again, eliciting a grin from the doctor, "Back with us, are you? Gave me quite the scare, I thought we were going to lose you. As it is, we still have far more research to carry out for you to kick it just yet."

The boy took a deep, steadying breath,"When I get out of this," he said quietly, devoid of mirth, "I'm going to teach you why you don't lie about a contract to us."

Chuckling, Hideki turned back to his instruments, "You're such a humorous boy. I told you, there's no way you can break those chakra steel cuffs. They're perfectly molded to your shape, you can't get any leverage to break them. Why don't you just accept that you're not going anywhere?"

Naruto carefully watched his back, then craned his neck to look at his crystal arm and leg. He squinted, imagining them shrinking enough to slip out of the cuffs. For several long moments nothing happened, then something tinkled- like crystal hitting crystal. He looked very closely at his wrist, suppressing a smirk when he found he could move it freely.

Casting another look at Hideki, Naruto carefully slipped his limbs out of the cuffs, twisting his wrist and ankle to avoid clashing against the metal. Once free, he turned his attention to his normal limbs, feeling the metal.

'Too hard to break in one hit, need five each at most to break free- while avoiding breaking my own bones. The asshole would hear and be on me before then, so I need to find a way to do it without him getting in the way. Maybe...'

"Preparing blood transfusion," announced Hideki, Naruto putting his arm and leg back into the cuffs, "you better get ready, boy."

The doctor hummed a tune as he brought his equipment over to his patient. Pulling a tall stand closer, he fit in a blood filled bag and expertly inserted the dangling plastic tube into an arm vein. Still humming, he took two fingers and found the pulse in Naruto's regular arm. He mumbled something and his fingers glowed briefly.

"Blood pressure swiftly returning to normal. Next test will be-"

Naruto watched him, then looked back to his crystal arm.

"-if done properly, we will learn-"

'If I can make my arm shrink,' he wondered, 'can't I make it grow?'

The boy focused carefully, thinking of the Kyuubi's claw like instructed. He imagined it replacing his hand, a giant purple claw ready to rip and tear. Naruto saw his arm grow, the sound of tinkling crystal echoing once more.

"-and- what is that noise?" Hideki paused, eyes darting to the sound.

The cuff shattered.

Naruto lashed out, hand the size of a man's chest- fingers as large as his arm and tipped to gleaming points. The boy took a moment to take in the sensation of blood on his bare skin, watching Hideki's severed arm slowly fall to the ground- then turned to his other binds. He easily slipped his crystal leg out of its cuff, curling his jagged fingers into a fist and bashing it against the others.

Hideki hissed out of his line of sight, "I need reinforcements! Everyone get in here and subdue the subject!"

Cursing, Naruto struck the cuff around his leg harder and faster. It cracked, shattering at the next hit just as the door shot open.

"Subdue him immediately!" shouted Hideki, "I want that little shit to suffer!"

Naruto cursed under his breath again, smacking at his last cuff and shooting a look to the door to find an odd sight. He had thought the asshole would have had a guard or two, probably low class thugs bought for their silence and loyalty.

He never imagined no less than a baker's dozen ninja, each wielding a different weapon, shooting into the room and charging him. As they approached he kept attacking the cuffs, all the while examining their high quality weapons and watching how they moved. Professional, trained, deadly.

Then they attacked.

The leading ninja held a long bo-staff, twirling and thrusting it out at his face. Naruto twisted away, headbutting the ninja in the stomach, then broke the restraining cuff with one last hit. By then the ninja recovered, deftly swinging his weapon and catching him in the leg.

Naruto buckled at the hit and counterattacked, the tip of his longest finger leaving a bloody trail in the ninja's dark cloak as his foe twirled away. As if by some unseen signal, the thirteen men surrounded the boy and kept their distance, aiming their weapons in preparation for a fight.

Watching them all, especially those out of his line of sight, Naruto plucked the plastic tube from his arm. His attention snapped to the metal operating table and back to the ninja, then he took a stance favoring his crystalline limbs.

"Someone get my arm! Now!" ordered Hideki.

The ninja holding the staff flicked it out and sent the arm flying, the man opposite catching it. He retreated, keeping an eye on Naruto as the men next to him closed the gap he left. Wordlessly he handed the severed limb back to its owner.

Hideki grunted as he expertly reattached his arm, "Naruto, make it easier on yourself and give up. You have nowhere to go but back to the table. I promise, if you're a good little boy from now on I'll kill you quickly once I'm through with you. If not, I'm going to take my time."

"Big talk from a man about to die." Naruto shot back quietly, eyes darting around as he watched the ninjas. He moved toward the operating table, and the whole circle moved with him- all keeping the same distance.

The doctor scoffed as the ninja retook his spot in the circle, "Look at your situation, boy. I'm not the one surrounded and outnumbered."

Smirking, Naruto jumped onto the table, "You're right, you poor bastards have me surrounded."

Hideki sighed and rolled his eyes, "Take him down as roughly as you will without killing him, gentlemen. I want him alive."

The one with the bo staff- Bo, we'll call him- nodded, all ninja taking combat stances.

The first attack didn't come from Bo, but someone to Naruto's side. The ninja flicked his wrist, sending three senbon throwing needles for his pressure points. The boy twirled and swatted them away with his enlarged hand, deciding to kill him soon.

Naruto spun around, taking a sword aimed at his left side in his right. Crystal sang and blade vibrated as Naruto reached out, grabbing the ninja by the throat. Before he could escape Naruto squeezed popping off his head in a shower of gore.

'One.'

Fingertips gleamed as he swung through the air, cutting an incoming net to pieces as two ninja rushed him. The first swung a hammer the size of a man, the second a long chain with weighted balls on the ends. While Hammer swung at Naruto with all his strength, Chain twirled his weights around, aiming for normal limbs.

Ducking the first metal ball sent his way, Naruto jumped over the hammer and swatted away a few more senbon. As Hammer recovered for another swing Chain sent his other ball towards Naruto. Swatting even more senbon away, the boy grabbed the chain with his right and pulled off the weighted ball. Almost casually, he spun around and tossed it, hitting the senbon throwing annoyance in the face and making his head explode.

'Two.'

By then Hammer recovered, pulling both arms back and hefting his namesake over his head.

"Don't damage the table!" yelled Hideki.

Hammer ignored him and brought it down on Naruto, who easily step-sided it and snaked his claws out. Hammer lost his head, literally, it rolling off his back and across the floor as his lifeless body slumped away.

'Three.'

Without pause, Naruto grabbed Hammer's weapon, twirled around, and threw it at a ninja aiming a very nasty looking crossbow. Unfortunately it didn't kill him outright, only shattering his weapon when he used it to block the incoming hammer. The ninja cursed, rubbing his hands to get the feeling back before drawing a short sword and jumping into the fray.

Grunting as he ducked Chain's other ball, Naruto pinned his sword under his foot and kicked him in the face. By then he decided to take the fight to Chain, slipping off the table and stabbing his arm into it. Metal groaned as he tore the table top off in an instant, adjusting his hold on the cover. The other eight ninja finally moved in, having watched from a distance up until then.

Too late, as Naruto rushed Chain and crushed him between steel and wall, blood squirting out as bones crunched- a scream cut short. The boy spun around, throwing the metal slab towards the incoming ninja. Two jumped over, one holding a naginata, the other a pair of nun-chucks. As the the ninja approached, Naruto jumped onto the wall and kicked off, catapulting himself straight at the two.

Both attacked as Naruto came at them but it did little good. He swung his clawed hand, cutting through their weapons and rending their bodies apart. Mangled entrails and and blood splattered everywhere along the white walls.

'Seven.'

Naruto spun through the air, landing feet first upon the blood soaked walls and kicking off again. He landed in a crouch a dozen feet away from the now nervous ninja, then slowly stood up. He smirked again and cracked his neck, flexing his elongated fingers.

"Ready to give up?"

Bo stared at him for a long moment, then, "Sir, we need your assistance."

Hideki shook his head, flexing his reattached arm, "You swore to defend me to your death. You will fulfill your duty or I will kill you myself."

"I understand that sir," Bo answered, "but your assistance could sway things in our favor. You need not put yourself in danger, only cast genjutsu on him, sir."

"I have already tried and failed." the doctor answered, "Carry out your duties."

Naruto chuckled viciously, "You heard your master, pet, come and die."

'Drastic change in temperament,' Hideki noted as his men cautiously attacked, 'is this because of the pain I inflicted on him, or something else?'

Five of the six remaining ninja all held weapons, a bo staff, great ax, spear, shortsword, a whip. The final ninja held his hands at the ready, either to make seals or engage in taijutsu.

They moved as one to distract the boy, but Whip struck first, wrapping it around Naruto's normal leg and pulling him off his feet. Spear moved in next, keeping his distance and stabbing at the boy's chest- aiming to pierce a major organ. The remaining four paired off and moved in on his flanks, ready to take advantage of any opening.

Naruto for his part, had to keep an eye on the two pairs of ninja while trying to stand back up. Not only that but Spear kept the pressure on, forcing him to deflect the weapon and hope his dangly bits wouldn't get skewered.

This of course presented a perfect opportunity for Ax. He rushed forward while Spear kept the boy busy, brought up his ax, and chopped down. Metal sang and bits of rock flew through the air as Naruto barely rolled out of the way, the ax missing by inches. He shot to his feet in time to cut the whip apart, Sword and Bo moving in.

Sword attacked as Naruto shifted his stance, slapping the steel away and following up with a savage punch to the stomach. Ribs cracked and shattered on impact, the ninja falling as Naruto ducked from Bo's swinging staff. Not fearing injury from such a light weapon the boy advanced, making Bo jump away and smack him across the face.

Naruto's head snapped back, nose running crimson as Bo landed blow after blow on his stunned frame. Every whirl of displaced air led to another slap of wood on flesh, Bo eventually dancing around to knock him off his feet. Not satisfied, he followed up with a quick slap to the boy's danglers that had him clutching himself.

The staff wielding hurricane backed off, expecting to recapture him easily. With a wordless gesture, he ordered his remaining men to subdue him.

He didn't expect Naruto to shoot out, cut off his legs in one swoop, then return the favor using a giant crystal fist. Bo predictably didn't get up after that.

'Two incapacitated.'

Eager to end the fight, Ax, Whipless, Fist, and Spear all moved in at once. Fist made seals and sent a dozen fireballs towards Naruto. Spear and Ax stayed close together, the heavier man swinging his weapon while the other covered him during recovery. Whipless came in from the side, searching for an opening.

Naruto dodged between several fireballs, blocking the last one and deflecting the spear with a flick of the arm. He contorted, bending over as the ax soared within hairs of his body, then moved in. Deflecting the spear again he grabbed it with his other arm, moved within Spear's guard, then attacked.

Crystal fingers cut ribbons through flesh, severing bone, organs and ligature with ridiculous ease. Spear buckled, then collapsed as Naruto turned to end another ninja.

'Eight.'

He hopped over Ax's sweeping slash at his legs, jumping away for now. Without his weapon, Whipless didn't prove much of a challenge. He managed to dodge a couple of attacks, but that ended when Naruto grabbed the nearby tabletop and turned him into a human pancake.

'Nine.'

He turned around, smirking and chuckling as he regarded the last two ninja. Fist and Ax both took a cautious step back, shooting each other fearful looks as they regarded the blood soaked boy.

'Let's have some fun.'

"And now there's only two of you left standing." Naruto observed, eyes flicking over the carnage, "I've killed your friends in so many ways, I wonder how I'll top it with you. Any suggestions?"

They watched him closely, never answering. Naruto took a step forward. They ran out of the room, eliciting a scoff from the boy and a clapping set of hands.

"Bravo, boy! That was most entertaining." Naruto slowly turned to regard Hideki, "The best show I've seen in years, and it taught me a valuable lesson."

The doctor pulled off his glasses and polished them with soft fabric, "Next time I hire some guards, I should get the best- rather than what I can afford on my associate's budget. I'd put the lot of them at chunin skill- yet you killed nine, crippled two, and sent the remaining running. You truly are a skilled child."

Without taking his eyes off him Naruto slowly stepped forward, stomping on Bo's head as he went, "It'll be eleven once I'm done with you." he taunted.

Hideki put his glasses back on, chuckling, "Would you forgive me if I said that I'm starting to like you?"

Saying nothing, Naruto cracked his neck and stretched his weak arm.

A sigh, "I suppose that's a no. Shame, my associates would have loved to take you into the fold. I guess I-"

Naruto attacked, swinging his razor-like fingers. Hideki flowed under, waving a glowing blue hand across his chest. Blood seeped from several deep wounds as the doctor kicked away, landing on the red stained walls.

Coughing, Naruto carefully pressed a weak hand against his flesh, blood oozing through his fingers. He didn't take his eyes his enemy, reviewing that split second.

Hideki smirked, arrogantly waved a glowing hand, then rushed him.

Ever since he learned Naruto couldn't use chakra Kakuzu focused on honing his body into a deadly weapon. He taught him how to put all his strength into his swing, how to end a fight in one hit. Naruto learned how to use his crystal arm as mace and shield, blocking any attack and countering. Never give an inch, take all the ground possible, dominate the field.

At the same time Kakuzu knew one day Naruto would fight someone who made his strength useless. Of what use is immense strength if you can't hit your target? So he pushed him even further, making him faster, more agile, and taught him a fighting style fit for any situation.

When Hideki swung next he found only air. When Naruto answered with bladed fingers he found only air. They danced around each other, every attack avoided or only glancing past. Until finally the boy kicked, Hideki twirled away, and tossed several pellets. Thick, white smoke obscured the whole room, putting Naruto on the defensive.

He cast out his senses, searching for any hint to Hideki's location. The last crippled ninja's gurgles of pain drowned out any silence, the perfect cover for a skilled ninja. Naruto waited, ready to counter any surprise attack.

'How long does this smoke last?'

A light displacement of air, instinct taking hold, the snap of bone as Naruto tore Hideki's arm from his shoulder.

The doctor yelled, jumping away and throwing more smoke bombs as Naruto pressed the attack and crushed the severed arm in hand. He broke through the smoke, finding the door ajar and frantic retreating footsteps to chase. Naruto rushed into the hall and caught the swish of a pant leg running around the corner.

'Do you think I'm going to let you get away?'

Without pause he gave chase, wary of any ambushes. He never caught full sight of his target as he ran, only catching fleeting glimpses and clues to point him in his direction. The swish of clothes, a sudden thump, open doors leading to other halls or through labs. He wondered why Hideki didn't cover his tracks better. Naruto caught only peripheral glimpses of the projects in the labs, so focused on catching Hideki, but what he saw would stay with him for years.

Finally, he went through one last door and found himself in a circular, sterile white room.

"Seal doorway." the passage slammed shut, "Release experiment one."

Hideki's voice echoed all throughout the room, clacking gears mashing together as parts of the wall pulled back to reveal dogs shaved to the skin. Veins popped out in sharp relief to the rest of their bodies, heavy wires jutting into and out of their skins. Their eyes, glazed over and white, looked around blankly and uncomprehendingly.

Naruto's eyes darted around, counting up to seven of them, then looked at the dozens of mirrors put in intervals around the large room.

'One of them must be a one way mirror. He's watching, but which?'

"Activate environmental stimuli one-five."

Parts of the wall further up retracted, revealing air vents. A mist poured out, smell-less and taste-less, that quickly wafted around the room. Each dog quivered as it passed, eyes latching onto him as growls rose in their throats, paws flexing.

Naruto covered his nose and mouth with his weak arm, just in case it was toxic, running up to the nearest mirror and smashing it with a fist. Glass fell inward, revealing a small, empty room with a running camera. Without waiting for the dogs to make their move he jumped in, mind already working on a plan to find his target.

"Activate environmental stimuli three-eight."

Motors whirled in the room over as the dogs scampered around, nails dragging against the floor as they yelped and growled. He heard an electrical discharge, then a horrifying roar ebbing out into a pitiful yelping. Naruto flexed his muscles, put all his weight into his next attack, and bashed the nearest wall down in one go.

Another small empty room, another running camera.

"Doctor's note: subject one five's implants failed to adequately introduce outside current into the nervous and motor system. Subject has been rendered incapable of any use of muscle, voluntary and involuntary. Estimated time until death, five and a half minutes. Will update. Until then, will watch subjects as they work to find Naruto. Chemical cloud released into environment has passed along the order as hypothesized. It seems I'll have to make do with a corpse rather than a test subject."

"And as for you, Naruto, I hope you give them an excellent hunt. This is the first time I've introduced them to a live target, and I expect them to perform very well."

And that is why you don't lie about contracts to a Naruto mentored by Kakuzu. As you can likely tell by now, his fighting style isn't going to be anything subtle. As for the abrupt change in tone, all will be explained in due time. It's not like you can write a story about a prodigious child killing machine without delving into some dark territory.

Originally I was going to finish this whole escapade, but I felt I went long enough without an update. Next chapter we shall try to finish Naruto's escape, and maybe switch to Kakuzu. Please tell me what you thought of the fight scene, about how I could improve. After all I have to write another fight for next chapter. Not only that, but tell me what made you laugh, what made you cry, and what made you cringe in sympathy.

For example: The crotch shots made me laugh, cry, and cringe in sympathy all at the same time!