Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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The Lone Hunter

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Chapter Two

Waking up with a jaw-cracking yawn, Naruto opened his eyes and found Sakura missing from bed. Then he smelled something all too familiar and quickly got up, running out of the room. Drooling slightly at the sight of his favorite treat, Naruto zipped to the kitchen and picked up one of the raw and bloody rib-eye steaks. As he devoured it, he caught sight of a note nearby stating she had to leave for a meeting. Shrugging slightly, Naruto swallowed his mouthful of raw steak before grabbing the second of four on the plate.

He may be a supernatural creature, but that didn't mean he never got hungry and being both vampire and werewolf, blood alone couldn't quite cut it...

Locking the door as he left Sakura's apartment, Naruto strapped his armor and weapons back on, placing his mask back on his face as he walked out into the street. Noticing the agitated vibrations of the emblem on his hip, Naruto gave a small laugh and let the bird free, its annoyed screeches echoing louder than the busy noise of the packed street as it flew over head. Landing lightly on his right shoulder, the bird warbled softly before picking at his hair idly.

"Sorry, Bloodwing. I didn't mean to forget about you." Naruto apologized to the crimson bird as he stroked a couple feathers on its chest. Continuing on to the Hokage's office, Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets watching as civilians and off-duty shinobi tried bargaining with merchants selling food and trinkets of all kinds in the streets. Smiling faintly as he reached the Fire Tower, Naruto ascended the stairs and made his way to the Hokage's office. After giving the receptionist his name- Akumu no Karyuudo- and waiting a few minutes, he was admitted into the room.

"Hey, Baa-chan. Any missions for me today?" Naruto asked curiously as he sat down on the couch the man had along one side of the room. Tsunade wordlessly tossed him a scroll and poured herself a dish of sake, leaning back in her chair.

"You may not like it, but you're going to have to bail Izumo's ass out of trouble. He and four others went out on a B-rank mission to Wind Country two or three hours after your little...confrontation." The Senju remarked with a cocked eye brow in silent question, only to get a dismissive shrug from the white haired hunter. "Turned out to be more along the lines of a high A-rank, low S-rank mission due to the presence of the Dragon Twins, Kurokaze Chitsuki, and the woman's possible apprentice. We haven't heard from them since yesterday when they reported running into the rogue Suna-nin."

"Lemme guess; you want me to go to Wind, secure the team, deal with the threat, and escort them back to Konoha after the mission's done." Naruto listed sarcastically as he closed his eyes and placed his left index and middle fingers against his left temple, acting as if he could read minds or tell the future. "Am I right?"

"Hmph. Brat." Tsunade grumbled before taking her drink as if it were a shot and refilling her dish. "And yes, that's exactly what I want you to do."

"Damn!" Naruto hissed under his breath before reading the details of the original mission and updated details. Grumbling under his breath, Naruto tossed the scroll back to the Godaime. "Fine, I'll save the bastard's ass, but if he so much as gives me the wrong look, I'm gonna kill him and leave."

"I'll be sure to send him a warning." The Senju mentioned as she began to write that very warning message down. Naruto then left via window and headed straight for the main gate just as Tsunade placed the message in the small leather case attached to a messenger bird's foot, setting it loose a moment later.

The next day, Naruto reached the endless dune sea of Wind Country, a desert camouflage cloak draped over his body with the hood pulled up. Hearing the shrill cry of Bloodwing, he looked up to see the scarlet bird flying around something in the distance. Moving quickly, Naruto went to see what his feathered companion found.

Jumping up on top of a large boulder, Naruto became concerned and a tad annoyed by what he saw…

"Graboids…Tch…" Naruto grumbled, watching as an unlucky desert-dwelling lizard the size of a small dog was sucked under ground, hissing and flailing the whole way down. There were numerous other small craters in the sand all over the area for almost a mile, signs of constant Graboid activity in the area.

Leaping from the boulder to a towering spire of rocks, Naruto knew to tread carefully around the carnivorous worms. They hunted by sensing vibrations in the ground cause by both movement and sound, giving them pin-point accuracy on their prey despite having no eyes or ears.

"Do you see any others, Bloodwing?" Naruto asked softly as the bird landed on his shoulder, ruffling its feathers in response. "Good. Return to the skies and search for Izumo and his team. When you find them, let me know."

As the bird took off, Naruto picked up a couple rocks and tossed them over the edge in the same spot, luring the worm closer into his trap. Seeing the sands shift around the rocks, Naruto smirked and tossed one of his grenades in the same spot as the rocks, gripping the pin between his thumb and index finger on his opposite hand.

Sucking the grenade down under ground, the Graboid died moments later in an explosion of sand, rocks, and gore. Smirking at his handiwork, Naruto leapt from the rock and barely hit the ground before taking off across the desert, using his own senses to try locating the missing team.

A few hours later, Bloodwing brought him to the corpse of a Konoha shinobi. Naruto scowled faintly as he crouched beside the dead man and started rummaging through his pockets for money and weapons. Finding a few hundred ryo and a couple spools of wire he could use, Naruto checked the man's cause of death.

Right off the back, Naruto knew it wasn't natural. There were no open wounds on his body to indicate the use of a blade- or even fangs, for that matter. His body was still well hydrated from what he could smell of the water in the dead man's blood. Opening the man's eyes, Naruto narrowed his own at the broad pupils and blood shot veins surrounding his irises. Checking his mouth and throat, Naruto's suspicions were confirmed by the man's charred mouth and bronchial tube.

"That god damn bastard is back." Naruto scowled as he located the nearly gone tracks of the team, quickly following them as Bloodwing flew over head.

Izumo cursed his luck as he and two chuunin stood back-to-back-to-back with their kunai drawn and held at the ready. They had been forced to go without sleep for two nights already and were working through their third night, having holed themselves up in a dark canyon. Their enemy couldn't hide at night due to the bright magma-like goo dripping from its palms and the fire-like light glowing in its mouth and eyes, its arms cracked with the same red-orange glow radiating through the crevices.

"He's coming…" One chuunin whispered as he spotted the fiery glow in the distance. They had learned quickly not to remain in one place during the day since the beast could disguise itself using heat waves that it naturally produced, hiding amongst an invisible mirage as it tracked them. The mirage didn't work at night due to the cooler temperatures and the fire-like light it naturally produced.

"What? I-It…It left." The same chuunin reported, knowing the others couldn't look away from their designated areas lest there be another of them or a trap. Whatever it was, it was very intelligent for a beast of rock and fire. Izumo narrowed his eyes, both nervous and concerned. He had never faced anything like this before and it was nerve-racking to the hunter.

He could only hope that reinforcements arrived soon…

Naruto scowled more deeply as he found the bodies of the Dragon Twins and Chitsuki, killed in the same manner as the first body he came across the previous day, only with more violence involved. They had severe burns on their bodies, one of the twins missing his entire left arm from the middle of his bicep down from the intense heat of what appeared to be magma from the melted appearance of the man's flesh and bone. Collecting their heads, Naruto figured he'd at least cash in on their bounties before returning to Konoha.

There was a body charred beyond recognition a short distance away, but Naruto figured it to be Chitsuki's apprentice. Knowing he was on the right track, Naruto continued in his search, using Bloodwing to increase the radius of his search as he ran through the desert, wasting no time in searching for his marks. Hearing a soft hiss, Naruto spun around on his feet, his crossbow aimed at the source.

"Damn it, Ragnarok, what are you doing here?" Naruto growled at his first pet as he holstered his crossbow, a pure white demon covered in spike-like armor lacking any eyes. It had two thumbs on each of its hand-like feet, black markings on either side of its head about where the eyes would be with small vent-like openings to gather/expel sound from for enhanced sensory of its surroundings along with a wicked looking barb on the end of its ivory tail as spines of various sizes ran along its length. The official term for it was a Xenomorph, but Ragnarok was an outcast of its hive due to the genetic mutations it had been 'born' with. Unlike its kin, Ragnarok had an actual tongue with a forked end while a Xenomorph normally had a proboscis-like tongue with an extra 'mouth'- fangs and all- on the end of it that was capable of easily punching through bone and armor alike.

Ragnarok hissed softly again as it slowly approached its master and nuzzled his hand, prompting Naruto to rub the top of its smooth head. Naruto sighed heavily in frustration before calling Bloodwing back to him, which landed on top of the unusually kind-hearted and gentle demon's head, who didn't seem to mind. Motioning for Ragnarok to follow him, Naruto took off into the desert again.

As the sun began to rise hours later, Naruto caught sight of Izumo and the chuunin several miles out as they started their own trek across the desert. Naruto's scowl only deepened, figuring they were stupid enough to keep going on with their original mission despite the obvious threat of the magma demon hunting them down. Picking up the pace, Naruto caught up to them an hour later as Ragnarok crawled along the side of the canyon wall, Bloodwing circling above them.

"What the hell is your problem, Izumo?" Naruto snarled as he grabbed said jounin by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the rock wall, the two chuunin drawing their kunai.

"Let go of me, abomination!" Izumo spat as he struggled to get out of Naruto's grip, but he was slammed against the wall a second time, halting his attempts.

"Not until you explain to me why you're still heading west when you should have started high-tailing it back to Konoha!" Naruto snarled angrily. "You've already lost two chuunin, obviously, and even those rogue Suna shinobi are dead! What the fuck are you thinking?"

"The mission comes before comrades!" Izumo hissed through clenched teeth, blocking out the head ache he got from hitting his head on the rocks. IT was only doubled in intensity when Naruto slugged him across the face, tossing him to the sandy floor.

"Bullshit! My sensei taught me that those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades and friends are worse than trash!" Naruto snarled as his nails became claws and his strength multiplied five-fold, his darker side slipping through. He grabbed Izumo by the ankle and tossed the jounin to the side, sending the man skidding along the sand. "You, Izumo, are worse than trash!"

Izumo opened his mouth to say something when they heard the crackle of fire and a deep growl. Turning to look at the source, Naruto spotted the fire demon stalking the jounin and chuunin. An unnatural growl rumbled in his chest as his darker side came out even further, his hair growing longer and shaggier as his muscles bulged slightly from beneath his armor, the straps coming loose and falling from his arms as his claws grew longer and sharper and his skin became covered in ivory fur.

"Get out of here, you three." Naruto growled as he removed his mask and trench coat, slowly changing into his anthromorphic wolf form. His face elongated into a canine-like snout with sharp fangs lining his top and bottom jaws, his eyes turning golden with black sclera as he swiftly removed his boots and let his leg change into those of a dog's.

Instantly, Izumo and the two chuunin bolted. The demon moved to intercept them, but Naruto jumped in front of the beast of rock and fire, back handing the demon into the canyon wall.

"Your fights with me, hell spawn."

"Says the kin-slayer to the man-killer." The demon hissed out, magma dripping from its palms and mouth as it stood up and faced Naruto. Roaring in anger as he lunged at the fire demon, Naruto slashed his claws across its chest, causing insanely hot lava to spill from the wound. The demon roared in pain and attempted to smack Naruto away with its lava-covered hand, but said hunter ducked under the swipe and jumped up, driving his knee into the creatures shoulder from below its extended arm, breaking it off instantly.

Before it could roar in pain again, Naruto had snatched the limb and back handed the demon with its own removed hand, sending it into the ground. Ragnarok then pounced on its back, driving its barbed tail through its back and chest, unaffected by the magma as it continued to claw and bite at the fire demon's back and neck. Snarling in anger and pain, the fire demon continued to try grabbing Ragnarok with little luck before Naruto came in and tackled it, slamming it into the canyon wall again as Ragnarok jumped off the demon's back, clinging to the wall again as it stabbed its tail through the hell spawn's head, killing it.

Roaring again, Naruto tore into the demon's cooling rocky corpse, tearing it apart until nothing was left. He then howled in victory before slowly changing back into his human form and putting everything back on. Although his flesh steamed slightly from the heat of the demon's fire and magma-like blood, Naruto was unharmed. As Bloodwing returned to him with the three shinobi, Naruto put his mask back on.

"What the hell was that thing?" Izumo questioned, oddly calm. Naruto glanced at him and noticed his unusual behavior, especially when around him, but answered nonetheless.

"That was a Magnamhal, a powerful fire and heat-type demon capable of hiding itself in mirages of heat waves, using its very magma-like blood to melt anything it touches. It can also expel fire balls from its mouth of varying sizes and even pure heat waves to burn just about anything. However, higher level demons such as Ragnarok and myself are unaffected by its fire and heat attacks." Naruto explained as he pulled out his dagger while taking his mask off and stabbed it into a lizard crawling across a nearby rock, eating it moments later. He ignored the disgusted looks he got from the humans and put his mask back on, sheathing his dagger after cleaning it. "There are three other types. The Crynomal, an ice and water-type demon; the Magnevhal, a magnetic and lightning-type demon; the Terracahl, an earth and sand-type demon. Each one has their own abilities, but they all look about the same, just with different elements and coloration. They each like to be where their element is most common and is more powerful. For example, a Crynomal would take refuge in Snow Country due to the year-round cold climate and winter-like conditions and Terracahls would remain up in the rocky mountain ranges of Earth Country."

"..." Izumo listened quietly as did the chuunin, all three following Naruto back to Konoha. He couldn't bring himself to hate the dual-breed monster in front of him as much as he used to. Izumo still disliked Naruto greatly, but it had diminished just as much after hearing Naruto's words and watching him destroy the fire demon, that Magnamhal, as he called it.

"Come on, Ragnarok." Naruto ordered his ivory skinned friend, who shrunk down to the size of a gecko and scurried up his pant leg, taking refuge around Naruto's neck behind the high collar of the hunter's black trench coat. Bloodwing cried softly as it came in for a landing, perching itself on Naruto's left shoulder.

That night, they made camp for the night around a small camp fire. The chuunin went to sleep immediately, leaving Naruto and Izumo to sit by the fire in silence. Glancing up at the black-clad hunter, Izumo felt something akin to respect for the dual-breed, which surprised the jounin a little.

"Naruto..." Izumo's voice cut through the silence, but Naruto didn't react any more then grunting out a questioning 'Hn' in response. "...Thank you. For saving us, I mean."

"Hn." He grunted again. Naruto tossed a couple more sticks on the fire to keep it going. Silence reigned victorious once again for nearly another hour before Izumo decided to speak up again.

"You know quite a bit about the supernatural. Who taught you?"

"No one. Personal experience." Naruto answered stoking the fire with one of his daggers, watching idly as a desert-dwelling spider grew closer to the fire for warmth.

"Could you...I mean, would you be willing to teach me about the different kinds of demons and other supernatural beings?" Izumo asked hesitantly, unable to believe his own words. He had just asked the monster, who he hated with such passion that the legendary Kyuubi of legend wouldn't stand in his way, for help.

"No." Naruto answered without hesitation as he opened his trench coat and pulled out a journal before tossing it into Izumo's lap. "Teach yourself."

"...Thank you." Izumo answered softly, still in personal disbelief of himself. Naruto stood up and started walking away. "Where are you going?"

"To get more wood." Was all the hunter said before he disappeared into the darkness of night. After he was a fair distance from the camp, Naruto looked to the sky as he awaited his orders from headquarters.

"Greeting, Karyuudo." Chimed a rather unusual demon. It was cat-like with a long tail, a small golden bell attached near the tip that rang lightly with every whip-like movement the appendage made.

"What's the message, Cheshire?" Naruto asked coldly of the green-eyed and blue-grey furred cat demon, who frowned slightly, tossing a scroll at Naruto.

"The Bigwigs want you to investigate a possible dragon sighting in the Barrens to the west. You're welcome to bring anyone you want, but make sure they're capable of handling our line of work." Cheshire informed him as Naruto read the scroll in his hands. "The Bigwigs are tired of losing potentially powerful hunters due to the carelessness of others."

"Che...A Black Moon?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Those died away centuries ago."

"Orders are orders, Karyuudo." Cheshire replied with a shrug, his large paws and claws seeming too big for his other wise thin and lanky body, despite standing only three feet tall.

"Heh. Yeah, right. More like another fucking wild goose chase." Naruto growled under his breath as he pocketed the scroll. "Fine, I'll do it, but I expect compensation for this bullshit mission."

"I'll see what I can do, Karyuudo. No promises, though." And with that, Cheshire disappeared in the blink of an eye as if he was never there to begin with. Naruto sighed and decided to do as he told Izumo and look for some fire wood.

Three days later, they returned to Konoha and the two chuunin were given the week off to recover after they were debriefed never to speak of what they saw to anyone. Izumo, although suspended from active duty for a week, was praised mildly for his quick assessment of the demon's powers and development of a strategy to better protect him and his team, despite his lack of compassion for his comrades. From Naruto's mouth, of all things.

That same day, Naruto, who had already spoken with Tsunade of his new orders, could be seen rummaging through files he had picked himself, trying to figure out who would be best for his new mission. After several hours of thinking and reading, Naruto finally came to a decision; all six of them. Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, Inuzuka Hana, Hyuuga Hinata, and Sai.

Heading back to the Hokage's office, Naruto barged into the office without waiting and tossed the six files on Tsunade's desk. Sitting down as he took his mask off, Naruto leaned back in the chair, breathing a tired sigh. It was nearly midnight.

"Who'd you pick?" Tsunade asked without looking up from her paper work after setting the files neatly in a drawer.

"All of them." Tsunade paused in writing her signature and gave Naruto a curious look.

"All of them?" Tsunade asked, making Naruto roll his eyes.

"Is there an echo in here?" He asked sarcastically. "Yes, all of them. Kiba's soon to become a Wolven and he'll need someone with experience in the supernatural to master controlling the urges that come with a permanent shift in mind-set and physical appearance. Hinata…I've sensed some sort of power deep within her and I want to figure out what it is and, if possible, bring it out to the surface for her to use and master. Sai is one of the best at recon and sabotage thanks to his paintings. Hana is also next in line to become a pure-blood werewolf and the next clan head of the Inuzuka, so she'll need the experience of a supernatural hunter just like her mother did before her. I'll need a medic and Sakura is second only to you and her strength is immense, which will prove useful for the mission. As for Sasuke, his Sharingan will come in handy to subdue any enemies we come across for information and his different Chidori forms will be most helpful against some of the monsters in the west."

"Um...Wow, I honestly didn't expect you to think this through so well." Tsunade sheepishly admitted as she waved her hands apologetically after getting a tired and cold glare from Naruto. "G-Gomen, I didn't mean to insult you. It's just that we've never talked like this before since your...uh...change and before that you were rather...um..."

"Dim. Ignorant. Fool-hardy." Naruto listed in complete honesty. "I know. I've changed and I quite like the changes, if not a bit biased towards my own blood and kin."

"Ok, well, how long do you think the mission will take?" Tsunade inquired, curious as to how long some of her best shinobi would be gone. She had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer and she was right.

"Two years, at least. Then there's the chance I'll get new orders and require their assistance then while still out in the field." Naruto then started thinking before giving her a flat look. "I'd say about four years in all."

"What? You can't be serious!" Tsunade bellowed angrily as she shot to her feet. Naruto wasn't the least bit intimidated by her, not like he used to be before he changed.

"I'm dead serious, Tsunade. They have the skills needed to get my mission done as soon as possible." Naruto answered her as he stood up and put his mask back on. "It'll be three years is if we don't run into any trouble, four years if we do. Make sure they're at the gate and briefed on the mission by eight tomorrow morning. And make sure the Inuzuka siblings don't bring their dogs."

With that, he left before Tsunade could argue any further...

Landing on the roof of a small shack near the gate, Naruto was pleased to see Tsunade had followed his instructions. The six ninja he requested were standing at the gate, the two Inuzuka siblings lacking their dogs; they were obviously upset about that, but Naruto knew it was for the best.

Flipping through the air and landing in front of the gathered team, Naruto stood up straight before cracking his neck and taking a deep breath to calm his own nerves, nervous of how they'll react to the mission objectives and length.

"I'm going to assume Tsunade filled you in on the purpose of our mission, correct?" Naruto asked, receiving nods. "Good. What I doubt she told you is that this mission could take up to two years and we probably won't be returning for another a year or two after that."

"What?" Kiba growled angrily while the others gained expressions of shock and slight anger. "We've got lives here, you bastard! We can't just up and leave for several years at a time! It's not like you got to worry about that, you coward!"

"Kiba!" Hana snapped at her brother, but he didn't listen to her. Naruto stayed quiet as he bowed his head.

"No, Hana! This bastard needs to get it through his god damn head that we aren't heartless like him!" Kiba snarled at Hana, shocking his older sister since he had never acted like that before. He rounded on Naruto again. "Where the fuck were you when that bastard Madara unleashed those fucking White Zetsu all over the continent? Where were you when Pein attacked Konoha before that? Where were you when Danzo tried to take over Konoha just after Pein's defeat?"

"…" Naruto clenched his fists in anger, remembering how he had fled the Elemental Countries a year into his training trip with Jiraiya, leaving the Sage behind.

"You're nothing more than a coward, Naruto! A heartless, spineless, coward!" Kiba spat. "I don't care how strong or 'bad-ass' you got, but you'll always be a deserter in my book!"

WHAM!

Naruto shook with unrestrained rage as he stood over Kiba's body after punching him in the chest, his daggers crossed over his neck. Through the eye holes of his mask, Kiba could see the bright yellow irises bearing black slit pupils.

"You have no fucking idea what I've been through! Sure, I ran, but not because I was afraid!" Naruto snarled as his daggers broke skin slightly, causing a pair of small blood drops to form. Kiba was frozen in fear, having never seen his old comrade act like this before. "I've been in bloodier wars than the one against Madara! Several times over! I've killed thrice the amount of enemies than anyone ever will in their entire life time! There is more blood on my hands- innocent or not- than that of everyone in this village combined! So don't you fucking DARE talk to ME about being a coward!"

Naruto retracted his daggers and got up, sheathing them as he walked away a short distance and stopping beside a tree. Roaring in anger, Naruto whirled around and slammed his fist into said tree, turning it into mulch and splinters instantly.

"Stay if you want, but I fucking guarantee you that you'll only hurt the ones you love if you do." Naruto snarled as he started walking. Sai, Sasuke, and Sakura followed him instantly, the hunter's old team mates knowing exactly what he was talking about. Hinata, although a little hesitant, followed as well. Hana turned to follow, but paused long enough to glare at her younger brother.

"You should listen to him, Kiba. I've worked with him before and he's far more than meets the eye." Hana spat before continuing on. Kiba laid where he was, still frozen in place by the sheer ferocity and rage Naruto had in his eyes. Standing up, Kiba slowly followed after them with his head held low and mouth shut.

Noticing the younger Inuzuka trailing in the back of the group, Naruto snorted slightly. 'Good. I would have been pissed if I spent my money on that brat in preparation for his inevitable transformation for no damn reason if he didn't come.'

A week later, they came to a stop at a massive stone wall that split the world in half, dividing the Elemental Countries of the East from the Territories of the West.

"So we're going over this thing?" Sakura asked incredulously. Naruto shook his head.

"No. Going over it will only show you the lifeless wastelands of the west past this wall." Naruto explained as he started searching for something on the wall. Finding the proper groove, Naruto took his emblem off his belt and placed it into the groove, unlocking the door.

Bloodwing shrieked in concern and hesitation as it flapped its wings, the bricks slowly rotating inward until a large opening appeared in the wall.

"We're going through it, to the Underworld." Naruto pointed out as he stepped aside so they could see everything. It was a bustling village filled with lizard-like people, were-beasts, dragon-esque warriors, normal-ish humans with giant animal companions, and many other creatures of exotic and grotesque appearances.

"Wow." Sasuke whispered as he spotted what appeared to be a snake-man whose body from the waist down was a long serpentine tail, the upper half having snake-like qualities as well.

"The well acts as a portal only those of the Crimson Lance can access to cross dimensions. There are several other worlds that only we can access, but those are completely different." Naruto explained as he closed the door, confusing everyone with him.

"What the hell? I thought we were going in there?" Kiba asked in total confusion.

"…Humans can't go through the portal, can they?" Sasuke asked after a moment of silence, eyes narrowed at Naruto. Sighing softly, Naruto nodded.

"That is why I'm going to give you all one last chance to turn back." Naruto explained as he pulled out six scrolls and unrolled them, revealing the ancestral 'tree' for each of them. Sasuke crouched down in front of his and was surprised to find small nail-sized images of snake men similar to the one he saw moments ago beside several names on the list, his own included. The same was on Sakura's, a lion-man on Sai's, a woman with a tiger on Hinata's, a wolf-man on Kiba's, and two images on Hana's of a female were-wolf next to a woman.

"I did some further digging the night before we came out here after choosing you six for this mission." Naruto explained as he started with Sasuke "You, Sasuke, are destined to become a true Naga of the ancient Peruvian civilization. Sakura will become one as well, but it's lesser and will retain human characteristics more-so than snake qualities concerning her upper body. Hinata, you're one of the few remaining Spirit Warriors, people who have a guardian animal spirit. Yours just so happens to the Tiger. Sai, you're a Leo, much like a were-beast, only you're forever stuck in your beast form and you're, well, a lion. Kiba, you're a Wolven, much like a Leo, only that of a wolf. Hana, you're next in line to be the next Inuzuka clan head and soon to become a pure-blood werewolf just like your mother was; you're also going to need personal experience to deal with the supernatural for the future generations of the Inuzuka when it comes to shifting and controlling their powers."

"…" Sai wordlessly stood up and looked at the sky, his hair shifting in the light breeze. "How do we awaken our true forms?"

"For those like yourself, Hinata, and Sasuke, it's most easily achieved through extensive meditation by attempting to contact your other half." Naruto explained before facing the others. "Sakura and Hana, you'll need to face your fears through meditation as well and defeat those fears. Kiba, you're going to be working with me. I was present for an old friend when he turned into a Wolven so I know how to deal with it all."

"Alright…" Kiba responded uneasily as he stood up while Naruto rolled up the scrolls and handed each to their respective owner. Everyone, sans Kiba, instantly moved off to different areas of the clearing to meditate. Nodding his head to the side, Naruto led Kiba deeper into the forest until they came across a small river and waterfall. In front of the waterfall was a Wolven with bright blue tribal markings on his body collecting water in a hollowed out horn from some sort of beast. Tied around his waist was a bone knife, a quiver of arrows on his back, and a bow in his right hand.

"Take everything off, but your pants." Naruto instructed Kiba as he followed his own words, revealing the intricate black tribal markings covering his back and chest.

"Greetings, Karyuudo. Long time, it has been." The Wolven greeted as it sealed off the horn and tied it to the leather belt around his waist. Kiba couldn't understand what the Wolven had said for a moment due to some sort of foreign language, but slowly came to understand the beast's words as if he had grown up speaking and hearing it his whole life.

"That it has, Cah' Yu." Naruto replied in the same tongue. "My friend here is a Wolven, but has yet to awaken. I was hoping you could help him through it as I prepare the ritual."

"Anything for my friend, I will do." Cah' Yu responded as he approached Kiba and looked down at him, inspecting him. Kiba was kind of intimidated by the Wolven, who stood at almost 7 feet tall. "An Inuzuka? Long time, since last Inuzuka Wolven."

"I realize that, Cah' Yu. I have a feeling about this one, though. He has the same aura as you did before your own awakening." Naruto explained cryptically with an unseen wink at Cah' Yu as he placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder in a comforting manner, having noticed the Inuzuka's nervousness and hesitance. "So will you help, Cah' Yu?"

"Will help. Inuzuka must prove worth, first." Cah' Yu explained, catching on to Naruto's plan, before he turned away and reached into a crevice in the rocks behind the small waterfall.

"Prove my worth? What's he mean?" Kiba whispered to Naruto, who simply smirked.

"Cah' Yu is the guardian of the sacred water that spills from the waterfall and flows through the river. He is also responsible for the awakening of young were-wolves and the trial to become an adult for young pure-blood Wolven born into the life of a Wolven." Naruto explained quietly as Cah' Yu continued to rummage through the hole that seemed just big enough for his arm to fit in, but not enough room to move his hand or arm around much. "What's he's looking for is key to your awakening into a Wolven."

"And that is?" Kiba asked hesitantly, only to go green in the face when he saw what it was in Cah' Yu's clawed paw-like hand.

"Eat." Cah' Yu ordered as he held up the glowing electric blue worm up to Kiba as it wriggled and writhed. Hesitantly reaching out to it, Kiba looked about ready to throw up just looking at it. As the Inuzuka grabbed it and held it up to his face, he suddenly remembered back to when he was a kid and used to eat bugs for hell of it…

'Can't taste much different…' Kiba thought with uncertainty before swallowing the worm…

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