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A year passed since Naruto joined the Ninja academy. Just like most impressionable and oblivious young students, he had set his goal to be a Hokage one day. The villagers were not kind to him, so it was only natural for him to want to be someone respectable to gain their trusts. 

If only that was possible with hard work only...

Everyone but himself succeeded in a simple henge. Every time he tried to transform into someone, either part of his body stayed the same, or he turned into a crude mockery of his intended targets. The worst humiliation was when he tried to trnasform into Umino sensei, but he only managed to change his hair color to that of Umino, nothing else. It took all his might (which wasn't much, because his diet was pretty suboptimal) to not cry and bolt out of his class when even the teachers started to laugh at how bad it was. At this rate, he would be stalled for a year and have to re do every thing with an upcoming new admits. 

Naruto could not understand just why he couldn't do a simple jutsu like his peers. Did he not have enough chakra? or did have bad poor concentration? or was his body just not right? He pondered while roaming through a forest outside the village perimeter. He was not even a ninja, so as long as he managed to come back in time, he would not get in trouble. He distantly remebred this one older student whose name escaped him, but he couldn't do a ninjustu at all, so he was pouring everything in taijutsu...but does that make him a ninja? Someone who only can do taijustsu will not be a hokage...

"Well, I can't even do a simple henge..." Naruto berated himself. 

He turned to get back home. The moon was dimmer than the usual. Umino sensei one time told him that the moon is bright only because of the sunlight was reflecting onto the moon. Yet, Naruto had this idea that Moon can still be bright on its own and even have some mystical powers...or so the books he read said. He liked being flashy and seeking attention, but it was also nice to walk alone under the moonlight. 

,"...?" 

Naruto felt something amiss. He had been walking 20 minutes back to the village now, but he was still in the word. Was he lost? But he had walked this path more than 30 times now. Sandiame will be extremely mad at him if he ends up sleeping in the woods, and he hated making him upset. He looked around the woods to find anything out of place. Nothing obvious, but Naruto could feel some...coolness in the air. He looked up the moon, and it was redder than before. Just where was he? 

Rustle

Naruto, startled looked behind. It was just a rabbit that jumped out of a bush. Naruto sighed in a relief. Then he turned his head back - 

- only to see a pale figure standing right in front of his face. 

"...." 

Humans would usually run when faced with terrifying sights, but sometimes, the terror became too great that they simply became incapable of flights for their survivals...and that was precisely the crisis that Naruto was in now. He did not see just a person, but an eerily pale entity with two eyes - staring right into Naruto's vivacious blue eyes- that were so black that Naruto would almost mistake them as empty sockets. There was also a cold, dark aura around the person. His neck was also twisted in on odd angle, tilting his head unnaturally. 

Can you see me? 

The voice heard like overlapping of two difference tones, echoing, and it made Naruto twitch. At the same time, , Naruto miraculously regained senses and slowly stepped backward. The person (?) - Naruto just did not know how to describe it - stepped forward in return. 

You saw me. 

It then smiled crookedly, and that's when Naruto ran, screaming for his life.

The first to notice the oddity was Umino Iruka. 

Sandaime informed him in confidence that Naruto could never be a proper ninja if at all, because the seal that Yondaime placed on him was slightly defective, allowing Kyuubi's chakra to permanently damage Naruto's chakra circulation system. It wasn't absolutely unsalvageable, but the very few people that could remedy it were either dead or out of village - Princess Tsunade being the only one in the latter's case. Iruka thought it was cruel to let Naruto try fruitlessly to be a ninja, but he also wasn't sure if it was less bad idea to tell Naruto that he could never be a ninja, let alone Hokage. Sandaime and Iruka was not sure how to approach it without breaking the child's heart too much.

But at the same time, Iruka knew Naruto was persistent. Really persistent. 

So, when he saw Naruto barely paying attention in class and shrugged after being scolded, Iruka's instinct told him that something was not right with him. 

"Naruto! You will come to my office after the class!" 

"Okay," said Naruto. There were deep dark bags below his usually lively, but now withering, blue eyes. 

After the class, Iruka pulled away Naruto to his office - most teachers went out for lunch - and sat him down. "Naruto, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing. I am not sick or anything," Naruto answered. His eyes avoided Iruka and kept wandering, as if avoiding something.

"No, I mean that you are not paying attention at all. I know you are not exactly book smart, but you still used to be passionate about ninjutsu. But in last few weeks, I noticed you were paying less and less attention. You look sick, too. What's going on?" 

Naruto maintained his silence. Iruka patiently waited for his answer. "I am just...really tired." 

"Naruto-" 

"No, sensei. I just need to have more rests, I haven't been sleeping right these days," Naruto rubbed his eyes.  

"Naruto, I will take you to a doctor-"

"NO!" 

Naruto screamed so loudly that Iruka jumped a bit. Never had Iruka seen Naruto shout so unexpectedly, so fearfully. Tears gathered in Naruto's terrified eyes. "Please, sensei, I really don't want to go to the hospital. I don't want to." 

"Naruto..." Iruka then took Naruto to a private room, where teachers took students to discuss matters that they deemed too sensitive for the students or the teachers.  A few teachers stared at them in an intense curiosity - what made that troublemaker so frightened? 

"Naruto, listen," Iruka smiled as gently as he could to console the boy who was so shaken by something that he didn't understand yet. "I care about you. I don't want you to see you in such a terrible state. I knew you for years, and not even Jonins scare you this much. Did someone do...things that made you uncomfortable at the hospital?" 

Naruto shook his head. He licked his dry lips. "No...I mean, nurses are not the nicest, but that's not the reason."

"Then what is it?" 

"....Will you trust me?" 

"Naruto, please trust me that I will trust you." Iruka hugged Naruto tightly, who to his relief, reciprocated, though weakly. 

"Iruka sensei, would you rather be blind if it meant you didn't have to see things that others can't?" . 

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Hiruzen knew that he was a very imperfect guardian for Naruto. 

As a leader of the village, he could not show favoritism or any special attention to anyone, even for the son of  the late fourth Hokage. It would cause unwanted rumors and conspiracies that would further harm those he wanted to protect, and that was especially true for Naruto. Hiruzen wished that he could spend more money on Naruto, but Naruto's assets were tightly sealed until he would mature, and not even Hiruzen could override it. All he could do is to give him basic support and constant watches through his ANBU and the telescope jutsu through his crystal ball. It killed him that he could not punish Danzo for leaking Naruto's jinchuuriki status. 

Recently, he noticed Naruto's changes in demeanors. The boisterous and attention seeking boy became fidgety, withdrawn, and sometimes scared of his own shadow in a quite literal sense. He constantly looked around with paranoid expressions. He even cried alone when there was no one else. Sometimes, he would run away from something that neither he nor ANBU could detect. Eventually, Hiruzen thought that Naruto may have had some kind of mental damages, causing him to see things that weren't there. 

That was until Iruka, who never demanded anything, begged to talk to him. When Hiruzen saw Iruka, Naruto was with him, tears and snots on his face. 

At first, he thought Iruka perhaps bought Naruto's words too literally, but he still listened to Naruto's plea. Naruto did not know why and how, but he started seeing things, mostly dead people wandering around and doing seemingly nonsensical things. Hiruzen pitied the boy - a schizophrenia was no laughing matter, even for the most hardened ninjas. Ninjas would see gruesome things in their careers, so the hallucinations that begot from the deepest trauma would sometimes drive them into suicides. 

Then, Naruto described something that he should have not known at all. 

"The white haired man with a ponytail sometimes stares into the apartment complex near downtown...and he follows another guy that looks at him for an hour." 

Hiruzen wanted to throw up when Naruto accurately described Sakumo Hatake. The man who was dishonored for failing his mission...he still wandered in a living plane. Was it the stigma and resentment that bound him? Or was it his concern for Kakashi? 

Sandaime pushed away one of his many lifelong regrets that he wanted to bury in his memory. Now was not the time to worry about the dead. What mattered was to save Naruto from his own visions, lest he would go insane and hurt himself. 

"Lord Hokage...?" Iruka asked, concerned at Hiruzen's unusually sickly expression. 

"Iruka. I have a very important sole mission for you, " Hiruzen ordered grimly, "Go to the Fox Sanctum in Madogakure and ask for the priest Mahito... What we have here is far beyond our capabilities." 

Naruto tightly hugged his frog plushie. 

The month was quite draining for Naruto and Iruka. Iruka had to travel two full weeks to fetch this priest that supposedly could help Naruto, and Naruto had to pack up everything - which wasn't much - to leave. Naruto paled at the thought of leaving Leaf for years, let alone leaving at all, but the Hokage told him sternly that his life was literally on the line, and there was no one in any ninja villages that could help him. Then he told him another thing that crushed his soul. 

Two weeks ago 

"Naruto, meet the priest Nanahara Mahito," Hiruzen introduced the tall, old priest who had long, thin blond hair. The priest looked at Naruto briefly, and tutted. "Oh my, a truly magnificent and horrifying power that you have. " 

"Is it- is it some kind of curse?" Iruka gulped. 

"A curse?" Mahito thinly smiled. "One could see it as a curse, for sure. But for others, it's power that I think any spiritualist would die to get." 

"So, do you know what could have caused Naruto to see these...visions?" Hiruzen eyed Naruto with pity. "I must say, I have seen some unearthly things in my long life as a shinobi, but a vision of dead people is new to me."

"I have my...theory, but I will need to do a bit more research.," Mahito kept his gazes on Naruto, "Usually, one is born with visions. It's not often that they become active in the middle of their lives. Not unheard of, but a rarity for sure."   

"Do-do you see ghosts, too?" Naruto nervously asked, but there were hopes in his eyes. Finally, there was someone that could understand how scared he was.

"Do I see them? Of course I do. In fact, I sometimes tell them to get me some oden or get the hell out of my room," Mahito joked. Naruto giggled weakly. Mahito squinted his eyes more, then looked at Hiruzen. "Hiruzen...I assume you didn't tell him anything yet." 

Hiruzen did not answer. 

"My friend -" 

"I know, Mahito. But he is 8 years old. Can you blame me?" HIruzen sighed. "Naruto, do you know the tale of Kyuubi, the tailed beasts?" 

"...Yes?" 

"How much?" 

"Not a lot, I didn't pay attention in classes..." Naruto blushed. "I remember that the fourth Hokage defeated it a long time ago and sealed it again. Why?" 

"That is correct, but you are missing one critical piece of information," Hiruzen rubbed his fingers nervously. "Naruto, the Kyuubi is an immense mass of chakra with its own will. Very malicious, very powerful. Which is why it is nearly impossible to kill it. So the best we can do is to seal it in...a person." 

"How can such a thing fit into a person?" The boy tilted his head. 

"There is a very delicate, advanced jutsu for that. Just like how we put things in scrolls,"  Hiruzen explained. "When kyuubi was unsealed by an...accident, the person who held it died, so we could not seal it back to that person. And because...." Hiruzen stopped. 

"Because?" 

"...because it was an emergency, we had to resort to the last thing we wanted to do: seal it inside a baby. The seal works better when the person is younger. And there was a baby that was born just that day." 

Hiruzen stared at Naruto, who simply blinked, waiting for an answer. Then, the answer dawned on him. 

"...Me?" Naruto started to shake. "I have the monster inside me? Is that why they call me a monster and a murderer?" 

"Naruto, you are not a murderer or anything!" Iruka quickly knelt in front of Naruto and put his hands on the boy's shoulder. "You are not at fault for anything. You are keeping the monster from destroying everything, you are PROTECTING us!" 

"Yes, Naruto. You are a hero for us...or it should have been that way,' Hiruzen rubbed his eyes quite subtly. "I am..so sorry Naruto. It was supposed to be kept secret, but it somehow leaked to the public. If there were a jutsu that would make the whole village forget this, I would have done it." 

"...." Naruto didn't say anything. 

"And another thing is, for some reason the seal that caged Kyuubin inside you...it seemed to have a defect that could only be fixed by releasing the kyuubi, which is just not an option. The defect has permanently damaged your chakra circulation system, Naruto. The damage is too much to fix  without an extensive surgery with low odds. " 

"So...I can't be a ninja? at all? " Naruto asked, barely audible. 

"...No." Hiruzen sadly nodded. 

Naruto sobbed into Iruka with shoulders erratically shaking. "They were right, they said I would never amount to anything." 

"Who? the citizens?" 

"Yes...and the ghosts from the cemetery..." Naruto wiped his snots with arms, and Iruka lended tissues. "Sometimes I pass by them and there are ghosts that just stand there and do nothing until I am nearby/They come right at me outside the cemetery gate and scream about how I killed their friends and families. I never get clear looks on them because I look away..." 

Iruka hugged Naruto tightly. 

"I need to interrupt you because we have to discuss what to do with the boy." Mahito gently intercepted. "Hiruzen, what exactly do you want from me?" 

"I want to invoke the favor that you owe me all those years ago," Hiruzen asked with an utter seriousness. Mahito nodded in understanding. "You want me to take care of him?" 

"Until he is ready to...or you think he is ready to protect himself and control his power." 

"Hiruzen, it would be my honor." Mahito bowed. "But I am afraid that this isn't somethign that can be fixedquickly. A few years at least..." 

"A few years?!" Naruto protested. How would he see Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru ? And Teuchi-san and Iruka sensei?" "I don't want to go!" 

"Naruto, as the Hokage of Leaf Village, I have authority over all the citizens and the ninjas, including you," Hiruzen imposed with stern authority. "And I am going to order you to train under Nanahara Mahito, to control your power and protect yourselves (and everyone else). Nobody in this village, or any other ninja villages can help you, but this man can. You are not to return until you are fully prepared, understood?" 

"No, jiji please don't send me away" Naruto now begged in tears. "I will - I wll take my eyes out! Then I- I won't swee them!" 

" I am afraid that will actually make you a lot more vulnerable, Naruto," Mahito said in a sad tone, "I know some people who tried that in desperation, but it only made the malicious whispers worse. They eventually died." Mahito turned Naruto by his shoulder to face him. "Look at me, boy. I have seen many young children who needed guidance to master their spiritual powers, and I have taught many, many of them. Do you want to learn how to confront the spirits, or do you want to live in fear and hide yourself forever? These spirits will not leave you alone. It is a cruel card dealt by fate for you, but there are those who can help you deal with fate." 

Naruto weakly nodded. He may have been just 8 years old and a terrible student, but he knew that there was no other way out. He could not be a hokage, let alone a ninja. However, he could feel some kind of safety around this man just by standing in front of him. He realized that there were no other ghosts in the room - not even the nearby presences. And if Naruto could be like him, he had to take the chance. 

Reading Naruto's thoughts on his face, Mahito patted his head. "Good boy." 

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Back to the present 

After two weeks of Hiruzen's surreptitious planning, Naruto was sent away in a "freight" carrier that he had secretly ordered to detour to Madogakure, the village of esoteric powers. The village did not have any ninjas and was isolated from other villages, but there were always rumors of supernatural happenings and miracles in that village. Hiruzen only knew this thanks to a very coincidental encounter with Mahito decades ago - which he never told anyone to this date - where he saved the traveling priests from bandits.  He deceived the council and the Roots into thinking that Naruto was sent to Jiraiya's care to control Kyuubi and his power to prevent "unexpected unsealing like 8 years ago." Danzo didn't seem to buy his words, but Hiruzen maintained a "take it or eat shit" stance. Eventually, it worked out. 

So here Naruto was, looking outside the carrier in this boring trail to the village that he never knew about. Outside the carriage, he could see some spirits creepily peeking out of the trees. Some were smiling, some were stoic, some looked angry. Mahito, who sat next to him, noticed what occupied Naruto's attention and consoled him. "It will be alright child." 

True to his words, no spirits bothered him or just popped out of nowhere with Mahito around. After 12 days of a long, tiresome trip, they reached a grand shrine deep inside a mountain. Mahito said that the mountain was full of sacred clean power that dispelled filthy and corrupting entities. This put Naruto at ease. 

"Welcome back, Nanahara sama," a man with a fox mask greeted them at a large, red Tori-i. "And this is the child you mentioned?" 

"Yes. He will be our new student, Naruto," Mahiro answered cheerfully. 

"Hello, Naruto. please meet you." 

Naruto meekly shook hand with this mysterious man with a gentle voice. At least he didn't have unpleasant aura like so, so many leaf village people did...."you said you want the ritual to be done immediately. The set up is ready." 

"Excellent, Yasha kun." 

They entered into a large room comprising well-polished pine tree floors, big table with two fox statues sitting on each side, five candles were lit. Naruto was instructed to sit inside a white circle with five equidistant points on its circumference. He then was given a bell and a mask. 

"Sit here tightly with these bells." Mahito instructed. "We will chant rhymes to bring upon our patron gods to give you a blessing. All you need to do is to ring these bells." 

"Okay," Naruto nodded nervously. A god, Naruto pondered. Would he look like a real fox? or a man with fox ears? 

Yasha and Mahito slowly chanted rhymes, and Naruto started ringing the bells. The bell sounds and the rhymes resonated within the quiet prayer hall, giving Naruto a sense of peace that he didn't feel for a long time. 

The fox statue glowed in yellow. 

"Ah, yes, the spirit has come-" Mahito stopped mid-sentence when they saw a large, magnificent golden fox emerge from the statue. The fox had two long ears, eyes with slitted red pupils, and black shimesawa around its neck with large silver bells. It sported nine tails, just like Kyuubi...but it couldn't be it, right? Naruto was awed by the intimidating and beautiful visage but noticed that Yasha and Mahito were slightly trembling - in fact, Mahito was paler than he already was. 

"Hya-Hyakumenkonmo (hundred-faced gold fox)?!" Mahito gasped, fear present in his voice. "But the lady Inari, why isn't she sending one of her messengers?" 

The fox whose name was too long for Naruto to memorize on the spot lowered its head to Naruto's height, sniffing him right in front of face as if he were measuring if Naruto were a prey to eat. Naruto did not know anything about spiritual energy, but he swore that this thing was brimming with it swirling around its body. Mahito and Yasha stood firmly. "Naruto, don't move," Mahito whispered just enough for Naruto to listen. But Naruto did not dare move - how could he when the blood red eyes were staring right into his small, insignificant eyes? 

"Esteemed Demon fox of hundred faces," Mahito addressed the giant fox, "I, who serve Inari-okami, implore you to spare us. This shrine shall not see any violence or misdeeds." 

The fox did not pay him attention. It seemed to be solely interested in Naruto, as it kept staring at him with no movements or sounds. It then rubbed its marked forehead onto Naruto's forehead. 

"Naruto!" Yasha shouted. Black and gold energy swirled around Naruto like a whirlwind and sucked into his forehead. The fox then said in a low voice that was barely intelligible.

"10 years." 

The monster then dissipated into mists. Naruto fell to the sideways panting, and Yasha and Mahito quickly tended to him. "Naruto, are you feeling okay?" 

"Mmng...," Naruto moaned. "I'm not sick, but I'm tired. Did something go wrong?" 

"No, Naruto, everything is fine," Mahito lied, "for now." Naruto smiled faintly, and fell asleep, unaware of a red eye sigil on his forehead.

8 years later 

"It was a nice service." 

A brown-haired teenager said, seeing bone powders scatter in the sky over a cliff nearby which he was standing with his comrades and many other visitors who came to pay respect to the late Mahito Nanahara. It was a spotty cloudy day with mild drizzles, but at least the sky was merciful enough to let the sunshine shower on where they were standing. 

"Hm," Naruto said. He was wearing a hooded black mofuku. Mahito was loved and missed by many for his leadership and generosity, but perhaps Naruto suffered the most from his loss aside the late priest's few remaining family members. When he was told of his passing, something inside Naruto broke. Death wasn't foreign to the priests. To deal with lost souls, he had to adjust to the concept of death and its inevitable nature for all living things. Mahito was by no means youthful, let alone a healthy middle-aged man. Naruto knew it, but the death of a man whose expectation that Naruto tried to measure up to so much, still hit him like a collapsing roof.  

Other than Sandaime, who had passed away last year, Mahito was one of few role models who gave a damn about him when almost everyone else kept their distance from him. Even in this sanctum, he could hear others speaking ill of him behind his back with that damn moniker of demon, not because of Kurama - he came to know his name over the years during meditations -  but because of the fact that he was blessed by the Hyakumenkonmo (or cursed? Naruto supposed one could consider it a curse) instead of a sacred fox familiar to Inari-Okami. 

But unlike in Leaf village, no one dared disdain him publicly.

"Togitsune-kun", someone called Naruto by his given sacred name. It was Fumito, Mahito's grandson who would oversee the sanctum as a successor. "We need to discuss something. Follow me. Kimihiro, go help the apprentices." 

Kimihiro nodded and whispered "see you later." As Kimihiro excused himself, Naruto followed Fumito to the main building, ignoring disdainful and jealous stares from others. Naruto looked at them right into their eyes with a smirk. These people were envious of him for having private times with the great scion of Nanahara. Everyone knew that the late Nanahara was kind to all, but he only truly gave his personal time to very select few talented ones. Naruto was such example - he mastered whatever he was taught three times faster than others. Exorcism, elemental manipulation, soul arts, sealing, everything that the sanctum could offer, Naruto took all the opportunities to excel. It filled him with amusement and some twisted satisfaction that he was given personal attention from Nanahara's and many of his peers were bitter about it because they could only dream of receiving acknowledgements from Nanahara. Funnily enough, they were somewhat like Naruto when he was in the shinobi academy, where he'd randomly challenge the oh-so-mighty Uchiha heir..

They ended up in a small alcove, far from main buildings. What's going to happen? 

"Togitsune-kun," Fumito offered him a cup of green tea, '"as you know, the terms between my grandfather and your late Hokage was that he keeps you here until the age of eighteen, or until he passes away, whichever comes first."

"Yes," Naruto gulped. "I guess I need to leave...but do I really have to? I don't have anything back there." 

"Right," Fumito smiled with a faint sadness, "I am sorry, I know you really looked up to my grandfather. He truly was a great spiritualist-" 

"He was one of few adults that took even a fraction of time to look at me,' Naruto sniffed. Fumito tried to pat his shoulder, but Naruto gently pushed him away. "I am fine." 

"I wish I could help, Togitsune-kun." 

"Then help me." 

"I can't, the sanctum council will not let me," Fumito shook his head.  "I have sent a message to the current Hokage, Lady Tsunade, to send someone to escort you back to Leaf village. They are coming...in an hour." 

"What?" Naruto raised his voice. "You could have told me like two days ago! I don't even have time to say goodbye to Kimihiro!" 

"You were barely keeping yourself together. How can I interrupt someone when he is mourning?" 

Naruto bit his lips. "I am sorry, I should have watched my temper." 

"No, it's fine," Fumito dismissed it. "Anyways, say goodbye to your...well, Kimihiro. You'd have to catch him quickly because he needs to run some errands." 

"I understood. If that's all, I will pack my things." Naruto bowed to Fumito, but Fumito called him back. "Wait, Naruto."

"Yes?" 

"You will have to build your own shrine. Your patron will otherwise be displeased, and take this," Fumito handed Naruto an obsidian box with golden edges, "handle it with the utmost care. The seal won't break so easily because I re-enforced it, but you never know."  

"I know," said Naruto curtly, squashing a tiny hope that perhaps Fumito would stand up for him and not send him back to Leaf village. He then left the alcove and headed to his room.

Well, back to square one. Naruto thought bitterly.

Alone again.

"Squeak," a small ropey animal snuck out of Naruto's collar and coiled itself around Naruto's neck. His prized pet pipe fox was sleeping all day, but he must have felt Naruto's distress.

"At least I have you, Kingetsu." The pipe fox squeaked happily and kissed his cheek. 

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Hokage Tower 

Tsunade was in a real bind. 

A report of Uchiha Sasuke and Orochimaru required an immediate action, be it their captures or more preferably, their deaths. But the lack of available ninjas were stretching thin. The damage from the Sand "invasion" (which she could not blame since the whole village was under Orochimaru's thumb) still lingered to this day, leading to financial struggles. She did a remarkable job of securing missions and contracts over the years to feed her village, but that also meant that many of the shinobis were out of the village more than ever. She could not slow down either because she was so close to restoring the village's fiscal health. 

ANBU was out of option as they were absolutely necessary for the village protection. A lot of jonins were out....so that left some Chuunins. Tsunade looked at the profiles and sighed - because of the even numbers of graduating students that would become current Chuunins, dhe had to shuffle around people, much to everyone's dismay. She had Haruno Sakura (her great medical ninja student), Ino Yamanaka, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Rock Lee, and Tenten. Each of them was great, but she could not quite pick three ideal combinations. Should she call for help from Suna? No, they too were recuperating from the damages. 

Eventually, she settled for Yamanaka, Haruno and Lee and sent out their summons. She then re-read at the letter from the fox sanctum. The lead priest passed away, and Naruto had to come back because of that, so an escort was requested. The grandson graciously attached a seal - a strange one, nothing like shinobi's - that allowed people to immediately teleport to the vicinity of the Madogakure. The sacntum was a protected area, so Jiraiya would have to figure out the rest. Thankfully, JIraiya has become more productive (that is, not gawking at naked women), so she had a full trust on that man. Quite frankly, she was excited to see this brat of Kushina and Minato. Sandaime privately debriefed her on Naruto's unfortunate conditions and even more unfortunate "unique power" that required him to be sent away under the false pretense of training with Jiraiya. She wondered if Namikaze line had an unknown kekkei genkai that even Minato didn't know himself. 

I hope Jiraiya doesn't make an ass out of himself in front of the kid. 

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The sanctum  

It took a lot of patience and convincing of skeptical villagers, but Jiraiya finally arrived at the sanctum. 

Jiraiya couldn't help marveling at the Sanctum's gate. He could sense an unusual flow of refreshing energy harmoniously weaving around the area. The gate was a giant red, imposing tori-i with a thick black shimenawa, which was odd because shimenawa was never dyed in colors. Then, Jiraiya saw a young man with a small backpack, leaning against a cherry blossom tree nearby. 

Is that really Minato's son? 

Jiraiya had asked the late Sandaime about Naruto.  He had golden hair and blue eyes like Minato, but the eye shapes were like Kushina's. He was a dead last boy who tried his darndest and used to be an exuberant child until he started seeing... those. Jiraiya was not a superstitious man, so he didn't think much about paranormal things or the afterlife. He however had felt or seen odd, eerie things that he could not explain from time to time.  If a so-called legendary shinobi like him was uncomfortable with ghosts, he could only imagine just how worse it must have been for a child.  

"Hey, are you Uzumaki Naruto?" Jiraiya approached Naruto, who raised his eyebrows. "Hm, you look more like a girl than a boy."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, dumbfounded by the rude comment. "Excuse me, is that how you talk to a stranger?" 

"Are you? I mean, are you Naruto?"

"....Yes." 

"Wow," Jiraiya took a good look at Naruto.  At the first glance, the young man in front of him exuded in an elegance and mysterious energy. His long, straight blond hair was tied with a white ribbon neatly, letting his one long ponytail reach his waist. He wore a black head band and obsidian iikan-Shozoku adorned with a puff on his chest and a pitch black butterfly brooch, but with less dressy sleeves and knee level hakama. Around his waist was an onyx fan and book (was it a religious scripture?). The robe's shoulder was cut open, revealing his slim yet firm shoulder, indicating that he wasn't all nerd. . He resembled his parents, just like Sandaime said. However, a wistful look marred his face, notably lacking the cheerfulness from his parents. And what is that furry worm around his neck? 

"Well, you never met me even though the leaf village thinks I am training you. My name is Jiraiya." he raised his thumb and posed dramatically like a typical Kabuki actor, "the legendary sage and an author of Icha Icha paradise!i"   

"What? You wrote those filthy books?" Naruto snorted. " I saw a few kids reading them last month. They are unsavory wastes of papers. " 

"Hey,  a love story with intimacy is accessible to anyone!" Jiraiya yelled defensively and jeered. "You are a prude, I see." 

"I grew up with other priests and monks, what do you expect?" 

"So, you are not curious about...like, women? ...or guys?" 

"...." Naruto scrunched his nose in disgust. Just what the hell is wrong with this old pervert? "Are you going to escort me or what?!" Naruto snapped, irritated as hell. 

"Alright, alright." Jiraiya waved his hands in defeat. "Man, can't even ask questions. Ok, so it takes about one week or if lucky, five days to arrive at Leaf village. I am not exactly loaded, so we will have to sleep in the woods, got it?" 

"I may not have grown up with luxuries, but I certainly am not a vagrant either. My fox will get us to villages faster than you can." Naruto smirked. "Kingetsu, do your thing."

The cute fuzzy worm thing suddenly shot out of Naruto's robe and engulfed itself into a golden blaze. A big, nine tailed golden fox with a slim face and blue markings manifested before them. The fox rubbed its face on Naruto affectionately. 

"What is this?!" Jiraiya was astounded. 

"A pipe fox spirit. It was a gift from...someone, " Naruto's face blushed very briefly. "We could get there in three days, or two days if Kingetsu is ok with it?" 

The pipe fox rubbed its head onto Naruto's again, as if signaling it was not a problem. 

"Alright then, hop on." Naruto hitched on its back. Jiraiya skeptically looked at Naruto but conceded eventually.

"Hold on to him tightly. Give me the directions." 

"We should go...southeast," Jiraiya said as he read his map. 

"Okay. Kingetsu!" 

The fox soared to the sky in a second, and JIraiya yelped when the fox soared to the sky unexpctedly fast. . Naruto snickered. "Don't fall." . 

When Jiraiya and Naruto returned to the village in the evening, everyone panicked at the sight of a giant fox with nine tails in the sky, screaming that the beast had returned. It was only thanks to more keen-sighted senior shinobis that saw it was not the same fox and calmed down the manic villagers and young shinobis.  The fox gracefully landed in front of Hokage tower and reverted to its adorable form. 

"Thank you very much, Kingetsu. Let's get you agedashi later, " Naruto petted Kingetsu with his index finger, and Kingetus squealed happily. "Lead the way, Sannin-sama." 

Jiraiya brushed off the obvious, sarcastic tone in the honorific. He was still awed by the fox's ability to fly them back to the village in two days and was even tad bit jealous of Naruto for having such a majestic animal as a familiar. Actually, he started to wonder if Naruto, too, made a contract with sentient creatures like Jiraiya or Tsunade did. He was not really sure what to make of the boy because the last two days taught him very little about Naruto. He was polite yet terse and guarded and spoke very little about his time in the Fox Sactum. It was clear that he did not want to come back. When they made it to the Hokage office, Tsunade was talking to a pink haired girl, a girl with pale blond hair, and a guy with a very...unique green training spandex about some missions. Tsunade first saw Jiraiya and was about to give him a usual playful insult until she saw Naruto. 

"Jiraiya, I told you to go fetch me Naruto, not a..." Tsunade didn't really how to describe it, "...a model?" She didn't know what Naruto looked like. Though she saw an old photo of him, that was eight years ago. She imagined that he would be a just-about-right mix of Kushina and Minato, not this...heart-throbbing (what am I thinking?! Tsunade chided herself mentally.) bombshell.

"Hey, I did bring Naruto here. This is him!" Jiraiya grabbed Naruto by his shoulder and dragged him to Tsunade's desk, "see?" 

"That's Naruto?!" Ino exclaimed, skimming Naruto from the top to the bottom with shocked eyes. "My god, it's been what, eight years? You look...uh...cool!" 

"...." Sakura was at a loss of words. Last time she remembered him was when he was alone, looking around frantically as if trying to find a place to hide. She recalled her and Ino whispering to each other that he was acting like a freak on top of being a dunce. When he quietly left the academy, everyone briefly wondered where their class clown disappeared to, but eventually, they forgot about him. She remembered him as a bumbling attention seeker with absolutely no prospects, who, to her dismay, had a crush on her. What she was seeing now was a stark opposite: handsome, reserved teenager who possessed an air of intelligence and aloofness...somewhat like Sasuke. No, I should stop thinking of him, Sakura told herself. "Hi...Naruto. Wow, it's been a while. How are you?" 

Naruto looked at his childhood crush and curtly nodded. "Hi, Haruno-san." Sakura was taken aback by his formal greeting. He was almost like Sai without a constant, practiced smile. 

"Damn, Naruto. We should take you to Ichiraku or the barbecue place! Where have you been all these years? Are you really a model?" 

"Okay, enough all of you!" Tsunade commanded. "Sakura, Ino, Lee. As I was saying, we have a retrieval of Uchiha Sasuke as one of the current urgent matters. A source says that he defected from Orochimaru...though I wouldn't be surprised if Orochimaru took over his body and is impersonating as him. But it seems he gathered some other missing shinobis or ex-associates of Orochimaru to go after his brother, Uchiha Itachi."

Naruto arched his eyebrow at the names. Sasuke is not in the village? 

"I will give you a week of preparation for the mission. I cannot stress enough just how dangerous Itachi is, and Akatsuki as a whole. If you meet Akatsuki, try to minimize any sort of confrontations. Taking on both are too much right now. Understood?"

"Yes, Madam." The three chuunins answered in unison.

"Good, you are dismissed, And Naruto? I would like you to join me for lunch, if you are ok with it?"

"I will be delighted," Naruto smiled, though  his eyes weren't. He just wanted to get away from everyone but wasn't so socially inept to spurn others immediately.  

"Naruto kun!" Lee stood right in front of Naruto, almost startling him with his unique eyebrows and bowl cut hair. "Will you please join us for dinner with other shinobis? I think we should celebrate your return to your homeland!"

Homeland...Naruto thought bitterly. No, he didn't have a homeland. The one place that he actually wished to love denied his simple desire of having a place to call home. However, if he were to live here, he had to play nice with others. "Okay. Where should I meet you?"

"I assume you will unpack at your new residence, so I will get you there. Tsunade sama, where will Naruto stay?"

"In one of the villas near the downtown, here," Tsunade ripped two pieces of paper and wrote down the address, giving one each to Naruto and Lee. 

"Thank you, lady Hokage. See you later Naruto-kun!" Lee smiled brightly and left the office with Ino and Sakura. Naruto momentarily stared at the door. What a funny guy. 

"Well, I did my job. I will get going," Jiraiya disappeared in a smoke.  

"So, do you still like ramen in Ichiraku?" Tsunade asked. 

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Teuchi burst into tears and hugged Naruto tightly when he saw the young man enter the tent. At first, he didn't recognize Naruto, but when Tsunade re-introduced him, the old man was ecstatic and refused payments. 

"When you stopped coming, I thought you died or went missing...I asked Sandaime about your whereabouts, but all he told me was that you were under a special training. I can't believe you are here!" Teuchi wipes his tears. 

"I can't believe it either," Naruto sighed. "I wrote to Sandaime every 5-6 months and asked him to give you my regards. Didn't he do that?" 

"He did, but still!" Teuchi put out a dish of inarizushi. "Iruka sensei also missed you a lot. You should go visit him. What have you been up to so far?" 

"Jiraiya trained him as a special -nin," Tsunade quickly interjected before Naruto could say anything. "Naruto has some medical conditions that didn't allow him to train under standard curricula, so late Sandaime had to take different measures." 

"I am glad your business is still brimming with customers."  Even in their deaths. Naruto glanced at four spirits sitting on the stools next to him, muttering incoherently. Naruto assumed that for some reasons, they couldn't pass on to the afterlife but didn't exactly know what unfinished businesses they had, so they most likely came to one of places that they must have frequented in their lives. One of them was muttering, "Shoyu...with extra onions...less broth..." 

Should I exorcise them later? 

"I mean it's just you and lady Hokage." Teuchi laughed, unaware of Naruto's implication.  "Oh, I need to do something really quick. Be back soon!" He then retreated to the kitchen.

"I actually asked him to give us some privacy. I paid him like ten ramen prices because you know, otherwise I'd be costing his business." Tsunade said, one shotting her sake. "So, I should introduce myself properly. Name's Senju Tsunade. I am a grand daughter of the first Hokage, Senju Hashirama. After he passed away, I was traveling outside the village until a little than a year ago, Jiraiya tracked me down and begged me to take over the Hokage position...Sarutobi-sensei was counting his days, and he apparently thought I was an ideal fit. I don't know what he saw in me. So, I came back. It was funny because Jiraiya swore that he'd quit his writing his gross novels, and he has kept his promise so far."

"You call him sensei. Did he actually..."

"Yes, he taught me, Jiraiya and...Orochimaru," Tsunade's face darkened briefly, "When I came back, he filled me in about you. That you..., " Tsunade paused. Then she whispered, "..could see spirits?" 

"I call them mosquitoes sometimes," Naruto nodded. He glanced his side again, noting that one spirit was gone. It didn't matter if they knew that Naruto could see them because he could kick their asses to the hell, drag them back to the living world, and kick their asses back to the Hell again. However, he didn't Tsunade to get spooked. 

"Could you explain how it happened?" 

"I wish I knew, too. Mahito-san seemed to know something, but he never told me the details whenever I asked," Naruto sighed. "It just happened one day without warnings. I thought I'd lose my mind if this continued because I thought people will hate me even more. I owe Iruka-sensei for believing me and asking Sandaime for help." 

"So, Sarutobi-sensei arranged you to be trained in the Fox Sanctum." 

"Mhm," Naruto swirled his ramen but did not eat any. "He also told me that my chakra circulation was damaged so bad that I could never be a shinobi, so he wanted Mahito-san to master my power. Living at the sanctum wasn't exactly a paradise either because people there called me a demon, too. Apparently, I was too good. But at least no one disrespected me in my face. All I did was study and train about spiritual stuff," Naruto left out bits about how a demon gold fox chose him. He wasn't sure how Tsunade would react and what she'd do to him, so he wanted to be on the safe side than sorry. 

"So that's there. I haven't kept up with the leaf village. Could you fill me in?" 

Tsunade started to talk as if a dam had broken. 
______________________________

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When Tsunade and Naruto parted ways, it was already 6:45PM, close to when Lee was supposed to pick him up. He opened the apartment door with the key that Tsunade gave him. The apartment was small but well maintained, the window view showing the Hokage monuments.  He recalled climbing up there and leaving bunch of graffities there. What would he be doing if he hadn't gone to Madogakure? And thank the Lady Inari, no wandering spirits skulking around. He hated how some spirits sometimes had followed him to his old apartment and whispered all the horrible things, preventing him from sleeping. Now, he knew that they wanted him to commit suicide, so he'd be one of them. 

He unloaded his backpack and put a few talismans around his house to fend off malevolent entities. In retrospect, the evil spirits that he saw in Leaf Village were mere pests at worst, so simple wards would do.  The pipe fox snuck into the backpack and nibbled some lefover snacks happily, and Naruto smiled at him. He earned his snacks (such a good boy). Kingetseu then started to roam the apartment like a cat in a new home while Naruto was changing his clothes. He put his Ikan-shozoku into a washing machine and put on more casual outfits.  They comprised black shirt with chains going through the collar, red ties, and a pair of grey shorts. Kimihiro bought them on his sixteenth birthday, and he cherished them dearly. He picked up a small cushion from his bed for Kingetsu to sleep on while he was out. 

He sat down with a piece of paper and a pen and started to summarize what Tsunade told him:

- Uchiha Itachi killed all but Sasuke barely a month after Naruto left. 

- Sasuke is currently a missing nin, conspired with Orochimaru but left him at some point. 

- Itachi is an Akatsuki member. 

- Orochimaru, one of lengendary sage ninjas, killed Kazekage and impersonated as one, and attacked leaf village during the third chuunin exam four years after Naruto left. Sandaime stopped him but sustained serious damages, which prompted him to seek out Tsunade. 

- She succeeded the position about a year ago when Sandaime passed away. The village was financially struggling but it was getting better. 

-  Everyone I knew are Chuunins...Kiba, Sakura, Hinata, Choji...well, Shikamaru was a Jonin.  

- Maybe visit Uchiha district to see what happened? (Hope there aren't too many wandering ghosts....) 

- He should not follow anyone from The Roots, including their head, Shimura Danzo, and other council members Utanane Koharu and Midokado Homura!!  

Naruto pursed his lips. A lot of tragedies happened after he left, and it must have been difficult for Sandaime to deal with all these misfortunes. Naruto could only know how many souls must have been wandering around even more since he left. He at least hoped that Sandaime passed on peacefully.

"I should visit his grave tomorrow maybe." 

Knock Knock 

"Naruto kun!" A bright voice called. "This is Rock Lee! Are you ready?" 

Naruto grumbled. He already regretted his decision earlier to join the dinner. It was out of politeness that he agreed to join the others, but he was already tired from talking with lady Tsunade for hours and digesting all this information. Hopefully, he could find excuses to leave early. "Yes, I will get going!" 

Naruto petted Kingetsu. "Be good while I am gone, ok? I will be back soon." Kingetsu moaned, but didn't fuzz thankfully. He put on his sneakers and opened the door. He grimaced that Rock was still wearing that horrible spandex. 

Lee, oblivious as usual, beamed. "Naruto-kun! Are you ready for the best barbecue in the village? Everyone is excited to see you!" 

"That's very kind of them," said Naruto.  Lee glanced at Naruto's clothes. "What are those? They are very stylish". 

"Oh, this is my casual outfit. I kept it as my memory of my hometown," said Naruto wistfully. 

"Your hometown..." Lee's voice trailed off briefly. "I am sure that you will find something to love about the leaf village eventually! When one door closes, another opens! That's the power of youth!" 

Naruto didn't understand how exactly that had to do with the power of youth but didn't question him. They walked into the busy shopping district, and it seemed that people didn't recognize Naruto. A few souls were wandering around, as if partaking in activities that they had done like shopping or eating. He should find a way to help them move on eventually. Soon, Lee and Naruto arrived at Yakiniku-Q. where nine shinobis were waiting for them. 

"Everyone!" Lee loudly announced, "This is -" 

"Wait Lee, maybe....just quiet down a bit?" Naruto glanced around. Thanks to lee's loud entrance, all the customers were looking at them. "I am sorry, everyone. Please carry on with your meals. My friend here is just too excited," Naruto calmly apologized, and fortunately the customers shrugged and resumed their dinners. 

"Sorry, Naruto-kun." Lee whispered. 

"I...yeah, let's just be more mindful." Naruto sat down next to a girl with white pupils and across a guy with a pineapple hair. "Been while everyone." 

Silence. 

"Man, I didn't think you would be back" said Shikamaru to break the stillness. "Fuck, Ino wasn't kidding." 

"What?" 

"He's a total hottie!" A girl with bun hairs said. Naruto blushed. "Name is Tenten. I am in team 8 with Maito Gai sensei, Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee. I am a weapons master."

"I don't remember you in the academy. Are you older than me?" 

"Yes! Gai-sensei held us back one year because he thought we should be overtrained so that we could survive the chuunin-exam. Well, Lee and I failed the first attempt, but we passed last year! And Neji here is a Jonin. Shikamaru too!" 

"Jonin already, so on the same level as uh, Hatake san? and other team leaders?" Naruto asked. Neji nodded, his eyes scrutinizing Naruto carefully. Naruto could feel some kind of alertness from him, but why?

"So, Naruto, what were you up to all these years? you just left the village without telling anyone, but now you show up looking like a hot shot celebrity." Shikamaru asked as he offered beer. Naruto shook his head. 

"Mm, mm, Iruka sensei didn't say anything when we asked." Choji munched five pieces of meat. "You look good, by the way." 

"Thanks." 

"No, I mean last time we saw you...you looked sickly." Choji said with concerns. "Like, you were running from something." 

"You know, Sarutobi-sensei told me that you have to keep up the charade of 'training with Jiraiya' as long as you can. You will have to figure out how to mask your powers as ninjutsu or genjutsus." 

"How on earth should I do that? I don't even know the basic hand seals." 

"I know, kid, but there are people who can use ninjustus without handseals. So, I am going to have Kakashi tutor you privately. If someone asks, tell them you just want to review some stuff. Hyuuga and Aburames might notice something is fishy....but just keep lying until I come up with a better solution. Use your brain, say you were in a monastry or something." 

Naruto recalled a conversation with Tsunade earlier and was frustrated at seemingly pointless deception. So what if he told others that he was a spiritualist? Why is that bad thing? Plus, he was not a good liar. "I was training with Jiraiya-sama. My chakra system is...defective, so defective that the hospital here couldn't fix it. He apparently knew some sages that could help me learn some ninjutsus and genjutsuts with my current medical condition. Even then, I think I am still not on you guys' levels." 

"Wow. So, you can't even walk on water?" Choji asked.

"...No." 

"That's fine, Naruto. Look at Lee, he can't use Ninjustu or even Genjutsu but he is the best, only second to Guy-sensei when it comes to Taijutsu." 

"I-I wouldn't call myself the best," Lee said humbly, but his mouth was smiling so widely. 

"So you don't have any official ranks? Are you going to take exams?" 

"I..I am not sure," Naruto scrambled for excuses. He really was not good at lying spontaneously. Think Naruto, think! 

Seeing Naruto was flustered with questions, Shikamaru came to his rescue, "Hey, leave the guy alone. Naruto, you don't look good. You don't have to stay if you are not feeling well." 

"Uhm, I am fine, really." 

"I will take you home, Naruto-kun." 

Shino, who didn't speak a word the whole time, made an offer, much to everyone's surprise. "I actually remembered that I had an errand for my father, so I was going to ask to leave early anyway. Where is your apartment?" 

"Really? I don't want to bother you." 

"I insist." 

"Yo, you are unusually enthusiastic, Shino. What's up?" Kiba tilted his head. 

"Just helping out a fellow shinobi. Surely, he must be tired from traveling such distances," Shino placed some bills on the table for his share of yakiniku. "I will see you all tomorrow, everyone. Have a good night." 

They murmured farewells awkwardly, seeing one of the quietest shinobi and a somewhat-new-but-not-really guy leaving in less than 10 minutes leave together. Naruto was relieved that he could get away from the questions and silently thanked uhm....who? Naruto and Shino kept walking to his apartment's directions without any conversations. 

"Ok, just one more turn and I will be fine. Thank you. By the way, your name was-"

"Aburame Shino." The boy spoke tersely. "Have a good night, Naruto-kun." 

Naruto waved his hands and retreated. Unbeknownst to him, a few small beetles that were on Naruto's back flew back to Shino's sleeves. Shino showed a very rare, curious smirk. "Shinobi, huh? I wonder what Neji would think of this." 

"My thousand apologies, your eminence," Naruto bowed, "a contract between my master and my home village, which where we are right now, ordered that I leave once my master passes. I arrived at Leaf village just today and tried to accommodate a shrine for you as soon as possible."

The Demon Fox inhaled deeply, " I perceive the demise of many souls. I savor a whisper of ancient might. Thou hast chosen well." 

"I am delighted that you find this place acceptable," Naruto gulped. Of course, the fox god was not called Demon Fox for no reason - it relished in power (but what ancient might would it be?), chaos and brutality. He was relieved by the Demon Fox's satisfaction. "We are in a shrine...I do not know what it is called, but it is located in a district that once belonged to a famous shinobi clan called, Uchiha clan. No one lives here any longer, for they all have been slain." 

"Dost thou desire to know the bygone days?" 

"I am curious because the circumstance just does not make sense, but it is not an urgent matter, my lord." Naruto shook his head. "Is there anything that you wish me to do?" 

"First, dispel the vermin." 

One of the voluminous, gold tails lashed out at a speed that Naruto could not even follow. The tail broke through the door and extended beyond the ranges Naruto could see. The tail retracted as fast as it dispatched, but someone was tightly wrapped with it. "Shino?!" 

"This pest seems to hast followed thou," the Demon Fox growled, dangling the insect shinobi right in front of its bloody red eyes. "What business doth thou hast with mine subject? didst thou regard thy bugs could 'scape mine senses? " 

"What the hell, Shino? Did you put bugs on me?" Naruto, realizing what the Demon Fox insinuated, angrily pointed his finger at Shino. "Why?" 

"My-my bugs were attracted to your strange energy, and I was simply curious about your power," Shino gasped for air as the tail constricted him more. "You are not - gasp -  a real shinobi, are you? This is not like a normal chakra." 

"So you just spy on me? Did you skulk around my apartment the whole time I was there?" Naruto scrunched his face in disgust. It crept him out to no end that somebody was watching, no, feeling him in distance. Not even a whole day passed since he came here, damn it! 

"No, I-I just saw you sneaking around -" 

"Thou are lying."  The tail tightened its grip on Shino. Shino now started to cough blood. 

"I placed a few bugs around your apartment to keep an eye on you. You are not a shinobi, are you, Naruto? No one can possibly summon this-this thing, arghh-" Shino let out an agonizing cry. "I am sorry, Naruto, I meant no harm. My curiosity got the best of me." 

"My liege," said Naruto, "if he dies, there is no doubt that I will be a prime suspect. Please, I implore you to spare him." 

The Demon Fox finally loosened its iron grip on Shino, who fell on the floor harshly and coughed for good two minutes. Naruto hunched over him and looked into Shino's glasses. "So, I think we have come to understand that this stays between us. I don't want anyone to die because someone was snooping around my business." 

Shino nodded, trembling. 

"Anyone else I should watch out for?" 

"Neji already suspects that you lied about this special shinobi training," said Shino. "But unlike me, he wouldn't pry much unless he sees you as a threat, which he seems to I believe." 

"Why, because my chakra is different? What's the big deal?" Naruto huffed. "I can't seem to catch a break. Everywhere I go, people think I am a monster or a freak." 

"Naruto, I...," Shino glanced at the Demon Fox, who passive observed the conversation.

"What?" 

"Nothing," Shino shook his head. "Never mind. You are right. Your chakra is just a bit different, that is all." 

".....okay?" Naruto cocked his head, unconvinced by Shino's reluctant response. "My liege, what shall I do with him?" 

"To pay for this perfidy, he shall bear mine beshrew." 

The Demon Fox plunged its razor sharp claws into Shino, to Naruto's shock. Shino screamed in pain and thrashed his body, but the fox held him in place effortlessly. There was no blood, but Naruto winced regardless at just how gigantic those claws were, and how agonizing the pain must be. A black and red energy penetrated through Shino's body, and the Demon Fox withdrew its claws. 

"Mere any words about this, thy bugs shall consume thy flesh and bones.  Doth thou accept?"

When Shino couldn't answer but sobbed instead, the fox unleashed its claws again. "Doth thou accept?" 

"I do! I do!" Shino frantically obeyed. The Demon Fox maliciously grinned from ears to ears.

"Then, till the upcoming full moon, mine loyal subject.  I shall expect largess."   

With that, the Demon Fox and the two familiars - who had been quiet this whole time - dissipated into winds. 

Well, at least I got a shrine now, Naruto thought as he tried to find positives today. He then looked at the shinobi who barely managed to stand up again. "No hard feelings, Shino.  I have my reasons to keep this secret. I hope you understand that." 

Though he could not see through the glasses, he could feel Shino's glares at him.