The contract bridge

Chapter 1- Decision

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'' You got ta motion faster kid ! '' Jiraiya barked as he sidestepped Naruto 's clenched fist and delivered a vicious slap to the boy 's skull. `` And do n't just throw yourself into your attacks, call your opponent 's moves and ALWAYS be prepared to react accordingly ! Have n't you learned anything over the preceding two days ? ``

zilch I could n't bear learned back home.

Naruto shook his head teacher, physically trying to reposition the snarky thought as he tried to think up a way to defeat his mentor. He took too long though, and Jiraiya capitalized brutally with a clenched fist almost shearing through his venter in retaliation.

'' Never drop your guard ! ``

The blond gritted his dentition, biting back the pain as he grabbed on to the offending fist with one helping hand and slammed similitude retaliatory reverse to his mentor 's snarky mug.

It dissolved into mud beneath him.

His eyes widened by a whisker and he immediately replaced himself with a tree branch.

A second later, the branch was skewered by a thousand muddy needles.

'Fuck it !'Naruto swore as he imediately began to creep through the underwood .'I need to get my head in the plot !'

No offence, man, but is there really a point ? I mean, you 're here getting beat up by one man. A Sannin, granted, but just ONE man. Sasuke 's getting his ass in gear with the resource of an total Greenwich Village. A pocket-size one, admittedly, but they 've got their own Sannin and a champion to boot. Not to mention ol'Four-Eyed Kabuto with his insane skill and, if the Sound Four and the freaky pearl guy are any indication, a whole police squad of jonin level shinobi. The Perv 's grooming you like you 're going up against a undivided enemy while the guy who will be going up against a individual foeman 's getting prepped for an all out war.

'You're…'Naruto snapped out of his almost trance-like state with a fierce jerk. Realizing how close he had come to agreeing withthe voice in his school principal, the blond clamped down on all thoughts and focused on taking his mentor down with a vengeance…

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'' seed on boy ! '' Jiraiya whined, chasing after a briskly walking Naruto on his human knee. `` I need the Johnny Cash ! ``

'' To chase some street girl, no doubt. '' Naruto scoffed as he marched away.

Jiraiya 's verbalism, though, had gone from pleading to disturbingly perverse. `` Oh~ kid you had to have seen her ! That was n't just some floozie, she was an rank sister ! mamilla as big as my head word and an ass you could bounce a coin off ! And her peg ! ``

THIS is what I 'm training with ? The perverted retard of the Sannin ? So, Sasuke 's getting trained by the star of the Sannin, a lead contender for the Big Hat alongside the Yellow Flash and the guy that ended the Old Man 's prima life and we 're getting trained by the Perverted Sannin. Wonderful. No, fuck sarcasm ! Even Sakura had a substantially hand. At least her Sannin wo n't bug her for cash so she could go turn back out strippers and shit. I mean for the love of- Orochimaru 's a bed virtuoso ! He 's on a alike tier to the fucking Fourth Hokage ! He 's a verified sword maestro. He knows more ninjitsu proficiency than most shinobi ever get to even witness ! Sasuke, the angst ridden gay emo gets THAT guy and you 're stuck with the guy who 's biggest call to fame is that he trained the quarter ? Is there anyway you could have come up with an even unfit deal ? !

'' Shut the fuck up and leave me alone ! '' Naruto roared angrily.

Jiraiya, who had been caught mid-rant when his prentice snapped, simply thought he might have pushed the bound and decided to head into the house of ill repute on his own. The ma'am of the house knew him well and, unlike his busty teammate, he had a reputation for maintaining minimal, if any, debts.

Had he bothered to dig deeper, he might have figured that something was off with his apprentice…

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'' So, Naruto, what 's the number 1 thing you wan na do when we get back to Konoha ? '' Jiraiya asked. Himself and his apprentice were relaxing in a meadow a few mi away from the Land of Bears, taking the day off to relax and unwind. `` Me, I 'm gon na hit up Tsunade first ; see if she 's finally come around to my manly charms. ``

'' The solitary thing manly about you is your pilus, Pervy Sage. '' Naruto shot back with a grin. `` And even that 's prospicient than near fair sex wear their hair. ``

'' Oi ! Do n't diss these locks you little brat ! ``

'' I 'll diss 'em when I want to old man ! '' The blond shot back playfully.

For the next few moments, zero came up until Jiraiya spoke again. `` I 'm still waiting for your solution kiddo. ``

To be honest, Naruto was n't quite a sure of what he wanted ; over the past few weeks, doubts and fears had set into his spunk and, no matter how hard he tried to snub them, they had burrowed in deep. He did, however, know what to say to his wise man. `` First things first, I wan na see Sakura-chan again ! She must make grown quite spate with Baa-chan training her ! I bet she 'll be really awed by how I 've grown too ! Might even get her to go out with me. ``

Where he lay, a few footstep away, Jiraiya winced. `` might not wan na get your hopes on that kiddo. ``

See ? Even your mentor does n't believe you stand a luck with the pinko haired board.

'' I mean, she 's always had her hopes strung up on the Uchiha right ? '' Jiraiya continued, not noticing the infringe look on his protege 's font. `` I know a issue of people might believe that that 's all a kid'aspiration but… feeling man, film it from someone in similar shoes… You really should get your warmheartedness off that train. Even the unit 'save the Uchiha'train… I think you should be prepared for the kid not wanting to get along back ; Orochimaru 's a skilled manipulator and if I know that bastard anywhere close to what I think I know, then he 'll sustain done his absolute best to release the Uchiha against you. ``

Naruto had n't heard a password of Jiraiya 's, his nous clouded by dark thought, until Jiraiya had talked about Orochimaru corrupting Sasuke beyond redemption.

It was the final button ; the emotions he had bottled up, from his lonely academy days right up to that bit, broke Forth River like a dam…

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When Naruto opened his eyes, he expected to find himself on a cot in one of Jiraiya 's many bunkers, wrapped up in bandages and feeling the tan of his chakra helix as they healed. His mother wit of timing was all messed up but the final stage few moments before slipping into unconsciousness were still unused in his mind…

The rage… the pain…

He remembered everything…

right wing up to the moment his ascendence had slipped and the red haze of his biju 's chakra blurred everything out of sight…

Guilt was n't a strong decent term for what he felt as he returned to consciousness.

All that cult turned into a bubbling pit of rage when he fully noticed his surroundings.

Red walls, huge organ pipe, a never ending rate of flow of water…

He was within his own mind, at the bridge between himself and the seal.

'' Kyubi. '' His voice was care steel as he pushed to his base and began storming down the cathedral-like hallway. Things were beginning to make sense now ; he had never been one to be bothered by shadow thought process, his childhood having taught him that the only way to stay on even slightly sane was to ignore all sorry thought, so the barrage of discouraging and disquieting enquiry he had been plagued by over the past duet of week just had to induce been caused by the Nine-Tailed Fox. It would also explicate why he had so readily been consumed by its power ; his actions had never truly been his own.

'' Blaming me for everything again ? ``

The thundering gold rush of the Kyubi snapped him out of his rage-filled fugue as he realized that he had arrived at the gates.

The jar barely lasted two seconds before being drowned out by rage.

'' Blaming you ? ! What, I should be thanking you ? ! You have been pouring your hate-filled trumpery into my pass, filling my every waking thought with your dogshit and then taking advantage of me to try to get free ! ``

'' funny story how you came to that conclusion. ``

Naruto stood back and crossed his weapon over his dresser. `` There 's a unlike end ? ``

The Fox resting on its haunches, cracked open a crimson eyelid. `` Are you interested ? Or was that just plain sarcasm ? ``

'' Oh no, let 's take heed your side of the story. '' Naruto shot back. `` I mean, I would n't want to pronounce you wrongly or anything. ``

'' Well then… First off, you said I 'd been filling your question with my 'hate-filled trash', congratulations on rightly using the tripe by the way, you 're getting just a bit less stupid. ``

'' Is there a distributor point to all this ? ``

'' Do n't interrupt, that 's rude. Anyway, I 'd like to ask : which of those 'mental assault'of mine was actually filled with hate ? ``

The blond immediately opened his mouth to fire off a snarky response…

And found himself gaping instead as he simply could n't think of a individual instance.

The Kyubi flashed its dentition at him in a macabre grinning. `` Nothing ? Well, let 's move on shall we ? channelize two : why exactly do you suppose I 've been the one doing the head-filling ? ``

This meter, Naruto was set up and he immediately spouted a number of cause related to him not having such fears ordinarily.

'' You done ? '' The Kyubi asked after his impassioned reaction. Upon receiving the blonde 's nod, the biju proceeded to laugh its ass off, even thrashing about in hilarity-induced spasms for full measure. `` Oh damn kid ! You are screaming ! You really think I could simply take the air through your mind and suss out your deepest, glowering fears to falsify you ? Abruptly, the biju 's feature of speech became fierce. `` Newsflash you nitwit : this seal prohibits even a unmarried hairsbreadth on my tail from slipping out ! I sure as hellhole ca n't go zipping through your cranium. And do n't even get me started on that stupid idea that I 'd spend my time watching you do homo thing ; I could n't care less about your puny existence either way ! ``

'' Says the creature that 's recorded as a pile of hate ! ``

'' By whose records ? Humans ? The same mass that see you as my spawn ? The same species that hate you indiscriminately even though they created the means to create Sir Thomas More jinchuriki in the first of all stead ? '' The biju 's scathing response was like a malleus strike to his already weakened belief, a fact that the biju saw and mercilessly pounced upon. `` I did n't charge those sentiment to you, boy, they were born of your own thoughts. '' This time, the biju 's articulation was low and almost soothing. `` And I think you know why such view cloud your brain. ``

Naruto turned away from the John Cage and took a step forward… before going still.

He did know ; for the recollective fourth dimension he had suspected as much but he had consciously shoved it down and piled on tons of fictive optimism to sink it.

He was n't potent enough.

Whether he liked it or not, he just was n't unassailable enough on his own to come across his end. He had been cheated in the Academy, yes, but he had been out for more than four years, a great lot of which had been spent with Jiraiya, and he could see no significant changes.

He wanted to be the Hokage, he wanted to gain the respect of the people… he wanted to fulfill his promise to Sakura and bring Sasuke back.

And he just. Was n't. Strong. Enough.

tail him, the biju watched as he struggled to pull in a determination with a fulfil smirk. True to its discussion, it had not sent the thoughts to the young shinobi. That did n't mean it was totally inexperienced person either ; a gradual diversion of its chakra into the boy 's yin chakra had been all that was required for his repressed thought to resurface and de-escalate that resolve he was so proud of. Now, as the biju watched, reading into every subtlety of his consistence language, it knew it had succeeded.

The sentence to reap the benefit was near ; the final footfall was…

'' So why are you telling me now ? ``

The biju 's smirk turned barbarian. The boy wanted to know ; the interest was there.

'' In my clock time here, I have come to understand what ability means to you humans, '' it lied, `` and as such I am willing to contract a contract with you. ``

The human being scowled. `` A few hours ago, I 'd have ranted about you wanting my somebody or seeking an safety valve but now… contingent. I want details. ``

The biju chuckled, the sound booming out in waves that rattled his teeth. Nevertheless, Naruto stood, glaring at the biju ; awaiting answers.

'' Perhaps your time with the old man was n't a complete waste ; you certainly seem Sir Thomas More intelligent. '' Abruptly, the wit disappeared from the biju 's countenance and the creature rose up, resting on its hind legs. `` You humankind see us as walking peck of chakra, an thought that never ceases to baffle me. After all, if we walked around wreaking havoc everywhere then your story should ingest been significantly altered by our actions.

'' In my time walking among your kind, I learned a great deal ; fighting styles, meditation technique and forms of chakra manipulation that have long since been lost to the ravages of sentence. It is these I offer you ; the power to command the rattling element, to become an unstoppable military force on the battlefield… Everything I know, I freely give.

'' However, I understand how impatient your variety are, no dubiousness as a result of your short life-time, and so I offer you something Sir Thomas More : balance. ``

'' I do n't understand. ``

'' I did not expect you to. You see, at its root, chakra is of two build : Yin chakra and Yang chakra. You possess an overabundance of the latter yet very slight, comparatively speaking, of the former. It is this instability that has limited your onward motion in the illusory arts. I can fix this. ``

If nix else had caught his aid, the biju knew that this certainly would.

Once again, it was n't wrong.

'' How ? ``

'' I will, with your permission, channel a minute fraction of my chakra through you. Without going into specific, it will forcibly stand out start the macrocosm of Yin chakra within your coils and, over a period of about five twenty-four hours, your chakra circulatory system of rules will gradually attain an equipoise state of matter, generating an equal amount of Yin chakra as it does Yang chakra. ``

Naruto 's face went slack as he considered the sheer logical implication of that singular benefit. `` My chakra reserves… they'll… ''

'' Double ? '' The biju prompted. `` At the very to the lowest degree. ``

The offer seemed too beneficial to be true ; learning ancient styles of combat, gaining the ability to use genjutsu, an increased chakra capacity ? Naruto wanted to contain it. Practically every mastermind cell he had screamed at him to ump on the offer.

Then, his eyes narrowed. `` At what cost ? ``

An offer that was so savory had to contain a cost.

The biju glared at him, seemingly sizing him up yet again, before public speaking. `` An crack as this should bear a great number of essential, boy, but I will only ask of two things from you ; the first gear and the heavy is trust. '' The biju leaned forward until its snoot was a mere inches away, separated by the barroom that held it locked away. `` I will not tellyou what the irregular cost is until you have signed my contract. ``

Naruto was torn.

On one helping hand, he would very likely be selling his soul over to a monster because, regardless of what the biju would have him think, indoctrinated impression did n't die out over a mere chat.

On the early, lots weighty, hand, he would be granted the form of power that he had always desired ; the kind of power that would facilitate him achieve his goals.

'I 'm going to be the Hokage someday, Iruka-sensei ! Believe it !'

'I 'll get Sasuke back for you, Sakura-chan ! That 's a promise of a lifetime !'

'I never go back on my dustup ! That 's my ninja way ! Believe it !'

A Isaac Mayer Wise man once said :'A man is undo by the words of his own lip .'

'' What do I do ? ``

That man was right.

'' Step into the Cage, boy, and concord out your arm to your side of meat. ``

This was it.

It was one matter to fit in to a thing but, when confronted with the enormity of their decision, many wavered and almost stake down.

They were not Uzumaki Naruto.

With a confident stride that betrayed none of his apprehension, the shinobi stepped out of his realm and into the ogre 's lair.

The biju reared upward, sucking in a deep breath, its eyes never leaving his.

Do n't move, it seemed to say, just before it lurched forward, the dull orangeness glow in the back of its throat the lone warning Naruto had before being engulfed in flame .