The contract

Chapter 1- decision

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'' You got ta move faster kid ! '' Jiraiya barked as he sidestepped Naruto 's fist and delivered a vicious smack to the boy 's skull. `` And do n't just throw yourself into your flack, anticipate your opposite 's moves and ALWAYS be prepared to react accordingly ! Have n't you learned anything over the preceding two years ? ``

goose egg I could n't have learned back home.

Naruto shook his read/write head, physically trying to reposition the snarky thought as he tried to call up up a way to defeat his wise man. He took too long though, and Jiraiya capitalized brutally with a clenched fist almost shearing through his stomach in retaliation.

'' Never drop your sentry duty ! ``

The blond gritted his dentition, biting back the pain in the neck as he grabbed on to the offending fist with one hand and slammed twin retaliatory blows to his wise man 's snarky mug.

It dissolved into mud beneath him.

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

A import later, the branch was skewered by a G muddy needles.

'Fuck it !'Naruto swore as he imediately began to creep through the underbrush .'I need to get my fountainhead in the game !'

No criminal offense, 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 power train with the resources of an entire village. A minor one, admittedly, but they 've got their own Sannin and a virtuoso to iron heel. Not to mention ol'Four-Eyed Kabuto with his insane skills and, if the Sound Four and the eccentric bone guy are any indication, a unscathed squad of jonin level shinobi. The Perv 's training you like you 're going up against a individual enemy while the guy who will be going up against a single opposition 's getting prepped for an all out war.

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

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'' Come on boy ! '' Jiraiya whined, chasing after a briskly walk Naruto on his knees. `` I need the cash ! ``

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

Jiraiya 's look, though, had gone from pleading to disturbingly perverse. `` Oh~ kid you had to have seen her ! That was n't just some Richard Hooker, she was an absolute BABE ! Tits as big as my head and an ass you could jounce a coin off ! And her legs ! ``

THIS is what I 'm training with ? The distorted idiot of the Sannin ? So, Sasuke 's getting trained by the wizard of the Sannin, a maneuver rival for the Big Hat alongside the yellow fanfare and the guy that ended the Old Man 's astral life and we 're getting trained by the Perverted Sannin. Wonderful. No, fuck sarcasm ! Even Sakura had a better deal. At to the lowest degree her Sannin wo n't bug her for cash so she could go check out stripteaser and asshole. I mean for the sexual love of- Orochimaru 's a fucking adept ! He 's on a similar level to the fucking fourth part Hokage ! He 's a affirm sword superior. He knows more ninjutsu technique than most shinobi ever get to even see ! Sasuke, the angst ridden gay emo gets THAT guy and you 're stuck with the guy who 's biggest claim to fame is that he trained the Fourth ? Is there anyway you could deliver come up with an even worse stack ? !

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

Jiraiya, who had been caught mid-rant when his learner snapped, simply thought he might have pushed the limitation and decided to head into the brothel on his own. The madam 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 world-class thing you wan na do when we get back to Konoha ? '' Jiraiya asked. Himself and his apprentice were relaxing in a meadow a few geographical mile away from the soil of Bears, taking the day off to slack and unwind. `` Me, I 'm gon na hit up Tsunade first ; see if she 's finally come around to my manly charms. ``

'' The solely thing manly about you is your fuzz, Pervy sage. '' Naruto shot back with a grin. `` And even that 's longer than most women wear their hair. ``

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

'' I 'll insult 'em when I want to old man ! '' The blonde shot back playfully.

For the next few moments, nothing came up until Jiraiya spoke again. `` I 'm still waiting for your answer kiddo. ``

To be honest, Naruto was n't quite indisputable of what he wanted ; over the yesteryear few weeks, dubiousness and care had set into his heart and, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them, they had burrowed in cryptic. He did, however, know what to say to his mentor. `` First thing first, I wan na see Sakura-chan again ! She must have grown quite stack 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 paces away, Jiraiya winced. `` Might not wan na get your hopes on that kiddo. ``

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

'' I mean, she 's always had her promise strung up on the Uchiha right ? '' Jiraiya continued, not noticing the conflicted look on his protege 's face. `` I know a telephone number of hoi polloi might think that that 's all a kids'dream but… flavour man, take it from someone in similar shoes… You really should get your fondness off that train. Even the whole 'save the Uchiha'train… I think you should be prepared for the kid not wanting to come back ; Orochimaru 's a skilled manipulator and if I know that cocksucker anywhere close to what I think I know, then he 'll have done his absolute best to change by reversal the Uchiha against you. ``

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

It was the final push ; the emotions he had bottled up, from his lonesome academy years right up to that moment, broke Forth like a dam…

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When Naruto opened his centre, he expected to find himself on a cot in one of Jiraiya 's many bunkers, wrapped up in patch and feeling the burning of his chakra coils as they healed. His sensation of timing was all messed up but the last few moments before slipping into unconsciousness were still fresh in his mind…

The rage… the pain…

He remembered everything…

Right up to the here and now his ascendancy had slipped and the red haze of his biju 's chakra blurred everything out of sight…

Guilt was n't a strong adequate terminal figure for what he felt as he returned to consciousness.

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

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

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

'' Kyubi. '' His articulation was ilk steel as he pushed to his feet and began storming down the cathedral-like hallway. Things were beginning to make up good sense now ; he had never been one to be bothered by morose intellection, his childhood having taught him that the entirely way to persist even slightly sane was to ignore all dark-skinned intellection, so the bombardment of discouraging and disquieting interrogative he had been plagued by over the past duo of weeks just had to take been caused by the Nine-Tailed Fox. It would also explain why he had so readily been consumed by its tycoon ; his actions had never truly been his own.

'' Blaming me for everything again ? ``

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

The blow 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 tripe into my head, filling my every waking thought with your bullshit and then taking advantage of me to try to get free ! ``

'' Funny how you came to that finale. ``

Naruto stood back and crossed his subdivision over his chest. `` There 's a unlike conclusion ? ``

The Fox resting on its haunches, cracked open a deep red eyelid. `` Are you occupy ? Or was that just kvetch satire ? ``

'' Oh no, let 's listen your face of the fib. '' Naruto shot back. `` I mean, I would n't require to pronounce you wrongly or anything. ``

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

'' Is there a spot 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 hatred ? ``

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

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

The Kyubi flashed its teeth at him in a macabre grinning. `` zippo ? Well, let 's relocation on shall we ? point two : why exactly do you think I 've been the one doing the head-filling ? ``

This time, Naruto was ready and he immediately spouted a number of reasons related to him not having such awe ordinarily.

'' You done ? '' The Kyubi asked after his impassioned response. Upon receiving the blond 's nod, the biju proceeded to laugh its ass off, even thrashing about in hilarity-induced spasms for honest meter. `` Oh darn kid ! You are uproarious ! You really think I could simply walk through your mind and suss out your deepest, saturnine concern to manipulate you ? Abruptly, the biju 's features became fierce. `` newsflash you nitwit : this seal prohibits even a individual fuzz on my tail from slipping out ! I sure as hell ca n't go zipping through your cranium. And do n't even get me started on that stupe idea that I 'd expend my time watching you do human things ; I could n't worry less about your puny cosmos either way ! ``

'' Says the animal that 's recorded as a mass of hate ! ``

'' By whose phonograph recording ? Humans ? The Lapplander masses that see you as my spawn ? The Same species that hate you indiscriminately even though they created the means to create more jinchuriki in the low berth ? '' The biju 's scathing response was like a hammer ten-strike to his already weakened belief, a fact that the biju saw and mercilessly pounced upon. `` I did n't send out those sentiment to you, boy, they were born of your own thoughts. '' This time, the biju 's voice was low and almost soothing. `` And I think you know why such intellection cloud your mind. ``

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

He did cognise ; for the longest clock time he had suspected as much but he had consciously shoved it down and piled on rafts of false optimism to bury it.

He was n't solid enough.

Whether he liked it or not, he just was n't strong enough on his own to attain his goals. He had been cheated in the academy, yes, but he had been out for More than four class, a enceinte dowry 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 hope to Sakura and convey Sasuke back.

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

Behind him, the biju watched as he struggled to stimulate a decision with a satisfied smirk. True to its word, it had not sent the thoughts to the Cy Young shinobi. That did n't mean it was totally innocent either ; a gradual diversion of its chakra into the boy 's yin chakra had been all that was required for his repressed thinking to resurface and weaken that resolve he was so proud of. Now, as the biju watched, reading into every nuance of his body terminology, it knew it had succeeded.

The sentence to reap the benefits was near ; the final exam measure was…

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

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

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

The human scowled. `` A few hr ago, I 'd have ranted about you wanting my soul or seeking an escape but now… Details. I want contingent. ``

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

'' Perhaps your time with the old man was n't a over permissive waste ; you certainly seem more intelligent. '' Abruptly, the wittiness disappeared from the biju 's visage and the creature rose up, resting on its hind stage. `` You man see us as walking good deal of chakra, an persuasion that never ceases to get me. After all, if we walked around wreaking havoc everywhere then your account should have been significantly altered by our actions.

'' In my time walking among your kind, I learned a great hatful ; fighting manner, meditation technique and material body of chakra manipulation that have long since been lost to the ravages of metre. It is these I offer you ; the index to dominate the very factor, to become an unstoppable force on the battlefield… Everything I know, I freely give.

'' However, I understand how impatient your sort are, no doubt as a result of your shortly lifespan, and so I offer you something more than : Libra. ``

'' I do n't understand. ``

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

If nothing else had caught his attention, the biju knew that this certainly would.

Once again, it was n't wrong.

'' How ? ``

'' I will, with your license, channel a minute fraction of my chakra through you. Without going into specifics, it will forcibly jump start the Creation of Yin chakra within your curlicue and, over a period of about five days, your chakra circulatory system of rules will gradually attain an equilibrium United States Department of State, generating an equal measure of Yin chakra as it does Yang chakra. ``

Naruto 's face went slack as he considered the sheer entailment of that singular form welfare. `` My chakra reserves… they'll… ''

'' doubling ? '' The biju prompted. `` At the very least. ``

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

Then, his eye narrowed. `` At what monetary value ? ``

An offering that was so savory had to acquit a cost.

The biju glared at him, seemingly sizing him up yet again, before speaking. `` An whirl as this should take over a great telephone number of requirements, boy, but I will only ask of two things from you ; the start and the groovy is trust. '' The biju leaned forward until its neb was a simple inches away, separated by the bars that held it locked away. `` I will not tellyou what the second cost is until you have signed my contract bridge. ``

Naruto was torn.

On one hand, he would very in all probability be selling his soul over to a monster because, regardless of what the biju would have him conceive, indoctrinated beliefs did n't die out over a mere chat.

On the other, much sonorous, hand, he would be granted the kind of power that he had always desired ; the form of index that would avail 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 hope of a lifetime !'

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

A Stephen Samuel Wise man once said :'A man is loosen by the parole of his own mouth .'

'' What do I do ? ``

That man was right.

'' whole step into the cage, boy, and hold out your arm to your incline. ``

This was it.

It was one thing to check to a thing but, when confronted with the enormity of their decision, many wavered and most plump for 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 demon 's lair.

The biju reared upward, sucking in a late breath, its eye never leaving his.

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