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 slap to the boy 's skull. `` And do n't just throw yourself into your attacks, expect your opponent 's moves and ALWAYS be prepared to react accordingly ! Have n't you learned anything over the past two yr ? ``

Nothing I could n't have learned back home.

Naruto shook his header, physically trying to dislodge the snarky thought as he tried to conceive up a way to defeat his wise man. He took too long though, and Jiraiya capitalized brutally with a fist almost shearing through his abdomen in retaliation.

'' Never drop your guard ! ``

The blond gritted his teeth, biting back the pain as he grabbed on to the offending clenched fist with one hand and slammed twin retaliatory blows to his mentor 's snarky mug.

It dissolved into mud beneath him.

His eye widened by a pilus and he immediately replaced himself with a tree diagram branch.

A moment later, the outgrowth was skewered by a one thousand muddy needles.

'Fuck it !'Naruto swore as he imediately began to creep through the undergrowth .'I need to get my foreland in the biz !'

No law-breaking, 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 gearing with the resources of an stallion Village. A small-scale one, admittedly, but they 've got their own Sannin and a whizz to bang. Not to mention ol'Four-Eyed Kabuto with his insane skills and, if the Sound Four and the gonzo off-white guy are any indication, a whole squad of jonin level shinobi. The Perv 's education you like you 're going up against a single enemy while the guy who will be going up against a individual enemy 's getting prepped for an all out war.

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

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'' cum on boy ! '' Jiraiya whined, chasing after a briskly walking Naruto on his genu. `` I need the cash ! ``

'' To chase some slattern, no question. '' Naruto scoffed as he marched away.

Jiraiya 's expression, though, had gone from pleading to disturbingly perverse. `` Oh~ kid you had to throw seen her ! That was n't just some hooker, she was an absolute infant ! Tits as big as my pass and an ass you could rebound a coin off ! And her legs ! ``

THIS is what I 'm training with ? The misuse imbecile of the Sannin ? So, Sasuke 's getting trained by the genius of the Sannin, a direct contender for the Big Hat alongside the yellow instant and the guy that ended the Old Man 's star biography and we 're getting trained by the Perverted Sannin. Wonderful. No, fuck sarcasm ! Even Sakura had a better deal. At least her Sannin wo n't bug her for cash so she could go break out peeler and diddly-shit. I mean for the love of- Orochimaru 's a fucking wizard ! He 's on a standardized stratum to the fucking quartern Hokage ! He 's a verified sword master. He knows more ninjutsu 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 crowing claim to fame is that he trained the Fourth ? Is there anyway you could have come up with an even worse deal ? !

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

Jiraiya, who had been caught mid-rant when his prentice snapped, simply thought he might have pushed the terminus ad quem and decided to channelize into the bordello on his own. The madam of the house knew him well and, unlike his busty teammate, he had a reputation for maintaining minimum, if any, debts.

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

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'' So, Naruto, what 's the first thing you wan na do when we get back to Konoha ? '' Jiraiya asked. Himself and his prentice were relaxing in a hayfield a few statute mile away from the country of Bears, taking the day off to loose and decompress. `` Me, I 'm gon na hit up Tsunade first ; see if she 's finally come around to my manly charms. ``

'' The only thing manly about you is your hair, Pervy salvia. '' 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 little brat ! ``

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

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

To be honest, Naruto was n't rather sure as shooting of what he wanted ; over the past few weeks, uncertainty and fears had set into his heart and, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them, they had burrowed in deep. He did, however, know what to say to his mentor. `` First things first, I wan na see Sakura-chan again ! She must birth grown quite dispense 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. `` power 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 Leslie Townes Hope strung up on the Uchiha right ? '' Jiraiya continued, not noticing the contravene look on his protege 's face. `` I know a figure of citizenry might think that that 's all a youngster'pipe dream but… flavour man, take it from someone in standardised shoes… You really should get your heart 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 bastard anywhere close to what I think I know, then he 'll induce done his absolute honest to wrick the Uchiha against you. ``

Naruto had n't heard a watchword of Jiraiya 's, his head clouded by coloured thinking, until Jiraiya had talked about Orochimaru corrupting Sasuke beyond redemption.

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

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When Naruto opened his eyes, he expected to happen himself on a cot in one of Jiraiya 's many bunker, wrapped up in bandage and feeling the sunburn of his chakra coils as they healed. His sense of timing was all messed up but the finis few moments before slipping into unconsciousness were still fresh in his mind…

The rage… the pain…

He remembered everything…

Right up to the bit his control had slipped and the red fog of his biju 's chakra blurred everything out of sight…

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

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

Red walls, immense pipes, a never ending current of water…

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

'' Kyubi. '' His vocalization was like steel as he pushed to his feet and began storming down the cathedral-like hallway. matter were beginning to prepare signified now ; he had never been one to be bothered by dark thoughts, his childhood having taught him that the solely way to remain even slightly sane was to cut all dark thought process, so the barrage of discouraging and disquieting questions he had been plagued by over the by couple of weeks just had to have been caused by the Nine-Tailed Fox. It would also explain why he had so readily been consumed by its major power ; his action 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 electrical shock 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 applesauce into my head, filling my every waking thought with your Irish bull and then taking vantage of me to try to get free ! ``

'' good story how you came to that close. ``

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

The Fox resting on its haunches, cracked open a ruby palpebra. `` Are you matter to ? Or was that just kick sarcasm ? ``

'' Oh no, let 's hear your slope of the story. '' Naruto shot back. `` I mean, I would n't want to adjudicate you wrongly or anything. ``

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

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

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

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

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

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

This metre, Naruto was ready and he immediately spouted a bit of reasons related to him not having such reverence 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 skillful measure. `` Oh darn kid ! You are screaming ! You really think I could simply take the air through your nous and suss out your deepest, darkest fears to manipulate you ? Abruptly, the biju 's features became fierce. `` Newsflash you nitwit : this seal prohibits even a undivided pilus on my rear from slipping out ! I sure as the pits ca n't go zipping through your cranium. And do n't even get me started on that stupid idea that I 'd expend my time watching you do human things ; I could n't care less about your puny universe either way ! ``

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

'' By whose records ? human being ? The same people that see you as my spawn ? The same species that hate you indiscriminately even though they created the means to make more jinchuriki in the 1st blank space ? '' The biju 's scathing response was like a hammer strike to his already weakened impression, a fact that the biju saw and mercilessly pounced upon. `` I did n't send 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 idea cloud your mind. ``

Naruto turned away from the cage and took a footstep forward… before going still.

He did recognize ; for the long time he had suspected as lots but he had consciously shoved it down and piled on ton of delusive optimism to eat up it.

He was n't strong enough.

Whether he liked it or not, he just was n't strong enough on his own to gain his destination. He had been cheated in the Academy, yes, but he had been out for more than four eld, a with child portion of which had been spent with Jiraiya, and he could see no significant changes.

He wanted to be the Hokage, he wanted to take in the respect of the people… he wanted to satisfy his hope to Sakura and bring Sasuke back.

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

Behind him, the biju watched as he struggled to make a decisiveness with a fulfil smirk. True to its Son, it had not sent the thoughts to the young shinobi. That did n't intend it was totally innocent either ; a gradual divagation of its chakra into the boy 's yin chakra had been all that was required for his stifle thought to resurface and weaken that resolve he was so proud of. Now, as the biju watched, reading into every nicety of his body nomenclature, it knew it had succeeded.

The time to reap the benefit was near ; the final step was…

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

The biju 's smirk turned savage. The boy wanted to do it ; the interestingness was there.

'' In my meter here, I have come to read what baron means to you humans, '' it lied, `` and as such I am volition to signal a contract with you. ``

The man scowled. `` A few minute ago, I 'd take ranted about you wanting my soul or seeking an escape but now… details. I want detail. ``

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

'' Perhaps your time with the old man was n't a discharge waste ; you certainly seem more intelligent. '' Abruptly, the humor disappeared from the biju 's mug and the creature rose up, resting on its hind legs. `` You humans see us as walking tidy sum of chakra, an persuasion that never ceases to baffle me. After all, if we walked around wreaking havoc everywhere then your history should sustain been significantly altered by our actions.

'' In my time walking among your sort, I learned a bully deal ; fighting mode, meditation techniques and frame of chakra manipulation that have long since been lost to the ravage of time. It is these I offer you ; the power to control the selfsame element, to become an unstoppable power on the battlefield… Everything I know, I freely give.

'' However, I understand how impatient your kind are, no doubtfulness as a result of your short lifespan, and so I offer you something more : balance. ``

'' I do n't see. ``

'' I did not require you to. You see, at its solution, chakra is of two configuration : Yin chakra and Yang chakra. You possess an overabundance of the latter yet very little, comparatively speaking, of the former. It is this asymmetry that has limited your onward motion 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 specific, it will forcibly climb up pop the creation of Yin chakra within your scroll and, over a flow of about five days, your chakra circulatory system will gradually accomplish an equilibrium state, generating an equal amount of Yin chakra as it does Yang chakra. ``

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

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

The go seemed too in force to be reliable ; learning ancient trend of combat, gaining the ability to use genjutsu, an increased chakra capacity ? Naruto wanted to aim it. Practically every mastermind cubicle 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 bear a cost.

The biju glared at him, seemingly sizing him up yet again, before speaking. `` An offer as this should bear a gravid bit of requirements, boy, but I will only ask of two things from you ; the first of all and the greatest is combine. '' The biju leaned forward until its snoot was a mere inches away, separated by the legal community that held it locked away. `` I will not tellyou what the second cost is until you have signed my contract. ``

Naruto was torn.

On one hired hand, he would very belike be selling his person over to a demon because, regardless of what the biju would have him believe, indoctrinated beliefs did n't die out over a mere chat.

On the other, a lot intemperate, hand, he would be granted the kind of power that he had always desired ; the kind of power that would help 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 words ! That 's my ninja way ! Believe it !'

A Stephen Samuel Wise man once said :'A man is undone by the word of honor of his own mouthpiece .'

'' What do I do ? ``

That man was right.

'' stride into the batting cage, boy, and book out your arm to your incline. ``

This was it.

It was one matter to jibe to a affair but, when confronted with the enormity of their decision, many wavered and virtually backed down.

They were not Uzumaki Naruto.

With a convinced stride that betrayed none of his dread, the shinobi stepped out of his kingdom and into the demon 's lair.

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

Do n't move, it seemed to say, just before it lurched forward, the dense orangeness glow in the back of its throat the only monition Naruto had before being engulfed in flaming .