29)Foxy Adventures: Ch. 29

“Can you Leaf shinobi speed up?! By the time we get to my village, it will probably be nothing but ruins.”

“Sensei…”

“No, Sakura. You can't kill the client. Also, Karin, put away the kunai,” Karin huffed as she slowly put the kunai back in her pouch, glaring at the pale young man with long dark brown hair hiding behind a disgruntled Sasuke.

“Get your hands off of me or you'll lose them”, The young man squeaked as he quickly let go of Sasuke before hiding behind Sasuke, who looked exasperated as his genin huffed and continued walking.

“Mr. Shibuki, may I offer you some words of advice?”,

“W-What?”, The man asked as he turned to Kakashi and the jounin gave an eye smile before he spoke.

“If I were you, I wouldn't anger the people protecting me. After all, nothing is stopping them from leaving you here to fend for yourself.”

“I-I-I understand. N-Now, let's keep going,” Team 7 just watched as the man continued walking before following after him with sighs as Karin turned to their sensei.

“Sensei, why are we doing this mission?”

“Because you kids wanted to do a C-Rank.”

“Yeah, like a bandit capture mission or finding some lost treasure, not escorting the whining man-baby over there.”

“I am not a man-baby!”

“Yes, you are!”, Karin shouted back with a glare, to which Kakashi snapped his book shut while looking around at their surroundings.

Normally, he would have been fine with just letting the kids do the mission while he read his book, but ever since they left the village, there has been this nagging feeling at the back of his mind like someone was watching them.

He wasn't sure who they were or where they were hiding, but it was a lot harder to find them than it was to find the Demon Brothers from the Land of Waves mission.

'Which means I'm dealing with people better than Chunin here. Hah, and of course the infamous bad luck of being on Team 7 strikes again', Kakashi thought with a frown as he created a Shadow Clone besides him with a single handsign.

“Eh? What's with the clone?” Sasuke asked with a frown, to which the clone simply vanished as Kakashi gave a nonchalant smile.

“Oh, nothing. I just thought an extra pair of eyes to cover our backs would be cool since I want to get back to my book”, That made his team roll their eyes while Shibuki just looked pleased at the man's words.

'Okay. Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid, but when has that been the case most of the time?'

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“Huh, never been to this part of the building before”, I muttered as the old man and I walked through the dim hallways of the Hokage Building. He chuckled at my words as we continued walking before stopping in front of a door that had two ANBU at its sides.

“I would be surprised if you did. The ANBU use a very powerful genjutsu to remove it from one's senses.”

“Then can't someone with the Byakugan or Sharingan see right through it?”, I asked while watching as the two ANBU weaved through hand signs and placed their hands at the side of the door.

“They could, but they would have to get through Jiraiya's seals to get to here”, He answered and my eyes widened as the entire corridor was lit up by the numerous seals that appeared on the door, watching as each began to fade one by one.

“Those aren't just explosion seals, are they?”

“Oh, there are so many more than just those. Is everything ready?”, The old man asked as the final seal vanished and the door was opened by the ANBU with the cat mask and the long purple hair.

'Huh, wasn't her name Yugio or Yugao or something like that? The swordswoman that liked Hayate?'

“Everything has been inspected thoroughly, Lord Hokage.”

“Good.”

“Old Man, can I ask once thing?”, I asked as we made our way into the room, looking at the stone room with soft glowing lamps showing the ancient old kanji and clan crests on the sides of the walls.

I could make out the Uzumaki, Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, Akimichi, Aburame, Nara, Inuzuka, Yamanaka and so many others that I've seen in the textbooks.

“Of course.”

“Why did you agree to this? You could have said no and I would have understood”, I asked while noting the strange scent of the room that hung in the air, it being a mixture of old paper, iron and a hint of tree bark.

“Naruto, you are not one to just ask for something like this without reason. Before your promotion, I would have said no, but ever since you started taking your training seriously, I find myself asking what exactly caused you to change from the goofy boy I know to the young teen in front of me.”

“Hey, I'm still a goofy guy. I just…hide it better”, I said with a shrug and he chuckled before making his way to the pedestal in the centre of the room.

It was surrounded by intricate fuinjutsu circles and at its centre sat a syringe of red blood that had streaks of glowing green chakra inside of it.

“Is that it?”, I asked even as I marvelled at the beauty of the chakra inside the blood, the old man nodding with a smile while I heard Kurama give a growl at the back of my mind.

“Oh, that's his blood. I can feel it forcing me to calm down.”

“Are you sure we should do this, then? I want to be able to control your chakra, but not at the cost of having you follow my commands like a slave.”

“Why not? That would be better for you, wouldn't it?”

“Kurama, we've already had this discussion. If I need you to be my mindless slave in order for you to let me use your chakra, I'd rather use my own chakra instead”, I answered with a roll of my eyes and smirked as all I got in response was a soft growl.

“Just making sure you haven't gotten arrogant with your newfound strength.”

“Why? Scared I'd turn into another Madara? Aw~ I knew you cared, buddy.”

“Me being worried for your well-being?! Bah! I knew you were a clown, but I didn't know you had jokes as well!”, He responded with a bark of laughter, but I chuckled as I heard the lack of bite in his tone.

“Sure, you did. So, the blood won't make you want to follow my orders?”

“No, it won't. It just helps keep me calm.”

“Okay, then. So, should I just inject it and that's it?”, I asked, responding to both of them and the old man chuckled while Kurama let out a snort.

“If only it was that simple. No, what will be using is both the injection and a specific blood fusion fuinjutsu method that my wayward student Orochimaru had developed. It was meant to be used on the average shinobi, but I don't believe it has been used on a Jinchuriki.”

“And what will that do?”, I asked, finally turning my gaze away from the pedestal and towards him as he continued.

“The idea is to fuse the DNA of Lord First with your own DNA and allow your body to adapt slowly.”

“So, I'll essentially be a Uzumaki-Namikaze-Senju?”, I asked and smirked as the old man nodded.

“That's the simplest way to put it, yes.”

“And what if it doesn't work?”

“The central seals are to help with this process. If it doesn't work, then the seals on the outer circle will suppress the reaction and extract the blood. We will then go back to the drawing board, but I have faith. If there's anyone that can survive the blood of the strongest shinobi in the Leaf's History, it would be you.”

“Well, don't I feel special?”, I joked and he smiled before I began walking towards the pedestal, staring at the syringe as I picked it up before sitting down.

The old man stood at the edge of the outer circle and began weaving through hand signs at a speed that was blinding to my eyes before I watched as the sealing array lit up.

Staring at the blue chakra tracing along the seals like that of blood pumping through veins, the old man knelt down near the outer circle while keeping his hands in a Snake Handsign.

“Cross your legs. Breathe deeply. The seal will activate and guide the fusion, but you need to inject yourself on my signal and prepare to suppress any backlash that may occur, understood? That goes for you as well, Nine Tails.”

“Suppress a backlash from Hashirama's blood? No pressure.”

“I can hear your sarcasm. Just let me work and try not to die”, Kurama spoke up and I just shook my head. Rolling up my sleeve while holding the syringe in one hand, I stopped as the old man spoke.

“No, you must inject it into your heart.”

“My heart?!”, I asked before groaning as he nodded, placing the needle down as I took off my flak jacket and undershirt.

“If I had know this would be what I needed to do, I would not be doing this at all”, I grumbled as I sat shirtless on the floor, grabbing the syringe tightly while holding it just a few centimeters away from my chest.

“Now.”

Fuinjutsu: Kekketsu Yugo Fuin (Bloodline Fusion Seal)

The moment he gave the signal, I clenched my fist and stabbed the needle deep into my heart, ignoring the burning pain as I injected the liquid before pulling out the needle as Kurama's chakra bubbled around my body.

“Brace yourself!”, The old man shouted and it was just moments later that blood spewed from my lips. Pain exploded through my ribs as if they had all been shattered at the same time and I could feel Kurama's chakra trying its best to keep me together.

“Contain it, Naruto! Force your own chakra to stabilize the fusion! You're the cage and it's the prisoner, not the other way around!”

“You're my Jinchuriki, bastard! Do not let a bit of blood win this fight!”, Kurama growled and I gritted my teeth while slamming my hand into the ground.

With a thought, the ground below me trembled as my chakra surged forward, the seal on my stomach turning a deep red while I growled as I saw green veins becoming visible across my entire body.

'In…Yo…Kai…Bind…Stabilize…In…Yo…Kai…” The sealing circle below me turned a brilliant gold as I repeated the incantation Jiraiya had taught me last night to help me focus.

Seconds later, the green veins began to turn a deep vibrant blue as I felt my chakra and Kurama's beginning to push the pain back, my body aching all over as the light slowly faded from the seal.

“You did it…You actually did it…”

“Why do you…sound so surprised…that I did?,” I gasped out as I fell backwards, taking deep gulps of air while lifting my shaky right hand to stare at the chakra veins fading away as if they were never there.

“This has only been achieved once and even with that success, it took years for the process to finish.”

“Yeah, well, they were not a Jinchuriki.”

“Speaking of Jinchuriki, how is everything, Kurama?”, I asked only to frown as there was no response for a few seconds.

“Kurama?”

“Quiet…I need…to rest…” My frown deepened as I heard the exhaustion in Kurama's voice, immediately pulling myself into my mindscape.

However, as I arrived, my eyes widened at the dark green vines of chakra wrapped around both Kurama and the cage as well as the tired look in his eyes as he growled.

“I thought you said this wouldn't happen!,” I exclaimed as I rushed forward only to stop in surprise as he let out a snarl.

“Everything…is fine. The cage…is just being amplified…by the new chakra. Give me a few hours…and I'll be back to normal,” He responded and I wanted to continue asking what should be done, but one look at the determined look in his eyes made me sigh as I nodded.

“Got it. I'll make sure not to interrupt you until then.”

“Oh, isn't that fun?,” He grumbled and I rolled my eyes before I let myself back into my conscious mind, groaning as I slowly sat up while wincing with each movement.

“Urgh, I think I'm going to take a few hours of rest now.”

“Hahaha~ That would be best. Cat, could you perhaps escort Naruto back to his apartment?,” The old man asked the cat-masked ANBU and I found myself being picked up into a fireman's carry with my clothes held in her free arm.

“Don't you start laughing,” I said with a pointed stare at the old man, who merely smirked before I found myself being carried at high speeds through the village.

It took us just a few seconds before we finally landed outside my apartment, Cat helping me stand as I stumbled a bit from the high speeds.

“I've never been the one that got carried…That was not fun…”

“Apologies for the harsh treatment, but I surmised you wished to get home quickly,” Cat said as she handed me my jacket and shirt, to which I just gave a thumbs-up as I struggled a bit to open the door.

“No, no, it was fine. Just…not as slow as I was expecting. Anyway, thanks for the lift, Ms. Cat.”

“Good day, Naruto”, The ANBU nodded before vanishing into thin air, the only sign of her presence being the leaves she left that I watched be blown away before shaking my head as I closed and locked the door behind me.

Throwing the clothes onto my coffee table, I tried to make it to the bedroom, but I only made it a few steps before my body went slack and I knew nothing but darkness.

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“…Where's the pain?”, I muttered out loud as I slowly woke up, feeling the rough texture of the floor below me while staring out at the sunlight beaming through the blinds.

I expected pain or aching or at least some soreness when I woke up, but there was nothing but clarity. My body felt as if it was overflowing with energy and it felt as if I had finally opened that one window to let all the stale air from my mind.

It was at that second that I was startled by a loud noise, looking down at where it came from only to let out a relieved chuckle as my stomach rumbled.

“Alright, body still wants my nightly ramen. That's a good sign,” I muttered as I sat up before it finally hit me.

The smooth yet bumpy texture of the flooring. The sound of dripping from the tap of the shower in the bathroom. The faint chakra of shinobi hopping from rooftop to rooftop and the soft howling of the wind outside.

'Holy shit, every sense is in overdrive,' I thought with a blink of my eyes as I took a deep breath, nearly choking myself with the damp humidity and the earthy scent of the dust on some of the shelves.

A groan in the back of my mind kept my conscious and with a thought, I found myself back in my mindscape except…it was different.

The murky water that was everywhere was gone, replaced by damp yet solid earth and faint green tendrils crawling along the walls up to the seal on the cage.

“Kurama?”, I called out into the darkness and frowned as a soft rumbling echoed from the cage before I walked through, a relieved sigh escaping my lips before I glared at the look of sadistic amusement in his eyes.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don't.”

“…No, I don't. Is everything okay? You're not a slave to me now, right?”, I asked before nodding as the fox snorted and stood up with a stretch.

“No, I'm the same. You on the other hand have changed quite a bit.”

“Yeah, didn't quite expect to wake up with chakra vines growing in my mind and my senses in overdrive.”

“Not just that. Your chakra…it feels more stable and calming in a sense.”

“Not in the way I worry about?”

“No, not in the way you worry about,” Kurama answered with a roll of his eyes and I nodded before frowning as his words clicked.

“So, what you're saying…is that I had some plumbing issues?”

“I'm saying that your chakra used to spill everywhere like an idiot painting with his mouth. Now, it's sharp. Refreshing almost…like his.”

“Hashirama? You're saying my chakra feels like Hashirama's?”, I asked and was even further surprised when Kurama huffed before nodding.

However, our discussion was cut short by three sharp taps and one long knock coming from the door, Kurama kicking me back into consciousness with a flick of his claws.

“That hurts every time.”

“Get used to it. Now, go see who's bothering us this early in the morning.”

“We?”

“Yes, we. I'm going back to sleep,” The fox grumbled and I rolled my eyes as I stood up with a slight stumble, stretching my body with a groan while making my way to the door.

As I opened it, though, I sighed as I saw the serious look on Jiraiya's face when he looked at me.

“Social visit?”

“No, get dressed. You got five minutes?”

“What for?”, I asked even as I turned and picked up my clothes, stopping in the doorway to my room at Jiraiya's next words.

“Kakashi just sent a clone back. He thinks their mission is about to go to shit.”

'This day can't get any worse.'

A/N: And Naruto has uttered the bad words~ Kakashi and the others are on a mission, but this mission might become a Wave 2.0. Who will be involved? We'll have to wait and see.

Also, NO WOOD STYLE FOR NARUTO…unless you guys want it. Then, we give Naruto Wood Style, but if everyone says so, no Wood Style for Naruto.

Anyway, next chapter: Akatsuki~!!

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!