Dusk Till Dawn

39

"Let me tell you something, Naruto. I do not wish for you to interrupt me, this will only take a moment of your time." The fox paused and looked out onto the empty halls, eyes searching for where his previous comrades would have been seated.

"Uchiha Madara cursed my chakra and bent it towards the Uchiha clan."

Naruto waited, knowing this already. He knew that when Madara had first met the Kyuubi the Uchiha had wanted the power of the fox, even going to the lengths to attempt and subdue the Kyuubi with his own chakra. It was this chakra that influenced the Kyuubi; it was a basic that the Kyuubi had taught Naruto a long while ago.

"What you may not know, though, is that he placed restrictions upon me. The Bijuu, if ordered to correctly, would heal anyone with chakra belonging to a specific clan. It just so happened that Madara forced my chakra into an agreement that would enable my chakra to automatically heal a wounded Uchiha."

The fox seemed to sigh, his eye closing as he explained further,

"He wanted to be invincible, using even me as a resource. I was to wreak destruction but I would also heal any wounds of his clan even if I hadn't wanted to. I was bound specifically to Madara, so that my powers would only heal him, until the night I attacked you where I was able to overrule the orders put on me."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, the questions forming in his mind.

"I told you not to speak, Naruto. I can see your questions just fine, there's no need to bring unnecessary noise here. Your body had not matured until you had reached sixteen years, when the seal would begin to allow my chakra a lenient rein. It was only once you had reached that age that I was under contract again to heal an Uchiha if it ever arose."

Blue eyes widened at a memory, red sparks crackling merrily as they met alabaster skin.

"Yes, Itachi was the first Uchiha to be at my calling since Madara. I'll have you know that I've accepted him."

Naruto frowned in confusion as the Kyuubi shifted, a deep groan escaping his maw.

"The bones grow old after a while, I'm afraid my joints are a little rusty." An eye poked open and it looked down at the Jinchuuriki in amusement, "Itachi is the only Uchiha my chakra will respond to. He's the only other person aside from you who can claim that honour."

The true implication of what the fox meant sunk into Naruto's mind; Madara's corruption forced the Kyuubi to serve the Uchiha clan if he wasn't bonded to a specific member. Since the sealing, the Kyuubi had been free of servitude to Madara yet had chosen to pledge his chakra to Itachi.

"T-thank you."

The Kyuubi turned his snout into the air, a twitch in his lip, but Naruto saw the slight curl of the black lips. He knew that the fox was contented with just those two words and it made Naruto's heart break to know that he'd have to choose between killing this creature and saving the world one day.

Because he knew, without a doubt, that the Kyuubi's blood would stain his hands long before he allowed his home to crash around them.

Even the Kyuubi knew it.

行動

Pein looked from the window and into Naruto's eyes, a vicious smirk on his face.

"Come on, Hokage-sama, I haven't got all day." His voice was laden with a mocking tone, coaxing the leader of this pitiful nation to the bait.

Blue eyes turned to Pein and the man resisted the urge to flinch. The amount of emotion shown in those two orbs was more shocking than a lot of things Pein had seen. Recovering and plastering the taunting face back on, Pein opened his arms, palms facing Naruto.