7 chapter 5:Awakenings

Chapter 5: Awakenings

Sasuke had begun his battle with the masked ninja as the two assaulted each other with a hail of senbon and shuriken. None of the shuriken or senbon hit their target as they had all collided with one another in mid air, canceling the attacks. As the air began to grow moist, so did the ground. Puddles began to form around the two combatants. The masked ninja halted his attack and began to speak.

"I don't want to kill you, but you won't stand down will you?" the masked ninja said to Sasuke, who responded with his usual response. "I see, but you won't be able to keep up with my speed the next time." The ninja began flipping through a series of hand seals and Sasuke rushed towards him, hoping to stop him before he completed some sort of jutsu. Unfortunately, he realized the trap the moment he grabbed onto the arm of the ninja. "Now that I have one of your arms preoccupied, you won't be able to counter this. Suiton: Flying Water Needles!"

With that, the water around them began to rise, forming sharp needles of water. Sasuke channeled some chakra to his legs and jumped up before the needles could impact him. He then retaliated by throwing some shuriken at the masked ninja, who had just barely dodged them. Sasuke then appeared behind the ninja and sent him flying back with a kick to the stomach, much to Zabuza's surprise.

Kakashi turned to Zabuza. "I can't have you underestimating my students by calling them 'brats'" Kakashi explained. "Sasuke is the #1 rookie in the village, Sakura is the brightest, and Naruto is well, Naruto, the #1 hyperactive knuckleheaded ninja in the village."

"Hmph, just because your brat scored one lucky hit, doesn't mean he can take Haku" said Zabuza to Kakashi. "He's just getting started and it looks like it's all over for your brat now."

Sasuke felt a sudden chil surround him. "Hyoton: Demonic Ice Mirrors!" Haku called out. Sasuke was shocked that he was now surrounded by a dome of ice mirrors, with Haku's reflection in each one. He tried to figue out what that jutsu was, but he did not remember the 'hyoton' being one of the common elemental affinities.

"So he has a bloodlimit, this will get interesting" thought Sasuke. However, in reality, he was extremely tense, not sure what to expect at all.

"Now I'll show you my real speed" Haku said. Suddenly, Sasuke was hit with a barrage of needles, none of which severely injured him, this time around. Seeing Sasuke's troubles, Sakura ran to aid him, temporarily abandoning her charge. She threw a kunai at Haku, who came out of the mirror only to catch it. Suddenly, he was knocked onto the ground outside the mirrors.

"Naruto Uzumaki has arrived!" Naruto shouted.

'That idiot show off' Sasuke thought as he picked himself off the ground. He was covered in scratches and cuts from the needles, but nothing was fatal, yet.

"Now that I'm here, the hero usually shows up like this and kicks the enemy's ass instantly!" Naruto exclaimed.

'That idiot' Kakashi said. Zabuza got a little laugh at Kakashi's facial expression. 'What kind of ninja does he think he is, barging in like that?'

Naruto threw a few shuriken at the distracted Zabuza, only to have them knocked away by Haku's needles. "Hmm, so you don't want me attacking them? You're soft as always, Haku" Zabuza said to his comrade. Sasuke realized the situation he was in. Apparently, Haku had been holding back. None of those hits were vital, only mere scratches so far. However, after the way he 'killed' Zabuza back by the lake, Sasuke realized that this ninja had deadly accuracy with senbon and he had been holding back.

Now that Naruto had arrived though, perhaps Sasuke could get out of this. With the dobe working on the outside and himself on the inside, perhaps they could take down Haku. Sadly, he would have to swallow his pride for this and allow Naruto to help him…assuming Naruto hadn't done what he just did.

"Sasuke, I came in here to save you" Naruto said, now inside the ice dome. Sasuke was about ready to beat the knucklehead senseless as Haku resumed his assault. Thinking of the ice, Sasuke made a few hand seals "Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" With that, Sasuke launched a fireball at the mirror that Haku was in. Unfortunately, the ice mirror did not sustain any damage. Afterwards, Naruto and Sasuke were pelted with a barrage of needle. Naruto made a bunch of clones to attack the mirrors, hoping one of them would be able to get Haku; however, Haku was too fast and the clones were easily defeated.

As Naruto and Sasuke were facing Haku, Kakashi stared down his opponent. "For a kid to master a jutsu like that, it must be an advanced bloodline" he said.

"Bloodline?" Sakura questioned.

"It's a deep lineage, a jutsu or style of jutsu passed down by your family. Even I cannot copy it" Kakashi explained. With that, Kakashi revealed his Sharingan, ready to fight Zabuza and end the battle quick.

"The Sharingan. Only one trick, Kakashi? You should know better than to show your moves to an opponent more than once." Zabuza said. The two jonin engaged one another, both piercing the other's hands with kunai.

"You should be honored. You're the first opponent to see my Sharingan twice" Kakashi called out as the two disengaged.

"I've been waiting to say this line. You can't use the same jutsu on me twice" Zabuza called out as he made a hand seal. Suddenly, the area around them was covered in a thick mist and Zabuza disappeared.

Back in the ice dome, "Damn it. I can't fail here. I have a dream I need to fulfill" Naruto said out loud. Haku then experienced a flashback upon hearing Naruto's words.

*Flashback*

Dream? He remembered himself as a lonely child. His home in the Land of Water had just been destroyed after the Mizukage's persecution of people with bloodlines. Soon he saw Zabuza standing before him. "An unfortunate child" Zabuza said. "A brat like you is wanted by no one. You will die with neither freedom nor dreams."

"Hehe, you have the same eyes as me" Haku said to Zabuza, striking some sort of emotion in the Demon.

*End flashback*

"Dream. Becoming a true shinobi is difficult for me. If possible, I do not want to kill you, nor have you kill me. But if you come at me, I can destroy my kind heart and come at you as a true shinobi" Haku said to Naruto and Sasuke. "This bridge is the place we fight to connect our dreams. Please don't hate me. I want to protect someone precious to me, fight for them, and make that person's dreams come true. That is my dream. For that, I can become a shinobi and kill you if I must."

Zabuza laughed at what Haku was saying. He knew that Naruto and Sasuke had not killed anyone yet and that they did not know what it was like to truly become a shinobi. Kakashi heard this, but couldn't see anything. The mist was too thick, even for his Sharingan. But he figured that Zabuza couldn't see either. Suddenly, about a dozen shuriken came flying at his and Kakashi just barely managed to block them.

"Impressive that you were able to block them, Sharingan Kakashi." Zabuza said, appearing behind him. Kakashi turned around to see that Zabuza's eyes were closed. He disappeared back into the mist. "Kakashi, you have overestimated the use of your Sharingan. You acted as if you could read my mind and see the future, but that Sharingan is merely a trick. Basically, it involves hypnotism and attention to detail. By using those two abilities together, you can make it seem like you are seeing into the future. The answer to combating it is simple. First, I use the mist to make that keen eye of yours useless. Second, I keep my eyes closed to prevent you from influencing me. However, I am an expert in silent killing. I can kill you just by hearing you." Kakashi was worried by this realization.

Zabuza moved to Tazuna and attacked, hoping to take out the bridge builder and Sakura. As Zabuza swung the blade, it was stopped by the steel plate on Kakashi's gloves. Zabuza growled at kicked Kakashi in the gut before swinging his blade again. Kakashi had just enough time to throw himself backwards to dodge most of the attack; however, the blade still sliced across his chest, creating a rather large gash. He slipped back into the mist again, ready to strike another blow. Now, Kakashi had once been in charge of the ANBU and the Sharingan wasn't his only trick. He made a few hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!" Kakashi said, summoning eight ninja dogs to his side. He ordered them to find and immobilize Zabuza, which they did without trouble, using the scent of Kakashi's blood on Zabuza's blade to track him.

Naruto woke, just in time to see Sasuke take the attack that was intended for him. The needles hit Sasuke in the chest and what appeared to be the liver. Naruto saw Sasuke fall to his knees, just as a single needle that Sauke had failed to take hit Naruto in the neck, in roughly the same spot where Zabuza was hit when he was 'killed' a week ago. Naruto slipped into darkness.

Naruto awoke again, this time finding himself in a damp sewer, unsure of exactly where he was. He heard growling coming from one direction and his curiosity got the best of him. He turned to find the source of the noise. Soon, he found himself standing in for a large gate.

"It's about time the two of us met" a strange voice said from behind the bars.

"W-who's there?" asked a startled Naruto. The voice sounded demonic and it sent Naruto falling back onto his ass.

"Why don't you take a close look, child, and see" said the voice. A faint light filled the room and Naruto could see what was behind the bars.

"Y-you're t-the K-k-kyuubi no K-kitsune" stuttered Naruto in fear.

"Yes, and since you're here, that must mean you're in some sort of trouble" the Kyuubi said to Naruto.

"What d-do you m-mean?" Naruto said, still trembling in fear. "A-are you going to k-kill me?"

"No. Even if I wanted to, the seal on you that keeps me imprisoned in you would prevent me from doing such. If I remember, you were in a battle with a masked man." The fox did his best to conjure an image of what was happening. The thing that shocked Naruto was the image of Sasuke taking the hits for him, saving him, but getting injured in the process. Naruto saw that Sasuke was falling to the ground and feared that Haku had actually managed to kill Sasuke. "I can sense that your friend is still alive, but he may not be for long if you just sit there and do nothing like a blundering idiot. I will give you a little bit of my power for now, but there is something I want to discuss with you later. Now go!"

With that last bark of the Kyuubi, Naruto was forced out of his mindscape.

Finding himself in the real world, facing Haku and a dying Sasuke, Naruto instantly felt a surge of power course through his chakra system. The needles that were stuck in him were forced out and any wounds instantly began to heal. Haku looked on in shock as a red aura began to surround Naruto.

Naruto caught Sasuke as he was falling to the ground. Afraid that his teammate was dead, Naruto went into a rage, launching himself towards Haku's image in the mirror. With a strike of his fist, Naruto punched Haku in the mirror and sent him flying backwards. The mirror he was in shattered and the dome collapsed with it. Haku managed to barely regain himself, remaining on his feet, but no longer inside any mirror to protect him from the next assault. Unfortunately for him, this next assault, he would not be able to dodge. His mask was cracked and his head was ringing, most likely suffering from some sort of concussion.

Naruto's next attack came swift, a strong punch to the chest that send Haku skidding to the ground. As Naruto moved over to Haku, ready to deliver the finishing blow. As Naruto lashed out at Haku with his fist, the mask crumbled off, revealing the same boy he had met in the forest only a few days ago. Naruto's attack immediately stopped there. He grabbed Haku by the collar of his robe. "Why!?" demanded Naruto. "Why did you kill him? Why are you doing Gato's dirty work? Why?!"

"Because…I am simply a tool…to be used by someone else…to accomplish their goal" said Haku, breathing deeply. Naruto was disgusted at the words that came out of Haku's mouth, yet he couldn't bring himself to blame Haku for turning out like that. Naruto could see some familiarity in Haku's eyes. He could see loneliness in those eyes. He determined there that Haku must have lived alone until someone came to him with an offer. Hell, Naruto had almost fallen to the tricks that had manipulated Haku when Mizuki asked him to steal the Forbidden Scroll.

"Don't talk about that crap anymore! You don't have to do anything you don't want to! You're a person, not a tool, don't give me that crap!" shouted Naruto, flaring a little bit more of the demonic chakra already in his system.

"Perhaps…but it seems like my usefulness is over…" said Haku as he pointed into the mist, towards the end of the bridge. Naruto looked over in the direction Haku was pointing. For some reason, he could sense that something was there, something with the intent to kill. Naruto delivered a punch to Haku, enough to knock him unconscious but not enough to kill him as Naruto stormed off towards the source of killing intent.

Kakashi was facing Zabuza, who was now immobilized by Kakashi's dogs. Suddenly, he felt a burst of demonic chakra coming from the direction of Naruto. Both he and Zabuza felt it and Kakashi knew what it was. He was afraid that the Kyuubi had broken through the seal. However, Kakashi realized that the seal had not broken on only some of the chakra had managed to leak out. He knew he had to end it.

"I have copied 1000 jutsu Zabuza, but now you will see my one original jutsu" Kakashi said, making a few hand seals. Suddenly, amass of lightning appeared in Kakashi's hand. "Raiton: Raikiri!" Kakashi said as he dashed towards Zabuza, intending to kill him with his lightning blade.

As Kakashi thrust his hand towards Zabuza, it was intercepted by the most unexpected turn of events. Some man had come flying out of nowhere, crashing into Kakashi's charged hand, taking the Raikiri to his gut. Zabuza looked over at his stroke of just pure dumb luck and realized that man was one of Gato's.

"Kakashi, release me so I can dispel the mist and we can get a better look at what is going on" said Zabuza. Of course, Kakashi didn't buy it.

"And why should I?" Kakashi asked. "The minute I do that, you're either going to resume attacking me or try and kill Tazuna."

"That man is one of Gato's. Haku and I suspected Gato would try to double cross us and we were planning on killing him after we were done here. If one of his men are here, then that only means that there are more of him here. I just need my arms to get rid of the mist" explained Zabuza.

Kakashi thought. "Fine, but try anything and the next Raikiri will be going straight through your head" threatened Kakashi. He ordered the dogs restraining Zabuza's arms to let go and Zabuza did as he said he would, release the mist. Once the mist cleared, Kakashi could see what was going on. There was a group of roughly 50-60 thugs on the far end of the bridge and Naruto beating up one who was unfortunate enough to get too far ahead.

"Sasuke!" shouted Sakura as she ran to where Sasuke was lying on the ground. There was a faint pulse and she began carefully removing the senbon from the Uchiha pincushion.

Zabuza looked over at the battered Haku on the ground and his cold exterior began to melt.

Now realizing that the rest of Gato's men could see him, Naruto retreated back to where the rest of the team was. He could feel the demonic chakra drain from him as he did so.

"So they are not dead yet, how disappointing" Gato called out, looking at the exhausted ninja standing in front of him.

"Why are you here?" Zabuza asked.

"It's simple. I actually planned to do this from the start. I'm here to kill you" Gato claimed. "It's what I do. I hire missing ninja to do my work. They are done, I kill them so that I don't have to pay them. Nice plan don't you think? The only problem is you. Pfft, Zabuza the Demon of the Hidden Mist. You can barely stand."

"Kakashi, this fight is over. I have no more reason to fight you or go after Tazuna" Zabuza said as Kakashi agreed.

Gato walked over to Haku, who was lying unconscious on the ground just in front of the rest of the ninja and began beating on the unconscious body. "Yeah, take this you little punk. This is what you get for breaking my arm!" shouted Gato. He then pulled out a blade from his side. "Phft. This is what happens to a worthless tool of mine."

Naruto tried to rush to save Haku, only to be held back by Zabuza himself. "What are you doing?!" shouted Naruto. "Can't you see that he's going to kill Haku? Don't you even care just a little bit? He's done everything for you and you've done nothing but look at him as a tool! He's more than just that, you kn…"

"Stop kid" said Zabuza, tears rolling down his face. "I know what I need to do. Can I borrow a kunai?" Naruto nodded and handed Zabuza one of his knives. Zabuza instantly disappeared and repapered behind Gato, driving the kunai into the back of Gato's skull.

"You sick disgusting man. Get away from him!" said Zabuza as Gato dropped to the ground, dead. He then picked up the battered Haku and retreated back to where Kakashi and Team 7 were.

"Hey! You killed our meal ticket!" the group of thugs said as they charged the ninja. "Kill them!"

Suddenly, arrows came flying out of some still lingering mist and killed most of the bandits.

"If you come any further, the citizens of this island will kill you!" Inari shouted with all the villagers standing behind him.

"Inari!" Naruto called out.

"A hero shows up at the last second, right?" Inari said, returning a smile to Naruto. To give the thugs one last push to flee, Naruto made about three dozen clones while Kakashi did the same, although Kakashi's weren't all shadow clones. The thugs fled the island, the villagers had won their village back.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted out in delight as Sasuke opened his eyes.

"Uhg. Sakura, you're heavy" Sasuke responded weakly. Sakura began to cry and soon gave Sasuke a big hug.

"Sakura, that hurts" Sasuke said. He still had a few needles in him. "What about Naruto and that masked kid?" Sakura pointed to them and Sasuke saw Zabuza supporting a weak Haku. "Why are they not fighting?"

"Gato broke his deal and they are no longer enemies" Sakura said. Naruto turned around and realized that Sasuke was alright. Kakashi then turned to Zabuza.

"So what are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked Zabuza.

"Right now, I don't really know" Zabuza responded. Naruto then came up to them and began acting like the idiot everyone knew and loved.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, can they come back to the village with us?" Naruto asked. He then turned to Zabuza. "You guys could stop running and start a new life again. Hell, you could even become ninja of our village."

"You really are an idiot kid" said Zabuza. However, there was something about that that appealed to Zabuza. He never imagined himself settling down again after leaving Kiri, but Haku…perhaps the boy could use some rest. "To be honest, I would actually like that, but I am a missing-nin and an A-rank criminal. I would just go back to either imprisonment or death."

"Kakashi-sensei, can't you do anything about that? You're pretty high up" Naruto said. Kakashi figured he would regret this later.

"For your good work, I can send a message to the Hokage about this" Kakashi said, turning to a surprised Zabuza. "Based on the condition of everyone, we will be here at least another week. I will send word to the Hokage, telling him of your intentions. Do realize that if you are given a chance, you will have to undergo extensive analysis to ensure that you mean no harm to the village."

Zabuza thought to himself for a moment. "Welll, if there seems to be a chance; it would be a nice change."

Even Sasuke was happy with this. If they come to the village, then that will give him an opportunity for a rematch with Haku.

With that, everyone returned to the village to recover. Haku regained conscious, but was groggy and Sasuke was still sore from being a human pincushion. As Kakashi said, they would be there for at least another week and a week's worth of rest was much needed.

The following day, Naruto found a quiet place out in the forest to sit down, there was still something he had to do after yesterday. He began meditating, hoping to get into contact with the Kyuubi inside him.

"Well, it seems as if you still want to talk" the Fox said.

"I figured I would at least hear you out. So what is it you want?" Naruto responded.

"I want to make an offer with you, Kit." The Fox said. "And I suggest you listen before you go blowing your mouth off like you normally do."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, trying to restrain himself from the Fox's obvious taunt.

"To understand where I'm going with this, you need to understand my past" explained the Kyuubi. "I am one of the 9 Tailed Beasts that came into existence over 1000 years ago. During that time, you humans have attempted to gain control of our powers and use us as tools. We, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with you and minded our own business. Slowly, you humans managed to seal us inside yourselves, inventing the idea of a jinchuriki…"

"Uhh…What's a Tailed Beast? And what's a jinchuriki?"asked Naruto. Sadly, the Kyuubi knew the kid was going to start asking questions like that. However, he couldn't help but drop his head.

"As I said, I am a Tailed Beast. There are 9 of us in existence. We are demons who are classified by the number of tails we have, starting from the Ichibi (one-tails) and ending at myself, the Kyuubi (nine-tails). Demons usually have some sort of defining feature that distinguishes their power amongst one another. For tailed beasts, it is the number of tails we have. Since I am the Kyuubi, I am the most powerful of the tailed beasts. You with me so far?" Naruto nodded, indicating that he understood what a Tailed Beast was, at least to an extent. "Now, as for jinchuriki. Let's just say that is what you are."

"What are you talking about? I'm a ninja and a person, not a jinchuriki, whatever that is" replied Naruto.

"It doesn't matter if you are a puny human. A jinchuriki is a human who has a demon sealed inside them" explained the Kyuubi.

"So that means you are sealed inside me?" realized Naruto.

"Hmm, you're starting to catch on Kit. Now don't interrupt me for a bit and listen to the next part of my story" said the Kyuubi. "Now, being the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts, I was able to remain free from being sealed the longest. Humans had attempted to capture me, like that pair of weaklings that I ate, but failed. It wasn't until THAT man came along and used his accursed Sharingan to trap me in some sort of genjutsu which he used to control my actions."

"Sharingan? You mean like Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke?" asked Naruto, interrupting the Fox's story.

The Fox growled at Naruto for interrupting him. "Yes, like the eyes your teacher and that other brat you're with have. However, this man's eyes were much colder and much more powerful. He used them to manipulate me into attacking your village almost 100 years ago. With my power, he fought against your Hokage and lost. As a result, I was finally sealed into a human. For the next 88 years, I was sealed inside a jinchuriki, trying my hardest to escape, but no luck."

"Escape? But why?" asked Naruto.

"What can I say, I don't like being trapped in a cage" responded the Fox. "It was almost twelve years ago that I finally escaped. However, HE was there, waiting. I thought he was dead, but that insolent cockroach came crawling back to me…"

"Hold on…" said Naruto. His interruptions were irritating the Fox even more. "Who is 'HE'?"

The Kyuubi growled a bit, letting out some of his killing intent. "Madara Uchiha!"

"Madara Uchiha? I've heard that name before…but where?"asked Naruto. The Kyuubi explained to Naruto that he probably heard it during class as the battle between Harishima Senju, the Shodaime Hokage, and Madara Uchiha was one of the biggest pieces of Konoha history. Naruto nodded his head and told the Fox that was probably the one lecture that he had not slept through."But wait…Uchiha? Does that mean Sasuke is…"

"Yes, that little Uchiha brat on your team is most likely a descendant of Madara Uchiha, however, Madara abandoned his clan in search of power…me. He was bitter at the fact that his rival, the Shodaime Hokage, had received the position of Hokage instead of him, so he left the village. A few years later, he returned to destroy the village using my power. After that, I thought he was dead and I was finally done with that insolent bastard. However, I was wrong. Like I told you, he was the one who freed me from my jinchuriki vessel 12 years ago. Before I could even take a free breath, he had me under his control. By the time his control ended and I had a free mind again, I was already being sealed into you by that other bastard the Yondaime Hokage!"

"Hey! Don't insult the Yondaime like that!" said Naruto. However, there was something he wanted to know. "But, why me? Why did he seal you into me?"

"All I can tell you is that with the seal that he used, I needed to be sealed inside a newborn infant with undeveloped chakra coils, otherwise I would destroy my host upon sealing. I guess you just happened to be the only newborn around." The Kyuubi laughed at Naruto's misfortune, but quickly resumed the remaining portion of his story. "For the past 12 years, I have been trapped inside you. We haven't talked until now because you haven't been truly aware of my presence until just yesterday."

"So if you hate humans so much for sealing you? Then why did you help me?" asked Naruto. He wanted to know why the Fox had helped him and even gave him the power to save Sasuke, despite an Uchiha being the source of his problems.

"Because, that is where I am trying to get at. I want to make a deal with you. Although I don't like the idea of working with you, my attempts at freedom these past 100 years have not been that successful."

"Wait…did you say work with me?"asked Naruto, who was becoming increasingly excited by the thought of a demon fox at his command.

"Don't get the wrong idea Kit. I said I would work with you, not submit myself to you" explained the Fox. Naruto was now slightly depressed.

"So what does that mean?" he asked.

"Simple, I will help you and I will even give you the ability to use my chakra, unopposed in certain situations. However…I expect something in return."

Naruto knew this was too good to be true. "Okay…so what is it you want?" he asked.

"You should know from hearing my story…Actually, it's two things I want. I want my freedom from being sealed again after you die, and yes that day will come in time. I also want you to help me kill that cockroach of an Uchiha."

"Wait, but if you want your freedom, then what's to stop you from destroying the village?" asked Naruto, now concerned with what the Fox was asking.

"This…" The Fox rolled a contract out in front of Naruto, revealing his agreement. "This is a blood contract. Even to demons, this is binding. Basically, it states that I will lend you my chakra should you find yourself in a situation when it is required. With my help, you could become as strong as or even stronger than the Hokage. What I am trying to say is that I will help you along your journey to become Hokage. But, when you do, you will make sure that I am granted my freedom upon your death. I even promise to leave your village alone once I'm free so long as they don't try to imprison me. Furthermore, I will do whatever is within my power to ensure that you die of old age and not battle, although that will still be a possibility if you get too far in over your head."

"Wait…what do you mean? How can you help me survive till I'm an old man?" Naruto asked.

"Have you noticed that you heal extremely fast compared to most people?" asked the Fox.

"No. I thought that was normal" the Fox nearly face planted at the kids cluelessness.

"Baka, when a human breaks a bone, it takes them weeks to recover; yet you can fully heal in a matter of hours." Naruto just gasped at this. This only served to inflate his already big head. "Anyways, you already have an increase healing factor just by the normal flow of my chakra from your seal. If the flow were to be increased, it is possible that you could heal wounds that would kill you."

Now Naruto was wondering what the Fox meant by a 'normal chakra flow' from the seal.

"This seal on me allows for a small amount of my chakra to mix with yours, giving you that increased healing factor of yours and even that massive chakra reserve that you've developed." Naruto had already been informed that he had a massive reserve of chakra after he proved that he was able to create thousands of shadow clones on the night of the Mizuki incident. "However, this seal does pose a problem. Although it is weakening slowly, allowing me to safely flow some more chakra into your system, it was initially designed to keep the two of us separate. I can't just give you all of my power at the moment because that would break the seal, killing both of us. In fact, the most I can give you right now is just a little more than I gave you yesterday."

"What?! But I thought you had a ton of chakra to give!"shouted Naruto.

"I do. The amount of chakra that I possess is so large, that it is considered infinite by your human standards, but this seal prevents me from releasing it all at once. If I try to force more chakra through the seal than it can take at the time, then I run the risk of breaking it, effectively killing the two of us. The more chakra that flows through the seal, the more stress it puts on your body. I have noticed that the seal weakens over time, which will allow you to use even more of my chakra in the future. I also believe that there is a key that can safely open this seal, allowing us to merge our chakra completely and you will have full access to my powers and I will have the power to kill that bastard."

Naruto thought about what the Kyuubi had said, looking over the contract in front of him. The terms on the contract were exactly the same as what they had discussed. However, he saw a name on the contract that he didn't quite recognize. "Whose this 'Kurama' listed on the contract?" asked Naruto.

"That would be me. Kurama is my true name. So what do you say Kit, do we have an agreement?" Naruto took a few more moments to think about what they had discussed. Finally, he figured that everything was okay and signed his part of the contract as Kurama did same .