The Fox and Boar

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto or make any money off of writing this story.


After the Battle

Naruto plopped onto the ground beside Inoichi. He was damn tired. Naruto had killed at least half of that army, and gone toe to toe with Kabuto. His chakra points had been mildly damaged in the fight and some of his internal organs were going to malfunction if he used too much of Kyuubi’s chakra for a while. He had every right to rest at the moment. He closed his eyes and let the cool breeze wash over him. An animal howled in the distance, signaling that it was time to hunt for the night.

Kakashi looked at the remains of the town. Most of it was intact. Many of the building still retained their original shape, a little blood here and there, but fine for the most part. Then his eyes fell on where Naruto hit his Oodama Rasengan. The boy’s strength still astounded him. It was nearly limitless at times. Had it been anyone else from the Rookie Nine on their team, both jounin would be dead at the moment. Luckily for them, Tsuande knew Naruto was an asset, unlike other people in Konoha. He stretched his back, allowing his neck to pop. He nodded it back and forth several times then looked at his blond student.

“Naruto, help me look for any surviving Oto-nin, will ya?”

The boy simply got up and called forth several Kage Bunshin, each looked almost as tired as the original. “Let’s get to work.”

The eight shinobi browsed all over the town, only one man had been found alive so far, but when he saw Naruto, he fainted then died. Kakashi said the shock was too much…

Inoichi was trying to help, although his wound made him grunt in pain every time he bent down to move a piece of rubble. Kakashi finally had to convince him to lie down and rest. He grudgingly obliged.

About an hour later a clone called out that he found someone. It was someone that only Kakashi had fought. His brown hair was dyed red from the laceration on his scalp. The man could barely keep conscious long enough to question him on the spot so the ex-ANBU decided it would be best to take him back to the Leaf.

Naruto, who was becoming nauseous to the overpowering scent of blood, opted to settle down somewhere outside of town, preferably upwind. The other two consented. When they finished unpacking, Kakashi offered to take first watch. No one had any arguments with that. All three of them had rushed to get to Kakeru as soon as possible then had to fight a legion of enemy ninja. Needless to say, they were beat, Naruto in particular. Kyuubi’s chakra was becoming more concentrated each time he used it nowadays, which meant that smaller doses could be almost as draining as when he went to three tails.

The younger blond changed cloths, discarding his other uniform that was cut up and nearly singed to a crisp in some places before unrolling his blanket from his bag. Naruto was asleep before his head hit his sleeping mat. Meanwhile Inoichi stared into the fire, his thoughts clouded. Kakashi noticed the distant look in his eye and decided to say something over the meager crackling of the fire.

“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? How he manages to do it all.”

Inoichi, realizing that the conversation was about Naruto, responded: “Yeah…who taught him to fight that? He was just…everywhere. It was unreal to see him in combat.”

“I only taught him basic chakra control, most of which was instructed in the Academy. He made up that style. If you’ve ever seen him train, you’ll know it instantly. That style he uses is basically freeform. Yet there is always some order to it all. One punch can lead to another or a perfect guard. It takes a lot of stamina to maintain though. If his reflexes weren’t as they are now, it’d be a useless taijutsu. But for Naruto, it seems perfect. So unpredictable and deadly.”

“And he’s still a genin?”

“Officially: yeah. But in skill level…he surpassed me years ago. He just hasn’t had time to take any exams.”

Inoichi fell silent, taking in what he just heard. This boy wasn’t even an adult yet he was already more experienced than the two jounin could ever imagine. A shinobi’s life was truly remarkable.

---

Naruto woke up six hours later. His body was sore, but then again, it was usually aching when he got up anyway. He saw his sensei leering at the horizon, seemingly waiting for an enemy to attack. To his side, the captured Oto-nin was bound to a tree, his arms and legs tied while a seal rest on his forehead. It was draining his chakra and physical energy away to ensure that he couldn’t do anything. There were small cuts all over his body, mostly his shoulders and arms. His sleeves looked burned, most likely from a fire jutsu of some kind. He was lucky to not have faced the Jinchuuriki in battle; there would be much more severe damage to his body then.

“Hey Kakashi-sensei, I can take over from here. You get some sleep.”

The silver haired jounin looked at the blond before heading to his sleeping bag. Inoichi snored loudly as he traipsed through the campsite.

Naruto gazed at the stars after Kakashi settled down. The night air was crisp. It moved across his exposed flesh smoothly. Naruto sighed in the near darkness. His shadow danced pitifully in front of him while the fire licked at the last remaining logs. His back seemed to be the only part of him that was warm, as it was closest to the fire. But he stayed still, listening as the wind murmured something barely audible in his ear. It was nice at this time of night.

In the distance, a twig broke. Naruto was up, kunai twirling in his fingers in no time. A deer moved from one side of the campsite to the other, ignoring the normally loud mouth ninja. Naruto sat back down. Damn animals messing with his quiet time…

That reminded him, he hadn’t meditated yet today. He began to focus.

He shut his eyelids, allowing himself to slip into his happy place. It was early fall. Just warm enough to not need a jacket, yet cool enough to sit directly in the sun. The ground was littered with nearly dead leaves, each crunching as the blond shifted his weight. On the horizon, the orange sun cast down an amber light across the meadow, setting it on fire with color. The individual blades of grass glistened with various hues. Everything was…orange. Naruto saw the pinkish clouds move at a lackadaisical pace across the sky. They swirled overhead, just out of reach. In the east, a waterfall cascaded down the mountain side, reflecting yellow and red onto the grass around him. The water fell peacefully, creating an oasis just for him.

There was no demon, no fox, no anger, no fear, nothing. Nobody but Naruto. And he smiled…even though he was alone. At least he didn’t have to put up with a sadistic fox whose pessimistic attitude always destroyed Naruto’s sense of self worth. But that didn’t matter now. Here, inside his mind, not even the demon could penetrate his thoughts. Meditation was nice…

In the real world, the winds shifted. They brought with them the stench that had filled the genin’s nose all afternoon. The horrible memories that had been created several hours beforehand flooded back into Naruto’s mind. That effectively destroyed any sense of tranquility he had obtained.

The blond tried to forget it all. He wanted so much to not recall what had transpired earlier. His stomach lurched. The nausea and grief returned. He knew what he had to do in retribution.

He got up, created a clone and then left. The Kage Bunshin had strict orders to not leave the area. It had more than enough chakra to create more and fight if need be. Naruto just hoped that wasn’t necessary.

Because of his and Kakashi’s sensitive noses, they had moved three kilometers north of Kakeru. He made his way back to the now empty town. Once in the middle, he created more Kage Bunshins. Each set to work immediately.

---

Both Inoichi and Kakashi awoke about the same time. They were greeted by Naruto, who had begun working on breakfast: some rice balls and fresh water. It beat the manufactured crap that came in plastic bags that the ANBU were forced to eat…

About twenty minutes later, both stomachs were full and the jounin were packing up their supplies.

Naruto ran into camp, covered in dirt…and blood. He popped his clone on the head to make it disappear. His teammates were now confused as to what the boy had been doing, and why he needed a Kage Bunshin to cover for him.

“Naruto…where were you?”

“I needed to do something. So I did it.” The answer was short and vague, very much unlike Naruto.

“Why are you covered in blood? Where you attacked?” Inoichi asked. It didn’t appear so, his clothes weren’t torn.

“I went to bury the people of Kakeru. It didn’t seem right to just leave them so I put their souls at rest. That’s it.”

Both men shut up at that. The though never occurred to either of them yet the boy who nearly failed at the Academy was sensible enough to help someone in the afterlife.

Naruto packed his stuff quickly, ignoring the occasional look from his teammates. He wanted to get their prisoner back to Konoha as soon as possible. Technically they were in enemy territory still. There was no telling how many more reinforcements Kabuto may send if they waited too long.

The blond ran over to the knocked out Oto-nin. He bent down, checked his pulse then hurled him over his shoulder. Kakashi grabbed his stuff and took his position at the head of the line. Inoichi got behind him while Naruto, who was in the best condition at the moment, was in the back. They began their trip home.

---

Inoichi’s gash was bruising. His skin around the stab wound was purple. He limped on his right leg, slowing down the group’s pace tremendously. Yet Naruto never once complained. The Oto-nin woke up once and tried to untangle the ropes on his hands before passing out from fatigue. That seal really helped.

Two days had passed and they were just over three-fourths of the way back to Konoha. Currently, they were staying at a hotel about sixty kilometers from Konoha. Kakashi said that they should arrive by tomorrow afternoon if they kept their current pace.

The town they stayed in was sparsely populated. There was a hotel, a store and a self proclaimed hospital. The population couldn’t have been more than five hundred people. Despite the size of their hotel, their rooms were nicely furnished. It wasn’t as grand as the hotels in many major cities in the Land of Fire, but it was quaint, comfy. Naruto took it upon himself to look around town while his teammates tried to interrogate the Oto-nin once more. It wasn’t really important for him to be there. The man was close to being crippled with that seal and Kakashi was almost at full health. They’d be fine.

He visited the store, and stocked up on some instant ramen. Just outside the store, he sealed the five cups in a scroll and continued making his way through town. Apparently they weren’t used to lodging many ninja as there wasn’t a weapon shop anywhere. The store didn’t even sell kunai…

About a half hour later Naruto decided to head back to his hotel room. Along the way, he heard a scream from Inoichi’s room. He banged on the door and asked what was going on. The door’s lock clicked and Kakashi pulled it open. On the bed sat the enemy ninja, writhing in pain. Inoichi was trying to cover his mouth to prevent him from screaming, but it didn’t work. The man continued bellowing in anguish.

“Kit that man will die soon.”

‘What do you mean “soon”?’

“In the next five minutes. Why are you holding the enemy anyway?”

‘We need to some information from him, but he’s worthless if he dies now…Damn it, all of this will have been for nothing.’

“Not quiet. This may hurt you a bit but if you hold your hand against his head, I can try to calm his heartbeat. The worst that’ll happen is he dies, and that’s going to happen regardless…”

“Get back!” Naruto moved towards the man whose hands were shaking and chest convulsing.

‘Like this?’

“Yes, now focus my chakra, not yours. Just don’t overdo it. Push a little bit into him.”

Naruto did as told, forcing some of Kyuubi’s chakra into the man’s face. Instantly he settled down. Both men looked at Naruto whose eyes had just begun to glaze over. His pupils dilated and his body swayed slightly, but he maintained his balance.

---

“This is some high level sealing technique here…” Kyuubi growled. He saw exactly what Naruto saw at the moment.

‘Where are we?’

“I’m guessing that my chakra reacted badly to the jutsu this man was under. You must have created a mental link to his mind by accident…”

‘So this is his mind? Wait…what do you mean “the jutsu this man was under”?’

“Come on now. Do you honestly expect a soldier of Orochimaru’s to be walking around with classified secrets in enemy territory without there being some type of insurance policy that those secrets die with him? Obviously Orochimaru manipulated his brain with some ninjutsu so that his brain would start dying if captured or something.”

‘Can it affect me in anyway?’

“I think this is as far as it goes for you. Lucky for you your friend back there didn’t try anything; he might have died in the process.”

Naruto began walking around the Oto-nin’s mind. It seemed so…empty. The justu must have been activated a while ago.

He thought of something. ‘Hey, can I check his memories or something?’

“I think you can try…just don’t do anything stupid. I think that if he dies, we both go with him.”

‘What the hell?’

“You really are stupid. The mental bond you must have created is linking your mind with his. You are currently inside his mind. If it were to say, stop working, then so would yours. Don’t worry. My idea worked, his body’s stabilized at the moment. Just don’t mess with anything.”

‘Okay then…’

Naruto walked down a path, the thoughts were organized to some extent. He focused on an image of Orochimaru and then his head was filled with all the information that the Oto-nin knew of his commander. It turns out Orochimaru was smarter than Naruto thought, way smarter. The man hardly knew anything at all. Only that he was very powerful and not someone you wanted to piss off…

Next the blond tried picturing Kabuto. That brought up some better results. The man was sent to his base as a normal jounin at first, two weeks prior the attack on Kakeru but then took command the day before the team from Konoha arrived. So this had all been planned. But why?

Not knowing many high ranking ninja in Orochimaru’s army, Naruto’s list of names to check grew shorter and shorter. Then finally he thought of Sasuke. The face was pictured then his mind was flooded with tons of information. Uchiha Sasuke had actually been the one to set up the base…he was there not five weeks ago but left. The base’s main objective was…the central power for the second assault on Konoha. Everything went fuzzy from there. The only other bit of info that Naruto could squeeze out of him was that there were four new bases being formed within the Land of Fire…and another three in the Land of Wind.

If Naruto had an actual body, he would have needed to sit down. That was what the base was for?! To destroy Konoha!

‘We have to tell Obaa-chan soon. She needs to know about all this. Had it not been for her friend’s complaint, we would have war breaking out in the streets in a matter of months. We have to do something!’

“Kit, settle down. I already warned you about this. We have plenty of time to act.”

‘What the hell do you mean? That prediction? That was the warning? That was what was supposed to keep Konoha safe?’

“Yes.”

Naruto was prepared to lose it on the fox. He hadn’t said shit about the destruction of the Leaf except that Akatsuki was the biggest threat. He was forcibly pulled from the Oto-nin’s mind, his body and mind merging after being separated for what seemed like a few minutes. Naruto felt light headed, what the hell just happened?

Inoichi bent down and checked the boy’s pupils, then his pulse. He was satisfied and backed away. Naruto jumped up and looked at the man spread eagle on the bed. His chest was no longer heaving. He was dead.

Kakashi broke the silence. “Naruto, what did you do?”

“What do you mean?”

The ex-ANBU’s one exposed eye focused on Naruto. “You ran over to him shouting for us to move then you placed your hand on his face. Your fingers glowed red for a few seconds then it looked you passed out. All the while, the guy stopped moving. We didn’t know what was happening so we just waited. A few minutes later, your face scrunched into a scowl then your lips were moving, but there was no sound coming out. So I moved your hand and you woke up. Now what did you do?”

Naruto looked down at the dead man next to him then to his sensei, “I…uh…broke into his mind.”

“How?” Inoichi was very interested now. This boy just kept getting more intriguing by the moment. Now he was claiming to read minds.

“I just put chakra into his brain. Then I was inside it.”

“Right, now why did you do this?” Kakashi was getting a little annoyed at how evasive the answers were getting.

“Umm…” Naruto looked Inoichi dead in the eye, then back at Kakashi. “He told me to.”

“Oh…” the silence that followed was incredibly awkward.

Then Naruto remembered what he saw. “We need to leave as soon as possible. I saw some very important information in there that Obaa-chan needs to know.”

Deciding that this information was very…delicate, Kakashi dropped the conversation. “We’ll leave before dawn then.”

Both Kakashi and Naruto left the room. Inoichi wanted to hear more…then he realized what was on his bed. “Damn it guys. What am I supposed to do with this corpse?”