Chapter 13

 Uzumaki Naruto's dreamscape was seldom a place of peace and quiet, despite usually appearing when he was asleep. Now, the silence of his dreamscape was again shattered by shouting and the tinkling of shattered glass.

 "I'll kill him! I'll rip his legs off and shove them where the sun doesn't shine! That white-haired, loud-mouthed, no-account pervert is a dead man!"

 "Geez, Dad, calm down. You'll burst a ghostly blood vessel."

 Kazama Arashi snarled a curse, wondering why his son was being so cavalier about the situation.

 "You know, for someone who just got thrown off a cliff, you seem pretty okay with it. Exactly what part of this don't you get? You could die! Not to mention having to act like such a fool just to get that idiot to train you in the first place…"

 Uzumaki Naruto was not a child anymore – at least, not in his mind. I don't need to be coddled or babied!

 "Who's the one who's always going on about how my duty is so freaking important, Dad? How if I give up or let the Ninetails win, I'm letting everyone down? Well, what better test than surviving a fall into a canyon? I gotta learn what Pervert Sennin was trying to teach me some time, don't I?"

 "Oh, that's rich. The ends justify the means? What if you were just a few days from figuring it all out on your own? All the training in the world is useless if you're dead!"

 Naruto shrugged.

 "Dad, you're twelve years too late to be trying to save me from a life of violence."

 The Fourth Hokage stopped in his tracks, gaping at his son as he continued to speak.

 "I've faced Zabuza and Haku, Orochimaru, Sound-nins, Mist-nins, Kiba, all sorts of enemies. Any one of them could have killed me, if I'd wasted the time on worrying about that. Being a shinobi means we're always at risk. We just have to carry on and do what we have to. Or have I got it wrong?"

 Arashi sighed. Kid's got a point.

 "No, you've got it down. It's just not easy for a parent to watch their child undergo something that dangerous, training or not."

 Naruto stood up from where had been sitting at the table in his dreamscape room, pacing over to the window.

 "You're treating me like I'm some rank amateur, a kid who's gotta be protected from all the dangerous stuff out there. But that's because all you really remember of me is as a baby. I'm a Genin in the Leaf, not the child you left behind. If you really want to help me, then help me with the challenges I'm facing now, not the ones you're still trying to make up for missing."

 The Fourth sensed that his son meant what he said, but also caught the faint undertone of resentment in Naruto's words. The two of them were closer than they had been when he'd first spoken to the boy, true. But not all wounds heal instantly.

 "If that's the way you want it, then who am I to argue? Tell me what you need, and we'll get it done."

 Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, happy that his father hadn't made it harder than it had to be. Besides, he had his own revenge planned for the Pervert Sennin anyway…

 "I just want to go over the stuff that's happened since Pervert Sennin started teaching me, and get the basics down. I gotta get better at this, or else I'll never be able to reach the level of summoning Jiraiya's at."

 "So start from the beginning, and we'll see what you're still not getting."

 Where to begin? Having to bribe the old sage with a Sexy no Jutsu? Endless attempts to summon toads calling only tadpoles? Naruto had plenty of moments he'd much rather have done over again. Only one of them stuck in his memory, though.

 "Why weren't you there when I was just talking with the Ninetails about using his power?" 

 "It's an isolated experience. You were accessing his psyche directly through his chakra, so you weren't here, in your mindscape. You and the Ninetails were in direct communication. And technically, I was there. I was the gate that kept him from getting to you physically."

 "You think it's worth trusting that thing? I mean, when I fought Haku and the red chakra came out, I was losing control, fightin' like Kiba even. Can't be doing that against Neji or some other enemy, or else I'm dead."

 Arashi waved a finger, admonishing his son.

 "Think, Naruto. What was it about fighting Haku that was different from what you need to do in the canyon?"

 "Well, I was pissed at Haku for not being able to fight his Ice Mirrors. In the canyon, I was trying to find anything to help me survive, or get out of there."

 "That's the difference, right there."

 "What're you talking about?"

 "Let's have a look."

* * *

 He had awakened in the middle of a dark, wet corridor, gingerly picking himself up out of the water and looking about.

 Last thing I remember I was falling down the canyon, getting ready to die. So, what, I'm in the afterlife already? Pretty dreary place, if you ask me.

 Before long, Naruto's eyes adjusted, and he began to make out the substance of the place – worn pipes dripping water down upon him, corridors leading out in all directions, and all of it lit with an eerie light; glowing dark red, pulsing as though mimicking the beating of a heart.

 The blonde Genin had not seen this place before, but he would have known that light – or at least its color – anywhere. Naruto had felt its influence only once, while fighting Haku. Gotta be the Ninetails' power giving off that light. That Fox is a tough customer. Made me strong, but it really wasn't me doing the fighting out there. Can't be having that.

 He had felt nothing upon first waking, but as Naruto began to walk, a feeling of faint dread began to creep its way up his spine. Each step was taking him closer to something – what it was, he didn't know, but it wasn't going to be a real happy place. Not lit up like this, it's not.

 After some time, he found himself in front of a metal gate, shut tight and sealed with a paper ward. Behind it was blank darkness, but Naruto was not stupid enough to believe the shadows were empty. Whatever had been troubling him was in there.

 "WHELP…COME CLOSER."

 The words were not so much said as they were insinuated into his mind, assaulting his very soul with implied hate. The blonde Genin snarled, fully recognizing what had spoken.

 You think you're the only one who deserves to feel hate?

 "Screw you, you giant hairball! Think I don't know you want to kill me and take control? Go ahead and try. My father's already taken care of you."

 "THE SON HIDES BEHIND HIS FATHER'S FOUL SEAL. YOU ARE A MATCHED PAIR."

 So he wants out, does he? That could be arranged.

 "Bitch all you want, but you're not getting out – except under my terms."

 "TERMS? WHAT NEED HAVE I TO LISTEN TO YOUR INSIGNIFICANT TERMS?"

 "How about that drop we're taking down the canyon? You're gonna be as dead as me once we hit the bottom."

 The Demon Fox stayed silent for a while, finally responding in an irritated tone as it bowed to reality.

 "SPEAK, WHELP."

 "I get it that you hate me, and you probably hate everything in sight. I can't change that, and it's your problem anyway. You're angry? Fine. I can give you a way to release your frustration. Let me have full access to your power, not just drops and trickles. I get as much chakra as I can handle, and you can come along as we wreak havoc on the enemy, as long as I'm the one in control. You just stay out of my head, and we're cool."

 "WHAT BENEFIT IS THERE TO ME? I WOULD NOT BE THE ONE WHO FIGHTS. THERE IS NO MEANING IN DESTRUCTION UNLESS MY OWN HAND INFLICTS IT."

 "Ah, but I wasn't done explaining the agreement."

 "THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTING."

 "If you fight alongside me, someday I'll break this seal. When I do, we'll fight for real. You win, you can have control. Body and soul, if that's what you want. If I win, you're mine. Let me draw on your chakra, strength, and even summon you, if we can figure out how to work that. What do you say?"

 "DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL? HOW DO I KNOW YOU WILL EVER CHALLENGE ME AND BREAK THE SEAL?"

 "Hey! Let's get something straight, you demonic furball. I don't care what you think of me. But Uzumaki Naruto never goes back on his word. That's my ninja way, and don't you ever forget it! If I say we're gonna fight, then damn it, we're gonna fight!

 "You don't have to agree to this deal. But believe me when I say I'd be happy to die right now if it means I'll take your nine-tailed ass with me. It's up to you."

 The Ninetails laughed.

 "HA! YOU HUMANS CLING TO LIFE LIKE LEECHES. YOU ARE BLUFFING."

 "Am I? You killed my mother. My father is stuck forever as your seal, dead to everyone but you and me. You nearly destroyed the Leaf Village. Look in my eyes, bastard. Sasuke isn't the only one who has something to kill."

 The room shook as the Ninetails roared with laughter.

 "YOU WOULD HAVE MADE A GOOD DEMON, WHELP. YOU HAVE THE ART OF BARGAINING WITH THE ADVANTAGE MASTERED.

 "VERY WELL! IF YOU ARE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE ME, THE GREATEST OF THE YOUKAI, THEN YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR WISH, AND I SHALL HAVE MY FREEDOM. UNTIL THEN, USE MY POWER AS YOU WILL. I SHALL WAIT FOR THE TIME WHEN I DESTROY YOU."

 "Yeah, you do that," Naruto snorted. "Then you can join Dosu, the Mist-nins, and Kiba in the Hall of Shame."

 The Ninetails shrugged off Naruto's warning.

 "BAH, ENOUGH WORDS. I TIRE OF YOU, AND I HAVE AGREED TO YOUR TERMS. LET US EXIT THE CANYON."

 "For once, we actually agree on something. Tell me this isn't going to become a habit."

 "BELIEVE ME, WHELP. IT WILL NOT."

 Arashi turned back to his son as the just-completed memory faded out.

 "That's the difference I was talking about. You were in control the whole time, and the agreement went down on your terms. The Haku fight was pure instinct; you might as well have been a wild animal. This time, you made a rational choice, and you'll probably cheat death in the process. If you can remember that control is the key, the Fox is never going to be able to beat you when you fight."

 Naruto shrugged as his father spoke.

 "I don't want to rely on it that much, Dad. Like the furball said, if I'm not doing the fighting, what's the point?"

 "So don't use it when you're training. The entire point of having the Ninetails' power is as an emergency reserve, or to summon. The rest of the time, use your own chakra, and build it up. You'll have to do that in order to win the fight with him anyhow."

 "Yeah, I guess," Naruto groused. "Now I just gotta get out of this damn canyon."

 "Well, what are you standing around here for? Go! You wanna die when you've just extorted the Ninetails?"

 "Hell, no! It's toad time!"

* * *

 Even before Naruto's perception returned to the swiftly approaching canyon floor, his hands were in motion, a quick bite to a thumb producing the necessary blood, as Jiraiya had taught him. He ran through the seals quickly, the one part of the summoning process he had managed to master – and gave his own version of a prayer.

 Now WORK this time, damn it!

 "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning no Jutsu)!"

 Naruto's mental request was answered, not by the mere puff of smoke that he had seen every time before, but by a red glow, slowly spreading forth from the palm he held outthrust. Looks like even the Ninetails keeps its word when it's given.

 The canyon echoed with a great noise, the faint pop of Naruto's prior attempts replaced with a roar, air displaced by whatever was being summoned forth. And as the rush of noise stopped, so did Naruto's descent.

 A faint smell of water and tobacco greeted his nostrils as the blonde Genin looked around; gradually, the smoke subsided, and he saw what had answered his prayer. Now that is one big toad!

 "Yeah! Take that, Pervert Sennin! First successful summon and it's even bigger than the toad you were riding!"

 Naruto's shout had hardly begun to echo in the canyon before it was drowned out by another roar – this time, of words.

 "OI, YOU PUNK! WHAT THE HELL YA DOIN' ON MY HEAD? WHERE'S JIRAIYA?"

 "Whaddaya mean, where's Pervert Sennin? He ain't the one who did the summoning, I was!"

 The giant toad was silent for a brief moment, eyes rotating inward to gaze at the boy on its head.

 "YOU SUMMONED ME."

 "Yeah! How many times I gotta say it?"

 "BWAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU GOT SOME GUTS, SHRIMP, LYING YOUR MOUTH OFF LIKE THAT. A PUP LIKE YOU BEING ABLE TO SUMMON THE BOSS TOAD, GAMABUNTA-SAMA? LIKE HELL!"

 Without bidding, another voice stirred in Naruto's mind, rage directed outwards, and not at him, for once.

 THIS TOAD DARES TO MOCK MY POWER? LET ME LOOSE! I WILL TEACH HIM TO LAUGH AT THE GREATEST OF THE YOUKAI.

 Naruto had been afraid that access to the Demon Fox's power would lead to something like this. If he backed down now, what would keep the Ninetails from walking all over him in the future?

 Hey! I gave you my word, and you gave me yours. If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it. This is my show, so stay out of my head and let me handle it! You'll get your precious dignity back.

 I HAD BETTER.

 Geez, self-absorbed, ain't he? Shoulda left him in that cage.

 "Shrimp? Pup? You're not one to read much, are you?"

 "WHADDAYA MEAN, KID?"

 Gamabunta's eyes narrowed as a red glow began to gather around Naruto. Slowly, the boy's face took on a more feral look, the demonic power within him showing its effects. The blonde Genin snarled, burning to avenge the insult to his capabilities.

 "You know what they say. Don't judge a book by its cover. I'm no different. You want to insult me, go right ahead. But don't blame me when you have to tell somebody someday that the very first thing you did when you met the son of the Fourth Hokage – the future Hokage of the Leaf - was call him a weak-ass shrimp. People might start to think you weren't so smart."

 "HO, SO THE PUP HAS FANGS! THAT LOUD MOUTH OF YOURS IS LIKE THE FOURTH'S, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT. TELL YOU WHAT – YOU GET IN A BATTLE, CALL ME UP AND I'LL SEE IF YOU REALLY ARE HIS BOY. THEN YOU CAN HAVE THE SAME HONOR I GAVE THE FOURTH."

 "And that would be…?"

 "TO STAND ON MY HEAD! YOU THINK I ENJOY HAVING PEOPLE RIDING ME LIKE A DAMN HORSE?"

 "Heh. Guess not. So all you need is for me to prove myself in battle, huh? I can do that."

 "WE'LL SEE, KID. NOW LET'S GET OUT OF HERE. MY LEGS ARE CRAMPING UP FROM HOLDING US HERE."

 "Suits me. I gotta go find Pervert Sennin and kick his ass for this anyhow."

 "SAVE SOME FOR ME, WILL YA? I OWE HIM A BEATING FOR PUTTING ME IN THIS SITUATION."

 "Would you count kicking his butt a battle to prove myself in?"

 "I AIN'T GONNA MAKE IT THAT EASY FOR YA, KID."

 "Eh, can't say I didn't try. Let's go, then. I got some more fighting to do."

 "HANG ON, THEN, 'CAUSE I AIN'T GONNA SAVE YA TWICE IN ONE DAY."

* * *

 Naruto looked around as he and Gamabunta emerged from the canyon in a single bound, seeing no sign of Jiraiya anywhere.

 "Looks like the pervert's gone off peeping again, big guy. We'll just have to save the beatings for another day."

 "DON'T WORRY ABOUT HIM. IT'S GONNA TAKE MORE THAN KICKING JIRAIYA'S BUTT TO SHOW ME YOU'RE THE FOURTH'S SON. I'LL BE WATCHING, KID!"

 Having said his thing, the Boss Toad disappeared in a giant cloud of smoke, the same way he had arrived. Naruto stared at the cloud for a moment, letting the events of the last few days sink in. He was a true summoner now, and when Itachi got back from the "diplomatic mission" the Speaker had sent his ferret sidekick on, he would be able to summon more than just toads.

 "Heh. Wonder what Neji's face is gonna look like when I show him how many contracts I've signed?"

 [He will not be particularly impressed, I think.]

 Naruto's head snapped around as he looked for the animal that had just spoken to him.

 "Who said that?"

 A large black shape swept past him, resolving into a giant raven, fully four feet long from beak to tail, with a wingspan that dwarfed the hawks and eagles he normally saw above Konoha. The raven circled briefly in mid-air, before coming to rest nearby, staring at him with its dark, glossy eyes. As the blonde Genin stared back, something the two sparrows he had first talked to weeks ago came back to him, their last bit of advice. When you are ready, seek out any bird, and ask them to lead you to the Ebon Shadows.

 "I take it you're one of the Ebon Shadows, the raven tribe?"

 [You are partially correct, Chosen One. The ravens have never needed fancy names or titles. We only distinguish certain among our number. There is but one Ebon Shadow, and you see him before you.]

 "Chosen One? What are you talking about? All the other animals call me Speaker. Did I suddenly pick up another job?"

 [No. I am merely calling you by your true title, the one every human such as yourself has worn since the first human struck a bargain with Nature. You are the Mother's Chosen One, as your mother, grandfather and uncle were before you. Most animals have neither the attention span nor the respect for your position to use the full title; that is where the Speaker name comes from.]

 "Nice. Do I have to remember all that?"

 [It will help. The old ways are not in wide use any longer, but several of the more traditional tribes still abide by them, including the wolves. If you wish, I will address you as Speaker.]

 "Sure, I guess. What did you mean by saying I'm not going to impress anyone with contracts?"

 [You will only have one contract, not many, if you concentrate on your duties in the forest. A Speaker does not require contracts to summon his subjects.]

 "If I don't need contracts, then why did I have to sign one to summon Gamabunta and all those tadpoles?"

 The Ebon Shadow's only response was to spread its wings and take flight, gliding towards the tree line.

 [Come into the forest with me, Uzumaki Naruto. I will answer any questions you have as we travel.]

 Still curious, Naruto played along. After a time, as the bright sun of the cliff top was replaced with light shining through trees, the raven spoke again.

 [Gamabunta, and most of the toads bound by that contract, are not of this forest and its lands. You therefore require a contract in order to call them into battle. However, the animals of any region are much easier to summon for their Speaker. No contract is needed once you have established a bond between yourself and a tribal leader. Unless you learn to summon other creatures not of the Konoha region, you would only have one contract to show to Hyuga Neji.]

 "How do you know his whole name?"

 [The rank of Ebon Shadow makes me the tribal chief of the ravens and their Lorekeeper. It also makes me your personal Lorekeeper, as my predecessors were for your ancestors. My master and mentor was the Lorekeeper for your grandfather, for example. The Lorekeeper's duty is to know everything about his master, be it his life story or simply a record of battles. My tribe and I have been keeping track of your life for some time, waiting until you assumed your rightful role.]

 Naruto stopped in his tracks, looking up at the flat expression on the raven's face.

 "Wait a minute. You knew all along what I was? Why didn't you tell me all this stuff when I was a kid?"

 [The Mother provides all, Naruto. Her children are forbidden to force a Speaker to assume their role, whether as a child or as an adult. Even if we had wanted to speak to you or tell you of your abilities, we could not have. Every Speaker must approach the role in individual fashion, free of outside influence. It would not do to have a Speaker who served, but resented their duties. Nobody would benefit.]

 "It's not like I wouldn't have said yes if you'd asked when I was little. You have any idea how much I wanted to have a friend back then?"

 [Of course. There were many who knew what was going on in your life. But try to understand, Naruto. Had we come forward then, offering to bring forth your abilities, and tempted you to assume the role, it would have been useless. You would have been too young to appreciate the job that came with the ability. Even your great-grandfather Kotaro was 14 before he took the title; he was the youngest Speaker we had ever known before you came along.]

 Naruto was silent for some time, continuing to walk through the forest, but not looking at the raven. When he spoke again, it was in a low, controlled tone.

 "You may have a point, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Let's get something straight right now. I don't care how much you know about me, or my life. If you want me to keep doing this crazy job, and you want to keep yours, don't ever withhold anything from me again. I want the truth, no matter how much it might suck, or how brutal you have to be. We clear?"

 [Crystal clear.]

 "Good. Now let's go wherever you were taking us already. I ain't got time to waste with the Finals so close."

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