Chapter 25 The Shadowed Man

It did not take long for them to reach Tazuna's house. No one spoke the whole way. Though It did not escape Kakashi that Naruto had his head down. He supposed that the boy was confused about what had happened, it certainly looked like it. Either way the events with the faceless demon was an interesting one to say the least. Kakashi had never heard of summons searching for a summoner, though so little was known about summons, even by the summons themselves it was certainly possible. The boy appeared to be in a trance as he signed the contract, and immediately as soon as the demon disappeared he snapped out of it. It was strange, why give someone a contract if they would not know they had it. Or did these summons act differently. There was something off about the situation, though Kakashi would not know until he could speak to one of the summons, but these summons were different. Who knew what they could do or why they chose Naruto. There would be an interesting conversation later.

Once they finally made it to the house the silence was broken by Tazuna's Daughter Tsunami. She was happy to see her father alive and greeted each of the team. Though she seemed wary of Naruto, possibly his eyes. They were off putting at times. Once inside Kakashi told Naruto what had happened. Naruto seemed genuinely confused by what was said. Though only Naruto knew it was an act, he could not tell what Kakashi thought of the situation.

"So, I have a summoning contract?", asks Naruto.

"It appears that way, though why they chose you and put you in a trance is beyond me", says Kakashi.

"So, what do I do", asks Naruto.

Kakashi thinks for a moment.

"Well, tomorrow I want you to try and summon something, if they sought you out then I doubt they will harm you. But just incase I will be there to Hopefully I can talk to one of the summons to figure out what happened", said Kakashi.

Naruto nodded.

"What was that thing anyway, it looked like a demon", said Sasuke.

"I'm not sure, but it did not make any sounds no matter how it moved. It was unsettling", says Kakashi.

"Ok, what I want to know is why it tickled Zabuza", asks Sakura.

"That is a good question", said Kakashi.

"Anyway, we should head in and get some sleep. Zabuza is still out there and I want you all training to get to a suitable level. He is going to be waiting for a while. He will more than likely be watching us from afar, the fact that Naruto has summons was not good for him, he will probably see what they can do first", says Kakashi.

The others nodded. As they slept Naruto woke in the middle of the night. He did not rise from his spot. tomorrow he could begin his search for the divine flower to complete the reagent. He laid there staring to the ceiling.

When the next day came they all met in a simple field filled with ample trees dotting the landscape.

"Ok, Sasuke, Sakura you two are going to do some chakra control exercises. This is also a practical exercise. You will be climbing trees", said Kakashi.

"Climbing trees", repeated Sakura confused.

"Yep, and you will do it without hands", said Kakashi as he walked to the tree.

He placed a foot on the tree and walked up it in defiance of gravity.

"Ok, I have got to learn that", said Naruto.

"You will, but first I want to speak to one of your summons. Now Sakura, Sasuke. When climbing do not use to much or to little chakra, you need the perfect amount. Do this long enough and it will become second nature to you", said Kakashi.

He reached into his kunai pouch and tossed each one a kunai.

"Use those to mark your progress", said Kakashi.

As they picked up the kunai Kakashi started to leave when he heard cheering. He turned around. Sakura was already to the top of the tree.

"Well, that didn't take long", said Kakashi.

Sakura jumped down.

"That was fun", said Sakura.

"Ok, you keep doing that for a while. See how long you can go before I return. Once I'm done with Naruto I will show you a low level Genjutsu you can use", said Kakashi.

Sakura nodded as she headed to the tree. Naruto followed Kakashi deeper into the forest.

"Ok Naruto see if you can summon something. I'm not sure what hand signs are needed so try it without them. If it doesn't work we'll figure something out", said Kakashi.

Naruto nodded. He bit his thumb and slammed his hand on the ground. A puff of smoke could be seen. Standing where the smoke once was was a large fish-frog like creature.

"Who summons Xel, keeper of the scroll", says the creature.

Kakashi stared at the creature before him confused. This was nothing like the faceless demon from before. Xel turns to Naruto and bows.

"What is thy bidding, my lord", asks Xel.

"Uhh, answer his questions", said Naruto while pointing at Kakashi.

Xel turns to Kakashi.

"Very well, speak brief mortal", says Xel.

Kakashi narrows his eye at the 'brief mortal' comment but says nothing of it.

"Yes well, I was wondering why are you different from that faceless creature from before", asks Kakashi.

"The Eldritch Beast Contract holds many creatures who mortal minds cannot comprehend. The faceless creature you refer to is a Nightgaunt, a beast who cannot make sound. They tickle their prey with their tails then drag them to their realm, the Dreamlands", said Xel.

"Ok well what are you then", asks Kakashi.

"I am a Deep One, we are the children of Father Dagon and Mother Hydra", said Xel.

Kakashi nods.

"What else can Naruto summon", asks Kakashi.

"He can Summon Dagon and Hydra, the Nightgaunts, Deep Ones, Shoggoth the formless black ooze who can change their shape to become tools, The Byakhee flying creatures who can move fast as light, and many other creatures that you have undoubtedly never heard of", says Xel.

"Ok why did you choose Naruto", asks Kakashi.

"He has the eyes", said Xel.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that.

"What does his eyes have to do with anything", asks Kakashi.

"We have waited for many eons for the one who bears the eyes to awaken. Those eyes are the eyes of the god Azathoth", says Xel.

"Ok why put Naruto in a trance", ask Kakshi.

"It is a side effect of the eyes, they long for us as we long for them. With my young lord now in possession of the contract it will not happen again", said Xel.

"Ok last question what is Azathoth", asks Kakashi.

Xel smiles.

"Azathoth is a false name for the first being to ever exist, it's true name has a power far greater and more terrible than anything you can possibly imagine. He is a sleeping God who resides at the center of infinity. Lesser gods dance around him to the sounds of drums and flutes that keep him asleep", says Xel.

"Ok well that answers nothing, but that's all I wanted to know, thanks", says Kakashi.

Xel turns to Naruto.

"Do you require anything else my lord", asks Xel.

"No I'm good, enjoy your day Xel", said Naruto.

Xel bows before dispelling.

"So what do you think I should do Kakashi-sensei", asks Naruto.

"Well if your summons are attracted to you for your eyes, then I have to say don't lose those eyes. Other than that just be careful when you summon something, I had no idea of any of the creatures he said you can summon. Only use them if the situation calls for it", said Kakashi.

Naruto nods.

"Don't worry sensei I'm always careful", says Naruto.

They head back to the others. After a moment Kakashi lets Naruto train in tree walking as he takes Sakura away to teach her the genjutsu.

"So what happened", asks Sasuke as he runs up the tree.

"Apparently I can summon some creatures Kakashi has never heard of, they came to me because of my eyes", said Naruto.

Sasuke shrugs.

"You can't summon that, thing you showed me can you", asks Sasuke.

"You know what, I don't know", said Naruto genuinely curious if he could do such a thing.

He watches Sasuke pale as Naruto ignores him to concentrate of tree walking. Naruto creates dozens of shadow clones and instructs them to search for the Devine flower. He continues with the exercise. Sasuke was already fifteen steps up the tree. Naruto was only nine.

After Sasuke left feeling he was making good progress Naruto decided to summon Xel. He waited until night when he was the only one up.

"Yes my lord", asks Xel.

"I think I am ready to begin practice with my Eldritch form", says Naruto.

"Very well, first you must know that should you transform now you would most likely be torn apart. It is not uncommon. That is why I am here. Your body is not yet ready to deal with the strain of the transformation, however I can use a kind of psionic tether. I will mentally become one with your subconscious and make sure the transformation is seamless from within your own mind. I will watch for irregularities and correct them with my psionic powers. The disadvantage of this is that I must remain in constant contact with your mind otherwise the tether will be broken and you will be forcibly returned to human form, that will be painful", says Xel.

Naruto nods.

"Ok lets go", says Naruto.

Xel concentrated his body glows a soft purple light. A tendril of this light extends from Xel hitting Naruto in the chest. Then Naruto's body begins to change. The nine eye covered tentacles emerge from his back. His whisker opens like eyes his arms split in two and his skin changes color. Finally the bone like whiskers emerge from his jaw. Naruto notices a few thing in this form he did not before. The eyes that cover his tentacles are functional and he can see through them, though not by much the world was blurry through these eyes.

Naruto floats upwards flying with psionic energy.

"Wow, I feel strong. Really strong", says Naruto.

"And this is but a taste of the power you will one day have", says Xel inside Naruto's head.

"How strong will I get", asks Naruto.

"With enough practice your psionic powers can rip the bonds that hold atoms together apart", says Xel.

"So I will literally be able to disintegrate matter with my mind", asks Naruto.

"Indeed, but that is a long way off, first practice telekinesis", says Xel.

Naruto looks around. Seeing a small tree he wills it to move. Slowly the tree floats upwards tearing it's roots from the ground. With a flick of his wrist the tree shoots into the forest like an arrow.

"Impressive my lord", says Xel.

"Thank you Xel, now what else can I do", asks Naruto.

"Your powers are constantly evolving my lord, however you can control this evolution with the Blood drinker Tendrils on your wrist, They will give you power by feasting on blood", says Xel.

Naruto looks to his hands. From his four wrists a long narrow tendril emerges from each. The tendril is tipped with a small was a small hole at the tip to suck blood.

"How do the blood drinker tendrils work", asks Naruto.

"Pierce the flesh with there tip, they will extract blood and give it to you, you will incorporate certain traits into yourself by doing this", says Xel.

"So lets say I use them to drink the Mokuton sample at the lab. What happens", asks Naruto.

"I am not sure, but you will gain some traits from it. The trait you gain is dependent on how much blood is sucked and what you are gaining", says Xel.

"Can I use these traits as a human", asks Naruto.

"The traits you gain is always a weaker version of the original, really it depends on what you are getting in the first place, the traits may not always be the same. For example say you drink the blood of someone who can exhale fire at will, well you might get a weaker version of that, or your skin may become fireproof, or it could be as simple as having a higher body temperature than normal. The traits may not always be useful but they can lead to some interesting results", says Xel.

"Well at least it will help against Cthulhu", says Naruto.

"Indeed. Now let me see what you can do my lord", says Xel.

Naruto lifts his upper left arm in his palm a chaotic ball of energy swirls it lets off purple waves of energy. Naruto throws the ball into a nearby tree. Slowly the tree seems to be forced inward toward the ball. When the ball dissipates the tree is bent inward as if it was being sucked into the ball.

"That is the Rift Sphere, it is a condensed orb of psionic energy, it has a strong gravitational pull. Objects bend slightly into the orb, with enough training it becomes a miniature black hole capable of unimaginable powers of destruction. It is a simple power, Cthulhu himself can do something similar. As a being with complete self molecular manipulation Cthulhu can transform himself into a black hole then turn back", says Xel.

Naruto's many eyes open wide.

"What?", Naruto asked with his voice devoid of emotion.

"Indeed, you continue to underestimate Cthulhu, he is much more powerful than you can possibly imagine. Becoming a black hole is but a simple task for him", says Xel.

"Xel, how can I slow that down", asks Naruto angrily.

"Why do you think many have so little faith you will succeed", asks Xel.

Naruto lets out a breath.

"I can still try", says Naruto.

"And I will stand by your side, for now we train", says Xel.

As Naruto trains he is unaware of the tall shadowed man whose whispers have lead Naruto since he first discovered the book. He watches Naruto from afar speaking in whispers.

"Merely a decade".

It's form shifts through that which cannot be described in mortal tongue as it fades from view watching the child as it returns to its house of chaos.