~ I have added this Fanfic to my Patreon. If you'd like to read advanced chapters, feel free to check it out!
~ I'm planning to increase the number of advanced chapters to +18 this weekend!
~ I've edited some of the previous chapters to remove anything you might consider "cringe" or "unnecessary." I'll continue reviewing them from time to time!
~ Very soon, we'll return to releasing two chapters daily, including bonus privileges for Power Stone contributions!
<><>
"Jiji…I was in Training Ground Thirteen yesterday, trying to cull the first sub-area down to a reasonable number…" Naruto started hesitantly. At Sarutobi's encouraging nod, he continued. "I'd just killed my last mutated squirrel when this…this super-mutant leapt out of the woodwork and tried to bite my head off. I'd seen one before, when Neko-san and the others saved me from the Spandex Brigade's stupidity. Neko-san made it look so easy I thought I could fight it…so I did.
"I managed to wear it down to where it was barely holding on, then it started leaking this …this evil chakra from all over its body and it formed some kind of chakra cloak around itself. The stuff was so potent that I could frickin' see it. It was this bright red and it practically made my eyes burn just by looking at it. It looked like it was melting through my Rock Clones just by standing near them."
Hiruzen, who'd been listening intently so far, practically bit through the end of his pipe as his body stiffened in shock, and he could feel the three ANBU guard hiding in the room doing the same.
Chakra often took on properties based on how it was used and who was using it. Depraved and evil men, those who gloried in the darker aspects of humanity, sometimes gave off chakra that felt unpleasant to normal people if they were powerful enough.
However, the only chakra Hiruzen had ever heard of that had the same kind of potency that Naruto had just described was that of the Kyūbi no Kitsune.
'The red colour simply adds further confirmation, there's no doubt that the creature Naruto had encountered possessed some of the Kyūbi's chakra.' Sarutobi mind whirled at lightning speeds as he tried to make sense of what he was hearing. 'How…a chakra mutant; of course. The fox was radiating chakra at an unimaginable scale when it attacked twelve years ago. There were pockets of residual charka covering the entire village. I had several dedicated sealing squads searching for months after the Day of the Kyūbi in hopes of finding and clearing it out before it could lead to something like this. Some must have nestled deep within the Training Grounds, the chakra already rampant there would have concealed it if it was small enough. Then it would have simply lain dormant there, festering and growing until it found a strong enough host to infect.'
"I see." The Hokage said aloud, already making plans to have an ANBU squad burn Training Ground 13 to the ground if they had to in order to find and neutralize the beast before it could grow into something truly dangerous. "And how did you escape from it?"
"I didn't." Naruto stated simply. "I had my Rock and Shadow clones swarm the thing until we finally managed to kill it."
Hearing this, Sarutobi couldn't help but let out a small breathe of relief. Even if Neko had easily managed to kill a similar creature -something he was going to be sure she was properly rewarded for- it was quite something else for an Academy Student to kill something that possessed the chakra of one of the nine Bijū.
As a chakra mutation, it had likely possessed an instinctive connection to the corrosive chakra that no human, even a true Jinchūriki, could ever possess. On the other hand, it had also been merely an animal, a creature incapable of planning or truly strategizing, being locked only in the present. Any animalistic cunning the beast had possessed before would likely have been completely subsumed by the raging malevolence that seemed to infuse the Kyūbi's chakra, reducing it to rabid frenzy.
Of course, that still meant that Naruto had been able to take down a frothing berserker infused with a sliver of power from one of the nine Bijū. That was something he'd be impressed by from a seasoned Genin, let alone an Academy Student.
"That was well done, Naruto-kun." He praised warmly.
"Yeah…that…that isn't the end of it." Naruto added nervously, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head. A tick he'd inherited from his mother, Hiruzen noted, whenever she was nervous or embarrassed. "I stayed back after I noticed how it was melting through my Rock Clones, but when the squirrel died…that same chakra leapt from it to me and just seemed to flow into me."
Eyes widening, Sarutobi locked eyes with his surrogate grandson as the boy looked at him imploringly.
"Jiji…what the heck am I? That chakra wasn't human!"
Closing his eyes painfully, Sarutobi brought a hand up to cover his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. There was no way out of this. He had to tell Naruto the truth.
He briefly contemplated lying, but quickly shook the idea off. While he was certain he come up with something believable that would placate the boy, he also knew that the consequences of such a lie, when Naruto eventually learned the truth of his condition, could be disastrous.
Also, ever since Naruto had started to develop his unusual abilities, he had also started to display a level of shrewdness that few would have expected from him before. It would make creating a suitable falsehood and maintaining it for any extended period far more difficult.
No, he had always intended to tell the boy the truth after he graduated from the Academy, lying now would only delay an inevitable discussion and make it that much more painful.
"I was hoping that I would be able to postpone this talk until you officially became a shinobi, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen spoke softly, his voice carrying a feeling of tired resignation. "Words once spoken cannot be taken back and the truth can be a terrible burden to bear. Are you prepared for what I am about to tell you, even so?"
"Yes." Naruto nodded firmly.
Sarutobi opened his eyes and gazed sombrely at him for a moment. "Very well."
Naruto's Perspective
"Unfortunately, there are only so many secrets I can reveal to you at this time." His Jiji started out tiredly
"What do you mean?" Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion.
"The part that you asked about is an S-Rank secret." The Hokage explained as he sat forward slightly. "The only reason that I am able to disclose this information to you is because it pertains directly to your body and life, and even then I am skirting the edge since you have not officially joined the shinobi rosters yet. There are, however, SS and SSS rank secrets to do with you that I legally cannot reveal to you until you reach the rank of Jonin, or Special Jonin at the very least. It is not a matter of whether I want to or not but that I cannot."
<><>
~ If you like the story, please leave a review!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power
Stones]
~ (Soon +18) Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/Anshufanfic
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)