Naruto Uchiha: the Last Sage of the Six Paths by JH17

Chapter 13: Eyes that Reflect the Heart

"Narutoooo!" shouted the other members of Team 7. Naruto didn't move, his eyelids simply quivered and closed, before his body slumped to the ground.

"Where...am I...?"

Drip!

"My...mind...?"

Drip!

"You're still weak, Naruto" boomed a deep voice.

"Tsk, don't...pester me...now..." spoke a tired Naruto, standing shakily. The fox smirked at him before leaning low, breathing against the gate of his seal. "You're still too weak. Beaten by a mere clone!" The fox laughed at his container with a sly smirk. Naruto grit his teeth and growled under his breath, mustering up what little strength he had left. "Would you...just...be...SILENT!" Naruto turned up to him and glared at him, his Sharingan spinning wildly. Naruto stared into the beast's eyes, subconsciously trying to make it cease its taunts. The Kyuubi paused for a moment before scoffing at his host. "Your Sharingan pales before the bastards that contorlled me. You need my power, Naruto, otherwise...you'll die here. The Biju let out a roaring laugh and smirked at him. "Your parents will have died protecting a failure, a failure who died on his first real mission. You're still weak, Naruto, weak!" The Kyuubi cackled and laughed. "The Yondaime died to save a worthless brat! How ironic that the greatest shinobi of your village died to save the weakest! Let me out, Naruto, and I will show you the power you desire." The beast gave a dark and terrifying grin. After all these years he knew exactly what buttons to push. All he needed was a single seed of doubt brought on by a near death experience and he could finally push the pieces into place. He wasn't a fox just for show, he had the cunning to match. His last container proved herself to be powerful in her own right, but his current container was weaker than her. He simply couldn't allow that, especially when the boy had so much potential. He was tired of watching, waiting for Naruto to become stronger when he knew the boy could. All that was necessary was a little...push.

Naruto walked, unsteadily, towards the gate of the seal. He stumbled and fell once, ignoring the Biju's watchful gaze as he finally reached the gate. The water beneath him swirled in a raging torrent, lifting him high into the air and in front of the seal. "Kyuubi...what do I do now? Tear this thing off?" The fox smirked "I thought you were supposed to be one of the smarter brats? Yes tear it off, you moron!". In a moment, Naruto gripped the top of the paper, preparing to take it off and gain the power he desired. "I'll never be seen as weak again. I'll become stronger than anyone alive. I'll surpass all that stand in my way!"

After what felt like an eternity, Naruto finally fell from the raging waters that were pulling him up and the change on the seal disappeared. Naruto slowly sat up, pushing himself up onto one knee, glancing down and noticing the dark circle where his seal was. "Strange...I don't remember seeing that...and I'm not tired anymore. What happened?" Naruto looked up to the seal, seeing it perfectly intact. "Minato, speak to your little brat over there. He's gotten far too reliant on my strength. He needs to become strong in his own right before he begins using my strength again, he's used it as a crutch." With that, the Kyuubi retreated into the darkness and closed his eyes, deciding to sleep until the little reunion was over. Boy, did he hate Naruto's eyes widened immediately upon hearing the name of the man in front of him. "Mi...nato...?" "I put my chakra into the seal, in case you might lose control and get taken over by the Kyuubi...I didn't expect it to be so soon..." Naruto grit his teeth. "Then again, maybe that's a good thing...? I've wanted to see how my son was d-" Naruto punched the man in the stomach as hard as he possibly could, causing Minato to recoil and nearly fall to his knees. "You...you're the one...who made my life...a living HELL!" Naruto slammed his fist into his cheek, sending Minato's face to the side. "Over and over, time after time, they made my life hell before the massacre! Then, they said I did it, they said I killed all of my clan members! They beat me until I was almost dead, and they still didn't stop! Then I lost control and gave in, and slaughtered them all! Then I had to watch everything happen again and again because of that damn Tsukiyomi! All because you had to seal that beast inside me! Why? WHY?!" Minato looked away ashamed. "Naruto...I thought that you could one day control the Kyuubi, one day defeat it and become strong. I hoped that you could be a hero...not a villain..." Naruto grit his teeth, tears threatening to escape from his Sharingan eyes. Naruto's lip quivered, trying to speak but being unable to bring himself to do so. He simply couldn't do it, he understood why his father had chosen to seal it in him. If the Kyuubi really killed his parents, then the only way to keep the Kyuubi from rampaging across the world was to seal it in a child, to make him a Jinchuriki. That was the only option, and yet Naruto still felt bitter.