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NARUTO: PRIDE & PREJUDICE

AUTHOR:Zpan Sven

E-MAIL:Zpan(underscore)Sven(at)hotmail(dot)com

DISCLAIMER:I sadly do not own Naruto. The wonderful man whose name I can not pronounce does. I do own the few random OCs that do pop up though.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is an AU of the Naruto-verse and my first ever Naruto fanfic, so if anyone who is well versed in the Naruto-verse and would like to Beta, I'd love the help. Due to the immense feedback I've been receiving - you guys are making me blush, I really didn't think anyone would like what I've written so far! - I decided to go from these little chapters, written mostly as an experiment to the normal, longer format I typically employ. Honestly, I prefer writing chapters up to or even longer then ten pages in length and only do the little short chapters when I'm writing a completely new fandom and don't know what sort of response I'd get or have a massive case of writer's block.



I have only a few Original Characters that will pop up, mostly baddies from missing-nin, bandits, and asshole villagers. One of the more featured OCs is a 'good' character and I'll try to keep her from being aMary Sue - which is the essence of all evil. Her main role is a teacher/big sibling/listener character to help Naruto and the others of the Konoha Twelve, and if the readers like her enough, she might get a boyfriend from one of the shinobi she interacts with.



The fic will mostly be 'General' but if the fans have some ideas for pairings, I'd love to hear them, as well as any suggestions for improving the story. As the names and appearances of Konohamaru's parents have never been revealed, I'm just going to give them names for now; if anyone else out there knows the names/appearances, please PM me, okay?



And just so you know, there's not going to be much bashing in this fic, even of my villains. And yes, Sasuke will be a villain, so please don't request any pairings of SasuNaru aside from a onesided lust on his part because I've noticed the overwhelming amount of SasuFemNaru fics already and I like doing something different -- if I even do pairings at all. There will of course be side pairings, mostly the canonical ones such as Asuma and Kurenai.



"Speech."

'Thought.'

_Flashback._

::Telepathy::

.Sign Language..

SUMMARY:It's the Naruto-verse with a twist. Kyuubi was much younger then believed?Naruto was born female but forced to hide her true gender for her own safety?How different would the adventure be? How powerful will the young kunoichi become under the tutelage of the Queen of all Kistune? Will Naruto sacrifice her humanity to embrace her demonic heritage for the tempting offer of a family and power beyond belief that the demon offers?

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Kyuubi has unleashed her wrath on the Village Hidden in the Leaves and we learn the reason why she attacked...

TIMELINE:Prologue occurs during Kyuubi's attack and the rest of the story follows pre-manga until a few chapters in, where it follows the manga.

RATING:PG-13/R

WARNINGS:LVS

ARCHIVE:fanfiction.net, mediaminer.org, ficwad.com, Zpan Sven's Works

EDITED:2008-01-02

JAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY:

Hai - yes

Iie - no

Sensei -- teacher

Sempai - upper-classman, someone in you ranking of an older age

Onna - woman, rude form of address

Hime - Princess

Gakki - brat

Temee - bastard

Miko -preistess

Kisama - bitch/bastard

Wakizashi - a smaller version of a katana, usually the backup weapon

Bo Shuriken - dagger-like shuriken

Kunai - the knife used by ninja

Hira Shuriken- normal Star-shaped shuriken, ranging from three points to six or more

Bo Shuriken- straight blade shuriken, similar to kunai only without hilts

Tekko - hand covers/wrist guards

Kyahan - shin guards

Tabi - split toe socks worn with the traditional sandals. Modern versions of tabi have a hard rubber sole, making them into footwear on their own, generally favored by ninja.

Shinobi - another word for Ninja. Assassin.

Kunoichi - female ninja

Kistune -- fox

Hitai-ate - forehead protector wore by nin

Shinigami - God of Death

-

PROLOGUE: THE DEMON'S ATTACK!

-

Where the massive nine-tailed demon fox had come from or why it attacked, the Shinobi of Konohakagure did not know, but they /did/know that if they did not stop the demon that their village, already weakened by its feinting attacks on it's once unbreached walls, would fall. It would seem an impossible thing to do, given the weakening of their resources after the Konoha-Iwa war, but they had hope in their newly elected Yondaime Hokage, the legendary Yellow Flash himself; the collective nin of Konoha knew that their leader would be able to stop the nine tailed demon fox, the legendary Kyuubi no Kistune if their information was correct.



They were correct in knowing the identity of the creature, but not why she was relentlessly attacking their village. The nin did not that the towering Kistune was the newly appointed Ninth Bijuu, protector of the Ninth Divine Scroll and Queen of the Kistune. They did not know the single driving emotion she felt at that moment towards them and their village.



She did not care that they were defending themselves and their loved ones, driven by that singular emotion that consumed her whole and controlled her actions.



Rage. Pure, unadulterated rage, directed at every man, woman, and child within Konoha and the overwhelming need to destroy them all. Because to the Queen of Kistune, they were the cause of all of this and they must/suffer/.



With a deafening roar she flicked a mighty tail, sending a wave of earth towards a small group of shinobi attempting to flank her; they were overwhelmed too swiftly to escape and were promptly buried alive, several crushed to death by the intense weight of the soil. Frantically their comrades struggled to free those mortals that were still alive from the impromptu burial mound.



Blood magic-fueled anger thrummed through her demonic veins as she destroyed all that stood before her. Insolent, unworthy/creatures! How dare they? Crouching defensively, her ears flicked to and fro, capturing the sounds of death and carnage around her. Snorting contemptuously, her keen eyes pierced through the night to glare at the spiral leaf emblem engraved on the forehead protectors of the fallen, reminding her of their identity and /why they had to die.



Leaf.



_"Serve me, Demon! I Summoned you and now I, the Yondaime Hokage, am your Master!" the man before her demanded in a haughty, hissing voice; the blood and carcass of a baby Kistune lay on the altar between them, and surrounding her was blood drawn seals to contain her.



The candle light flickered, catching on the greenish highlights of his hair, of his snake-like golden eyes...and the spiral leaf emblem on his hitai-ate.



"Never!" She roared, lunging forward. The magical barriers placed to contain her strained and with a flick of her tails and charge of her chakra, the barriers buckled and collapsed. The man's hands flew through a long series of seals the seconds it took for her to overpower the barrier. When the barrier collapsed, the handseals completed and he hissed something she could not decipher in her rage, the blood seals glowing..._



The demoness roared again, slamming her tails into the ground, sending out massive earthquakes. Insolent, arrogant mortals, daring to rip the newly crowned Queen of Kistune away from her kingdom - how they would suffer for this insult! Baring massive teeth, her crimson fur gleamed under the light of the full moon as she surveyed the damage round her, the dark magic fueling her rage slowly receding, trickling from her with the infinite slowness of grains of sand through the hourglass.



Corpses, whole and torn asunder, littered the battered landscape; the earth itself suffered from the conflict, gouged and cracked while massive trees had been uprooted and snapped into kindling, while parts of the massive forest created by the Shodai Hokage. Before her, the village of the leaf-nin stood, its tall stone walls showing signs of her attack - spaced sporadically, several sections of the wall had been smashed along with the businesses and homes on the other side; included in the damaged buildings was the hospital, part of one of the wings under renovation destroyed.



Taking a deep breath as the demoness's almost infinite store of chakra sealed and regenerated her wounds mere seconds after they had been inflicted, she knew what she had to do. Crimson eyes glared at the village and resolutely she snorted, heading for it; the snake-man would /die/for his insult, no more playing around with mere feinting attacks. This time she'd raze it to the ground in one final attack!



Stalking forward, her massive paws caused the earth to tremble with every step. The bellowing and screams of the shinobi below and around her was ignored; idly she flicked one of her nine tails, sending another earth wave towards several of the louder mortals. Pitiful creatures they were, really. Even though she was quite young by her kind's standards, the Kistune Queen had always been skilled in the ways of war. In the demon sense, she had been what the human shinobi would have called a prodigy, gaining tails representing her power more rapidly then others - while on average it would take a hundred years for a demon accumulate enough power and strength to gain another tail, it wasn't that uncommon to gain a tail due to a stressful situation such as fighting for the life of oneself or one's loved ones.



That reason was why, along side her duties as monarch, she had been Chosen by the Kami to act as one of the Bijuu who were the Guardians of the Divine Scrolls, making her the youngest among the demonic and divine to ever be considered for such an important task.



The sudden explosion of smoke and the overwhelming scent of toad before her announced the arrival of a newcomer to the battle. Growling, she glowered regally at Gamabunta, the Boss of Toad Summons. 'Human's pet,' she thought disdainfully.



Standing on Gamabuta's head was a tall, blond shinobi with a slender build, his white duster edged in a flame pattern at the bottom fluttering in the breeze; the unique duster and odd necklace he wore seem to be the only thing to separate him from the other nin he fought beside, garbed in what seemed to be the uniform of his comrades. Determined blue met the demoness's enraged crimson and the clash of wills began. Lip curling back to bare her teeth, she lunged at the man and Toad Summon. Her powerful claws clashed to ahalt as the massive Toad Summon brought out his katana, blocking her attack and sending the Toad skidding back several feet; Gamabunta grunted softly, straining to keep from yielding anymore to her.



Lifting her gaze, she glared at the shinobi; he all but reeked of sheer strength and power, so much it was almost heady for her enhanced senses, higher then any of those other shinobi on the battlefield - he seemed almost equal to a lower to mid-class demon or a demon Halfling in her estimation. Her powerful muscles tensed and bunched under her fur as she and the Toad Summon leapt apart. Crouching, she prepared to attack again when the sound of thousands of chirping birds announced pain in her right hind leg.



With an enraged snarl, she flicked the irritant away with a slight movement of one of her tails, sending a young, silver haired shinobi flying into the trees. Turning her attention back to Gamabunta and his Human, the Kistune Queen saw the mortal on the Toad Summon's back had used the younger silver-haired shinobi's attack as a distraction and was finishing along series of seals; for the first time she noticed a small basket with acarefully wrapped white bundle inside it, the faint whimpering of an infant barely audible to her enhanced sense of hearing over the din of the battlefield.



Behind the shinobi appeared the Shinigami himself, causing her fur to stand on end as the last of the magically enhanced rage to drain away in the kami's presence. She took an involuntary step backwards, her muscles tensing and heart leaping in her throat.



Panic, a rare emotion for the Kistune Queen, set in and she gracefully began to leap aside when a brilliant flash of pale blue light engulfed her as the shinobi finished his hand seals. Time itself seemed to slow and she could feel the cold hand of death gripping several of her tails; with her vocal cords temporarily froze in pain, in fear, she silently cried out to Inari and the Blessed Lady, the Divine Mother of all Kistune, as everything began to go black.



And suddenly she could scream again, even as her body seemed to disintegrate in the eyes of the astonished leaf-nin...and the Kyuubi's defeated bellow echoed throughout the battlefield and rang in the streets of the Village Hidden in the Leaves...



Time resumed its normal pace as the blond shinobi staggered, falling backwards even as he clutched the small basket in a literal death grip, his hands having frozen, locking around it to protect the child within. The Toad Summon caught the falling form with his massive tongue and gently lowered both towards the ground and into the arms of a towering shinobi with spiky white hair pulled back in a loose tail who howled with grief as he clutched both to his body.



As the Toad Boss vanished in a cloud of summon-smoke, the able shinobi and kunoichi of the leaf gathered around the grief-stricken Gama-Sannin and the body of their fallen hero...

-

-

-

It rained for a straight week after the Kyuubi no Kistune's defeat, suitable weather for the moods of those burying the ashes or entombing the remains of their loved ones. At the end of the week, it seemed the rain would not relent and the morose, somber mood of the weather was reflected in the grim faces of the assembled Council of Konoha; all members were present, from both the civilian and shinobi aspects of the village - only in rare occasions was the Council ever fully assembled and perhaps in a record breaking week, the entire council had been assembled twice in the span of six days, first to reinstate the retired Sandaime Hokage and now...to decide the fate of one tiny infant, who slept oblivious to the danger that lurked around, seeking one thing and one thing only...



"Why are we even discussing this! Kill the damn demon!" Roared the normally cheerful head of the Akimichi clan, his right arm encased in a hard cast and several bruises fading to a sickly greenish-yellow all over his plump face, contrasting with the furious red of his face; Choza had lost several of his clan in the attempt to hold the demon at bay long enough for the Yondaime to arrive and held a dislike for what he perceived to be the creature's reincarnation.



A soft whimper, delicate and helpless came from the side of the reinstated Hokage and several of the present ANBU tensed, their eyes unseen but their indignant glares felt as they were leveled at the rotund man for his raised voice in the Council Chambers.



"If it is a threat to Konoha then it must be destroyed now while it is still too weak to defend itself," agreed the head of the prestigious Uchiha clan, looking at the small bundle wrapped in a peach and blue blanket in the portable bassinet by the reinstated Hokage's chair; the sudden tensing of the several ANBU flanking the Hokage and the bassinet had him looking away swiftly so not to draw their attention any further - the odds against him were too high for him to act, even if he wanted to, not just because of the assembled ANBU but because of the three Sannin present as well. The fact the fat fool of an Akimichi had woken the creature put the assembled protectors on edge as it was, the Uchiha Clan Head noted with distain.



"No, it is a tool, a weapon we should wield against those that would attack our village!" The calm, calculating voice of a retired shinobi with a single eye and single arm named Danzo interjected; he was the head of small, elite group of ANBU called 'Root' that trained their members to be the perfect, emotionless killing machine in order to protect and serve Konoha. Anything that could be used to make Konoha stronger and more powerful was something he wanted under his control so he could return the Hidden Village to its proper place as the most powerful and most feared of all the Shinobi Continent.



The calls from many of the civilian and shinobi-trained Councilmen for the death of the infant and the newly appointed head of the Inuzuka clan gritting her fanged teeth, and the sound of her patience snapping was practically audible as she abruptly stood, slamming her palms onto the table before her, causing many to jump as she snarled in a low, feral voice. "You sayin' Minato's sacrifice don't mean shit? That his skill don't mean anything?! He was the Yondaime for a reason! His skill in Sealing has surpassed even his Sensei's own! Listen to what you're sayin', you morons. And if Sandiame-sama says that kid over there is no threat, then it isn't! End of story!"



"As skilled as he was, the Yondaime was a man, amortal. Minato was a friend to many and he loved this village with all his being...but how can it be certain he didn't make a mistake?" The question came from the tired head of the Yamanaka clan as Tsume sat back down; Inochi hadn't been sleeping well, not since the death of his father in the battle with Kyuubi and the sudden mental breakdown of his mother had forcibility thrust him into the affairs of the Council along with his closest friends and trusted comrades. All he wanted to do was to go home, to know his village and loved ones were as safe once more...



"I can examine the child's chakra pathways and the effects of the sealing technique Minato used if you wish; perhaps that along with a diagnosis from a skilled medic-nin would suffice..." suggested the silvery-eyed Clan Head of the Hyuuga; Hiashi had been on the Council for only afew years now and had yet to find the meetings in anyway enjoyable - right now he just wanted to go come and hold his pregnant wife, to reassure himself he and their unborn child were alright, just as he knew his twin was doing with his own wife and toddler son at that moment within the safety of the Hyuuga Compound.



"And how do we know you're trustworthy, that you won't lie to use the demon as your own weapon?" taunted Danzo, his eye narrowing as he glared into the silvery eyes of the head of the strongest Clan of Konoha.



"You doubt the word of the Hyuuga Clan Head?" Hiashi asked, his voice arctic and silver eyes narrowed; his hands tensed as he straightened in his chair, chakra reflexively stirring within him as he fought the urge to just kill the crippled shinobi that dared insinuate that the word of the Hyuuga Clan, one of the very founding shinobi clans of the village itself, was worthless.



"Alright, everybody calm down - I think there's been enough bloodshed," sighed the Gama-Sannin, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair, resting the broad palm of his other hand on the table top beside the stacks of paper and many scrolls he'd brought to prove his research and validate his and the reinstated Hokage's point. "Trust me - I know the seal, been studying it since Minato sacrificed himself and sealed the Kyuubi away in the kid. That kid's no more the Kyuubi then Shibi over there is a kikaichu. In fact, killing or even harming that child right now, while the seal is still new, would probably release the Kyuubi."



The head of the Ambrume Clan tilted his head towards Jiraiya of the Sannin. "Indeed. Even now the kikai of my Hives can ascertain that the seal is converting the demon's lifeforce into mere chakra for the infant to use in the future."



"The simplest way to put it is the child's body and chakra is acting as a container, holding in the essence and power of the demon, to keep it locked away for as long as child lives, converting it to chakra and slowly siphoning away the demon's life and killing it. The seal will kill the demon and harming the kid now will stop the process and just set the creature loose on the world again," Jiraiya added, absently running a finger down the crimson mark on his cheek that resembled the streak left by a tear.



"Everyone is tired and mourning the loss of their loved ones...perhaps it'd be wiser to discuss this through when we all are of clearer mindsets," the female of the Sannin, the busty blonde medic-nin named Tsunade murmured softly, looking down into the portable bassinet to the sleeping child that held her finger tightly; oh how this child made her heart ache, looking so much like the baby pictures of her precious little brother, of her own now dead son... She looked up from looking into the bassinet, her hazel eyes weary as she studied the members of the Council. "But I can tell you this now...this child is no demon. If you'd like Hiashi-san to verify my diagnosis, then fine, but I've examined this child alongside Jiraiya and we both agree."



"Seals and medicine are not my specialty," the third Sannin, the Hebi-Sannin Orochimaru said with a false humility from his seat, leaning forward and interlocking his hands before his mouth, "but I will examine the child as well if it is requested."



Behind the Hebi-Sannin's calm fa



NARUTO: PRIDE & PREJUDICE

AUTHOR: Zpan Sven

E-MAIL: Zpan(underscore)Sven(at)hotmail(dot)com

DISCLAIMER: I sadly do not own Naruto. The wonderful man whose name I can not pronounce does. I do own the few random OCs that do pop up though.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is an AU of the Naruto-verse and my first ever Naruto fanfic, so if anyone who is well versed in the Naruto-verse and would like to Beta, I'd love the help. Due to the immense feedback I've been receiving - you guys are making me blush, I really didn't think anyone would like what I've written so far! - I decided to go from these little chapters, written mostly as an experiment to the normal, longer format Itypically employ. Honestly, I prefer writing chapters up to or even longer then ten pages in length and only do the little short chapters when I'm writing acompletely new fandom and don't know what sort of response I'd get or have amassive case of writer's block.



I have only a few Original Characters that will pop up, mostly baddies from missing-nin, bandits, and asshole villagers. One of the more featured OCs is a 'good' character and I'll try to keep her from being a Mary Sue - which is the essence of all evil. Her main role is a teacher/big sibling/listener character to help Naruto and the others of the KonohaTwelve, and if the readers like her enough, she might get a boyfriend from one of the shinobi she interacts with.



Thefic will mostly be 'General' but if the fans have some ideas for pairings, I'd love to hear them, as well as any suggestions for improving the story. As the names and appearances of Konohamaru'sparents have never been revealed, I'm just going to give them names for now; if anyone else out there knows the names/appearances, please PM me, okay?



And just so you know, there's not going to be much bashing in this fic, even of my villains. And yes, Sasukewill be a villain, so please don't request any pairings of SasuNaruaside from a onesided lust on his part because I've noticed the overwhelming amount of SasuFemNarufics already and I like doing something different --if I even do pairings at all. There will of course be side pairings, mostly the canonical ones such as Asuma and Kurenai.



"Speech."

'Thought.'

_Flashback._

::Telepathy::

.Sign Language..

SUMMARY: It's the Naruto-verse with a twist. Kyuubiwas much younger then believed? Naruto was born female but forced to hide her true gender for her own safety? How different would the adventure be? How powerful will the young kunoichibecome under the tutelage of the Queen of all Kistune?Will Naruto sacrifice her humanity to embrace her demonic heritage for the tempting offer of a family and power beyond belief that the demon offers?

CHAPTER SUMMARY: Kyuubi has unleashed her wrath on the Village Hidden in the Leaves and we learn the reason why she attacked...

TIMELINE: Prologue occurs during Kyuubi's attack and the rest of the story follows pre-manga until a few chapters in, where it follows the manga.

RATING: PG-13/R

WARNINGS: LVS

ARCHIVE: fanfiction.net, mediaminer.org, ficwad.com, Zpan Sven's Works

EDITED: 2008-01-02

JAPANESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY:

Hai - yes

Iie - no

Sensei-- teacher

Sempai- upper-classman, someone in you ranking of an older age

Onna -woman, rude form of address

Hime- Princess

Gakki -brat

Temee- bastard

Miko -preistess

Kisama- bitch/bastard

Wakizashi- a smaller version of a katana, usually the backup weapon

Bo Shuriken - dagger-like shuriken

Kunai- the knife used by ninja

HiraShuriken - normal Star-shaped shuriken, ranging from three points to six or more

Bo Shuriken - straight blade shuriken, similar to kunai only without hilts

Tekko- hand covers/wrist guards

Kyahan -shin guards

Tabi -split toe socks worn with the traditional sandals. Modern versions of tabi have a hard rubber sole, making them into footwear on their own, generally favored by ninja.

Shinobi -another word for Ninja. Assassin.

Kunoichi- female ninja

Kistune-- fox

Hitai-ate- forehead protector wore by nin

Shinigami- God of Death

-

PROLOGUE: THE DEMON'S ATTACK!

-

Where the massive nine-tailed demon fox had come from or why it attacked, the Shinobi of Konohakagure did not know, but they did know that if they did not stop the demon that their village, already weakened by its feinting attacks on it's once unbreached walls, would fall. It would seem an impossible thing to do, given the weakening of their resources after the Konoha-Iwa war, but they had hope in their newly elected Yondaime Hokage, the legendary Yellow Flash himself; the collective nin of Konoha knew that their leader would be able to stop the nine tailed demon fox, the legendary Kyuubi no Kistune if their information was correct.



They were correct in knowing the identity of the creature, but not why she was relentlessly attacking their village. The nin did not that the towering Kistunewas the newly appointed Ninth Bijuu, protector of the Ninth Divine Scroll and Queen of the Kistune. They did not know the single driving emotion she felt at that moment towards them and their village.



She did not care that they were defending themselves and their loved ones, driven by that singular emotion that consumed her whole and controlled her actions.



Rage.]Pure, unadulterated rage, directed at every man, woman, and child within Konoha and the overwhelming need to destroy them all. Because to the Queen of Kistune, they were the cause of all of this and they must* /suffer/.



With a deafening roar she flicked a mighty tail, sending a wave of earth towards asmall group of shinobi attempting to flank her; they were overwhelmed too swiftly to escape and were promptly buried alive, several crushed to death by the intense weight of the soil. Frantically their comrades struggled to free those mortals that were still alive from the impromptu burial mound.



Blood magic-fueled anger thrummed through her demonic veins as she destroyed all that stood before her. Insolent, unworthy creatures! How dare they?Crouching defensively, her ears flicked to and fro, capturing the sounds of death and carnage around her. Snorting contemptuously, her keen eyes pierced through the night to glare at the spiral leaf emblem engraved on the forehead protectors of the fallen, reminding her of their identity and why they [*had to die.



Leaf.



_"Serve me, Demon! I Summoned you and now I, the Yondaime Hokage, am your Master!" the man before her demanded in ahaughty, hissing voice; the blood and carcass of a baby Kistunelay on the altar between them, and surrounding her was blood drawn seals to contain her.



The candle light flickered, catching on the greenish highlights of his hair, of his snake-like golden eyes...and the spiral leaf emblem on his hitai-ate.



"Never!" She roared, lunging forward. The magical barriers placed to contain her strained and with a flick of her tails and charge of her chakra, the barriers buckled and collapsed. The man's hands flew through a long series of seals the seconds it took for her to overpower the barrier. When the barrier collapsed, the handseals completed and he hissed something she could not decipher in her rage, the blood seals glowing..._



Thedemoness roared again, slamming her tails into the ground, sending out massive earthquakes. Insolent, arrogant mortals, daring to rip the newly crowned Queen of Kistune away from her kingdom - how they would suffer for this insult! Baring massive teeth, her crimson fur gleamed under the light of the full moon as she surveyed the damage round her, the dark magic fueling her rage slowly receding, trickling from her with the infinite slowness of grains of sand through the hourglass.



Corpses, whole and torn asunder, littered the battered landscape; the earth itself suffered from the conflict, gouged and cracked while massive trees had been uprooted and snapped into kindling, while parts of the massive forest created by the Shodai Hokage. Before her, the village of the leaf-nin stood, its tall stone walls showing signs of her attack - spaced sporadically, several sections of the wall had been smashed along with the businesses and homes on the other side; included in the damaged buildings was the hospital, part of one of the wings under renovation destroyed.



Taking a deep breath as the demoness's almost infinite store of chakra sealed and regenerated her wounds mere seconds after they had been inflicted, she knew what she had to do. Crimson eyes glared at the village and resolutely she snorted, heading for it; the snake-man would /die/for his insult, no more playing around with mere feinting attacks. This time she'd raze it to the ground in one final attack!



Stalking forward, her massive paws caused the earth to tremble with every step. The bellowing and screams of the shinobi below and around her was ignored; idly she flicked one of her nine tails, sending another earth wave towards several of the louder mortals. Pitiful creatures they were, really. Even though she was quite young by her kind's standards, the Kistune Queen had always been skilled in the ways of war. In the demon sense, she had been what the human shinobiwould have called a prodigy, gaining tails representing her power more rapidly then others - while on average it would take a hundred years for a demon accumulate enough power and strength to gain another tail, it wasn't that uncommon to gain a tail due to a stressful situation such as fighting for the life of oneself or one's loved ones.



That reason was why, along side her duties as monarch, she had been Chosen by the Kami to act as one of the Bijuuwho were the Guardians of the Divine Scrolls, making her the youngest among the demonic and divine to ever be considered for such an important task.



The sudden explosion of smoke and the overwhelming scent of toad before her announced the arrival of a newcomer to the battle. Growling, she glowered regally at Gamabunta, the Boss of Toad Summons. /'Human's pet,'/she thought disdainfully.



Standing on Gamabuta's head was a tall, blond shinobi with a slender build, his white duster edged in aflame pattern at the bottom fluttering in the breeze; the unique duster and odd necklace he wore seem to be the only thing to separate him from the other nin he fought beside, garbed in what seemed to be the uniform of his comrades. Determined blue met the demoness'senraged crimson and the clash of wills began. Lip curling back to bare her teeth, she lunged at the man and Toad Summon. Her powerful claws clashed to ahalt as the massive Toad Summon brought out his katana, blocking her attack and sending the Toad skidding back several feet; Gamabuntagrunted softly, straining to keep from yielding anymore to her.



Lifting her gaze, she glared at the shinobi; he all but reeked of sheer strength and power, so much it was almost heady for her enhanced senses, higher then any of those other shinobi on the battlefield - he seemed almost equal to alower to mid-class demon or a demon Halfling in her estimation. Her powerful muscles tensed and bunched under her fur as she and the Toad Summon leapt apart. Crouching, she prepared to attack again when the sound of thousands of chirping birds announced pain in her right hind leg.



With an enraged snarl, she flicked the irritant away with a slight movement of one of her tails, sending a young, silver haired shinobiflying into the trees. Turning her attention back to Gamabuntaand his Human, the Kistune Queen saw the mortal on the Toad Summon's back had used the younger silver-haired shinobi's attack as a distraction and was finishing a long series of seals; for the first time she noticed a small basket with a carefully wrapped white bundle inside it, the faint whimpering of an infant barely audible to her enhanced sense of hearing over the din of the battlefield.



Behind the shinobi appeared the Shinigamihimself, causing her fur to stand on end as the last of the magically enhanced rage to drain away in the kami's presence. She took an involuntary step backwards, her muscles tensing and heart leaping in her throat.



Panic, a rare emotion for the Kistune Queen, set in and she gracefully began to leap aside when a brilliant flash of pale blue light engulfed her as the shinobi finished his hand seals. Time itself seemed to slow and she could feel the cold hand of death gripping several of her tails; with her vocal cords temporarily froze in pain, in fear, she silently cried out to Inari and the Blessed Lady, the Divine Mother of all Kistune, as everything began to go black.



And suddenly she could scream again, even as her body seemed to disintegrate in the eyes of the astonished leaf-nin...and the Kyuubi's defeated bellow echoed throughout the battlefield and rang in the streets of the Village Hidden in the Leaves...



Time resumed its normal pace as the blond shinobi staggered, falling backwards even as he clutched the small basket in a literal death grip, his hands having frozen, locking around it to protect the child within. The Toad Summon caught the falling form with his massive tongue and gently lowered both towards the ground and into the arms of a towering shinobiwith spiky white hair pulled back in a loose tail who howled with grief as he clutched both to his body.



As the Toad Boss vanished in a cloud of summon-smoke, the able-bodied shinobi and kunoichi of the leaf gathered around the grief-stricken Gama-Sannin and the body of their fallen hero...

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It rained for a straight week after the Kyuubi no Kistune's defeat, suitable weather for the moods of those burying the ashes or entombing the remains of their loved ones. At the end of the week, it seemed the rain would not relent and the morose, somber mood of the weather was reflected in the grim faces of the assembled Council of Konoha; all members were present, from both the civilian and shinobi aspects of the village - only in rare occasions was the Council ever fully assembled and perhaps in a record breaking week, the entire council had been assembled twice in the span of six days, first to reinstate the retired Sandaime Hokage and now...to decide the fate of one tiny infant, who slept oblivious to the danger that lurked around, seeking one thing and one thing only...



"Why are we even discussing this?! Kill the damn demon!"Roared the normally cheerful head of the Akimichiclan, his right arm encased in a hard cast and several bruises fading to asickly greenish-yellow all over his plump face, contrasting with the furious red of his complexion; Choza had lost several of his clan in the attempt to hold the demon at bay long enough for the Yondaime to arrive and held a dislike for what he perceived to be the creature's reincarnation.



A soft whimper, delicate and helpless came from the side of the reinstated Hokage and several of the present ANBU tensed, their eyes unseen but their indignant glares felt as they were leveled at the rotund man for his raised voice in the Council Chambers.



"If it is a threat to Konoha then it mustbe destroyed now while it is still too weak to defend itself," agreed the head of the prestigious Uchiha clan, looking at the small bundle wrapped in a peach and blue blanket in the portable bassinet by the reinstated Hokage's chair; the sudden tensing of the several ANBU flanking the Hokage and the bassinet had him looking away swiftly so not to draw their attention any further - the odds against him were too high even for him to act, even if he wanted to, not just because of the assembled ANBU but because of the three Sanninpresent as well. The fact the fat fool of an Akimichihad woken the creature put the assembled protectors on edge as it was, the Uchiha Clan Head noted with distain.



"No, it is a tool, a weapon we should wield against those that would attack our village!" The calm, calculating voice of a retired shinobiwith a single eye and single arm named Danzointerjected; he was the head of small, elite group of ANBU called 'Root' that trained their members to be the perfect, emotionless killing machine in order to protect and serve Konoha. Anything that could be used to make Konoha stronger and more powerful was something he wanted under his control so he could return the Hidden Village to its proper place as the most powerful and most feared of all the Shinobi Continent.



The calls from many of the civilian and shinobi-trained Councilmen for the death of the infant and the newly appointed head of the Inuzuka clan gritting her fanged teeth, and the sound of her patience snapping was practically audible as she abruptly stood, slamming her palms onto the table before her, causing many to jump as she snarled in alow, feral voice. "You sayin' Minato's sacrifice don't mean shit? That his skill don't mean anything?! He was the Yondaimefor a reason! His skill in Sealing has surpassed even his Sensei's own! Listen to what you're sayin', you morons. And if Sandiame-sama says that kid over there is no threat, then it isn't! End of story!"



"Asskilled as he was, the Yondaime was a man, a mortal. Minato was a friend to many and he loved this village with all his being...but how can it be certain he didn't make a mistake?" The question came from the tired head of the Yamanaka clan as Tsumesat back down; Inochi hadn't been sleeping well, not since the death of his father in the battle with Kyuubiand the sudden mental breakdown of his mother had forcibility thrust him into the affairs of the Council along with his closest friends and trusted comrades. All he wanted to do was to go home, to know his village and loved ones were as safe once more...



"I can examine the child's chakra pathways and the effects of the sealing technique Minato used if you wish; perhaps that along with a diagnosis from askilled medic-nin would suffice..." suggested the silvery-eyed Clan Head of the Hyuuga; Hiashi had been on the Council for only a few years now and had yet to find the meetings in anyway enjoyable - right now he just wanted to go come and hold his pregnant wife, to reassure himself he and their unborn child were alright, just as he knew his twin was doing with his own wife and toddler son at that moment within the safety of the HyuugaCompound.



"And how do we know you're trustworthy, that you won't lie to use the demon as your own weapon?" taunted Danzo, his eye narrowing as he glared into the silvery eyes of the head of the strongest Clan of Konoha.



"You doubt the word of the Hyuuga Clan Head?" Hiashi asked, his voice arctic and silver eyes narrowed; his hands tensed as he straightened in his chair, chakra reflexively stirring within him as he fought the urge to just kill the crippledshinobi that dared insinuate that the word of the Hyuuga Clan, one of the very founding shinobiclans of the village itself, was worthless.



"Alright, everybody calm down - I think there's been enough bloodshed," sighed the Gama-Sannin, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair, resting the broad palm of his other hand on the table top beside the stacks of paper and many scrolls he'd brought to prove his research and validate his and the reinstated Hokage's point."Trust me - I know the seal, been studying it since Minato sacrificed himself and sealed the Kyuubi away in the kid. That kid's no more the Kyuubi then Shibiover there is a kikaichu. In fact, killing or even harming that child right now, while the seal is still new, would probably release the Kyuubi."



The head of the Ambrume Clan tilted his head towards Jiraiya of the Sannin. "Indeed. Even now the kikai of my Hives can ascertain that the seal is converting the demon's lifeforce into mere chakra for the infant to use in the future."



"The simplest way to put it is the child's body and chakra is acting as a container, holding in the essence and power of the demon, to keep it locked away for as long as child lives, converting it to chakra and slowly siphoning away the demon's life and killing it. The seal will kill the demon and harming the kid now will stop the process and just set the creature loose on the world again," Jiraiya added, absently running a finger down the crimson mark on his cheek that resembled the streak left by a tear.



"Everyone is tired and mourning the loss of their loved ones...perhaps it'd be wiser to discuss this through when we all are of clearer mindsets," the female of the Sannin, the busty blonde medic-ninnamed Tsunade murmured softly, looking down into the portable bassinet to the sleeping child that held her finger tightly; oh how this child made her heart ache, looking so much like the baby pictures of her precious little brother, of her own now dead son... She looked up from looking into the bassinet, her hazel eyes weary as she studied the members of the Council. "But I can tell you this now...this childis no demon. If you'd like Hiashi-san to verify my diagnosis, then fine, but I've examined this child alongside Jiraiya and we both agree."



"Seals and medicine are not my specialty," the third Sannin, the Hebi-Sannin Orochimarusaid with a false humility from his seat, leaning forward and interlocking his hands before his mouth, "but I will examine the child as well if it is requested."



Behind the Hebi-Sannin's calm fa