Kyuubi Phantom Ch: 8

I hadn't expected for him to come and teach me… hell, he was the last person I thought that could help me train so I can get Hinata back… but, that wasn't the only thing that I found shocking… there was more to my connection to Hinata than I thought…

"Why are you here Itachi?" asked Sasuke as he stared at the black eyes of his older brother. Itachi, like most of the other Uchiha members has black hair and matching black eyes. His face is shaped much like Sasuke's though he had a few creases on his face which Naruto guessed was from stress or something else… he couldn't really say for sure. He was dressed in a button down shirt and some slacks as if he had gotten off from work, rather than getting home from the college…

"I came to help Naruto with his powers." Calmly said Itachi as he walked into the room and took a seat in the comfy arm chair that was in the room.

Naruto glared at Sasuke as he growled out "how the fuck did he know?!" Sasuke looked frightened for his life as he stared at his angry friend. Naruto looked ready to rip the poor Uchiha to pieces, his nails growing into claws as he walked toward his friend, getting ready to finish him… least till Itachi said something that stopped him…

"I've known for a while Naruto… I've known since you were a kid. I could sense that you weren't human anymore so I knew about your powers and have been doing some research… And, of course I knew of you being part Kyuubi and part ghost because I saw the book on the dining room table once."

Naruto seemed to have calmed down after hearing that… so Itachi knew the whole time and didn't say anything, but was doing some research on it? He did not see that coming at all… Shaking his head, Naruto sat down on his bed and took a few deep breaths hoping to relax his nerves… he felt out of sorts from everything that's been happening to him lately…

"So, Itachi… what brought you here? How did you know that Naruto needed training?" asked Sakura with confusion clear in her voice.

Itachi yawned and stared at everyone with a board stare for a moment… it was as if he was trying to build up suspense… if that was even possible… "It's simple, over the course of a few days, there has been a strange aura, I guess you could say coming from the city…"

"What do you mean? What does that have anything to do with Naruto?" asked Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, from what I know of the past Kyuubi Phantom's, they all had power of course, but they're powers were also connected to both their princess of light, but to their town… Think about it, Rome, Atlantis… both cities were destroyed when Kyuubi Phantom, turned to evil and destroyed anything dear to him till he was destroyed." Calmly explained Itachi, which had caused everyone to stare at him in shock… it seemed like everything was coming together…

"Wait, how do you know all of this when the book that I read didn't say any of this?" asked Sasuke with a glare to his older brother…

"That, is simple little brother… the book that you were reading was a newer version, history tends to hide a few things that had happened while I, have the original scroll, which has everything that we'll need to train Naruto and to keep him on our side."

"What do you mean 'keep him on our side'?" asked Sakura, she was even more confused than ever before, and that was easy to see… how could anyone just suddenly switch sides? And, what was Naruto's connection to this 'light princess'?

Itachi sighed and asked Sasuke to get him a drink, since he knew that this was going to be a long day for sure… When his little brother returned with a drink, Itachi took a sip of his bottled water and stared at Naruto for a moment. "You know it don't you Naruto? You can sense what is already going in within you… within your heart and your very soul…"

Naruto frowned, though he could faintly sense it…

Sakura stared at Naruto and glared. "What is he talking about Naruto?!" shouted Sakura.

Turning away, Naruto whispered "if I'm separated from the princess… my heart drifts to the darkness that resides within my soul. Believe it…"

Sakura and Sasuke both looked like they didn't believe the blonde, they both turned around to stare at Itachi as if hoping that he would just tell them that this was just some kind of sick joke. But, no such luck for Itachi confirmed everything… "You see, Kyuubi Phantom is a creature of light and darkness… depending on his princess, which is also the princess of light is how he stays on our side. If someone kidnapped the princess, and took her to another world that connection of light that flows into Naruto is severed and he'll slowly turn to the side of darkness within a months' time. Unless, he can save the princess and restore the balance within himself."

Sasuke frowned and sat down on his own chair as he thought about a few things to help him think this through… the more he thought about it, the more he saw that it was true for he remembered the one time Naruto had almost given in… "Wait, I remember… Naruto almost turned to darkness when Hinata was in danger… he didn't fully turn though cause she was still alive and mostly knocked out."

"Ah, but the difference was because that was mostly caused by his rage… darkness, depending on it can have different effects on him. If Hinata, was killed he would be blinded with a never ending fury until the city and himself are destroyed… if she was only knocked out, he would lose most of himself, such as emotions of who he once was… but if separated from her… well, he is fully on their side and it would be impossible to get him back."

Naruto stared at them in shock… sure he knew that he would have a hard time coming back from darkness but… to never come back if he was separated from Hinata for too long? That… that was a bit much… Rubbing his forehead with a shaky hand, Naruto whispered "what can I do to get stronger? There is no way…"

"Naruto stop it! What happened to that unbroken spirit of yours?" said Sasuke, trying to get to his friend hoping that the blonde demon ghost would snap outta this, they didn't need him to have doubts right now, for they needed him to be strong if he was going to save Hinata…

Itachi got out of his chair and walked over to Naruto as he calmly said "what you can do is train Naruto. You will be the master of your own powers, more powerful than the past Kyuubi Phantoms… think of it as a level up in class like in those video games you play with Sasuke… You will have more than enough power to save your princess."

Naruto nodded, least that was some good news… he would do anything he could so long as it saved Hinata… he would save her no matter the cost… "I'll do it…" Naruto said with a grin, now all he had to do was train… he had to if Hinata was going to come back safe and sound… Taking a deep breath, Naruto wondered where they were going to train so no one would see him using his powers in the first place… there was no way that they could do it out in the open… there was just no way that would be possible.

Itachi smirked as he said "the Uchiha's privet gym of course. We have a lot of tools there to help people train."

Naruto grinned and everyone followed Itachi to the privet gym, he knew that he would be able to handle any kind of training, nothing will stop him so long as saving Hinata was on his mind… nothing was going to stop him so long as he had that thought within his mind…

Once they got into the gym, everyone couldn't help but notice that the room was…

"What the hell it's empty!" shouted Naruto before he glared at Itachi.

"That's because this room is specially made, it's controlled by remote. All you have to do is trust your instincts and you'll be able to shoot the targets when and where they'll appear." Itachi calmly said while reaching into his pocket for a strange looking remote… was that how the gym was controlled? That would make some kind of sense…

"Alright Naruto, step in the center and we'll begin some of your training…" said Itachi as he started to mess around with a few buttons… did he even know how to use that thing? Sighing, Naruto stepped to the center of the room and stared over at the walls, wondering what he was supposed to hit… "Now, before we start, I need you to transform and, focus on your ghost energy…"

Naruto was a little confused but did as he was told… he transformed, his hair turning white with red at the tips… hair growing longer as it was being tied back… his clothes changed to their usual orange and black attire… the only thing that didn't come to him were his shoes… guessing that was mostly because he didn't have any shoes on in the first place…

Once his transformation was complete, Naruto focused on his ghost energy… his green eye glowing in the dim light, showing that right now he was only focusing on his ghost energy, rather than his demon energy… Naruto hadn't felt this energy before… was this one of his abilities? Like his Demon Blast?

Looking at his left hand, Naruto could see the orb of green energy in his palm… it glowed brightly, shining with pure power… he never knew that he could do this… though he knew that it would be hard for him to control this power… he would have to use all of his senses to get the targets just right…

"Now Naruto, before I start up the targets, I also want you to use your demon blast as well."

"How do you know all of these attacks?!" shouted Naruto, trying

"It's called studying… plus the demon blast is one of the first powers that Kyuubi Phantom's always get first. I'm just helping you along to get your other powers." Calmly said Itachi with a grin, which only served to piss Naruto off a little more… though right now he had to do as he was asked…

Taking a deep breath, he focused on his demon powers… his red eye glowing with the energy that was flowing through him, but just as he was focusing on both, the green orb disappeared from his hand and was replaced with the blackish red light.

"No Naruto! You have to use both!"

Frowning, Naruto tried to have one of each in his hands… but trying to use both attacks at once cause him to yelp out in pain and stop… why did it hurt? It didn't make a lick of sense to him… Shaking his head, Naruto tried again… he was forcing himself to have both attacks in his hands… he was trying to get the attacks to come to him, so he could use them both as equals instead of individuals but, it seemed that no matter what he did that it didn't want to work for him. For, all it did was cause him pain… he hissed, yelped and growled out in pain as he tried to focus on both of his powers. But so far, nothing… they couldn't work together at all…

"Naruto, focus on your ghost ray instead." Sasuke said with concern for his friend, he could clearly see that trying to use both attacks was only causing him pain… maybe he couldn't use both at once? It was hard to say… but what he did know was that Naruto had at least learned one attack today…

Naruto took a deep breath, focusing all of his ghost energy into both of his hands and looked around the room, hoping that he would be able to shoot something soon; he hated waiting right now… with that in mind, Itachi had pressed the button and targets started to appear.

Naruto growled and shot ahead, hitting the target head on, it seemed like he had perfect hand-eye-coordination. Must have been all the video games he played as a kid… Shaking his head, Naruto kept his ears listening out for any sign of another target… his ears twitching with the sounds that surrounded the room… the sound of three hearts beating… the sound of his ghost rays humming within his ear…

A door suddenly opened, and the sound of a machine was heard… another target. Shifting his body to the left, Naruto shot at the target, shattering it to pieces. Then, there was one to his right and he shot at it… soon, two started to appear at once, Naruto destroyed them… Jumping through the air, the young man stood on the wall and ran as he shot at all of the targets as they started to appear at random.

He didn't know how he was able to do this…

But it felt like it was all a part of him… like all of these senses of his were on super drive or something… he knew where the targets would appear before they would come out… how was that possible when he didn't even know when that demon would appear even with his senses? That didn't even make sense to him at all. Though, then again nothing did at this point like why he was chosen for these powers, why was his spirit connected to the fate of this town… he felt like he would never understand it at all…

As Naruto shot at the targets, Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi were all amazed at Naruto's speed…

"How is that possible?" asked Sasuke, he's never seen Naruto go this fast before… it was so strange since Naruto was even faster than he ever was before, and that was something that Sasuke didn't think to be possible…

"It's simple; Naruto was holding his powers back to a degree that wouldn't harm those around him. He may not have been aware of it though… Though now, Naruto is using his senses so because of that, he isn't holding back any of his power or skill. Everything had increased for him, his power, strength and speed. This is something that he would need when he fights in the demon's realm… If he holds back he's done…" Itachi calmly explained as Naruto just finished of the last of the targets.

Sighing softly, the young man looked up and saw Naruto breathing heavily… he could tell that Naruto's body wasn't used to this kind of practice or exertion… Running a hand through his long bangs, Itachi walked over to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder to force Naruto to turn around.

Naruto looked up at Itachi, his green eye stopped glowing, a sure sign that his powers have died down for now. Taking a deep breath, Naruto whispered "what… next…?"

"Now, to work on one of your demon powers we'll do one of each till you've learned how to control them perfectly, or until it's time for the tournament." Itachi said with a smile before pressing a button to get the gym to get all nice and cleaned up. Naruto though still looked really worn out from the shooting practice, though this was the only way to get enough practice in… But what had amazed Itachi the more, was Naruto's determination… he didn't want to stop, he could tell that he wanted to save Hinata more than anything, and that was enough to help him get stronger.

"What's next?" asked Naruto, taking a few deep breaths hoping that he could refill his lungs with some much needed air…

"Transformation… with you being a fox, you can transform into a giant fox-like beast, though since you've never done it before, it may be both painful and you won't be able to stay that way for long."

Nodding, Naruto took a deep breath knowing fully well that he would be able handle transforming… but if he'd get big as he thought he would… well he would need a lot of room, even more than what the gym provided for him. Frowning in deep thought, Naruto tried to think on how he would be able to transform, since he's never done it before he had no clue as to how he would be able to handle it. Maybe if he thought it, he'd become it? That was the only thing he could think of, but it might help him that's for sure.

Closing his eyes, Naruto pictured himself as a giant fox… tails thrashing about, his ears listening to everything that was around him… eyes able to see what humans shouldn't be able to see… That was when Naruto could feel it… it felt like his bones were breaking, repairing themselves and stretching… like his skin… he felt the very pours of his skin changing as they grew hair.

His ears started to stretch, growing longer than they are used too… the same with his face as he grew a muzzle with whiskers… Growling, Naruto didn't think he would be able to handle this… it felt like his body was burning up right about now… 'It hurts… but, must keep going! For Hinata! If I keep going, I'll be able to save her despite the pain… I can do this! I will do this! Have to keep focusing on transforming; I have to finish this, finish what I started!'

Naruto felt his body stretching as it grew taller… his tails had also stretched as they tried to adjust to his new height… Naruto bent forward, feeling his hands and feet shrink into paws… Opening his eyes, Naruto could faintly make out that his paws were red like the ends of his tails were… His vision started to blur as he tried to think on something else to help him with the pain, but what could he possibly think of?

"You know what my favourite animal is Naruto?"

"Nope, what is it Hinata?"

"A fox!"

"Why a fox?"

"They're cute, furry, they cause some mischief but they also bring good luck and are normally signs of danger!"

"So, what animal do you see me as Hinata?"

"You're like a fox too Naruto…"

Naruto remembered that… they were kids and they were to pick their favourite animal… Hinata picked a fox and he… he reminded her of a fox that day. Naruto kept that memory in his mind, focusing on that as he transformed. He knew, just knew that it would be the key to mastering this, to get through the pain of transforming and everything. The burning in his body started to disappear at last…

"Naruto, you're a huge white fox!" said Sakura with shock…

Naruto opened his eyes, his body free of both pain and burning… he didn't know what had happened, though it felt like it all faded as quickly as it came… least to his mind… Shaking his head, Naruto stared down at everyone… Sasuke, held up his cell phone and took a picture, then went to the side of the gym and did the same thing… this, of course confused Naruto greatly, was this so he could see what he looked like as a fox?

'That would be interesting though, since I doubt that a mirror would be big enough to let me see all of me…' thought Naruto to himself… though, he lied down, his body finally out of energy… soon, Naruto was back to his human self, his body couldn't hold onto his transformation…

"He still has a long way to go, let's get him back to bed…" Itachi calmly said as he and Sasuke carried the sleeping boy to bed… Sakura had gone to make something for Naruto to eat so he would get his strength back.