What if Naruto was the reincarnation of Dante (from devil may cry)? He awakens his true powers when Orochimaru uses the five-prong seal.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 1: Sealed Memories

The Forest of Death lived up to its name—ancient trees towered like sentinels, their canopies blocking out the sun and plunging the forest floor into perpetual twilight. Naruto wiped sweat from his brow, the humidity making his orange jumpsuit cling uncomfortably to his skin. The headache that had been plaguing him for weeks throbbed behind his eyes.

"Keep up, loser," Sasuke called over his shoulder, dark eyes scanning the shadows between the trees. "We need to find an Earth scroll before nightfall."

"I know that!" Naruto snapped, the pain making his temper shorter than usual. His fingers brushed against the Heaven scroll tucked inside his jacket. "I'm not an idiot."

Sakura sighed, her pink hair swaying as she jumped to a lower branch. "Both of you, quiet down. You'll attract every team in the forest."

Naruto grumbled but fell silent. The pounding in his head intensified, a rhythmic drumbeat that seemed to echo through his skull. These headaches had started a month ago—sharp, sudden pains followed by flashes of places he'd never seen, people he'd never met. Last night's dream had been the most vivid yet: a white-haired man in a red coat, laughing as he cut through monsters with a massive sword.

A gust of wind sliced through the clearing without warning, its force separating the three genin and sending them flying in different directions.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" Sakura's voice faded as the wind carried her away.

Naruto crashed through branches, his back slamming against a tree trunk before he tumbled to the ground. Stars exploded behind his eyes as the impact intensified his headache tenfold. He struggled to his feet, kunai in hand.

"My, my... what an interesting specimen you are." The voice slithered through the air, setting Naruto's teeth on edge.

A figure stepped from behind a massive tree root—a Grass ninja with long black hair and an unnatural smile that stretched too wide across a pale face.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded, trying to mask his unease with bravado. "If you're after our scroll, you picked the wrong team to mess with!"

The Grass ninja's tongue flicked out, impossibly long, tasting the air like a serpent. "I have no interest in your pitiful scrolls, boy. It's what's inside you that fascinates me."

Naruto's hand instinctively went to his stomach, where the Nine-Tails' seal lay hidden beneath his clothes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't." The ninja's laughter grated against Naruto's nerves. "But you will."

The figure moved with inhuman speed, appearing before Naruto in a blur. Naruto's body reacted on instinct, his fingers forming the familiar cross sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A dozen Narutos popped into existence, surrounding the Grass ninja. They attacked in unison, a coordinated assault that would have overwhelmed a normal opponent.

The Grass ninja merely smiled, weaving between the clones with serpentine grace, dispelling them with casual flicks of the wrist. "How disappointing. Is this all the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki can offer?"

The last clone popped in a cloud of smoke, and before Naruto could create more, the Grass ninja's fingers dug into his arm. The disguise melted away, revealing sickly white skin and golden, slitted eyes.

"Orochimaru," Naruto gasped, recognition flashing through him from the stories he'd heard.

"The demon boy remembers me. I'm flattered." Orochimaru's smile widened. "But I wonder... what else might you remember, given the right... stimulus?"

His free hand glowed with purple chakra, fingers spread like a claw. "Five-Prong Seal!"

The hand drove into Naruto's stomach with brutal force. Pain exploded through his body, white-hot and all-consuming. But something was wrong—Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise as the seal connected.

Instead of suppressing Naruto's chakra as intended, the seal sent a crack splintering through something else entirely—a barrier in Naruto's mind that had been there so long he'd never known it existed.

"What is this?" Orochimaru hissed, genuinely shocked. "This energy... it's not the Nine-Tails."

Naruto couldn't respond. His world fragmented into shards of memory—not his own, but vivid as reality:

A massive tower rising from an island, pulsing with otherworldly energy.

Twin pistols, black and white, their weight comfortable in his hands as he fired at creatures of nightmare.

A man with his face—no, not quite his face, older, harder—staring into a mirror, white hair falling over ice-blue eyes.

"You've got your own style... let's rock, baby!"

Naruto screamed as the memories cascaded through him, each one bringing fresh pain. His body convulsed, and a crimson energy—deeper, richer than the Nine-Tails' orange chakra—began to seep from his pores.

Orochimaru released him, leaping back as the energy lashed out like a living thing. "Fascinating," he murmured, eyes gleaming with scientific curiosity. "The seal was meant to disrupt your connection to the Nine-Tails, but it seems I've awakened something else entirely. Something... older."

Naruto collapsed to his knees, the world spinning around him. The crimson energy receded, but the pain remained, a thousand needles behind his eyes. Through blurred vision, he saw Orochimaru retreating into the shadows.

"We will meet again, Naruto Uzumaki," the Sannin's voice echoed through the trees. "I'm most eager to see what emerges from this unexpected development."

Then darkness claimed him, pulling him down into unconsciousness.

---

Naruto dreamed.

He stood in a vast chamber, its walls lined with strange weapons and trophies—skulls and claws and things that defied description. In the center of the room sat a desk cluttered with pizza boxes and magazines, and behind it, a man lounged in a chair, boots propped up on the desk's surface.

The man looked up, and Naruto gasped. It was like looking into a distorted mirror—the same blue eyes, but sharper, more knowing; the same facial structure, but angular rather than round; and hair as white as fresh snow instead of Naruto's sunny blonde.

"Well, well," the man drawled, spinning a pistol on his finger. "Looks like the seal finally cracked. Took you long enough, kid."

"Who... who are you?" Naruto managed to ask, his voice echoing strangely in the dreamscape.

The man's grin was razor-sharp. "Name's Dante. And technically speaking, I'm you. Or you're me. Reincarnation's a bitch that way."

He stood in one fluid motion, the red leather coat he wore swirling around him. "Been trying to reach you for years. Those headaches? That was me, knocking on the door of your thick skull."

"I don't understand," Naruto said, frustration cutting through his confusion. "What's happening to me?"

"Long story short? You're not just some kid with a demon fox stuck in his belly. You're the reincarnation of yours truly—Dante, son of Sparda, demon hunter extraordinaire." He spread his arms wide, taking a theatrical bow. "And thanks to that creepy snake guy and his five-finger discount seal, the walls are coming down. My memories, my power... they're all waking up inside you."

Naruto shook his head, overwhelmed. "This is insane. I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm going to be Hokage someday!"

"Sure, kid. And I wanted to be a rock star." Dante laughed, the sound echoing through the chamber. "But destiny's got other plans for people like us. Half-human, half-something else... we don't get normal lives."

Before Naruto could respond, pain lanced through his body again. The dreamscape began to fracture, pieces falling away like broken glass.

"Time's up," Dante said, suddenly serious. "You're waking up. But I'll be here, in the back of your mind. We've got a lot to talk about, you and me."

As the dream dissolved, Dante's voice followed Naruto back to consciousness: "Just remember—power isn't just about the demon inside you. It's about what you choose to do with it."

---

Naruto's eyes snapped open to the green canopy of the Forest of Death. His body ached as though he'd been trampled by a herd of wild horses, but the headache had subsided to a dull throb. He sat up slowly, leaves and twigs falling from his hair.

Something felt different. His senses seemed sharper—he could hear creatures moving through the underbrush half a kilometer away, smell the distinct scents of moss and decay and the faint traces of his teammates' passage.

A lock of hair fell across his face, and Naruto froze. Against the blonde, a single streak of pure white stood out starkly. He grabbed it, tugging as if to prove it was real.

"What the hell?" he muttered, scrambling to his feet. He needed to find Sasuke and Sakura. He needed to make sense of what had happened with Orochimaru. He needed—

"So, kid, ready to rock?"

The voice came from inside his own head, familiar from the dream, casual and cocky and undeniably real.

Naruto's hand went to his stomach, where he could feel two distinct energies swirling beneath the surface—the familiar, angry burn of the Nine-Tails, and something new. Something that felt like power distilled to its essence, wild and intoxicating.

"Dante?" he whispered.

A chuckle echoed through his mind. "The one and only. Looks like we've got a party starting, kid. And believe me, it's gonna be one hell of a ride."

Naruto stood in the dappled light of the ancient forest, poised at the edge of an abyss of possibility. Nothing would ever be the same again.

And somewhere deep inside, beneath the fear and confusion, excitement sparked like a flame catching tinder.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 2: The Devil Inside

The forest pulsed with menace as Naruto leapt through the canopy, each branch bending beneath his feet before catapulting him forward. The white streak in his hair caught the sparse sunlight filtering through the leaves, glinting like polished silver against gold. His newfound senses overwhelmed him—the copper scent of blood carried on the wind, the distant sounds of combat slicing through the ambient chorus of insects and wildlife.

"Your friends are in trouble," Dante's voice echoed inside his skull, strangely casual despite the urgency. "Better pick up the pace, kid."

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Naruto snapped, pushing himself faster.

The voice chuckled. "Touchy. But hey, I get it. First day with a legendary demon hunter in your head—bound to be awkward."

Naruto landed on a high branch, crouching like a predator as he scanned the forest floor below. His enhanced vision pierced the gloom, zeroing in on a small clearing where three figures surrounded his teammates. Sasuke was on one knee, dark patterns crawling across his skin—Orochimaru's parting gift. Sakura stood protectively in front of him, kunai raised but trembling.

The Sound ninja—one wrapped like a mummy, another with spiky hair, and a kunoichi with long, dark hair—circled them like wolves around wounded prey.

"Found them," Naruto whispered, muscles coiling for action.

"Hold up," Dante cautioned. "You're not just Naruto anymore. You've got new tricks up your sleeve, but they won't come easy. Your chakra's all mixed up with my demonic power."

"I don't have time for a lesson!" Naruto growled, forming his signature hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The familiar surge of chakra rushed through his pathways, but something was different—a crimson current intertwined with the blue, fighting for dominance. Instead of the dozens of clones he intended, only three materialized, their forms unstable and flickering.

"What the—" Naruto stared at his hands in shock.

"Told ya," Dante sighed. "It's like trying to mix oil and water. Gotta find the balance."

Below, the Sound ninja closed in. The mummified one—Dosu—raised his arm, the metal gauntlet glinting. "Enough games. Lord Orochimaru wants the Uchiha, and you're in our way."

Sakura's face was a mask of determination despite her fear. "You'll have to go through me first!"

The spiky-haired ninja—Zaku—laughed, raising both palms toward her. "That can be arranged. Slicing Sound Wave!"

"NO!" Naruto roared, plummeting from the trees like a meteor.

He landed between Sakura and the oncoming blast, crossing his arms in front of his face. The impact sent him skidding backward, shoes digging furrows in the soil, but he remained standing. His shadow clones had vanished in puffs of smoke from the disruption to his chakra, leaving him alone.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped, eyes widening at the white streak in his hair. "What happened to you?"

Zaku sneered. "Another bug to squash. Doesn't matter how many of you there are."

Naruto wiped a trickle of blood from his lip, the taste of copper on his tongue igniting something primal within him. His vision sharpened further, the world taking on a reddish tint as his pupils elongated into slits.

"You want Sasuke?" he growled, voice dropping an octave. "You'll have to kill me first."

"That's the idea," Dosu replied, charging forward with his sound gauntlet raised.

Naruto dodged the first swing, body moving with a grace he'd never possessed, but the sound waves emanating from the device still caught him. Pain lanced through his inner ear, equilibrium shattering as he stumbled.

"That arm's trouble," Dante observed coolly. "Sound-based attack. Disrupts your balance, maybe damages internal organs."

"Then how do I fight it?" Naruto gritted out, barely avoiding another swing.

"The old-fashioned way." There was a smile in Dante's voice. "With style."

Dosu pressed his advantage, unleashing another sound wave that brought Naruto to his knees. Behind him, Zaku prepared another attack, while the kunoichi—Kin—moved to flank him, senbon needles glinting between her fingers.

Pinned between three opponents, his chakra unstable, Naruto felt desperation clawing at his throat. Sasuke was down, Sakura couldn't take them alone, and his body refused to respond properly.

"You're thinking like a ninja," Dante chided. "But you've got the blood of Sparda running through your veins now. Stop fighting it. Embrace it."

"How?" Naruto demanded, blood trickling from his ear as Dosu's sound attack intensified.

"Reach for it. That power you feel beneath your skin? That's me. That's us. Call it up and give it form."

Naruto closed his eyes, diving into the maelstrom of energy within. Beyond the familiar chakra, beyond even the Nine-Tails' caustic power, he found it—a crimson current, wild and ancient. He seized it with his mind, drawing it upward through his body.

"That's it," Dante urged. "Now, picture the sword. Rebellion. My oldest companion."

In his mind's eye, Naruto saw it—massive, double-edged, with a skull-adorned guard and hilt wrapped in weathered leather. The weight of it, the balance, the way it sang through the air—all knowledge he shouldn't possess flooded his consciousness.

"Now!" Dante commanded.

Naruto's eyes snapped open, blazing blue with flecks of crimson. He thrust his right hand upward, and reality seemed to fracture around it. Motes of red light swirled and condensed, taking solid form with a flash that momentarily blinded everyone in the clearing.

When the light faded, Naruto stood with Rebellion clutched in his hand, its massive blade reflecting the dappled forest light. The sword should have been too heavy for his thirteen-year-old frame, but it felt like an extension of his arm—familiar, balanced, perfect.

"What the hell is that?" Zaku sputtered, taking an involuntary step back.

Even Dosu paused, his single visible eye widening. "That's... not a summoning jutsu."

Sakura stared, mouth agape. "Naruto, how are you—"

"Stay with Sasuke," Naruto cut her off, his voice layered with an echo that wasn't his own. A cocky grin spread across his face, startlingly reminiscent of the white-haired man from his dreams. "This'll be over in a minute."

Dosu recovered first, charging with renewed determination. "Whatever trick this is, it won't save you!"

Naruto didn't dodge this time. Instead, he swung Rebellion in a perfect arc, the blade cleaving through Dosu's sound gauntlet like it was made of paper. Metal fragments scattered across the forest floor as Dosu leapt back, clutching his now-useless arm.

"Impossible," he hissed. "That device was reinforced with chakra metal!"

"Jackpot," Naruto quipped, the word coming unbidden to his lips.

Zaku snarled, aiming both palms at Naruto. "Extreme Decapitating Airwaves!"

The devastating blast of compressed air tore through the clearing, stripping bark from trees and flattening undergrowth in its path. Naruto should have been eviscerated—instead, he moved with inhuman speed, a red blur that seemed to teleport rather than run.

He reappeared behind Zaku, Rebellion's tip pressed against the Sound ninja's spine. "Too slow."

Before Zaku could react, Naruto slammed the sword's hilt into the back of his head, dropping him unconscious to the ground. A flicker of movement caught his eye—Kin, launching a volley of senbon, each attached to a bell.

Time seemed to slow as Naruto tracked their trajectories. With a series of precisely controlled swings, Rebellion intercepted each needle, the metallic clinks forming an almost musical rhythm.

"Genjutsu won't work if I can knock out your tools," Naruto called out, twirling the massive sword as if it weighed nothing. "Want to try something else?"

Kin's face twisted with fury. She drew a kunai, but hesitated as Naruto took a step toward her, Rebellion's blade gleaming with an inner light that hadn't been there before.

"What are you?" she whispered.

Naruto tilted his head, a strangely predatory gesture. "Good question. I'm still figuring that out myself."

A momentary standoff, then Kin grabbed her unconscious teammate and backed away. "Dosu, we're leaving. This isn't what we signed up for."

Dosu, cradling his shattered gauntlet, nodded grimly. "This isn't over, Uzumaki. Lord Orochimaru will be very interested to hear about your... new ability."

They retreated into the forest, dragging Zaku between them. Naruto watched them go, the adrenaline ebbing from his system, leaving exhaustion in its wake. Rebellion's weight suddenly felt immense, and the sword dissipated into motes of crimson light that were absorbed back into his body.

He swayed on his feet, only to feel Sakura's hand steadying him.

"Naruto," she said, voice trembling slightly, "what happened to you? Your hair, that sword... and your eyes were different."

Naruto met her gaze, struggling to find words that would make sense. How could he explain something he barely understood himself?

"Orochimaru did something to me," he finally said. "The Five-Prong Seal. But instead of sealing my chakra, it... woke something up."

He touched the white streak in his hair. "Something that was always there, I guess, just dormant."

"Like another kekkei genkai?" Sakura asked, her analytical mind already trying to categorize what she'd witnessed.

Naruto gave a hollow laugh. "No. More like... another person."

Sakura's eyes widened, and Naruto immediately regretted his words.

"I'm not crazy," he added hastily. "It's complicated. Let's just focus on Sasuke for now, and getting through this exam."

They turned to where Sasuke lay, the curse mark still spreading across his skin like a sinister tattoo. Naruto knelt beside his rival, feeling strangely disconnected from the scene—as if watching through someone else's eyes.

"That mark," Dante's voice observed from within. "It's demonic in nature. Different from my world's demons, but the same basic principle. That snake guy is dabbling in powers he doesn't fully understand."

"Can I help Sasuke?" Naruto asked silently.

"Not yet. You've barely scratched the surface of what you can do. Better not mess with someone else's curse until you've got a handle on your own situation."

Naruto nodded imperceptibly, then glanced at Sakura. "We need to find shelter. Somewhere defensible. Can you help me move him?"

As they gathered their injured teammate, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something fundamental had changed—not just in him, but in the world around him. The rules he'd known all his life suddenly seemed flimsy, like a theater backdrop ready to fall away and reveal a deeper, darker reality behind it.

"Get used to that feeling," Dante commented, reading his thoughts. "The world's always been this way. You're just seeing it clearly for the first time."

---

High in the branches of a distant tree, a silver-haired figure adjusted his glasses, reflecting what little sunlight penetrated the canopy. Kabuto Yakushi had witnessed the entire confrontation, his keen eyes missing nothing. The white streak in Naruto's hair, the manifestation of the enormous sword, the inhuman speed and agility—all carefully catalogued for his master.

"How very interesting," he murmured to himself, making notes in a small book. "Orochimaru-sama will want to know immediately."

He pocketed the book and slipped away through the trees, moving as silently as a shadow. The Forest of Death held many secrets, but this—a jinchūriki manifesting abilities completely unrelated to his tailed beast—might be the most fascinating development yet.

In his haste to report, Kabuto failed to notice the flicker of movement on a branch far above—a spectral blue figure that watched him go, a katana sheathed at its side and white hair gleaming in the darkness.

The figure's face, so similar to Dante's yet harder, colder, twisted into a contemptuous smile before it too vanished, leaving nothing but a whisper in the wind:

"So the little brother returns."

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 3: Devil Trigger

The preliminaries arena smelled of sweat and anticipation, the harsh fluorescent lights casting everything in a clinical glow that did nothing to mask the tension hanging in the air. Five days in the Forest of Death had left the remaining genin battered, filthy, and on edge—perfect conditions for weeding out the weak. Metal railings vibrated with the nervous energy of spectators as they leaned forward, hungry for the next fight.

Naruto stood with his teammates, uncomfortably aware of the sidelong glances thrown his way. The white streak in his hair drew eyes like a beacon, a visible manifestation of the change only he could feel churning beneath his skin. He'd managed to reach the tower with Sasuke and Sakura, Earth scroll in hand, but the journey had been a blur of whispered conversations with the voice in his head and stolen moments practicing with abilities he barely understood.

"Oi, Naruto!" Kiba's rough voice cut through his thoughts. The Inuzuka boy leaned over the railing, fanged grin on full display, Akamaru perched on his head. "What's with the hair? Trying to look tough before I wipe the floor with you?"

Naruto straightened, a retort ready on his lips when Dante's voice drawled through his mind: "Dog boy's got an attitude. Remind you of anyone?"

"Shut up," Naruto muttered, unsure if he was addressing Kiba or Dante.

"The eighth match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Kiba Inuzuka!" The proctor's announcement echoed through the chamber, bringing all eyes to the electronic board where their names flashed.

Kakashi's hand landed on Naruto's shoulder, the jonin's visible eye crinkling in what might have been concern or curiosity. "Naruto. Are you sure you're up for this? After what happened in the forest—"

"I'm fine, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto shrugged off the hand, more brusquely than he'd intended. The constant internal dialogue with Dante had frayed his nerves to the breaking point. "I can handle Kiba."

"It's not Kiba I'm worried about," Kakashi murmured, too low for anyone else to hear. "It's what's happening to you."

Naruto locked eyes with his teacher, surprised to find genuine concern there. "I've got it under control."

"Do you really?" Dante's voice echoed with amusement. "Because from where I'm sitting—which is, you know, inside your head—you're about as in-control as a drunk on a motorcycle."

Naruto ignored him, vaulting over the railing to land in the arena with a practiced ease that would have been beyond him a week ago. His body moved differently now—more fluid, more precise, as if years of muscle memory had been downloaded directly into his nervous system.

Kiba landed opposite him, Akamaru yipping excitedly at his side. "This'll be quick," he sneered, rolling his shoulders. "No offense, Naruto, but you're outmatched."

The proctor, Hayate Gekkō, stepped between them, his perpetually sick appearance doing nothing to diminish his authority. "Begin when ready," he announced, before stepping back with a muffled cough.

"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba crouched low, his features sharpening as chakra enhanced his already formidable canine characteristics.

Naruto settled into a fighting stance, one that felt simultaneously foreign and familiar. "Kick his ass, but maybe don't summon any devil arms this time," Dante advised. "Unless you want to give all these nice people heart attacks."

"I wasn't planning to," Naruto thought back, focusing on the opponent before him.

Kiba exploded into motion, a blur of gray and brown as he charged forward on all fours. His speed was impressive, but to Naruto's enhanced perception, it seemed almost leisurely. He sidestepped at the last moment, his body moving without conscious thought.

"Too slow, dog breath," Naruto taunted, the words flowing with a cockiness that felt more like Dante than himself.

Kiba skidded to a stop, whirling with a growl. "Lucky dodge. Let's see you handle this—Four Legs Technique!"

Chakra visibly swirled around Kiba as his nails elongated into claws, his features becoming more feral. With another burst of speed, he attacked again, this time coordinating with Akamaru in a pincer movement designed to leave no escape route.

In the stands, Kurenai leaned toward Asuma, her crimson eyes narrowed. "Something's different about Naruto. His movements..."

Asuma nodded, flicking ash from his cigarette. "He's fighting like someone with years more experience. And that white in his hair wasn't there before."

Kakashi said nothing, his Sharingan eye uncovered now, tracking every movement with laser focus.

Down in the arena, Naruto danced between Kiba and Akamaru's attacks, his body flowing like water around their strikes. He wasn't just evading—he was toying with them, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"Stop screwing around," Kiba snarled, frustration evident in every line of his body. "Fight me for real!"

"If you insist." Naruto's grin widened as he finally counterattacked, a sweeping kick that caught Kiba off-guard, sending him tumbling across the arena floor.

"You know," Dante commented idly, "as entertaining as this is, the kid's got a point. Where's that famous Uzumaki determination? Show him what you've got."

Naruto faltered momentarily at the words, and Kiba capitalized on the opening. "Fang Over Fang!" he roared, he and Akamaru—transformed into a perfect replica of his master—spinning like twin drills directly toward Naruto.

The impact sent Naruto flying, his body slamming against the wall hard enough to crack the concrete. Pain blossomed across his back, and he tasted blood where his teeth had cut the inside of his cheek.

"That's more like it!" Kiba howled triumphantly, landing in a crouch as Akamaru yipped beside him. "Ready to give up yet?"

From the Naruto-shaped indentation in the wall came a sound that froze the blood of everyone present: laughter. Not Naruto's usual boisterous chuckle, but something darker, edged with a predatory quality that raised the hair on the back of every neck in the room.

Naruto stepped out of the crater, rolling his shoulders with audible pops as vertebrae realigned themselves. The white streak in his hair seemed to pulse with its own inner light. "Now that," he said, voice resonating with a subtle echo, "was fun. Let's kick it up a notch, shall we?"

Above, in the stands, Sasuke gripped the railing until his knuckles turned white. "What's happening to him?" he demanded, the curse mark on his neck throbbing in sympathetic response to the energy beginning to emanate from his teammate.

Sakura shook her head, green eyes wide. "It's like in the forest, but... more."

Naruto raised his hand, examining it with detached curiosity as crimson energy began to dance around his fingertips. "You mentioned showing him what I've got," he murmured, ostensibly to himself but loud enough for Kiba to hear. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Let it flow," Dante's voice urged, excitement evident. "Not all of it—you're not ready for that yet. Just a taste. Think of it like opening a faucet just a crack."

Naruto closed his eyes, sinking into the maelstrom of power within. Beyond the steady blue of his chakra, beyond even the caustic orange of the Nine-Tails, he found that crimson current—wild, intoxicating, primal. But where before it had been a raging torrent threatening to drown him, now he could feel the edges of control, a way to direct rather than simply unleash.

"What's he doing?" Kiba muttered, uneasiness replacing his earlier confidence. Akamaru whined, backing away as if sensing danger.

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and gasps echoed through the arena. His blue irises now glowed with an inner fire, pupils elongated into reptilian slits. The whisker marks on his cheeks deepened, becoming more pronounced, and his canines lengthened just enough to be visible when he smiled.

"Let me show you," Naruto said, his voice layered with harmonics that sent chills down spines, "what a real beast looks like."

The crimson energy that had been playing around his fingers now enveloped his entire body in a subtle aura, not quite visible to normal sight but perceptible as a pressure in the air, like the moment before lightning strikes.

In the Hokage's viewing box, the Third straightened, pipe forgotten in his hand. "This chakra... it's not the Nine-Tails."

Beside him, Anko Mitarashi tensed, hand unconsciously going to her own cursed seal. "Orochimaru," she hissed. "Did he do something to the kid in the forest?"

Kiba, sensing the shift in power, abandoned caution for desperation. "Akamaru! Full power—Fang Over Fang!"

The twin drills of man and beast spiraled toward Naruto with even greater speed and power than before, tearing gouges in the floor as they approached.

Naruto didn't move until the last possible instant. When he did, it was with a speed that left afterimages—one moment standing directly in the path of Kiba's attack, the next behind both Inuzuka and ninken, crimson trails marking his passage through the air.

"Too slow," he said again, but this time without mockery—a simple statement of fact.

Before Kiba could recover, Naruto was on him. No clones, no jutsus, just raw physical prowess enhanced by whatever power now coursed through his veins. A punch caught Kiba in the solar plexus, lifting him off his feet. A follow-up kick sent him careening toward the wall, only to be intercepted mid-flight by Naruto, who seemed to materialize out of thin air.

"Incredible," Guy murmured from the stands, his usual bombast subdued by genuine astonishment. "That movement... it's faster than Lee without his weights."

Lee himself leaned forward, bandaged hands gripping the railing. "Such speed," he whispered, both awed and devastated that someone had surpassed him so completely.

Naruto held Kiba by the collar, the Inuzuka's feet dangling above the floor. Akamaru, reverted to his dog form, lay nearby, too stunned to move.

"Yield," Naruto suggested, eyes still burning with that inner light.

Kiba, despite his predicament, bared his fangs in defiance. "Never."

A flicker of respect crossed Naruto's face. "Your choice." He released Kiba's collar only to deliver an open-palmed strike that sent the Inuzuka skidding across the arena floor, unconscious before he came to rest against the far wall.

Silence descended, heavy and absolute, as Naruto stood alone in the center of the arena. The crimson aura receded gradually, his features shifting back toward normal, though the white streak in his hair remained and his eyes still held a hint of their unearthly glow.

Hayate approached cautiously, confirming Kiba's state before raising his hand. "Winner: Naruto Uzumaki."

The announcement broke the spell. Whispers erupted throughout the stands, a rising tide of speculation and unease.

Naruto looked up at the spectators, catching the varied expressions—Sasuke's burning intensity, Sakura's concerned confusion, Hinata's wide-eyed shock, Neji's calculating assessment. Higher up, the jonin teachers clustered together, their conversation too quiet to hear but their body language speaking volumes.

"Quite the impression you've made," Dante commented wryly. "Though you might want to dial it back next time. Subtlety's a virtue, or so I'm told."

"You told me to show him what I've got," Naruto thought back, making his way toward the stairs that would lead back to the viewing area.

"Yeah, but there's showing what you've got and then there's sending up a flare that says 'hey everyone, supernatural powers over here!' Might as well have worn a sign saying 'not entirely human anymore.'"

Naruto frowned, the implications sinking in. The power had felt good—incredible, even—but the looks on everyone's faces... He climbed the stairs slowly, each step leaden with the weight of what had just happened.

Kakashi intercepted him at the top, guiding him to a relatively secluded corner with a firm hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk," the jonin said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Kakashi-sensei, I—"

"That wasn't the Nine-Tails' chakra." Kakashi's visible eye bored into him. "I've felt the Nine-Tails' chakra before. This was different. What happened in the forest, Naruto? The full story this time."

Naruto swallowed, the taste of copper still lingering on his tongue. How could he explain what he barely understood himself?

"Orochimaru found me," he began haltingly. "He used some kind of seal—Five-Prong Seal, he called it. But instead of just blocking my chakra, it... woke something up."

"Something?" Kakashi prompted when Naruto fell silent.

"Someone," Naruto corrected, meeting Kakashi's gaze squarely. "His name is Dante. He says I'm his reincarnation, and that what's happening to me now is his power awakening inside me."

Kakashi's eye widened fractionally—the jonin equivalent of jaw-dropping shock. "Dante? Never heard of him. Is he from one of the hidden villages?"

A rough laugh escaped Naruto's throat, startling both of them. "Not exactly. According to him, he's not even from this world. He was some kind of... demon hunter."

"It's the truth," Dante chimed in, though only Naruto could hear. "Though 'some kind' doesn't really do justice to my reputation. Legendary demon hunter, thank you very much."

"What you did down there," Kakashi said, choosing his words carefully, "that transformation. Can you control it?"

Naruto considered the question. "More or less. It's like... learning to use a muscle I didn't know I had. But Dante's helping. He calls it 'Devil Trigger'—a partial transformation that enhances everything. Strength, speed, senses..."

"Devil," Kakashi repeated, the word heavy with implications.

"Not what you're thinking," Naruto said quickly. "Not like the Nine-Tails. Something different. Dante was half-human, half... something else."

"And now you are too," a new voice interjected, deep and resonant.

Both Naruto and Kakashi turned to find a large man with wild white hair and red facial markings leaning against the wall nearby, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi acknowledged, surprise evident even through his mask.

"Yo, Kakashi." The Sannin nodded before fixing his attention on Naruto. "Quite the show you put on, kid. The old man sent me a message after your encounter with Orochimaru, but I gotta say, his description didn't do justice to what I just saw."

Naruto blinked, momentarily thrown. "You were watching?"

Jiraiya grinned, tapping the side of his nose. "I have my ways. More importantly, I recognized what I was seeing. That energy you're putting out—it's not chakra, not entirely. It's something older. Something I've only read about in scrolls so ancient they were crumbling to dust."

"Sounds like my kind of guy," Dante remarked inside Naruto's mind. "Ask him if he knows anything about Sparda."

"Sparda," Naruto said, the name rolling off his tongue with surprising ease. "Do you know anything about Sparda?"

The effect was immediate. Jiraiya's casual demeanor evaporated, replaced by an intensity that transformed his entire bearing. He glanced around sharply before stepping closer, voice dropping to a near-whisper.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"Dante told me. He says Sparda was his father."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, scrutinizing Naruto as if seeing him for the first time. "We need to talk, kid. Not here, not now. After the preliminaries." He glanced at Kakashi. "If your sensei doesn't mind, I'll be taking over a portion of your training for the finals."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "I had planned to focus on Sasuke given his... situation. Naruto would benefit from your expertise, Jiraiya-sama."

"It's settled then." Jiraiya clapped Naruto on the shoulder, his grip surprisingly gentle despite his massive hand. "Just try not to give away all your new tricks before the finals, eh? A little mystery goes a long way."

With that, he sauntered off, leaving Naruto and Kakashi to stare after him.

"He knows something," Naruto murmured.

"More than he's saying," Kakashi agreed. "Jiraiya-sama is one of the most knowledgeable shinobi alive when it comes to obscure sealing techniques and ancient lore. If anyone can help you understand what's happening, it's him."

A mechanical whir drew their attention back to the arena, where the electronic board was cycling through names for the next match.

"You should rejoin your team," Kakashi suggested. "We'll talk more later."

Naruto nodded, turning to go, only to pause when Kakashi added, "And Naruto? Be careful. Whatever this power is, whatever it's doing to you... don't lose yourself to it. You're still Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf."

"Am I though?" The question slipped out before Naruto could stop it, voicing a fear that had been growing since the forest.

Kakashi's eye crinkled in what might have been a smile beneath his mask. "The Naruto I know would never doubt it. And he certainly wouldn't let someone else—even someone living in his head—tell him who he is."

The simple statement hit Naruto like a physical blow, resonating with something fundamental in his core. He nodded once, sharply, before rejoining Sakura at the railing.

"Are you okay?" she asked immediately, green eyes searching his face for answers. "That was... I've never seen you fight like that before."

"I'm fine," Naruto assured her, the half-truth sitting uneasily on his tongue. "Just trying out some new techniques."

Before she could press further, Sasuke approached, dark eyes burning with an intensity that bordered on fever. The curse mark on his neck stood out starkly against his pale skin.

"That power," he said without preamble. "Where did it come from?"

Naruto met his rival's gaze evenly. "Still figuring that out."

"After the forest, after Orochimaru—" Sasuke broke off, frustration evident in the tight line of his jaw. "Whatever it is, it's not just chakra. It's something else."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed simply. "It is."

A moment of tense silence stretched between them, broken only when Sasuke's name appeared on the board for the next match. Without another word, he turned away, heading for the stairs.

"Be careful," Naruto called after him, genuine concern coloring his voice. "That mark..."

Sasuke paused, glancing back with a ghost of his usual smirk. "Worry about yourself, loser. I can handle this."

As Sasuke descended to face his opponent, Naruto leaned against the railing, suddenly exhausted. The Devil Trigger, even partially activated, had drained him more than he'd realized.

"It gets easier," Dante assured him, his voice for once free of its usual irreverence. "The more you use it, the more your body adapts. You're still mostly human, but that's changing, bit by bit."

"Is that supposed to be comforting?" Naruto thought back, watching as Sasuke's match began below.

"Depends on your perspective. Power always comes with a price. The question is whether you think it's worth paying."

Naruto had no answer for that. Instead, he turned his attention to where Jiraiya stood on the other side of the arena, the Sannin's expression unreadable from this distance. One thing was clear, though—whatever Dante's awakening meant, Naruto wasn't the only one who recognized its significance.

In the shadowed upper reaches of the arena, unseen by all, a spectral figure watched the proceedings with cold eyes, katana resting casually against one shoulder.

"So," Vergil murmured, gaze fixed on the white-streaked hair of the boy below, "the son of Sparda lives again. How... convenient."

A ghost of a smile touched his lips before he faded from view, leaving nothing but the faintest scent of ozone and the whisper of steel against silk.

The stage was set. The players were assembling. And the game, as it always had, would end in blood.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 4: Legacy of Sparda

The hot springs district shimmered under the midday sun, steam rising in ghostly tendrils to caress the faces of stone hokages watching over the village. Naruto stomped after Jiraiya, sandals slapping against the cobblestones with each frustrated step. Three hours of following the self-proclaimed "Toad Sage" had yielded nothing but stops at bathhouses, sake shops, and a concerning number of adult bookstores.

"When exactly," Naruto demanded, voice carrying across the street and drawing irritated glances from passersby, "are we going to start training? The finals are in a month!"

Jiraiya swiveled, white mane swinging as he jabbed a finger at Naruto's chest. "Kid, training isn't just about throwing punches and learning jutsus. It's about observation." His eyes darted to a group of giggling women entering a bathhouse. "Careful, meticulous observation."

"He's a pervert," Dante said inside Naruto's head, amusement coloring his voice. "I like him already."

Naruto groaned, both at Jiraiya and the commentary in his mind. "You're supposed to be helping me with..." He glanced around, lowering his voice. "With what happened during the preliminaries."

The humor vanished from Jiraiya's face, replaced by a sharpness that reminded Naruto this man was one of the legendary Sannin. "I am. But not here." He tilted his head toward the village gates. "Pack for three days. Meet me there in twenty minutes. And kid?" His eyes flicked to the white streak in Naruto's hair. "Bring a hat."

---

The forest outside Konoha thickened as they traveled, ancient trees giving way to even older sentinels whose massive trunks could have housed entire families. Their footfalls were swallowed by a carpet of moss so rich and green it seemed to glow in the dappled sunlight. Naruto followed Jiraiya in uncharacteristic silence, the weight of anticipation pressing on his chest.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked, pushing aside a low-hanging branch heavy with emerald leaves.

"Somewhere old," Jiraiya replied without turning. "Somewhere forgotten."

"Cryptic," Dante drawled. "Tell him to save the mysterious act for his books."

Naruto bit back a smile. "Dante thinks you're being dramatic."

Jiraiya's stride faltered for just a heartbeat before resuming. "Still strange hearing you talk to him like that. Like he's right here with us."

"He is," Naruto shrugged. "Just... inside me."

"The Nine-Tails is inside you too, but you don't chat with it over breakfast."

"Different relationship," Naruto said, surprise at his own casual tone catching him off-guard. When had he started accepting this bizarre situation as normal? "The fox wants out. Dante's just... along for the ride."

"For now," Jiraiya muttered, so low Naruto almost missed it.

The forest gave way suddenly to a small clearing where a shattered stone torii gate lay half-buried in the earth. Behind it, barely visible through encroaching vegetation, stood the remains of what might have been a shrine – its roof long collapsed, its walls crumbling like sugar dissolved in rain.

Jiraiya approached the ruins with unexpected reverence, his massive frame incongruous against the delicate stonework. "This place has no name anymore," he said, running calloused fingers over symbols carved into a fallen column. "But once, long before the founding of the hidden villages, it was a place where those with knowledge of the worlds beyond our own would gather."

"Worlds beyond?" Naruto repeated, a chill that had nothing to do with the shade racing down his spine.

"The human world, the demon world," Jiraiya confirmed, pulling away vines to reveal an archway decorated with stone carvings of twisted creatures that resembled neither animals nor humans. "And the borders between them."

Naruto's hand went unconsciously to the white streak in his hair. "You know about demons? Real ones, not just the tailed beasts?"

Jiraiya's laugh held no humor. "The tailed beasts are something else entirely. Natural chakra, given consciousness and form." He tapped one of the stone carvings – a humanoid figure with batlike wings and curved horns. "These were something older. Creatures from a realm parallel to our own, with powers that had nothing to do with chakra."

"They were real," Naruto said. Not a question.

"Once. Long ago." Jiraiya gestured for Naruto to follow him deeper into the ruins. "And sometimes, when the barriers between worlds grew thin, they crossed over."

They entered what must have been the inner sanctum, where against all odds, a stone altar remained intact, protected from the elements by the angle of the collapsed roof above it. Jiraiya knelt, pulling aged scrolls from his pack and spreading them reverently across the flat surface.

"After your display in the arena, I visited the Hokage's restricted archives," he explained, unrolling the first scroll to reveal faded ink drawings of monstrous figures set against spidery text in a language Naruto didn't recognize. "Most of what was there had decayed beyond recovery, but these..." He tapped the scroll. "These survived."

Naruto leaned closer, breath catching as his eyes fixed on a figure near the center of the document – a tall, imposing silhouette with a distinctive sword across its back.

"Sparda," Dante whispered inside his mind, the name thrumming with emotion.

"That's him," Naruto said aloud, finger hovering just above the faded ink. "Dante's father."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "You recognize him?"

"Dante does." Naruto frowned, trying to capture the flood of impressions washing through him. "A demon who woke up to justice... who fought against his own kind to protect humans."

"The Legendary Dark Knight," Jiraiya confirmed, unrolling another scroll to reveal more detailed renderings. "According to these records, Sparda stood against the demon emperor Mundus when he attempted to conquer the human realm. He sealed the demon world away, using his own power as the lock and key."

"But not before he fell in love with a human woman," Naruto murmured, the words coming from somewhere deep within, where Dante's memories swirled like autumn leaves. "Eva."

"The scrolls don't mention her by name," Jiraiya said, studying Naruto with renewed intensity. "But they do speak of Sparda taking a human bride. And of children." He unrolled a third scroll, this one bearing a crude map marked with locations scattered across continents both familiar and strange. "Nephilim, they called them. Half-human, half-demon. Inheritors of Sparda's power."

"Dante and Vergil," Naruto whispered, a shadow of recognition passing over his face at the second name.

"Tell him to look for references to the Yamato," Dante urged. "My brother's sword."

"Does it mention the Yamato?" Naruto asked. "A katana?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened fractionally before he composed himself. "Here." He indicated a section where three swords were illustrated in fading detail. "Rebellion, the blade you manifested in the Forest of Death. Yamato, a blade that could cut through the very fabric of dimensions. And this one, the Force Edge, Sparda's own sword, said to contain the bulk of his power."

Naruto stared at the illustrations, feeling a strange resonance as if the weapons were calling to him across time itself. "But what does this have to do with me? With what's happening now?"

Jiraiya rolled the scrolls carefully, returning them to his pack before answering. "Reincarnation isn't uncommon in our world, Naruto. Souls return, carrying fragments of their past lives, usually without knowing it." His gaze lingered on the white streak in Naruto's hair. "But what's happening to you is different. You're not just remembering a past life – you're becoming it."

"Not exactly," Dante interjected. "More like we're... integrating. He's not becoming me; we're becoming something new."

Naruto relayed this, watching Jiraiya's expression shift from concern to fascination.

"That fits with another theory," the Sage mused. "The Five-Prong Seal Orochimaru used – it was designed to disrupt the chakra flow between you and the Nine-Tails. But instead, it created a fracture in the barriers of your mind, allowing this... dormant aspect of your soul to emerge."

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked, suddenly feeling very young and very out of his depth.

Jiraiya's grin returned, sharp and challenging. "Now, kid, we train. If you're going to be hosting both the Nine-Tails AND the reincarnation of a legendary demon hunter, you'd better learn to control all that power before it tears you apart."

---

The clearing behind the ruins became their training ground, worn stones bearing silent witness as Jiraiya pushed Naruto to his limits and beyond. Days blurred together in a haze of sweat and determination, the forest echoing with the sounds of combat and the occasional explosion when an exercise went spectacularly wrong.

"Focus!" Jiraiya barked, circling Naruto who stood panting in the center of the clearing, frustration etched into every line of his face. "You called the sword once before. Find that feeling again!"

"I'm trying!" Naruto snarled, fingers flexing uselessly. For three days, he'd been attempting to summon Rebellion at will, achieving nothing but exhaustion and an increasingly colorful vocabulary of curses that impressed even Dante.

"Stop trying," the voice in his head suggested calmly. "Rebellion isn't something you call like a pet. It's part of you – an extension of your will."

"That's not helping!" Naruto growled aloud.

Jiraiya sighed, running a hand through his wild mane. "Take a break. Eat something. We'll try a different approach after lunch."

Naruto collapsed against a fallen log, muscles trembling with exertion. He pulled a rice ball from his pack, biting into it with more force than necessary. "This is impossible," he mumbled through a mouthful of rice.

"Nothing's impossible," Dante countered. "Just harder than expected. Look, when I was alive – the first time around – I didn't have to think about summoning my weapons. They were just... there when I needed them."

"That's the problem," Naruto thought back, swallowing. "I don't know what I need. In the forest, with Sasuke and Sakura in danger, it just happened. During training, it feels like I'm reaching for smoke."

A moment of silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant call of a bird.

"Meditation," Dante finally suggested, the word so incongruous coming from him that Naruto nearly choked on his rice.

"You? Meditation?"

A mental shrug. "Not really my style, but Vergil was big on it. Centered the mind, focused the will, all that zen crap. Might help you tap into the power more deliberately."

Jiraiya returned to find Naruto cross-legged on a flat rock, eyes closed, hands resting on his knees in a pose of perfect stillness that seemed utterly alien on the hyperactive ninja.

"Dante suggested meditation," Naruto explained without opening his eyes.

Jiraiya's eyebrows shot toward his hairline. "Huh. Not a bad idea." He settled across from Naruto, his own massive frame folding with surprising grace into a mirroring position. "Focus on your breathing first. Then go deeper – past your chakra, past even the Nine-Tails, to that other power you've started to access."

Naruto nodded, drawing a deep breath and letting his awareness sink inward. The familiar currents of his chakra swirled in blue patterns, comforting in their familiarity. Beyond that, behind the massive sealed gates in his mindscape, the Nine-Tails' power burned orange and caustic. He'd been there before, faced that power many times.

But now he pushed past it, deeper still, to a place he'd only glimpsed in fragments and flashes. The crimson current waited there, no longer the raging torrent it had been during his fight with Kiba, but a steady, controlled flow of power that sang with potential.

In this deep meditative state, the barriers between Naruto and Dante thinned to near transparency. Memories flowed between them like water – a childhood in an orphanage after his mother's murder; the discovery of his heritage; battles against demons that defied description; a red leather coat that became a symbol of defiance; a twin brother lost to darkness and ambition.

"Vergil," Naruto whispered, the name carrying a weight of complicated emotions – love, rivalry, betrayal, loss.

"My brother," Dante confirmed, his mental voice subdued. "My twin. Same face, different soul. He embraced our father's demon heritage, craved power above all else."

Naruto saw him clearly now – a mirror image of Dante but in blue instead of red, hair swept back rather than falling forward, expression cold where Dante's burned hot. And always, always at his side, the Yamato – a katana of impossible sharpness and precision.

"He fell," Dante continued, the memory sharp with grief. "Into the demon world. I couldn't save him."

"I'm sorry," Naruto offered, understanding loss in a way few thirteen-year-olds could.

"Ancient history," Dante dismissed, though the pain lingered. "Or future history, from your perspective. Time gets weird when you're reincarnated."

The shared moment created something new between them – not quite unity, but a bridge of understanding. And along that bridge, knowledge flowed more freely than before. Naruto felt Rebellion not as a separate object to be summoned, but as a manifestation of his will made solid.

His eyes snapped open. "I've got it."

Jiraiya, who had been watching with the stillness of a man accustomed to long reconnaissance missions, raised an eyebrow. "Show me."

Naruto stood, centered himself with a breath, and reached – not outward, but inward. The crimson energy answered immediately, flowing through his arm and condensing in his hand. Light flashed, and Rebellion materialized, its weight comfortable and balanced.

"Well done, kid," Jiraiya nodded, eyes gleaming with approval. "Now let's see what you can do with it."

---

Sunset painted the clearing in hues of amber and gold as Naruto moved through forms that felt at once foreign and familiar, Rebellion carving silver arcs through the air. A week of intensive training had built his confidence with the massive sword to the point where it felt like an extension of his body.

"Your style's evolving," Jiraiya observed from his perch on a boulder, jotting occasional notes in a small book. "It's not traditional kenjutsu, but it's not pure brawling either."

Naruto executed a complex series of strikes, ending in a guard position that seamlessly flowed into his next movement. "Dante was never formally trained," he explained, the distinction between his memories and Dante's becoming increasingly fluid. "He developed his style through combat experience – adapting to different demons, different weapons."

"And you've got ninja training as a foundation," Jiraiya nodded. "The combination is... interesting."

"Stylish is the word you're looking for," Dante chimed in, and Naruto snorted a laugh.

"He says 'stylish' is the right word."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Of course he does." The Sage closed his notebook with a snap. "Enough swordplay for today. Tomorrow we tackle something new."

Naruto dispersed Rebellion with a thought, the sword dissolving into motes of crimson light that sank back into his skin. "What's next?"

A sly grin stretched across Jiraiya's face. "Tell me, does your friend Dante have any other signature weapons I should know about?"

Inside Naruto's mind, Dante's laughter echoed with anticipation. "Oh, this is gonna be good."

---

Dawn broke cool and clear, mist clinging to the moss-covered stones of the old shrine. Naruto sat cross-legged before the broken altar, eyes closed, sweat beading on his brow despite the morning chill. Jiraiya watched from a respectful distance, gaze intent as the boy's hands twitched with minute movements.

In his mindscape, Naruto stood in Dante's shop – a place he'd come to know intimately over the past weeks. The walls lined with devil arms and trophies, the battered jukebox in the corner, the desk perpetually cluttered with pizza boxes and magazines. And Dante himself, lounging in his chair, boots propped on the desk, twirling something in each hand.

"Ebony and Ivory," Dante explained, the twin pistols spinning with hypnotic precision around his fingers. "Custom made, one-of-a-kind. Ebony for power, Ivory for speed and precision."

"Guns don't exist in my world," Naruto pointed out, fascinated despite his skepticism.

Dante grinned, catching both pistols and pointing them toward the ceiling. "These aren't just guns, kid. They're channeling tools – focus points for demonic energy. Think of them like... kunai that fire concentrated power instead of being thrown."

Naruto approached, hands outstretched. Dante flipped the guns in his palms, offering them grip-first. "They're part of you now," he said, suddenly serious. "Part of us."

As Naruto's fingers closed around the handles, sensation flooded through him – the weight, the balance, the mechanisms within, knowledge of their function embedding itself in his muscle memory. But more than that, a connection, a resonance that felt right in a way he couldn't articulate.

In the physical world, Naruto's hands twitched, fingers curling around phantom grips. Crimson energy began to spiral down his arms, gathering in his palms, condensing, taking shape.

"Come on," Jiraiya murmured, leaning forward unconsciously. "You've almost got it."

The energy flashed, solidified, and suddenly Naruto's hands were filled with weight. His eyes snapped open, a grin spreading across his face as he raised his arms to examine the twin pistols – one black, one silver, both ornately decorated with scrolling patterns along their barrels.

"Jackpot," he whispered, Dante's signature phrase feeling natural on his tongue.

Jiraiya approached, whistling low. "Now those are interesting. May I?" He held out a hand, and Naruto passed him Ivory. The Sage turned the weapon over in his massive palm, examining it with the eye of a man who had seen many strange things in his long career. "Not like any weapon I've ever encountered. What do they fire? Concentrated chakra?"

"Something like that," Naruto hedged, taking the pistol back. "Dante calls it demonic energy, but it seems to work with my chakra too. Same source, different... flavor."

"Show me," Jiraiya stepped back, gesturing toward a line of practice targets he'd set up along the edge of the clearing – simple wooden posts with crude bull's-eyes painted on their surfaces.

Naruto took a breath, settled into a stance that felt right, and raised the pistols. The knowledge was there, gifted from Dante's memories – how to aim, how to account for recoil, how to channel energy through the weapons. He squeezed both triggers simultaneously.

Twin flashes of light erupted from the barrels, and fifty yards away, the central target exploded into splinters.

"Holy—" Jiraiya's exclamation cut off as Naruto continued firing, each shot finding its mark with uncanny precision, reducing the targets to smoking ruins in seconds. When the last one fell, silence rushed back into the clearing, broken only by the soft ping of cooling metal as the pistols' barrels glowed with residual energy.

Naruto lowered his arms, eyes wide with a mixture of awe and disbelief at what he'd just done. "That was..."

"Awesome," Dante finished for him, satisfaction evident in his tone.

"Problematic," Jiraiya countered aloud, frowning at the destruction. "Those are weapons no one in our world has seen before, kid. Using them in the finals would cause more than just raised eyebrows."

Naruto hadn't considered that. He looked down at Ebony and Ivory, still solid in his hands, their weight comforting. "So I can't use them?"

"I didn't say that," Jiraiya's frown gave way to a calculating look. "But we need to be strategic. The sword is one thing – unusual, yes, but not unprecedented. These..." He gestured at the pistols. "These would change the very nature of combat if knowledge of them spread."

"Keep them as a trump card," Dante suggested. "Last resort. Something even Sasuke hasn't seen yet."

Naruto nodded, relaying the thought to Jiraiya, who considered it before agreeing. "Not a bad plan. Though I'm not sure how the proctor will react to weapons that can demolish the arena."

"I can control the output," Naruto assured him, instinctively knowing it to be true. "Dial it back to something less... explosive."

"Good," Jiraiya clapped his hands together. "Then let's work on that control. And while we're at it—" he cast a significant glance at the white streak in Naruto's hair, "—we should talk about managing your appearance too. The less attention you draw to your... unique situation, the better."

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair, the white streak cool against his skin like a band of moonlight. "Can't hide it forever."

"No," Jiraiya conceded, his expression softening. "But you can choose when and how the world learns what you are." He placed a heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Because whatever's happening to you, kid, it's bigger than just winning a tournament. I've got a feeling it's going to change everything."

The pistols dissolved, returning to the crimson energy from which they'd been formed, sinking back into Naruto's skin. But their impression lingered – a potential, a promise of power waiting to be called upon when needed.

In the shadows of his mind, Dante stood with arms crossed, watching Naruto with a mixture of pride and concern. "He's adapting faster than I expected," he murmured to himself. "The question is, what happens when he fully awakens? When the line between Naruto Uzumaki and Son of Sparda blurs beyond recognition?"

Above the ruined shrine, a raven circled once, twice, its eyes glowing with an unnatural light before it winged away toward the village, carrying news to ears both expected and not.

The countdown to the finals had begun, and with it, the unveiling of a legacy two worlds in the making.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 5: Stylish Ninja

The Chunin Exam arena pulsed with anticipation—a living, breathing entity fed by the roar of thousands. Sunlight blazed down on the circular battlefield, turning dust motes into floating embers as they danced through shafts of golden light. Flags snapped in the breeze, a rainbow of village colors rippling against the cloudless blue sky.

Naruto stood in the shadowed tunnel leading to the arena floor, rolling his shoulders as the announcer's voice boomed overhead. The month of training with Jiraiya had transformed him—not just in skill, but in presence. The baggy orange jumpsuit remained, but he wore it differently now, with a predator's casual confidence. A bandana concealed the white streak in his hair—Jiraiya's suggestion for keeping his transformation under wraps until the right moment.

"Quite the turnout," Dante remarked inside his mind, voice tinged with amusement. "Bigger crowd than my gigs ever got."

"Not helping with the nerves," Naruto muttered, though a smile tugged at his lips.

Footsteps approached from behind—light, measured, familiar. "Talking to your friend again?"

Naruto turned to find Shikamaru leaning against the tunnel wall, hands stuffed in his pockets, expression caught between curiosity and his perpetual boredom.

"Something like that," Naruto admitted. "Didn't think you'd notice."

"You mumble to yourself, your eyes change color for a split second, and you occasionally laugh at jokes no one made." Shikamaru shrugged. "I'm not a genius for nothing."

Naruto laughed, the sound echoing through the stone passage. "Fair enough."

"First match: Naruto Uzumaki versus Neji Hyūga!" The announcer's voice thundered, followed by a fresh wave of cheers and stomping feet that sent dust cascading from the ceiling.

"That's your cue," Shikamaru nodded toward the light. "Try not to die. Watching your fights is the only interesting part of this troublesome exam."

"High praise coming from you," Naruto grinned, clasping his friend's shoulder before striding toward the arena entrance.

"Don't do anything too flashy," Shikamaru called after him. "Save some surprises for the invasion."

Naruto froze mid-step, whirling around. "The what?"

But Shikamaru had already melted back into the shadows, leaving Naruto standing alone with the roar of the crowd pulling him forward.

"That kid knows something," Dante observed.

"He always does," Naruto replied, filing the warning away as he stepped into the blinding sunlight.

The crowd's roar washed over him like a physical wave—a tsunami of sound that would have overwhelmed him just months earlier. Now he let it flow around him, neither feeding off it nor shrinking from it. Across the arena, Neji Hyūga waited, pearl eyes cold and dismissive in a face carved from marble.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Neji acknowledged with a slight inclination of his head. "Fate has decided your defeat today. Accept it gracefully."

Naruto tilted his head, studying his opponent with new eyes—not just the ninja prodigy everyone acknowledged, but a wounded soul wrapped in armor forged of bitterness and false certainty.

"Fate, huh?" Naruto rolled the word around his mouth like an unfamiliar taste. "Funny thing about fate. It has a way of being rewritten."

Above them in the stands, the Kage booth glittered with the ceremonial robes of village leaders. The Third Hokage sat with dignified posture, while beside him, the Kazekage's masked face betrayed nothing of his thoughts.

"Let the first match... begin!" The proctor's arm slashed downward, and he leapt clear as the two genin circled each other.

Neji settled into the traditional Gentle Fist stance, veins bulging around his eyes as he activated his Byakugan. The moment he did, his composure faltered—eyes widening a fraction, lips parting in surprise.

"What... is this?" he breathed, voice almost too quiet to hear. "Your chakra system..."

Naruto's grin turned feral. "See something interesting?"

"Two distinct energy systems, overlapping but separate." Neji's eyes narrowed, certainty returning to his features. "Some trick of the Nine-Tails, no doubt. It won't help you." He launched forward, palm strike aimed at Naruto's chest with surgical precision.

"Here we go," Dante's voice thrummed with excitement. "Remember what we practiced!"

Naruto sidestepped the first strike with fluid grace that drew gasps from the crowd. Where once he would have charged in blindly, now he moved like water around stone, each motion calculated yet seemingly effortless. The month with Jiraiya had built on Dante's instincts, creating something neither pure ninja nor pure demon hunter—but a deadly hybrid of both.

"Stop dancing and fight!" Neji snarled, frustration creeping into his voice as strike after strike missed its mark by millimeters.

"If you insist." Naruto ducked under a palm thrust and countered with a sweeping kick that forced Neji to jump back. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A dozen Narutos burst into existence, surrounding Neji in an orange whirlwind of identical grins. They attacked in perfect coordination—no longer just overwhelming with numbers, but executing a complex battle choreography that kept Neji constantly on the defensive.

In the stands, Sakura leaned forward, gripping the railing. "His clones... they're fighting differently."

Beside her, Ino nodded, blue eyes tracking the battle with growing appreciation. "Less brawling, more... I don't know. It's almost like watching a dance."

"The word you're looking for," Kakashi remarked without looking up from his book, "is 'stylish'."

Below, Neji had found his rhythm, dispelling clones with precise strikes to their chakra points. "These parlor tricks won't save you from your destiny!"

"Big talk," one clone taunted.

"For someone," added another.

"Who can't land a solid hit!" a third finished.

Neji's face darkened. He dropped into a deeper stance, arms extended. "Eight Trigrams! Two Palms!" His hands became a blur, striking two clones that burst into smoke. "Four Palms! Eight Palms!" More clones vanished. "Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-Four Palms!"

When the assault ended, only the real Naruto remained, swaying on his feet, arms hanging limply at his sides. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"I've sealed all sixty-four of your chakra points," Neji declared, stepping back with the calm certainty of a reaper who had claimed his due. "This match is over. You can no longer mold chakra."

The crowd fell silent, anticipating the proctor's call. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.

Naruto's shoulders shook, and for a moment, it appeared he might be crying. Then the sound reached the stands—laughter, low and rich, bubbling up from somewhere deep inside him.

"Is that so?" Naruto straightened, wiping blood from his lip with the back of his hand. "You're right about one thing, Neji. My chakra network is sealed tight." His grin widened, taking on a predatory edge. "Good thing I've got something else to work with."

Crimson light began to seep from his pores—not the violent orange-red of the Nine-Tails, but something deeper, more primordial. The bandana around his head burst into flames, revealing the shock of white hair beneath. When Naruto's eyes opened, they glowed with an inner fire, pupils elongated into reptilian slits.

"What is this?" Neji's composure finally shattered, his Byakugan revealing the impossible—a second energy system, completely untouched by his Gentle Fist strikes, pulsing with power that had nothing to do with chakra.

In the Kage booth, the Third Hokage leaned forward, pipe forgotten in his hand. "So this is what Jiraiya meant," he murmured.

Beside him, the Kazekage's eyes narrowed to slits behind his mask, killing intent leaking from him like poison gas.

"Impossible," Neji whispered, taking an involuntary step back. "What are you?"

Naruto rolled his head, neck cracking as the crimson energy swirled around him like a living cloak. "Just a guy who's really," he vanished, reappearing behind Neji in a blur of motion, "really," another flicker of movement brought him to Neji's left, "really," now to the right, "tired of hearing about fate."

The final word was punctuated by a kick that sent Neji skidding across the arena floor, leaving a trench in the dirt. Before he could recover, Naruto was there, moving with inhuman speed, each strike precise and devastating.

"No ninja can move like that with sealed chakra points," Kurenai gasped from the jonin section.

"That's because it's not chakra," Guy replied, for once devoid of his usual bombast. "Whatever Naruto's tapping into, it's something else entirely."

Neji fought back with the desperation of a cornered animal, his Gentle Fist strikes finding only air as Naruto weaved between them with balletic precision. For every technique Neji deployed, Naruto had an answer—not just evasion, but counters that seemed to flow from instinct deeper than training.

"You've practiced all your life," Naruto taunted, blocking a palm strike with his forearm, "but I've got lifetimes of combat experience running through my veins."

A front kick sent Neji airborne. Naruto leapt after him, crimson energy condensing around his fist as he delivered a hammer blow that drove Neji into the ground with enough force to create a small crater.

Silence descended as dust billowed outward. When it cleared, Neji lay sprawled in the depression, conscious but unable to move. Naruto stood over him, the crimson aura fading as his eyes returned to their normal blue.

"The winner is Naruto Uzumaki!" the proctor announced, and the crowd exploded in cheers and stunned exclamations.

Instead of celebrating, Naruto knelt beside his fallen opponent. "You're a slave to a fate you didn't choose," he said quietly, words meant only for Neji. "I get that better than most." He tapped his stomach, where the Nine-Tails' seal lay hidden. "But chains can be broken, Neji. Destinies can be rewritten. Trust me on that."

Something shifted in Neji's pearl eyes—a hairline crack in the fortress of his certainty. "Your eyes," he whispered. "When you fought... they weren't human."

Naruto's smile turned sad. "Maybe I'm not entirely human anymore. But I'm still me, and I still get to choose what that means." He stood, offering a hand to his fallen opponent. "Just like you do."

After a moment's hesitation, Neji accepted the hand, allowing Naruto to pull him to his feet. The crowd's roar redoubled at this show of sportsmanship.

"An excellent display," a silky voice interrupted as medical ninja approached to tend to Neji. "Most... enlightening."

Naruto turned to find the Kazekage standing at the arena's edge, the Hokage a few paces behind him. Something about the man's presence sent warning prickles down Naruto's spine.

"Something's off about him," Dante warned. "That chakra... it's familiar."

Before Naruto could respond, a bone-chilling scream tore through the air from the stands. All eyes turned to where Gaara clutched his head in agony, sand swirling around him in violent eddies.

"It begins," the Kazekage murmured, his voice pitched for Naruto's ears alone.

In a single fluid motion, the disguised Orochimaru flung off his robes and launched himself at the Hokage, as explosions rocked the stadium walls. Smoke bombs detonated throughout the arena, plunging sections into chaos as masked ninja appeared seemingly from nowhere.

"Invasion!" The cry went up as jonin sprung into action, engaging the attackers while civilians screamed and scattered.

Through the billowing smoke, Naruto spotted Gaara being ushered away by his siblings, his form already beginning to twist and distort as sand encased half his body. Their eyes met across the chaos—ocean blue to sea-foam green—and in that instant, Naruto recognized something of himself in the other jinchūriki.

Not just the burden of a tailed beast, but something deeper—the loneliness of being fundamentally different, of having power that both defined and isolated them.

"He's like me," Naruto whispered, watching as Gaara disappeared through a breach in the wall. "Struggling with something inside him, something that both is and isn't him."

"Go after him," Dante urged. "That transformation isn't stable. If he loses control completely..."

Naruto nodded, decision made. He turned to where Sakura and Sasuke were fighting their way down from the stands. "Gaara's transforming!" he shouted over the din of battle. "I'm going after him!"

"You can't alone!" Sakura called back, deflecting a kunai with practiced ease.

Sasuke's eyes blazed with the Sharingan as he leapt the last distance, landing beside Naruto. "We're coming with you."

Naruto grasped his teammate's shoulder, feeling the coiled tension beneath his fingers. "Then keep up," he challenged with a grin that flashed too-sharp canines. "Because this is going to be one hell of a party."

As they sprinted toward the breach in the wall, following the trail of sand and destruction left in Gaara's wake, Naruto felt the boundaries within himself shifting—Uzumaki and Son of Sparda, ninja and devil hunter, human and something more—no longer separate identities but facets of a single, evolving whole.

Behind them, Konoha burned. Ahead, a demon of sand and hatred awaited. And between, three genin ran—one seeking power, one seeking understanding, and one seeking a kindred spirit in the most unlikely of places.

The true test was just beginning.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 6: Demons and Tailed Beasts

Sunlight fractured through the forest canopy, casting dappled shadows that shifted like spectral dancers across the forest floor. Naruto led the charge, his enhanced senses tracking the scent of blood and sand that marked Gaara's passage. Behind him, Sasuke and Sakura followed, their breathing controlled but labored as they struggled to match his inhuman pace.

"He's heading for the village boundary," Naruto called over his shoulder, easily clearing a fallen log that his teammates had to vault. "The sand's getting thicker—he's transforming faster than I expected."

"What exactly are we dealing with?" Sakura demanded, kunai clutched in a white-knuckled grip. "I've seen what happens when you... change. Is Gaara going through something similar?"

Naruto's stride faltered for just a moment. He hadn't explained to his teammates what had happened to him after Orochimaru's attack—there hadn't been time, and frankly, he'd been afraid of their reactions. But now, with Gaara's transformation accelerating ahead of them, perhaps understanding one might help them accept the other.

"Yes and no," he answered, choosing his words carefully. "Gaara's a jinchūriki like me—he has a tailed beast sealed inside him. The One-Tail, Shukaku."

"We know that much," Sasuke interjected, the Sharingan spinning lazily in his eyes as he scanned the trees ahead. "The sand. The insomnia. The bloodlust. But this is different—more extreme."

"His seal is weaker than mine," Naruto explained, leaping to a higher branch for a better vantage point. "And Shukaku's been whispering in his head since birth, driving him slowly insane. What's happening now is a full manifestation—the beast taking physical form through Gaara's body."

"Like the Nine-Tails could do with you?" Sakura's voice wavered slightly, but her pace never slowed.

Naruto shook his head, white-streaked hair catching the sunlight. "The Fox's seal is stronger, designed by the Fourth Hokage himself. But after what Orochimaru did to me in the Forest of Death..." He trailed off, struggling to articulate the complex changes he'd undergone.

"What exactly did he do?" Sasuke asked, a strange intensity underlying his question. "Your white hair, the sword, that red energy that isn't chakra—what are you becoming, Naruto?"

Before he could answer, a wall of sand erupted from the forest floor ahead, forcing the trio to scatter to avoid being crushed. Through a gap in the trees, they glimpsed a figure hunched on a massive branch—Gaara, his body already half-transformed, sand cascading from his right side to form a grotesque, tanuki-like arm and tail.

"Found him," Naruto muttered, signaling his teammates to hold position. "Let me try talking to him first."

"Talking?" Sasuke hissed incredulously. "He's not exactly in a conversational mood."

But Naruto was already moving, approaching the transformed boy with measured steps, hands held open at his sides in a gesture of peace. "Gaara," he called, voice carrying through the sudden stillness of the forest. "You don't have to do this."

Gaara's head snapped up, one human eye and one gold-on-black monstrous orb fixing on Naruto with predatory focus. "Uzumaki," he rasped, voice layered with an inhuman growl. "You... you're like me. I sensed it during your match."

"I am," Naruto acknowledged, taking another cautious step forward. "I understand what you're going through—having something else inside you, something powerful and ancient that both is and isn't you."

A rictus grin split Gaara's face, the human half twisted in pain while the transformed half leered with malevolent glee. "You understand NOTHING! Mother wants your blood... I can't... I can't stop her anymore!"

Sand exploded outward, tendrils whipping through the air with lethal intent. Naruto dodged with preternatural grace, calling back to his teammates, "Now might be a good time for backup!"

Sasuke wasted no time, hands flashing through seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" A barrage of small fireballs streaked toward Gaara, each one precise and targeted. Where they struck the sand, glassy patches formed, temporarily immobilizing portions of Gaara's transformed limbs.

Sakura flanked from the opposite direction, launching a volley of kunai with explosive tags that detonated in a chain reaction, disrupting the sand's cohesion. Her tactical precision had improved dramatically since the Forest of Death, and now she moved with the confidence of someone who knew her role in the team dynamic.

"Good," Naruto called, landing beside Sasuke. "But we need to contain him before the transformation completes. Once Shukaku fully manifests, even the three of us won't stand a chance."

"I thought this was your area of expertise now," Sasuke remarked dryly, though the tension in his shoulders betrayed his concern. "Monsters and demons."

Naruto met his rival's gaze, reading the complex emotions behind the Sharingan—curiosity, jealousy, and something that might have been fear. "That's why I wanted to talk to both of you," he said, dodging another sand projectile. "What's happening to me—it's not the Nine-Tails. I told you Orochimaru used the Five-Prong Seal on me, but I didn't tell you what it awakened."

"Bit late for a heart-to-heart, isn't it?" Sasuke ducked as a massive sand shuriken whistled overhead.

"Hear me out," Naruto insisted. "The seal fractured something in my mind—a barrier I never knew existed. It turns out I'm the reincarnation of someone named Dante, a demon hunter from another world who was half-human, half-demon himself."

The absurdity of saying it aloud almost made Naruto laugh, despite the dire circumstances. Here they were, dodging deadly attacks from a boy possessed by a sand tanuki, while he casually explained his supernatural heritage.

To his surprise, neither teammate looked particularly shocked. Sakura landed beside them, breathing hard but focused. "That... actually explains a lot," she said, quickly bandaging a cut on her arm. "The sword, the white hair, the way you move now—it's like watching two different fighting styles merged into one."

Sasuke's expression darkened. "Orochimaru offered me power too," he admitted, one hand unconsciously drifting to the curse mark on his neck. "But your transformation seems different from what he tried to give me."

"It is," Naruto confirmed. "Dante's power isn't corrupting me—it's integrating with who I already am. And I think that's the key to helping Gaara. He sees Shukaku as separate, as 'Mother' driving him to kill. But if he could understand that they're two halves of a whole..."

A deafening roar interrupted their conversation as Gaara's transformation accelerated, sand pouring from the earth to encase more of his body. The tanuki features grew more pronounced—a second arm forming, his legs fusing into a heavy, bestial lower body.

"I think your therapy session might have to wait," Sasuke observed, hands already forming the seals for Chidori, lightning crackling around his fingers.

"No!" Naruto grabbed his wrist. "Don't attack him directly—it'll only accelerate the transformation. We need to restrain him long enough for me to reach him—not just physically, but mentally."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Sakura asked, eyes never leaving the increasingly monstrous form before them.

Naruto's expression shifted, a cocky half-smile that wasn't entirely his own spreading across his face. "I'm going to show him he's not the only one with a monster inside."

The crimson energy began to seep from his skin, more controlled than during his match with Neji but also more intense—a concentrated aura of power that made the air around him shimmer with heat.

"Sasuke, Sakura—I need you to distract him. Keep him occupied, but stay out of reach. I need time to... connect with both sides of myself."

His teammates exchanged a glance, some unspoken communication passing between them before they nodded in unison. "Be careful," Sakura said, squeezing his shoulder briefly before darting away.

"Don't get eaten," Sasuke added with the ghost of a smirk, before launching a fresh barrage of fire techniques to occupy Gaara's attention.

Alone for a moment, Naruto closed his eyes, diving into the maelstrom of power within himself. "Dante," he called mentally, "I need to go deeper this time. Not just access your power, but fully integrate it with my own—and with the Nine-Tails."

"Bold move, kid," Dante's voice echoed back, unusually serious. "The Fox isn't exactly a team player."

"Neither were you, from what I've seen in your memories," Naruto countered. "But this isn't about teamwork—it's about understanding. Demons, tailed beasts... they're both beings of immense power trapped in human vessels. If I can understand the connection between them..."

"You might be able to reach the sand kid," Dante finished, a note of respect in his mental voice. "Alright, I'm with you. But reaching for the Fox's power while channeling mine? That's uncharted territory. No guarantees on what happens next."

Naruto opened his eyes, watching as Sasuke and Sakura coordinated their attacks with practiced precision, keeping Gaara's attention divided. "Some risks are worth taking," he murmured, and plunged deeper into himself.

Beyond the familiar currents of his chakra, beyond even the crimson flow of Dante's demonic energy, Naruto found himself once again before the massive gates that contained the Nine-Tails. But this time, something was different. The space around the cage seemed warped, as if two realities were overlapping—the dank sewer of his usual mindscape bleeding into somewhere else: a Gothic chamber with weapons mounted on stone walls, illuminated by flickering torchlight.

"Interesting décor choice," growled a voice from behind the bars. Massive vulpine eyes opened in the darkness, regarding Naruto with ancient malevolence. "You've changed, brat. Something else swims in your blood now—something that isn't human."

"That would be me," Dante materialized beside Naruto, no longer just a voice but a full manifestation within the shared mindscape. Tall, white-haired, red-coated, with a swagger in his stance that radiated confidence despite facing one of the most powerful entities in existence. "Name's Dante. Son of Sparda. Demon hunter extraordinaire. And you must be the furball I've been hearing so much about."

The Nine-Tails' growl reverberated through the chamber, accompanied by a blast of killing intent that would have paralyzed most humans. "Insolent whelp. You are nothing compared to me—a mere half-breed playing at power."

"Funny," Dante grinned, utterly unfazed. "I've heard similar lines from actual demon lords. They usually said it right before I sent them back to hell."

Naruto stepped between them, facing the Fox directly. "I didn't come here to watch you two posture. I need power—both of yours—to stop Gaara before Shukaku fully emerges."

"And why," the Nine-Tails rumbled, "would I help you, my jailer?"

"Because if Shukaku is fully unleashed, everyone loses," Naruto replied simply. "Including you. You're bound to me—my death is your imprisonment, not your freedom."

The massive fox fell silent, considering this argument with obvious reluctance.

"Besides," Dante added, "from what I've gathered, you tailed beasts aren't just mindless destruction machines. You're sentient beings with your own identities. Having a madman like Shukaku running loose doesn't do your reputation any favors."

A bark of laughter escaped the Nine-Tails, somehow both amused and contemptuous. "You speak of reputation to me, half-demon? I who have toppled mountains and razed civilizations?"

"Yeah, yeah, very impressive," Dante waved dismissively. "Look, we can stand here trading résumés all day, but meanwhile, Sandy the Squirrel out there is getting closer to full transformation, and the kid's friends are running out of tricks."

Naruto placed a hand against the bars of the cage, closer than he'd ever dared before. "I'm not asking you to like me," he said quietly. "But lend me your power—just enough to show Gaara that beast and host can coexist without destroying each other."

The Nine-Tails studied him for a long moment, those ancient eyes reflecting calculations and considerations beyond human comprehension. Finally, a tendril of orange chakra snaked through the bars, wrapping around Naruto's arm.

"Very well," the Fox growled. "But not for you, brat. Your death by Shukaku's paw would be... undignified for a vessel of mine."

"I'll take what I can get," Naruto grinned, turning to Dante. "Ready for this?"

The devil hunter's smile was razor-sharp. "Born ready, kid. Let's rock."

The crimson energy of Dante's power surged forward to meet the Fox's orange chakra, the two forces spiraling around each other like twin helixes—opposing yet complementary, chaotic yet harmonized. Where they met, centered on Naruto, a transformation began.

Outside, in the physical world, Sasuke and Sakura were reaching their limits. Gaara's transformation had progressed to the point where only his face remained human, the rest of his body a miniature version of Shukaku, standing nearly twenty feet tall among the shattered trees.

"Where's Naruto?" Sakura gasped, her reserves nearly depleted as she dodged another sand bullet. "We can't keep this up much longer!"

"There!" Sasuke pointed with a trembling hand, his Sharingan fading as chakra exhaustion set in.

A pillar of light erupted from where Naruto had been standing—not orange like the Nine-Tails' chakra, not crimson like Dante's energy, but a perfect fusion: deep purple, shot through with arcs of silver-white lightning. When the light faded, the figure that emerged was both familiar and utterly transformed.

Naruto stood tall, his body wrapped in a phantom armor of purple energy that took the shape of a humanoid fox with demonic characteristics—pointed ears, elongated limbs, clawed hands, and a coat-like extension that flowed behind him like Dante's signature garment. His hair had shifted entirely to white, eyes glowing with inner fire, one blue and one crimson. In his right hand, Rebellion materialized, but the sword too had changed—its blade now inscribed with fox-like runes that pulsed with chakra.

"What... is he?" Sakura whispered, awestruck.

"Neither demon nor jinchūriki," Sasuke murmured. "Both. Something new."

Gaara/Shukaku roared in challenge, sand surging forward in a tidal wave of destruction. Naruto met it head-on, his transformed state moving with impossible speed. Rebellion cleaved through the sand like it was mist, the demonic blade's edge glowing with foxfire that cauterized the cuts, preventing the sand from reforming.

"MOTHER WANTS YOUR BLOOD!" Gaara shrieked, his voice nearly lost beneath Shukaku's bestial howl.

Naruto parried another attack, leaping impossibly high to land on a branch at eye level with the transformed jinchūriki. "Gaara," he called, voice layered with harmonics that weren't entirely human, "I understand now. The tailed beasts—they're not so different from the demons of Dante's world. Ancient powers, older than human civilization, bound to human vessels."

"SILENCE!" Gaara clutched his head, human features contorting in agony as Shukaku fought for complete dominance. "You know nothing of my pain! My solitude!"

"Don't I?" Naruto countered, dispersing Rebellion to approach with empty hands. "Hated by the village, carrying a burden I never asked for, hearing voices that aren't mine?" He tapped his chest. "I have the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside me, Gaara. And now I have Dante too—the reincarnation of a half-demon who fought his own kind to protect humanity."

Gaara faltered, the sand around him momentarily stilling as confusion flickered across his human features. "You... you're a vessel too? Then why don't you kill? Why aren't you consumed by hatred?"

"Because I had people who saw me, not just the monster inside me," Naruto answered simply. "Iruka-sensei. The Third. Kakashi-sensei. Sakura and Sasuke. They acknowledged me as Naruto, not just as the Nine-Tails' container."

He took another step forward, the purple energy surrounding him pulsing with each word. "And now I see you, Gaara. Not just as Shukaku's vessel, but as someone who's been alone too long, fighting a battle no one should face by themselves."

The transformed jinchūriki trembled, sand crumbling from his shoulders as internal conflict played across his features. "Alone... always alone... even with Mother's voice, I'm alone..."

"You don't have to be," Naruto said, close enough now to touch the massive sand arm. Where his fingers made contact, the sand stilled, no longer writhing with chaotic energy. "The beast inside you—it's part of you, not separate. Not a mother figure, not a voice of madness, but a reflection of your own pain and power."

"How can you know this?" Gaara demanded, his transformed body beginning to shrink as Shukaku's influence wavered.

"Because I've learned to integrate rather than fight," Naruto explained, the purple aura around him pulsing like a heartbeat. "The Nine-Tails' power, Dante's abilities—they're becoming part of me, and I'm part of them. Not a perfect harmony yet, but a balance."

He pressed his palm flat against Gaara's chest, directly over his heart. "Your sand has always protected you, Gaara. Not just because of Shukaku, but because somewhere deep down, you want to live. To connect. To be seen for who you truly are."

The transformation receded further, sand sloughing away like a snake shedding its skin, until only Gaara remained—small, pale, and suddenly looking very young and very tired. He swayed on the branch, and Naruto caught him before he could fall.

"Why?" Gaara whispered, genuine bewilderment in his voice. "Why save me when I tried to destroy everything you care about?"

Naruto's transformation began to fade as well, the purple energy dissipating, his hair returning to blonde with its single white streak. His eyes, however, retained their dual coloration—one blue, one crimson—at least for the moment.

"Because I could have been you," he answered honestly. "And because now that I understand what you're going through, I can't just walk away. That's not who I am—not as Naruto, not as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, and not as Dante's reincarnation."

From the edge of the clearing, Sasuke and Sakura approached cautiously. Behind them, other figures appeared—Gaara's siblings, Temari and Kankuro, their expressions a mixture of fear and desperate hope.

"Is it over?" Sakura asked, medical kit already in hand as she assessed both Naruto and Gaara for injuries.

Naruto nodded, suddenly exhausted as the full weight of the transformation's toll hit him. "Yeah. Shukaku's subdued, at least for now. And I think..." he glanced at Gaara, who was staring at his own hands as if seeing them for the first time, "I think maybe Gaara understands himself a little better."

Temari pushed forward, fan clutched defensively before her. "We need to take him back. The invasion—"

"Has failed," a new voice interrupted. Kakashi appeared on a nearby branch, his visible eye shadowed with exhaustion but alert. "The Sand forces are retreating. Orochimaru has fled."

A heavy silence fell over the clearing as the implications sank in. "And the village?" Naruto asked, dreading the answer.

"Standing," Kakashi assured him. "But not without casualties." His eye lingered on Naruto's transformed appearance, questions evident but unasked. "The Hokage..."

The words hung in the air, unnecessary to complete. Naruto felt something cold settle in his chest, a hollowness that had nothing to do with physical exhaustion. "No," he whispered.

Kakashi nodded once, confirming the unthinkable. "He died protecting the village. As he lived."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances, the weight of their village's role in the day's events visibly heavy on their shoulders. "We'll take Gaara and go," Kankuro said, no trace of his usual swagger in his voice. "This was never supposed to happen. We were manipulated by Orochimaru."

"Take him," Naruto agreed, helping the still-dazed Gaara to his feet. "But remember what happened here. What he's capable of beyond destruction."

As the Sand siblings prepared to depart, Gaara turned back, green eyes finding Naruto's mismatched ones with uncertain clarity. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said, his voice small but steady. "Thank you. For seeing me."

A ghost of a smile touched Naruto's lips. "That's what friends do, Gaara."

The word 'friends' seemed to strike Gaara like a physical blow. He blinked rapidly, then nodded once before allowing his siblings to support him as they disappeared into the forest.

Left with his team, Naruto finally allowed himself to sink to the ground, the last of his transformation fading as exhaustion claimed him. "The old man," he murmured, grief thick in his throat. "He knew about Dante, about what was happening to me. He was helping Jiraiya research it."

"And now he's gone," Sakura said softly, kneeling beside him. "Along with many others."

Sasuke remained standing, his expression unreadable, but his presence steady—a silent pillar of support despite his own exhaustion. "What happens now?" he asked, the question encompassing far more than just the immediate future.

Naruto looked up at the sky visible through the shattered canopy, where smoke from the village still stained the blue with gray tendrils. "We rebuild," he said simply. "We mourn. We grow stronger." His hand drifted to the spot over his heart, where he could feel the Nine-Tails' chakra and Dante's energy still mingling, settling into a new equilibrium within him. "And we learn to live with the power we've been given—whether we asked for it or not."

---

Rain fell on the day of the Third Hokage's funeral, as if the sky itself mourned his passing. Black-clad figures stood in solemn rows before the memorial, heads bowed as speakers recalled the life and legacy of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Among them, Naruto stood between his teammates, the white streak in his hair no longer hidden but displayed openly—a visual reminder of the changes that could no longer be concealed.

When his turn came to place a flower on the memorial, Naruto lingered a moment longer than others, his thoughts too complex for words. The old man had been one of his first precious people, someone who saw beyond the demon to the boy beneath. What would he have thought of Naruto's transformation now? Of the being he was becoming—neither fully human nor fully demon, neither solely Naruto nor entirely Dante?

"He'd be proud," Dante's voice offered quietly from within. "Not of the power itself, but of how you're choosing to use it. That's what matters in the end, kid."

Naruto nodded imperceptibly, stepping back to rejoin his teammates as the ceremony continued. The rain intensified, running down his face in rivulets that mingled with tears he didn't bother to hide.

"Power and responsibility," he murmured, words meant only for himself yet somehow encompassing everything he'd learned since that fateful day in the Forest of Death. The Nine-Tails' chakra, Dante's demonic heritage, his own indomitable will—three strands now weaving together into something unprecedented. Something that could protect or destroy, depending on the choices he made.

As the funeral concluded and people began to disperse, Jiraiya appeared at his side, unusually subdued in formal black. "The old man left something for you," the Sage said without preamble. "Research notes. Ancient scrolls. Everything he and I had gathered about the connection between tailed beasts and the demons from Dante's world."

Naruto looked up, surprise momentarily displacing grief. "What did you find?"

Jiraiya's expression was grave. "Nothing conclusive yet. But patterns. Similarities that can't be coincidental. The tailed beasts and these 'devils' from Dante's memories—they might share origins more ancient than either of our worlds suspects." He placed a heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder. "And now it's up to us to continue that research. To understand what you're becoming before others try to exploit it."

The weight of those words settled around Naruto like a cloak, both burden and purpose. He glanced to where Sasuke stood apart from the crowd, the curse mark on his neck partially visible above his collar—another kind of power, another kind of transformation. Then to Gaara, who had surprisingly remained for the funeral, standing distant but present, eyes reflecting a new awareness of himself and his place in the world.

"I understand," Naruto said, and he did—more deeply than perhaps anyone could comprehend. The path ahead would not be easy, caught between worlds and identities, powers and responsibilities. But for the first time since Orochimaru's seal had shattered the barriers in his mind, he felt not just acceptance but purpose in what he was becoming.

Devil and ninja. Human and something more. Naruto Uzumaki and Son of Sparda.

Not two beings in conflict, but a fusion of legacies that might, just might, be exactly what both worlds needed.

As the rain began to ease, a single shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the memorial stone where the Third's name would soon be carved. A fitting metaphor, Naruto thought—light persisting even in darkness, hope emerging from grief, new growth following destruction.

The devil's chakra within him stirred, no longer alien but increasingly familiar. A power that was becoming his own, to use in protection of everything the old man had lived and died for.

"Ready for what comes next?" Dante asked, a hint of his usual swagger returning to his mental voice.

Naruto squared his shoulders, mismatched eyes—one now permanently crimson—gazing toward the horizon where new challenges surely waited.

"Let's rock," he answered, the words no longer feeling borrowed but his own.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 7: The Search for Power

The road stretched endlessly before them, a pale ribbon winding through verdant foothills. Two weeks had passed since the Third Hokage's funeral, and the weight of grief still hung over Konoha like a shroud. Naruto adjusted the pack on his shoulders, glancing at his traveling companion with barely concealed impatience.

"Remind me again why we're walking when we could be training?" he asked, kicking a stone that skittered across the dusty path.

Jiraiya sighed, the sound of a man who had answered the same question multiple times already. "Because, kid, finding the next Hokage is slightly more important than your training schedule." He paused, eyeing the white streak in Naruto's hair that had grown more prominent since the battle with Gaara. "Besides, travel is training—for your senses, your adaptability, and most importantly, your patience."

"Which you clearly lack," Dante chimed in from inside Naruto's mind, his voice carrying its usual sardonic edge. "Though I can't blame you. Walking's boring when you could be swinging swords and shooting things."

"You're not helping," Naruto muttered aloud.

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "Talking to your inner devil again? Anything useful to share with the rest of the class?"

Naruto hesitated. Despite spending weeks together training, he still found it strange to relay Dante's commentary. The boundary between them continued to blur—Dante's memories sometimes surfacing as if they were his own, combat instincts merging seamlessly with his ninja techniques. Even his eyes had permanently changed, the right one remaining crimson no matter how much chakra control he exercised.

"He thinks we should be training instead of walking too," Naruto finally admitted.

"Great. Outvoted by a teenager and his demonic split personality." Jiraiya rolled his eyes, but his expression softened. "Look, finding Tsunade isn't just about filling the Hokage position. She's the greatest medical ninja alive, and frankly, we need her expertise to understand what's happening to you."

Naruto's hand unconsciously rose to touch the seal on his stomach. Since the battle with Gaara, the interaction between the Nine-Tails' chakra and Dante's demonic power had intensified. The fusion he'd achieved in that fight—the purple energy that was neither purely demonic nor purely tailed beast chakra—had left marks deeper than just his mismatched eyes.

"You think she can help stabilize it?" he asked quietly.

Jiraiya nodded, uncharacteristically serious. "That, and she might have insights into the connection between tailed beasts and demons that we've been missing. The Third left extensive notes, but they're fragments, pieces of a much larger puzzle."

"Speaking of puzzles," Dante interjected, a new alertness in his mental voice, "something feels off about this place."

Naruto stopped abruptly, his enhanced senses picking up what ordinary humans would miss. The air had changed—grown thicker somehow, charged with potential like the moment before lightning strikes. Colors seemed slightly off, too saturated, as if viewed through a distorted lens.

"Pervy Sage," he said, using the nickname that never failed to irritate Jiraiya, "do you feel that?"

Jiraiya had already halted, his casual demeanor falling away to reveal the legendary Sannin beneath. "Yes. Something's disrupting the natural energy flow." His eyes narrowed as he scanned the seemingly ordinary roadside. "There—see how the shadows don't quite match the sun's position?"

Naruto followed his gaze to where a copse of trees stood beside the road. Sure enough, their shadows bent at impossible angles, stretching toward a point between two ancient oaks rather than away from the sun.

"It's a tear," Dante said with rare solemnity. "A wound between dimensions. Similar to what the Yamato could create, but... rougher. Less controlled."

"Dante says it's a dimensional tear," Naruto relayed, approaching cautiously. "Like a gateway between worlds."

Jiraiya's hand shot out, stopping him. "Hold up. If this is what I think it is, we need to be extremely careful. The Third's notes mentioned places where the barriers between realms grow thin—spots where ancient sealing rituals were performed."

As they drew closer, the distortion became more pronounced. The air between the trees rippled like heat rising from summer pavement, and a low humming vibrated through their teeth. Within the shadowy space, something glimmered with an opalescent light.

"A portal," Jiraiya confirmed, pulling a brush and scroll from his pack. With quick, practiced movements, he began inscribing a complex seal array around the perimeter of the distortion. "I'm setting markers so we can find our way back. If this is a pathway to another dimension, there's no guarantee time flows the same on the other side."

Naruto watched, fascinated, as the seals glowed with chakra. "You've done this before?"

"Not exactly," Jiraiya admitted, completing the array with a flourish, "but I've studied the theory. The Fourth was working on space-time techniques before..." He trailed off, then shook his head. "Anyway, we go in together, stay together, and if I say we leave, we leave. No arguments."

"And if we get separated?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya pressed a small seal tag into his palm. "Channel chakra into this. It'll pull you back to these anchor points."

"What about Dante's energy? Would that work too?"

"Let's not experiment unless we have to," Jiraiya replied dryly.

Naruto nodded, tucking the tag securely into his jacket. The white streak in his hair seemed to glow in proximity to the portal, responding to energies beyond ordinary chakra.

"Ready?" Jiraiya asked, not waiting for an answer before stepping forward. "Then let's see what's on the other side."

Together, they crossed the threshold where reality shimmered like water. The sensation was disorienting—a momentary stretching followed by compression, as if being pulled through a space too small, then suddenly released. Colors inverted, sound muted, and for one heart-stopping second, Naruto felt himself existing in two places simultaneously.

Then they were through, stumbling onto solid ground that was decidedly not the forest road they'd left behind.

"Well," Dante drawled in Naruto's mind, "this looks familiar."

Before them stretched a landscape unlike anything in the Five Great Nations. Stone spires rose like the fingers of buried giants, their surfaces carved with intricate runes that pulsed with faint luminescence. The sky above was not blue but a deep violet streaked with crimson, no sun visible yet light suffusing everything in an ethereal glow.

"Where are we?" Naruto breathed, his voice sounding flat and strange in the alien atmosphere.

"A pocket dimension," Jiraiya answered, already scanning their surroundings with the caution of a veteran shinobi. "Not quite the demon realm, not quite the human world. A bubble between realities."

They began walking toward what appeared to be ruins in the distance—a massive structure of obsidian and what looked disconcertingly like bone, its architecture following principles that defied conventional physics. Arches curved in impossible ways, supporting spires that seemed to bend toward some unseen gravitational pull.

"I've been somewhere like this," Dante said, memories flowing through their shared consciousness. "Temen-ni-gru—a tower that connected the human and demon worlds. But this is older, and the energy signature is... different. Hybrid."

Naruto relayed this to Jiraiya, who nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. If devils crossed into our world, they would have had to adapt to its natural energy. Just as chakra itself is a fusion of physical and spiritual energies, perhaps the power these devils wielded evolved when exposed to our realm."

As they approached the ruins, details emerged from the shadows. The entrance was flanked by towering statues—humanoid but with bestial features, wielding weapons that bore unsettling similarities to both ancient ninja tools and the devil arms from Dante's memories.

"They're guardians," Dante observed. "Look at how they're positioned—not decorative, but defensive. Whatever's inside, they were meant to protect it."

Naruto placed a hand on the nearest statue, jerking back when the stone seemed to pulse beneath his touch. "They're still active," he said, watching as faint red light traced the statue's eyes.

"But dormant," Jiraiya added, examining the base where complex seal work intermixed with demonic script. "This craftsmanship... it combines fuinjutsu with something else entirely. The Third's notes mentioned collaborative works between early chakra users and beings from beyond, but I never imagined anything this sophisticated."

They proceeded cautiously into the structure, the air growing heavier with each step. Inside, darkness gave way to a phosphorescent glow emanating from crystals embedded in the walls. The corridor widened into a vast central chamber where a circular dais dominated the space, surrounded by mural-covered walls that rose to a domed ceiling pierced by shafts of violet light.

"It's a library," Jiraiya realized, approaching the walls where what had initially appeared to be abstract patterns resolved into dense script intermingled with illustrations. "And a historical record."

Naruto moved to the opposite wall, drawn by a familiar figure carved in relief—a tall, imposing silhouette wielding a massive sword, surrounded by cowering demonic forms. "Sparda," he whispered, reaching up to trace the carved features that stirred recognition deep within his shared consciousness.

"The Legendary Dark Knight," Dante confirmed, his mental voice unusually reverent. "My father. But why is he depicted here, in your world?"

Jiraiya had moved to join Naruto, his expression grave as he studied the carving. "Because he wasn't just part of Dante's world," he said slowly, moving to the adjacent panels that continued the narrative. "Look—these show Sparda crossing between realms, fighting alongside what appear to be early shinobi."

The murals told a story that spanned the walls—Sparda and other devils crossing into the human world, some to conquer, others to ally with humanity. Battles against monstrous entities that were neither tailed beasts nor conventional demons. And finally, a massive sealing ritual where nine distinct energies were separated from a greater whole.

"The tailed beasts," Naruto said, recognition dawning as he saw the familiar silhouettes. "They're showing the Ten-Tails being split into the nine tailed beasts by the Sage of Six Paths. But what does that have to do with devils?"

Jiraiya moved along the wall, following the narrative. "According to this, the Ten-Tails wasn't just a chakra construct—it was a fusion of natural energy and something else." He pointed to where the mural showed streams of energy flowing between realms. "Something that came through when the barriers between worlds were breached."

"Demon energy," Dante supplied, the pieces clicking into place. "In my world, demons drew power from human blood, fear, destruction. Here, they would have encountered chakra—a different kind of power altogether."

Naruto relayed this insight to Jiraiya, who nodded thoughtfully. "That would explain the similarities between demonic manifestations and tailed beast chakra. They're distant cousins—different evolutionary paths from a common source."

They continued around the chamber, the murals revealing more of the ancient history. After the separation of the tailed beasts, the remaining devils were sealed away—not destroyed, but contained in pocket dimensions like the one they now stood in, accessible only through specific rituals or at places where reality had worn thin.

"But why?" Naruto asked, studying a panel that showed robed figures creating seals. "If some devils like Sparda were allies, why seal them all away?"

"Power and fear," Jiraiya answered grimly, pointing to the final panels. "Look here—humans began to covet devil abilities, attempting to fuse themselves with demon essence. The results were... unstable."

The murals depicted grotesque transformations, humans warped into monstrous forms, consumed by power they couldn't control.

"Early jinchūriki experiments," Jiraiya continued. "But instead of sealing tailed beasts into human vessels, they were trying to directly incorporate devil abilities. Most failed catastrophically."

"Except one," Naruto said quietly, pointing to a figure that stood apart—a human silhouette with a distinctive fan symbol on its back. "Is that..."

"An Uchiha," Jiraiya confirmed, voice tight. "One of the first to successfully integrate devil power with the Sharingan. And look what he's holding."

The figure clutched a katana wrapped in an ethereal aura—a weapon rendered with such detail that Naruto felt an immediate tug of recognition.

"Yamato," Dante whispered, a complex mix of emotions coloring his mental voice. "My brother's sword. The blade that could cut through dimensions themselves."

"So devils were sealed away, their weapons scattered or hidden," Naruto summarized, the implications sending a chill down his spine. "And now Orochimaru is looking for a way to unlock those seals, to access that power."

"Not just access it," Jiraiya said gravely, moving to the center of the chamber where a pedestal stood. Atop it lay a scroll so ancient it seemed to be holding together by will alone. "He wants to replicate it. To fuse demon essence with human chakra networks, creating warriors beyond anything our world has seen."

Naruto's mind flashed to Sasuke, to the curse mark that pulsed on his neck like a living thing. "The curse mark—it's his first attempt, isn't it? A prototype."

Jiraiya nodded, carefully unrolling the scroll on the pedestal. "And a crude one at that. According to the Third's notes, Orochimaru discovered references to these devil-human hybrids years ago, during his time in ANBU. He's been working toward this goal longer than anyone realized."

The scroll contained diagrams—human figures overlaid with both chakra networks and something else, a secondary system that matched what Neji's Byakugan had seen in Naruto during their match. Beside these were illustrations of weapons that could channel this hybrid energy—devil arms adapted to work with chakra.

"This is why I've been able to manifest Rebellion and the guns," Naruto realized, studying the diagrams. "My chakra network and Dante's demonic essence are forming that secondary system."

"Precisely," Jiraiya agreed. "But yours is a natural integration—Dante's reincarnation merging with your own soul. What Orochimaru is attempting with the curse mark is artificial, forced—and inherently unstable."

"Which is why he needs Tsunade," Naruto concluded, the pieces falling into place. "Not just for her medical ninjutsu, but for her cellular regeneration techniques. To stabilize the transformation process."

"That, and her grandfather's DNA," Jiraiya added grimly. "The First Hokage's cells have always shown unusual adaptive properties. Combined with devil essence..."

He trailed off, but the implication was clear. Such a combination would create warriors of unprecedented power—and equally unprecedented danger. Warriors loyal to Orochimaru alone.

"We need to find Tsunade before he does," Naruto said, turning toward the entrance. "And we need to bring this scroll. The information here—it could help understand what's happening to me, maybe even help Sasuke."

Jiraiya carefully rolled the ancient document, sealing it in a protective scroll case before tucking it into his pack. "Agreed. But first, we need to get out of this dimension. I don't like how the energy feels in here—it's getting more active, like our presence has triggered something."

As if summoned by his words, a low rumble shook the chamber. Dust sifted from the ceiling as the crystals embedded in the walls pulsed with increasing brightness.

"The guardians," Dante warned. "They're waking up."

"Time to go," Jiraiya said, already moving toward the exit, Naruto close behind.

They raced through the corridor, the rumbling growing louder as the entire structure seemed to be coming alive around them. As they burst out into the open, the statues flanking the entrance had changed position—no longer frozen sentinels but animated guardians, their stone forms flexing as if flesh and muscle were replacing mineral.

"Don't engage!" Jiraiya called, pulling Naruto toward the shimmering tear that marked their entry point. "The anchor seals won't hold much longer!"

Naruto sprinted alongside him, but something caught his attention—a flicker of movement on one of the distant spires that didn't match the lumbering patterns of the stone guardians. A figure, humanoid but too far to discern clearly, watching their retreat with unnatural stillness.

"Someone else is here," he warned, but there was no time to investigate as they reached the portal.

The return journey was even more disorienting than the arrival—reality stretching and compressing, senses momentarily overwhelmed by input from multiple dimensions. When they stumbled back onto the forest road, it was like breaching the surface after being underwater—sounds suddenly clearer, air sweeter, colors settling back into familiar spectrums.

Jiraiya immediately set about deactivating the anchor seals, erasing all traces of their passage. "We need to move," he said, stowing his supplies with practiced efficiency. "That pocket dimension was stable for centuries, maybe millennia. Our presence disrupted it."

"What about the guardians? Could they follow us through?"

"Not directly, no. The seal mechanics wouldn't allow it." Jiraiya eyed the fading distortion between the trees. "But they're awake now, which means others might sense the activity. Others who've been looking for exactly this kind of doorway."

They resumed their journey at a much quicker pace, putting distance between themselves and the site of the dimensional tear. Naruto's mind buzzed with all they had discovered—the connection between devils and tailed beasts, Sparda's presence in the ninja world's early history, Orochimaru's true ambitions.

"It changes everything," he said after they had traveled several miles in silence. "The Nine-Tails inside me, your power, Dante—they're all connected. Different expressions of the same primal energy."

"Not quite the same," Dante corrected. "But related. Like cousins from a family that hasn't spoken in generations. Which explains why our powers can interact the way they do."

"What matters now," Jiraiya interjected after Naruto shared Dante's insight, "is finding Tsunade before Orochimaru. With what we've learned, combined with her medical expertise, we might be able to stabilize your transformation and get ahead of whatever Orochimaru is planning."

They pushed on until nightfall, making camp in a small clearing well off the main road. As Jiraiya prepared a fire, Naruto found himself staring at his reflection in a small stream—at the white streak in his hair, the permanently crimson right eye, the subtle changes in his facial structure that made him look older, sharper somehow.

"Having an identity crisis?" Dante asked, his mental voice gentler than usual.

"Just wondering who I am now," Naruto replied internally. "Uzumaki Naruto? Son of Sparda? Nine-Tails jinchūriki? All of the above?"

"Labels are for boxes, kid, not people," Dante said. "I spent years trying to reject half of what I was, and it nearly destroyed me. The trick isn't choosing between identities—it's integrating them into something new. Something uniquely yours."

Naruto nodded, understanding washing through him. He dipped his hands into the cool water, watching ripples distort his reflection before it reformed, whole but changed.

"Uniquely mine," he echoed aloud, a small smile forming.

---

Dawn found them on the road again, pushing toward the gambling town where Jiraiya's network had placed Tsunade. Three days of hard travel brought them to its outskirts—a sprawling settlement famous for its casinos, hot springs, and remarkably lenient attitude toward outstanding debts.

"Perfect place for Tsunade to hide," Jiraiya remarked as they passed through the town gates. "Gambling and sake—her two favorite pastimes."

"Some role model," Naruto muttered, eyeing the gaudy signage and rowdy establishments with skepticism.

Jiraiya laughed. "Don't let her hear you say that. She may look like a young woman, but she's my age and has a temper to match her monstrous strength."

They began methodically searching the gambling halls, working from largest to smallest. In the third establishment—a smoky den with green felt tables and the constant clinking of betting chips—Jiraiya suddenly stiffened, his gaze locked on a blonde woman seated at a far table, a younger dark-haired woman standing anxiously behind her.

"That's her," he whispered, a complex mix of emotions crossing his features. "After all these years..."

Tsunade looked up as if sensing their presence, honey-colored eyes narrowing as they landed on Jiraiya. She said something to her companion, then rose gracefully, her substantial assets straining against her green jacket as she approached.

"Jiraiya," she greeted, voice carrying easily despite the den's noise. "I'd ask what brings you here, but I imagine it has something to do with Sarutobi-sensei's death." Her gaze shifted to Naruto, lingering on his white-streaked hair and mismatched eyes. "And this must be Minato's boy. He's grown... interesting."

"Tsunade," Jiraiya inclined his head. "We need to talk. Privately."

She assessed him with a gambler's calculating stare, then nodded. "There's a sake house two streets over. Meet me there in an hour." Her eyes returned to Naruto, curiosity evident beneath her practiced nonchalance. "Bring the kid. I want to hear how he ended up with Sparda's energy signature."

She turned and left before either could respond, her assistant hurrying after her.

"She knows about Sparda?" Naruto asked once they were outside.

"Tsunade's knowledge of medical ninjutsu extends to the cellular and energetic foundations of life itself," Jiraiya explained. "If anyone could recognize devil energy on sight, it would be her."

An hour later, they were seated in a private room at the sake house, dishes of grilled meats and vegetables spread between them as Tsunade poured herself another cup of premium rice wine. Her assistant, introduced as Shizune, sat attentively nearby, a small pig named Tonton nestled in her lap.

"So," Tsunade said after they had summarized their discoveries and the purpose of their search, "Orochimaru is attempting to unlock and replicate devil abilities, you're the reincarnation of Sparda's son, and the council wants me to become the Fifth Hokage." She drained her cup in one smooth motion. "I've heard less ridiculous propositions from drunk gamblers."

"But you don't dismiss it outright," Jiraiya noted. "You recognize the signs."

Tsunade's eyes flicked to Naruto, something like reluctant fascination crossing her features. "The cellular resonance is unmistakable. I've only seen it once before—in ancient samples preserved in the Senju compound. Tissues with dual energy systems, neither fully human nor fully... other."

"Demonic," Naruto supplied.

"If you want to use that term." She leaned forward, clinical detachment replacing her earlier dismissiveness. "May I?" She indicated his arm.

Naruto extended it across the table, and Tsunade's fingers pressed against his wrist, chakra flowing from her touch as she conducted a rapid diagnostic. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Remarkable," she murmured. "The integration is happening at the cellular level—not just an overlay of two energy systems, but a true fusion. And it's accelerating."

"Is that... bad?" Naruto asked, unnerved by her tone.

"Depends on your perspective." She released his arm. "It's unprecedented, certainly. Your body is adapting to channel both chakra and devil energy simultaneously, creating what amounts to an entirely new system. The process should be impossible—fatal, even—yet you're not only surviving it but thriving."

"The Nine-Tails might be a factor," Jiraiya suggested. "Its presence could be stabilizing the transformation."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully. "The fox's regenerative properties would counteract the cellular stress. And if tailed beasts and devils share distant origins as you discovered, there may be a compatibility that facilitates the integration."

"So I'm not going to... I don't know, melt down or explode?" Naruto asked, only half-joking.

A ghost of a smile touched Tsunade's lips. "Not imminently, no. But this transformation isn't complete. If the rate of integration continues to accelerate..." She trailed off, then shook her head. "I'd need to run more comprehensive tests."

"Which you could do as Hokage," Jiraiya inserted smoothly. "With full access to the village's resources and the authority to continue the Third's research."

Tsunade's expression hardened. "I told you before, I'm not interested in that title. The position is cursed—everyone who takes it dies before their time."

"Sensei died protecting what he loved," Jiraiya countered. "As did my student. As would you, if necessary."

"That's precisely why I'm refusing," she snapped, pouring another cup with more force than necessary, sake splashing onto the table. "I've lost enough people I love to that village and its endless conflicts."

An uncomfortable silence fell, broken only when the door to their private room suddenly rattled, as if struck by a powerful gust of wind. Jiraiya was on his feet instantly, Tsunade not far behind, both shifting into combat-ready stances that betrayed their legendary status.

"We're not alone," Jiraiya murmured, eyeing the door. "And whoever's out there isn't bothering to mask their chakra."

Naruto felt it too—an oppressive presence, cold and potent, pressing against his senses. But beneath it, almost hidden, was something else—a second energy that sent a jolt of recognition through Dante's consciousness.

"That's not just chakra," Dante warned. "There's demonic resonance mixed in—subtle but definite."

The door slid open to reveal two figures in black cloaks adorned with red clouds—one tall and shark-like with blue skin and a massive wrapped sword, the other more conventionally proportioned but with coal-black eyes that bore a chilling familiarity.

"Uchiha Itachi," Jiraiya identified, his casual demeanor completely vanished. "And Hoshigaki Kisame, the Monster of the Hidden Mist. To what do we owe this dubious pleasure?"

Kisame grinned, revealing rows of pointed teeth. "We've come for the Nine-Tails jinchūriki," he said, his gaze fixed on Naruto. "Though it seems he's undergone some... modifications since our intelligence reports."

Itachi's expression remained impassive, but his eyes had narrowed fractionally as they assessed Naruto. "That energy signature," he said, voice soft yet carrying. "It's not the Nine-Tails."

"Astute observation," Tsunade cut in, cracking her knuckles with deceptive casualness. "Now kindly take your Akatsuki business elsewhere before I remind you why I'm called the Legendary Sucker—because when I hit you, I don't stop until you're broken."

Kisame laughed, a sound like stones grinding together. "Feisty for a has-been. But our business isn't with you, Princess." His hand moved to the hilt of his massive sword, which seemed to squirm beneath its wrappings. "Just hand over the boy, and we'll be on our way."

Naruto stepped forward, the crimson streak in his hair seeming to brighten as Dante's energy responded to the threat. "I'm not going anywhere with you," he said, voice steady despite the danger radiating from the two Akatsuki members.

"Interesting," Itachi murmured, activating his Sharingan as he studied Naruto more intensely. "Your chakra system has evolved beyond standard parameters. And that secondary energy..." Something close to surprise flickered across his features. "It resonates with certain artifacts in the Uchiha compound."

"Like the Yamato?" Naruto asked, Dante's knowledge flowing through him. "Or other devil arms your clan collected over the centuries?"

Now true surprise showed in Itachi's expression—a minute widening of the eyes that would have been imperceptible to most. "You know of these things. How?"

"We should just take him and go," Kisame interrupted, impatience evident. "Leader-sama will want to study these developments."

He drew his sword in a single fluid motion, the wrappings falling away to reveal a bizarre, scale-covered blade that pulsed like a living thing. As it came free, Naruto felt an immediate and visceral reaction from both the Nine-Tails' chakra and Dante's energy—a simultaneous recoil and recognition.

"Samehada," Dante identified through their link. "Not its original name, but I recognize the essence. It's a devil arm—or was, before it was adapted to this world's energy systems. A soul-eater."

Naruto didn't have time to process this revelation as Kisame lunged forward with deceptive speed for someone his size. The sword arced downward in a strike that would have cleaved him in two, had Jiraiya not intercepted with a summoned toad shield that cracked under the impact.

"Get back!" the Sannin ordered, already flowing through hand signs. "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The floor beneath the Akatsuki members liquefied, but Itachi had anticipated the move, leaping clear while Kisame sank to his knees before stabilizing himself with a pulse of chakra.

"Such hospitality," Kisame growled, struggling to free himself from the chakra-infused mud. "And here I thought we could be civilized."

Tsunade had already launched her own attack, the table splintering beneath her fist as she drove it toward Itachi, who evaded with the preternatural grace of a Sharingan user. The wall behind him exploded outward, creating an impromptu exit into the street beyond.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya called, summoning a second toad to engage Kisame. "Stay back! These aren't opponents you can handle yet!"

But the crimson energy was already coursing through Naruto's system, responding to the threat with a will of its own. His right eye blazed brighter, pupil contracting to a reptilian slit as Rebellion materialized in his hand, called forth by instinct deeper than thought.

"The sword," Itachi observed from where he had regained his footing outside the building. "Another devil arm. You're further along than we realized."

Kisame had freed himself from the swamp, attention shifting from Jiraiya to Naruto with new interest as Samehada trembled in his grip, seeming to strain toward the boy. "My blade's excited," he noted with a shark-like grin. "It wants a taste of whatever you've become."

Before anyone could move, Itachi raised a hand in a gesture of restraint. "We're withdrawing," he announced, the decision clearly unexpected by his partner. "This situation has... variables we were not briefed on."

"Running away?" Kisame challenged, though he made no move to disobey.

"Tactical reassessment," Itachi corrected, his Sharingan still fixed on Naruto. "The Akatsuki's interest in the tailed beasts may need to expand to include... other energies."

With that cryptic statement, he formed a single hand sign, and both Akatsuki members vanished in swirls of smoke and crows, leaving destruction in their wake but no conclusive battle.

Silence fell over the ruined sake house, broken only by the distant shouts of alarmed civilians and approaching law enforcement. Tsunade straightened from her combat stance, eyeing Naruto with new intensity as Rebellion remained solid in his grip, the devil arm's presence a physical manifestation of how far his transformation had progressed.

"Well," she said dryly, "that was illuminating."

"They knew about devil arms," Naruto said, still processing Itachi's reaction. "The Akatsuki isn't just after the tailed beasts—they're aware of the connection to demonic power."

"Which means Orochimaru isn't the only one pursuing this knowledge," Jiraiya concluded grimly, dispelling his summoned toads. "This just got considerably more complicated."

Tsunade was quiet for a long moment, her gaze moving from the destruction around them to the ancient scroll case visible in Jiraiya's partially opened pack, to Naruto with his devil arm gleaming in the afternoon light.

"Fine," she finally said, decision evident in the set of her shoulders. "I'll take the hat."

Jiraiya blinked, clearly not expecting capitulation so easily. "What changed your mind?"

Tsunade's honey-colored eyes hardened with resolve. "Because someone needs to get ahead of this—whatever this is—and it looks like I'm the only one qualified." She approached Naruto, studying him with the critical eye of a medical professional. "And because this boy is carrying something far more complicated than just the Nine-Tails, and I'll be damned if I let Orochimaru or the Akatsuki get their hands on him."

Relief washed over Naruto, though it was tinged with the sobering realization that he had become a focal point in a conflict far larger than he had imagined—one that spanned dimensions and epochs, with roots deeper than the founding of the hidden villages themselves.

"So what now?" he asked, allowing Rebellion to dissolve back into motes of crimson light.

"Now," Tsunade answered with newfound determination, "we return to Konoha. I have research to continue, a village to lead—and a hybrid devil-jinchūriki to stabilize before his transformation outpaces his control."

As they gathered their belongings and prepared to depart, Naruto cast one last glance at the spot where Itachi and Kisame had stood. Something in the Uchiha's reaction nagged at him—not just recognition, but a deeper understanding that suggested knowledge beyond what even Jiraiya and Tsunade possessed.

"The Uchiha were the first to successfully integrate devil powers," he murmured, recalling the murals from the pocket dimension. "And they got the Yamato out of it."

"A sword that could cut between worlds," Dante added, his mental voice contemplative. "In my brother's hands, it was unstoppable. In the hands of an Uchiha with the Sharingan and demonic chakra..."

Naruto shuddered at the implications, quickening his pace to catch up with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Whatever game was being played between Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, and forces perhaps even they didn't fully comprehend, he was now a central piece on the board.

And the stakes, it seemed, were not just the fate of the ninja world, but the very boundaries between dimensions themselves.

# Devil's Chakra: The Awakening

## Chapter 8: Akatsuki's Interest

The journey back to Konoha should have been triumphant. They had found Tsunade, convinced her to become the Fifth Hokage, and discovered crucial information about the connection between devils and tailed beasts. Yet a somber mood hung over the group as they traveled, each lost in their own thoughts about the implications of their discoveries—and the unexpected confrontation with the Akatsuki.

Naruto walked slightly apart from the others, the white streak in his hair catching the late afternoon sun. Their brief encounter with Itachi and Kisame had left him unsettled, not just because of their strength, but because of Itachi's recognition of what he was becoming.

"You're brooding," Dante observed from within. "Not a good look on you, kid."

"I'm thinking," Naruto corrected silently. "There's a difference."

"Barely. Trust me, I know brooding—had a brother who specialized in it."

Despite himself, Naruto smiled. Ahead, Tsunade and Jiraiya walked side by side, their conversation too low to overhear, while Shizune followed with Tonton cradled in her arms.

"Itachi knew," Naruto murmured, quiet enough that only Dante could hear. "Not just about the Nine-Tails, but about devil energy. And Kisame's sword..."

"Samehada," Dante supplied. "A hungry little beast. In my world, we'd call it a parasitic devil arm—a weapon with its own consciousness that feeds on its wielder as much as their enemies."

"That's... disturbing."

"Says the kid with two extra passengers in his head."

Naruto snorted, drawing a curious glance from Shizune. He waved it off with a sheepish grin before returning to the internal conversation.

"The point is," he continued, "the Akatsuki knows more than they should about all this. Itachi mentioned artifacts in the Uchiha compound that resonated with devil energy."

"Which means the Uchiha were collecting devil arms," Dante concluded. "Makes sense, given what we saw in those ruins. If they were the first to successfully integrate demonic power..."

"They would have wanted to gather as many sources as possible," Naruto finished. "But what does the Akatsuki want with them? Or with me, beyond the Nine-Tails?"

Before Dante could respond, Tsunade dropped back to walk beside him, her honey-colored eyes sharp with medical curiosity. "You talk to yourself a lot," she observed bluntly. "Or rather, to him."

Naruto blinked, still unused to having his internal conversations noted by others. "It's... complicated."

"I'd imagine so. Two distinct consciousnesses sharing one neurological system? That's beyond complicated." She studied him with the clinical detachment of a veteran healer. "How distinct are you? From Dante, I mean."

"Very," Naruto answered immediately. "We're separate people. Different memories, different personalities. But..." He hesitated, searching for words to describe the increasingly complex relationship. "It's becoming more fluid. I have access to his combat instincts, some of his memories. Sometimes I'll say things or make references that are his, not mine."

"Integration," Tsunade nodded. "The same process is happening on a cellular level. Your body is adapting to channel both standard chakra and devil energy simultaneously."

"Is that why I look different?" Naruto gestured to his white-streaked hair and permanently crimson right eye.

"Partially. The changes began as physical manifestations of energetic shifts, but they're becoming more structural." She reached up to brush a strand of white hair from his forehead, the gesture surprisingly gentle for someone known for her monstrous strength. "Your bone structure is subtly shifting—becoming more angular, closer to what I assume was Dante's appearance."

This was news to Naruto. He raised a hand to his face, feeling the contours that had once been rounded with childish softness, now sharper, more defined. "Will I... keep changing? Become him?"

"No," Dante's voice echoed firmly in his mind. "That's not how this works. You're becoming something new—neither just Naruto nor just Dante."

Tsunade seemed to reach a similar conclusion. "I doubt you'll lose your essential identity. This isn't a possession or a replacement—it's a synthesis. Something unprecedented." Her expression grew thoughtful. "When we reach Konoha, I want to run a full evaluation. The medical facilities there will let me track these changes with more precision."

Naruto nodded, grateful for her matter-of-fact approach. Unlike others who might have reacted with fear or suspicion to his transformation, Tsunade viewed it with scientific curiosity tempered by genuine concern.

"What about Samehada?" he asked, changing the subject. "You saw how it reacted to me."

"Yes," Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "That sword isn't just a weapon—it's semi-sentient. And it recognized something in your energy signature."

"Dante says it's a devil arm that's been adapted to this world's chakra systems."

"Which raises interesting questions about where Kisame acquired it." She glanced ahead to where Jiraiya walked. "The Seven Swords of the Mist have always been shrouded in mystery. If they're actually modified devil arms..."

"Then there could be others out there," Naruto concluded, a chill running down his spine at the implications. "Weapons from Dante's world, adapted to ours, in the hands of people who don't understand what they really are."

Tsunade fell silent, and they continued walking as the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of amber and crimson. They would make camp soon, Naruto knew—another night on the road before reaching Konoha the following day.

What neither of them realized was that they were already being watched.

---

The campfire crackled, sending sparks spiraling upward to meet the stars scattered across the night sky. Their campsite was nestled in a small clearing surrounded by ancient trees, their massive trunks forming a natural barrier. Jiraiya had set protective seals around the perimeter—standard practice for a shinobi of his caliber, especially with two Sannin and a jinchūriki in the group.

Naruto sat cross-legged away from the fire, eyes closed in meditation. Since the transformation began, he'd found this practice increasingly valuable, not just for chakra control but for maintaining the delicate balance between his own consciousness, Dante's presence, and the Nine-Tails' sealed power.

In his mindscape, he stood in the space between worlds—not the dank sewer that housed the Nine-Tails, nor the gothic chamber that represented Dante's consciousness, but a hybrid realm where both bled together. The massive gates that contained the Fox were still present, but the space around them had transformed, stone walls adorned with devil arms and ornate columns rising toward a ceiling that faded into darkness.

"Interesting décor choice," the Nine-Tails rumbled from behind the bars, massive vulpine eyes gleaming with ancient malevolence. "Your other tenant has questionable taste."

"Says the giant fox living in a sewer," Dante materialized beside Naruto, his physical form more solid within the mindscape than ever before. He wore his signature red leather coat, white hair swept back from a face that resembled Naruto's own, if older and sharper.

"Don't antagonize him," Naruto sighed, used to the verbal sparring between his two tenants. "I need to understand something, and I need both of you to be straight with me."

"How refreshing," the Fox sneered. "The jailer seeks counsel from his prisoners."

Naruto ignored the jibe. "The Akatsuki is after the tailed beasts—that much we know. But Itachi's reaction when he sensed Dante's energy suggests they're aware of the connection to devils. What I need to know is: should I be more afraid of them capturing the Fox, or discovering what I'm becoming?"

A heavy silence fell, broken only by the distant drip of water from somewhere in the mindscape.

"Both," the Nine-Tails finally answered, its voice uncharacteristically serious. "If they seek to extract me, it would kill you—and trap me in whatever abomination they're creating."

"And if someone managed to harness the kind of power you're developing," Dante added, "they could potentially open pathways between worlds that have been sealed for millennia."

"Like the Yamato could," Naruto said, recalling the katana from Dante's memories—the blade his brother Vergil had wielded, capable of cutting through dimensions themselves.

"Exactly," Dante nodded. "In the wrong hands, that kind of power could unleash things this world isn't prepared to face."

"Worse than the tailed beasts?" Naruto asked, glancing at the Nine-Tails.

The Fox's laughter held no humor. "You think we are the apex of destructive power? Foolish child. We are but fragments of the Ten-Tails, which itself was merely a fusion of natural chakra and demonic essence that leaked through when the barriers between worlds were thin."

This confirmed what they had learned in the ruins, but hearing it from the Nine-Tails itself added a weight of certainty that sent a chill through Naruto's core.

"So the Akatsuki's goals might be even more dangerous than we realized," he murmured. "Not just collecting the tailed beasts, but potentially reopening pathways to the demon world."

"Intentionally or not," Dante agreed grimly.

The conversation was abruptly cut short as Naruto was yanked back to physical awareness by a hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped open to find Jiraiya crouched beside him, expression tense.

"We've got company," the Sage whispered, gesturing toward the trees. "Four signatures approaching—two of them familiar."

Naruto was on his feet instantly, adrenaline clearing the last vestiges of meditation from his system. Across the clearing, Tsunade and Shizune were already in defensive positions, the fire doused to prevent it from ruining their night vision.

"Itachi and Kisame?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Jiraiya nodded grimly. "Plus two others. They've been tracking us since we left town."

"Why wait until now to approach?" Tsunade questioned, her stance relaxed in a way that only highlighted her readiness to explode into action.

"They were observing," Jiraiya replied. "Learning. Something about our last encounter made them cautious."

As if summoned by their conversation, four figures materialized at the edge of the clearing—black cloaks adorned with red clouds, stark against the darkness of the forest. Itachi and Kisame stood front and center, flanked by two unfamiliar members: a tall figure with strange eyes and multiple facial piercings, and a blue-haired woman with a paper flower in her hair.

"Quite the welcoming committee," Kisame grinned, Samehada unwrapped and pulsating on his back. "Two Sannin and a jinchūriki with... special modifications."

"Kisame," the pierced man said, voice calm but carrying an unmistakable authority. "Restraint."

Itachi's Sharingan gleamed in the darkness as he studied their group, his gaze lingering on Naruto. "As we reported, Leader-sama. The Nine-Tails jinchūriki has undergone significant changes since our intelligence was gathered. His energy signature is... complex."

The man—evidently the Akatsuki's leader—stepped forward. "Uzumaki Naruto," he addressed directly, those strange, ringed eyes fixed on the boy. "My organization has been tracking the tailed beasts and their vessels for some time. But you present a unique case."

"The Rinnegan," Jiraiya murmured, recognition and disbelief battling in his voice. "Impossible..."

"Nothing is impossible, Sage," the leader replied. "As your student is demonstrating by housing both a tailed beast and devil essence simultaneously."

Naruto felt a chill that had nothing to do with the night air. "You know about devil essence."

"The Akatsuki's interests are... comprehensive." The blue-haired woman spoke for the first time, her voice cool and measured. "The barriers between dimensions have been thinning for decades. The ancient seals weakening."

"Which you're trying to accelerate by collecting the tailed beasts," Tsunade accused, pieces falling into place. "You're not just after their power—you're trying to recreate the Ten-Tails as a key to unlock the pathways between worlds."

A slight smile curved the leader's lips. "Perceptive, Princess Tsunade. But incomplete. We seek balance—a reset of this world's corrupt systems. The power of the tailed beasts is merely one component."

"And what's my role in your grand plan?" Naruto challenged, feeling crimson energy beginning to rise within him, responding to the threat.

"Originally, simply to provide the Nine-Tails," the leader answered with disturbing honesty. "But your... evolution presents new possibilities. The union of tailed beast and devil essence within a single vessel—something we believed theoretical until now."

"You're not taking him," Jiraiya stated flatly, chakra swirling visibly around his form as he prepared for battle.

"Not today," the leader agreed, surprisingly. "We came to confirm what Itachi and Kisame reported. To see for ourselves."

"And now that you have?" Tsunade demanded, her finger tapping against her thigh in a gesture that veterans of the Second Shinobi War would recognize as the precursor to earth-shattering strikes.

Instead of answering, the leader made a slight gesture, and Kisame stepped forward, Samehada drawn and eager. "A small demonstration, perhaps. To gauge the extent of his development."

Jiraiya moved to intercept, but faster than anyone could react, Kisame unleashed a massive water jutsu—not at the Sannin, but at Naruto directly. A tidal wave crashed through the clearing, uprooting small trees and flooding the campsite.

Naruto's instincts took over, crimson energy erupting around him as he leapt impossibly high, clearing the wave entirely. He landed on a tree branch, Rebellion materializing in his right hand in a flash of red light.

"Water against a devil arm?" he taunted, Dante's swagger evident in his tone. "You'll have to do better than that, fish-face."

Kisame's grin widened, shark-like teeth gleaming. "Just warming up, kid." He charged, Samehada raised for a strike that would shear through solid stone.

Naruto met the attack head-on, Rebellion clashing against Samehada with a sound like thunder. The impact sent shockwaves through the clearing, but Naruto held his ground, devil energy reinforcing his strength far beyond what his adolescent frame should allow.

What happened next surprised everyone—including Naruto himself. As Kisame pressed his advantage, Samehada's greedy nature absorbing chakra with each contact, Naruto felt a new power surge within him. The crimson energy condensed around him, then split, forming a spectral duplicate that moved independently, flanking Kisame with its own manifested Rebellion.

"What the—" Kisame barely had time to react as the doppelganger attacked from his blind spot, forcing him to disengage from Naruto to parry the new threat.

"Doppelganger style," Dante crowed inside Naruto's mind. "One of my favorites! Two devil hunters for the price of one."

The phantom moved with perfect synchronization to Naruto's own attacks, creating a coordinated assault that even Kisame—one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist—struggled to counter. Each time Samehada absorbed chakra from one attacker, the other struck from a different angle, maintaining constant pressure.

From the edge of the clearing, Itachi observed with analytical precision, his Sharingan tracking every movement. "The phantom is pure demonic energy given form," he noted to his leader. "Not a clone technique—something else entirely."

The leader nodded, those ringed eyes missing nothing. "He's advancing faster than anticipated. The integration is nearly complete."

Jiraiya and Tsunade had not remained idle during this exchange. The two Sannin moved in perfect tandem, decades of shared history evident in their coordinated attack against the blue-haired woman and the Akatsuki leader. Earth jutsu reshaped the battlefield, while Tsunade's monstrous strength sent shockwaves through the ground with each impact.

But the Akatsuki members were S-rank missing-nin for a reason. The leader moved with uncanny precision, those Rinnegan eyes seemingly predicting each attack, while the woman dissolved into paper butterflies whenever Tsunade came close to landing a decisive blow.

Meanwhile, Naruto and his doppelganger pressed their advantage against Kisame, driving the shark-man back step by step. Samehada gorged itself on the devil energy, growing spines and increasing in size, but even its voracious appetite couldn't absorb the sustained output from both Naruto and his phantom.

"Enough," the leader commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos of battle. "We've seen what we came to witness."

Kisame disengaged reluctantly, Samehada writhing and gnashing in his grip, clearly unsatisfied. "Just when it was getting fun," he grumbled.

The leader approached Naruto, seemingly unconcerned by the twin Rebellions pointed in his direction. "Fascinating," he said, studying the doppelganger. "Your control is intuitive rather than trained. The devil essence responds to your intentions almost before you form them."

"What do you want from me?" Naruto demanded, not lowering his guard.

"Currently? Nothing but observation." The leader's ringed eyes shifted to the white streak in Naruto's hair, then to his mismatched eyes. "The Akatsuki's plans are... evolving in light of recent discoveries. Your unique condition presents variables we must account for."

"That's not an answer," Tsunade snapped, moving to stand protectively near Naruto.

"It's all you'll receive today," the blue-haired woman replied calmly. "We've confirmed what we needed to."

The leader made a small gesture, and all four Akatsuki members began to step back, melting into the shadows with practiced ease. "We will meet again, Uzumaki Naruto," he said, those hypnotic eyes fixed on the boy until the last moment. "Your development will be... monitored."

Then they were gone, leaving only destruction and unanswered questions in their wake.

For a long moment, no one spoke. Naruto's doppelganger dissolved back into crimson motes of light that were reabsorbed into his body. Rebellion remained solid in his grip, a comforting weight as his mind raced with implications.

"Well," Jiraiya finally broke the silence, surveying the devastated clearing, "I think we can officially upgrade the Akatsuki from 'dangerous nuisance' to 'existential threat.'"

"They knew too much," Tsunade said, brushing debris from her jacket. "About devils, about the connection to tailed beasts. They're not just collecting bijuu for their power—they're working toward something specific."

"Opening pathways between worlds," Naruto supplied, remembering the Nine-Tails' warning. "Accessing whatever lies beyond the barriers that Sparda and others helped create."

"But why?" Shizune asked, emerging from her defensive position where she'd been protecting Tonton during the battle. "What could they possibly gain from such chaos?"

"The leader mentioned balance," Jiraiya recalled, his expression grim. "A reset of corrupt systems. It sounds almost..."

"Messianic," Tsunade finished. "A god complex with the power to back it up. The Rinnegan is no small thing—if that was genuine, we're facing someone with access to abilities not seen since the Sage of Six Paths himself."

Naruto dispersed Rebellion, watching it dissolve into light that sank back into his skin. "They're interested in me because I'm something they didn't account for," he realized. "A wild card in their perfectly planned game."

"Which makes you both valuable and dangerous to them," Jiraiya agreed. "They'll be watching, waiting to see if you become an asset they can use or a threat they need to eliminate."

"Either way," Tsunade's voice hardened with resolve, "we need to accelerate our plans. Once we reach Konoha, my first priority as Hokage will be establishing research protocols for understanding this devil-tailed beast connection. And," she added, looking directly at Naruto, "training you to control what you're becoming before it controls you."

Naruto nodded, feeling the weight of responsibility settle more firmly on his shoulders. He was no longer just a jinchūriki, no longer just the container of the Nine-Tails. He was becoming something unprecedented—a fusion of ninja, tailed beast vessel, and devil hunter that neither the Akatsuki nor Orochimaru had anticipated.

But with that uniqueness came isolation. Who could truly understand what he was experiencing? Who could guide him through a transformation that had never before occurred in this world?

"Your teammates," Dante suggested, reading his thoughts. "Particularly the Uchiha kid. He's on his own journey of power and identity. Different path, similar questions."

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured aloud, realization dawning. "The curse mark—it's Orochimaru's attempt to artificially recreate devil essence integration."

Jiraiya looked up sharply. "What did you say?"

Naruto explained his insight—how the curse mark seemed to be Orochimaru's crude attempt to graft demonic energy onto a human host, similar to what was happening naturally between him and Dante.

"Which is why Itachi was so interested," Tsunade concluded, following the logic. "His brother bears Orochimaru's prototype, while you represent a fully realized version of what the curse mark is attempting to achieve."

"If Sasuke discovers this connection," Jiraiya warned, "it could push him further toward Orochimaru. The temptation of devil power, especially with his clan's historical connection to it..."

Naruto's expression hardened with determination. "Then I need to reach him first. Show him there's another way—one that doesn't require sacrificing his humanity or his connections."

The group fell silent, each contemplating the complicated web of allegiances, ambitions, and ancient powers that had ensnared them. As they began to salvage what they could from their destroyed campsite, preparing to continue their journey at first light, Naruto found himself drawn to a small stream at the edge of the clearing.

In the moonlit water, his reflection stared back—white-streaked hair, one blue eye and one crimson, features that blended Uzumaki Naruto and Son of Sparda into something new. Behind him, only he could see the spectral forms that represented his dual inheritance: the Nine-Tailed Fox, massive and ancient, and Dante, sword resting casually on one shoulder.

"Quite the party you've got going," Dante commented, his reflection grinning with characteristic bravado. "Ancient demons, eye-powered zealots, snake sorcerers..."

"Just another Tuesday for a devil hunter," Naruto replied silently, a small smile forming despite the gravity of their situation.

The Fox merely growled, but there was something new in its eyes when it gazed at Naruto—perhaps not respect, not yet, but a calculating reassessment. Its vessel was becoming something unprecedented, and even a being as ancient as the Nine-Tails recognized the significance of that evolution.

As Naruto turned away from the stream to rejoin the others, a silent promise formed in his heart—to master this power not for his own glory, but to protect those precious to him. Konoha, his friends, his teammates, and even Sasuke, teetering on the edge of his own dangerous transformation.

Tomorrow they would reach the village, and the next phase would begin. Tsunade would take her place as the Fifth Hokage, research into devil essence would accelerate, and Naruto would face the challenge of explaining to his friends exactly what he was becoming.

But for tonight, under the vast canopy of stars, he allowed himself a moment of simple certainty: whatever he was becoming, whatever challenges lay ahead, he would face them not alone, but with the strange family he had assembled—two Sannin, a demon fox, a devil hunter's spirit, and the bonds that tied him to the village hidden in the leaves.

The Akatsuki was watching. Orochimaru was plotting. Ancient forces stirred in the spaces between worlds.

But Naruto Uzumaki—jinchūriki, devil hunter, future Hokage—was ready.