Broken Angel

Chapter 5: Departure from these lands

Minato had his head in his hands as he considered the situation he was in. Narumi had disappeared. Two men, one a member of the Aburame clan were now dead. The Council was furious. They wanted her found, immediately. She wasn't a shinobi so they couldn't label her a missing ninja, but she was still a citizen of Konoha, and with her involvement surrounding these deaths, she was now a criminal.

Any hope he'd had about avoiding looking foolish or weak, went up like a poof of smoke. He regretted now not placing the Hiraishin seal on her. With it, he could have just teleported to her location and forced her back to the village. Unfortunately, he didn't know how that seal would interact with the Nine Tails Seal. The more seals placed on the body, the more unstable they became, so he hadn't thought to risk it, and of course, she was just a child.

The truth, that simple reality it seems, had been everyone's folly.

"So, she's gone." Came the voice of a woman. He lifted his gaze to find a hooded figure standing before him. How she'd snuck into his office without him noticing, he didn't know, but now wasn't the time to worry about it.

"Yes. Her scent follows the trail of several Shadow Clones but then it ends. There's no sign of her at the end of any of those trails." Minato answered the mysterious woman.

"Hm... so what do you suspect?" She inquired.

"The only answer I have for such a vanishing act, the only way to disappear without leaving a scent behind, without leaving a single track, is to teleport. I wouldn't think a child capable of such high level jutsu, but I see that underestimating her is what got us into this problem." Minato responded, sighing in frustration.

"You knew the risks. The Toads Prophecy is coming true." The woman hummed, causing Minato's visage to darken.

"It's not something I want to believe, and yet it seems to be the case, the more time goes on." Minato spoke.

"A daughter of the blood of the Fire's Shadow will burn the Leaf to ashes, and a daughter of the blood of the Fire's Shadow will rekindle the embers, and the Leaf will bloom anew." Two daughters of the Fire Shadow, namely the Hokage. One to destroy it, one to save it. The working alongside another prophecy that claimed that a student of Master Jiraiya would become the prophesized hero and would bring peace to the world. One day, he would train Naruko, he would teach her, and she would be fully included in that prophecy, just as she was the second one. Minato had long known which of his children were meant for which role. The obviously darker, more violent twin was the destroyed, and the kind and loving one, the savior.

It had long been the truth, and even now, he regretted his role in having made her. Narumi had been a mistake. From the very beginning she'd been a mistake. For a moment he thought of her, that woman from so long ago, and he couldn't help but growl in frustration. He should have never agreed to her conditions. The amount of misery that had been caused because he allowed a moment of weakness to lead to all of this. The gift that kept on giving. The Nine Tails attack, the violence perpetrated on the citizenry, and now the deaths of two more loyal ninja, all a result of that damned decision so many years ago.

He wondered, if for a moment, fixing the seal would have done anything. The damage done to the Seal seemed old, worn in a way, like it had happened a long time ago. In the end, because of the prophecy, and because of what he knew, he felt it didn't matter. If Narumi was destined to become an enemy, why put in the effort?

At the thought, an image of a smiling face flashed in his mind. An old friend, a woman. He gritted his teeth as he felt his heart lurch. He cursed himself for being so weak. He hated how he had let this all come to pass because of his mistake. If he'd just been stronger, more resilient, if he'd thought with his head, he could have avoided all of this trouble, all of these lost lives, all of this pain and suffering, even this prophecy would have never come to be had he made the right choice back then.

It all stemmed from that, and he hated himself for it, and he knew that he had long taken that hatred out on Narumi. In her, he saw the same impulsiveness that had got him into this whole mess, and it pissed him off to no end. He hated it in himself, and he hated her for having it.

"What will you do now, Fourth Hokage?" The mystery woman spoke.

"She needs to be found. I'll decide then." He answered, lifting his gaze to the woman.

"And if the answer is death? Do you have it in you to destroy her? It should have happened years ago. I told you what we stood to gain, how splitting the Fox's power from its soul could benefit us, but you did not listen. To trapped by nostalgia and love. You owe her nothing. You are the Hokage. You do what is best for the village. What happened then cannot be undone, and it had the chance to provide us an incredible boon, one never seen before in the history of the Elemental Nations. You could have answered for your screwup with this gift, instead, you let her live, and now the child has become a problem." The woman spoke harshly, her tone causing Minato to flinch.

He said nothing as she glowered at him, her eyes elegant amethysts

"First she must be found." He said darkly.

"Yes, first she must be found." The woman agreed, her gaze as piercing as it had ever been.

-Two Weeks Later-

He landed atop a tree branch high and hidden amongst the foliage. The Hyuuga clan member had barely survived the murder of his teammates.

The group had been tracking leads on the missing Clan Heir Narumi Namikaze when they'd found her. One went to report back on what they'd found, the other three moved to confront her.

They were both dead now, and he was the last man standing.

Despite being little more than a child, the girl possessed remarkable combat abilities.

She was nearly impossible to hit, their attacks seeming to pass right through her. He was sure of it, he could see it with his Byakugan their attacks were actually landing, they just passed through her without harm. His two comrades fell quickly. She keenly capitalized on their moments of shock or confusion when their attacks missed. She struck out at them with strange weapons as well. Seemingly from nowhere she would call upon these weapons that were made from red or green energy.

It was impossible to describe or to understand really. These weapons appeared almost like glass or crystalline versions of basic shinobi weapons like shuriken or kunai. They appeared either green or red, solid in color, and after a few moments they faded out of existence. They were real tools though. He'd seen several of the green colored shuriken embed into the body of his comrade before she cut his throat with a green tanto. His other comrade, he had to put down himself as he was struck by a red kunai knife in the arm, and after several long moments the veins in the arm began to bulge and he started screaming and began clawing and thrashing at his own face. When he tried to call out to his comrade, he turned to him, his eyes bloodshot and manic, and charged at him, intent on tearing his throat out. He had to put him down, otherwise he'd have been torn to pieces.

He had no idea how it had happened, but now he needed to get away from her and await reinforcements.

Activating his Byakugan he scanned the surrounding area. He saw her coming, she was above him, already her strange weapons were appearing in her hand, she tossed three green and three red shuriken down towards him. He rose and using his gentle fist taijutsu, knocked the incoming weapons out of the air, he then fell into a fighting stance as she landed on the end of the branch and rushed at him.

He readied to jump, knowing that his attacks would likely pass through her. He struck and she jumped over him, he spun to deliver another strike, as she landed, she dropped to a squat, his hand launched forward, aimed at her shoulder, trying to disable the tenketsu in her shoulder. His hand passed through her. She shifted, gliding out from his attack, her eyes blazed with a strange red pattern. It almost looked like the Sharingan but he'd never seen it look like that before.

The moment she was no longer in contact with him, he felt a sharp pain lance across his extended arm, he saw it coming but couldn't pull back in time. In her hand, a sword made of red energy shaped, the blade forming rapidly, rushing up to slice at his arm in its formation. He pulled back and dropped from the branch, landing on the ground his eyes shot to the cut on his arm. The cut itself was little more than an annoyance, and yet a burning pain was beginning to spread through his forearm to his fingers and up towards his shoulder.

"Oh no." He remembered the reaction of his squad mate. The veins around the wound slowly began to darken and to his horror, he felt his anger beginning to grow out of control.

He suddenly found himself screaming. He tried in vain with the last of his willpower to regain control and undo whatever she'd done to him, but it wouldn't work. His screams turned feral and soon he found himself racing towards a tree where he began to mercilessly claw and tear at the bark.

He kept screaming and cursing in blind rage, even as he felt his legs give out beneath him. He barely felt the pain as Narumi appeared at his back, slashing across the nape of his neck.

He fell to the ground and continued howling. He saw her, as she rolled him onto his back. He wanted to kill her, wanted to claw her eyes out, wanted to tear the skin from her tiny body and bury his manhood in every hole she had. He just needed to reach her, to get his hands on her, so close, she was so close.

He didn't stop screaming, even as his veins burned red, and a fiery energy began to melt at his flesh. She knelt down and drew a knife, bringing it down to his eyes. He was still alive, so the seal that was placed on all Hyuuga branch family member to destroy their eyes if they're killed, hadn't yet activated. She did remove his headband, observing the seal as it was overtaken by the red glow of his veins. She watched the seal glow and begin to distort, breaking apart even as she carved out his eyes, and placed them in a jar of fluid to preserve them. She managed to get one eye before the red coloring got to it, but the other had begun filling with blood, even as she removed it. She stored it away, regardless, but in a separate container.

"Horrifying. All he feels is rage. Not even pain can breach his senses now." Madara spoke, observing through her eyes as she rose back to her feet.

"Yeah... It's so weird. The green weapons don't have this affect, and yet, I feel more confident when wielding them, surer of myself. The red ones though, they infect people with rage, and I feel my own anger building the long I hold such tools in my hand." Narumi noted, turning away from the screaming and dying man, leaving him to bleed out from the cut on his neck.

Amatsumara the power stored within her left eye. It granted her the power to create objects out of some kind of glowing energy, the energy though, was colored by her emotions. The red objects were born out of her anger, when she wanted to create them, she just needed to focus on anger, and these objects carried a devastating effect on her victims, as she was so deliberately reminded today. The Green ones she hadn't quite figured out yet. They seemed to come from her determination, and were the easiest to make, as the simple desire to create something using the power could allow for a green object to form. The only other color she knew could form was Violet colored objects which formed when she thought of her grandfather, or Shisui, they were made from love, though she hadn't yet known of any special effects for the violet objects but they were also currently the hardest to manifest. She could make any object she desired, causing it to appear in her hands. The object was forged from her imagination, the more accurate her understanding of a thing, the closer she could get the projection to it. This allowed her to make kunai and shuriken that were as strong as their normal counterpart, but ones that could be used against her as all of the constructs could be destroyed with a thought from her, or after a few moments. Each object she made, took a small portion of Chakra to create, or more accurately, to shape, and then a steady stream of chakra was needed to keep the object present so she couldn't create a great number of objects, and couldn't keep them around for very long.

As noted, the chakra required to create the object was used to shape the colored energy that made up the object. She had no idea what this energy was, her Sharingan couldn't determine anything from it, as it wasn't chakra, or any kind of raw magic. The only magic the constructs gave off were her own.

She wasn't limited to just manifesting the items in hand. She could actually create them anywhere within her field of view, and she could actually manipulate them to, without having to touch them, able to move them with her mind, but both of those tasks took a ridiculous amount of focus, and her young mind was unable to grasp that level of control as of yet.

Amatsumara was an incredible technique that served as a valuable means of offense and defense, she just needed to work on her control, her understanding of the things she wanted to make, and her chakra levels so she could use the technique with greater efficiency.

Leaving the fallen shinobi behind, she quickly vanished into Kamui ensuring that when Leaf Shinobi came here to investigate, they wouldn't be able to track her to a new location.

These last few weeks Narumi had been on the run. She had a plan, and knew where she needed to go, but much to her displeasure found that she couldn't reach her destination.

She knew the only way she would be safe from those hunting her, was to exit the Elemental Nations entirely. The Elemental Nations themselves were on a continent that was hidden on the world. It was like an entirely different world, located alongside the main one. A single access point had been discovered a few centuries ago, allowing for travel between the Elemental Nations and the outside world. It was heavily guarded on both sides by Shinobi and Samurai. It was one of the few places where Shinobi from different lands worked together to guard it and keep trespassers out. Only those authorized by one of the Daimyo could come and go, and with Narumi now on the run, she wasn't going to be able to get a permit.

That left the only other means of exiting the Elemental Nations, and that was teleportation. She couldn't use Kamui to get out, as she could only exit to places, she'd been before, but there was still a way. She just needed a portkey.

Portkeys were magical teleportation devices that could be used to transport someone to a specific location. In many cases they were one time use, to get from point A to point B. Some could be made to take people back and forth, it just depended on the person making it.

Here in the Elemental Nations only one group of people made and dealt in portkeys, and that was the Goblins of Gringotts. The top bankers of the magical world. They could make a portkey for you, but it would cost an arm and a leg to get one, and Narumi was as broke as could be. She needed money, so she'd been working to steal a bit for herself these last few weeks, all the while avoiding the shinobi hunting her.

She'd normally have just run away from this team of ninja chasing her, but the moment she saw a Hyuuga amongst them, Madara came up with a plan to take them down. Acquiring the Byakugan was an incredibly valuable boon, and she had the right kind of tool to incapacitate him for long enough to steal his eyes.

As Madara explained to her, the nature of the Caged Bird Seal prevented it from activating unless the victim was dead. You couldn't time the seal to activate if the eyes were tampered with since if the Hyuuga in question rubbed at their eyes too hard, or maybe even tried to clean them out, the seal might interpret that as tampering and activate, blinding the Hyuuga. So, it was just understood that the Hyuuga would fight to the death, and the seal would activate the moment they died, sealing away the eyes.

The Hyuuga had long liked to think their seal was fool proof, but it was old, and lacked developmental progress, much like the Hyuuga themselves.

Today proved that he'd been right, as she'd secured both eyes from the dying man before he succumbed, and the seal activated. The Hyuuga, it seems were just as prideful and overconfident as most people these days, thinking they had everything secured and under control. Without experimentation though, without testing the limits of a thing, how were you to ever know it's weaknesses? The world was always changing, and shinobi were devising new and exciting tactics each and every day. The Caged Bird Seal was centuries old. Something that old had no doubt, outlived its peak performance, especially if it wasn't being adapted for the times.

Now she had two Byakugan eyes, and not a single clue with what to do with them. Thankfully they were safe in a storage scroll now and would remain in perfect condition until she removed them. Maybe she could sell them, or perhaps just one of them, to a foreign nation. That could provide her all the money she could ever need and allow her to escape this place.

She mused on that idea for a long moment before a smile colored her lips. She had two eyes, so she could sell one, and keep the other.

"Wasn't there that incident a few years back regarding an attack on the Hyuuga clan by Kumo ninja? I think that would be an excellent place to start." Madara noted.

Narumi grinned to herself, a plan quickly forming.

-A few weeks later-

A troop of Kumo shinobi were racing through the rocky, mountainous terrain of the Land of Lightning, headed back towards Kumogakure when a strange figure appeared in the path before them.

"Who are you?" Came the question from the lead shinobi. The figure before him was short, looking to be only a child. They wore a long dark cloak draped down to the ankles, and a crimson red mask with black flames burning inward from the cheeks and forehead, two dark eyeholes stared back at him from beyond the mask.

"I've come to trade something with you Kumo ninja." A young girlish voice spoke from beneath the mask.

"Trade with us? What are you talking about? Go home girl!" The lead shinobi snapped at her, while sharing a glance with one of his comrades.

"I have the Byakugan in my possession. I'm willing to trade it to Kumo for a fair price." Narumi called out to them, just as two members of the squad appeared at her flanks standing several meters away, eying her with suspicion. At hearing her declaration, surprise was the immediate response.

"What did you say?" The lead shinobi questioned.

"You heard me. I have the Byakugan the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuuga clan of the Hidden Leaf. I took it from a member of the clan while he was still alive. I'm willing to trade it to Kumogakure in exchange for payment." Narumi elaborated.

The group stood in silence as they contemplated her words. The group's leader than glanced over his shoulder at their charge, the person they'd been escorting back to Kumo for a meeting with the Raikage.

A young woman stepped forward, probably in her late teens or early twenties. Olive Blonde hair, and dark eyes. Her forehead protector marked her as a Kumo ninja, and from beneath Narumi's mask her Sharingan could see the torrents of chakra burning within this woman.

"What is that, Grandfather?" Narumi questioned.

"That, my dear, is the Two-Tailed Hellcat. This must be one of Kumo's Jinchuriki. My goodness, don't you have all the luck." Madara answered with a hum.

"You claim to have the Byakugan prove it." The woman spoke.

"I'm just a Shadow Clone. I wouldn't risk intercepting a troop of Kumo ninja to make this deal without taking some precautions. Still, you have what I need, and I have something your village wants." Narumi replied.

A small smile touched at the woman's lips.

"Smart girl. And skilled too, creating a Shadow Clone at your age. Ya know, I heard a rumor recently that Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf had been searching for a young girl. And here stands a young girl with the stolen eyes of a Leaf Shinobi." The woman mused, voicing her suspicion to her companions who seemed to quickly come to the same conclusion as she had.

Narumi noticed that some of the Shinobi began to subtly shift into battle stances, readying themselves for a fight.

"I wouldn't advise that. I might be just a clone, but I take attacks against my person very seriously." Narumi warned them.

"Oh, do you think I don't know where you are right now? The real you?" The woman questioned before turning her head across a gorge. There on the far side of it, her eyes settled onto a bush, which she knew contained the real child.

"So, you're a sensor? That's fine, so am I. Don't think I'm afraid of some oversized cat." Narumi spat back ruefully, causing the smile on the woman's face to fall.

"You have very strange chakra. I'm never seen anything like it before. And there's something ominous about you. Something dark, and indescribably malevolent." The woman noted, eying her intently.

"Last chance. Take the offer. All I want is money. Pay me a fair sum and I'll give you the eye." Narumi decided to stop with the posturing and get back on point. She wasn't confident of her abilities to take on a Jinchuriki of all things. That was way outside of the scope of her powers at the moment.

"Fine, we'll take your offer to the Raikage. Wait here, someone will be back with a response." The lead ninja spoke after sharing a quick conversation with the Jinchuriki. The troop quickly departed, heading on their way, leaving Narumi behind. She felt some of the tension leave her body, but she knew it was likely they'd try to set a trap. Shinobi were nefarious by their very nature, and she knew not to trust them at their word.

The real Narumi chose to hide, leaving her Shadow Clone with the scroll containing the eye. If they tried to attack her, the clone could just seal it back into Kamui, and keep it from them, while also keeping her safe from any underhanded tactics.

It was nearly twelve hours before a troop of Shinobi returned, the Jinchuriki amongst them, though leading the pack was a massive man, built like a tank. He had dark skin with light blonde hair. He towered over her, rippling muscles adorning his body. A small mustache and beard wore upon his face, and his eyes held an intensity to them that she was often reminded of when she met her father's gaze.

"You must be the Raikage." Narumi guessed.

"And You're the Fourth Hokage's daughter." A noted, causing Narumi's muscles to tense.

"I can sense the power of the Nine Tails. It's weak, but it is there." The woman from before confirmed.

"So, you're the missing child the Leaf is pursuing with such tenacity. I can understand why, now." A spoke.

"Have you come to accept my offer?" Narumi questioned him.

"Hmm... perhaps, but first I'd like to know something, why is it that you turned your back on your village and your own family? You've even attacked your own countrymen." A questioned her.

"My so-called countrymen attacked me first, and I didn't attack them, I killed them. Five Leaf ninja, three Chuunin and Two ANBU Black Ops are now dead because they tried me. I know I stand no chance against you, but do you really wanna risk learning the reason I was able to kill those men? I mean... I'm just a clone, but who's to say I couldn't kill one of your own guys before you destroyed me. I don't wanna fight, I came here to make a deal, but if you're unwilling or you intend to try and capture me, then so be it. I'll do what I have to in order to survive." Narumi responded to him, ready to use Amatsumara to summon a red kunai behind the Jinchuriki and launch it at her. She had no idea how it would affect her, but if its effect were the same, then the Raikage would be forced to deal with this problem, instead of looking for Narumi, she'd also have deprived him on a Jinchuriki for a little while, and possibly other shinobi if others fell during the Cat's rampage. Yeah, she'd end up being hunted by Kumo as well, but her intention was to leave the entire continent, they'd never find her out in the rest of the world.

A spent several long moments staring down at the child.

"You understand that dealing with a rogue element from a foreign nation is dangerous business. The Leaf wants you, if they track you here, that could implicate my village in whatever problems you're dealing with. This isn't as simple as you make it out to be." A stated to her.

"They won't track me here. I've got trails leading in every direction imaginable. They're just as likely to believe I came here, as they are to believe I went to any of the other villages." Narumi assured him.

"You were caught once." A pointed out.

"I could have fled. It would have been easy for me to get away from them, but when I saw they had a Hyuuga amongst them I saw an opportunity to get what I needed." Narumi countered.

"And what is it you want? Money? What for?" A questioned.

"So that I can escape the Hidden Leaf. The how behind it is my own business. So, I'll ask one last time Lord Raikage, are you interested?" Narumi questioned him.

A was silent for a moment before taking a step forward.

"I've never met a child like you before. There's something remarkably unsettling about you girl. I don't how you plan to do it, but I doubt you'll last long. The Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf are tenacious, and they won't forgive the deaths of so many of their own. Run all you like, eventually they'll find you." A stated to her.

"I know, but when they do, I'll be ready." Narumi responded with confidence.

"I see. Very well, show me the eye." A instructed. Narumi nodded, and removed a scroll from beneath her cloak, she opened it, and removed one of the two jars from the storage seal, the one containing the pristine eye. She held up the vial, which caused A to turn and glance at one of his subordinates, a blond haired man, who stared intently at it.

"I sense Chakra within that eye, it's the Byakugan." The man confirmed.

"Good. Then I see no reason to refuse to make a deal. You wish for money, considering the scope of what you're offering, I'm willing to offer the price for a S-Ranked mission. One million Ryo." A offered to her.

"What do you think Grandfather?" Narumi asked him.

"You could definitely get more for it, but that would require bartering for a higher price, and it would mean staying here longer. There's still no guarantee this wont end in a fight. It's not over until you're home free. In your position I would demand more, but that would be my pride talking, considering I know that it is valuable to them. Still, since it is you, instead of I, I'd go with accepting it. Best to take the offer. A portkey made by the goblins cost eighty-five thousand Ryo, so It's more than enough to by one and use it to get out of here." Madara responded to her.

"Fine, that's more than I need." Narumi replied to the Raikage.

A nodded and turned to one of his subordinates. He gave the man a nod, who then approached Narumi, carrying a briefcase. He opened it, showing the stacks of money inside, as well as the absence of any traps or seals within the briefcase. After a moment, he sealed the case and offered it to her in exchange for the vial.

She handed the vial to him, taking the briefcase as she did. The carried the vial over to the Raikage offering it to him with a bow.

He examined it for a brief moment before turning his gaze back to her.

"A piece of advice kid, I'd make extra certain you spend that well. You're being hunted by a shinobi village. There aren't many places you can hide from such a force, and I know the Fourth Hokage, he won't let you go without a fight. I'd find a nice deep hole to bury yourself in and disappear for good." A said to her before signaling his men to begin heading out.

"Thanks for the advice, farewell." She said to him before turning and racing towards the edge of the gorge to jump in, A watched her disappear over the edge, only for his sensor subordinates to suddenly react and race over to the edge in surprise.

"She's gone." The Jinchuriki stated, unable to spot any signs of the girl.

"I felt the clone's chakra just disappear. That was so strange." The other sensor noted.

"She's the Fourth Hokage's daughter. Teleportation runs in that family. If she used what I think she used, they really will never stop hunting for her." A spoke, drawing their attention back to him. He once more gave the eye a careful look before smirking to himself.

"I don't know what kind of madhouse you're running in your village Fourth Hokage, but your loss appears to be my gain." A thought to himself before turning to head back towards Kumogakure, his subordinates quickly joining to follow behind him.

"Do you believe her my lord, that she killed five Leaf Shinobi?" The Jinchuriki asked.

"If you'd asked me a year ago, I'd have doubted it. That girl, she couldn't be more than ten, given her height. But then the Uchiha were wiped out by a thirteen-year-old boy. The only thing I know for certain Yugito was that they wouldn't be so openly looking for her, if lives hadn't been lost. If it was just the Hokage's missing daughter, or the Leaf's missing Jinchuriki, they'd be far more discreet. No... someone has died, that I know for certain. That child, she's dangerous. We'd best not underestimate her when next we run into her." A stated.

"You think we will?" His other subordinate asked.

"I'm sure of it. Something in my bones tells me we'll have another run-in with her. So, let's not make the same mistake those idiots in the Leaf obviously have, and mistake her for just a little girl. She's a killer and should be acknowledged and treated as such." A said to them, making sure that they were on the same page as him. That girl was no mere child. She may not have been an official shinobi, but she had the mind of one. That girl was a ninja in all but the paperwork, and honestly, such a thing hardly mattered in their world.

Still, as offput as he was from this interaction it had netted Kumo an enormous bounty and for that, he was pleased.

-Several days later-

Narumi sat by the edge of the river that fed through the capital city of the Land of Fire. In spite of the dangers of being in this country she needed to come here to meet with the Gringotts goblins. She knew for a fact that the ones here could make the portkey that she needed. While they most likely could at the banks at the other capitols, Narumi was unwilling to risk spending any more time in this land than she had too.

She'd already snuck into the city and placed the order for a portkey to be made, she also opened herself an account under a new name. All things being equal, and with her intention to head to Europe she chose a European name. Riley had been the name she'd settled on, Riley, it was a name that meant 'courageous' or 'valiant' in Irish which Riley was one-eighth of on her mother's side. Her great grandfather was full blooded Irish, at least according to her mother. She'd chosen the name because she believed these were attributes and qualities that those hunting her would never attribute to her, and so they'd never consider the name or it's like as an alias of hers, she also stuck close to home as most would assume she'd never choose to relate to something that came from her mother.

As for a last name, it was Madara who instructed her to take on the name Uzumaki-Uchiha. The Uchiha part came from him, the Uzumaki from his wife, who had been the ruler of the Uzumaki clan, which made her the second heir to that unofficial bloodline. Minato was first in line, but he didn't know about it, meaning it was a possibility that she could claim the title of Ruley of the Uzumaki. That didn't mean overly much, but it was still a name, and both of them belonged to her.

She considered it, and while acknowledging that it was dangerous, she knew they'd be on the opposite side of the planet, it was unlikely anyone would ever recognize either name, and by the time someone did, and reported it back to the Leaf, she'd be ready for them.

So, with that in mind, she rechristened herself Riley Uzumaki Uchiha, her new name, her new identity, and the person she would be in the coming years. As far as anyone was concerned, Narumi Namikaze was gone, disappeared like a poof of smoke. Hopefully, never to be seen again. Riley Uzumaki Uchiha was what remained, and it was who she was now. That person was whoever she chose to be.

Panting breath caught her ears, and she immediately stood up. There, standing in the shadows behind her was an oversized bulldog. She recognized the lumbering beast, her eyes widening beneath her mask.

"I know you're here." She spoke up. A moment after the final word left her mouth a figure hopped down from the trees.

"Narumi..." A masked figure greeted her. An ANBU of the Hidden Leaf, wearing a dog mask. Someone she knew very well and cared for a lot.

"Kakashi. How'd you find me?" She asked him, ready to fight, if need be, an idea that tore at her heart, as her eyes flickered about, searching for the rest of his squad.

"You've lived in a city your whole life, and they're easy places to get lost in. Plus, my hounds know your scent by heart." Kakashi said to her.

"I hope you haven't come to try and bring me back." She said to him.

"Why did you leave?" He asked in response.

"You know why." She responded darkly.

"Because you killed those men?" He questioned her.

"They killed themselves when they attacked me. They all did. I've only defended myself against the people coming after me." Narumi responded, anger touching at her voice.

"They attacked you?" He questioned, still remaining rooted where he had landed.

"The first two, those ANBU. They came after me, under orders from a guy named Danzo." She said to him, causing him to physically react, like a tensing of the muscles.

"Danzo? You're saying Danzo targeted you? I see..." Kakashi spoke, his surprise fading after a moment as he contemplated that information.

"He tried to capture me, so I killed his men and fled. I knew he'd pin their deaths on me and make me out to be a criminal. It's why I had to leave at that exact moment, not that I wasn't planning on leaving anyway. After everything that happened there, after my treatment and that crap with the Uchiha clan that got Shisui killed. Danzo did that too, ya know! He murdered my best friend, and then tried to capture me for some reason." She explained to him.

"Did Itachi tell you this? About Shisui I mean? That night when you went to the clan household, did he tell you this then?" Kakashi asked her.

"Yeah. He also told me the truth about why he did it." She responded darkly.

"What? What do you mean by that?" Kakashi questioned.

"You know about the Masked Man right? The Fourth told you about him?" She asked him, gaining a nod of affirmation she continued, "Well I'm guessing he either hid this information from the elders and the council or he just didn't grasp that the man was working alone. Regardless the council blamed the Uchiha for the Nine Tails attack all those years ago. They treated them terribly due to their suspicion and the Hokage either let it happen or encouraged it. Either way, the Uchiha began planning a coup to retaliate for the years of mistreatment. Shisui was sent to end the conflict peacefully but was killed by Danzo to prevent that from happening, so they went with option B. Itachi was ordered to kill them all, and he did, to stop the coup from happening and spare the village from war. Though honestly, I think he did it for his brother. He knew if it turned into a war the Uchiha would likely lose, so he wanted to save his brother from that conflict. The Masked Man was there that night, he helped Itachi wipe out the clan. Itachi went with him after it was all over. I think he intends to spy on the man, and eventually kill him if he gets the chance. Itachi saved the village, all because the Council let things get so bad. My best friend died because of that, because of them. The Masked Man, the Council, the Hokage, they're all responsible as far as I'm concerned. If Danzo hadn't come after me, I still would have left. I couldn't stay there anymore. I'm sorry Kakashi. I really am. I wish I'd had the chance to say goodbye to you, and Remus, and the Ichirakus, but I couldn't. You guys, you were the only people who cared about me. The only ones who gave a damn. I don't think I've ever thanked you for that. So... thank you. Whatever happens going forward, for good or for ill, thank you for being my friend, Kakashi." Riley explained the situation to him, finishing it with something she'd always wanted to say to him, but never got the chance to. She had enough regrets surrounding Shisui's sudden death, she didn't need anymore.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Kakashi was silent for several long moments as he digested everything that she'd said. While his heart was warmed by her appreciation, his mind was far more focused on this titanic piece of his village's dirty laundry. He didn't doubt her words for a second. Suicide was never Shisui's style. Cold blooded, ruthless murderer wasn't the kind of person Itachi was. He'd known both of them for years, hell he'd led Itachi as a member of his squad when he'd first joined ANBU, he knew him well. He didn't doubt her at all. Everything made sense to him, much to his displeasure. His long years in service as an ANBU Black Ops meant that he was intimately familiar with the laundry list of crimes and horrors the Leaf had hidden behind closed doors. He knew it wasn't the kind and caring place the youngsters thought it was. It pained him to learn this truth, but he believed it.

"I- I... see... I believe you, Narumi. I know the kind of man Danzo is, he's tried to get his hands on me too. I'm sorry this has happened to you." He said to her.

"I appreciate it, you believing me. So... what happens now?" She asked him.

"You should leave this place. No one knows that I left the capitol, but if you hang around too long, some of the others might find you. I know you're fighting to stay alive, and I know what that requires. I won't hold it against you, the deaths of my comrades. I wish I could do something to help you, but I can't. We both know that even if he knew the truth, the Fourth Hokage likely wouldn't call off his ninja. He can't afford to be seen as lenient in the face of this, and Five Leaf shinobi are dead now. I don't know what'll happen if he gets his hands on you. At best you'll end up in a cell for several years until they can 'rehabilitate' you. I don't want that for you, I don't want to see you get hurt anymore." Kakashi said to her, almost imploring her to get away from this all.

"Thanks, Kakashi, you don't have to worry. I'm planning on leaving this land behind. No one is gonna find me where I'm going." She assured him. Kakashi blinked but then let out a sigh of relief.

"You're going to use the same method Remus does to come and go? Good. Leave this place Narumi, find peace, make a life for yourself. Find happiness, you deserve it, more than anyone I know, you deserve to be happy." Kakashi said to her.

"Thanks, Kakashi. I will... for Shisui... I've gotta live for the both of us." She replied.

"He'd be proud of you, Narumi. I know he would. Wherever you find yourself, be safe." Kakashi offered to her.

"You too." She responded.

"Goodbye." He said to her, hopeful that when next they met, it would still be as friends.

"Goodbye, Kakashi." She returned as she watched him leave.

She knew she was unlikely to see him ever again, but she was happy for the chance to see him one more time and say goodbye.

She turned and headed off in the opposite direction. She still had some time left until Gringotts would be done with her portkey, and it was best not to stay here.

She made it about half a mile, when someone appeared in her path.

Another masked figure, this one she was also familiar with.

"Narumi Namikaze. Nice mask." Obito Uchiha spoke, still with the voice of her grandfather.

"What the hell do you want. You know with my powers, I can escape you, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She said to him.

"Oh I know. Kamui is undoubtedly one of the strongest powers the Mangekyou can bestow upon us. You were lucky to obtain it. Still, I didn't come here to fight. I've been looking for you." Obito said to her.

"I'm sure." She growled at him.

"There's something I wished to speak to you about. I overheard your conversation with Hatake. You told him the truth about what happened that night, commendable. I thought it was about time someone shared that same level of honesty with you." Obito stated, she could see his Sharingan staring at her intently from beneath the shadow of his mask, her own matched it.

"Sharing truth? Alright bastard, I'll bite. What truth?" Riley threw back at him, knowing she wasn't anywhere close to ready to face this man.

"The truth about you, that is. About your mother." Obito answered.

"My... mother? What about her?" Riley blinked in confusion.

"I had my suspicions, but after facing you, I knew it was true. You were 'her' child." Obito began, earning confusion from Riley.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him.

"My attack on the Leaf village over eight years ago. The Nine Tailed Fox. I was able to control the Fox with the power of my Sharingan. Though that still leaves the question, where did I acquire the Fox?" Obito continued.

She eyed him with uncertainty as she waited for him to continue, Madara as well, was listening along.

"You aren't the first Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. It had two others before you. The first was Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage." Obito explained.

"She is also your great aunt. She was my wife's younger sister." Madara added in.

"She held it only briefly until Hashirama finished constructing a temple to house the Great Beast and keep it pacified. It remained there until after his death. Eventually it would be removed at the orders of the Third Hokage and the advice of Lady Mito. The Leaf needed a weapon after all, so a Jinchuriki was chosen. Lady Mito's own great-granddaughter, Kushina Uzumaki. The grandchild of the youngest of their three children. She was nearly a full blooded Uzumaki, even had their signature red hair and violet eyes. She was the one who secretly carried the Nine Tailed Fox all of these years. The Hidden Leaf Village's secret weapon." Obito laid it out for her.

"What does she have to do with my mother?" Riley asked him.

"She is your mother." Obito answered directly.

"What?" Riley blinked at that.

"You heard me. Kushina Uzumaki is, or sadly, was your real mother. She had a very close personal relationship with you father, helped to teach him in sealing, and he became her protector on many of their missions. They grew close, though he chose Lily Evans in the end, it was always up in the air about how close the two had gotten with one another. You see... I know the truth. Though he did not choose Kushina as his wife, that did not mean he didn't choose her. Lily Evans you see, is sick. She has an illness, a magical one that prevents her from having children. Causes her magic to attack the embryo resulting in a miscarriage. Horrific to go through from what I've heard. With help from Tsunade they learned that there was a strong chance that Lily could still mother a child, just so long as it didn't have Lily's magic. Desperate to prevent her husband from leaving her and knowing of his close bond and affection for Kushina, it was Lily who suggested that they approach her with an offer. Lily knew how close the two were and had always suspected something deeper was shared between them, perhaps in the past, perhaps even now. Minato may have chosen her, but that love was not unconditional. He needed children, he wanted them, and Lily had to provide, or she risked losing him. So, she convinced him to approach Kushina, and allow her to be the doner. You see... a ritual exists in magic, one that Lily knew about and later learned alongside Tsunade, that allows for the safe transfer, along with magical and blood adoption of a fetus from one person to another. They intended to perform this ritual on Kushina. The idea was, that by using a bit of sex magic, parts of Lily's DNA could be mirrored onto the child, replacing some of Kushina's. In essence, the resulting child would have three genetic donors. They could then transfer the baby which would only have Lily's DNA and not her magic, to her womb so she could carry it to term, and birth it. Kushina agreed to their proposal on the condition that they performed all of the needed elements the 'old fashioned way'. As it were. She'd get the chance to actually be with the man she no doubt loved, and they'd get the child they wanted." Obito explained it all for her. Riley felt her mouth fall open and go dry as he began explaining. The more he spoke and the more complex this became, the more she started to believe him.

"It was a half-step for Kushina, but she was likely desperate. Minato was 'reluctant' to agree, at least in front of his wife, but Lily had resigned herself to it, despite her jealousy. So, they did the deed, as many times as it took for Kushina to become pregnant, and upon the appointed day, she fulfilled her obligation and passed over the child to Lily. All went swimmingly. A job well done. That is, until Kushina continued to show signs of developing pregnancy. Her doctor revealed that she was still pregnant, and overjoyed as she was, she wanted to keep this one. She figured there wouldn't be any issue, she was more than happy to pretend the child belonged to someone else, and all of this talk of children reminded her of the family she no longer had. She wished for a family of her own, and now she had it. So she hid the truth from Minato and Lily for as long as she could. Once she started showing signs though, they had no choice but to question her on it, and she revealed the truth. It came to be learned that Kushina had conceived twins, and the ritual had only taken one of the two children, not both. A storm of emotions was shared between them. Lily was furious at the whole situation, her jealousy swiftly returning. Minato was angry, confused and disappointed with Kushina's dishonesty, and Kushina herself was desperate to hold onto this child, hoping beyond hope that she could keep it, that they wouldn't demand she hand it over to Lily. It was Lady Mito's intervention though, that led to things turning out how they did. She revealed something to them at that moment. A truth that none of them knew. You see, there is a certain danger for female Jinchuriki when they are pregnant. Chakra that is meant to power the seal containing their respective Tailed Beast gets siphoned off to the baby. As a result, the Seal weakens bit by bit, the longer the pregnancy occurs, all the way up to the moment of birth. At that moment, the seal is at its weakest, and the mother is consumed by pain, and stress, and emotion. The Tailed Beast within has its best chance of escaping at that moment." Obito continued with his narrative, all the while Narumi hung on his every word.

"What was left to do? They couldn't transfer Kushina's baby to Lily, she was already too far along, and the shock of placing a child already so far along inside of her would likely cause great harm to Lily and kill both children in the process. So, what remained? Kill the child, or let her have it, and risk the village. Kushina naturally wanted to keep the baby, again promising to raise it herself and keep to herself, she'd never tell anyone who the child's father was, or infringe on the Hokage's life, it could just be their secret. The problem was, Kushina was no ordinary shinobi. She was the Leaf's Jinchuriki. She needed to remain in tip-top condition and be ready for deployment at a moment's notice. This pregnancy was already showing its detriments as it stole more and more time from her training and allowed her skills to dull. It would already be a few weeks after the pregnancy to recover and begin training again, but to raise the child? That would be a full-time job. No... if the baby lived, then someone else had to raise it. Kushina simply couldn't be the one to do it. She raged against that idea, but Mito rightly pointed out that it was the truth. She was the village's weapon, she needed to be in the best possible condition in the event that she needed to be used. Playing mother would ultimately weaken the village's ability to defend itself, so it couldn't be done. Kushina fought tooth and nail, but ultimately the Hokage, the Elders, Lady Mito and Lily, none of them would listen. So desperate in fact was she to have a family again, to have this child, that her rage began sparking a reaction. Even now the seal had weakened significantly, and Kushina was a woman known for her temper. Before she even realized what was happening, she was surrounded by blood red chakra and beginning to run amok. Thankfully Minato was able to teleport her beyond the borders of the village to stop anyone from seeing the outburst, but it took a great deal of effort to restrain the enraged Jinchuriki and at its end Kushina was left unconscious. After seeing her reaction and knowing that the village would be placed in great peril if Kushina was left to her own devices, it was decided to place her in a medically induced Coma for the remainder of the pregnancy. After it had ended, and she'd given birth, the Yamanaka Clan would be brought in, to rewrite Kushina's memories of the whole affair, erasing all evidence of the pregnancy itself. She'd never know that it happened." Obito carried on, watching her closely as he explained everything, analyzing her reaction.

"What happened to her?" Riley asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I held no ill will against Kushina Uzumaki, but she had something I needed. She awoke from her coma for only a few moments to give birth to you. Dazed and confused, she was unable to resist when I came for her and stole her away from the prepared birthing chamber. I released the Fox from within her, inflicting a mortal would by removing that dense collection of Chakra. I intended to have the Nine Tails finish her off, but Minato arrived just in time to save her. A part of me suspected it was so that he could seal the Fox back inside of her, which, theoretically could have saved her life, especially if they had Lady Tsunade around. Considering you no Carry part of the Fox and your sister the other part, that tells me that he made a different decision. Without sealing the Fox back into her, there was no hope for Kushina's survival. She died that night, all those years ago, you likely being the last thing she saw. Minato no doubt granting her that final kindness, before the end." Obito finished explained what had happened, tears of pain streamed from Riley's eyes, as she took what he said and used it to answer all of the questions of her life.

Why did her parents hate her? She was the child they didn't want. They were just stuck with her. For Minato, she was a reminder of an old flame that he'd likely loved and lost, and for Lily, she was a reminder of the woman her husband loved so very dearly, and to whom she owed the very life of her own precious daughter. Lily had been jealous of Kushina, and despite the twins being full twins as they carried all three of the same genetic donors from the same conception, she saw one as her daughter, and one as Kushina's. She hated Kushina, and so she hated Riley.

"So that's it? That's why they hate me? Some stupid drama from the past? A mother who can't let go of her jealousy towards a dead woman, and a father who... I don't even know what his problem is. Why did you tell me this?" She questioned him, glaring hatefully at the man.

"You deserved to know. All your life you've wondered, haven't you? And now you know the truth. I don't expect it'll change things between us. As one of the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails we are destined to come into conflict with each other, and yet still, knowing the truth was important. It was important that you knew what they tried to keep hidden, and why you were destined to walk alone in this world." Obito said to her.

She was quiet for several long moments, caught on the verge of heartbreak. Finally, tears spilled from her eyes as she toppled over it, a realization settling in her mind. "Even if everything you said had come to pass. Even if they stole her memories, and I was raised like I was, she'd still be alive. She'd be out there, and I could go and find her. Because of you though... because of you, my mother is dead. Because of you, this truth leaves me with nothing, but this burning hollow feeling in my chest. The only catharsis I get from any of this, is that one day, I'll avenge my mother for all the wrongs brought upon her. Minato, Lily, Mito Uzumaki, the elders, The Third Hokage, the Council, the Village. She suffered for and because of them! I will never forgive any of them for that! But you, Obito Uchiha... you killed her! YOU! KILLED! HER!" Riley roared with inhuman, hellish malice.

Hearing his name spoken, Obito was momentarily stunned. How did she know that? How did she know who he was?

-Inside of Riley's Mindscape-

Deep within Riley's body, her rage boiled, igniting the magic in her veins like hellfire.

Within a metaphysical cage, a great demon slumbered. Her rage hammered against the cage, lashing it like an unbridled storm. Slowly, the Fox opened its eyes.

In a moment, it rationalized its position, and where it was. A moment later recalling the events that led it to this point. A second more, and it viewed the life of its newest host, watching through the short life of Narumi Namikaze, up to this moment.

"Madara... you...!" It began.

"Not now Fox! Your awakening has little bearing on what is about to happen. Save your snarls for later." Madara threw back at the great beast, his disembodied voice coming from beyond the boundaries of the cage.

"Impudent bastard! Damn you! What I wouldn't give to rip you limb from limb! You're right though, this fight may just prove interesting. If only I had my power, I could lend her some so she could tear that wretched copycat apart!" The Fox snarled in rage.

"Oh, poor little foxxxx..." Came another voice. Though he had no body, and existed only as a voice, the Fox could detect Madara reacting to the sound of the voice as well.

"What is that?" Madara questioned.

The Fox was silent for a moment as it tried to reach out with its senses. In an instant the Fox felt his whole body tense as fear lanced through him.

"Wh-What are you?" The Fox questioned. The Nine Tailed Fox was a gifted sensor, arguably the best of the Tailed Beasts. His senses were specifically tuned and yet had a near limitless range. This power was called Negative Emotion Sensing, and it allowed the Fox to sense negative emotions, familiarize them to a specific magic, and then track and recall that specific combo anywhere in the world. If the Fox had met you once, it would always be able to find you again, because of this power. When he tried to reach out to this unknown voice, he was struck by the darkest, and most vile emotions it had ever felt. Pure evil were the only words to describe this unknown entity.

"No time for that nowww... This one, he speaks the truth to force her to commit, to keep her from running. He intends to capture her. Mustn't allow it. Allow meee... Foxxxx..." The twisted and hellish voice spoke.

"What?!" The Fox began, only to feel this unseen voice reach out to it. Like tendrils of ice rapping around its soul, it felt the intrusion of this unknown thing. It was a violating, penetrative act, that felt all kinds of wrong to the ancient beast, and yet.

The Fox's eyes snapped open, it felt power coursing into it. Torrents of raw power. Not what it what had, nowhere close, and yet...

"Do what needs to be done! Do as you said! Let this weak little boy finally joy his beloved in the pits of hellll!"The twisted voice spoke.

Madara watched on, unable to do anything to halt or impede this. All he could do was watch. What was this thing? What was this alien, demonic, nightmare that had manifested itself in his granddaughter seemingly out of nowhere?

"This thing... its powers are vast. I've never felt such evil before." The Fox spoke.

"What is it?" Madara asked.

"I do not know, something ancient, something... powerful. The answer will come in time, for now though... I shall not waste this opportunity!" The Fox spoke, finishing with a mighty roar, that unleashed a blast of demonic chakra, flooding Riley's veins with it.

-Outside-

Obito watched her rage consume her. He knew now that she wouldn't try and run off. All he had to do now was outlast her. He knew the limits of Kamui far better than she did, and he had a plan to overwhelm her usage of it.

He stopped when he spotted something odd. His Sharingan, able to perceive chakra, spotted a red flame ignite in her belly, at the origin point of the seal. It then began to spread, flooding throughout her chakra network.

"Impossible! She shouldn't have any of it's chakra!" Obito thought in disbelief as Riley unleashed a scream of rage, that caused demonic chakra to explode out of her. Wind raced by him, flooding the forest with a gale-like winds.

In an instant, she began her attack.

The ground exploded beneath her feet as she rocketed towards him. She aimed a flying kick at his chest which missed completely as she passed right through him.

She landed on all fours, her movements becoming erratic, more bestial as a red aura of chakra burned around.

She turned and launched at him again, clawing and kicking at her, trying to tear him to pieces.

"You know such attacks have no effect on me. This may have been a surprise, but it changes nothing." Obito spoke, allowing her attacks to casually pass through him.

"The light... call upon the light! Use yoouur eye. The light connects to all reality. The light wiiilll be his undo-ing." A dark and hellish voice growled into her ears. At any other moment she would have been scared out of her mind, hearing something like that, but in her current state, consumed by rage, her only response was to try it's suggestion.

In her hand, a blade of yellow light appeared, she cut at him, a strike he lazily side stepped, barely attempting a dodge as he allowed it to pass through him, and pass through him it did, just not in the way he expected.

A sharp pain shot up his arm, and he quickly hopped away. He landed several meters back and glanced at his arm. A cut was there, a cut through his robes, and down to the flesh. A thin trickle of blood drained out of the wound which began to heal. Normally such a small cut would have healed in mere moments, but in this case, it was much slower, still visible to the naked eye, but a think occurring over minutes instead of seconds.

"What? Did I mistime that dodge? There's no way..." Obito thought to himself, turning his gaze back to her, only to see the yellow blade spiraling through the air at him as she threw it.

He turned sideways and dodged it, allowing the blade to slowly pass by him. He raised his arm, just enough to allow the spinning blade to catch the cloth of his robes, which should be safely in Kamui, he watched in slow motion as the blade cut through the cloth as it sailed by.

"Impossible! That attack was able to strike me inside of Kamui." Obito realized, as a cold tinge of fear shot up his spine.

He turned to her once more. He couldn't see her face behind her red and black mask, but he could tell she'd been watching him and had observed the same thing he had. He didn't need to see her face to know that a hellish grin now stretched across it.

Instantly, a dozen red shuriken appeared between her fingers which she sent sailing at him.

Obito began dodging as she created another set to send after him, and then another, and another. She found it so easy, the strain wasn't there. There was so much power coursing through her.

Inside of her mind, Madara continued to observe, surprised that the weapons created by Amatsumara could actually strike Obito even in Kamui.

"How is this possible?" He questioned aloud.

"The Pocket World of his eyes seeks to hold true to reality. That adherence makes it vulnerable to the manipulation of universal forces. The Light exists here, and it exists there. Whether he is here or there, the Light too exists. She recognizes his power. That understanding, joined with the Light's reality, means that it will strike him, if he allows it to hit." The dark and twisted voice spoke in answer.

"A universal force. Light? The constructs of Amatsumara are made of light? Kamui is a dimension that always attempts to adhere to the reality surrounding the user. It tries to obey the concepts surrounding it. Light exists here, and so it exists there. It also is tied to her awareness. She knows what Kamui is, she knows how he's going to try and avoid her attacks. Because of that awareness of the Kamui dimension, the light can strike him if it passes through him, even if he's partially in the other dimension. Meaning if she lacked that awareness or encountered another form of intangibility that she didn't understand, then her constructs couldn't then strike it. I see. Already this power was one of the most versatile abilities I'd ever encountered, but knowing this, it's approaching the likes of Izanagi in regard to its usefulness." Madara rationalized the entity's explanation.

"Iiiit is a power limited only by imagination... One day she will shape reality itself with it." The unknown voice spoke.

"The power to shape reality, just like the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Huh... I guess I was right... she will be the one to reshape this world of ours. But the world she builds... it will be real." Madara realized, as his focus returned to the fight.

Obito continued to dodge the onslaught of red shuriken, intermingled with a few yellow ones as well.

He dodged them all, avoiding any further damage. He was retreating from her, racing away as she chased him. He kept his eyes on her, avoiding the incoming attacks thanks to his speed and his Sharingan.

His focus was one her, and so he did not see when a wall of red energy appeared behind him and he ran right into it.

He let out a growl of annoyance as he took note of the wall.

"Not just limited to weapons, eh?" He earmarked for later. "Wait, how did this get in front of me?"

His answer came when two swords, one of red energy and one of yellow appeared above him on either side, angled down towards him. In an instant they were accelerated at him by an unseen force. He dove forward into a roll to avoid the two blades as Riley came to a halt a dozen meters away.

He caught sight of them, forming around him, blades of red, and yellow energy in all shapes of forms. They appeared and launched at him, one by one. He dodged, dancing about as the blades appeared faster and faster and faster.

"So much power, so easy!" Riley realized. She felt indestructible, her stores of energy near limitless. She had no idea where she was getting this strength from and at the moment she didn't care. She'd never even come close to this level of control over Amatsumara though calling in control was a falsehood. This had nothing to do with control, it was all power. She was simply pumping out so much power that the control no longer mattered. It also didn't really matter how fine-tuned or precise her creations were, they just needed to exist to perform their task.

Obito move as fast as he could, dodged and dancing around the blades, trying to avoid being struck. His robes were cut, and he felt the energy weapons cut and nick his flesh. He was growing more and more worried and angry. How was she doing this? Why was it having so much of an effect on him? Where was she getting this power from? He'd come here with a perfectly laid plan to ensure she didn't run away, and here he was on the defensive, fighting to stay alive, desperately trying to escape this storm so that he could run away and escape fully into Kamui.

"I'm sweating. This child! Minato's wretched spawn, is actually making me sweat!" Obito realized as he felt his worry and anger continue to grow. It was like every tiny bolt of pain that he felt, furthered these emotions. None were more than nuisances and yet each one seemed to have a visceral reaction to him. Was it pride? Was he simply so used to being untouchable that he was reacting this way now? His nerves were becoming more frayed, as he envisioned her face beneath the mask. He could almost see it, a wide grin splitting her face in two, filled with far too many teeth. He felt his heart beginning to pound in his ears, a reality that stung at him more and more as it grew louder and louder.

His rage was growing as well, the idea of capturing her falling to wayside. If he got through this, he'd kill her, tear her limb from limb. He'd break every bone in her tiny little body and force her to crawl for his amusement.

So many weapons and tools flooded the air, were he any other shinobi, were he without the Sharingan, this onslaught would have killed him.

Every time he saw an opening to advance through the storm, he found himself taking it, despite his desire to retreat. Every time he saw an avenue of retreat, he took it, despite his desire to murder her. His mind was fracturing, splitting in two, fear and rage. Both were building within him when suddenly, a realization struck him.

"I'm being poisoned! These weapons, some kind of chakra poison perhaps. The rage, the fear, the anxiety, every cut, every scratch she's infecting me with these toxins." Obito realized.

Focusing his Sharingan he watched as a red axe went sailing by him, he stared into it as it sailed by. Within the crimson red of its structure, he could almost make out images of himself. The slaughter of every person he hated, reflected like fractal images within the structure of the axe. He could see himself killing Minato, and Kakashi, and this bastard girl, he could see them all dying at his hands. His eyes flickered to a yellow sword that lanced by him. In it, he saw Riley's grinning face. That hellish, inhuman face. That grin with too many teeth.

He felt a very real chill wash over him.

He dropped low to the ground, speeding through hand signs as he did. "Wood Style: Great Tree Spear!"

He slammed his palms into the ground, just as a yellow knife sailed a quarter inch past his left ear. From all around him, tree branches erupted, causing Riley to cease her assault in surprise and back away as the branches grew thick and upwards, twisting and forming a wall around Obito separating him from her view.

Within the cover he'd made, Obito took the opportunity and activated Kamui retreating from the battlefield before he absorbed more the poison. He needed to rethink things. He needed to get his head back on straight. He far outclassed her, but if she managed to turn him into a raving lunatic torn between all-consuming rage, and crippling fear, then he'd be easy pickings. She had caught him by surprise with all of this, and now he had to rethink everything. Escaping with his life was a victory in and of itself. She couldn't surprise him with these things again.

Riley spent the better part of two full minutes pounding her fists into the bark of the wooden walls, angrily growling at Obito's escape. The power that had once flourished inside of her body, began to fade and drain out of her, and she was starting to feel more tired than she ever had in her life.

"Hey, before you pass out, you should probably go into Kamui Leaf shinobi and people from the capital might have sensed the fight, and they could be here any moment. You don't want to lose consciousness here." Madara warned her.

Riley let out a growl, and gave the wooden wall one final punch, bloodying her knuckles a bit more before doing as instructed.

She didn't truly grasp how tired she was until she appeared in her Kamui dimension and instantly passed out, the left side of her face stained red with blood from her abundant use of Amatsumara. She fell into a dreamless sleep, and wouldn't awaken for almost twelve hours.

When she did, she found her body heavily fatigued and she felt more or less like crap.

"Using the power of a Tailed Beast for the first time is an incredibly taxing endeavor. It'll take some getting used too." Madara expressed to her upon awakening.

"Is that what happened? I don't even know. I just felt this unspeakable power rush into me. I felt like I could do anything." Riley said in response, sitting alone in the darkness of her pocket dimension.

"That power may have come from me, but it wasn't my power. It was shaped into my power, but it came from somewhere else." Came another voice, startling Riley.

"Who's that?" She questioned.

"The Fox is awake; your outburst seems to have finally jarred him from his slumber. Him and something else..." Madara answered.

"What does that mean?" Riley asked.

"It means you have more than one demon living inside of you, brat." The Fox answered.

"I do? How did that happen?" She questioned.

"No idea, and your asshole grandfather isn't much help in that department either. Nothing in your memories indicates when you picked this thing up, but it had to be a long time ago. Whatever it is, it's like it's contained within an egg. It's not awake yet, or at least not fully awake, but it is conscious. It seems to be sleeping right now. If I had to guess, the death of your friend Shisui woke this thing up, but it can only manifest at times when your anger reaches its peak." The Fox said to her.

"When my anger reaches its peak... yeah..." Riley hummed thoughtfully as she remembered what all Obito had said to her.

"In case you were wondering, he was telling the truth. I lived inside of Kushina for most of her life. Though it loathes me to involve myself in lowly human affairs, I can confirm that he was accurate in his retelling of events. He was also accurate in that Kushina yearned for a baby of her own. A child to raise. She wanted a family, more than anything else. Those things were very much true." The Fox offered to her, causing fresh tears to spill from Riley's eyes as she cursed the world for cheating her out of having a loving mother.

"Damn them all, damn that Obito, damn why can't I stop crying!" Riley snapped in frustration.

"Because you're in pain, my dear. It happens, even to the best of us. Let it out. Allow yourself to feel that pain. Take it and grow stronger from it. Let these fresh wounds to your heart, heal over and make you stronger." Madara said to her. A bitter pill to swallow, but she knew he was right.

So, as much as she hated herself for it, she cried. She sat there, alone in the void, and cried her eyes out.

An hour passed before she was ready to talk more, to try and take her mind off of wondering about every possible scenario for her life had her mother lived.

"Hey Fox, uh thanks for telling me that. Confirming it I mean. If you don't mind, maybe sometime, can I ask about her?" Riley inquired.

"You're asking me?" The Fox queried.

"Well yeah, it's only polite to ask people for things, or to make sure they're alright with helping. Just assuming is what gets you in trouble." She responded.

"Hmm... your remarkably more polite that I would have thought you'd be having this prick living in your head." The Fox noted, causing Riley to choke on her next words as she stifled a snort of amusement.

"Ah, your opinion of me means the world Fox." Madara hummed.

"So, you two know each other?" Riley guessed.

"We have a history." Madara answered back with a metaphorical shrug.

"History. This impudent little whelp used those accursed eyes to control me and had me fight the First Hokage for him. By my reckoning he's the reason I've been locked inside of Jinchuriki for thirty plus years." The Fox snapped back.

"Oh, that makes sense then. I'd say I'm sorry for that, but I get the feeling that would just be patronizing." Riley surmised. Obito had managed to control the fox with his Sharingan so it didn't surprise her to learn that her grandfather had too.

"Hmm... well you're certainly more insightful than your mother ever was." The Fox hummed, causing Riley to blanch.

"Um..."

"Yes, she was an airhead. A lot like Naruko actually. It's weird, she gave birth to you but you're more like your father, meanwhile Lily gave birth to Naruko and yet she's almost a carbon copy of Kushina." The Fox stated, causing Riley to let out a grunt of annoyance.

"Well... That's something, I guess. Still, you didn't answer my question from before. Is it alright if I ask about my mother?" Riley steered the conversation back towards the original topic.

"You'll have to earn it. If you wanna know about her, you'll need to earn it." The Fox said to her.

"Earn it, how?" She wondered.

"You possess the Rinnegan. I've seen it in your memories. You have the ability to awaken those eyes. If there's one thing in this world, I will not allow it is for those eyes to fall into the hands of a weak-minded, weak-willed, runt, to be used and abused without a care in the world. Those eyes mean something, and those blessed to carry them should carry that legacy with far more dignity than even the greatest amongst you wretched kind." The Fox said to her, its tone leaving no room for doubt that it held those eyes in high regard.

"These eyes mean a lot to you Fox..." Riley noted.

"They were the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, my father. I will not tolerate disrespect to them, nor to the legacy carried within. Those are the eyes of God, and nothing short of a god should wield them. If you want me to tell you about your mother, then you'll be worthy of those eyes. You'll wield them with a level of fortitude and commitment your kind is rarely capable of. I care not what you do with them, good or ill, but you will be worthy of them. When people speak of you, and those eyes, and they place you in the category of the Sage himself, you better damn well be worthy of it. The Sage was the best of you, and though humans have long spat on his memory and forsaken his gifts, I will at the very least guarantee that when people see those eyes and see a reflection of that great man, they remember that they were nothing compared to him. That they are insects by comparison, and nothing more. I don't ask you to live up to his legacy, I demand that you rise out of his shadow and prove that their stories come nowhere close to the truth. That is my price, child. Remind the world what true power is, that all that they are now was born of the foundations that he set, and that even after all this time, all of their so-called progress, with terrifying ease, it can all be stripped away. That is what it will cost you. To surpass them all and show the world the true power of magic." The Fox commanded her, setting forth its offer for her.

"Alright then. That's what I intended to do anyway, to be the best I can be. I guess I'll just have to aim for better than even that." She responded, more than happy to accept its deal in order to get what she wanted.

"Not so concerned with making deals with demons. Unwise, but in this case, better for me. Alright then child, we have a deal." The Fox offered to her.

"So, now we discuss what happened before." Madara stated.

"Yeah, what was that? Where did all that power come from? You said another presence was inside of me?" Riley inquired, "And how was Amatsumara able to strike Obito even with Kamui?"

"Well first we'll talk about the latter. I now understand a bit more about Amatsumara, the technique is using light, that's what makes up the constructs you create, they're objects made from light itself. As for the reason why, it was able to strike at Obito in Kamui, the answer is that the light created is using a higher form of magic, and controlling a universal force, one that also exists within Kamui. That, tied to your understanding of the technique and how it works, means that you can strike him, even when he's using Kamui. It's your awareness, coupled with the fact that you're using a type of power that goes beyond chakra, or ordinary magic. If you were lacking one or the other, it would have never worked, but because the specifics, it did." Madara explained to her.

"Wow... light huh? Using light itself as a weapon, that's pretty incredible. I managed to create a new color too, yellow. I wonder what that's about?" She hummed thoughtfully.

"It's fear." The Fox spoke.

"Fear?" Riley repeated.

"Yeah. The color of the light, it corresponds with emotion. I can sense emotions, the red constructs emanated rage, and anger, and hatred. Dark and vile it reminds me of demonic chakra. The yellow constructs were filled with fear, unease, trauma, and nightmares. It's why he began reacting erratically, moving in opposition to himself. Just like how the red constructs can infect victims with rage, the yellow ones can infect them with fear." The Fox explained to them.

"Yeah... that makes sense. But he wasn't nearly as affected as other people were." She noted.

"Remember that half of his body is comprised of Hashirama's cells. He has accelerated healing. It means that the infections brought on by these weapons can be blunted, and possibly even healed. We shall see if Obito recovers or not to know the truth." Madara reminded her.

"Huh... Okay. And that power, that came from the other entity, that it gave to you." Riley questioned the fox.

"Yeah. It's a demon I think, like me, but far more natural. I am an artificial creation, made by the Sage, this Demon is a natural existence, its powers are vast. Less concentrated than my own, but arguably greater. It linked the two of us together and channeled its powers into me, and I passed those powers into you in order to help you kill that rotten Obito. Though it has returned to slumber, it's powers have begun rebuilding my demonic core, my magical network. Given enough time I'll be back to my old self." The Fox laid it out for them.

"Why is it doing that? No offense but aren't demons evil?" Riley asked him.

"They are, from most people's point of view. Demons are more instinctual creatures than anything else. So, this being might be a fiend or a devil, and before you ask the differences are simple, demons are like animals, and the stronger ones, like me, are more like natural disasters. Were it not for the way I was made by the sage, I wouldn't be as intelligent and articulate as I am. Demons with my level of intelligence are very rare. Fiends are the middle ground, think barbarians or tribals. Half-way to savage but the ability to grasp the full breath human intellect. And devils are the smart ones, geniuses, master strategists. They're the guys who are always five moves ahead. All of them can collectively fall under the umbrella of just being demons, but there is a distinction, and it matters in knowing what you're dealing with. This thing may very well be a fiend or a devil, it's level of control in repairing the damage done to me, even while it sleeps signifies a heightened level of control, so I'm leaning more towards devil. As for the why, I think it wants me to help protect you." The Fox answered her.

"Protect me, why would it want to do that?" Riley wondered.

"I do not know, as I don't know it's nature or even what it really is. Its emotions are some of the blackest I've ever seen, yet there is some manner of light there. It has a great fondness, affection, perhaps even love, for you child, and I don't know why. Regardless of the answer, I believe that is why it's trying to fix me, so that I can help protect you." Came the response from the Nine Tails.

Riley had no response to that, as it was clear her companions had no idea what it was either. It was a mystery, and one she hoped to solve one day, for now though, she was left only to speculate.

"Okay... well I guess we'll just have to wait for this thing to wake up again to learn more." Riley thought.

"An astute observation child." The Fox agreed.

"Yeah... alright, well then, I'm sure my portkey is ready. Time to leave this land behind. Once I find a new place to call home, we can start our training Fox." Riley said to him.

"Training? What makes you think I intend to train you?" The Fox responded with a huff.

"Well you want me to be stronger and learn to master the powers of the Rinnegan. I can learn things from Grandfather Madara, but I figured you'd also want to train me and make sure I'm on the right path." Riley replied to him.

"What makes you think I know anything about your human magics to teach you anything." The Fox countered.

"You may not know anything, but you lived inside of Kushina for most of her life. I'm sure she was an exceptional shinobi, being one of Hashirama's grandchildren." Madara countered.

"Alright, fair enough. I'll teach you the things that Kushina knew, and if I regain my powers you'll have to learn how to fight as a Jinchuriki, so I guess there are things for me to show you. Fine, but don't expect me to be a kind teacher. I expect all of your effort in learning what I have to teach, I won't waste my time if you're just going to slack off." The Fox finally consented.

"Yes sir! I'd never slack off when it comes to training. I won't disappoint you." Riley offered with enthusiasm.

"Well, you're certainly a spunky little twerp I'll give you that. Still, if I'm going to teach you anything then I have a few rules you need to follow. Firstly, I'm not your pet, or your servant, I'm stuck inside your body, against my will, and if you screw around and disrespect me than the time comes, I get my power back, I won't hesitate to tear my way out of you. Secondly, I never lie, and I don't expect it from you either. You want to lie to others go ahead, but you don't lie to me. And finally, I expect you to appreciate me taking the time to do this. You humans are less than worthless to me by and large, so helping you out is going beyond the measure for me. Follow my rules, and treat me with respect, and in turn I'll show you the same." The Fox instructed her.

"Yes sir. One question though?" Riley inquired.

"What is it?" The Fox responded.

"Well, do you have a name?" Riley asked him.

"A name?" The Fox replied with surprise.

"Yeah, Nine-Tailed Fox isn't a name, it's a tittle. It's what you are, not who you are. If we're gonna show each other equal respect, then it's only right that I ask for your name." Riley clarified.

The Fox was silent for several long moments as he considered that. Only one human had ever asked him for his name. Only one had ever considered that the Fox could even have a name or cared enough to ask, and that had been the First Hokage. Hearing his newest host ask for his name, it left him feeling a bit off.

Several more moments passed by before her answered. "Kurama. My name is Kurama."

"Kurama. Okay. Thanks Kurama, for your help against Obito. I'm not sure what would have happened without it." she said to him, again causing him to blink in surprise.

"This girl... I would have thought, given her life that she'd be more like Madara, but she has a lot of Hashirama in her too. Maybe this won't be so bad. If nothing else, she'll keep things interesting for a while." Kurama thought to himself.

"Yeah yeah, don't get all sappy on me. Let's just get this show on the road." The Fox hummed dismissively, earning a snort of amusement from Madara which served only to irk the ancient beast.

Riley agreed and used Kamui to exit near to the entrance of the bank. It was near to closing time so she quickly snuck inside and acquired her portkey, which would be taking her to Germany, which was the furthest place in Europe it could reach.

She wasted no time and quickly departed, using the Portkey travel to the foreign land, finally escaping the confines of the Elemental Nations and beginning her new life. She had a new companion in Kurama, and a new mystery to explore in this unknown demon living inside of her. All things to explore, for now, she needed to find a place to live, so with that, she set to work finding her bearings and exploring her new home.

-To be Continued-