Naruto, in truth, had lost focus on what was going on around him. The whirlwind of thoughts and emotions flying around him were just too much to ignore. He was a fox demon? The same one that had killed the Fourth and attacked the village? That was why no-one seemed to care? Why he was never acknowledged? At first, he had brushed Mizuki's words off as lies; but mere seconds later it all made sense to him. The hatred directed his way for seemingly no reason, the coldness, the disgust. It all fit with what Mizuki was saying.

He was a demon.

He had killed.

He vaguely recognised Mizuki announcing his attack and launching the shuriken at him, and for some reason, he simply didn't move; instead he just closed his eyes and waited. It wasn't that he had made a conscious decision not to move - or at least, he hadn't consciously had the thought that he wanted to die. Nor was it that the attack was coming too fast for the blond Genin to dodge. Were he the introspective type, he would realise that the revelations of Mizuki had overwhelmed him - that they had completely taken his mind away from the moment and distracted him. It was just too much...

Thud.

The blonde waited for the pain to kick in. He felt a warm liquid splash onto his face, and begin to run across his definitive whisker marks and surmised it was his own blood.

"Naruto, you okay?"

Naruto's eyes flew open, only to be greeted with a bloody Iruka hovering over him, struggling to hold himself upright. He had taken the attack instead of Naruto.

"You need to listen to me Naruto"

Iruka gasped, struggling for breath. He had already recognised what had happened to him. Mizuki's shuriken had been laced with a fast active toxin that acts to paralyse the body entirely. He had been hit by it once before, caught in the crossfire on a mission to Rice Country and so recognised the feeling rather well. This also meant he only had around a minute or so before he would pass out completely after becoming fully paralysed, leaving him unable to protect his student further. He had to get through to the child, or the consequences could be disastrous.

"Naruto, I believe in you. You will make Hokage, I know it." He couldn't think of anything else to say, but looking at the young aspiring shinobi's face, he knew he hadn't been heard. Naruto was too torn up, too engulfed in self doubt to even realise what was happening. Iruka felt his muscles give way as dropped to the ground beside Naruto, unable to remain conscious.

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The sound of Iruka dropping to the ground knocked Naruto out of his stupor. He knew the scarred Chunin was talking to him, but he hadn't picked up on what was being said. Regardless, the wound from the attack shouldn't have caused Iruka that much trouble; even Naruto knew that much. Something was wrong. It was then he heard one word, spoken with immeasurable smugness.

"Poison."

Poison that would explain it! Wait, Iruka hadn't moved. He still wasn't - was he even breathing? Poison. But that would mean Iruka was...

For the first time in his life Naruto was angry. Actually, it was more than that. Naruto was nearly completely consumed with complete fury. He didn't even notice his vision swim red as a vile feeling swept over the clearing and his body was completely coated with blood red chakra. Dark whispers filled his mind as his anger grew, and with it; the amount of the chakra poured out of his body. The blonde was struggling to control his own bloodlust when Iruka's words came to him as if from a distant dream.

"Naruto, I believe in you."

That was all it took to push him over the edge. All that was needed for his mind to stop struggling for control, and for him to lose grip on consciousness and allowed control of his own body to slip away.

...Drip

...Drip

...Drip

Naruto was pulled to his feet out of the water by tendrils of red chakra, his eyes were dull and grey almost as if he were dead. If it weren't for the ragged and course breathing, he wouldn't be showing any signs of life at all. What had been dark whispers of rage and violence at the back of his mind, were now full blown roars that exuded the sheer malevolence of the creature that the thirteen year old now stood before in the dark recesses of his own mind.

"Come closer, boy. I will end all your pain, all your suffering. All I need is one favour and it will all be better. I...promise."

Naruto showed no other signs of being aware of what he was being told until he slowly began to stumble forwards towards the great bars that held the creature at bay.

"Yes, Yes. Good. Now all you need to do is remove that piece of paper reading 'seal' and I promise all of your pain will go away"

Naruto simply reached for the paper and began to pull away. Suddenly, the blonde tensed as the vibrant blue returned to his eyes. It took him a couple of seconds to regain his bearings and to notice the hand that had prevented him from completely removing the seal from the cage that held back the demon.

"I really didn't want it to come to this; but I do get to see how my son has grown...so I guess that makes it even."

The blonde stared up at the man who had awakened him from his trance, whilst the demon roared in frustration.

"Yondaime-sama..."