33 To the Land of Waves

I honestly have to agree with Naruto on this. These missions are rather... boring. Walking a dog, planting some flowers, helping someone paint, and today catching a missing cat. I guess none of us were expecting such menial task to be in the ninja job description, at least they never told us about this stuff in the academy.

The cat gets handed to, if I am being polite, a well portioned woman. Who happens to be the wife of the Fire Daimyo, the cat though doesn't seem to be too happy with her. "Come on gramps give us something else! We been doing this lame missions for weeks!" Naruto already began complaining, though the rest of us don't speak up I think we all feel the same way.

"Naruto, you just became a genin so these missions are appropriate. D rank missions are for genin, C are for chunin, B can also be taken by the more elite chunin, A is restricted to jonin. Each mission completed provides income for the village." The Third explains to naruto

"Come on gramps. I'm not the screw up everyone thinks I am. I want to prove to everyone there is more than me than that" Grandpa seems to smirk at that. "Fine Naruto I will give you a C-Rank escort mission" Whoa good going Naruto "Yea yea! So who we escorting? A princess of some foreign land?" Grandpa shook his head "Let me introduce you to the client"

An old man walks in, he had a straw hat on and a gourd of what is assumed to be alcohol in his hand. Grandpa continues "This is Tazuna, the master bridge builder. Your job is to safely escort him back to the Land of Waves. Protecting him from bandits" Tazuna looks over us "Are these runts the ones escorting me? They don't look to reliable especially that midget over there" Naruto gets made and Kakashi holds him back from charging over.

They all watch me walk over to the old man. Kakashi 'Oh boy' Grandpa 'Ah is he going to do that...' Sakura 'Oh crap, the old man talked bad about Naruto' Sasuke '...'. "What do you want runt?" Tazuna asked me as I stood before him. "You're a bridge builder?" He nods "I am the Great Master bridge builder, I guarantee there isn't a better one in all the nations. I look up at his face with strong burning curiosity in my eyes "Teach me how! How do you make the bridges? Are they rope? What kinda rope do you use? If it is a stone bridge how can you keep it safe from waves?" I began to barrage the old man with questions. Sakura, Naruto, and even Sasuke stumble a bit since they were expecting me to lose my cool.

'Ah this kid always gets like this when something catches his interest.' the Third shakes his head. "Anyway prepare tonight you will head out tomorrow" Tazuna has never seen a child be so interest in bridge building before. But he is really happy to see my enthusiasm for it so me and him talk for hours on the craft. We even diverge from bridges at one point talking about other constructs. Like a ship that can travel by air.

Of course I still had to go home and prepare for the trip but it wasn't too difficult. Naruto seems a bit too excited about this trip since he never left the village. 'Oh before I forget' I head over to grandpas place. "Hey Grandpa I made you something" He smiles "And what did you make me?" From my storage band I remove Three 2 feet long rods. I proceed to connect each rod together making a 6 foot long staff "I know you have a natural affinity with all 5 elements so I made you a weapon with my special metals so that you can use any of them in a fight"

The staff had 5 different colors on it each one moving around the staff. I explain to him that inserting a different chakra affinity changes the effect. Lightning chakra makes the ends pointed for extra piercing power, water makes the staff more flexible, wind makes the staff lighter so one can attack faster, earth makes the staff heavier for more powerful strikes, and fire makes it so every attack causes a mini explosion. I also tell him that the staff can use many combinations for more interesting effects. Like when Earth and Wind are used together it gets heavier but wind, instead of making it lighter, makes crescent moon like blades on the tips with extreme cutting power.

Grandpa likes my gift immensely and thanks me "Thank you this is one of the best gifts I have ever gotten" of course he said this not because of it being a powerful weapon but because I made it for him. He likes when his grandchildren make him things by hand, like konohamaru drew him a picture once and he keeps it like a treasure. We hug then I have to leave to get back to sleep.

[At Home]

After talking with Tazuna for lengths about bridges I got an inspiration for a new jutsu. It actually came to me because I thought of the 'bridge' between me and Gaara. "Naruto can I come in" I say after knocking on his door "Sure Bro" With that I walk in... What a mess. There is a beat up kakashi doll, scrolls lying everywhere, empty ramen cups... Blank Lines form on my face 'Deep breath... Deeeeep breath' whew "Naruto I want to talk to you about something"

"Alright you remember a few weeks ago when we learned you have the Nine Tail Fox sealed in you?" Naruto began to look a little uncomfortable "No it's not anything bad Naruto. Look I thought of a new Jutsu that may allow me to see the nine tails. If I can better understand it perhaps it can help you out" Naruto gets into thought then nods "Alright, I trust you bro" he has been calling me bro ever since that night.

I close my eyes and focus. Making the right hand signs "Mind Tether Jutsu: Bridge Linking" I place one hand on my head and the other on Narutos as an invisible force expands from my mind to his. Then the scenery changes around me. I find myself in a maze, much like my inner one only without the sand.

I can't open the doors, or rather I won't. The doors contain Narutos memories and it would be invading his privacy, besides I have been with him since we were little. 'Now for the pain in the ***' I think to myself as I began walking around trying to find the nine tails. It takes quite a while but time runs differently in the Inner Maze so it may only have been a minute on the outside.

Finally I come across a large cage with a red orange furred beast inside. Even from here I can feel immense power over it. Slowly I approach the cage. I feel an intense hatred coming from this beast. But also there is something else inside it. I don't know why but I feel that this fox is lonely.

Suddenly the beast eyes look open and it stares at me. 'Gulp' "Hmm. Who the hell are you?! You aren't that Naruto brat!" 'Deep breath' "My name is Marix" The fox sniffs the air "grr you smell of that sand b*st*rd! How do you know that fat*** better yet how the F*** did you even get here?!" 'Sand B*st*rd?' "I can't answer the first one because i have no idea what you are talking about. As for the other it is a jutsu... Why do you feel lonely?"

The fox pauses for a few seconds before I sense immense danger 'Uh oh' The fox roars at me and forcibly kicks me out of narutos maze.

In reality. I get stunned briefly as my mind got booted out but I had no time to think of it too much as a blood red chakra began flowing through my link to naruto into me, coating my body. I feel overwhelming hatred invade my mind "N-no" it was like that scene from when I was younger when I attacked Naruto. Quickly I take out a device out of my storage band. Turning it on and pointing it at myself "Grandpa help something taking over. Mind is agh I hate it!"

In the hokages home a video began playing on a monitor showing me being coated in a blood red chakra. "Marix!" 'How the hell does he have the nine tails chakra!' "Quick get Yamato it is an emergency" Back in my home the chakra began forming a tail behind me. Naruto is passed out, perhaps due to the fox. I am trying to fight off the negative feelings entering me. Trying hard to stay calm 'No I won't hate everything!' I keep telling myself 'Why not? Look at you. Abandoned by your real family, the villagers treated you harshly merely because you weren't from the village, someone tried to kill you for your eyes. You help them all the time trying so hard but people still look at you with distrust. Hate them. Destroy everything!' A dark voice whispers in my mind 'No. Grandpa cares for me. I found a girl who loves me for me. I even have friends who would do anything for me. I can't give in!'

Soon grandpa and the man from my childhood arrives and just like that night he uses some jutsu that brings me back to my senses. I collapse down onto all fours panting my body drenched in sweat "T-that fox has soo much hate towards everything" I mumble under my breath, though despite the fox trying to take over my body I can't feel made at it. If I had to describe it it is like a lonely child who is acting out in an extreme way so that he doesn't have to feel isolated anymore.

"Marix tell me how you got the nine tails chakra." Grandpa asked me. So I began to explain to him about how I have a connection to who I believe is my brother, how I learned about the nine tails a few weeks ago due to the scroll incident, and how I got inspiration from Tazuna. "Marix you need to never use that chakra on naruto again. That bridge could put you in danger" I cough looking rather sheepish "W-well I can promise you to not use that jutsu on naruto again but um" I try to avoid eye contact "I uh... I can't remove the bridge" "WHAT?!"

Yea he is angry at me "Well uh it was based on my connection to my brother so uh yea the connection can't be removed... Kinda forgot to take that into account." Grandpa looks at me "So you mean to tell me that you can't remove the link to the nine tails and it can invade your mind at anytime?" I shake my head "No that would require my consent." Grandpa seems skeptical "If that is so then how do you explain what happened?"

"The only it got into my mind this time is because I was already over the bridge in narutos mind and when it forced me out the chakra followed along and hit me while I was stunned. But right now, unless I give permission or I go over the bridge, it can't invade me. Though... I believe it can talk to me though" I scratch my chin. Grandpa sighs 'What am I going to do with this boy? He almost went berserk due to his experiment yet he is acting like it doesn't bother him at all' "Marix... Just please be careful ok" I nod my head

[The Next Day]

I explain to Naruto about what happened, though not about me almost being taken over. I tell him how there is a permanent connection between us now. "Anyway once you learn how to freely enter your mind I give you permission to come over my bridge. With this no matter how far apart we are we should, theoretically, be able to communicate. So I ask your permission to be able to enter your maze whenever as well since it requires consent" Naruto agrees. He seems to be excited that now, even if no one else is around him, he will never be alone since he can talk to his 'brother' at anytime.

[Little later]

We are at the village entrance "Are you all ready now?" Kakashi sensei asked us "Yes!" We all answer. "Good let's set off" Finally we get to leave the village. 'I wonder if there will be anything interesting will happen there' Unseen by Marix his personality is getting closer to Janist. Where as long as something interest him he was happy. 'Well onward to the Land of Waves!"