42

Chapter 41: Growing Pains

Naruto frowned as he walked through the barren wasteland. Squinting his eyes as the sun bore down on him, he tried to use his enhanced eyesight to see if he could discern whether or not there was anything living within this Kami forsaken place. There was nothing. Nothing except for the heat waves distorting the air around him.

"This place..." Naruto murmured to himself in discontent. Even wearing nothing more than a pair of white shorts and an equally white skin tight sleeveless shirt did nothing to quell the heat threatening to bake him like an overcooked turkey. His clothing was liberally caked to his skin as sweat drenched his body only to dry up and leave that disgusting, sticky after feel. "Is this really the rendezvous point where we're supposed to meet our client?"

'Who the hell meets in a place that's so fucking hot?'

'You know, watching you suffer out there almost makes me glad I'm in here where it's always nice and cool. It almost makes being sealed worth it.'

Naruto scowled at the sound of Kyuubi's voice.

'Ugh, sure, rub it in why don't you?'

"That's right brat," Jiraiya answered as he saddled up to the blond, one hand on his hip and the other shielding his eyes like a visor. Naruto scowled. "The Prince of Tsuki no Kuni (Land of the Moon) and his caravan should be coming this way. Our job is to meet up with them and protect the Prince on his journey back to his country. You'll want to keep a sharp eye out. I don't think I need to tell you how important this client is."

"I wasn't talking to you, Jiraiya!" Naruto snarled at the man, the anger and loathing in his voice earning a wince from his sensei.

"Aw, come on, Naruto. Are you still upset about before?"

"Upset? Upset!" Naruto grit his teeth, his larger than average canine's baring themselves angrily at the man. For a moment, his pupils became slitted, before reverting back to their normal round look. "How could I possibly be upset? I mean, I only learned that my own fucking father sealed the Kyuubi into me and that the man who should have raised me decided his time would be better spent whoring himself out and perving on women in hot springs so he could write those filthy novels."

Jiraiya grimaced.

"I already said I was sorry..."

"SORRY DOESN'T TAKE AWAY THE PAIN FROM THIRTEEN YEARS OF NEGLECT!" Naruto bellowed so loudly the noise echoed across the vast wasteland. "It doesn't change the fact that my own godfather, the person who was supposed to take care of me if something ever happened to my parents ignored me for thirteen years of my life and is only now trying to work his way in! You think you can just come into my life after ignoring me for thirteen years!? Think again, Jiraiya!"

With each word that escaped Naruto's mouth, the wound Jiraiya felt opening as he realized how badly he had inadvertently hurt his godson became deeper. He knew the boy would be angry at him when he revealed their relationship. It was only natural that the child would be angry, especially when his past was taken into consideration.

What the Gama Sennin had not expected was just how angry Naruto would be. Even after two months the boy refused to even speak with him except when they were training. And even then, Naruto would speak only enough to get his point across, then he would continue to ignore Jiraiya as if he didn't exist. This was actually the most he had even heard the boy speak in one sitting since he had revealed Naruto's heritage to him.

Naruto turned around so that he would be facing away from Jiraiya. Just looking at him filled him with so much anger it was taking all he had not to rake his claws down the man's face.

"I will accept you as my teacher, because I know I'm not strong enough to look out for myself or defeat a single S-class ninja much less nine, but that's all you are to me now. I refuse to accept you as my godfather!"

As Naruto began marching again, Jiraiya sighed. He did not regret telling his godson of his heritage, because really, the boy deserved to know who his parents were. It was just as he told Tsunade, the boy had a right to know.

That did not mean having the boy he should have raised since his parent's death ignore him like he didn't exist did not hurt. It did. A lot.

Unfortunately, there was not much he could do about Naruto's anger towards him right now. All he could do was complete this mission to the best of his abilities and hope the boy's anger cooled down soon.

'Don't you think you're being a tad harsh?'

'Don't tell me you're taking his side, Kyuubi.'

'You know I'm not. I was just stating that you are being quite harsh and that it's unlike you. And don't take that tone with me. I am not the one who ignored you for thirteen years.'

'No, you're just the reason my parents died,' Naruto said snidely. Almost as soon as he spoke those words he came to regret them. 'Kyuubi ―'

'Do you think I wanted to kill your parents, Naruto? News flash, I couldn't have cared less if they had lived or died. Had they just let me go, I would have simply left that Kami forsaken village and never looked back. I simply wanted my freedom, but your parents refused to give me that. Your mother had to be an idiot and held me down with her blasted chains while your gods be damned father sealed me into you when all I wanted was to be free!'

'Look...' Naruto sighed tiredly. 'I didn't meant that. I ―' he paused, then blinked. 'Hold on, how did you know who my mother was? Jiraiya only mentioned her in passing.'

…

…

'Kyuubi?' When only silence greeted him, Naruto sighed. 'Great, and now I've just pissed off the one person I can talk to in this fucking wasteland. Smooth Naruto, real smooth.'

XoX

"What. The. Fuck?"

Naruto had seen a lot of things in his short life, many of which would cause any civilian and even some ninja to shiver in fear... or lose their lunch. He had traveled to a number of different countries and had seen villages both small and large. From the tiny community at Nami no Kuni where everybody knew everyone else to the great city in Tetsu no Kuni, Naruto could honestly say he had seen things that few ninja could lay claim to.

In all that time, Naruto would freely admit that he had never seen a caravan that was so damn big. Stretching out for what looked like miles were dozens, perhaps even hundreds of wagons that looked like they were bursting at the seems with junk. Dozens of paraphernalia that looked like they had come from all over the world filled the wagons. Naruto couldn't even name half the crap that was stuffed in them.

"Who the hell buys so much stuff?"

"I did."

Naruto turned as the wagons all ground to a halt to see a man trying to squirm his way out of the most extravagant looking wagon of them all.

Trying, being the keyword.

Naruto gaped as the man who looked like he was fat enough to eat at least two Akamichi's for breakfast and still have room left over for dessert squirmed and wiggled his way out of the carriage. The man in question had brown hair that was being covered by a red cap, brown eyes and was wearing an extravagant blue kimono with darker blue accents and blue and white triangles on the bottom. Underneath that were a pair of khaki pants and thrown over the whole ensemble was some kind of tassel with the same blue and white triangle patterns in it and a golden crescent moon at the end. In short, the man looked like one of those fat fucks who did nothing but sit around eating all day and spending money like it was going out of style.

The porpoise, for this fat creature could not possibly be a man, continued speaking as he managed to finally get out of the carriage and walk over to Naruto and Jiraiya.

"I saw so many incredible things in all the lands we visited that I just had to have them. So I just kept buying and buying, and before I knew it, I ended up with all this."

Naruto grimaced. "I see..." so this guy really was one of those fat, lazy members of royalty who spent money without a care in the world. Naruto would bet all the money in his gama-chan and then some that this guy had probably never had to work a day in his life.

It wasn't much of a surprise, but Naruto really hated people like this. Rich, arrogant fools who had so much money they could spend a million dollars a day and not run out in there lifetime. These people knew nothing of hardship, of sacrifice. They didn't know it was like saving every scrap of money you had so that you could afford decent clothes and food that was not spoiled. People like this fat prince had everything they could ever want handed to them on platters of gold and silver there whole life.

At least Sasuke worked for his title of Rookie of the Year. Whatever Naruto's feelings for Sasuke were and had been did not change the fact that Sasuke had trained hard to acquire the talent he had. Maybe not Rock Lee hard, but then, who the hell trains that hard besides Rock Lee and his crazy ass sensei?

No one, that's who.

"I am Michiru." The porpoise now known as Michiru placed his hands on his hips as he looked at Naruto and Jiraiya with an interested expression. Kami, even his voice had that soft 'spoiled prince' ring to it. "The Prince of Tsuki no Kuni. And I take it that you two are my shinobi escorts?"

"That's right," Jiraiya stepped forward. Naruto turned his head to look away from the pair. He had no interest in what they said. "I'm Jiraiya and this is Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure no Sato. We're both here to see you back home safely."

"Hmmm..." Michiru looked at Naruto again, and the blond boy felt violated when the fat fuck eyed his arms. He knew they were pretty ripped for someone so young, but come on, there was no need to stare at them like that. "Well, you guys certainly look powerful. I can tell that I'm in good hands."

"Haha!" Jiraiya laughed boisterously, his hands on his hips and his head tilted slightly towards the sky. Naruto rolled his eyes. "That is correct. You are in good hands. Tsunade knows how important your country is, which is why she sent me and the brat here to escort you. We are currently some of the strongest shinobi Konoha has to offer."

"Is that so? Excellent! Please be sure to look after me and my son on our way home."

Jiraiya's boisterous laugh once more filled the air.

"Don't worry about a thing, Michiru-Dono. The brat and I can handle anything that gets thrown at us."

Naruto grit his teeth as the man called him brat again. Who the hell did this perverted fool think he was? Talking about him as if they were family or something. This idiot didn't have the right to speak of him so familiarly!

Instincts suddenly blared to life and Naruto's eyes snapped wide open. At the same time, his hand shot out and snatched the small projectile that had been aimed at his head out of the air.

He brought the weapon down to get a better look at it, and saw that it was a fake arrow with a suction cup replacing the point. A child's projectile.

"You know, it's considered rude to shoot the person who's going to be keeping your ass safe," Naruto looked in the direction the arrow had been shot to see a young boy who looked like a younger, not fat version of Michiru.

He was wearing what looked like a long, white kimono that split at the bottom and had blue triangles bordering it. Below that were dark gray pants and brown boots. A white shoulder cape of the same color and design as the kimono was also being worn as some kind of decorative piece. Lastly, he had a quiver strapped to his back and was holding a bow in his hand, signifying him as the one who shot the arrow that would have him Naruto were it not for his fast reflexes.

Naruto already didn't like him. Just looking at the child let him know the boy was likely a spoiled brat. And what the hell was with the douche baggish cape?

"I would suggest not doing it again, lest you end up pissing off the wrong person."

The young brat glared balefully at Naruto, who returned the stare with one of his own.

"Ah, I hope you'll forgive Hikaru," Michiru said. "He's at that mischievous stage that boys go through."

"Whatever," Naruto mumbled, turning and beginning to walk away. "I'm going to begin checking the caravan and creating a patrol route. You guys do whatever it is you do." And with that, Naruto disappeared in a blur of speed.

"Wow," Michiru said as Hikaru gawked at where Naruto used to be. "So fast... is this the power of a ninja?"

"Partly, however, Naruto is stronger than most ninja his age," Jiraiya stated proudly. No matter if Naruto hated him or not, he was still proud of how strong his godson had become. "He's actually the most promising of our newest generation of leaf ninja."

"Is that so?" Michiru was suitably impressed, which would have caused Jiraiya to laugh some more as he told the man tales of how great his apprentice was, but there was business to be done. Bragging could wait until later.

XoX

The caravan had begun to move again. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed as the horses pulled the large wagons laden so full with crap only someone who was super rich and not afraid to waste their money would bother to buy that it looked like each one weighted a ton. Despite the heavy loads, the steeds didn't seem to be complaining. Maybe they were used to lugging around loads of crap?

Naruto found himself perched on top of one of the wagons, using it as a lookout point so he could see the entire operation from where he was. All around caravan walked a large number of clones, fifty in all. Their job was to dispel if they saw something out of the ordinary so that Naruto could deal with it.

That was the problem with clones, he lamented. They couldn't do anymore because they were so weak. Even if they had all of his abilities and a good portion of his chakra one good hit would destroy them.

He really needed to find a way to make them stronger. Nothing was impossible and Naruto was sure this wasn't either. All it would take was a little hard work and gumption.

Maybe he could use Kyuubi's chakra to enhance them? Naruto wondered what such a thing would do. It could make his clones more durable and able to at least take a few hits before dispelling, or it might have disastrous results like making the clone unstable enough that it could explode.

Which would actually be kind of useful. The exploding clone jutsu was a powerful technique. How powerful would exploding clone's be when filled to the brim with Kyuubi's chakra be?

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled. "I could just imagine the explosion that would make..." The image of one of his clones blowing up and destroying a small mountain appeared in his mind. That would definitely be awesome.

His small moment of amusement was short lived as the poor mood he had been in since discovering his heritage and that Jiraiya was his godfather returned.

Sighing, the whisker marked shinobi got back to work, looking out over the barren wasteland the caravan was currently passing through. Naruto wasn't quite sure what sort of environment this place would be considered. It was boiling hot like the desert of Suna, but there was none of the sand associated with that place. It was really just dried up and cracked gravel with loads of rocks. Could this terrain even be considered a desert then?

Hmm, better stick to barren wasteland.

Right now the caravan was moving next to a large mountain range made of steep cliff faces. As Naruto looked up at the giant cliff that was probably around the same size as the Hokage Monument in Konoha, his mind went through the information about the mission he and the pervert had been given.

They were actually on a B-rank mission, which would normally be given to a four-man squad of one jonin and three Chunin. With all of their ninja already on various missions, he and Jiraiya had been the only ones with a high enough rank in the ninja hierarchy to qualify. If they had not been able to do it, then Tsunade would have been forced to give the mission to a group of genin.

Not a very good prospect for what could end up being a difficult mission. They were protecting a prince, after all, one who had enough money that he could pretty much spend millions of it on a whim without a care in the world. It was unlikely that this mission would end up going off without a hitch. Especially now that he was here. No doubt Murphy was going to find some way to screw them over before the end of this journey.

'You're always so cynical.'

'I think I have a right to be,' Naruto said, rolling his eyes. 'Just look at my mission record. My first C-rank turned into an A-rank where I fought Zabuza and... Haku, then the Chunin Exams came and then there was the Sasuke Retrieval disaster. And let's not forget that mission to Tetsu no Kuni where I fought that prick Ao and the one in Tori no Kuni with the Cursed Warrior. I think I have a right to be cynical when it comes to the missions I'm understaking.'

'Point taken. You have some of the shittiest luck I've seen for this type of stuff. You're the biggest magnet for trouble I've met.'

'Oh gee, thanks.'

Continuing his survey of the area, his eyes strayed over to the front where Jiraiya was walking alongside the Prince's carriage, talking to the Prince about something with animated gestures and loud belly aching laughter.

Naruto glared at the man for a moment, then decided to ignore him and focus on the carriage itself.

It really was one of the most fancy looking carriages he had ever seen. A large white carriage with golden accents and designs. It looked much more streamlined then the other carriage, which were all large, bulky and plain looking. The thing was obviously designed with the intention of making people green with envy.

Just then, one of the shadow clones guarding the caravan dispelled, sending all of it's memories back to Naruto. This was followed by several more dispelling in quick succession. Naruto's eyes fluttered a bit as images bombarded his mind. Images he got from the clones memories.

Images of several dozen people dressed in filthy rags and bearing rusted weapons. Bandits or highway men most likely.

Opening his eyes, the blond Uzume turned his head and looked up at the ledge the caravan was currently traveling alongside of. There, running down the ledge with weapons bared were several bandits, all of whom were screaming like a bunch if idiots.

Naruto smiled. He had been hoping for an opportunity to release some pent up tension for a while now. He was so pleased to see his wish had finally been granted.

XoX

'That was awfully brutal of you.'

'Kyuubi?' Naruto perked up at the sound of the voice he had not heard since some time yesterday morning passed through his mind. 'Are you finally talking to me?'

'Would you rather I not talk to you?'

'Ah, no. I didn't mean it like that,' Naruto was quick to let her know he wasn't being rude or sarcastic or anything like that. As strange as their odd relationship was, he did not want to give it up, especially when she was the only person he could now talk to since he couldn't even stand the sight of Jiraiya. 'I was just surprised. That's all. I didn't expect you to start talking to me after you cut out so abruptly.'

'I was bored.'

'Ha...' Naruto sighed, 'figures.'

With a deep expelling of breath, Naruto fell backwards on the futon he had been sitting on and looked up at the sky. It was nighttime now. The stars painted the velvety canvas above him like a billion small beacons in the night sky. He had to admit, it made for a fantastic sight.

'You were awfully brutal during that battle today,' Kyuubi continued along her previous line of thought.

'You mean when I fought those bandits?'

'Mm. I don't think I've ever seen you kill someone so violently. At least, not since that time in Nami no Kuni.' Naruto closed his eyes, remembering that time in Nami, the day where Haku had died. 'I have to admit, I was a little shocked at how violently you ripped that guy with the pick axe apart.'

'Ugh.' Naruto grimaced as he took remembered the battle, if someone could even consider that slaughter a battle. It had been so one sided that to call it a complete massacre wouldn't even begin to describe how poorly that fight had gone for the bandits arrayed against Naruto. 'Well, I've been pretty angry recently. What with the pervert withholding information on my parents on top of being my godfather who abandoned me to the hatred of an entire village for thirteen years of my life.'

'I wonder how long you're going to hold onto your hatred for...'

Naruto frowned.

'What do you mean by that?'

'I mean you have never been one to let your hatred get the better of you. You even decided to forgive the villagers of Konoha for treating you like utter shit for years. Yet you hold a lot of anger towards your godfather.'

'It's because he's my godfather that I'm so angry at him.' Naruto closed his eyes as his mind went over the issues he had with the man who should have raised him. 'I can forgive the villagers of their ignorance because they don't know any better. Sure, they could have taken the time to get to know me, but by the time I was old enough for them to possibly move past their hatred, I was beginning to play pranks in order to get attention, which did not endear me to anyone.'

Naruto let out a heavy sigh.

'On the other hand, Jiraiya is my godfather, and he does know better. He was the one who taught my dad everything he knows about seals so he knew damn well that I was not you. That means he ignored me not out of irrational hatred, but out of negligence. I can't forgive something like that.'

'Doesn't the pervert have a spy network to take care of?'

'That doesn't change anything, Kyuubi. Jiraiya had to have at least visited Konoha on occasion to give a report or something. Even if he only spent a week out of the entire year every time he came into Konoha with me, I would have been satisfied, but he didn't. He ignored me. I didn't even know I had a godfather until he told me.'

'And now you're upset that he didn't spend time with you. You humans are always so emotional. I wonder, is it because of how short lived your species are?'

'Yeah, well... I'm not really human anymore, am I?' was Naruto's bitter reply.

'Are you still upset about that? I had thought you had gotten over it.'

'I guess it's just now starting to really hit me,' Naruto admitted. Truth be told after Kyuubi had revealed her theory on what had happened to him after he absorbed half of her chakra, he had pretty much forgotten all about the possibility that he may be immortal. There had been more important things to worry about; the Chunin Exams, the Invasion, Sarutobi dying, the search for Tsunade and his rising in rank to Chunin. In the wake of all that happened, the knowledge that he was not quite human anymore had been pushed into the deepest recesses of his mind.

His battle with Guran had brought those realizations back. Guren, who was more powerful than him, more skilled then him and just plain better than him. Despite his incredible disadvantage, he had managed to fight her on mostly even ground.

It was not because of his talent as a ninja, nor because of his skills and unpredictability. It had been because of his ability to regenerate from any damage received at an astounding rate. Cuts were healed in seconds, broken bones in minutes. Even getting impaled by a crystal javelin did not keep him down for long. His body had taken all the punishment Guren could give him and simply healed right back up, allowing him to fight longer and harder than what should have been possible for someone of his skill level.

'You had better get over that hang up quickly,' Kyuubi advised him. 'Such thoughts will only hold you down from reaching your potential.'

'Whatever,' Naruto sighed as he wrapped the blanket he had been using to keep warm around him tighter. 'I'm done with this conversation.'

Uzumaki Naruto closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. However, no matter how hard he tried, sleep would not come. The next day, he would be incredibly irritable.

XoX

Naruto found himself sighing as he realized why the other people who had been hired before him and the old pervert to guard Michiru and Hikaru quit. It wasn't because they couldn't handle the danger, but because they were disgusted by just how lavish and wasteful the Prince was. The man really did spend money without a care in the world.

The group had arrived in a small city not to long ago. It was a nice looking community surrounded by grassy plains. The architecture all followed the same scheme, tan and red brick walls with red tiled roofing. Most of the buildings were houses or apartments where people lived, but there were also a number of shops and stores. Naruto couldn't help but find the peaceful atmosphere soothing.

However, while they were moving through the town, Hikaru had seen a large sign mentioning the circus that was going on in town. Michiru, being the rich and wasteful slob that he was, had no issue spoiling the brat rotten by agreeing to stop for the day so he could buy tickets to see the show.

'You shouldn't complain too much,' Kyuubi said as she lay against her fluffy pillows, all nine of her tails arrayed around her like some kind of majestic robe. She was watching everything through Naruto's eyes. Even though she had seen circus' before, this was the first time in about two hundred years that she had been able to. It was interesting to see what new acts humans came up with. 'At least Michiru bought tickets for you and the pervert as well.'

Naruto scowled at the mention of his godfather. His eyes quickly flickered over to the man in question, who was sitting next to Hikaru and Michiru while Naruto sat further back.

As if sensing his gaze burning a hole through his back, Jiraiya turned around to look at him. At the same time, Naruto looked back at the woman sitting on the trunk of an Elephant that was balancing on it's hind legs.

Maybe it was just because he was a shinobi, but the sight wasn't all that impressive.

'I guess you're right,' Naruto sighed as he leaned back in his seat and tried to enjoy the show.

'Of course I'm right. When will you realize, my dear Naruto-kun, that I am always right?'

Naruto snorted with barely restrained laughter. He didn't know if she was using that haughty tone for comedic purpose, but he couldn't deny Kyuubi sounded very funny when she spoke with such blatant narcissism.

The circus' acts weren't all bad, Naruto decided as time wore on. Sure, the one where that lady was directing rhinos around in a circle while she stood in the middle with a whip was boring as hell, but the one after that where the man managed to balance six sticks with spinning plates ― one on each foot and two for each hand ― with squirrels in each plate running around to help them spin was pretty damn impressive.

There was also one act where four polar bears dressed in yellows vests with red bow ties and top hats moved around the ring while balancing on bright, multi-colored beach balls. That was pretty cool too. Naruto's favorite act by far had to be the boxing kangaroos.

'Of course that would be your favorite,' Kyuubi huffed from inside the seal. 'You boys and your enjoyment of senseless violence. I swear, no matter how much time passes, human males never change.'

Naruto shrugged.

'I guess I can't really argue with you there,' he admitted. 'Still, I don't think this is something only men would enjoy.' He paused, thinking. 'I'm actually pretty sure Sakura would be into this kind of thing as well.'

'Probably,'Kyuubi sounded amused, 'I can actually picture the pink one standing up in her seat, swinging her fists as she cheered to see a good fight.'

Naruto grinned as he got an amusing image of his pink haired former teammate standing in her seat, swinging her arms half-hazardly, decking several people in the face without knowing it all the while yelling 'fight, fight, fight!' like those party goers who enjoy watching people in drinking contests yell 'chug, chug, chug!'. It was definitely an amusing image.

'I can see that too.'

Before Kyuubi could say anything more, the lights dimmed. Naruto sat up in his seat as a single spotlight played on the main circus ring that most of the acts had taken place either on or around.

The ringleader, a man with sandy brown haired, a mustache, and wearing a red suit with a large top hat stepped onto the ring, a microphone in his hand.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's the moment you've all been waiting for!" The Ringleader's voice blared loudly over the speakers. "The one! The only! Chamū, the Saber-tooth Tiger!"

'A Saber-tooth tiger?' Kyuubi perked up, 'Here? In a circus?'

'Something wrong Kyuubi?' asked Naruto. The single spotlight disappeared as several different spotlights of varying color flickered on around the room. The lights began moving as a drum roll commenced.

'Naruto, Saber-tooth tigers are extremely rare,' Kyuubi told him. She sounded a bit frustrated for some reason. 'So rare that before I was sealed, I had not seen one for over two hundred years. You humans hunted them to extinction.'

'Obviously not if there's one still around,' Naruto pointed out. Kyuubi growled. 'Seriously, Kyuubi? What's up? I don't think I've ever heard you get angry like this. Well,' he added when he heard her snort, 'Not over something like this at any rate.'

'I'm not angry,' Kyuubi denied, 'I'm just... annoyed.'

'Why? I thought you would be happy to know something like this.'

'You wouldn't understand.'

Naruto sighed at her words. That was Kyuubi's answer every time he asked a question that managed to bring up something she didn't like, or something that brought back memories she was not fond of. He wondered what these particular memories were about, but knew he would not be getting those answers out of his tenant for a while, if ever.

He turned his attention back to the stage. The colored spotlights all converged in one area several feet above the ring and to the left, creating what looked like a rounded triangle of light. In the center of this triangle was the creature that could only be Chamū.

Chamū was a very large tiger, easily the size of a standard human in length, though only coming up to the waist of a full grown adult. It was a powerful looking creature, with strong looking muscles, sharp claws and a sleek body that looked streamlined. Clearly, this Chamū was built for speed.

It had dark gray skin and a white under belly that extended all the way to it's face and three diamond patterns of darker fur on it's head. Wrapped around it's neck like some kind of scarf or cape was a bandana that was tied at the end. Beneath that and around it's upper torso was a dark brown vest with lighter brown accents. Like all felines, it had three whiskers on each side of it's face.

Perhaps the most startling feature about this Saber-tooth tiger was the bright yellow eyes that seemed unnaturally sharp and the very large, very sharp looking fangs jutting from it's upper lip. Those were some seriously intimidating teeth. And the dental coverage must be a bitch for those.

Chamū let out a low growl before unleashing a giant roar that had Hikaru gasping in awe and Michiru looking like he was about to shit himself. That, more than anything else, Naruto found amusing.

Acting with what looked like practiced ease, Chamū jumped from the platform he was on to another platform embedded into the wall, then finally the circular platform within the ring. The ringleader quickly jumped up as Chamū gazed at everything around him.

"As rare as he is dangerous. Chamū is the only one of his kind in captivity!"

'Of course,' Kyuubi growled, 'Naturally the only thing that man is proud of is how dangerous that saber-tooth is and how he's essentially enslaved here.'

'Kyuubi? Are upset at seeing someone besides your self being forced into captivity?'

'Che! Of course not! Saber-tooth tiger's may be intelligent, but they're still just animals. Why should I care about an animal?'

'I don't know. I was just asking...'

'Well you can stop asking.'

'Alright, alright. No need to get upset. Yeesh! Someone's touchy today.'

'What was that?'

'Nothing.'

"And here's Chamū's friend and partner, Kiki!"

'The hell kind of a name is Kiki?'

'The dumb kind?'

More spotlights appeared, this time hovering in the air as a tiny chimpanzee with the same bandana and vest scheme only in reverse colors descended after flipping off a high bar and landed on Chamū's head. Everyone clapped as the tiny monkey stood up, took off it's hat and bowed the crowd.

"And now, Chamū and Kiki have a very special treat for you!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow as Kiki climbed onto a tiny platform being raised into the air by a tall tripod. A ball was tossed to him, which he soon tossed to Chamū. The ball was then tossed back when the saber-tooth tiger hit it with his head, after which it went back to Kiki before being returned by the chimp smacking it with his tail.

'Alright,' Naruto said suddenly as he watched Chamū jump extremely high in the air for not being chakra enhanced so he could smack the ball back to Kiki. 'That's actually kind of impressive. I wonder how they trained him to do that?'

Kyuubi scoffed.

'You don't train a saber-tooth tiger, Naruto, they're impossible to train. You're more than likely to get your head bitten off by it than you are to successfully train something like that.'

'Then how is it doing all those tricks?'

'I imagine they managed to coax it into doing that somehow. The monkey probably has something to do with it.'

Naruto looked over at the chimpanzee just as it hit the ball back to Chamū. He didn't think a monkey would be that smart, but then, he didn't know much about monkey's. For all he knew, it could be super smart.

'Considering your kind is derived from apes, I don't think you have much room to insult the intelligence of a monkey.'

'Owch. Claws out today, Kyuubi?'

'They're always out. You know that.'

Chamū ended up doing a few more tricks, namely, jumping through rings that were lit on fire. After the last of the tricks, Chamū jumped back onto the platform. Kiki dropped on his head again, an apple in it's hand this time. It took bite of the red fruit, then tossed it into the air where an arrow from a man who had walked into the ring shot it down and pinned it to the wall.

As everyone else clapped, Naruto snorted. He could have tossed a kunai through that apple with no trouble.

'Shooting an arrow and throwing a kunai are very different things, Naruto. Arrows require a lot more concentration, precision and skill to shoot.'

Naruto huffed a bit, but didn't say anything. He knew if he did, Kyuubi would just use it as an opportunity to mess with him.

"If you think that was hard, then watch this!"

Kiki began spinning the apple on one of it's fingers. It lifted the spinning apple above it's head as Chamū stood up on his hind legs. The pair wobbled a bit, whether on purpose or because Chamū's balance was precarious was unknown. Whatever the case was, moving around like that would most certainly present a harder target for the archer to hit.

"If he's off even a fraction of an inch, it's goodbye Kiki!"

'Oh please,' Naruto gave a derisive snort, making some of the people sitting near him look at him oddly. He ignored them. 'There are 360 degrees he could shoot his bow, and that's not even going into angles. If the idiot misses, chances are he's going to shoot wide and miss the apple and monkey entirely. Does that man honestly expect people to not realize this?'

'Not everyone's a shinobi, you know,' Kyuubi reminded Naruto as she caressed her tails and watched the scene through Naruto's eyes. While she wouldn't say she was enjoying the show, it was at least something different from what she usually saw. That, and she wasn't cynical like Naruto was being. 'All of these people are civilians. They're so easy to manipulate it's ridiculous. These people will eat up that man's words like they were coming from Kami just because they want a good show.'

'I guess...'

'Good. Now shut up and watch.'

Naruto rolled his eyes.

'Yes, ma'am.'

The archer soon knocked an arrow back against his bow and pulled the strong taught. While he was taking aim, the ringleader spoke up.

"Alright! We need absolute silence everyone!"

'If he needed absolute silence then he should make the idiot doing the drum roll stop.'

'My, aren't you the cynic today.'

While the drum roll created a lot of noise, the entire crowd had gone silent as they waited on baited breath to see if the archer would be able to hit the apple. Even Naruto was leaning forward in his seat, getting drawn into the suspense in spite of himself.

The archer set his sights on the apple, one eye closed to a squint as he prepared to unleash the arrow knocked back in his bow.

The apple was hit.

But not by the archer.

Naruto blinked as he stared at the apple as it rolled across the ground, a suction cup arrow stuck to it. He turned and saw the brat, Hikaru, standing with his bow out and the string trembling from when it released the arrow.

'Huh?' Naruto blinked. 'Well color me orange, the kid's actually not a half bad shot.'

'If someone actually colored you orange I would melt them.'

'It was a figure of speech, Kyuubi.'

"Easy shot." Even from the distance Naruto was sitting from the others, he managed to easily pick up the words.

'Wow, arrogant much?'

"Considering you act even more arrogant than he does more than half the time, I don't think you have any right to talk.'

'Key word being 'act' Kyuubi. I know my own limitations, and I know not to be overconfident when my opponent has me outclassed. Don't forget that I just barely managed to stay alive when I fought Guren.'

'Hmph.'

"Bravo!" The ringleader shouted, apparently deciding to just make this part of the act. Naruto had to hand it to the man. At least he knew how to go with the flow. "Good eye sonny!" He clapped for a moment. "However, let's see you handle this!"

Apple once more in hand, Kiki began spinning the red fruit on his finger. Chamū jumped off the platform and began running around in a circle, presenting a much harder target to hit than he had the last time. This one would actually take a good amount of skill to hit. Naruto could do so, of course, but only when using kunai.

'Ten-chan could hit that thing easily,' Naruto thought fondly to himself. No doubt if Tenten were here, she would have made this entire spectacle a competition with the kid. And kicked his ass in the process. 'I wonder if she knows how to use a bow?'

'I wouldn't doubt it. That girl's a weapons fanatic the likes of which I have never seen before. And that's saying something.'

Naruto watched as once again, Hikaru let the arrow fly. And once again, the arrow hit the apple dead center.

"W-Wow."

Everyone soon began clapping for the boy who had proved to be an amazing shot. Naruto didn't, even though he was actually kind of impressed. But that was just because it would be too much of a hassle to actually clap.

Kami that sounded a lot like Shikamaru.

The ringleader walked up to Hikaru, a large grin on his face.

"What a great shot! I've never seen anything like it!"

"Eh? I've made harder shots than that." Hikaru pretended to act all nonchalant, even though Naruto could tell the brat was preening.

'Wow, hamming it up much?'

'You have no right to talk about hamming anything up.'

'I'm not that bad, am I?'

'Do you want me to answer that?'

'… Not really.'

"Hmm..." the ringleader put a hand under his elbow and the other hand cupped his chin as a thoughtful look crossed his face. "You deserve a prize for a shot like that... yes... now, let me see... what do you think about a ―"

"I want him," Hikaru interrupted, pointing at the saber-tooth tiger that was walking around the platform. Naruto snickered. Of course the brat would want the largest, most dangerous creature there.

"Wha? You mean Chamū? O-oh, he's too big and dangerous, sonny. Besides, with Chamū gone I wouldn't have a show."

"I don't care. I want him."

Naruto scowled at the brat's words. Like father like son. It seemed the apple didn't fall very far from the tree.

The ringleader tried to get the young boy to see reason, but the spoiled little turd wasn't listening anymore. He just turned to his slightly drunk dad.

"Father please!"

"Sure, why not!" Michiru said cheerfully after he finished his drink. His pink cheeks let Naruto know the man was really feeling the alcohol. "You know I've always wanted my own circus. Why don't we buy the whole thing, tent and all!"

Even Jiraiya seemed surprised by that statement. Sitting where he was next to Michiru, the white haired man spewed out all of the sake he had been drinking and began pounding his chest with a fist as he coughed.

Naruto sighed.

'So this is how that idiot treats his son? Buying him whatever the hell he wants? No wonder the brat's so kami damn spoiled.'

'Do you know how I dealt with spoiled brats I didn't like?'

'No, I don't,' Naruto perked up a bit, intrigued. 'How'd you deal with little shits like that?'

'I ate them.'

Naruto sweatdropped. She wasn't being serious, was she? He hoped not, or he might never be able to look at Kyuubi the same way again.

'I... see... somehow, I don't think me eating the kid would turn out well.'

'Hmph. Your loss.'

'...Right...'

XoX

Hikaru had a very smug smile on his face as he watched his father hand the shaky ringleader a check for the circus. The man in the red suit looked like he was going to start crying in joy any minute now. His whole body was shaking. Naturally, it was because the check with more zeros in it than the budget for most kingdoms.

Who says money can't buy everything?

All around them, the people working for the circus were taking things down and putting it away for the journey to Tsuki no Kuni. Hikaru didn't pay much attention to them. He didn't really care about the rest of the circus. Just the tiger.

"Well, to be honest I've always wanted to do a show in Tsuki no Kuni. It's a delightful place from all I've heard..."

As Hikaru walked beside his father, who was speaking to the ringleader about something ― Hikaru didn't care what ― a sight caught the young boy's attention. Chamū was resting on several crates, his front paws being used as pillows. Meanwhile, the monkey, Kiki, looked like he was about to feed the tiger an apple as the much larger beast yawned widely.

He probably would have too, if he had not spotted Hikaru and bolted for it.

Hikaru walked up to the lounging saber-tooth and picked up the apple Kiki had dropped. He leaned forward, offering the fruity treat to the tiger.

"Hungry?"

At the sound of his voice, Chamū's eyes snapped open and a growl escaped the tiger's lips. Hikaru back away, eyes widening in fear as the over 600 pound tiger stood up and glared at him with lips pulled back into a deadly looking snarl.

The tiger roared, causing Hikaru to fall backwards and land on his bum with a yelp of fright. The young boy's eyes quivered as he stared at the now terrifying creature before him. What had once seemed like such a tame animal now looked like a wild beast ready to rip him limb from limb.

"Ah! Sonny!"

"Hikaru!"

The sound of the ringleader and his father wasn't even heard by the boy as he found himself staring into the eyes of his death. Those dangerous yellow eyes that seemed to speak of untold violence and a desire to kill were glaring at him, and Hikaru could see his life begin flashing before his eyes.

Chamū looked just about ready to lunge when a blur of black and orange appeared between them.

"Sit down," Naruto snarled as he stood in front of the quivering Hikaru and faced down the enraged tiger. Chamū backed up a step, but quickly regained his bearings and roared at Naruto in return, but the blond did not back down.

Instead, his irises began to bleed red and his pupils became black slits as an aura of pure, unbridled power threatened to wash over everyone in the clearing.

Naruto's lips peeled back in a snarl that was every bit as feral as the one Chamū was giving. "Sit! Down! Now!"

For a moment, the saber-tooth tiger looked as if he were considering attacking the blond anyways. After several seconds of nothing happening, Chamū eventually did as told and sat down on his haunches. Naruto smiled.

"Good boy," the blond reached up and began absently caressing the large tiger behind the ear. Everyone in the vicinity, including the ringleader was shocked when the giant cat with claws closed his eyes and began to purr.

"Would you look at that?" the ringleader gawked at the sight of the fearsome and terrifying Chamū, purring like some kind of house kitten. "I've never seen Chamū let anyone get close to him. He doesn't even let me get too close to him. How is he doing that?"

Jiraiya, who had also been walking with Michiru and Hikaru watched Naruto work his magic on the large tiger. Only he knew what Naruto had done, using the Kyuubi's chakra to overpower Chamū's rage by showing the saber-tooth that he was the bigger predator. It was an impressive way to deal with something like this to be sure. And it didn't even end in bloodshed.

After a few seconds of pampering the giant cat's head, Naruto sighed and stood up form where he was crouched. He turned around to look at Hikaru, who was still trembling as he stared between Naruto and Chamū.

"Geez, kid. You really are a bundle of trouble, you know?" asked Naruto, shaking his head a bit before sticking his hand out for the boy to take. "You alright?"

"I..."

Hikaru stared at the hand being offered to him like it was something foreign. His mind was still reeling from the shock of the past few seconds. After nearly a second of staring, he slapped the hand away and quickly bolted from the seen, leaving Naruto to stare after him.

"Hikaru! Hikaru!" Michiru shouted after his son to no avail. The man looked like he wanted to chase after the boy, but decided not to in the end. Probably because he was so damn fat he wouldn't be able to catch up with the child anyways.

"Ugh, what an ungrateful little..." Naruto sighed, releasing a huge gust of breath. He looked down at Chamū who was staring up at him with curious yellow eyes and grinned. "Come on, Chamū. Why don't we go find your friend?"

With that, the strange pair of boy and tiger decided to make their own exit from the scene. But not before a certain kitsune left her own parting comment.

'Trying to add 'Beast tamer' to your resume, Naruto?'

Naruto rolled his eyes at the woman's teasing tone. Some things would just never change.

'Oh hush up.'

Yeah, this chapter is now done. I'm actually satisfied with it, surprisingly. I just hope my English is good. I checked it over, but, well, you never know.

In any case, please let me know how I did. Like it, hate it, want to murder me in my sleep, be sure to tell me.