Chapter Text
Prologue
Thick clouds above Konoha twisted like a snake coiling for strike. Unrelenting rainstorm drenched the streets, wrapping the usually lively village in gloom. The low rumble of thunder rattled the rickety doors and windows, the ground beneath the soldier’s feet shaking as the war raged on just beyond the borders. The frenzied screams reached the grim faces of those running towards the battle to help their comrades, friends, family. Naruto was already in the center of it, fighting side by side with Kakashi, Sakura and the others.
The storm above him mirrored the unease in his heart, but it wasn’t just because of the situation he was in.
For the past few days he has felt this unease in his bones and it had nothing to do with Iwagakure’s declaration of war to Konoha due to unreasonable doubt that ANBU team had infiltrated their village and slit the throat of the right hand of their Tsuchikage.
It was something deeper than that, but he could not figure out what. Kurama has also been eerily silent which wasn’t that strange in itself, considering that the Kyuubi always found him annoying, but sometimes it would break the silence to at least offer some snarky comment about his inadequacy as his vessel. Lately, it was as if he wasn’t even residing inside of him. Naruto could barely sense the fox’s chakra and that unnerved him.
Nevertheless, he couldn’t allow himself to lose focus, not now when he had to protect the people of Konoha. Even though his body was battered, he charged at the enemy, sensing they were retreating. He ran across the rugged terrain, getting further away from the main battle. He couldn’t let that shady Iwagukare ninja get away, his demonstration of explosive jutsu near the Lookout Tower a few moments ago proving to be deadly against the Border Patrol Team.
“Stop, you bastard!” Naruto shouted.
He was surprised when the ninja, dressed all in black, actually listened to him.
Naruto halted, his eyes narrowed as the man turned around and grinned wickedly at him.
Before he could move, the asshole slammed his hands against the ground, causing an instant explosion beneath Naruto’s feet. He flipped out of the way at the last moment, before a deadly, sharp rock which errupted from the ground could stab right through his chest.
“Impressive, but try to avoid this then!” the Iwagukare nina laughed as he made a quick seal with his fingers and sunk his palms into the ground. The patch of land Naruto stood on cracked open as chakra bombs from below flew towards him.
Shit! There was no way he could dodge them all. Quickly, he created his clones and sent them towards the ninja as a distraction while he moved out of the way of the explosions and darted towards the ninja.
He was already at his limit and in order to finish him off, he would need the Kyuubi’s chakra.
He called on his strength in order to create Rasengan and finish off the exploding bastard, but there was no usual surge of chakra he was used to whenever he summoned it. All he could feel was emptiness.
His heart pounded as he tried to not lose sight of the ninja still fighting his clones, which would not be for long, his voice cracking. “Kurama?”
There was nothing but silence, not even a stir inside of him.
Kurama’s usual presence, roaring like a furnace was fading and he could feel the terrifying absence instead of the Kyuubi’s constant presence.
“Kurama! Goddamni it, I need you!” The blonde yelled, panic clouding his mind.
A distant, cold voice echoed through the void of their shared consciousness.
“It is time for us to part, brat. You are of no use to me, you never were.” Kurama’s voice was laced with dark contempt.
They were never friends, even though Naruto tried as a kid when he did not even understand what he was carrying. All he had known was that there was a voice inside of him and he was so lonely with everyone in the village except Iruka sensei and the Hokage ignoring him and calling him names, so he tried to talk to the voice. Only to be shunned again. Later when he had come to find out the truth, he had already stopped trying, the fox’s words sharp and hurtful in its own way. Still, as the years passed, he foolishly believed that they had come to a strained understanding that they were stuck with each other even though Kurama had often reminded him how he would love nothing more than to get rid of him and those who put him in this prison. Nevertheless, Kurama’s words were like a hard slap.
He was weakening, the fiery strength of the Kyuubi’s chakra nowhere to be found.
“ What are you say—?” He did not even finish the sentence as searing heat spread through his body which caused him to fall to his knees. He clawed at his chest, feeling as if his chakra was being ripped from him.
There was no doubt about it, Kurama was breaking free, his chakra which had been intertwined with his own now brutally being severed. The cage which had been the Kyuubi’s home for the past 17 years glowed as Kurama’s crimson eyes glared at him from behind the melting bars.
“I’ve been patient enough, waiting for this moment when you will be vulnerable enough for me to finally break free. Naruto Uzumaki, it is time for our bond to be broken.” Kurama’s voice was menacing and Naruto gasped as he succumbed to the excruciating pain, his vision getting foggy.
It was as if their souls were being split, his whole body trashing on the ground as the Kyuubi’s chakra poured outwards.
Tears began streaming down his face from the agony and undeniable sense of loss as he watched Kurama’s form materializing in front of him. How was this even possible?
The demonic shape emerged from the ethereal realm where he had been sealed since Naruto’s birth and towered over him, his horrifying power suffocating as his eyes burned with intensity which could ignite any living thing.
The first to experience that was the Iwagukare ninja who had got rid of Naruto’s clones and watched in terror at the scene in front of him.
Naruto could only observe Kurama’s grin filled with pure malice as he made a swish with his tail in the direction of the ninja whose body caught on fire immediately. It was no ordinary fire, it was pure chakra, the one Naruto had become familiar with in life-or-death situations which usually peeled his skin off.
He felt no sympathy towards the ninja writhing in pain until his last breath, as the man was an enemy. However, his blood chilled at the display of raw power with Konoha being right at Kurama’s grasp and him being helpless to warn them.
Once Kurama had fully emerged, all that was left in Naruto’s chest was hollow emptiness where Kurama’s chakra had been. He wondered if he was dying.
He blinked sluggishly at the fox, unsure if he was imagining or Kurama was starting to appear more humanoid.
Fiery red eyes bore into his soul, but the demon’s physical form seemed more solid.
“I could kill you. But, I am curious if you will be able to survive this or if you really are just a pathetic weakling who can’t do anything without leeching off my chakra.” Kurama’s grin was smug, his expression demonic.
Naruto’s breath was ragged, his body more fragile than ever.
“The village…Don’t…” His voice was hoarse, every hair on his body aching. He couldn’t believe the Kyuubi was no longer bound to him.
Kurama’s gaze darkened.
“Not yet. We’ll see…Farewell, brat.” His voice held cold inevitability as the fox turned away, his massive tails swishing behind him.
His limbs felt heavy, the overbearing sense of loneliness far too consuming.
The sounds of the battlefield were dull, along with his pain.
His breathing was shallow as he was slipping further into the darkness.
“Naruto!”
Kakashi’s urgent voice in the distance should have given him hope, but the last thought he had before the dark won was that for the first time in his life he was truly alone.