Naruto An Untitled Kyuubi!Sakura Thing

[bmsattler]

I still think your assertion that this will lead to WAR is incorrect. Its all kinds of back-stabby and bad yes. These are ninja, its what they do, what they expect out of each other. Shounen genre aside. Are you going to mass-deploy, guarantee that lots more of your soldiers will die, and all the other unpleasantness of a full-scale war over one Jounin and a few promising kids?

More likely you'll escalate the cold war a little more, raids here and there, maybe some sanctions etc. Jumping into a war is not something that adults do lightly, and this is just not enough provocation to justify the kind of risk and loss you'll experience even if you win.

 

[ankokudaishogun]

it actually MIGHT scale to a war because this happened at the same time as the destruction of Hot Springs

 

[bmsattler]

True true, and if I'm being honest losing the Kyuubi might be enough to kick things off too. Never the less, I'll wait and see what the author gives us. It only seems polite.

 

[anowack]

More likely you'll escalate the cold war a little more, raids here and there, maybe some sanctions etc.? Jumping into a war is not something that adults do lightly, and this is just not enough provocation to justify the kind of risk and loss you'll experience even if you win.

You're basically right. There'll certainly be retaliation, but it's not likely to go straight to open war unless one side or the other already wants war and is just looking for an excuse.

I see villages like Cloud and Leaf as engaging in a fair amount of low level skirmishes and attacks on targets of opportunity even during peacetime; this is a just particularly brazen example that represents an escalation from the current state of things. Tetsu's still taking an enormous risk that's likely to leave him in a very bad spot with the Raikage if he somehow survives a failure, but he's not unilaterally declaring war. (Of course, Sakura holding the Kyuubi makes things much more likely to get bad fast, but Tetsu doesn't know that yet.)

Next scene, in Wave Country:

---------------------


When the prisoner awoke and asked for water, it was the green-eyed man who not long ago had briefly been held captive who approached the tightly bound boy and offered a drink from a canteen. The prisoner, still dressed in his feminine pink kimono, didn't hesitate to accept the meager kindness. If the Leaf ninja wished him poisoned, they had no need of trickery.

"My chakra?" the boy asked once he was done drinking.

"Suppressed for now," the man confirmed. "We aren't stupid."

"No," the boy agreed, shaking his head as though to clear it. "The medic's work, I assume." In the distance, the mentioned ninja looked up, and the sunlight that filtered through the thick tree cover briefly made his glasses shine with reflected glare as he smiled. Then he returned to his work, checking the still-healing wounds oft the pair of dogs injured by the missing ninja Zabuza in the battle of several days past.

The green-eyed man didn't answer that question, instead saying, "I feel I owe you this chance, Haku-kun. Tell us what we need to know, and we won't have to kill you."

The boy smiled mirthlessly. "Since I made the same offer to you, Haruno-san? I won't betray Zabuza-sama's location any more than you betrayed where you've hidden your clients." He glanced about, perhaps searching for the bridge-builder and his family, but no surprise showed on his face when they proved to be absent from the small, hidden campsite. "Since you seem to be missing your commander and her healthy dog," he said, "I assume they are with Tazuna-san. Most likely they are within earshot, or at least your sensor's range. Am I correct?" The young ninja smiled again.

Seated next to the medic, a dark-haired kunoichi opened her mouth, but at a quiet, "Tsubaki-san," from the silver-haired boy, the woman stopped before she might have said something to regret.

Haruno Takeru matched the boy's smile. "You're not stupid, either," he said, "so you understand that we can't afford to let you live if you remain our enemy. We don't have the resources to restrain a prisoner as dangerous as yourself for long."

"A weapon does not fear death, Haruno-san," Haku answered.

Takeru sighed. "I expected as much." He was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "We checked our bingo book. You've escaped notice so far. There are no bounties that we know of for you. No crimes against the Fire Country or the Leaf Village that you need answer for.

"If you were not our enemy, we would have no reason to hold you once this matter was resolved. If you proved to be an ally..." He didn't continue, but the implied offer - one a mere genin would have no authority to make explicitly - was still clear enough. There were missing ninja who would have happily betrayed their closest comrades for even that slim potential of being allowed to join a village such as the Leaf.

"I'm afraid that has no appeal for me," Haku said. "All I desire is to serve Zabuza-sama."

"Do you want to die, kid?" Takeru asked harshly. "For him? He's certainly in our bingo books. You're delusional if you think a man like the Demon of the Hidden Mist returns your loyalty."

"I am well aware of who Zabuza-sama is, Haruno-san," Haku said. He shifted. "You will not convince me to betray him like that."

The kunoichi stood, walking over to stand beside Takeru. One of her hands rested on the hilt of her short wakizashi. "That's that, then," she said. "Do you want me to do it?"

Haku turned to her. "Can I have the name of the one who would kill me so lightly?"

The woman snorted. "No."

Haku glanced back to Takeru. "Well, Haruno-san?"

The man sighed. "I don't see how a man like him could have won such loyalty from you."

It took a moment before Haku answered. "I'm sure you know the attitude of my country to those with bloodline limits, such as my own ability to control ice." He paused, perhaps for a response, but neither Takeru nor the kunoichi gave him one. "Zabuza-sama found me, took me in, and gave me a reason to live, when before I was alone and without a purpose. I repay him as best I can by being his tool."

"What happened to your parents?"

Haku blinked at the unexpected question from Takeru. "My mother hid our abilities," he answered quietly. "When my father discovered them..." The boy trailed off, for an instant seeming younger than his age. "She died."

"He killed her," Takeru said, his voice tight.

"Yes," Haku said. "And then my father tried to kill me."

Takeru almost shook. "Then he doesn't deserve to be called a father," he snapped, and Haku blinked at the vehemence.

The kunoichi at Takeru's side laid a hand on his shoulder. "Takeru, he's not -"

"I know he's not her, Tsubaki," Takeru snapped. "Just give me a moment." He stalked off.

"What -" Haku began.

In one smooth motion, Tsubaki drew her sword and placed it at the boy's neck. "If you made up that story to try to manipulate him, I will make your death long and painful. I promise."

"I don't understand," Haku said.

"Maybe not," Tsubaki said after a moment, and she sheathed her blade.

"Tsubaki-san," the medic said from his seated position by the dogs. "Should one of us -"

"He hasn't gone far, Kabuto-kun," she answered. "He'll be back in a moment."

Indeed it was less than a minute before Takeru returned, but he ignored his comrades to crouch down in front of the prisoner. "Kid," he said roughly, "I don't want to have to kill you. Help me by helping yourself. Tell us where Zabuza is hiding."

Haku shrugged. "If I fight only for myself, what am I?" he said.

Takeru grunted. "The Sage of the Six Paths," he said, identifying the legendary source of the quotation. "Zabuza must have given you a good education, at least."

"Yes," Haku said.

Takeru shook his head and stood. "He also said, 'If I do not fight for myself, who will?'"

Haku smiled sadly, and finished the famous set of questions. "And if not now, when?"

Then the boy stood, the ropes that had bound him falling to the side, neatly slit by a tiny blade of ice. A gust of wind swirled leaves around him, and he vanished, only to reappear at the edge of the campsite. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said, "though I am afraid I must repay it poorly."

Tsubaki drew her sword. "How -" One of the dogs howled.

Haku looked at Kabuto and answered. "The basic chakra suppression technique isn't useful against a medic who knows the counter. You should have known better, if you're as talented as you've shown."

Kabuto stood. "I didn't know you were a medic. I won't make the same mistake again."

"You can't hope to escape," Tsubaki warned. "Hana-taichou will be here in a moment, and I can track you wherever -"

Takeru interrupted her, swearing. "No, don't you understand? If he's a medic, then -"

A low chuckle filled the air. A bundle of something flew at Haku, who caught it with one hand. He slipped the mask of a Mist hunter ninja over his face, incongruous against the pink kimono he wore, and calmly began to secrete the weapons on his person.

Zabuza emerged into the campsite out of a patch of shadow, easily carrying his massive blade with the arm that Kabuto had crippled with a lucky blow. With it, he gestured at Takeru and Tsubaki. "Deal with those two, Haku," he said. "I'll take care of the medic myself."

"Of course, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, bowing slightly, and then he formed seals. "Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors."

---------------------

 

[da_fox2279]

... Well, they're fucked. Except Kabuto. He'll most likely wait until his teammates are dead then kill Zabuza and Haku both.

The following fight ought to be awesome. Damn fine work, sir. Looking forward to moar.

 

[anowack]

Last scene of the chapter:

--------------------------



Sakura awoke lying face up in a puddle of warm water and staring at a cloudless, crimson sky that glowed with a uniform light. She stood, and realized that she was not where she had been moments before, in the abandoned hot springs resort fighting Eimi and Kasumi. Instead, she stood in a vast, ruined city. Fires burned in places, but they were still, frozen in a timeless instant. Sakura could hear no sound of anything alive.

She looked around and her eyes found the mountain that loomed over the destroyed city, and she realized where she stood. Terror seized her, and her stomach heaved. How was she here? What had happened? What had she done?

Staring down at her with grim disapproval, the stone faces of the first three Hokages told her that this was the Leaf Village. Where the Fourth Hokage should have been, the mountain was marred, a massive scar running down its side like the Fourth's visage had been gouged out by a massive claw. Acid rose in her throat, and she swallowed painfully, trying to stop from vomiting.

If this was the Leaf Village, then she knew where she was with painful exactness. The ruin before her was the academy. She turned and she fled through the empty streets, seeking the hidden, abandoned building Mizuki had shown her on the day she became a genin. It was the only shelter she could imagine; she did not want to see what had become of her home.

She did not find the refuge she sought. Instead, a large hill rose from the center of the patch of woods. At its summit stood a silent temple, with no windows that Sakura could see. Around the hill, the trees were stunted and withered, half-dead mockeries of their former selves. Driven by some perverse impulse, she couldn't stop herself from climbing the steep stairs that ascended the hill to reach the temple.

At the top, she found that the path led to the temple's one gate, a pair of wooden doors. Painted across them in red was the familiar spiral pattern she felt starting to burn on her stomach. The gate was ajar, just enough that Sakura could slip through. Something drew her inside, a call that she could not resist, and trembling in fear, she let it pull her through the gate.

It opened into an inner courtyard; there seemed to be no access to the inside of the temple building proper. There had been a garden here, once, but neglect and drought had killed it. Dead plants crunched under Sakura's feet as unthinking steps brought her closer to what she found in the center of the courtyard.

It was a massive tree, large enough that she should have seen it peeking over the temple structure from outside. Though it was as dead as everything else in this place, Sakura knew with absolute certainty that it was a cherry blossom tree, her namesake. Hanging from a low branch was a metal cage, and seated inside the cage, legs dangling over the edge through the bars and facing away from Sakura, was a girl.

The girl wore a red dress, a mirror of Sakura's own clothing, though in a darker shade. Her hair was pink as well, long enough that Sakura thought it would reach her feet if she stood, and tangled as though it had never known a brush or a comb. Unwillingly, Sakura took another step forward, and the sound of dry leaves crumbling under her weight seemed like an explosive tag going off.

The caged girl slowly found her feet, and turned to look at Sakura. Both the hands with which she clutched the bars of her prison and her bare feet were clawed, but it was her face that Sakura stared at, unable to tear her gaze away.

Crimson, inhuman eyes glared at Sakura out of her own face, marred by three marks on either cheek. Their number and position reminded Sakura of the whisker-like markings on Naruto's face, but they were nothing like those pale, scar-like things. These were thick and dark, giving the girl the feral look of a wild animal.

Sakura opened her mouth, but she couldn't find the words to speak. Her heart beat rapidly, feeling like it might burst at any moment. The spiral around her navel was a line of fire, hot enough that she almost thought her dress might burn. She couldn't look away, no matter how much she wished she could.

"Hello, me," the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox said with Sakura's voice, and she smiled, revealing a mouth of sharp fangs. "I was wondering when we'd finally have a chance to chat."

 

[da_fox2279]

Well, gotta admit, that's some interesting imagery there. And ho shit, Foxxy!Sakura? Didn't expect that. Cool beans.

 

[zeebee1]

fox, Haku isn't going to die. If that was the case Kabuto would have subtly steered the conversation that they killed Haku before Zabuza arrived. I think you missed the scene where he convinced Orochimaru to send a strike team to retrive Haku.

 

[da_fox2279]

fox, Haku isn't going to die. If that was the case Kabuto would have subtly steered the conversation that they killed Haku before Zabuza arrived. I think you missed the scene where he convinced Orochimaru to send a strike team to retrive Haku.

<re-reads the thread>

Huh. You're right zeebs. Must've missed that.

Thanks.

 

[ankokudaishogun]

"Hello, me," the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox said with Sakura's voice, and she smiled, revealing a mouth of sharp fangs. "I was wondering when we'd finally have a chance to chat."

Kurama fused with Inner Sakura- Is This Awesome?
(actually, I think it's pretty scary^^;

 

[zeebee1]

I doubt it. But things change. The seal may be different, or maybe the Kyuubi has some knowledge of intimidation.

 

[violinmana]

I doubt it. But things change. The seal may be different, or maybe the Kyuubi has some knowledge of intimidation.

Or "Inner Sakura", the dark Sakura, is syphoning Kyuubi's chakra.

 

[zeebee1]

Don't get your hopes up. With how weak Sakura's mentality was recently if there was any power not bound by the seal it would have easily taken over.

 

[anowack]

And now begins Chapter Eight: The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

Hopefully, the scene doesn't suck.

----------------------



"Hello, me," the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox said with Sakura's voice, and she smiled, revealing a mouth of sharp fangs. "I was wondering when we'd finally have a chance to chat."

"No." The word forced itself from Sakura's lips. Her burning stomach churned, and she shook with dry heaves. "No. No. No," she moaned between convulsions.

The demon's crimson, inhuman eyes narrowed. "This cannot be a surprise. We've been straining against this damned seal for months."

It was too much, all her fears placed before her, the monster she knew had to be buried inside her, personified in this twisted mockery of her own form. Or was she the twisted mockery of it? Sakura sank to her knees, dead plants crumbling under her weight. "No," she moaned again. She wanted to look away, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the cage that hung from the massive, dead cherry blossom tree in the center of the courtyard.

"Pathetic," the girl imprisoned within said, one clawed hand tightening around the bars of her cage. "Stand!"

Shaking legs complied, Sakura rising unwillingly. "You're... you're the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox," she said in a shaking voice.

The girl smiled again, sharp teeth seeming to glow oddly in the strange light cast by the uniform crimson sky overhead. "We are."

"We," Sakura said, swallowing on a suddenly painfully dry throat. She didn't want to hear what would come next.

"I am the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox," the demon girl said cheerfully, her copy of Sakura's voice light. "And I am you."

"I'm..." Sakura couldn't finish.

The other Sakura's crimson eyes stared into her. "Say it."

"I'm... I'm... the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox." It hurt, almost ripping from her throat. It wasn't the first time she'd said the words, ones she'd said the moment she realized what she was on the day she became a genin. Yet, to say them here in this place, in this ruined garden in this temple at the heart of this frozen ruin of the Leaf Village, felt different.

"Yes." The caged girl almost hissed the word, satisfaction clear in her voice. It echoed, bouncing off the windowless temple walls and somehow becoming a deep rumbling. Though Sakura felt no breeze, the dead tree briefly shook as though in a stiff wind, setting the cage hanging from its branches to swaying gently.

Sakura felt... empty. She should have felt something, but inside she felt dead. She'd been told, over and over, that this wasn't so, but as much as she wanted to believe them, she never could, not deep down. Now, she knew she'd been right to disbelieve. "Why?" she asked quietly. Her cheeks were wet, and she blinked watery eyes. "Why am I you? Where are we?"

The other Sakura smiled again. "We are within the so-called Fourth Hokage's seal, that keeps us apart." Her expression hardened, and her red eyes bored into Sakura's green. "As for why... remember!"


Sakura roared in pleasure, her tails whipping through the air behind her, heedless of the destruction they caused. Freedom, at last. For generations of their pathetic lives, these so-called ninja had enslaved her, but in this latest attempt by one to wrest control of her for himself, she had slipped their grasp. Never would she bound again. She would see this village destroyed.

All around her, humans swarmed, making futile attacks. The weakest perished from the mere presence of her chakra, crimson arcing through the air, poisoning and burning. The strongest fell beneath her claws, perished with a sweep of her tails. They were as nothing. She was the greatest of the Tailed Beasts, the true firstborn of the -

The massive stone faces the loomed over the village caught her gaze, and a snarl emerged from her throat. It was hard to pick, but she chose her most recent hatred and turned her head toward the visage of the Fourth Hokage. They would all pay. She would knock that man's face from the mountain and bury the village in the rubble. She roared again, and this time destruction poured from her throat.

Moments before impact, the dense orb of chakra vanished. Sakura's eyes widened, and instants later there was an enormous sound. Blinding light flared as her attack detonated... on the other side of the mountain. Anything on that side was obliterated in an instant, but the village was shielded from the blast by the mountains bulk. Even the stone Hokages were left untouched.

Something slammed into her while she was distracted, and she swiveled her head to meet the giant toad. She snapped at it, rending the sweet flesh of its leg, but still it shoved her back, through the massive walls that had thus far failed to protect the village. The toad started to draw its sword, but she pinned its hand with one claw while she struck with another, gouging a bloody trail toward one eye.

Then she saw the man who stood on the toad's head, seemingly undisturbed by the shaking of the titans' battle. Her eyes narrowed in hatred, rage building inside her. She spoke. "Fourth... Hokage." She would save his corpse, to present to that woman before she killed her and their spawn.

The blond man vanished, reappearing almost at Sakura's eye level atop the village walls. "You've done enough, Gamabunta. Go. You can't fight one of the Tailed Beasts." He cradled something protectively in his arms, hidden by his white and red cloak.

"But... Minato..." the toad rumbled.

"Go," the man repeated, and in a gargantuan cloud of smoke the toad was gone.

"Die," Sakura hissed, and she brought her claw down on the man. He flicked away before impact, reappearing on another section of wall.

"I won't let you do this here, Nine Tails," the blond man informed her, and then in another flicker, both he and the village were gone.

Sakura roared in frustration, unthinkingly striking out all around. She was miles away, far enough that she could barely see the flame and smoke rising from the village at the heart of the forest. They had bought themselves mere minutes, she consoled herself. She tensed, preparing to leap.

There was another flicker, and the Fourth Hokage stood before her. "We meant this to trap the masked Uchiha," he said, "but it will serve well enough for you."

Sakura snarled. "What -" For the first time, she took in where the cursed man's technique had placed her. A stone building, damaged warding seals inscribed on the walls, stood by one of her paws. She traced the lines of power emanating from it, and -

Before she could act, eight giant stone pillars rose from the earth, surrounding her, the blond man, and the stone building. Seals caught light on their sides, the colors of all five elements glowing brightly. "Barrier," the man announced, "Activate."

"Fool," Sakura said, tasting triumph. "You've trapped yourself."

"I will not survive the day," the Fourth Hokage said. "I've made my peace with that. But... I won't let you harm a single person more."

"I will kill you, tear down this barrier, and raze your precious village to its foundations," Sakura promised.

Someone started crying, a human girl's wail of fear. "Hush," the Fourth Hokage said, and the bundle in his arms shifted, revealing a head of pink hair. "Hush. It will all be over soon, Sakura-chan."

Sudden fear and redoubled anger waged war inside Sakura. "I will not be bound again!" she screamed, striking with all her might at the man and the child he carried. "You will all die!"

In a flash, the man vanished, and Sakura felt a weight on her back. "You," she started to say and then, impossibly, the man struck a powerful blow, something pinning her to the ground and paralyzing her. She struggled, but it would take time to free herself, time she no longer had. Inside her, fear won.

The man reappeared in front of her. "As I said," he stated calmly. "I will not let you harm a single person more."

"You... cannot... bind me," Sakura said. "You are no..."

"I cannot match the First," the man agreed, "or his wife. But I can handle half of you at a time." He held the girl in one hand, the other forming seal.

"No," Sakura said. "You... you... I won't..."

"You will be bound. Seal!"

It was painful, like nothing Sakura had ever experienced. She was rent in two, diminished beyond imagining. She roared her pain and fear to an uncaring sky. Her shrunken stature freed her from the Fourth's technique, but she couldn't move, limbs and tails twitching uncontrollably. "You... you... dare. You will suffer until the end of time itself, Fourth Hokage."

"I know," the man answered calmly. "Your kind is far too dangerous to be allowed to run free, Nine Tails," he said, "and I fear my village and the world will need your power in the years to come." The girl in his hands started to cry again.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," the man said quietly to the girl. "I cannot atone for what I am doing to you. But... I know... I hope... Naruto... and Kushina will be there for you.

"Seal!"

And darkness consumed Sakura.


Sakura shook as the vision left her, tears of pain and fear flowing freely down her cheeks. "That was... that was..."

"The day," the other Sakura said, "we were bound into this form by the cursed Fourth Hokage." Both of her fists clenched the bars of her cage tightly, and it shook.

"And we were... split in two?" Sakura asked. "You and... me?"

"When this seal is removed," the demon girl stated, "we will be one."

Sakura swallowed. "How?"

"Touch the bars," her other self said. "Tear them down. The seal cannot long withstand attack from inside."

On shaking legs, Sakura approached, drawn closer by a powerful pull that she couldn't resist even if she had the will. Still, she hesitated, hovering out of the other girl's reach. "What... what will happen to me?"

"We will be one," the girl promised. "You will be the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox reborn."


"Listen to me," Mizuki pleaded. "You are Haruno Sakura. You were born on the twenty-eight of March, and I held you in my arms on that day. You are the daughter of Haruno Takeru and Amaya. You are my most wonderful student. You are not the demon, and never will be."


Sakura's head pounded, and she took a step back. "But... I'm..."

"I am you," the demon girl hissed. "We will be one." She shook her cage. "Do not hesitate! Free us! We will have our vengeance! We will tear down the Hidden Village of the Leaf -"

"But... Naruto-kun... Sasuke-kun... they're..."

"Lies!"



"Shut the fuck up!" Naruto roared, a burst of energy propelling him to his feet. "And run! This is our choice! You're our teammate, aren't you? What the hell does it make us if we just let you get killed?"

"I'm not worth -"

"He said to shut up," Sasuke growled.



"Lies?" Sakura asked. "No, they risked death -"

"In a game," the demon girl insisted. "There is no one in that village who cares for us. You know this!"

Unthinkingly, uncontrollably, Sakura's hand rose, reaching for the cage.


Sakura blew on the hot chocolate to cool it, then took a more cautious sip. Her father chuckled. "Your mother always did the same thing," he said softly, "even after years and years." Sakura stared at the top of her drink. It was not the first time her father had said that. Her father shook his head. "You really are so much like her," he commented wistfully.


Sakura's arm lowered. "My father," she said. "My father loves me."

"Because he believes we are his daughter," the caged girl stated. "Only for that. You know what you really are."

"If... if I'm... the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox," Sakura said slowly. "Why would I be... like my mother?"

The other girl snarled. "You know the truth!" she shouted. "If you aren't the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, why do they hate you?"

Sakura shook. "They -"

"We feel their gazes, every day! You cannot have forgotten in these mere weeks away from that forsaken village."

"No," Sakura whispered.

"In every eye," the demon girl proclaimed, "we know the hatred. They blame us, for the destruction we caused. They know that the pain they suffered twelve years ago is our fault. Free us, and we will visit it on them again ten-fold."

Sakura's shaking hand rose again.



"Nothing is your fault, do you understand?" Uzumaki Kushina whispered into Sakura's ear. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."


Sakura hesitated, inches away from the bars of the cage that held the other girl.

"You worthless little..." the girl snarled. "Cease your pointless wavering and free us!"

"But... I never wanted... vengeance..." Sakura whispered.

The other girl growled. "If you free me," she promised, "we will have the power to save your friends."

Sakura's hand shook. "No," she breathed. She lowered her hand and took a step back, then another. "No. I won't free you. And I will not be one with you."

Crimson eyes widened. "What?"

It actually took Sakura another moment to realize the reason. "You said 'your' friends." She was shaking, but she knew she was right. "If... if I were really you, they would be your friends also." She took a deep breath. "I... I am not you. I am not the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

The girl threw back her head and roared in rage, a scream that seemed to come from all around. The temple shook, almost throwing Sakura to the ground. When she was done, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox glared at Sakura. "Damn you," she snarled. "When I am free -"

"I will never free you," Sakura insisted.

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox took several breaths, and then she smiled. "Oh?" she asked. "You will take the first step before you leave here."

"What?"

"Without my power," the demon girl hissed, "how do you intend to save your friends?"

Sakura swallowed. "I can -"

"You can what, you weak little girl?" the Nine-Tails asked. "What do you think you are, without me? Who do you think gave you the power to stand against Hidan, to save the merchant bitch from Noboru? Whose rage did you think filled your trembling limbs with strength? Whose will did you think withstood the killing intent that drove your precious friends to their knees? Not yours, dead last. Mine!"

Sakura clenched her fists tightly. "If I free you, you'll just kill them. You'll destroy the village." She felt her forehead protector's weight. "I can't let you do that. I will not destroy the seal. No matter what."

The demon growled. "Fine. Even without that, I can grant you my power, my chakra. More than enough to save your friends."

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"It is what this seal is designed for, you foolish girl," the Nine-Tails said. "It is why you ninja have always enslaved me. It is the reason your Hokage protects you, so that you will become his loyal weapon."

"Why would you help me?"

The girl made a frustrated noise. "Because you'll just get us killed without it!" she yelled.

Sakura blinked. "If I die -"

"What do you think, you stupid girl?" the demon said.

Sakura tried to think it through, but her head was spinning and her thoughts scattered. "It will weaken the seal."

"The seal is designed to weaken," the Nine-Tails said. "It has been weakening since the day it was created."

"I can't -"

"So," the Nine-Tails said. "We've found something you won't do to protect your precious people."

Sakura winced.

"That's one of your rules, isn't it?" The demon smiled again. "That you will always protect the ones who are precious to you."

It was. Sakura took a deep breath. "What... what do I do?"

The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox stretched her hand out through the bars of her cage. "Take my hand."

Shaking, Sakura grasped the clawed copy of her hand with its mirror. "Now, what?"

As if in answer, the dead cherry blossom tree from which the demon's cage hung was suddenly in full bloom. Blood-red petals fell all around Sakura, glowing softly with a crimson light that blinded her. She shut her eyes, and...

...and they opened on a blue sky. Sakura lay in a pool of hot water, and looming over her was -

"You're awake?" the Cloud kunoichi Kasumi asked, raising her hammer. "Don't move, or -"

A growl rose in Sakura throat, and in one smooth motion she leapt at the other girl, clawed hands reaching for her throat.

***********************************************************************

Tenrai Kasumi jumped backward as Sakura attacked, easily escaped her reach and landing on solid ground at the edge of the hot spring. Were those claws on her hands? "I said not to move!" Kasumi yelled at the Leaf kunoichi.

Sakura just growled, bending over almost on all fours. Kasumi swallowed, realizing that the pink-haired girl's eyes were no longer green. Instead red, inhuman eyes blazed at her. As Kasumi watched, dark marks spread across Sakura's cheeks. A heavy sense of pressure filled the air, a terrible, black rage that made Kasumi want to shake in terror.

Instead she laughed nervously, raising her hammer in a defensive position. "Um... nice crazy berserker Sakura-chan?" she offered.

Sakura roared, and chakra flared around her, crimson power boiling off of her skin. It thickened, whipping about in shapes that suggested tails before dissolving back into a shapeless, flickering red aura. What the hell was Haruno Sakura?

The pink-haired girl raised one arm, and Kasumi barely had time to breathe, "Oh shit," before Sakura brought it down, sending a wave of near-boiling water at Kasumi and knocking her back through the wall behind her into the resort's main room.

 

[zeebee1]

That's what you get when your human cages have control. You get the inability to deduce the presence of non-human chakra.

 

[da_fox2279]

Oh, awesome. Kyuubi's little mind tricks were nicely clever. And hooray for Sakura for being smart enough (if not confident enough) not to fall for furball's shit. Nice start to the next chapter.

Looking forward to what's next.

 

[anowack]

I did not mean for this to take this long, but the big fight scene fought me for every line. Like usual when I've wrestled this much with a scene, I can't tell whether I won or not, but hopefully it works.

----------------

"What do you think?" the green-eyed man asked his comrade as the two Leaf genin stood back-to-back in the center of a dome of ice mirrors. The masked image of the boy Haku, incongruously still wearing his pink kimono, seemed to be in every mirror at once as he moved between them, too fast for the eye to follow.

Wincing, the kunoichi pulled a senbon out from her upper arm. "We're screwed, Takeru. I can barely sense him moving from mirror to mirror; he's too damn fast. He can kill us whenever he wants."

Takeru frowned, though his teammate couldn't see it. "So why hasn't he?" he murmured softly, his lips barely moving. Idly, Haku tossed another senbon; Takeru managed to knock it aside with his kunai. With his other hand, he unrolled a storage scroll a fraction, brushing against the seal to remove another kunai, with a prepared explosive tag dangling from the hilt. "Cover me, Tsubaki."

"On it." Her hands blurred through seals, summoning a pair of water replications. The clones drew their short swords and charged the mirrors. Instants later, pierced by three senbon each, they collapsed into falling water.

Takeru's explosive kunai flew through on dissolving replication. A senbon came out of another mirror, piercing the explosive tag. There were sparks and smoke, but no detonation, and the kunai bounced harmlessly off of its target.

On the other side of the ice dome, Tsubaki had advanced in the shadow of the other water replication. She formed a rapid set of seals, then thrust one hand into the falling water. "Suiton: Water Lance!"

The water formed into a spear that jetted through the air, only to splash harmlessly against one of the mirrors. Tsubaki staggered backward, six senbon sprouting from her limbs. "Damn," she cursed, as she retreated to stand back-to-back with Takeru again. "He's too damned fast," she said again. She pulled out a senbon. "Tried to catch him between mirrors, and he was gone and coming at me from behind before I could react." Another senbon fell to the ground as she removed it. "At least he's avoiding our vital points," she finished quietly, as though she didn't want to give their opponent any ideas.

"Why?" Takeru asked, more loudly. "Why are you toying with us?"

Haku spoke for the first time since he'd enclosed the pair in his technique. "Zabuza-sama desires your medic's death," he stated calmly. "But once he has done that and completed our mission, there will be no more reason for us to fight. I have no desire to kill either of you."

"Generous of you," Tsubaki said sourly.

"It is," the boy agreed. "In return, I would hope that you would indulge my curiosity.

"Who did my story remind you of, Haruno-san?"

"That's none of your business, boy," Takeru answered.

Tsubaki frowned. "Shit, Takeru. Which part of 'he can kill us whenever he wants' did you not understand?

"You reminded him of his daughter," she told the boy. Behind her back, hidden from their opponent, she lightly touched her comrade with one hand, trying to pass a silent message.

Guessing the meaning - keep him talking and distracted - the man grimaced and spoke, "Sakura."

"Haruno Sakura," the boy said. "It's a good name."

"Her mother picked it," was all Takeru said to that.

"I wonder how her tale could be like mine," Haku stated. "Your country does not share the same prejudices as my own."

"We're not idiots, you mean," Tsubaki said.

"I won't disagree," Haku said, "but I may be biased." He paused. "And I am not nearly distracted enough for my technique to fall so trivially."

One ice mirror vanished briefly, just long enough to admit a whirling tornado of fang and claw. The newcomer came to a halt in a crouch beside Takeru and Tsubaki, revealing the form of Inuzuka Hana. The woman snarled at Haku.

"Shall we continue our conversation, Haruno-san?" Haku asked calmly. "Or would you prefer us to resume the battle?"

***********************************************************************

Rage was not burning in Sakura. Her gut was not churning with barely contained wrath. She did not feel suppressed anger in the back of her mind. All of those words she had used to describe to herself what it was like when she felt the Nine-Tails stir no longer applied to her.

Sakura was burning rage. Her wrath blazed around her, crimson chakra boiling off into air in a display that should have driven her to exhaustion in mere moments. She did not suppress the anger; she welcomed it. She knew that this was not the fury of the Nine-Tails, that it did not belong to demon girl who wore her face. This was her, Haruno Sakura.

She still froze for what could have been a fatal instant when she caught her reflection in the settling water of the hot spring. She was almost a mirror of the image the Nine-Tails had worn: dark whisker marks on her face leading to red, inhuman eyes. Her clawed hands twitched, and she forced the unsettling image aside. Naruto and Sasuke were worth it.

Sakura breathed deeply, and the crimson chakra faded from sight, but the power did not leave her. In one powerful leap, she followed Kasumi through the hole in the wall, back to the room where the others waited. She landed a handful of paces from the dark-skinned girl, who scrambled to her feet, hammer coming alight. "Stay back, you... whatever the hell you are!" she shouted.

In a heartbeat, Sakura closed with her. The hammer strike seemed impossibly slow, like a patient teacher demonstrating the move. With an unconscious grace alien to her usual clumsy taijutsu, Sakura flowed around it. Her elbow dug at Kasumi's gut, with enough force that the other girl doubled over, stumbling back and nearly falling. Sakura's other hand raked at Kasumi's eyes. A hastily raised arm shoved the blow aside, but Sakura's claws still drew blood.

In a puff of smoke, Kasumi was gone, replaced by a bar stool. Snarling in anger, Sakura shattered the wooden seat with one idle blow. Her eyes hungrily sought out her prey. First she found the medic Hikaru, under poor cover near a window at the front of the building.

"Don't move, Sakura-san."

At Eimi's voice, Sakura abandoned her search, turning to face the chuunin kunoichi, near the center of the room. She froze as she saw Eimi's kunai at Sasuke's neck. She took a reflexive step back, and then she froze for entirely different reason.

Sasuke's dark eyes - the ones she could have stared into for hours if there was any chance the boy would let her - were open, open and staring directly at her, widening slightly. Relief and fear warred in her. Sasuke was alive and aware. Sasuke was seeing her, seeing this monstrous thing she'd become to save him and Naruto.

Eimi mistook the reason for her hesitation. "Good. Now, whatever technique you're using, end it," she ordered. "Or..." she trailed off, moving her kunai suggestively.

Sakura's original fear returned. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kasumi rising from behind an overturned table, but she couldn't look away from her captive teammate. She wasn't sure she could force down the power of the Nine-Tails at all, now that she'd accepted it, even if she wanted to. She had to think. She had to protect her teammates.

"Now, Sakura-san," Eimi pressed, but she didn't move her weapon again.

Sakura's clawed hands clenched, almost tight enough to draw blood. "No," she said. Her voice sounded strange to her own ears, deep and growly. Unthinkingly, she bit at her lip like she did when pondering a hard test problem, and sharp fangs did draw blood for a painful instant. The pain brought clarity, cutting through the gathering clouds of fear and uncertainty. "You won't hurt him. The Sharingan is your target, after all."

It had to be. There was nothing about Naruto to make him worth this betrayal. The Cloud had no idea what she was. The feared bloodline limit of the Uchiha, though... that was a grand prize, and hardly an unprecedented kind of target for the Hidden Cloud. They would never kill Sasuke.

Eimi swallowed once, and her weapon still didn't move. Sakura smiled unthinkingly, and took a deliberate step forward.

"You're right, Sakura-chan," Kasumi said suddenly. "But the pervert isn't so valuable, is he?" She kicked the table she stood behind away, revealing Naruto's still form. For a heartbreaking instant, Sakura thought he was already dead, but she then saw his chest rise and fall weakly.

Kasumi raised her hammer, lightning dancing around it. "One move, Sakura-chan, and I finish what I started." The redhead grinned.

She and Naruto were closer than Eimi and Sasuke. But were they close enough? Sakura tensed. She faster, unbelievably fast. She could do this, she believed, and for an instant red chakra flared around her.

"Stay back!" Kasumi warned, her hammer moving to a guard position.

That was enough. Sakura slammed into Kasumi, shoving her into the table she'd kicked aside. Bright light flared around the dark-skinned girl's hammer. Sakura threw up her hands to protect herself. There was a crack like thunder, and Kasumi's hammer shoved Sakura away and up, her arms erupting into shattering pain like nothing she'd felt. She landed on her feet and staggered backward a few steps, before falling to one knee between Kasumi and Naruto.

A pair of senbon thudded into her shoulder, and a third was blocked by the torn bandages that still hung off of it. Those pinpricks were nothing compared to the pained tearing she felt when she tried to move her arms.

"And stay down," Kasumi said tiredly as she stood, her glowing hammer flying back to her hand.

Sakura's hands clawed weakly at the wooden floor. She would not be defeated so simply. Not when Naruto and Sasuke were depending on her. Fire filled her, painful in its own way, and red chakra flared again. Her arms twitched, almost convulsing, and when she moved them again there was no pain. She stood and her legs did not shake. Eimi's senbon fell to the ground in a clatter. "No," she told Kasumi.

"Can't you learn?" Kasumi asked, and she threw her hammer again.

Sakura was ready for it this time, and she batted it aside with one arm. The shock of the impact sent jarring waves of pain down her arm, but they faded as soon as they came. She charged, and she beat the weapon to its wielder. One hand grabbed Kasumi's neck, claws scratching bloody trails as Sakura raised her captive into the air. "Anyone who touches Naruto-kun," Sakura promised in a low growl, "dies."

Kasumi kicked at her, but Sakura barely felt the blows. Then the dark-skinned girl grabbed her hammer out of mid-air as it returned. A short, weak blow still knocked the wind from Sakura's lungs and made her lose her grip, and Kasumi jumped away, landing on the stairway leading up to the balcony that overlooked the room. "Stay back!" she warned, but her voice wavered.

Behind Sakura, Eimi had abandoned her position by Sasuke and was moving to shield Kasumi. Sakura charged as the Cloud kunoichi formed seals. Tiny, floating bolts of lightning surrounded Sakura, blocking her path toward the two Cloud. Sakura ignored them, not slowing in the slightest as countless small electrical shocks jolted her. The pain was gone almost before she felt it.

Eimi almost froze as Sakura kept coming, fumbling for a kunai that she barely had time to raise in a defensive posture before Sakura closed with her. Despite her hesitation, the warding swipe of the blade was well-timed and sure. It should have been enough to force Sakura to keep her distance.

Instead, Sakura dove under a slow-seeming strike, tackling Eimi by the legs. The chuunin fell underneath her, and Sakura's claws drew long furrows across her white armored jacket. They didn't draw blood, and Sakura snarled in frustration. Eimi half-rose, trying to throw off Sakura. An elbow to the back of her knee made her fall again. Sakura forced herself up so she was directly on top of the other girl, staring eye-to-eye.

Eimi's kunai stabbed at Sakura's gut. Sakura caught the blade with her open hand and wrenched it out of the other girl's grasp, tossing it aside. The bloody gash across her palm hurt, but it was already closing. Eimi, panic clear in her expression, raised her hands, lightning dancing between them. The powerful shock made Sakura's whole body spasm, but she recovered before Eimi could get free. Sakura punched her in the face, and felt the other girl's nose crack. "No one hurts my friends," she stated.

"Eimi!" Hikaru called out from behind Sakura. She glanced back to see the medic hobbling toward them on a broken leg, too slow to make any difference.

"What are you?" Eimi asked Sakura weakly. She tried to knee Sakura in the chest, but Sakura half-rolled aside, raking her claws across Eimi's armor again. The chuunin took advantage of Sakura's movement to try to wriggle out from underneath her.

Before she could escape, Sakura grabbed at Eimi, catching her while she was still rising. She slammed Eimi's head into the wooden floor, and the other girl lay still for a moment, clearly dazed. Instinctively, a snarl in her throat, Sakura's claws went for the other girl's neck.

"Get off Eimi!" Kasumi yelled, and Sakura looked up at the dark-skinned girl. "Let her go!" Kasumi demanded, her hammer half-raised, clearly afraid to risk hurting Eimi if she threw it.

Sakura bit back a snarl. Kasumi was the one who'd threatened Naruto. She was the one who had hurt him. Her hand reflexively closed tightly around Eimi's throat. The other girl fought for breath, her own hands futilely trying to pry Sakura's fingers loose.

"Eimi!" Sakura looked up at Hikaru's cry, and saw the boy drawing close, a kunai in hand. He threw it at Sakura, high enough that it wouldn't hit his teammate. It was too easy to lean aside at the right moment, reach out to snag it by the hilt as it almost seemed to hang in mid-air and -

Kasumi slammed into her side. There was a moment of wild struggle, and Sakura was forced off of Eimi. The black-haired girl sat up, gasping for air, but Sakura had no time to watch. Kasumi attacked with a new fury, rolling on the floor with Sakura. She was too close to get a good strike with her hammer, though, and after a few moments Sakura kicked her off.

Both kunoichi rose to their feet, and then Kasumi grinned. Sakura's red eyes widened as she realized, a sinking feeling in her gut, that the other girl had wound up a few steps from Naruto. Her hammer started glowing again. "This is for hurting Eimi," she stated calmly, and then she brought the hammer down on Naruto's arm.

There was a loud cracking sound, and Naruto's until now unmoving from spasmed wildly as electricity discharged into him. "That should prove we're serious, Sakura-chan," Kasumi said, satisfaction clear in her voice. "Try anything and he gets worse."

"N-naruto." The quiet, weak voice was Sasuke's, but she couldn't turn to look at him. Naruto's body kept twitching, and she couldn't hear him breathing.

She could hear a low, inhuman growl. It took her a moment to realize it was hers. Her lips curled back, baring her teeth as she stared at Kasumi. The dark-skinned girl hefted her hammer. "Just try me."

It was like a dam breaking inside of Sakura. The rage that suffused her boiled over, and she literally saw red as chakra flared around her again. Sakura roared, and it was like a physical thing, knocking Kasumi back a step.

Before Sakura even realized she was moving, she was on the other girl. A snarled, "Die," escaped her lips as lengthening claws ripped through Kasumi's red dress, drawing blood. One hand twisted, carving through her left arm. Kasumi didn't panic, using a quick hammer blow to force Sakura away.

Sakura caught the second strike in one hand, ignoring the weak pain of the electric shock and the cracking of her bones. Kasumi grunted, her hammer's glow brightening. "Idiot berseker. With my hammer, there's nothing in this world I can't -"

With a sudden burst of strength, Sakura ripped the head from the hammer's haft. Kasumi froze, gaping at her as Sakura tossed the broken weapon half aside. "Die," she said again, and then she casually backhanded the girl, sending her flying. Kasumi hit an exterior wall hard, but Sakura didn't let up.

Red chakra blazing around her, Sakura fell on the other girl, striking again and again. Kasumi screamed as Sakura's chakra thickened, starting to burn her, but Sakura didn't care. All she could see was what her prey had done to Naruto. "Anyone who hurts my friends," Sakura growled, "will pay." Kasumi tried to block the next blow with her right arm, and Sakura grabbed on with both hands and broke it with a trivial effort. Kasumi screamed again, more loudly, and Sakura just laughed.

"Don't hurt her!" someone shouted. Sakura kept Kasumi pinned to the wall with one hand and half-turned, ready to drop Kasumi and pounce.

"Stop," Hikaru said weakly, holding a kunai in a shaking hand, but only in a defensive posture. He limped a few steps closer.

Sakura took a deep, shuddering breath. "You... can't fight me," Sakura said, trying to force calm into her voice. It was a bizarre, utterly alien feeling, but it was true. The medic, already injured, couldn't hope to win.

Hikaru took a step closer. "Let me help my teammate," he said calmly. He didn't lower his weapon.

It took an effort of will not to jump at him. Sakura fought back the urge to attack. The red chakra around her started to thin and fade. "Why... should I?" she asked, as she looked over the medic's shoulder. Eimi hadn't moved from her seated position near the stairs. Sasuke was still bound in the center of the room, but his eyes had turned their own shade of red. The sight raised strange feelings in Sakura, but it was the final person she looked for. Naruto lay still, but his chest still rose and fell.

"Naruto," she growled unthinkingly at the reminder of the reason for her rage. Hikaru was just as responsible as his teammates. His next, cautious step closer provoked an instinctive response, Sakura's claw swiping at air to force him back.

Instead Hikaru stopped favoring his broken leg, darting at Sakura in a burst of speed. The tip of his kunai ripped a line of fire across her stomach, and Sakura doubled over, dropping Kasumi. The redhead slumped to ground and didn't rise. The shallow, rapidly healing wound hurt more than it should have. Poison.

Hikaru stabbed at her again, but only to make her keep her distance as he bent down to pick up his fallen teammate. Kasumi stirred weakly. "Hi -" she began.

Sakura's chakra blazed into full strength, anger burning away the poison's pain. The medic had used his concern for his teammate to lull her into dropping her guard. Now he was trying to get away with Kasumi, the one who had hurt Naruto, the one who had to pay. She screamed in rage, and enjoyed the look of fear in the boy's eyes as she attacked, shoving him away from Kasumi. Mindless fury filling her, Sakura went for the fallen kunoichi, who barely had the presence of mind to weakly raise her unbroken arm to try to shield herself.

Hikaru jumped at her, wrapping both arms around her and trying to force her to the ground. His weight staggered Sakura, and they both fell. Sakura bit at him, sharp fangs finding flesh and filling her mouth with the taste of blood. Her claws tore great gashes across the medic's chest as she wrestled to the top. Her thick, dense chakra surrounded them, burning, and he screamed. Long seconds passed in a blur as Sakura spent her rage, striking again and again, no longer knowing or caring that it was Kasumi's defender and not Kasumi herself that lay underneath her

"Stop!" Sakura looked up at Eimi's yell, and fear pierced the rage that clouded her mind. The tall kunoichi stood unsteadily next to Sasuke, a kunai in her hands. Sakura had forgotten that the other girl was only dazed. Now, she had a hostage. Sakura let Hikaru fall to the floor as she rose on suddenly weak legs. Her chakra thinned again, a pale aura that flickered around her instead of the dense cloak that had burned Hikaru.

"Please just stop," Eimi pleased as she knelt beside Sasuke. "Please." She raised her weapon, and Sakura took a step forward before freezing. "It's over," Eimi said. Sakura growled. If she hurt Sasuke -

Eimi cut the wires that bound her captive. Sasuke instantly shoved her aside and tried to rise, but he collapsed to his knees next to her instead. "What?" Sakura asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"It's over," Eimi said again. "I... I can't beat you. Kasumi and Hikaru are..." she trailed off. "You win, Sakura-san."

"You... surrender?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Eimi said quickly. "Please. We never wanted to do this. Even Kasumi argued with Tetsu-sensei about it, but we had to follow orders. Please. Don't hurt my teammates any more."

"Your village would have done worse to Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun," Sakura snapped.

"Yes," Eimi said softly, looking down. "I know. I should have... I don't know. Maybe I should have warned -"

"I'd advise you not to finish that sentence, Eimi-kun," a new voice said from the main doorway.

Eimi paled. "Testu-sensei."

Sakura looked up. The Cloud jounin's face was expressionless. His metal arm pointed straight at Sakura. This was the man who was truly responsible. For the first time, Sakura deliberately tried to raise the fury of the Nine-Tails, and it eagerly complied. Red chakra thickened again in an instant, almost becoming a shroud to cover her whole body as she stepped away from the fallen Cloud genin and toward their teacher.

Seals on the man's metal arm began to glow. "I'll have to finish this quickly," he said. "Hatake will be here soon, and we need hostages before then. Stay out of my way, Eimi-kun, and keep the Uchiha secure. We'll talk about the rest later."

"Yes, sir," the chuunin said weakly, but Sakura couldn't waste any attention on her, because in the same instant a bolt of lightning shot from the jounin's arm at her and the battle was joined.

 

[zeebee1]

Pathetic. The sheer arrogance. He thought he could beat Kakashi because he had a new arm. His student thought she could win because she had a weapon she thought made her invincible. And her teacher, with his tail between his legs didn't even try a surprise attack. That team is truly full of idiots.

As for Zabuza, He's doomed. With no one else watching Kabuto has no reason to hold back.

 

[nick012000]

Really, Tetsu? You're going to try to take the rampaging jinchuuriki hostage, after what practically every host prior to Killer Bee did when the lost control of the Eight Tails? The most recent of which he was most likely there for personally? The chakra cloaks they use in battle are fairly distinctive!

I mean, seriously, his best-case scenario is Sakura losing control, unleashing the full power of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and killing everyone present with a giant Bijuu Dama.

 

[ankokudaishogun]

you DO realize Tetsu likely does NOT know Sakura is a jinchuriki, do you?
Actually, I'm more curious why Kakashi isn't back yet...

 

[zeebee1]

The Kyuubi's chakra is outside of her body. He has to know what that means.

 

[Rahlian]

I doubt that. Given the strength of the limited number of shinobi able tp visible manifest a chakra aura, I could acce[t him not immediately associating visibly manifested chakra as the manifeter being Jinchuuriki.

 

[ankokudaishogun]

Also, she doesn't have the chakra cloak out, so he might have thought it was Yet Another Weird Chakra Bloodline

 

[nick012000]

I doubt that. Given the strength of the limited number of shinobi able tp visible manifest a chakra aura, I could acce[t him not immediately associating visibly manifested chakra as the manifeter being Jinchuuriki.

The chakra of a pissed-off tailed beast is highly distinctive. In canon, Kakashi instantly knew the moment that Naruto began using it in much smaller quantities in the bridge battle.

 

[violinmana]

I doubt that. Given the strength of the limited number of shinobi able tp visible manifest a chakra aura, I could acce[t him not immediately associating visibly manifested chakra as the manifeter being Jinchuuriki.

The chakra of a pissed-off tailed beast is highly distinctive. In canon, Kakashi instantly knew the moment that Naruto began using it in much smaller quantities in the bridge battle.

He also knew what the Kyuubi chakra felt like.