As The Kyuubi no Yoko in Naruto

The morning mist clung to Wave Country's forests as Team Seven gathered for training. Kakashi, still using crutches from his chakra exhaustion, watched his students with careful assessment.

"Today we'll work on combining techniques," he announced, his eye studying each of his genin.

"Sakura, your water walking has improved, but you need to maintain it while performing other jutsu. Sasuke, focus on speed with your fire techniques. And Naruto..."

He paused, noting how his blonde student seemed more focused on something in the surrounding mist than his words.

Since the fight with Zabuza, these episodes of distraction had become more frequent, more obvious.

"Naruto," Kakashi's voice carried gentle warning. "Are you with us?"

"Yes, sensei," Naruto replied, though his eyes still tracked something invisible in the trees. "Just... watching."

"What do you see?" Kakashi asked carefully, using these moments to evaluate his student's mental state.

"Shapes," Naruto answered, maintaining their practiced narrative. "Sometimes they look like people, but they're not... quite right." He let his voice waver slightly. "They don't show up as much here as in Konoha. Too far from..."

He trailed off, letting them draw their own conclusions about what he might mean. The warmth in his mind curled with approval at the performance.

"Focus on the present," Kakashi advised, his tone deliberately gentle. "We need to prepare for when Zabuza returns."

"If he returns," Sakura interjected, though her voice lacked conviction. They all knew the truth about the hunter-nin's intervention.

"Oh, he'll be back," Naruto's stated, "The demon of the mist... he'll want to prove himself against..." He let his eyes unfocus slightly. "Against what he saw."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed at these words. The incident with Zabuza had shown a different side of Naruto's condition - more controlled in some ways, more terrifying in others.

"That's why we're training," he stated firmly. "Sakura, start with the water walking. Sasuke, run through your fire kata. Naruto..." He paused again. "Show me how much control you have over that red chakra."

"Control?" Naruto's laugh carried echoes of something much older. "Sometimes I remember having so much control... other times it feels like trying to hold back an ocean."

The red chakra began seeping out slowly, making Sakura step back instinctively. Even Sasuke, who had grown used to its presence, felt its weight.

"Interesting choice of words," Kakashi noted, his Sharingan eye now uncovered to observe the chakra's behavior. "These memories you mention..."

"They're clearer here," Naruto continued, letting the red chakra swirl around him in carefully measured waves. "Away from the village's seals. Sometimes I remember being so vast, so powerful... other times I remember being small, being sealed..."

Sakura's concentration broke completely, her feet splashing into the water as the pieces suddenly clicked into place. The Nine-Tails attack twelve years ago. The villagers' fear. The strange red chakra. The sealing.

"You..." she whispered, eyes widening with horrified understanding. "That's what... The Nine-Tailed..."

"Sakura," Kakashi's voice cut sharp with warning, but the damage was done.

"The demon fox," Naruto confirmed, his voice carrying that perfect blend of childish uncertainty and ancient knowledge. "Though sometimes I'm not sure which I am anymore. The fox remembering being human, or the human remembering being..."

The chakra pulsed violently as he trailed off, making Sakura stumble backward. Everything suddenly made terrible sense - the villagers' hatred, the ANBU watches she'd noticed,

Sasuke's protective behavior, the strange episodes where Naruto seemed to be someone else entirely.

"That's enough," Kakashi decided, noting how the chakra responded to Naruto's apparent emotional state. "Work on maintaining a steady output. No surges, no shapes."

But Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away from her teammate - the boy she'd known for years who might not be entirely a boy anymore. Who might be something far older, far more terrible.

"Focus on your own training, Sakura," Kakashi instructed gently, though his eye held warning. Some revelations weren't meant to be discussed openly.

The training continued in tense silence, broken only by the sound of water splashing as Sakura struggled to maintain her concentration. Her eyes kept darting to Naruto, watching how the red chakra ebbed and flowed around him like something alive and aware.

"The is a law isn't there?" she finally said during a brief break, her voice barely above a whisper. "That's why no one could tell us. Why everyone..."

"Feared me?" Naruto finished, letting his voice carry that careful edge of bitter amusement.

"Hated what they thought was sealed away? Or maybe..." The red chakra stirred. "Maybe they saw the truth before anyone else. Saw what I was becoming."

"You're not..." Sakura started, then stopped, uncertain. How could she say he wasn't the demon when he spoke with two voices, when his chakra felt older than the village itself?

"Not what?" The ancient undertone in his voice grew stronger. "Not the fox? Not the boy? Perhaps I'm both now. Perhaps that's what the seal did - merged us until even I can't tell where one ends and the other begins."

"Naruto," Kakashi's warning came sharp and clear.

"It's fine, sensei," Naruto replied, though his eyes held something that made Sakura shiver. "She would have realized eventually. They all do, in time. Watch how the chakra moves, how it feels alive, how it remembers..."

The red energy swirled more violently, responding to his words, making the air feel heavy with ancient malice.

"That's enough," Kakashi ordered, his Sharingan eye tracking every movement of the caustic chakra. "Back to training. All of you."

But Sakura couldn't focus anymore. Every surge of red chakra, every glimpse of those slitted eyes, every word spoken in that double-layered voice... it all meant something different now.

Her teammate wasn't just containing a demon.

He might be be one.

As evening approached, Kakashi called an end to training. Sakura left quickly, her usual attempts at conversation with Sasuke forgotten in light of her new understanding.

"She'll need time," Kakashi said, watching her disappear into the mist. "This isn't something easily processed."

"Like the villagers needed time?" Naruto asked softly. "They've had twelve years, sensei. Look how well that turned out."

The red chakra had mostly receded, but its presence still lingered in the air, making everything feel heavier, older. 

"The seal-" Kakashi began.

"Is doing exactly what it was meant to do," Naruto interrupted, letting his eyes unfocus slightly. "Or maybe it isn't. The memories make it hard to tell anymore. Was this the Fourth's intent?

Or was it not? I don't know him, yet I do have memories of fighting him. It is all a mess..." Naruto finally stated as he began scratching at his head, with such force, it was beginning to bleed, yet also immediately healing because of his natural healing.

Sasuke approached him and caught his hand, stopping his scratching. 

"Rest," Kakashi finally ordered, his tone tired and slightly pained, as he saw Naruto listen to Sasuke's unspoken words. "Tomorrow we'll continue work on control." 

The jonin thereafter disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving the two boys to their usual silence.

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

(Author note: Hello everyone! Hope you all enjoyed the chapters!

As you all see, Naruto is acting like a complete mess.

One moment he is acting fully believing himself to be Kurama, the next he is but a boy with the memories of the demon leaking, the other that both are one being, etc.

All for the performace.

Man, this Naruto could have had an awesome acting career - though of course, most of this is thanks to Kurama guiding his mental state. Showing him things that evoke anger, or sorrow, or pain, or joy, etc.

Because so long as the emotions are real, he can't truly be easily found out, for no doubt would form.

Though still, you think that ice princess would let him star as a male lead?

Probably not, well, I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)