Author's Note from Panda: Hey yo, guess whose back?
For all you cmartin/panda fans out there we have another new story to add to the fold. Yes, another one. Cmartin found this one Naruto/Legend of Zelda crossover that had in both our minds great potential for story but was written (no offense to the original author) like it was written by a 6 year old. He felt we could give the story justice, and I was skeptical of taking on another project. But low and behold this was a pleasant surprise in how much I enjoyed writing this which I hope you all enjoy reading just as much.
We will be taking some liberties with both canons, so let's not all get all bent out of shape when things change. It's fanfiction guys, it should be printed on the side of the box.
So get ready for a slightly stronger and smarter Naruto and Sakura. Yes they are getting together, no this isn't optional.
And by all means, please review to let us know how you think the quality of our story could be improved. We read every review and we take all criticisms to heart. If our jokes aren't funny or our action scenes are boring, tell us so we can get better.
Hope to see you for chapter 2 when our heroes get their mission to Hyrule.
In the middle of a large an ancient Temple in front of an altar with three notches in it leading up to a giant door, stood a boy, clad in green with tiny items in his hand. He had a sword and Scabbard strapped to his back along with a wooden shield with a spiral marking it on it laced in gold. Above his head floated a glowing white dot with apparent wings as the boy prepared to place the items on the altar.
"This is it, Navi." The boy said.
"All of you hard work is about to pay off." The fairy named Navi said. "Place the stones on the altar to open the door of time, Link."
Link nodded and placed the stones in order of acquisition; Kokiri Emerald, Goron Ruby and Zora Sapphire.
The door parted in the center and slowly opened to reveal a large chamber. The chamber was hexagonal in shape, a beam of sunlight peering in through the only window and shining down on a pedestal, a sword in the center of that pedestal.
"It's the legendary blade...the Master Sword." Navi said in awe.
Link made his way to the blade, stepping up onto the pedestal and gripped the sword.
"Be careful! It is said that the Master Sword is imbued with unimaginable power." Navi warned.
Link gulped and nodded. He took a deep breath and with a swift movement, he freed the Sword of Evil's Bane.
Suddenly, a vortex of some kind appeared around him, a mass of energy from releasing the blade. The force of the power was so great that Link lost his balance and fell into the side of the vortex, the energy ripping him apart piece by piece as he howled to the heavens in pain.
"...it seems...we were mistaken with our champion...sisters..." A voice spoke from nothing.
"...yes...we must chose another..." A second voice replied.
"No." A third voice spoke. "We must chose two..."
"No, not again." A boy whimpered to himself as he dashed through the busy midday streets.
Behind him was a gathering mob of old bitter men and stupid young people. They tore through the vendor stalls, knocking aside merchants and shoppers as they chased down the bastard child.
"Catch him!"
"Kill him!"
"String him up by his toes!" Men and women from the mob screamed.
The nimble boy didn't dare look back. He simply kept running. His feet splashing against the muddy road that had been drenched in the torrential downpour from last night. He ducked beneath another fruit stall and ran into an alleyway, hoping to throw the mob off his trail.
No such luck, as the ally turned out to be a dead end.
'Why me?' The boy thought to himself. 'Why always me?'
"There he is!" A man shouted as he spotted the blond boy trying to hide down the alleyway.
The boy looked around desperately for a way to escape. No ladders. He tried to jump up at the walls and climb up by the bricks, but they were too slippery from the recent rains.
"What did I ever do to you?" Naruto cried.
He was answered with a kick to his waist, slamming him into the brick walls.
"I got him!" His attacker shouted. The rest of the mob followed his lead and descended upon the boy with clubs and kitchen knifes.
"This is for my husband you little monster!" One teary eyed woman shouted as she whipped Naruto across the face with the flat end on her kitchen knife. She wanted him to suffer like her Tai did.
"I didn't do anything to you...leave me alone!" He shouted.
"Shuddup, demon!" Another man bellowed as he punched the boy in his face.
The onslaught of beatings, stabbings and whippings continued relentlessly as the poor orphan cried and fruitlessly tried to defend himself.
'Stop it...' Naruto thought desperately.
'I didn't do anything. Stop it...' He thought as he felt a burning sensation in the back of his right hand. He thought that the villagers were trying to brand him again.
'No, stop it...' He thought as his pain grew greater.
"STOP IT!" He shouted, and his hand exploded into a blinding white light.
The villagers felt a tremendous force pushing them back. Many were knocked on their sides and others were thrown completely out of the alleyway.
"THE DEMON HAS AWOKEN AGAIN!" A villager screamed, sending the rest of the mob fleeing for their lives, and leaving Naruto bloody and alone in the dirty alleyway. He looked over in a daze and could have sworn he saw a familiar head of bubblegum hair he loved so much.
'Sakura-chan...' He thought before collapsing.
Moments before, A little girl with vibrant pink hair was walking with her mother through the market. Another boring day shopping as it were, when they saw the bright flash of light coming from a nearby alley.
"What was that?" The little girl asked.
"I don't know, sweetie." The woman said before a massive crowd of people came running down the street, screaming in terror.
"Come on, Sweetie." Sakuri urged to her only daughter. She didn't need to be a former Chunin to know that this was a matter best left to the Jounin and ANBU of the village. The two of them would only get in the way. "Sakura...?" The woman asked as she looked down and saw that her daughter had run off on her.
"SAKURA!" She shouted as she saw her only daughter run up to the alley where all of the commotion was coming from.
Sakura ignored her. She felt drawn to the white light as she made her way down the damp and spooky alleyway.
Her feet carried her over the broken clubs and knocked over trash cans to see a familiar blond boy laying face down in the mud.
"Naruto...?" She asked in astonishment.
Naruto didn't respond, but Sakura could barely see from afar a glowing seal on the back of his right hand, one like she had never seen.
The light shined in her eyes, it was the most beautiful and the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. And for some reason it compelled her to raise up her own right hand, where a similar three pieced triangle glowed from within her own hand.
The light from her hand overwhelmed her and she fainted away at the sight of it. Her face landing next to Naruto's as they both remained unconscious.
"Sakura?! Sakura!" Sakuri shouted for her daughter as she ran down the alleyway.
Some time later, Sakura woke up inside a hospital room. The white walls and the smell of sterile equipment were the first things she noticed as well as a dull pain on the back of her right hand and a painful headache that seemed to make her eyes make her vision double.
"Ugh...my head..." Sakura groaned.
"Sakura sweetie." A voice said beside her before wrapping her up in a big motherly hug.
"M-mom...?"
Sakura rubbed her eyes. "What happened...?"
"I don't know, sweetie. There was a flash of light and then I found you fainted in the mud. By the time I arrived the ANBU were already stationed around you go keep you safe..." Sakuri explained.
'ANBU? Those are the creepy men in masks that keep the village and the Hokage safe.' Sakura thought. Since when was she ever so important to merit their attention?
Sakura remembered something and looked on the back of her right hand and saw that same seal that she Saw on Naruto's hand. "What's this?" She asked. It was a large triangle made of 3 smaller triangles, but the left one was brighter than the other 3.
"The doctors don't know. They say that your symptoms match up with chakra exhaustion, but they have never seen a seal quite like that one before." Sakuri explained.
"But...I saw..." She remembered that Naruto had one and then became worried. "Where's Naruto?" She asked with concern
Sakuri grimaced at her daughter's mention of the demon child. In truth, she knew that the boy was not any kind of reincarnated demon, she did not fear him in the slightest. It was the other, more ignorant villagers that she feared.
Everyday they would ignore Naruto at best and mistreat him at worse. The mobs definitely got more violent as the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack drew near. With the actual date of October 10th being the worse for the boy.
Sakuri and Sakura were headed out to buy some things for the festival when they ran into Naruto. Sakuri was shocked when she discovered her daughter and that boy surrounded by ANBU agents, yet the so called "highly trained black ops ninjas" failed to immediately take both children to the hospital. They would rather wait for direct orders from the Hokage, in the slim hope that Naruto would die before then.
Sakuri and her silver tongue had set them straight. They were taken straight to the hospital, yet Sakuri still insisted that they be given separate rooms. Try as she might to act noble, she didn't want her only daughter to be associated with the demon child, lest she suffer treatment similar to his.
"Mommy, where is Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked more forcefully than a little 5 year old should be able to.
"He is in a different room, sweetie. Being treated by other doctors." Sakuri explained, leaving out the part that she had personally requested it.
"I want to see him." Sakura said as she forced her wobbly little legs out of the covers and tried to stand up, only to be stopped by her mother.
"No Sakura, stop! You need your rest." Sakuri begged.
"I wanna see Naruto-kun. He was hurt badly and he's my friend!" Sakura insisted. She kept fussing by flailing her arms, yet Sakuri proved stronger.
"Sakura. No. I forbid you to see him." Sakuri shouted, making the young pink haired girl stop in her tracks.
"What?" She squeaked.
Sakuri steeled herself for what she had to do. She knelt down to speak to her daughter face to face.
"Sakura, I don't want you seeing that boy ever again. Please..."
"Why?" Sakura asked.
"Because he's bad news, and I don't want you to get dragged down with him." Sakuri tried to explain, yet it only seemed to reignite Sakura's fussing.
"No!" She shook herself side to side, trying to break free from her mother's grip. "Naruto-kun is my friend! He chased off the bullies and made me smile when I was crying! He's been there for me and I wanna be there for him!" She shouted as she finally managed to break free from her mother and ran out the door.
"Sakura!" Her mother shouted.
The girl tore through the hospital hallways, just as Naruto had done through the streets just a few hours ago. She found a nurse that was terribly bust and asked her, "Excuse me miss, where is Naruto-kun staying?"
The nurse looked at the girl like she had grown a third eye. "Naruto-kun?"
"Yes, he's my friend." Sakura explained.
The nurse smiled, like she found Sakura's words cute.
"Well hopefully he's in Hell right now, with the rest of the demons."
Sakura looked up in horror at what that adult just told her about her friend. She ran past the woman, ignoring her shouts or whatever else. She needed to find Naruto. Then everything would stop being crazy. He'd do something funny and all their troubles would go away.
"Oof!" Sakura cried as she ran into some kind of hard drapes. She fell flat on her butt and was about to scramble up to continue her search when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Whoa there, my child, where is the fire?" A kind older voice asked.
Sakura stopped her running and looked up to see a wizard old man wearing white and red robes with a really big hat on his head that obscured his entire head from the ceiling lights above them.
"Excuse me, mister. I need to find my friend." Sakura insisted, not recognizing the old man for who he truly was.
"I see. What is her name? Perhaps I could help you find her?" The old man offered.
"His name is Naruto." Sakura said, hoping that the man would actually help her and not call Naruto-kun a demon.
That made the old man's eyes widen, not that Sakura was looking up to see this.
'So Naruto actually managed to make a friend?' Hiruzen thought to himself, pleasantly surprised.
"Naruto, eh? I know exactly which room he is in."
Sakura looked up at the man with renewed hope. "You do!?" She squealed in delight.
"Yes. I'm somewhat of a caretaker of Naruto's." The 3rd Hokage said as he offered his hand for Sakura to take. "Come, I shall take you to him."
Sakura wasted no time in taking the old man's hand. Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. 'You've found yourself a true friend, Naruto. Maybe even something more.'
They two walked down through the main hallway and down a secret corridor that no other patients or staff members seemed to notice. At the end of that hallway was a door guarded by two ANBU agents who quickly stepped aside in the presence of the old man, but Sakura didn't realize or care why.
The old man opened the door and there was Naruto. Laying unconscious in a single bed with a heart monitor beeping nearby.
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted as she tore past the Hokage and stopped at Naruto's bedside. Her hands reached out to touch the boy and make sure that he was okay. That's when Hiruzen noticed something peculiar. The back of the right hand of the girl was glowing. She didn't seem to notice, but Hiruzen could clearly make out three triangles arranged in a larger triangle glowing through the bandages wrapped around the girl's hand. And if he was not mistaken, he saw a similar glow being emitted from Naruto's right hand.
'So...they have been chosen...' Hiruzen thought. He knew of the legends behind that seal, but he never thought he would get to see it in his lifetime.
Hiruzen stepped outside for a moment to speak with one of his ANBU. "Find Sakuri Haruno, the girl's mother, and bring her here." He instructed.
"Yes sir." The ANBU responded before taking off to find her.
Hiruzen then turned to the ANBU wearing a silver Wolf mask. "I'm entrusting you to look after those two. They have just become far more important than any of us had originally thought...Kakashi..."
"Yes my Lord." Kakashi nodded before sneaking a peak inside the hospital room. Even at such a young age, the boy reminded Kakashi so much of the 4th Hokage, maybe it was just his hair or how he had seen Naruto stand up to the bullies his age, he was definitely his father's son. As for the girl, maybe it was the way she was slouching over the boy's bed, but her mannerisms reminded him so much of Lady Kushina, which was probably more of a testament to how childish the Uzumaki woman really was.
"I will guard them with my life, my Lord." KAkashi responded.
"I know you will." Hiruzen nodded.
Just then, both of them heard footsteps coming down the hallway and saw a frantic mother stampeding towards them.
"Where is my baby!?" Sakuri demanded.
"Sakuri, it's good to see you." Hiruzen smiled.
Sakuri stopped in her tracks when she realized who she had just addressed. The leader of their village, the strongest ninja in the land, the professor. "Lord Hokage." She bowed furiously.
"It's quite alright, my dear. And Sakura is safe, she's in visiting Naruto."
Sakuri grimaced at the mention of that boy's name. She looked inside through the glass window and saw her daughter sleeping next to the boy, her head laying down on his mattress and her arms reaching out to hold his. It was so precious Sakuri felt like she wanted to cry.
"Is he...okay...?"
"He is okay. He's been through a lot worse than what he came in with. But I have something very important to tell you about their seals." Hiruzen said seriously.
"Seals? What seals?" Sakuri asked as she looked again and noticed her daughter's hand glowing brightly, even in the well illuminated room.
"They each have a specific seal that is beyond any seal created by a Shinobi." Hiruzen said quietly. "Have you heard the legends of the Sages and the Sacred Realm?"
"The Sages? I've only heard of the one Sage. The Sage of Six Paths." She replied.
Hurizen nodded. "Come with me, we have much to discuss."
He led her to a private office where he took a seat at a desk and she sat in another chair in front of said desk.
"The Sage of Six Paths, as you know him, is not who he truly was. He was created as a bridge to the Sacred Realm with the powers of all 6 ancient sages imbued within him. The sage of Forest, the Sage of Fire, the Sage of Water, the Sage of Shadow, the Sage of Spirit and the Sage of Light. they are the servants of the 3 goddesses who created our world, Din, Farore and Nayru. The 6 Sages were chosen and tasked by the goddesses to watch over our world and to protect the most powerful artifact known to our race; the Triforce." Hiruzen explained.
Sakuri's eyes went wide. She had heard the stories of the Triforce, but never gave it much thought.
"What does that have to do with Sakura?"
"I'm getting to that. Once every 1000 years, the goddesses will bestow 3 chosen people with their powers to restore balance and peace in our world. The seals on the back of Naruto's and Sakura's right hands are the goddesses gift to them; the power of the Triforce."
"Who...who is the third?"
"I'm afraid I do not know for certain...but know this...the destiny of those two children are now intertwined. They have been chosen as the champions of the goddesses to restore peace to our world. They have become far more important than any Kage or Daimyo. Their roles in this are simple. Naruto has been blessed with the Triforce of Courage. His role is to protect the one who holds the Triforce of Wisdom; Sakura."
"Is that so...?" Sakuri asked as she looked over at the two young children. They weren't even academy students yet. And they were already chosen by some triangles to fulfill a great and terrible destiny. 'And the boy...Naruto...had fate not burdened him with enough already?' Sakuri thought as she looked at the whisker marks adorned upon Naruto's cheeks.
"Lord Hokage, I have a request..."
"Yes my dear?"
"I would like to adopt Naruto, please." She begged.
Hiruzen sighed. "While I would love nothing more than to let you be Naruto's guardian, I'm afraid I cannot allow it. For your safety and Sakura's."
"What? But he's a little boy. He needs a family, a home." She said.
"I know...and I would love nothing more than for you to be the one to give it to him. But the scorn of the villagers would also be placed on you and Sakura for keeping him. That is something that my conscience will not allow me to let happen. But fear not...my most trusted ANBU here will watch over them both and guard them with his life."
"But what about Naruto? What is he supposed to do? Where is he supposed to go? I can't sleep soundly in my own bed if I know he was out on the streets." Sakuri said almost hysterically.
"I didn't say you had to turn him away at your door. He'll be Sakura's good friend. So treat him as such. Invite him inside for a meal. Offer for him to stay that night. To spend time with him. Be the surrogate mother to him that he needs." Hiruzen pleaded. His position as Hokage did not allow him to play favorites with Naruto or even to invite him inside his own clan, but Sakuri from a low level clan would have the best chance of doing this without being wrapped up in powerful clan nonsense.
Sakuri nodded and sighed. "Alright...I'll do that at least..."
"Thank you." Hiruzen smiled.
"But wait a minute...what's Sakura's role?"
"Ah yes...her role is to spread her light to the people of the world, uniting them together and banishing the evil and corruption in the hearts of the wicked. As the legends foretell, Sakura is the 7th Sage and the leader of the 6. She is the elite Guardian to the Goddesses. In time, her powers will become apparent, as will Naruto's."
"And you said that Naruto would act as her guardian, keeping her safe. What would the third triforce user's role be?"
"As history tells, the Triforce of Power that is bestowed to the selected champion, is usually corrupted by the power of that piece. As history tells it, the one who had been gifted with the Triforce of Power, was a demon by the name of Ganon..." Hiruzen said grimly.
Sakuri gasped in fear. "And this demon will come after my baby?"
"He will come after the world my dear, not just her."
"Well why aren't you sending ANBU and teams of Jounin out to kill him? Save my daughter from him before he can do anything?"
"We don't know where he is or if he even exists anymore. But according to history, even the worlds fiercest warriors were no match for his power."
Sakuri felt so helpless. There a monster somewhere out in the world after her baby and she could do nothing to stop it. The Hokage saw her frustration and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Do not dwell on it, Sakuri. What comes will come, and the children will be trained for that day as best they can be. Until then, love them. Love them both, raise them right, and ensure that their childhoods are not ripped away from them. Do this, and I know that one day the love in their hearts will help them succeed more than jutsus or weapons ever could."
Sakuri sighed shakily and looked to her daughter, who was still seemingly napping next to Naruto.
"Okay...I'll do my best..."
The two adults then hear groaning coming from the bedside. They looked over and noticed that Naruto was beginning to stir.
"Oh god..." Naruto groaned.
"Naruto?" A woman's voice said to him as he felt something glide through his hair as if to comfort him. But who would ever try and comfort him besides the Old man?
He opened one eye and could make out a blur of pink hovering over him.
"Sakura-chan...?" He asked weakly.
'Sakura-chan?' Sakuri thought. 'What a cute nickname. Considering that he's younger than my daughter.'
"No Naruto, I'm Sakuri Haruno. Sakura's mother." She said softly.
Naruto blinked a few times and saw that the woman was indeed much older and than Sakura-chan and unmistakably her mother. Nevermind the dark pink hair, she had her daughter's face almost to a T.
"Mrs. Haruno? How come you're here?" Naruto asked.
"I came to check up on you and find my daughter." Sakuri said. Naruto followed her eyes and noticed another mess of pink hair resting right next to him bed.
"S-Sakura-chan...? Why is she in a hospital gown..?"
Then a horrifying thought came to him. "She didn't get hurt by them did she? Please tell me shes okay." Naruto demanded with concern.
"She's alright. She had something similar to chakra exhaustion, but a minor version. As soon as she woke up she dragged herself over to your bedside." Sakuri said with pride.
"S-she did...?"
"She did. She cares about you a lot, Naruto. I can tell. You are a very important friend to her." Sakuri stated.
"I...am...?" Naruto choked out.
"You are." Sakuri smiled.
Naruto just looked down at Sakura's sleeping form. He couldn't see her face, but he could make out the puddle of drool on his sheets.
"I...have a friend..." Naruto choked out, a tear coming down his cheek.
"Are you going to say that you don't want me playing with her anymore?" He asked Sakuri, setting himself up for rejection like all those other times.
Sakuri just smiled. "I wouldn't think of it. In fact, how would you like to stay with us for a couple of nights? Have a nice home cooked meal and get a proper bath."
"For reals?" He asked hopefully. He had never been invited to someone else's meal before.
"For real. Sakura doesn't have any friends either and you are very special to her."
Speak of the devil. At that very moment Sakura began to stir awake.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said in bewilderment. Stirring the girl awake further.
"Mmmmm, Naruto-kun?" Sakura muttered as she opened her eyes and saw her friend awake and sitting up straight.
"Naruto, you're okay!" She shouted before tackling him with a hug.
"Ack! Sakura! Air!" Naruto cried as the 5 year old girl squeezed the absolute life out of his ribs.
"Oh my. I think I'll give you two some privacy. I'll go grab some food. You two must be starving." Sakuri said mischievously as she made her way to the door. Leaving only the two adolescents alone in the hospital room.
"What did she mean by that?" Naruto asked.
"No idea. My mom is weird sometimes." Sakura said as she carefully let go of Naruto. "So what was that about back there? Why we're those people attacking you, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked, nay demanded to know.
Naruto looked down sadly. "I wish I knew...they've been doing this to me for as long as I can remember. I never did anything to them..."
"That's horrible..." Sakura said. She knew that she was bullied because of her large forehead. It was stupid and it wasn't her fault, but she still knew about it. To attack Naruto for no reason when he was funniest, kindest, and bravest boy she knew was just crazy.
"Even the doctors and nurses here hate me...I don't know what I did, but I wish they would all leave me alone..." Naruto whimpered.
Sakura felt like crying. How could they do that? How could anyone, kids or adults, be so mean?
She wanted to cry, but then she remembered her first time meeting Naruto a little over a year ago.
"Don't cry, Sakura-chan. Don't give'em the satisfaction. Ya gotta be strong." He said to her.
Sakura instead wrapped Naruto up in a hig, this one far more gentler and intimate than the last one.
Instead of her crying, it was Naruto. He never felt affection from anyone save for the 3rd, only cruelty and disdain.
"Naruto-kun. I promise you. I will always be your friend." Sakura promised.
That just opened a new floodgate of tears, not because he was sad or heartbroken, but because he was happy. Happy that he had finally made a friend that would always be there for him.
"I promise too!" He cried. "I'll always be your friend, Sakura-chan..." He blubbered.