Hey guys! This is an idea I was throwing around. I think I can make a good story about it while my muse fails me regarding Mercer's Progeny (which, by the way, has around half of chapter 5 done). This is a crossover that I can't recall being done, and I decided to experiment with it, cause I've been playing C&C3 and I think Kane is fucking awesome. Enjoy!
"That's right Naruto! You're the container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune! That's why the village hates you so much!"
The words rang painfully through Naruto's mind as he ran through the forest.
No more than around an hour ago, the traitor Chuunin Mizuki had tricked Naruto into stealing Konoha's forbidden scroll, lined to the edges with all forms, ranks and elements of jutsu known to Konoha. He was told that if he managed to steal this scroll, that he would become a Genin, and finally be accepted as a shinobi.
But it had all gone wrong. Horribly wrong.
Flashback:
Naruto sat impatiently against the tree, the large black and green scroll resting beside him. What was taking Mizuki-sensei so long to get here? He just wanted his hitai-ate so he could finally be acknowledged as a ninja. He thought, and hoped, with all his heart that this would be the break he needed. But even so, to have to wait this long?! Naruto was not quite known for his patience. He was preparing to rise from his rather uncomfortable sitting position when he heard a rustling in the trees above. He looked upwards and spotted a man with chin-length white hair hanging under his bandana-style Konoha hitai-ate. His attire gave him away as a Konoha Chuunin.
"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "I got the scroll!" he said proudly as he tapped it softly with his right hand. Mizuki smirked.
"Excellent work Naruto! Now hand it over, and I'll officially instate you as a Konoha shinobi!" Mizuki said with barely contained excitement and an undertone with an emotion that Naruto couldn't discern.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at Mizuki's seeming eagerness to get his hands on the scroll. "Uh... alright then.. here you-"
"NARUTO WAIT!"
Both Naruto and Mizuki snapped their gazes to the side as Iruka came bounding up to them, skidding to a halt in front of Naruto, and turning to face Mizuki while sliding into a loose fighting stance.
"Iruka-sensei? What's going on?" Naruto questioned, now confused as to why Iruka was currently in a position to protect him from one of Konoha's own.
Iruka's expression turned to one of mild anger. "You've been tricked! Mizuki's a traitor! He intends to steal the scroll and take it back to whoever he's working for!" He said with no small hint of alarm and annoyance in his voice. Mizuki sneered.
Naruto's eyes widened considerably. "W-what?! That can't be true! Why would Mizuki-sensei lie to me?!" he questioned, in a tone of disbelief, and slight despair. He didn't like the thought of being used for an evil objective like that. He hoped Iruka was just mistaken. He hoped that Mizuki hadn't just lied to him. Though, he thought, it wouldn't be surprising if he did.
"I'm serious, Naruto! You've been lied to!" Iruka shouted. Naruto flinched and looked filled with despair.
"Mizuki-sensei..... is this true? Did you just use me to steal the scroll?" Naruto asked, sounding as if he was trying not to cry. Mizuki snorted and glared at Iruka before shifting his gaze to Naruto.
"So what if it is? I'm your superior, and you'll do as I say! Now hand over the scroll, or I'll kill you both and take it anyway!" Mizuki barked at him. Naruto's hopes were suddenly shattered.
He'd never be a ninja now. He's committed a crime. He's helped a traitor. He'd be rejected as a ninja forever.
"Did you hear me, demon brat?! I said hand it over!" Mizuki snapped. Naruto felt a small bit of anger at hearing the name he had been called for so many years, and never known why. He looked up at Mizuki, a mixture of emotions in his eyes.
"Why are you calling me demon brat? Why does everyone call me demon brat?!" He half-shouted, anger, confusion and sorrow mixing in with his voice. Mizuki narrowed his eyes at him as Iruka sighed sadly. Before Mizuki could answer Naruto's demand (more than a question) Iruka intervened.
"Naruto.... when the Kyuubi attacked, the Fourth Hokage pulled the soul of the demon from its body and sealed it away......" Iruka began sadly.
Naruto was borderlining furious at this point. "I already know that! But what does that have to do with me?!" He demanded.
Mizuki cut in this time. "Oh do some fucking BRAINWORK, brat! What day did the Kyuubi attack!?" He spat, making Iruka glare up toward him.
Naruto responded. "October 10th."
"And your birthday?"
"Octobe- Wait.... you don't mean...." Naruto cringed as realization hit.
Mizuki could almost laugh in sinister glee. "That's right Naruto! You're the container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune! That's why the village hates you so much!" He shouted.
Naruto's will almost shattered on the spot. Now it all made sense. The beatings, the glares, the name calling, all of it.
He was the container of the Kyuubi. Though the village did not see him as the container, just the demon.
Iruka growled. "Don't you dare trash talk Naruto, you traitorous scum!" He barked at Mizuki. Said traitorous scum scoffed.
"Oh that's rich! Last I heard, the Kyuubi killed your parents! And here you are protecting it?! You're a sick fuck, Iruka!" Mizuki retorted with a sneer. Iruka's look changed from anger to pain as he remembered the night.....
Naruto was now fearful. If Iruka decided to change his mind now.....
But Iruka was not one to be swayed. He glared up at Mizuki. "That was the Kyuubi. Not Naruto. Naruto would never kill that relentlessly." He spoke lowly, not realising those words would come back to haunt him. Mizuki outright laughed.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! Your defense of the demon brat.... I don't know whether it's amusing or disgusting! But for crossing me, you die!" And with that, Mizuki vanished, only to appear in front of Iruka, kunai in hand, sticking into Iruka's heart.
Iruka sputtered and began coughing up blood as the kunai pierced his ascending aorta. Naruto watched with horror.
"IRUKA-SENSEI!!!!" He cried in anguish as his sensei and somewhat brother figure received, in all likelihood, a critical injury to a vital point. Mizuki smirked and leaned in to Iruka.
"Now you can join your parents, Iruka. Show them what a weakling you had become by siding with the freak." He murmured loud enough for Iruka to hear, as he drove the kunai deeper, forcing more blood from the wound, and from Iruka's mouth. He followed up with a shove, forcing Iruka to the hard forest floor. Mizuki turned his gaze to Naruto.
"Hand over the scroll, or you'll end up like your beloved Iruka-sensei." He spoke coldly.
Naruto was in perpetual shock. His most beloved sensei had just been stabbed brutally before his eyes, and now he faced the same fate. He darted for the scroll, whereupon he grabbed it quickly and tried to run, but Mizuki was too fast. He dashed in and connected his fist to Naruto's face, sending the blonde flying backward, scroll underarm, as he hit the ground and slid backwards.
Mizuki was growing impatient. "I tire of this crap, you stupid brat! Hand over the scroll, or you'll join your sensei!" He commanded angrily, his tone clearly showing that he was pissed off.
Naruto rubbed his cheek and looked at the advancing form of an irate Mizuki, then over to the unmoving form of Iruka. He had to do something! Anything! He couldn't let it end like this!
Then it hit him. The scroll! Although his chakra control wasn't that good, he had to try! He quickly pried the scroll open and read the first jutsu he saw. Mizuki's face contorted into a confused scowl.
"What the hell are you doing, brat? Your chakra control is too poor to utilize anything from that scroll! You're wasting your time!" He said in a demeaning fashion. Naruto ignored him and stood up slowly. Mizuki stopped his slow advance and looked at the boy with genuine curiosity. The brat couldn't have learned anything from that scroll, right?
Wrong.
Naruto crosses his fingers and let his chakra flow.
"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" he shouted angrily.
A blast of smoke.
Several thousand popping sounds.
Wait.... several thousand?!
When the smoke cleared, Mizuki almost lost control of his bladder at what he saw.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Narutos lined the trees and crowded the open area of the forest. His eyes filled with fear.
And with a mental command, the punishment began.
---------------
Soon, the bloodied, broken form of Mizuki lay on the ground, completely devoid of life, and apparently beaten to death in a very painful way.
Naruto, on the other hand, had dispelled his clones, and was kneeling over the lifeless form of his one and only friend in the world. Tears stained Naruto's cheeks, his body wracked with sobs, as he gently laid his hand on Iruka's forehead and gently slid his hand downward, closing his brother figure's eyes for the last time.
He stood up slowly, grabbing the scroll that had caused him so much pain, even more than he had felt before.
Then, he didn't know why he did it. Hell, he barely knew he did it.
He strapped the scroll on his back and ran.
Naruto was trudging through the forest, his normally happy persona gone. Now replaced with one of sadness, despair and some anger. He had nothing now. The village hated him. He had the blood of two Konoha shinobi, well, one shinobi and one traitor, on his hands. He could never go back. He knew too much now.
So here he was, alone, tired, hungry, and lugging a scroll of unbelievable value on his back. He continued his aimless walk through the forests of Konoha, not knowing what he would do now. He looked down and saw a small rock at his feet.
Naruto clenched his fists. He ground his teeth slightly and squeezed his eyes shut. Just as suddenly, he opened them and kicked the rock hard. He watched it soar and was about to walk again when he heard it.
Clank.
Naruto's curiosity instantly overtook his current mood as he rushed after the path of the rock, trying to see where it had landed. He found it after walking for about 10 meters, and moved toward it to examine it when he heard a metallic clink, as if his sandals had just stood on something made of metal.
Naruto looked down at what he may have been standing on, yet it appeared to be nothing but grass and- wait.....
Grass that was going through his sandals and feet. Not around, through.
Naruto was instantly weirded out as he took a step back, and felt another metallic click as his other heel connected with something that pushed downward as he stood on it.
He watched in shock as the grass he was just standing on, vanished before his eyes.
Only to be replaced by what appeared to be a metallic door, roughly a meter and a half wide, and over 2-3 meters long. It was covered in specks and patches of rust, with what looked like scratches in some areas, probably from passing wild animals. The door split down the middle and slid in opposite directions, opening up to a descending staircase as several pale fluoro lights flickered to life, lighting the path downward.
Naruto was shocked stiff. He had just seen grass vanish and be replaced with a metallic door that opened up a staircase to an unknown area. Part of his mind told him not to go, as he had no idea what was even down there. But in the end, his curiosity got the better of him, and he slowly descended the staircase, ready for anything, but knowing he was ill equipped to combat anything he may cross down here. Still, he pressed forward.
After walking down for about 2 minutes, he came to a small hallway, with the walls made of solid rock. In front of him was another metallic door of roughly the same size as the one on the surface. Unlike the other one though, this one was in much better condition, and it had a strange deep red symbol emblazoned on the door illuminated by the mildly weak lighting. This symbol appeared to be what looked like a scorpion's tail inside an intricately designed triangle. Naruto couldn't quite place it, but something about the symbol radiated fear. He looked to the side of the door and spotted a small keypad. He groaned, knowing he couldn't get inside without some sort of code. Still, that didn't stop him from trying. He reached out and tapped a couple of buttons on the keypad.
Suddenly, some of his chakra sparked when he touched the keypad and short circuited it. Naruto groaned again, now he was never getting-
His thoughts were silenced as the door slid open revealing a very dark room. Naruto was about to search for a light switch when the fluoro lights on the ceiling flickered to life, releasing much stronger light than their hallway counterparts. Naruto stepped slowly into the room, trying to be cautious of any traps, but lacking proper ninja training, it was rather short-sighted. He looked around the room and awed at what he laid eyes on.
There were computers and monitors lining the walls, with several doors leading off to other areas spaced out here and there. Naruto walked in a bit further, and almost jumped out of his skin as the door slammed shut behind him. He turned his attention back to the room, and decided maybe he should camp out here tonight. This place looked well defended enough. He could figure out more tomorrow. For now, he should check this place for things that may harm him, and settle down.
20 minutes later
Naruto had checked every room in this underground complex. There was a dorm, a cafeteria (the food inside was freeze dried, so it was still good), a showering area (with still functioning water, clean too) and a room he hadn't checked yet. Which was his current destination.
The door to the room had that same scorpion symbol emblazoned on it, and it slid open as Naruto approached. He stepped inside slowly, and laid eyes on what looked like an office of some sort, though it was rather minimalist in appearance. There was a bookshelf off to the left, with some dust covered books lining its shelves. In the centre of the room was a desk with a computer atop it. And on the wall behind the desk was a large black cloth banner emblazoned with that symbol again.
Naruto made his way toward the computer, knowing a little of how to use them, as he had learned at the academy. "A ninja must always be up to date on technology" His teachers would always say. Even though they barely let him use the computers in the first place. Bastards.
Naruto shrugged off the thought. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell now. Firstly, he wanted to find out more about what this place was and who it belonged to. And the symbol. He was curious about that too.
He hit the power button of the computer, hoping it would work. With a light whirring sound, the computer flickered to life in front of him. Naruto's eyes were hopeful as it started up, but his hopes were shattered as large white words crossed the screen.
They read "HARD DRIVE CORRUPTED".
Naruto wasn't overly computer literate, but he was pretty sure those words meant this computer was not usable. He set off to try the others, not knowing what he had done by turning on that office computer....
In our dimension...
Kane looked upon his computer screen with unmatched joy.
Ruins of GDI forces were strewn across the continent. Their buildings crumbled and useless. Their soldiers dead or dying, gunned down by his relentless Militant squads and Raider Buggies. Their vehicles strewn and broken by the rockets from his Militant Rocket squads. He was broken from his reverie by a subordinate approaching.
The man, dressed in a black uniform with the Nod logo on the heart of the shirt stood a few feet away from Kane and held his fist to his heart while he bowed his head. "Lord Kane, I have news for you." He spoke.
Kane did not shift his gaze. "What kind of news do you bring?"
The subordinate read the sheet of paper he held, and replied. "Our recon base in..... that area.... has been reactivated." He said rather quietly, knowing the secrecy of that operation.
Upon hearing the words "That area", Kane's attention was diverted to the subordinate. He turned to the subordinate and walked slowly toward him.
"Are you sure of this?" He asked with some of that familiar force in his voice. The subordinate sweated slightly. It was clear why Kane was the Nod leader.
"Y-Yes sir. There's no mistaking it. The small complex has been reactivated. GDI may have found it and-"
"GDI are blind and worthless!" Kane spat, cutting off the subordinate. "They have no idea that that area even exists! No... it has to be someone from that side..... We will have to investigate. Get Ahjay and his men together. They will go through the rift portal and find out what has caused this. They are to capture anyone inside the complex and bring them to me. Are we clear?" He commanded, obviously leaving no room for questioning. As he shouldn't.
"Yes sir! I'll inform them right away!" The subordinate covered his heart and bowed again before walking quickly toward the comms room.
Kane looked toward his desk at the file sealed shut and labeled "Highly Classified". He allowed himself a small smile.
"This should be interesting indeed......"
There we have it! It's a bit longer than most of my first chapters, but I just wanted to lay out some plotline before I get to the action.
That is, IF I get to the action. That's right, this story depends on feedback! I think I can take this story a great distance, but only if I receive support for it! Too much negative feedback, or not enough altogether, and I'll scrap the idea.
The fate of this story rests with you, my faithful readers!
I look forward to your reviews!
Eternally Dark
- Mr Skull