Kasek: Alrighty, I've FINALLY gotten around my killer writer's block of DOOM, and have come up with this story! I'm trying to make it into an epic saga, but... we'll see. This is a Legend of Zelda & Naruto crossover. As for pairings, right now, I'm thinking of just having a little bit of a few different pairings. I'll try not to have any romance interfere with the story; it will mostly be for humor. Also, I WON'T be holding any 'vote for your fave pairings' events. It's just not how I do things. However, you can still include in your reviews how well (or not so well) I'm pulling then off. Lastly, I'll only use honorifics when they're being respectful (-sensei, -san, -sama, etc.), as I stink with placing -chan and -kun. Now, enjoy!

Summary: Naruto has decided to take the Chunin Exams again in order to advance his search for Sasuke. But with a new team and new enemies, can he make it? Zelda Naruto crossover.

Disclaimer: I own neither the manga/anime/video game series 'Naruto', nor the video game/manga/comic/cartoon series 'Legend of Zelda', nor any of the affiliated characters

Legend of Naruto: Hokage's Pendant

Chapter 1: Prelude to an Adventure

(Note: I started writing this before the Kaku/Hidan battle, so don't sue me for having a different outcome for the battle.)

Naruto and Sakura sat by Kakashi's bedside, with Yamato in the bed next to Kakashi's. Kakashi had been hospitalized (again) after completely wiping out his chakra supply (again). Yamato had been injured in the fight with Kakuzu. Sakura was busy changing his bandages. Just for reader comfort, Shikamaru was a few beds down, with Ino and Choji currently visiting him (hey, you try going one-on-one with an Akatsuki member and come out unscathed).

"Honestly, Kakashi-sensei, you need to be more careful. You're not Naruto, you know."

Everyone- except Naruto, of course- chuckled at that.

"Well, you know me- always giving my all for the mission." Sakura sighed.

"At this rate rate, there won't be much left to give. Just get some rest. Sorry to say this guys, but visiting hours are over."

Naruto, who had been strangely silent, got up. "Well, that's just as well. I really need to go get some ramen. I came straight to help you guys after I finished training you know. Just wish I could've used that cool jutsu of mine." He turned to Ino and Choji. "You guys want to come?"

Choji quickly agreed, being quite hungry himself. Ino, however, agreed to go only if Sai was going... which, he was. Obviously, Sakura couldn't go, as she was still on duty. Before they left, Kakashi spoke up.

"Hey, Naruto, do you mind staying behind for a minute? I need to tell you something." Naruto nodded, and waved his friends to go on without him. After they had left, Naruto sat back in his seat next to Kakashi.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well, you see, I think that it's about time you took the Chunin Exams again."

Naruto was shocked that his sensei would even suggest such a thing. "B-but, what about Sasuke? I still have to bring him back!" Kakashi sighed and gave him one of his 'looks'.

"Naruto... this exam isn't in Konoha. It would give you a chance to get out of Konoha, and will give you plenty of experience. Also, there's still plenty of time before Orochimaru takes over Sasuke's body. Plus, if you make Chunin rank, the Council might trust you a bit more to protect yourself."

Naruto seemed to mull it over for a minute. "Well, I guess it can't be too bad of an idea... but who would I go with? Sakura's already a Chunin, and I know Sai isn't a Genin... (A/N: Does Naruto know that Sai's ANBU?)"

Kakashi's one eye curved into an upside-down 'U'. "I'm glad you asked, Naruto. There happens to be a Genin team that is perfectly capable of competing, except for one thing: they're only two Genin on it."

Naruto looked suspicious. "And why are there only two Genin on this team?"

Kakashi laughed. "Naruto, why turn down a good opportunity when it presents itself?"

Naruto considered it a moment longer, and decided. "Well, you've never really lead me wrong before... except for that one time with that cat... alright, I'll do it! So, wait, if it's being held outside of Konoha, where's it being held?"

"It's a place you've actually been to recently, Naruto. Sunagakure."

"Suna?!? Why didn't you say so earlier? And here I thought I'd be going off to a strange village I'd never even heard of before..."

"Well, Morigakure had offered to hold the exams, but when Gaara heard that you'd be entering this year, he insisted that Suna hold it..."

Naruto took a moment to register what he had just said; one: The exams had almost been held in a strange village he had never heard of before, and two: that someone had decided ahead of time that he was entering. "Say WHAT?!? You told him ahead of time I was entering? Why?"

"One: Don't be so loud; it's a hospital. Two: We all know that you never say no to a challenge, Naruto." While Naruto grumbled, Kakashi continued. "Anyways, the exams themselves are in two weeks, but you'll be leaving with your new teammates tomorrow. Meet them at the gate at 0700 hours, okay?"

Naruto nodded, and then asked something he had just thought of. "Wait, who're going to be my teammates?"

Kakashi chuckled. "You'll see, Naruto... you'll see..."

Sakura walked up to them. "Naruto, you really have to go now. I could get in trouble if you stay here any longer."

"Alright, alright, I'm gong, I'm going..."

The following morning...

Naruto could see the gate rising well above any of the nearby buildings, though he couldn't quite yet see the bottom of it. His thoughts were on his new team, and he wasn't looking where he was going. While deep in thought (is that even possible for Naruto?), he crashed right into someone. Luckily, they had fallen apart from each other.

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going, and- " Naruto froze, if but for a second. There in front of him lay Hinata, whom he had just knocked over. He held his hand out to her. "Are you okay Hinata?"

Needless to say, she was not. She was currently blushing a deep Sharingan red. She had just touched Naruto! Not only that, he was offering his hand to her! She reluctantly took his hand (trying not to faint), and pulled herself up. After a moment of awkward silence, Naruto spoke up.

"Uh, Hinata... you can let go of my hand, now." She let out a quick 'meep!' as her hand retreated to her side faster than Lee could kick you (which is pretty darn fast).

"N-Naruto... w-what are you d-doing here?"

"Well, I was about to leave the village to attend the Chunin exams in Suna. What are you doing here?"

Hinata's heart skipped a beat. He was leaving? "N-Naruto, how are you able to t-take the exams? D-don't you need a team?" She realized that she knew the answer, but she just didn't want her little heart to accept the fact that he was leaving.

"Well, there was some team that really needed another Genin, so I got placed on that one. Wait, don't change the subject; what are you doing here?"

Hinata decided to tell him the truth. "W-well, my little sister, Hanabi, is going as well, so I was going to wish her luck."

Naruto was shocked, to say the least. "W-wait just a minute... you have a little sister?"

"O-oh, you never knew? W-well, she never really left the compound before becoming a Genin, so..."

"Well, if we're going to the same place, come on! I'm going to be late!" He then hurriedly grabbed her arm and dragged her (not literally) towards the gate, with her blushing the entire time, coming pretty close to fainting. After a minute, they finally reached the gate, with several people under it. Naruto recognized most of them: Team 7 (including Kakashi, though he was in a wheelchair being pushed by Sakura), Team 8, Team 10 (including Shikamaru, who had pretty much recovered his chakra, and was walking on crutches), Team Gai, Tsunade, Shizune, and even the Konohamaru Squad, with Ebisu standing near them. Naruto assumed that they would probably be going with him, as they were carrying travel packs. And then, there were three people he did not recognize.

The first, he realized, was probably Hinata's little sister, Hanabi, but in his opinion, she looked more like Neji's. This wasn't helped by the fact that they were standing right next to each other. She was wearing pretty much the same robes as he was, though hers had a longer skirt-thingie (whatever you call them... XD). Her hair was also similar to his, being the same color and length (proportionately), but she wore her headband around her neck, like her sister. She looked to be about 9 years old- a little too young to be a ninja, in Naruto's personal opinion, but he remembered what his sensei had said long ago- that there were shinobi that were younger than them (they had been twelve at the time) who were stronger than him. Naruto personally hoped he never met those kids.

The other Genin looked to be slightly older- Naruto couldn't even tell if they were a he or a she, let alone how old they were, but by height alone, they might've been 10, as they had a few inches on Hanabi. This person wore some kind of blue jumpsuit, with a white cloth on top of that, that had a neckband that covered everything up to their eyes. Even then, one of the eyes was covered by some of their blond hair (like Ino's or that Deidara guy's, Naruto commented in his head). Their head was covered in wrappings, leaving the only part of the entire head that was exposed a single red eye and some tanned skin. They also had wrappings on their arms, their headband over the head wrappings in standard position, and some kind of purple shin guards on their legs. Something Naruto's attention was drawn to however, was the large, red symbol on their shirt; it looked like a magnifying glass with eyelashes. Naruto figured it was some kind of clan symbol. All in all, they looked like some weird combination of Dosu (one of the Sound Genin), Rock Lee, Ino, and Kakashi. This person was currently talking with Kakashi; not surprising, really.

The last one- Naruto assumed this woman to be the Jonin sensei for the two- was rather unique, as well. She had short, silvery-gray hair- not completely unlike Kakashi's- red eyes, the same shade as the mysterious Genin's, and skin that was almost a tanned. She was wearing the typical Jonin uniform, but had the same red eye symbol on the front, and wore the same purple shin guards, so it was easy to assume that the two were probably related. She also had a short sword attached to her waist.

They quickly ran up to the group, and once there, Naruto let go of Hinata's hand (and, as a result, almost dropped her onto the ground). Her blushing slowly subsided as Naruto greeted his friends.

"Hey! Sorry I'm a little late; I ran into Hinata on the way here, and got a little distracted."

Sakura playfully bonked him on the head. "Watch it, Naruto, you're beginning to sound like Kakashi-sensei." As Naruto talked to his friends and teammates, who all wished him good luck, he was approached by Hanabi and the odd Genin. Hanabi spoke first, after giving a little bow.

"Greetings, Naruto-san. My name is Hyuuga Hanabi. I've heard a lot about you from Hinata and Neji-san; I look forward to working with you." Naruto was more than a little surprised at how polite this little girl was being towards him; to be honest, nobody had ever treated him like that in his life. His awkwardness showed on his face. "What is wrong, Naruto-san?"

Naruto started scratching the back of his head. "Oh, sorry, it's just that nobody has ever been that polite to me before, so I was just kind of surprised, that's all. Um, what should I call you?"

"Just Hanabi will be fine, as we're going to be teammates from now on."

"Okay, Hanabi, nice to meet you!" Naruto then turned to the mysterious Genin. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage! Who are you?"

Hanabi almost winced at how informal that had sounded next to her greeting. Hinata was right; he really wasn't used to politeness. The mystery Genin bowed before introducing... er... himself? Herself?

"My name is Sheikah Sheik (those in the immediate vicinity struggled to keep their laughter inside). Nice to meet you, Naruto." Naruto should've guessed; Shiek's voice was completely adrogynous (Naruto had picked up the word after having encountered several ninja who fit the definition). Naruto took a moment to gather up the courage for what he was going to say next.

"Not to sound rude, but... are you a boy or a girl?" Some people sweat-dropped, while others nodded their heads in agreement, having wondered that very same question themselves. Sheik was one of the ones who sweat-dropped.

"Well, should've seen that one coming. I'm a guy."

Naruto was slightly embarrassed that he had even asked the question, but was relieved now that he finally knew Shiek's gender. (A/N: As am I; typing for a character of unknown gender is annoying). Konohamaru quickly came over, followed by Moegi and Udon. "Hey, Boss, you're entering the Chunin exams, too?"

It had finally dawned on Naruto that he might have to fight Konohamaru. After shaking off that train of thought before it lead somewhere, he responded. "Yep, and there's NO way you guys are going to beat us!"

Konohamaru scoffed (something he had picked up after listening in on all of the politicians). "You may be older than us, boss, but all three of us are older than Hanabi and Sheik!" Naruto looked behind him; true enough, the members of the Konohamaru Corps. were older than his teammates, even if it was just by a year or two. It was also then that he noticed that Hanabi had been using him as a human shield.

Huh, I guess she really is Hinata's sister. "Konohamaru, when it comes to being a shinobi, age doesn't matter... too much, anyways. So, when are we supposed to leave?"

"Right now." Naruto jumped at the sound of his new sensei's voice coming from right behind him. "O-oh, hello, sensei."

The Jonin smiled at him. "I am Sheikah Impa, Naruto, but you'll be calling me Impa-sensei. Come on, I was being serious, we should leave now."

As the gates opened, Naruto waved goodbye to his friends, and looked forward to his journey with his new teammates.

END CHAPTER

Kasek: Well, how did you like it? I took some liberties with Sheik and Impa (Such as, I won't be using the Japanese names for all of the Zelda characters, if they even have different names at all, as I just can't find them). I know the name 'Sheikah Sheik' sounds stupid, but he's Sheik of the Sheikah clan, so that's how it came out. I haven't quite decided if Sheik will have an alter-ego or not; we'll see. Also, I know Hanabi turned out differently then most people peg her, but that's just the way I see Hanabi turning out. You'll get to see more of her personality later, though...

And yes, the shinobi of Morigakure (Village Hidden in the Forest, I believe; tell me if I'm wrong) will play an important role in this fic... cookies to those who can guess who will comprise the Genin team from Mori. Well, on one final note... REVIEW!!! REVIEW AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT!!! Okay, maybe not quite like that, but... REVIEW!!!

Chapter End Bonus 1: After the Battle

Zetsu looked around the battlefield, noting the different battle scars the area (and local flora) had received. As he wandered, he came across a rather large tree, with a growth that looked strangely like Kakuzu. Zetsu's black half spoke.

"Well, it seems not even his money could save him in the end."

"NOBODY LIVES FOREVER," noted the metallic voice of his white side.

"Well, looks like we won't be able to dispose of him the normal way..." the black half mumbled, as he slipped the ring off of Kakuzu's finger.

"WELL, JUST HAVE THE NEW GUYS DO IT," the white half replied, while taking said ring and tossing it to one of the two figures behind them. The shorter one- a blue haired, blue skinned man with pointed ears- caught it, and immediately placed it on his left middle finger, while the taller one- a red haired, deeply tanned man with an abnormally large nose and a similar ring on his left index finger- stepped forward, grinning darkly.

"Gladly." He walked up to the tree, and pulled his right hand back, and his grin grew wider as it became enveloped in dark flames. He punched the now-dead Kakuzu, and the entire tree shattered, and the splinters became covered in dark flames, before shortly turning into ashes that scattered into the winds.

Zetsu stepped forward, and his black half spoke. "Well then, welcome to Akatsuki." The two undeniably evil men grinned.

Kasek: Ooh... Zelda fans well know these guys right off. If not... shame on you! This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written... And sorry about not updating my other stories; like I said, I've had KILLER writer's block... Well, like I said before, REVIEW!!!