A/N: Greetings, all.

As you can see, you've a brand-new Naruto crossover story; this time, it's straight-up Monster Hunter.

Per my usual pattern, the pilot episode will be shorter compared to the rest of the chapters, and interest in the story will make it more likely for a new chapter to crop up. With any luck, that fight between Naruto and the Kirin may one day happen here. So please, do not hesitate to comment.

In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!

…

[Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato]

Hiruzen took a deep drag of his pipe, savouring the flavour of the tobacco as it passed into his lungs. It had been a very hard day, and he needed to calm down after the reports he'd received throughout the week. The stacks of paperwork he had on his desk were divided into two categories. One stack was the number of incidents one Uzumaki Naruto had caused throughout the school year. The other had ill-fated mission reports, with a few unsigned death certificates for good measure. A good number of them were mission-related; some from combat with humans, others from animal attacks in the wilderness. Oh, how I wish I could just burn that one down...

Reports of tragic conflicts with wildlife were an uncommon occurrence. Once in a while, Hiruzen had heard of children getting lost in the forest, then cornered by opportunistic Jaggi packs. Then there was that incident where a shinobi team was nearly wiped out after crossing paths with an ill-tempered Zinogre. As a matter of fact, when Hiruzen was a genin, he and his team were almost killed in a fierce battle between a Glavenus and a Rathalos.

Were it not for the Hunter's Guild setting up branches in all the major villages, the Shinobi would've been swamped with work dealing with all these monster cases. Because of this, there was an unspoken agreement wherein the Shinobi would deal with human-related missions and the Hunters handled monster cases. It was an agreement that had been in place since during the Clan Wars; after the Clan Wars, each Kage had independently reached an agreement with the Guild. In exchange for letting them do business in their villages, the Hunters were to explore and keep the wilderness safe. In addition to their prey, this involved keeping an eye out for illegal immigrants, bandits and the odd poacher on their forays into the wilds.

The problem, however, lay in the resulting contempt that Hunters and Shinobi held for each other. A lot of the worse Hunters saw Shinobi as nothing but a bunch of money-hungry cowards and backstabbing scumbags. On the other side of the scale, Sarutobi knew of Shinobi that viewed Hunters as meat-headed lunatics and glorified park rangers. That being said, the two groups would collaborate if their missions overlapped, such as having a Hunter as a guide to help clear out bandits or helping a Shinobi team escape a monster-related predicament.

Letting out a deep sigh, Hiruzen breathed out a thick plume of smoke before taking another drag of his pipe. He thought of how two younger friends of his, a brother-sister duo, survived a Bazelgeuse bombing run long enough to drive the beast away from a Shinobi patrol. Overall, Hunters like them inspired him to come up with a solution to help alleviate the tensions between Hunters and Shinobi.

Hiruzen was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard the buzz of the intercom on his desk. "Hokage-sama?" asked the secretary.

"What is it, Aya?" sighed Hiruzen, pressing the response button.

"Uzumaki Naruto's here to see you, sir."

Hiruzen let out another puff of smoke. "Well, let him in."

The elderly Kage massaged his temples as a fit, golden-haired boy entered his office. The blue eyes and whisker-marks on his cheeks marked him as Uzumaki Naruto, with a sheepish expression on his face. He was the reason the Hiruzen had more than his fair share of headaches; and strangely enough, he was also the subject of an experiment he had on mind.

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto?" he asked, sighing exasperatedly, "I had you join the Academy to make your pranking happen less often. Instead, you've been skipping class to prank more throughout the year. Have anything to say for yourself?"

"Uh, it was fun?" Naruto responded nervously.

"Well, I hope that year of fun was worth it, because you've just earned yourself a first strike," Hiruzen deadpanned, "You've spent so much time prancing about the village with your practical jokes that you flunked your first year of school. Do that two more years, and I won't stop Iruka from refusing you your headband. You do realize what that means, right?"

As he watched Naruto fidget in place, Hiruzen had hoped that the severity of the situation would sink into the boy's head. "The Academy was established to teach a new generation of Shinobi; after the Kyūbi attack, we can't afford a Shinobi who does nothing but skip class to fool around all day. And if this is what I see happening for two more years, then maybe I should save you the trouble of re-enrolling, and just ban you from ever becoming a Shinobi—you don't even deserve a chance to be Hokage."

Watching the boy sweat with fear was both heartbreaking and mildly cathartic, but it needed to be done. "On the other hand, I think I know of a way for you to make this up to me for wasting tax money; and all you'd have to do is work on your pranks." As he said that, Naruto's ears perked with curiosity. "What I'm going to share with you is an idea I'd had for a while now…"

Hiruzen was interrupted when Aya buzzed him on the intercom. "Hokage-sama, someone is here to see you."

"Speak of the devil," he muttered, before pressing a button on his desk, "Send him in."

The door opened to allow passage for a tall man with reddish-brown skin and creamy white hair to duck under the threshold. He wore a segmented breastplate with steel splints protecting his shoulders, a pair of knee guards, and a gray fur cloak around his neck. Strapped across his back was a large, shiny rock attached to a long, metal stick with leather wrapped in the middle of the shaft. He also had a large knife holstered at the small of his back.

There were a number of impressive scars on his well-muscled body, and he looked about the room with a pair of russet eyes. What made him look even more intimidating was the short, scruffy beard that gave the impression of an old alpha lion still his prime. Overall, he had the look of a Kaminari man that had seen more than his fair share of combat. "You called for me, Hokage-sama?" he asked.

"Yes, Mangetsu, I've got a request for you," answered Hiruzen, "Why don't you and your sister put Naruto through Hunter training?"

The man named Mangetsu stared at Hiruzen as though he'd grown a second head. "You can't be serious."

"I know I'm asking a lot, but just get him through the training to at least get a Hunting License," Hiruzen stated, "Your workload will be a lot easier; this boy really likes his pranks."

Mangetsu looked at Naruto with an interested smirk on his face. "Does he now? Well, it seems he'd fit right in with us Hunters."

"Wait a minute, you're sending me to the Hunters?"

"Since you've skipped out on Iruka's survival lessons, this is the best opportunity for you to pick up the slack on that end," Hiruzen admonished, replacing the tobacco in his pipe, "What's the point if you go out into the wilderness and you died eating a poisoned berry before you even get promoted?" As he spoke, he lit the pipe. "Besides, it's an experiment to see if it makes any difference that a student was trained as a Hunter before they became a Shinobi; and to see if they can be good Shinobi in the first place."

Naruto gulped at the prospect. The idea that his fate was in the hands of the Hunter Guild seemed to have sunk in. "On a lighter note, I guarantee you'll like being with them; Hunters get to set up pranks all day long, only on monsters in the wilderness."

That bit of good news had brought up Naruto's spirits. "So what do you say? By learning under the Hunters, not only will you make it up to me, but you'll have a good time out of it too."

A warm, hopeful smile found its way on Naruto's face. "When do we start?"

"We start tomorrow morning," explained Mangetsu, "I need to get some stuff ready at the Hunting Lodge, so you're meeting me at Nyan-town."

…

[Nyan-town, the next morning]

Naruto sat at the entrance to the Felyne district's farmer's market, observing the hustle and bustle of people looking at the fresh produce. Oftentimes, he would see people looking for fresh vegetables, as well as a few Lynian chefs picking out ingredients for the night. As a matter of fact, Nyan-town was home to a lot of Felynes, and even a few Grimalkynes and Melynxes could be seen walking the streets in the small part of town.

Throughout the market, Naruto saw people from all backgrounds browsing the wares sold by shopkeepers both human and feline. Most of the clientele were chefs looking for A-grade ingredients to make really good dishes, or laymen with a preference for fresh food. He saw a Felyne farmer taking orders from a well-dressed man over something. At the same time he'd spotted an Inuzuka clansman arguing with a Melynx shopkeep…something about jerky.

As far as Naruto could remember, Nyan-town had always been around since the founding of Konoha. Where there were Hunters, there were Felynes; this was because they had better relations with the Hunters than they did Shinobi. Felyne Palicoes had often accompanied Hunters as chefs, or battle support━it was rare to see them with a Shinobi team, due to their perceived uselessness.

"We ready?" asked a voice behind, startling Naruto. The boy whirled around to find Mangetsu standing behind him, a smirk on his face.

Naruto took a moment to catch his breath from the scare. "You got what you needed?"

"Yeah, I've made arrangements with my sister," answered Mangetsu, silently beckoning for him to follow, "Don't worry, you'll be meeting her soon enough."

"So what do we gotta do to get me that Hunting…whatchamacallit?" Naruto asked, struggling to catch with the larger man, "I really wanna get back to the Ninja Academy fast, so I can be Hokage someday."

Mangetsu scoffed. "The license? Well, that all depends on what I see from you. Assuming you give me trouble teaching you, it should take up to two years to get you a license."

"What if I just wanted to be the best trap-maker among the Hunters?" asked Naruto, "How much time would that take?"

"Heh, that's funny," Mangetsu answered, matter-of-factly, "My sister's the best trap-maker I know; she'd mop the floor with you in seconds with the traps she can set. If I were to teach you, it'd take at least ten years to get you to her level."

Grumbling in frustration with the answers he was getting, Naruto changed the subject. "And if I wanted to be the best hunter in the world as soon as possible?"

"Then it'd take twenty years," Mangetsu replied, not even bothering to smirk.

Naruto suddenly stopped, making Mangetsu pause in turn, regarding him with an amusement. "I don't understand, first you say two years, then ten, then twenty dattebayo! Why is it taking so much time to do this?! How can I do this in the shortest amount of time?!"

"Then you'd be taking seventy years," answered Mangetsu evenly, stunning Naruto to silence, "Naruto, have you ever thought that maybe -just maybe- you'd get what you wanted sooner if you'd just settle down and actually listen to your teacher? Instead of wasting time and money running around, pulling pranks for attention from everyone like an idiot?"

Naruto stared at the older Hunter as though he'd grown a second head. "Yeah, I know why you pulled those pranks," Mangetsu continued, "Iruka pulled more than his fair share on me and my sister when he was about your age. But eventually, even Iruka figured it was time to get serious…which is what you need to do someday, if you want to be a shinobi, if not Hokage."

Gently putting his hand on Naruto's shoulder, Mangetsu's voice softened. "The Hokage thinks you can't survive in the wilderness, much less the Shinobi life, so prove him wrong. The people just ignoring you or looking down on you? Then earn their respect by showing us that you have what it takes to be a good Hunter. But above all, show yourself that if all else fails, you can survive."

Thinking on what he'd been told, Naruto had come to the conclusion that maybe he was right; perhaps it was time to get serious.

…

[Hokage Tower]

Hiruzen gazed into his crystal ball as Naruto and Mangetsu left the village limits. As they walked into the woods, the older man explained to Naruto the basics of what he needed to survive out in the wilderness. They were things that outdoorsmen of all molds adhered to like a sutra.

Overall, it looked like the Moon Siblings were going to beat the survival instinct into Naruto's mind even if it killed him. How they were going to do it was the question of the day. With any luck, you'll come to your senses by the time you come back, Hiruzen thought to himself.

"Hiruzen!" called a voice outside the office. Sure enough, in walked a one-armed man with a cane. Half his face was bandaged, allowing a bush of graying black hair to splay everywhere. It was a visage the old Kage was more familiar with than he liked.

"Danzo," responded the Hokage, "What brings you to my office at this hour, as if I didn't know?"

"I understand you're sending the Jinchūriki to be taught by Hunters," stated the old man, "Are you certain that's a wise idea?"

"I simply wanted to try something new with him," answered Hiruzen matter-of-factly, "I was hoping that if he was so keen on being a shinobi, he'd learn to take it more seriously. And what better way to show him the importance of basic survival instinct, than to have him learn under Hunters?"

Danzo scoffed. "If you wanted him to learn basic survival instinct, you should've sent him to me; no need for those glorified park rangers to be involved."

"And let him become some mindless drone you can throw away?" Hiruzen admonished, stuffing more tobacco into his pipe, "No, between you and the Hunters over Naruto's education, I'd trust the Hunters any day. At least he'll learn to be more useful under their tutelage and beyond; and barring that, we can always keep him as a Hunter to help keep the wilderness safe."

"You tell yourself that," Danzo groused, turning to leave, "You're handing pearls to swine, I say."

"By the way, Danzo, don't bother trying anything with Naruto," Hiruzen warned, as his old friend left the office, "I've got eyes on him, and the Moon Siblings are going to teach him."

As Danzo angrily slammed the door behind him, Hiruzen turned his attention back to the crystal ball. "No way in hell are you laying a finger on Naruto, Danzo," he mused to himself, "Especially not if Mangetsu and his sister are there."

…

A/N: And there we have it; this time, the Shinobi will have to deal with creatures from the Monster Hunter universe. Why the Hunters are necessary when we have Shinobi, we'll get into later. But for now, please review, would you kindly?

Also, props to NorthSouthGorem for looking this chapter over. Go and give his stories a read.