Ch. 1 : Cast Out
A/N : Hey everyone, Nikolai here with another idea that has been brewing for some time now. I'll keep this note short, this time. Fictional Revisionism – the retelling of a story with substantial alterations in character or environment.
I will be changing vital canon events in this, and things will change. If you read this expecting the canon story line to the letter, you might as well stop now.
Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto, Overlord, or any obscure references to other owned or written material, either official or those of fandom. They are all property of associated parties.
"Eighty-seven degrees my ass!"
A young teenager scowled to himself as he readjusted his unbuttoned shirt to allow for the scant breeze to cool him down. A few people along the semi-crowded street turned to see who was cursing such fine weather, only to smile as they saw the son of their oh-so-beloved Hokage.
"Well hey there, Naruto-san!"
Naruto nodded in the general direction of the speaker without bothering to identify them. He knew they were just trying to be polite and friendly, but the hot weather wasn't doing his temperament any favors. Even if he hadn't been ordered to report to the Hokage's Tower on one of his few days of down time, he still would have been irritated. Add that to the blazing heat and his favorite restaurant being closed for the day and you had a recipe for disaster.
"Oi, Naruto!"
The fifteen year old spun on his heel, about to blow up in someone's face. His shout of exasperation died in his throat when the man turned out to be one of the few people in the village whose presence he could stand. Partly because he was his academy instructor, but mostly because he was practically the only person who wouldn't hesitate to beat some sense into him. The dolphin was not one to walk on eggshells because of titles.
"Good afternoon, Iruka-sensei."
Naruto honestly wanted to stay pissed off, but the man's damned smile always made it hard. Whenever he saw him, Iruka was grinning like he had just won the lottery or something.
"Dang Naruto, you sound like you were born on the wrong side of the Kyuubi. What have I told you about calling me that? This ain't the Academy, so relax some."
The boy rolled his eyes, but his scowl diminished visibly.
"Only you would joke about that, Sensei. So how can I help you?"
The Chunin, only a few years his senior, laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. He fell into step beside the boy easily and slid his hands into his pockets.
"You wouldn't think I cared if I didn't. So anyway, what are you doing this far into the business district? I thought you said you hated all the crowds. Weird place to be spending a day off."
"Hokage-sama sent me a message that I was to come see him. Apparently he has something important he wants to talk to me about because he didn't give me any more details than that."
Iruka frowned softly at the flippant tone the boy had taken about the strongest man, or women, in the village.
"You know you really shouldn't be as hard on him as you are. He cares about you a lot, you know that."
Naruto barked a short, mocking laugh.
"He doesn't care for me any more than he does for any other villager. You know that."
"Of course he does! You're his son for crying out loud, why wouldn't he care for you?"
The blond just rolled his eyes at his older charge. The man's heart was definitely in the right place, but he was just a touch too naive sometimes. Sure the Yondaime Hokage was his father, but ever since the incident with the fox a decade and a half ago, he had never quite been the same. At least, from what he had been told.
He had never known his father before the Kyuubi had decided to break from the seal of the last Jinchuuriki, but apparently he had once been much different. Instead of the serious and somewhat cool man he was now, he used to be a veritable ball of energy. Always laughing and fun to be around, great with people and even better with kids, he sounded great. Turns out the stress of ruling over the single biggest Shinobi Village in the Elemental Countries can take its toll on a guy.
Oh sure he had his shining moments. About seven years ago his father had given him the best birthday of his life. Every October 10th a festival was held in honor of the people who had given everything to save the village from the Kyuubi, and he had been made the guest of honor. Everyone who had fought in that battle and survived were heralded as heroes of untold caliber, and the sounds of partying could be heard from every corner of Konoha. It was great, and it had definitely been the best day of his life.
That had been the last time he and his father had spent any time together as father and son. After that he had been too busy taking care of the village and various threats of war from all over the world. It wasn't that Naruto held it against him, he had started the Academy that year and had to focus on his training anyway, it just sucked that his father acted more like his boss.
"Because he can't afford favoritism. Isn't that one of the things you taught in your class? That the Hokage must put the well being of the village before anything, including himself? I understand, and I've gotten over it. I'm just saying, he's the Yondaime Hokage, then he's Minato Namikaze. That's something he's made clear plenty of times. It doesn't bother me any more. Now can we just enjoy the blazing heat? I want to be able to focus on my splitting headache."
Iruka glanced down at the boy and chuckled sadly. The kid had really gotten the short end of the stick, all things considered.
"You know, I think it bugs you more than you want to admit."
The glare he got for a response made him decide that that was enough. Naruto was known to have a little bit of a temper when prodded enough and he didn't feel like getting into a fist-fight with the kid in the middle of the street. Sure he could wipe the floor with the kid eleven out of ten times, but that didn't mean it was a good idea to smack around the 'honorable-son' in plain view of the public. He'd probably get lynched!
"Anyway, it can't be all that bad. I mean come on, you've got pretty much the whole village eating out of the palm of your hand. Any one of these people would trip over themselves to have the honor of 'serving the son of our village's greatest hero'."
This time Naruto wasn't the only one to roll his eyes in disgust.
"You'd think it would be a good thing, but it really isn't. What's the point of being able to do things if you don't have to work for them? Discounts at stores, free gifts, hell there are some people who would even be more than willing to hand over some of their greatest techniques just because I asked them to."
Iruka cocked an eyebrow at his student's words. No matter how many times he heard it from him, it never ceased to amaze.
"You honestly hate the way they treat you, don't you?"
"Of course I do! Any sane person would. I want to get stronger, and that's not going to happen when everyone tries to give me everything they think I want. Only in strength is there survival, and only in strength can one strive. Conflict breeds strength, and I'm not going to get stronger if I don't have to fight anyone over it."
"That's a pretty twisted ideology you've got there. Do you really believe that?"
The look he gave Iruka made him almost regret asking, and he was glad to have the distraction that was provided an instant later.
"Sneak attack!"
Iruka spun around to face the new intruder, but only caught a large blur speed past him. A blur with black hair tied back into a long ponytail and glaringly bright teeth. The faceless assassin was knocked to the ground by an instinctive elbow strike, courtesy of the blond.
"Dammit Lee, it's not a sneak attack if you yell about it first!"
Said boy was currently on the ground cradling his abdomen, though the grin never left his face.
"Ex...excellent point, Narut-...o-kun. Whew, right in the stomach. That was a great strike there, beautiful deflection and counterattack. Uh, does anyone see my spleen?"
Iruka laughed at his second problem student's antics and helped him to his feet while the boy brushed dirt off of himself.
"You okay, Lee? That looked like it hurt..."
Rock Lee stood proud and winked confidently.
"Yes, Iruka-sensei! I've had worse in training all the time so this is no problem"
"Yeah, Sensei. It would take more than a elbow to the floating rib to stop Lee here."
The dark haired youth looked at Naruto, eyes wide.
"You mean that's where you were aiming! It's a good thing my digestive organs took the brunt of the damage or that would have hurt."
Iruka could only rub his face. Even when they weren't at the Academy, these two nutcases could still cause him a headache.
"So, Naruto-kun! What brings you this far into our most glorious city streets? Are you perhaps taking a stroll to enjoy the perfect weather? Maybe to get a breath of fresh air? Or..."
"Lee?"
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"You're an idiot."
Iruka couldn't help it. The look on Lee's face was absolutely priceless, and he had to support himself on a light-pole to stop from collapsing in fits of laughter. Over the last year, Iruka had had the distinct pleasure to watch Naruto and Lee both break from their usual solitary personalities and form the friendship they now had... Okay, so maybe it wasn't a perfect friendship, but at least it was something. Any relationship that started off with a haymaker to the jaw was sure to be a little... eccentric.
At first Iruka had really been saddened to know that Rock Lee had failed the Genin Exam and sent back a year for remedial training, but as fate would have it it turned out to be the best thing that could possibly have happened for the boy. Being sent back a year put him in the same class as Naruto, who was quick to knock some well-needed sense into the boy. Though it was all too possible that he knocked something loose as well.
When Lee's kicked-puppy look stopped bringing tears of laughter to his eyes, Iruka straightened himself out and slapped the older boy on the back.
"Naruto here has been called up to the Hokage's Office. Something important, apparently so it's probably not a good idea for us to be wasting time like this. Come on, we shouldn't keep the Hokage waiting."
"We? The hell do you mean we? Since when were you guys invited?"
Iruka just grinned in response and nodded to Lee. Naruto knew as soon as he saw that grin that he shouldn't look, but his eyes betrayed him, as always. With the slowness of a man turning to face a nightmare he looked to the last one of their trio.
Sure enough, Lee had the sorriest look imaginable. Eyebrows indented just enough to display just the right amount of betrayal, jaws locked to feign blocking a frown. The bastard was good at what he did. Naruto was pretty sure that if he had a heart, it would have broken.
But, since he didn't the only thing that bothered him was the fact that his best friend in Konoha was pulling that face at him in broad public. Where a significant number of people had stopped walking to stare at the dark haired lad.
"You... you don't want us to come? It's okay if you don't want to, but I just figured..."
Knowing what was coming, Naruto decided that it was best if he just got the inevitable over with. With a heavy sigh he just rubbed his eyes. The snickering from behind him didn't make it any easier and for a second he wondered if his public status would let him get away with decking his teacher in the street.
"Fine, you can come. Just try to keep it down, alright? I have a feeling that this is pretty serious."
Lee nodded happily, all traces of sadness vanishing instantly. Iruka similarly seemed to regain his self-control and was back to his casually optimistic self.
"Well? Are we going to go or not?"
Naruto glared at the closest thing to a brother he had ever had, though he couldn't conjure any malice to go with it. Those two had a bad habit of sucking the bad mood out of him.
"Yeah, come on let's get this over with."
No sooner had he said those words, but he heard yet another voice calling out to him.
"Oh hey, Naruto-kun! And look whose with you! Is my little Naru spending time with his friends at last?"
Naruto closed his eyes and leaned his head back, cursing whatever deity had decided to screw with him today. He didn't even need to look at the voice to identify it. There was only one person who would call him something like that.
"Anko-san, I didn't see you sitting there."
The only warning he had of the kunai thrown at him was past experience, and even that wasn't enough to help him dodge it. The cold steel slit the skin on his cheek easily and Naruto flinched at the pain.
While the boy wasn't going to say anything to the woman, Iruka had no such inhibitions. Over the years she had been popping up around Naruto more and more, and every time she appeared she would toss a kunai at him and draw blood.
"Why do you insist on doing that every time you see him? Or better yet, why do you even lick it in the first place?"
The snake mistress gave Iruka a sultry smile and circled around him, hugging his back and draping her arms over his shoulders.
"But Iru-kun! Blood is just so tasty, sorta like dango, only metal-ier."
She pressed herself tightly against him, and Iruka felt his face grow hot as soft flesh was squeezed against his back.
"In fact, I wonder what yours tastes like..."
While Naruto was enjoying how flustered his teacher was getting at the sudden contact, that shade of red probably wasn't healthy.
"Anko-san, let go of Iruka before his ears start bleeding. Not everyone can put up with your affections like I can."
The young woman pouted as she let go of Iruka, leaving the man to gape like a fish as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened.
"But he's just so... so... innocent!"
"I know, which is why I don't want you corrupting him. Now if you will excuse us, we have somewhere we need to be."
Anko perked up at that, and she retrieved her half-finished plate of her favorite dish from the stand she had been occupying before her distraction.
"Oh really? And what could possibly be so important as to drag the mighty Naruto-san from his day of rest?"
Naruto leaned against a light pole and crossed his arms, a light scowl returning.
"Hokage-sama called for me to come see him in his office. Whatever it is, its important. Lee and Iruka-sensei just happened to meet up with me on my way there, so I invited them to come along."
Anko tapped her bottom lip with a dango skewer and looked up thoughtfully.
"The Hokage, huh? Well it would be best not to keep him waiting then."
Naruto nodded and turned from her. Iruka and Lee both joined up at his side, with Lee carrying a box of dango.
"Hey, wait a second!"
Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the woman and was a little worried at her grin, though he would die before ever admitting something like that.
"Aren't you going to invite me to come as well?"
"Would you stay if I said no?"
"No, not really."
He sighed and turned from her again, picking up his pace to the Tower without looking back.
"Well come on then."
Anko beamed happily at the declaration and threw away the now depleted box of dango skewers, keeping one for herself. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto thought he might have seen Iruka glowering at him. He obviously still had mixed feelings about the temptress.
Lee meanwhile, was having a hard time trying to protect his lunch from the ravenous grasp of Anko, who was trying to steal it from him.
XxXxXxX
- Hokage's Office : Naruto & Crew -
While far from peaceful, thanks to his entourage, the remainder of the trip to the Hokage Tower was uneventful and passed quickly. The cool air of the interior was a blessed relief from the heat, and Naruto slowed his pace somewhat to enjoy it before checking in with the receptionist manning the desk.
"Good afternoon, how can I help you? Oh, Naruto-san! How you're running a little late, aren't you? Hokage-sama called for you at least half an hour ago."
"Hey Yuki. Yeah, some things came up and I was... slowed down."
Lee had made a face of protest, but Naruto cut him off. The older boy huffed and shoved his hands in his pockets, scuffing his shoe against the polished floor. The young receptionist giggled at the boy's antics, and Lee grinned at the attention. Especially from the cute brunette.
"Well he is still waiting for you, so I suggest you go up and see him immediately. He was in kind of a bad mood earlier, so you might want to be careful how you talk to him."
Naruto nodded gratefully and shot a glance to those following him.
"Alright you guys, I'll be back soon so don't get into any trouble."
"Uhm, actually Naruto-san. The Hokage requested that if you had anyone with you when you arrived, that they were to follow you."
The blond frowned at that. What would his father want with the people accompanying him? He had never really shown any interest in his relationships with people. At least, not since his second year in the academy.
"Did he say why?"
The receptionist shook her head, the brown curls falling on her shoulders and mesmerizing Lee.
"Nope, and I didn't ask either. Like I said, he was in a sort of bad mood. Maybe its bad news?"
Naruto shrugged and started making his way up the flights of stairs leading to the Hokage's Office.
"I guess I'll find out when I get there. C'mon Lee."
Iruka and Anko had both followed when he had moved, but Lee had still been admiring Yuki.
"Hm? What? Oh, right..."
Naruto shook his head, and both the older two laughed when Lee took a deep breath and pushed his chest out a little bit, obviously showing off for Yuki. When the door swung shut behind him, he let out the breath he had been holding and turned to smile at Naruto, obviously embarrassed.
"What?"
It only took a few minutes to reach the top floor, and Naruto rapped on the door sharply. There were sounds of ruffling papers and a low sigh before they were ushered through.
"Good Afternoon, Hokage-sama."
"Trust me when I say there's nothing good about it. I see you brought a few people with you, excellent. It's warming to see you again, Iruka-kun. Still spending time with my hellion of a son, eh?"
The teacher bowed respectfully.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The Fourth laughed kindly, though it was a little strained.
"Good, good. And I see young Lee is with you as well. I understand you and Naruto have become quite good friends."
Lee bowed as well.
"That's right, Hokage-sama. He is my best friend!"
The man nodded again, turning to see the final member of the small group now crowding his office.
"Now this is a surprise. Who would have guessed Konoha's own Snake Mistress would be tagging along after Naruto? Or are you here with someone else, maybe?"
Anko bit down on a dango skewer and turned to the side to avoid making eye contact with the Hokage. She refused to answer the question, though she was still blushing faintly.
Naruto saw her predicament and decided to rescue her from it. Not that he cared, it was just always good to be on the good side of someone like Mitarashi Anko.
"If you're done examining my friends, would you mind telling me what you called me for? I have some things to attend to, and I don't intend to spend all day here."
"Naruto! How many times do I have to tell you to show respect to the Hokage?"
The Fourth just held up a hand to silence the Chunin, and sighed heavily. His smile fell and his eyes grew serious.
"Very well, if you want to get directly to business, we shall. It has come to Konoha's attention that there is a group of rather powerful S-rank Missing-nin who are traveling among the countries gaining power and gathering as much information on the Jinchuuriki as they can."
"You mean the containers for the tailed beasts? What does that have to do with Konoha? We don't have any Jinchuuriki."
"No, we don't. And anyone who lives here knows that. The problem is, they don't. Konoha was the last village the Kyuubi attacked, and now it's gone. There's only one reasonable explanation, and that is that we sealed it. Somehow, this group has managed to get the information that you were present during the sealing procedure, and they are now targeting you."
The gathered Shinobi had a bad feeling about where this was going, though Naruto and Anko also had a bit of hope along with it.
"We both know that you don't contain the Kyuubi, but they will never be content that this is the truth until they see you for themselves. They will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals, and it pains me that you have been thrown into their path like this, but there is nothing I can do. As the Hokage of Konohagakure, I am called upon to make harsh decisions."
He stood up, his white and orange trench coat hanging disappearing under the desk. He turned his back and looked out the window in the direction of Konoha. Everyone noticed that he wasn't making eye contact with Naruto any more.
"They will come looking for you, Naruto. And when they get here, they will attack anyone who gets in their way between them and you. I cannot put my village at a risk such as this. I am sorry, my son, but I must ask you to leave Konohagakure."
Iruka and Lee gasped in horror, but Naruto only steeled his features. Despite that though, a hint of malice lingered.
"Am I being... banished?
The Fourth shook his head quickly.
"No! Of course not. Konoha is your home, and I would never banish you. I just have to ask you to stay away from here for now, until it is safe for you to return."
It was too late for damage control though, the damage had been done and Naruto sneered.
"Safe for me, or for the village?"
The Hokage turned around, regret clear as day.
"You have to understand my position! There are thousands of people in the village! If we were to be attacked by some of these men, the casualties would be..."
"Oh I understand, you can rest assured of that. I understand that in a choice between the village and myself, you chose the village. When do I leave?"
Minato sighed and dropped into his chair heavily.
"The council has agreed that you must be gone by midnight. Tonight. You have time to gather your supplies, and then you must leave."
Iruka stepped forward and slammed his fist down on the desk, startling them.
"Surely you don't mean to send Naruto outside the walls of the village alone!"
"Of course not. There was a reason I requested the three of you to be here with Naruto. You all seem to have some connection with Naruto, and no connections with Konoha as a whole. I offer you the chance to accompany Naruto when he leaves. As I said, this is not an exile, nor are you fleeing the village. You will not be marked as enemies of Konoha and no Missing-nin shall be sent after you."
Anko's eyes glittered at the words, and she stood up from her seat on the couch, skewer in her hand and forgotten.
"You mean I have the chance to leave the village? Without being on a mission and all? And all I have to do is travel with Naruto-kun?"
"Yes, that's right."
She grinned and saluted.
"Hell yeah! I'm in!"
Likewise, Lee leaped forward and saluted, standing as straight as he possibly could.
"What kind of friend would I be if I left Naruto to the wilderness? A bad one! I will accompany Naruto-kun and the Crazy Snake Lady and I will protect them with my dying breath!"
Iruka could only groan at they enthusiasm of the pair, and rubbed his face while Anko was doing her best to impale Lee. For a moment he was silent before he seemed to come to a decision. He layed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled kindly.
"Well I can't very well leave him out there on his own with only Anko and Lee as company. I will follow them as well."
"It's good to know that Naruto has such good friends as all of you. It will be good for him to have support through this. I couldn't think of any group I would rather have protect him."
Naruto seemed to have reached some kind of limit.
"Wait wait wait. Why are you all jumping at the chance to leave the village? You don't even know where we are going to go, what we are going to do. Konoha is secure and you can all be comfortable there. So why do you all want to give that up?
Lee struck his awkward pose, hands in his pockets and scuffing the floor again.
"I don't have anywhere else to be. You are my only friend and there isn't really a whole lot I will be able to do in Konoha. If you are leaving, I am going with you."
Iruka smiled and rubbed Naruto's head.
"I know for a fact that you won't be able to make it all on your lonesome out there. I'm going to tag along to make sure you don't pick a fight with anything meaner than yourself. Besides, if both you and Lee leave at the same time, I'll be stuck with the rest of the class with no distractions. Urgh."
The Chunin shuddered, and Lee laughed in agreement. Anko meanwhile had gone back to chewing on her skewer and refused to answer again.
"I have my reasons. Right now? You don't get to know. Just know that I'm coming with you whether you want me to or not, and I'll be able to help Iruka keep you safe. Besides..."
With a flash of movement the snake mistress disappeared and reappeared directly behind Iruka, caressing the man's stomach.
"With you gone, I'll be lonely."
Her last words were barely a whisper, and Iruka's face grew red again almost instantly. The woman's trench coat had flared open and settled against Iruka's sides, leaving nothing but a shirt and vest on Iruka's side, and mesh on Anko's between their bodies. This was a fact that Iruka was well aware of, judging by his nervous stammering.
The moment ended quickly though, and Anko laughed before she stepped back, letting the coat take its usual place.
"Plus it would be dead boring if I wasn't able to tease you, wouldn't it?"
The Fourth cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the room back to him, and away from the indecent displays of... affection?... going on in his office.
"Yes, well. Whatever your reasons, I am glad that you are willing to go. I would rather none of you have to leave in the first place, but the circumstances seem to have conspired against that."
When Naruto didn't respond to that, the Hokage stopped trying to lighten the mood, and instead got back to business.
"Now, I would suggest you three go begin preparing for your trip. You leave toning at midnight. I have something I need to show Naruto before he leaves that is not for your eyes at the moment. Afterward it will be at his discretion to show it to you or not, but right now it is mine."
Anko, Lee, and Iruka all bowed to the Hokage before making their way out the door. Well, Lee used the door. Iruka disappeared in a swirl of leaves courtesy of the shunshin, and Anko... Anko jumped out the window. When everyone else was gone, Minato stood up again and put a hand on his son's shoulder.
"I had originally planned not to give you this until you were older, but it seems like it might benefit you more now than it would myself. In our family, there is an artifact. The stories of it are few and far between, but they each share recurring details. It once belonged to a extremely powerful man. It is an object of great power, should the right person finally access it, and it has a name."
"And what is the name of this artifact?"
Minato walked past Naruto toward the door, leading him downstairs toward the vault under the Hokage's Tower. Their trip was made in silence, but his question was answered just before the Fourth opened the door leading into the treasury.
"According to the legends, it is called the Tower Heart."
With a wordless technique, the Fourth unlocked the door and it swung open. The room was filled with shelves bearing mountains of dusty tomes and scrolls, and various statues, vases, and other assorted junk that probably held some kind of value to someone at one point.
Toward the back of the room, in the middle of the back wall and surrounded by bookcases it rested. Easily five feet in diameter, the object was a perfect sphere and covered in dust. The inside was colored a dull blue with bare swirls of gray and white. Though it was motionless, there almost seemed to be a faint hum coming from it that couldn't be heard, only felt.
"This Tower Heart has been passed down our family for generations. I was never told exactly what it was, or what we were guarding it from. According to my father, neither did my grandfather, apparently. All we were told was to keep it safe and that if the wrong person was to get their hands on it, terrible things would happen. Still, it's always been kind of a good luck charm for our family, and since you are leaving, I think it is for the best for you to keep it. It will give you a reason to... to come home."
Naruto wasn't sure what to say to that. His strengths lay in combat and rationality, not emotions. But though he wasn't skilled at showing emotion, he knew what his father was doing. In his own way, Minato was trying to tell his son to be safe and return to him one day. Despite the sincerity though, Naruto didn't feel any specific inclination to help his father. In the end, he was still throwing him to the wolves, and it was possible he would never forgive him for that.
As soon as the thought had ran through his mind, he felt the humming from the Tower Heart grow into a buzz, and he turned to look at it. There, in the center of the orb the colors had shifted. When before they had been dull and stationary, they seemed to be spinning now, and brightening in intensity. Amazed at what he was seeing, he turned to his father to ensure that he wasn't imagining it, but the Fourth Hokage was no longer standing there. No, that wasn't quite right. The entire room wasn't there. The bookcases, the statues, even the walls had just... disappeared. All that remained was the floor, now a bright but plain white, the Tower Heart which was now glowing brightly and still buzzing with power, and a... creature.
"Ahh, so there is one among you who is worthy. But what is this? A boy? Interesting..."
The creature stood no taller than his stomach, and was hunched over with a strange lamp attached to its back and hanging over its head. A thick cloak of an unfamiliar material hung from his thin shoulders, and his skin was a dark gray color.
"What are you? What have you done to me?"
While not afraid of the little creature, Naruto was no fool. He was in a strange place with an even stranger being staring at him, and he wasn't about to be caught off guard. With steady movements he drew a blade from the pouch on his leg, and brought it to a defensive position without letting the other see it.
"Feisty, aren't you? And what do you plan on doing with that blade, hm? You are a long way from being able to harm me here, I assure you. And to answer your question, I haven't done anything to you. The Tower Heart seems to have sensed potential within you, and so it brought us both here."
"Potential? Potential for what?"
The little thing's face tightened, and it took Naruto a second to realize that it was smiling.
"Potential for Evil, of course."
Deciding that the little thing, whatever it was, wasn't a threat, Naruto went back to examining his surroundings to find a way out. His attempts were in vain. All that was around him was a blank white expanse for as far as the eye could see.
"You never answered my question. What are you?"
"A little rude, don't you think? Usually its customary to ask who one is."
"Usually I'm not asking a non-human who they are. Now stop evading my question and answer it, before I start to get irritated."
The shriveled little being cackled to him/itself before looking at him strangely, as though seeing him for the first time.
"My name is Gnarl, and I am the Minion Master. As the title implies, I am in fact, a Minion."
"R-i-ight, and what is a Minion?"
Gnarl tapped his chin, thinking on how to explain what they were when they didn't specifically know themselves.
"Well, you see. Our first Master, the Overlord, created us to serve him. He was a powerful sorcerer and was able to bring us into being by manipulating pure Life Force. We live to serve the current Overlord... if there is one, of course."
By this point Naruto had given up on finding an exit and was listening to the Minion speak.
"And who is your Overlord? I've never heard of anyone calling himself that."
"Actually, we don't have one right now. Our last Overlord was killed a while ago by a particularly annoying group of Heroes and one of them stole the Tower Heart. In fact, this is the first time I've seen it in... well it's had to have been at least a couple hundred years."
Gnarl had hobbled over to the glowing blue orb and patted it lovingly, as though reunited with an old pet.
"You honestly expect me to believe that you are a couple hundred years old?"
Gnarl glanced away from his loving attention to look at Naruto in surprise.
"A couple hundred? Good heavens no." Naruto nodded his head, agreeing. "I've been around much longer than that. It's been at least a couple hundred years since I had my last haircut, for Evil's sake."
"Alright, you know what? I quit. This is insane. I'm probably just lying in the hospital somewhere, being treated for a tumor or something."
Gnarl looked at him quizzically for a moment.
"A tumor?"
"Yeah."
"You think all this..." The aged Minion spread his arms wide, indicating the surrounding area. "Is a tumor?"
"It seems like the most reasonable explanation, so yeah."
"...and you say I'm crazy?"
Naruto was known for many things. Being the son of the Fourth Hokage. Being on the list of 'Who-not-to-fuck-with' in Konoha. And most importantly, being the kid who wasn't the container for the Kyuubi. Naruto the patient, he was not.
"No. You know what I think is crazy? Getting kidnapped by some kind of damn marble, standing in the single most boring place I've ever seen, and talking to something that looks like should be a bad-guy on a kid's puppet show. That's what I think is crazy. Now you have three seconds to start explaining everything you know about why I'm here before I find out just how much pain a figment of my imagination can feel. You got me!"
For just a moment Naruto could have sworn that the gnarled old... Gnarl... what about to cry. And then he did. The short figure waddled over to him as fast as his little knobbly legs could carry him, and latched himself onto his right leg with a fierce bear hug.
"Oh Master, it's so g-good to finally be able to serve you! Its been so lo-long, we thought we had done something wr-wrong and offended the Tower Heart and then the other Tribes ran away and it was just the browns. And we've been searching and searching, but we just couldn't find the Tower's Heart, nor could we find someone who felt right to serve. But now I found you, and you have the Heart, and everything's going to be okay!"
Naruto could honestly say he had no idea what was going on. First the thing was acting like he didn't even exist. Then he was talking like Naruto was a moron, and now he was hugging his legs and bawling like a kid who was finally found after being lost in a marketplace. Being the compassionate and caring person that he was, Naruto looked down at the crying figure, and did his best to comfort him.
"Get the hell off of me before I punt you across the room."
Gnarl complied immediately and sniffled once before wiping his nose on his arm, and his arm on his cloak.
"Sorry about that, Master. It's just been centuries since I was able to serve someone. We Minions aren't meant to be independent you see. We were created to serve, we live to serve, and it is our every dream that we each die serving. Being with no leader for so long is just... wrong."
"Uh, don't worry about it... I guess. Now if you are done crying, why don't you help me get out of here? I'm in the middle of something, or I was, and people are going to wonder about where I am."
Gnarl nodded happily and hobbled back over to the Tower Heart with a noticeable spring in his step.
"Of course, right away Master. Though I don't think you will have to worry about people noticing your absence. You weren't actually gone, after all. Now, when you get back don't act surprised and don't tell anyone about what happened here, okay? Just do your best to get the Heart away from whatever hell it's been imprisoned in, and I will come find you."
Naruto glared at Gnarl heatedly while the Minion laid his hands on the orb and closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath.
"Wait, you mean you have the ability to send me back whenever you want to?"
"Well yeah, me and the Tower Heart are tight, after all. Now, hold on tight and keep your arms and legs inside the warp at all times. Remember, don't say anything about what happened here and most importantly. Save the Heart!"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You mean you plan on staying away from Konoha forever?"
Naruto spun on his heel when he heard the voice behind him, and was shocked to see his father there.
"What? Oh, I mean... right. Of course I will come home at some point, I guess."
The Hokage didn't seem totally pleased with his answer, but resigned himself to it. His son was a strange one after all, and sometimes you just had to be happy with what you got.
"Well like I was saying. I have a feeling that you are meant to be the one to hold onto this thing, not me. It would probably be best if you were to take it with you when you leave."
Before he could ask the obvious question of transport, the Fourth drew an empty sealing scroll from a pocket within his coat and draped it over the top of the Tower Heart, facing down. A quick handseal and a massive burst of smoke, and the Heart was gone. Now kept safely inside the unassuming scroll of parchment.
Minato picked the scroll up from the floor and rolled it up carefully.
"I don't know what you will find when you get outside Konoha, nor do I have any advice on what you should do. I guess your best bet would be to find somewhere safe to stay where the group can't find you. If you don't tell me or anyone else where you are going, it should be impossible for them to find you. In theory, at least."
With the shock of switching between the dusty chamber, the white place, and back again gone, Naruto was finally able to think straight.
"Right, of course. Thank you, Hokage-sama."
The Fourth smiled sadly at that, but handed the scroll to Naruto for him to take with him.
"Like I said, tell your companions whatever you want about the Tower Heart, but I would recommend not letting the information past that. I know you felt the power in that thing just like I did, and it would be best for it not to fall into the wrong hands. Good luck on your travels, I'm sorry there is nothing more I can do for you. Farewell, my son."
Naruto nodded again and turned his back on his father. He probably should have felt some kind of sadness, being ordered to leave the only home he had ever known, but he just didn't. It was a new experience, he would finally get the chance to grow at his own pace, unrestricted by the bumbling efforts of the damned village elders, and he would have the chance to find out more about the Tower Heart and the Minion Master. Assuming it had all been real of course. He still had a good feeling on the tumor thing.
A/N : Well there you have it. The first chapter of my first ever second fic!Yeah, I know. The excitement is over-whelming, right? Regardless, the inspiration for this came for not only the lack of any really good Naruto x Overlord crossovers, but also as a challenge to the author of the best one I have read up to date. That's right, 26-Lord-Pain, I challenge you to a match of 'Who-can-fit-the-most-random-crap-into-a-fanfiction'! No, I jest. Everything I work in will have it's own place (hopefully), and as always, I have big plans for this work. (I'm seriously challenging Lord Pain though.)
For everyone who has read my other story, 'A New Order', you know I have a tendency to write longer chapters. I will work on this, and cut down the chapter length this time round to appeal to a different crowd. I would love to hear opinions on this change, love it hate it, whatever.
With all that said, also note that I am not an author who cries out for Reviews. They are awesome, yes. I love them like I love a really good slice of pie, yes. But I'm not desperate and I have my dignity. Review if you feel compelled to, if not I'm just happy to have Hits.
Stay Frosty...
- Nikolai