"Chidori!"
"Rasengan!"
The epic clash of two young teenagers. Ok, so 'epic' may not be the best word to describe it. But try to reserve your judgment until later, shall we?
One of the teens was called Sasuke Uchiha, the last of the once-great (subjectively of course) Uchiha clan, completely killed off by one of their own. Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. So, not so great (objectively). He was clutching lightning in his right hand and glaring at the other teen.
The other one wasn't really called. He would just come himself, usually. Answering to the name of Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, to be precise. And orphan of the late Fourth Hokage, and Jinchuriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko. Also glaring, he was holding a rotating orb in his hand.
Calling out their signature attacks, the two leapt, clashing in the middle of the Valley of the End.
The Rasengan impacted the shoulder of Sasuke's left arm, ripping it cleanly out of the joint, crippling him for life.
Naruto, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. The Chidori pierced through the center of his chest, obliterating half of his heart.
The two impacted the ground, Sasuke grinning madly, laughing at the downed blonde.
"I did it. I finally did it! I killed you. You're dead, you blonde son-of-a-bitch, dead!"
"Yeah, I've noticed. But tell me, why aren't your eyes changing, Sasuke?" Naruto caught, spitting a glob of blood, struggling to speak. "Shouldn't you get the next level? That's what you told me, isn't it?"
"What? No!" He looked at the puddle next to them, seeing a reflection of his Sharingan, still in its three-comma state. "Why? Why didn't it work!?"
"Heh, for being so smart, you sure are an idiot."
"What!"
"Guilt, idiot! You have to feel guilty about what you've done. That is the key." Naruto laughed, before sputtering again. "Damn, that hurts."
"I'll strangle you with my bare hands you damnable bastard."
"With your own hand, you mean." Naruto grinned. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're kinda short one." The Uchiha glanced to the left, staring dumbly at his steel-bleeding hole.
"What?"
"Not too bright, are you?" Naruto grinned, grabbing the Uchiha's left hand.
"What are you doing?"
"So you wouldn't escape."
"What?" A moment later their silver-haired Sensei jumped out the tree line following a small brown pug.
"Naruto…"
"Hey Sensei, I'll be with you in a moment." He squeezed the Uchiha's hand tightly. "Listen to me well, Sasuke Uchiha. You may have killed me now, but don't think for a second that will stop me. Somehow, some way I will end you. You will not have a moment's rest from here on; I'll make sure of it. That is y curse." He turned to the silver-haired Jōnin with a small smile. "Sensei, sorry, but I won't be coming back to the village, so if you could just throw my body in the river, that'd be great."
"Naruto… I'm sorry."
"Don't be, not your fault the moron doesn't play well with others." He coughed violently, spitting out another large glob of blood. "Heh, looks like the fox finally gave up on this wound. Pass my farewells to those who'd care enough, will ya?" Kakashi nodded. "Goodbye, Sensei." He closed his eyes, breathing out for the last time.
"Goodbye Naruto." Kakashi sighed sadly, dismissing Pakkun. He made a KageBunshin which gently pried the Uchiha's hand from Naruto's, and picked up the blonde boy, carrying him to the river. The real Kakashi grabbed the now-freed hand, breaking it in two places.
"Gah! Sensei, what…?"
"Better do something about that wound." Kakashi calmly made a single hand sign, setting his hand aflame. "Wouldn't want you to bleed to death before getting to Konoha." He put the hand on the wound, instantly cauterizing it.
Sasuke couldn't help but scream in pain.
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He wasn't sure if he should admit it or not, but Naruto kinda enjoyed Sasuke's pain-filled screams. Well, what was left of him, anyway.
It was the oddest feeling, looking down at your recently-dead corpse through your ghastly, transparent hand.
Hearing a roar behind him, Naruto didn't have enough time to turn around when a large red paw struck him, whipping his body into smoke. It reformed a moment later.
"I'm dead, Kyūbi." He deadpanned, turning to the demon. "We both are."
"I know." The fox shot the blonde with a murderous glare. "Stupid human, why did you let the Uchiha kill you. The Uchiha! Of all people!" The giant demon fell down, covering its snout with its paws. "I'll never hear the end of this."
All Naruto could do was watch the fearsome demon with a giant sweat drop. "There, there, Kyūbi, you'll get those pesky Uchiha someday." He petted the top of the demon's snout.
"Did you just 'there, there' me?" Kyūbi growled. The ground below the demon fox turned red, and a complicated seal-circle appeared. "Well, looks like this is my ticket home. Get out of the circle if you don't want to come with." Naruto did that, watching the Kyūbi with a mixture of relief and sadness. "It'll take me about ten years to reform, so maybe we'll see each other again someday." Chains shot out from the circle, wrapping around the demon.
"What are you talking about, you stupid fox. I'm dead."
"He, he, I know something you don't know." The demon's sing-song voice was the last thing Naruto heard before the seal-circle folded in on itself.
A deathly, unnatural chill went down Naruto's spine as the air turned heavy. In front of him appeared a sudden darkness, which looked like it was pulling all the light in from its surroundings. A purple-skinned figure dressed in white robes stepped out, grinning evilly at Naruto.
"So, ya finally kicked the bucket. Been waiting for ya for quite some time, mortal."
"The Shinigami, I presume." The blonde's voice carried a note of fear before he could stop it, and the Death God's grin widened.
"Yup. Now I'm gonna stab ya with this here knife." He twirled the blade in his fingers. "And take ya with me on a little trip."
"Ah, no, I'm afraid you shall not." The voice that spoke was slick and elegant, with a slight accent.
The man that accompanied the voice was tall, if slightly lanky, with long black hair dressed in a green long coat with golden trimmings. He wore a golden helmet with two very large antlers and held a cross between a spear and a scepter, made from gold with a glowing blue center at the tip.
"What are you doing here, Forgotten God?"
"Forgotten? Hardly. We have already told you; as long as there is still one of that bloodline left we shall never be forgotten."
"But there aren't any left. The last one died."
"He did." The newcomer made a small, mocking bow. "And, as per agreement, he shall choose."
The Shinigami gritted his sharp teeth and, drawing the dagger from its sheath, dashed at the other god, who was still grinning mockingly. The purple Death God was forced to stop his charge when a giant ice-blue paw impacted the ground in front of him, knocking up the dust.
"Yes, well, we had anticipated you would be, ah… 'difficult', so I elected to come in my daughter's place, along with some reinforcements." The paw belonged to a giant wolf, easily bigger than the Kyūbi ever had been, that was currently glaring down at the Death God.
"You." The Shinigami growled, but backed down in what Naruto was almost sure could be described as fear.
"Me." The wolf growled simply. "What do you want done with this one, father? Should I eat him?"
"No, my son, I believe that would not be necessary." The grin on his face told that he wouldn't have minded whatsoever. "Methinks our Shinto friend is ready to see reason now." The Shinigami glared, but said nothing. "Now, child, your name would be Naruto Uzumaki, yes?" The blonde nodded. "Excellent. My name is Loki. I am the God of Lies, Trickery and Mischief of the Norse Pantheon. This is my son Fenrir the God-Eater." The giant wolf grunted in greeting, eyes still locked on the Shinto god's form. "My dear boy, before you lays a choice. A crossroads, if you will. You may choose to go on with the Shino god to his version of the afterlife, or you may elect to go with us to ours. We shall respect your decision all the same, of course."
"You." Naruto answered immediately, pointing at Loki.
"Should you not at least consider the choice?" Loki blinked in surprise.
"Nope. You."
"Very well then." The God of Mischief smiled, lifting Naruto up. "They are expecting us in Asgard."
"Can I ride the giant wolf?"
"Of course. Fenrir, if you would?" The wolf shrugged, and grabbed the back of the boy's jumpsuit, before depositing him on his back. With that, they disappeared into the mist.
"Dammit!" The Shinigami took a moment to recollect himself before disappearing as well.
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"What!?" Kami, the God of Life, Heaven and the Afterlife of the Shinto Pantheon was not pleased when Shinigami brought him the news. "Idiot! Do you realize what you've done?"
"So they got on soul, its nor that big of a deal."
"No, it's far worse. They don't have reincarnation, nothing's stopping them from declaring the brat one of those and sending him right back to convert more souls. Do you realize just how much you screwed up?"
"Erm…"
"It's bad enough that confounded Trickster conned me into making the deal about blood, not faith, but this!"
"It's just one soul boss."
"So? That moron Jehovah started with just one soul, too. And look where it got him. He had most of the fucking world in less than two thousand years."
"What can we do now?"
"What can we do? Nothing, that's what! Not about the soul. But that doesn't mean we won't fight back. Go get me that bloody fool Jashin here now. And ready those souls you swallowed, they'll come in handy."
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I'm really excited about this one. Norse mythology is by far my most favorite.
You've noticed, I hope, that the struggles will be focused between the Pantheons, not within them. So Fenrir won't actually eat Odin.
Loki is based on the MCU one. Because he's pretty awesome.