Welcome ladies, and gentlemen! Welcome to my new fic that I have conjured up. This one is going to be a little different than my other fics because I'm not sure who is going to be in the pairing (if there even is one at all) and Naruto is going to be more than a little different. I also have a reason for these constant inconsistent pauses in my work. The main reason being that I want to find a way to make my writing darker, and more emotional than before.

Anyways, let's get on with the show!

The Joke

Chapter 1

Naruto was panting as he trudged back to Konoha from his battle with Sasuke Uchiha at the Valley of the End. Despite his exhaustion, he felt quite accomplished. He had finally done it. He had finally bested Sasuke in battle, and now he was bringing him back to Konoha, fulfilling his promise to Sakura-chan. Of course there would be more than a few people that would be angry at him for hurting their 'precious Uchiha', that's just the way life is.

"Why don't you just kill him, and say that he got away?" Said a clearly insane voice in the blonde's head. Naruto shook his head. "If I did that, I would've failed my mission as well as my promise to Sakura-chan." Naruto protested before hearing a demonic chuckle.

"Who cares about that stupid girl, anyways? What would you get out of fulfilling that ridiculous promise?" Said the same voice. That god damned voice. Naruto always knew that being abused at a young age would affect him quite a bit, but gaining an alter ego along with having to deal with a giant nine-tailed fox was just too much.

"I agree with him, kit. It would save you the trouble." Said the Kyuubi, making Naruto sigh. He shook his head once again, trying his best to make sure he doesn't fall asleep where he stood. "Shut it, fur ball. What would you know anyways?" Naruto said in annoyance. He could feel the Kyuubi's giant maw form into a demonic grin in his mind.

"Just wait and see, kit. Wait and see."

One bad day. That is all it takes for someone to become one step closer to insanity, and for Naruto…that one step was all it took for that voice to be released into the world.

o0o0o0o

"Do you think Sasuke-kun is going to be okay, Tsunade-sama?" Asked one Sakura Haruno. Said pinkette was looking into the distance, waiting for her precious Sasuke to appear over the hilltop with Naruto alongside him.

The blonde Hokage glanced at Sakura, and looked back at the hilltop with a sigh. "I'm sure he will be fine, Sakura. This is Naruto we're talking about. That brat is sure to bring him back without too much damage done." She said, making Sakura's eyes go wide. She looked at Tsunade in worry and surprise.

"What's that supposed to mean, Tsunade-sama?" She asked, clearly worried about her precious Sasuke-kun. Tsunade could see that and in all honesty, she couldn't care less for the Uchiha. She smirked a little.

"It means that Naruto is authorized to use necessary force if confronted with any form of resistance, whether it be verbal or physical." Stated the busty Hokage. She didn't really know why she agreed to come back to Konoha with the brat and Jiraiya, but she had to admit that being the Hokage did have its perks.

Sakura's eyes widened even more in fear for her precious Sasuke-kun. "What? He can't do that to my Sasuke-kun! I won't let him!" She exclaimed, making Tsunade raise an eyebrow. "Why, yes he can because I said he could. You're a kunoichi of Konoha, right?" Sakura nodded in confusion at the question. "The suck it up, or quit while you can."

The Haruno's eyes widened even more—if that's even possible—and was going to say something, but was interrupted by a figure appearing above the hilltop.

o0o0o0o

Naruto grinned a bit as he could see the gates of Konoha. Shifting the Uchiha on his shoulder, which was getting quite tired. Who knew that Sasuke was so heavy?

When he got to the gates, his grin widened seeing Tsunade, and Sakura-chan. He waved slightly with his free arm. "Yo, Sakura-chan! Look who I brought ba—" Naruto was interrupted by a loud 'SASUKE-KUN!' and the weight on his shoulder being taken away from him.

Sakura stared in shock at the beaten, and broken form of Sasuke Uchiha. Looking at him, she could see that he was covered in blood and bruises. Looking at the grinning blonde in anger, Sakura's right fist connected with Naruto's face with a loud crack.

"NARUTO YOU BAKA, HWO COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY SASUKE-KUN?!" She yelled. Naruto sat up from his spot on the ground, and looked at his crush in surprise. "But Sakura-chan—"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Sakura yelled, once again interrupting Naruto, who then looked at the pinkette in pure anger.

"Alright, that's enough you two." Tsunade interjected. She then looked at Naruto with an approving smile. "Good work, Naruto. You have completed your mission, and will be payed accordingly to you A-rank retrieval mission." She stated, and dismissed them with a wave of her hand. Naruto looked at the Hokage in gratitude, and watched as the blood-soaked Uchiha was taken off to the hospital with Sakura trailing behind the Medic-nins.

What they didn't know, however was the fact that most—if not all—of the blood that covered Sasuke was Naruto's. Said jinchuriki retired to his apartment with nothing but betrayal in his mind.

o0o0o0o

Naruto was sitting in his bed, staring at the ceiling of his tiny apartment. How could Sakura-chan betray him like that? She was supposed to be happy that he brought back that damned Uchiha.

"See? You should have just killed him, and saved yourself the trouble." Said the Kyuubi. Naruto sighed in annoyance. "You're a demon, Kyuubi. You can't be arrested for the murder of a Konoha shinobi." Naruto stated.

"I agree with the furry—" The Kyuubi growled in annoyance. "—you should've killed the teme, and said that he escaped to Oto. That what I would've done, anyways." Said Naruto's insane alter ego. Naruto sighed for what seemed like the millionth time today. "I know that, but you aren't me-"Yes I am—"Shut up! You know what I mean!" Naruto exclaimed.

The blonde's internal conflict was interrupted by a knock at his door. Once again sighing as he got up, he opened the door to come face to face with one of the Hokage's ANBU.

"Uzumaki-san. The Council requires your presence." The ANBU said in a monotone voice. Naruto frowned, he knew something bad was going to happen. The Council—or at least the Civilian Council—never liked Naruto from the very beginning. He knew, however, that he was required by law to accept.

"Fine. I'll be there in a few." The ANBU nodded, and disappeared with a shunshin.

'This is going to be a pain in the ass.' Naruto thought.

o0o0o0o

'What did I say not even ten minutes ago?' Naruto thought in annoyance as the Civilian side of the Council were screaming bloody murder at the blonde.

'What a pain.' Tsunade thought. She has had enough of this shit. The blonde Hokage slammed her hand down on the table, and everyone in the room silenced.

"Shut up, and let's get to the matter at hand." Motioning for the Civilian Council to begin their statement.

A pink haired civilian stood up, and yelled: "That demon hurt Uchiha-sama! He should be executed!" She screeched loudly, making the rest of the civilian council yell in agreement. This was stopped however, as one of the three village elders, Koharu Utatane stood up, and spoke.

"Under the authority of the Village Elders and the Nidaime Hokage's Law, I demand that the Uzumaki's chakra be sealed, and he be put into containment for assault against a shinobi of Konoha, and use of the Kyuubi's chakra." She stated calmly with a smirk. Naruto's eyes widened in anger, and surprise. He looked at Tsunade, and she shook her head, implying that she couldn't do anything about it.

Koharu's smirk deepened, and called for the ANBU. As said ANBU surrounded the blonde Jinchuriki, his eyes turned a deep shade of blood red and his pupils turned to slits.

The ANBU were blown back as Naruto erupted with red chakra. Before he could be stopped, Naruto rushed through the door, and strangely his chakra signature disappeared.

The ANBU didn't chase after him, as they couldn't find him without a chakra signature to look for.

Tsunade closed her eyes, and stood up.

'I'm sorry, Naruto. I couldn't do anything to stop this.'

-=2 days later=-

Naruto was genuinely surprised that he hadn't been found yet. If they were actually good shinobi, they would've been able to find him by now.

He sat in a dark alley way, knowing that he would be found if he went out into the streets of Konoha. He sat there with nothing but anger, betrayal, and more anger flowing through his veins.

He chuckled darkly. "So this is what my life has come to? Sitting pitifully in a god damned alley." He said before chuckling again. "It's all a joke. My life is all one big joke!" He exclaimed, his eyes starting to lose their sapphire blue color, and being replaced with an evil green.

Naruto's outburst caught the attention of a man that was passing by. Naruto heard the footsteps, and looked at him.

The man was wearing nothing but a white tank-top that had blood splotches on it, black pants, and shoes. In his hand was a switchblade that was covered in other people's blood. Naruto looked at the man's eyes, and saw his dilated pupils. The man was clearly insane if the maniacal grin didn't give that away.

"Why so serious?" The man stated as he pinned Naruto to the wall. Said boy would've resisted, but he only had the strength to glare at the man as he put the switchblade in his mouth.

"Let's put a smile on that face!"

o0o0o0o

That's the end of Chapter 1! It actually took me a while to get this to work out. Yes, if you haven't already figured it out from the crossover and the title, Naruto is going to become the Joker in this fic. I am going to have Naruto be Ledger's joker, as I think that is the best one. Although I think that he will have some of the psychotic twists that Leto's joker.

Anyways, tell me what you think of it and don't forget to review!

DinglberrySauce, out.