Hey Guys, Yes this one Kushina abandons Naruto, but once again, putting a different spin on it. This is pretty much a different version of my viking fic. This will contain religious themes. You have been warned.
Some historical figures will be mentioned, but this will not be entirely historically accurate. Also yes this will feature Christian themes.
For those of you who do not want to see that, I am sorry. But if it comforts you, Naruto won't suddenly convert to that, as it will be a long road filled with trying to understand and create a bridge between two cultures.
Also this isn't an assassins creed crossover.
NARUTO
"Morning Naruto! How are you today?" The shopkeeper asked the blonde boy as he smiled back.
"Just taking a nice walk, enjoying this beautiful day, thanks for asking." He said as he was walking through the marketplace.
The villagers had always gotten along well with Naruto. Which some would find strange. Considering Naruto was a demon container, and in most villages, they were seen as less than humans. But not Konoha, the third hokage had gone into a detailed speech as to how the Nine Tailed Fox was sealed into him, and how Naruto couldn't possibly be the fox. And that he as indeed holding it back from killing them all. That had put the villagers minds at ease. And as the years passed by, they grew very fond of the boy. He was always a bright ray of sunshine, and was courteous to everyone he met. Well almost everyone. One time he saw a group of boys bullying a young girl, and he beat them up. Well, actually there were three of them and one of him, so they actually beat him up. But the important part was that he managed to get a few punches in before they took him down.
Overall, he had a wonderful life, he had a nice apartment to himself, he did chores around the village for extra spending money, he had a fairly well stocked pantry, and he was pleasant to have around. Yet the one thing that people couldn't understand is why no one had adopted him yet, for such a nice boy, someone would have surely adopted him by now...wouldn't they?
Apparently not, the shinobi clans seemed to have no interest in adopting another member into their families. And since Naruto was now living by himself, he didn't really need parents, considering the fact he was getting by perfectly well on his own. No one could understand why, but the fact that this boy was doing so well on his own was astonishing. Granted, the boy was not without flaws.
While he was pleasant, he also had a bad temper, while he was smart, he only chose to excel in subjects that interested him. While he was brave, he sometimes would charge into a fight not caring what happened to him. He had admirable qualities, but that did not mean there were not flaws to his character.
That and, while the third hokage reminded him that the Ninja academy was an option. Naruto had no interest in it. Did he like the idea of fighting for good? Of course he did, but that was the problem. If he were to become a Shinobi, then he would most likely have to take work that would lead to acts he considered evil, and he didn't want that. Did he want to learn how to fight and protect those he cared about? The answer was yes, but did he want to take jobs such as political assassination? The answer was no, he could understand it if it was an evil dictator, but he read history, and he knew at one point there was an assassination of a political figure, as well as his wife who was carrying his child. Naruto did not think he could live with himself if he had to do something like that.
Naruto was taking a walk through the forest, he had walked this path many times before. One of his favorite past times was taking a walk to clear his head. He couldn't explain it, but whenever he was taking a walk, he felt like he was searching for something. What it was, he wasn't sure.
But today, he might finally receive his answer.
"Huh?" He said as he suddenly saw a cave.
"That was never here before..." He said to himself as he had walked this route many, MANY times, and that cave was never there, either that or he just never noticed it.
And even though the Third had told him to not to go into strange caves. His curiosity go the better of him. So he went into the cave.
The thing that surprised him the most was that he thought he would be scared, after all, it was a dark and scary cave. But yet he felt like he was invited in. Which was strange. Lizards and rats scurried across his feet as he went further into the cave, until he saw something. Was that a torch scone? Yes it was, Naruto inspected it to see if it was still usable. Which it was, Naruto took out the box of matches he kept with him for lighting his stove, and he lit the torch up. So far, all he saw was the blackness of the cave. And while he was sure there was nothing in here, he still wanted to move further to see what was further in the cave.
"Well, I'll go a little farther, and then I'll go home." He said to himself.
Deeper and deeper into the cave. Once again, he felt like he was being invited in. But why? What was this feeling in the back of his head? And why wouldn't it go away.
CRUNCH
He felt something under his foot, he looked down and picked it up. He saw a piece of dirty cloth, he could see a symbol covered by the dirt, so he brushed it off and took a better look at it. The design was simple, a red cross on a white background. But it was unlike any symbol Naruto had ever seen, and yet it seemed so familiar. Intrigued by this discovery, he went further into the cave, wondering what he would find next.
As he went further, he noticed that the walls of the cave started to change, what was once just plain stone cave walls, started to take form, he saw pillars and bricks starting to replace the walls, whatever was going on, he was certain that humans had populated this area before. Excited by the thought of discovering something new. He went further.
Soon he found himself in what appeared to be a large room, but he couldn't get a good look, but he saw what appeared to be a large fire pit stretching from where he was standing, to further into the darkness.
"Well, here goes nothing." He said as he put his torch into a part of the pit.
Almost as if by magic, it flared to life and the flame started to spread to the other side of the room.
And lo and behold, Naruto's discovery was...Skeletons. Lots and lots of skeletons!
"AHHHHHH!" He screamed as while he may have been brave, skeletons were a scary thing to see for a kid.
After taking a minute to calm down, and trying not to run out of there. He noticed something, all of the skeletons were dressed strange. They were wearing clothing that contained the same symbol he found on the piece of cloth. Not only that, but they were wearing some sort of metal ringed armor on their heads and torso. In a way it looked like a tougher version of the mesh armor he had seen some of the shinobi wearing.
"What is this?" He said as he looked around, and he saw similar skeletons wearing similar clothing.
He ran his free hand over a weapons rack, going over strange swords he had never seen before, a shield, and what appeared to be a crossbow.
"What is this place? Who are these guys?" He asked as he walked over to a skeleton sitting on a chair.
But what really caught his eye was what was hanging on the wall. He saw what seemed to be a man, and the image was disturbing to Naruto, the man appeared to be in pain, because he was nailed to a cross, a gaping wound in his side, while wearing a crown of thorns. The eyes of the man bearing into his very soul. Naruto could feel chills go down his spine. What had this man been through.
And then suddenly, light engulfed him. A mighty wind almost seemed to pass through him. Naruto couldn't explain the feeling, all he knew was that despite the force behind it, he felt comforted, as if nothing could hurt him.
"So someone walks into the fray." He heard a voice say as he saw a man, not the one he saw on the wall, but a different one.
This man had a large grey beard, with almost no hair on his head except for the sides. He was dressed like the other skeletons, with some sort of robe with a red cross in the middle. A sword on his hip.
"What-Who are you?" Naruto asked as the man kneeled before him.
"My name is Jacques De Molay. And who might you be?" He asked as Naruto couldn't believe what was going on.
"N-Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He said as the man raised an eyebrow.
"An Eastern name? How much has the world changed sine we have been gone?" He asked as Naruto asked a question.
"What do you mean 'we'? Who are you? What is this place? What is all of this?" He asked as he didn't know what to make of the whole situation.
"To answer your questions in order, By 'we.' I mean the Knight's Templar, And I already told you, I am Jacques De Molay, this place was our former fortress, or at least the remains of it, and as to what all of this is, well, it has been thousands and thousands of years since someone has laid eyes upon our resting bodies, so even I am am as confused as you." He said as Naruto still didn't understand.
"I understand you must be confused Young Naruto, but do not be afraid, I believe the Lord brought you here for a reason." He said as Naruto raised a brow.
"Who is this lord you speak of?" He asked as Jacques chuckled.
"Forgive me, it didn't occur to me that we may have different faiths, I'm afraid I could not give you a proper explanation, as you have just experienced his light." He said as Naruto shook his head.
"You mean Kami?" He asked as Jacques raised a brow.
"Is that how you refer to God in your language?" He asked.
"Yes, well, one of them, there is also Yami and Shinigami." He said as Jacques looked deep in thought.
"A trinity you say?" He asked as Naruto nodded.
"My dear boy, while we may have different ways, and different customs, I believe we may share the same beliefs." He said as Naruto looked at him strangely.
"What makes you say that?" He asked as the man shook his head.
"I'm afraid I can not force you to see, it is better to learn of your own free will." He said as he took a step back.
"But still, why are you all here? I know you're a ghost, as you can't just appear out of thin air, why are you here? And who are these Knights you speak of?" He asked as he was getting more questions than answers.
"In simple terms, we were an order of warriors, similar to your samurai, we were in charge of protecting a holy land that I'm afraid may no longer exist in your world, but we were betrayed, our order was hunted down by our spirtual leader, we were tortured and forced to confess to sins we did not commit. Afterwards, we were punished in ways you could not imagine. I'm afraid you would not want to hear this story boy, it is not something a child should hear." He said as the ghost of the man sat down.
"But, we were not allowed to pass on, while we may have done some good deeds in life, doing what we thought was right, we were not without sin, and we were cursed to remain in slumber, until we were called upon again, until someone would come to redeem us and free us of our burden." He said as he looked at Naruto.
"And because of you, that day has arrived." He said as he kneeled in front of the boy.
"Me? Why me?" He asked as the man chuckled.
"My dear Naruto, you are the only one who has been in this tomb for maybe the past thousand years, we have been laying in wait for the lord to send someone to us, one that we could pass out burdens onto, and would free us, and send us to heaven." He said as Naruto took a step back.
"That's good, but you didn't answer my question, why me?" He asked as it didn't make sense.
"The Lord works in mysterious ways, Young Naruto, but if I had to guess, it is because of your heart, even I can see that there is bravery in you, a certain type of courage." He said as Naruto remained silent.
"Even if I were to help, how could I possibly redeem you? I'm just a boy." He said as Jacques chuckled.
"You won't be a boy forever, and there is only one way you could help." He said as he held out a sword.
"You yourself, must become a Templar." He said as Naruto looked at the sword.
"Are you sure? I would love to help, but, this is something different, look around." He said as he looked at everything surrounding him to emphasize his point.
"I have never heard of a Templar, I certainly have never heard of you, nor this Holy Land, or anything that has happened today. How could I possibly become a member of something I know nothing about." He said as Jacques smiled.
"You may be blind now, but soon you will see, have faith Naruto, your path may be unclear, but know that it will all make sense." He said as he was fading away.
"Jacques! Where are you going?" He asked as this was getting even more confusing.
"It seems, I'm passing on, apparently knowing that our order is in good hands is helping me pass to the afterlife." He said as he was smiling.
"But what if I need you? What if I have questions?!" He asked as Jacques looked at him.
"Then pray, learn what you can from the tomes around you, I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I will be watching you from heaven, Thank you Naruto, and may the lord light the way in your life." He said as he faded away.
Naruto didn't know what to do. All of a sudden he felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. A great task had been left for him. But this Jacques fellow passed on because of the responsibility he gave to Naruto. He trusted that Naruto would help him, that he would bring honor to the Templars. But what did it mean to be a Templar. He didn't know the first thing about being a Knight. And while Jacques told him to read the tomes around him, how could he begin to understand.
But he knew, he needed to help them. What kind of man would he burn if he turned down souls in need? And more importantly, he had a chance to become something other than a shinobi, someone that could do some good in the world. But would he take it? What kind of sacrifices would he need to make?
The path would be long for Naruto, but he knew he had to make a choice.