The sound of a horse's hooves echoing down the road from deep in the forest stirred the tired gate guards who were counting down the minutes until their shift ended.
"What's that?" One of the guards glanced at the other before turning a watchful eye to the dirt road before them.
"Probably some Daime coming to contract some nin," The second guard muttered. What they saw instead, approaching at a slow pace, was a large war horse and a foreigner in its saddle. The foreigner, wearing an assortment of fur and chainmail, looked a lot like a viking, though he did not wear a horned helm. His helmet looked more like a spartan-style helm in the way it protected his face and how it had a fin. The furs the foreigner wore were a dark brown, as was the fur standing up from the fin upon his helm. The foreigner also wore a battered and torn cloak. As for his armaments, the foreigner had a longsword sheathed across his back, a throwing axe in his belt, a round shield slung over his sword on his back, and a six-foot spear in hand. As intimidating as he looked, the guards could tell that he approached the village with no ill intent.
"Hold, foreigner! What is your business in Konohagakure?" The guards stood at attention, even as the oncoming shift arrived, and watched the stranger carefully.
The foreigner's helm lifted slightly as he looked up, "My only business is to rest and resupply. I'm hunting a dangerous beast, and I tracked it all the way here from across the frozen north." The foreinger's accent was thick, though it had a pleasant sound to it.
"The frozen north? Nothing could make it across those wastes!"
Similar comments circulated between the guards before the lead guard stepped foward, "Miyamoto, report this to the Hokage. Foreigner, what are you hunting?"
"A beast that can change its shape from man to wolf. Have there been any sightings around here?" The warrior pulled lightly on the horse's reigns, stopping a few feet from the city's gates.
The guard shook his head, "No, but if there is such a beast, we would surely find it."
The warrior shook his head, "That's no good. Any who are bitten, or even scratched, will be afflicted with the same curse as the beast. You will not be able to harm the monster unless you have silver blades anyways. It even absorbed the magic my clan cast upon it."
"Magic? Do you mean chakra?"
The warrior nodded, "I have heard several travelers refer to my magic as 'chakra.' May I enter? I have been in the saddle for quite awhile."
"One moment," The guard turned in time to see Miyamoto returning.
"The Hokage said he is clear to enter, she will be having a Jounin shadowing his moves for now," Miyamoto said, whispering to the lead guard..
"Alright, foreigner, you are clear to enter. Good hunt to you," The lead guard said.
"It is far from a good hunt, friend, far from good," The warrior said sadly as he nudged the horse's flanks, urging the tired war horse further along the road.
A/N: I know this is kind of short, but this is my first crack at a Naruto fanfic. Shoot me some reviews so I can see if I should continue with this fic!