Glory of The Prince
Naruto Fan Fiction
Standard disclaimer applies, the only thing I own here is my ideas, not Naruto, I don't own historical figures, Sparta or Pankration.
Italics are dreams, thoughts or flashbacks.
Bold is Kyuubi or some other supernatural force speaking
Chapter one: Awakening the hero
Naruto found himself on a trail, he stood facing an army, what looked like a wall of shining polished brass, razor sharp spears and equally shining helmets with scarlet red manes of hair. He gazed upon this army, which could not have been more than a few hundred. They stood in a Phalanx formation, each shield guarded the man to his left from neck to thigh while their grieves and helmets kept their heads and shins safe from arrows, spears and swords.
This army, while small, Naruto was sure, was just as formidable as the one that was possibly one hundred times the size of the one he found so amazing.
From the side Naruto now faced, a man well adorned in robes and jewelry, who sat on a horse, clearly not a member of the fighting force, said in a loud voice
"Spartans, drop your weapons, bow to the King Xerxes and you will not die where you stand!"
One man who stood with the army of the Spartans, right in the middle of the front line of the Phalanx shouted in a bellowing voice
"Persians! Come and Get them!" As his entire army began a charge, eager to both kill and achieve the ultimate glory that is dying in a battle for their sacred land.
Naruto awoke, adrenaline pulsing through his veins, the sheer awesomeness of gazing upon that small but mighty army made the shinobi
Village seem feebly inadequate to theirs. Naruto decided that at that time, he would do research on these "Spartans" and learn their ways, and add them to his cache of battle skills.
Dressing in his normal orange jumpsuit, Naruto had a quick breakfast and stepped out into the bright daylight. He began walking toward the library, they were sure to have something on the ancient warriors.
As he walked to the library, he passed several people who cast glares his way. He walked in, straight up to the front counter and asked the librarian about where he could find books on the Spartans. She pointed him in the "ancient Civilizations" section of the library.
There he found mostly stuff about ancient Japanese warriors who the current ninja evolved from, Samurai and Chinese warriors.
Just as he was about to give up, he saw a tattered leather spine. The blond pulled the book off the shelf, he saw the words "Spartan History And Culture", He took the large book to a table, and opened it.
Sakura had been used to being surprised by Naruto, since he came back, from training with Jiraiya, she'd seen him do amazing things, and some terrifying things, as well as say things she found incredibly charming. She strayed away from the latter of those when she realized that this was Naruto she was talking about, not some heart throb hero of old or her former crush, who was still an A class missing ninja. She stepped into the library to see Naruto, bent over a large leather book. The pink haired Shinobi approached curiously and looked over his shoulder, when she suddenly heard him mutter
"You shouldn't try and sneak up on me Sakura, it's impolite" Naruto said, not once tearing his eyes from the book.
Just curious as to what you're reading, I've rarely seen you read anything other than technique scrolls" Sakura had become decent friends with Naruto, since Ino had begun going out with Shikamaru, she had seen her less.
"It's about the Spartans, the most amazing people ever, in 480 A.D. their king, Leonidas and three hundred soldiers, took on an army of at least two hundred thousand, they used no jutsu at all, just their spears, shields and swords, I'm gonna learn their training schedules, get a sword, called a…. Xiphos, and their armor and shield." Naruto grinned, the hitai ate was partially obscured by his hair, he had began growing out his hair since he heard a couple discussing how much he'd look like Yondaime if he grew his hair out, he also read in the book that the Spartans were proud of their long hair.
" Good luck with that, I've got some research to do" Sakura said.
Naruto stood from his seat, he checked out the book and walked out the door.
The blond began walking toward the Weapon smith he had recently befriended, he specialized in using special jutsu to create weapons and armor that were incredibly light and durable. As he stepped in, the old man looked up at Naruto, then at the leather book under his arm.
"What can I do for ya' today son?" Asked the old man
" I need some things made for me, weapons and some armor, but not just ordinary, I need you to make me some just like the warriors that are in this book, but that are also ninja friendly, that I can hide in seals on my body" Naruto set he book on the counter, The old man looked at it, smiled and then looked at him
"You want weapons like the Spartans? Do you want the Grieves, Helmet, Musculata, gauntlets and Hoplon? The Dori and the Xiphos? All of it? I can make a set of armor that will instantly mold to you body the second you put it on, and will grow as you do" He grinned, Naruto did as well and nodded
"All of it, give me every piece, and do you have any swords I can practice with until then?" Naruto requested, the old man stepped behind a curtain, returning with a scroll
"All in here m'boy I'll give you the whole set for 5000 Ryou"
Naruto slapped 5 bills on the counter, taking up the scroll " Three weeks and I'll have it ready for ya' along with some care tips" The old man smiled.
Naruto sat in his room examining the sword and the shield, the sword was about 2 ½ feet long, 1 ½ inches wide, and was razor sharp, it ended in a nasty point, the shield was a large circular one, it was convex from the straps one held it form. The spear was still sealed, but he unsealed it, it was long, about 6 feet from tip to butt. It's point and blade only took up about 6 inches of this length, but it was sharp.
He went out to a training ground, the sun was now high in the sky, it was about 3 p.m., he strapped the sword to his waist, put the shield on his arm and put his spear his other hand, he began to practice thrusts and slashes with the spear, then he stopped, dropping the shield and spear, he created several bunshin, he then began fighting them all, using shield and spear as weapons, he then made 30 clones, he directed them to form the two line Phalanx formation, and they fought in that way, Naruto stopped as the sun set, remembering that he still had some things to do.
Naruto seldom visited any other part of the grocery store except the ramen section, but the Spartans didn't eat ramen, they ate chicken, pork, and vegetables. He picked up these things, a weeks worth of food, after getting a question from the clerk about it, he told the woman that he was changing his diet for more protein and calcium as well as vitamins.
Naruto stood in front of his stove, he'd never cooked anything, he only used the stove for heating water, he then had an idea, he's call Sakura!
"Yes Naruto? What do you need?" She asked, Naruto never called except when he needed something.
"Hey Sakura, can you come over and show me how to cook?" Naruto asked, embarrassment clearly shown in his voice.
"Are you serious? You've never cooked anything? That's pathetic, well you do only eat ramen, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I'll be over to help you in a few minutes" Sakura replied
"Thanks, you're a great friend, see you in a few"
"Yeah, okay" She hung up.
Sakura showed up fifteen minutes later, helping Naruto cook the meat, and prepare the vegetables, which consisted of lettuce, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. There was also a loaf of freshly baked bread
"Sakura, since you helped prepare the food, would you like to stay and share it with me?"
"Naruto, I'd love to, but…"She trailed off trying to think of an excuse when she couldn't she gave up "sure, I'll stay, this looks good" They sat down at the table, and began eating.
Naruto took a bite, and found the taste of it amazing.
"Wow, this is great! Sakura, we did a good job" He yelled, Sakura was also surprised at the taste of such a simple meal.
They ate their meal in quiet, leaving enough for breakfast for Naruto the next morning.
-3 weeks passed-
Naruto woke up, and then began his new morning routine, five hundred push ups on each hand, he did five hundred sit ups, then went out for a jog, that was around 10 kilometers. He then went to his normal training ground, and pulled out his sword, unsealed his shield and spear and made several shadow clones and began fighting himself.
About this time Tenten happened to walk through that particular training ground. She noticed several lines of Naruto spearing each other and slashing at each other with double edged swords. Perplexed by this sight, she began to walk closer when nearly one hundred spears flew at her. The next thing she saw was the crowd of Narutos charging, swords drawn, when she jumped, they all jumped right towards her, kicking, and kicking she demolished a large portion of the clones, Landing, his Phalanx reformed, Naruto stopped his attack.
"Hey Tenten, how's it goin'? Naruto grinned, dispelling his clones.
"Are you insane Naruto? You nearly kill me and then you ask me how I am?" Tenten yelled
"yup, this is my training ground, it's unofficial, I found it when I was younger. No one walks through here. Ever." Naruto stood tall, his face serious "So you should get going soon, I like my privacy, unless you wanna spar" Naruto walked over and pulled his spear out of a tree, splintering the trunk.
"Alright, I want to see what you can do" Tenten took a normal hand to hand stance, Naruto took a stance behind his shield, pointing his spear toward Tenten, she jumped back, firing kunai his direction, he knelt behind his shield, moving slowly in a crouch, he felt someone behind him, he swung his shield, striking Tenten, knocking her back, He lunged with his spear, which he lodged in another tree. Behind him Tenten stood, Naruto let go of the spear and drew his sword. He charged, using a shunshin, he was behind her, he held her against him with his left arm, while he pounded her ribs with the pommel of his sword. "Let's go for hand to hand, seeing as I have you down with weapons" Naruto dropped his sword and stepped back. She took a kempo stance, Naruto slid his shield off and set it down, Spartans considered throwing your shield away a sign of cowardice, so he set it down. He slid his left foot forward, and put up his hands, keeping them open, as she lunged, he thrust his foot out, landing his heel on her arms that she put up to block his behemoth strength, this was a bad idea, both her arms were instantly numbed.
"your strength is insane! You could rival Sakura's, what have you been doing?" Tenten yelled, arms limp by her side
"I found the Greek art of Pankration, and a crazy routine to train without the gyms that people normally use" Naruto then dropped low, throwing his shoulder into her stomach, grabbing her thighs, he lifted, slamming her into the ground with a double leg takedown. He grabbed her shoulder, using the kick she attempted to throw, and flipped her onto her stomach, he then applied a rear arm bar, snaking his arm around her neck, he whispered in her ear "I win this one" Naruto stood up, helping her up, he then retrieved his spear, sealing it. Tenten had taken a major blow to her pride, Naruto had just utterly destroyed her, She pulled the sword from the ground and charged, Naruto caught her arm, disarmed her, slammed her in the ground on her face, slid his arm under her elbow and applied what her called the "Lever Lock", it was like an arm bar except the target's arm is bent over your elbow, you can push on their wrist and their bicep, breaking their arm all the way down.
"I suggest you don't do that, I'll break this arm off, and you won't see it again" He was sitting on her back, he got up, took his sword, took his shield, and left. Tenten began crying, she'd never been so utterly defenseless.
Naruto arrived at the weapon smith, the old man looked up
"I just finished your stuff, come into the back, I'll show you" The old man flipped the counter up. Naruto stepped in. They walked through a pair of curtains into a large warehouse like room. Naruto saw a set of armor placed on a muscular mannequin. "Here it is, let's get this armor fitted to ya so you can get outta here. Here's the Musculata, take your shirt off and put this on, it'll fit right to your body" He handed him the armor, Naruto stripped off his shirt and put on the armor, tightening the straps. The armor began molding to his now well toned for, far from the legendary figure of the Greeks, but still well toned. He then placed on the helmet, over his head, he felt it take the shape around the crown of his head. He left the Grieves and gauntlets for later. He took the shield and spear, sealing them into a scroll, he then took the rest of his armor, sealed it in a different scroll
"Thanks old man, I can barely feel this armor, I'm gonna pick up some shorts to wear from now on, and maybe a cloak like the Spartans had, I'm gonna take my leave now. Thanks" Naruto turned and walked out, seeing Tenten "Hey, what're you doing here?" Naruto asked curiously
"I live here, this is my father's shop, I see he made you some armor, and some weapons I assume?" She said, looking over his brass colored armor. "I shouldn't have acted that way back at the training ground, could I come and watch you train some more?"
"I don't mind, just don't get in my way, and don't come before noon, I don't want anyone knowing my workout secrets" Naruto said, removing his helmet, he placed his scrolls and shirt in it. "And I'll even teach you some pankration, Bring some food, preferably pork or bread, even apples would do, See you tomorrow" Naruto walked out
"Yep, I know that look Alexandra, you like him" The old smith said
"Don't use my real name here, in case you forgot, Andrew, we're known here as Tenten and Musashi" Tenten said
"He's almost eighteen, you think Tsunade will tell him he's descended from not just the fourth, but also from the very Spartan king he wants so much to be like, Leonidas."
-Chapter 1 end-