Fox in the Mist
Naruto and all related characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 1: Of Failure and Destiny
"Lady Mei, I have someone here that may interest you." Said a blue-grey-haired man with an eye patch over his right eye. He was also wearing two talisman seals as earrings. The woman who he was addressing was the new Mizukage of Kirigakure, Mei Terumi. She had green eyes and ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band, and with four bangs at the front. Two bangs were short, with one covering her right eye, and two long, crossing each other on her bust, just below her chin. She also long-sleeved, dark blue dress that showed off her rather impressive bust.
"Who might that be?" The Mizukage asked, not particularly caring. She had taken the position of Mizukage by force, stopping the insanity of the previous leader of Kiri from wiping out all those with kekkei genkai's in the village. While it was a short civil war, it did leave it's mark and left many clans near extinct. Needless to say this was one Kage with a lot on her plate, and she was barely handling all of it.
"His name is Naruto Uzumaki." Ao said, and he immediately had his leader's attention.
"I thought the Uzumaki were extinct. Can you be sure he really is?" Mei asked, thoroughly intrigued.
"I checked his chakra levels and they're off the charts for a 12 year old. If he ain't an Uzumaki then he's a good imitation." Mei sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. Having an Uzumaki could be an asset as the number of clans in the village were already dwindling. Also she had an idea for a position someone with that amount of chakra could fill perfectly.
"Send him in." Mei said, and Ao opened the door only to have a blond boy tumble over into the office. The boy got up and dusted himself off as he said,
"It's about time! It was so boring in that waiting room." Ao then slapped the boy upside the head and snapped,
"Show some respect around the Mizukage!" Naruto rubbed his head and glared back at the man as he said,
"You gonna make me?" The two then began a shouting match as Mei observed the Uzumaki before her. He seemed a few inches shorter than most his age, had three whisker marks on both cheeks.
'Odd.' Mei thought as she continued to look him over. He seemed fit, not to surprising given his age, but he also wore a sickening amount of orange.
'If he's going to stay here then that'll be the first thing to go. But I have to admit, he does have that fighting spirit and that's good.' The beautiful Kage thought. Mei cleared her throat, just as Ao had Naruto in a headlock, while the blond was biting the man's arm. The both froze and looked at Mei who had gotten up and was walking over to them.
"Might I ask where you're from?" Mei asked in a polite tone. Ao let the boy go, as Naruto replied,
"I used to live in Konohagakure, but left when I couldn't pass the stupid Genin Exam." Mei looked at him curiously and asked,
"Why couldn't you pass the exam?" Mei wanted to be sure it wasn't because he was a hopeless case.
"I couldn't do the stupid clone technique." Naruto looked at the ground and mumbled out, but both adults caught it.
"Ao tells me that your chakra levels are extremely high." Mei said, causing Naruto to look up at her.
"What does that mean?" Naruto asked, to which Mei replied,
"It means that you can't use jutsu that require low levels of chakra, like the clone technique." Naruto suddenly had a look of relief on his face.
"So I'm not stupid." Naruto whispered, but Ao heard him and said,
"Well I wouldn't say that." Naruto growled and replied,
"Shut up old man!" The eye-patched ninja looked down at the blond and said,
"Who're you calling old? I'm 47!" At this Mei said,
"That is kind of old Ao." The man was about to make a remark, but a look from Mei told him to drop it. Ao just sighed and walked out of the office as Naruto laughed and said,
"See ya later old man!" Ao stiffened, but kept walking. Mei walked behind her desk and sat back down and motioned for Naruto to take a seat. She stayed quiet for a while, making Naruto uncomfortable and somewhat tense.
"With your high chakra levels, I think I know just the person to train you." Mei suddenly said, startling Naruto who jumped a little in his seat.
"Really? I get my own personal sensei?" Naruto asked, excitement replacing the startled feeling.
"Yes. Have you ever heard of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Mei asked, causing Naruto's smile to fade and be replaced with a look of confusion.
"Um, should I have?" Mei simply pushed a button on her intercom and said,
"Have Zabuza come in, and tell him I have a new recruit." She then turned her attention back to Naruto, who was wondering what she meant by "Recruit" and said,
"The Seven Swordsmen are an elite group of Kiri ninja who wield specially constructed swords with various abilities." Naruto had to admit it sounded cool, but was wondering what this had to do with him.
"There can only be seven members at a time, but we still train potential replacements. Now One of the previous swordsman has recently died, and this is where you come in Naruto. His sword requires quite a lot of chakra to use, and I think you're a perfect wielder for it." The blond was now even more excited if that was possible. Suddenly the door to Mei's office opened and revealed a tall and noticeably muscular man with pale skin, short spiky black hair, brown eyes, and small eyebrows. He wore his forehead protector sideways on his head, gauze over the lower half of his face, and wore the standard ninja outfit and flakjacket of Kirigakure. But the most striking thing about the man was that he had a gigantic sword on his back that looked similar to a butcher knife. The man walked up to the Mizukage's desk, then looked down at Naruto as he said,
"This the brat? He's kinda scrawny lookin'." Naruto glared at the bandaged man.
"Naruto meet Zabuza Momochi, The Demon of the Hidden Mist, and perhaps one of the best Swordsmen we have. Zabuza meet Naruto Uzumaki." Mei said as she introduced the two.
"Zabuza, Naruto is to replace the third member of your genin squad, provided he can even use Hiramekarei properly." The Mizukage ordered the swordsman. The Demon of the Hidden Mist smiled under his wrappings and replied,
"This should be good for some laughs at least." Naruto growled and said,
"I'll show you! I'll be the next Swordsman of the Mist, believe it!" Zabuza gave a dark chuckle and replied,
"If you can manage to wield Hiramekarei, then I might consider that a remote possibility. Now come on brat we got some training to do, but not before I get you outta that orange monstrosity and into some real clothes." The swordsman said as he picked Naruto up by the back of his jacket and carried him out of the Mizukage's office, while the blond just yelled about how his clothes were awesome. Mei laughed as she thought aloud,
"There's something special about you Naruto Uzumaki. Konoha doesn't know what they lost."
THREE MONTH'S LATER
"Are you excited Naruto? You get to see you're old village again." A girl with brown hair and eyes, with sharpened teeth and two swords strapped to her back said as she walked next to a spiky haired blond. He had blue eyes, whisker marks on his cheeks, and wore a light blue shirt, dark blue pants with an orange stripe running up the side of each leg, black sandals, and had an orange Kiri forehead protector around his head. On the boy's back was a sword wrapped in bandages with two hilts connected by a red cord on the bottoms.
"Konoha never really felt like home Haku, but it'll be nice to get some Ichiraku ramen again." Naruto said, showing his sharpened shark-like teeth.
"Only you could be homesick for ramen!" A white haired boy with purple eyes and the same sharpened teeth Naruto had. The boy also wore a purple sleeveless shirt with grey pants, sandals, and a belt around his waist with water bottles attached to it. He also had a sword on his back, wrapped in bandages and had a hilt with a skull on the end of it.
"Don't start Suigetsu, unless you want me to show you how much better I am with Hiramekarei than you are with Samehada." Naruto said as he continued walking. Suigetsu got angry and drew his wrapped sword as he said,
"You wanna go?" Naruto drew his own sword, undoing the bandages, and turned to face his teammate. Suddenly a large butcher knife-like sword came crashing down between them.
"Enough! Save the fighting for the Chunin Exams." Both boy's sheathed their swords and said in unison,
"Right Zabuza-sensei."
PLEASE REVIEW!
I noticed that no one has ever done a story where Naruto is a member of the Seven Swordsmen so this is it! Also in case your wondering, Haku has Kiba for her swords and her teeth are sharpened because all of the Seven Swordsmen's and the apprentice swordsmen have sharpened teeth.