The Ranger of Konoha
I do not own Naruto or the idea for this story.
This is a response to gman391's challenge, The kitsune archer.
Slight crossover with Ranger's Apprentice.
Let get onto it. Hope you like.
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All was tranquil in the forest, the birds were chirping, the rabbits hopping,and the crazy, drunk villagers were carrying a sack, all the while saying stuff like "Hey, hurry up. We gotta get that... thing out of the village." and "We'll be called heroes for doing this."
Of course, when drunkards wander through forest throughout the night, they tend to get lost and make enough noise to wake the dead.. And unfortunately, they had wandered into a place with a guardian with ears like a bat.
So the Guardian of this particular patch of forest was watching the two drunken men as they dragged a sack through the forest. Which was curious by itself. The only people who came to the forest were villagers who came he, stayed two nights to get away from wives and girlfriends and called themselves woodman. So when the two drunk men walk into his forest screaming about becoming heroes he decided to pay a visit.
The two suddenly stopped in middle of a clearing. "Here, this looks good enough." "Almost too good for the little demon."
At that the elderly man in the trees grew even more curious. 'A demon?' he thought. 'Do those two really think they stand a chance against a demon?' he rarely smiled so he simply raised his eyebrow in amusement. Then his amusement shifted to anger. Inside the sack was not some small creature they considered demonic (images of a certain cat beings chased by countless ninja over the years did come to mind). No, it was a small boy.
The boy had blond hair that looked like it had been cut by himself using a mirror with either a knife or sharp glass (a hand went to his own hair as that was how he cut his). He was also small, far smaller than even someone his age should have been. Hell his face wasn't even round! He was probably just skin and bones. That was a sure sign of malnutrition.
His blue eyes also caught attention. Unlike the rest of the boys body, which spoke of cold, late nights and semi-life, his eyes shone with a fire that bespoke of strength, courage, and the will to live. Those steel-blue eyes were like the embers of a dieing fire. Bleak, yet inspired hope of change.
For clothing he wore rags. What used to be a white t-shirt was torn. His blue shorts were baggy and ill fitting. He had to wear a belt to keep it up. And as he saw, the 'belt' was no more than a piece of rope tied in a horrible looking knot.
His body, though beaten and somewhat worn, spoke of agility and slight strength. It was obvious to him that the boy knew every corner of the place where he stayed and could avoid anybody chasing him.
He couldn't of been more then six.
Already he had drawn his bow and notched an arrow, ready to unleash death to the unsuspecting mentally handicapped bastards. But he held himself back. Maybe the demon was simply disguised as a boy.
Then the next action threw that idea so far out the window it went around the world eight times and hit the guy who threw it out in the head. One of those bastards pulled a knife out, grabbed the boy, and put the knife to the boys cheek. He pushed the blade in while the other guy cheered. That tore it.
He let fly the arrow. It flew true and hit the monster in human skin.
The man who had just a minute ago believing himself a hero now found himself with an arrow through his hand pinning him to the ground. Suddenly a soft twanging sound was heard and the man who was with him was laying on the ground with an arrow going into his left calf.
The old man dropped to the ground. He heard the two gasp and mutter to themselves. Momentarily reeling in his anger, he decided to calmly 'ask' these men why they were torturing a small boy. But they beat him to the punch.
"Quick, mister ninja, you got to stop this demon from terrorizing the village." The man who had just been trying to run said. The other spoke up as well, "Yeah, for the past six years he's been terrorizing us."
The old man brought his eyebrows together. His already grim face suddenly took on a frightening look. He watched as the men squirmed like works on a hook, but inside he was wondering what the hell they were doing. 'Let's see, six years ago. What happened six years ago that a demon was involved with?' he thought. Images of a giant fox came to him.
He looked at the boy. Blond hair compared to red-orange fur, two hands and feet compared to four paws, and a face that which spoke of innocence and thought compared to the rage and single-mindedness. Even if this was the demon fox, it was likely that at-least his mind was erased. He spoke that last thought out loud to gauge the men's reactions.
The man who had been trying to torture the boy laughed at him. "Don't let the demon's act confuse you. This is the demon that attacked the village six years ago. The fourth did something to it and made it kill-able. But the hokage was stupid enough to let him live." "Yeah, so we decided to finish what the fourth started." They both put on looks of self-importance.
But the guardian was no longer listening. The hokage was a kind old man. He had seen him multiple times throughout his life. Even now, the elderly man often came to the forest to think. Despite that he was considered too kind, he still had a razor edge on skill and despite the subtle hints that the men dropped saying the hokage was senile, he knew that he was not.
He sighed and walked over to the boy. He noticed the boy's eyes going over him, searching for any indicator of threat and simultaneously looking for a way to escape. He walked up and looked in the boys eyes. The boy didn't flinch. Good.
"Boy, do you know what these men are saying?"He asked.
The boy continued to stare at him then answered, "Kinda," in a voice that revealed caution and weariness. "the demon fox attacked six years ago. Don't know why that dumb-dumb over there or everyone else back at the village calls me a monster though."
At that they man's eyes widened slightly. He was treated this way by everyone in his village! And the boy still looked like he was sane. "Boy, whats you name?" Maybe he could find the kids family or something he thought.
The boys next words sent that thought out the window of the GWTtLIOtW's neighbor's house, to the sun circle it ten times, then come back and hit the GWTtLIOtW in the head.
"Naruto Uzumaki, future hokage of Konohagakure." He said with a smile. But the old man had abandoned his dignity and let his jaw hit the ground.
'This kids related to Kushina!'. There was no way, the Uzumaki woman had red fiery hair, not spiky...blond hair...like... God damn. The kid's Minato's and Kushi's? Damn. He knew those two. There had come to the forest many times on picnics, hikes, and camping trips. They even got married here. Then they came to do the thing all married couples do. And they were far more loud then they should of considering they were ninja.
They even found him one day. After a brief misunderstanding (they had thought he was a highly trained ninja assassin paid to kill them) they had become fast friends. Minato even promised to keep the forest safe when he died. He never did find out what happened to the kid.
He was pulled out of his musings when the kid yelled something. He smiled abit as he turned, another massive, black-feathered arrow already on the bow. He let loose. The arrow flew straight and true and buried itself through one mans chest no doubt piercing his heart.
The other man had turned and ran...or more liked limped away. This time the arrow flew into the mans head. With a limp, hangover, and no knowledge of this place he felt that it was more merciful to kill the guy.
With the trash taken care of he looked back at the boy. And was frightened so much he took a step back. The kid's eyes with big, clear, and sparkling. He hardened his gaze and locked eyes with the kid. The effect was immediate. The boy...no, Naruto flinched and looked downcast. The small man's gaze softened and moved to put his arm on the boys shoulder. Naruto flinched when his arm made contact and tightened almost as if he suspected a blow. Remembering what the kid told him about Konoha treating him like dirt he most likely have gotten one by now.
After awhile of that, Naruto turned and looked back at him with a small soft smile and, thankfully, normal eyes. Suddenly he realized that this boy was thought of as a demon by the villagers. He didn't care why right then. He did know that nobody would teach the boy.
He remembered once when Minato watched him practice his archery and then wrote down everything about it he noticed. 'Research' he called it. He had then gone over Minato's notes, then promptly threw then in the small campfire they had been using to cook their meals. 'If you want notes, let the master write them.' he remembered saying. He started getting an idea on a way to kill two birds with one stones.
One bird was the boy. He was not one to leave a boy to be slaughtered. The second was his own order, which was wiped out many years ago. It was time they rose again.
"So, Naruto Uzumaki you said?" He asked.
"Yep, and you forgot the next Hokage part." He said with a face-splitting grin.
"So, how exactly do you plan on becoming Hokage?"
"Simple, by first beating Sasuke-teme and winning Sakura-chan's heart. Then beating old man hokage. Hey what;s your name, that way when I'm hokage I can help you."
"Halt." Halt said. The boy promptly stopped and stared at him. "What?" he asked.
"You said stop." Halt blinked before he realized that the boy mistook his name for a command.
"My name is Halt," he said. The boy hid a smile as he continued, "Anyway, I don't think thats how you become the leader of one of the five major villages." "There are five villages like Konoha?"
Halt stared at the boy. He mentally checked the date and it was well past the halfway point of the first years. In which even first year students are taught that. That was the final straw.
"Naruto, you're not going to become the Hokage," but was cut of as the boy suddenly exploded. Figuratively of course. Among the things said were "I thought you were different' and 'I'm not gonna let you stop me'.
Halt simply let the boy rage on. When the boy was huffing and puffing from forcing so much air through his lungs, Halt simply put his hand on the boys shoulder again. This time he didn't flinch.
"I didn't mean it like that. You didn't let me finish what I was about to say." Naruto turned and looked at him with a thread of hope in his eyes. "I was going to say that the teachers and other are going to hold you back. The road your on is hard. It will be harder then ever since no one will train you. And because of that, I must ask you some questions." By the end Naruto looked confused.
By now, even the most patient of assassins had attempted to kill him, yet this old man seemed to really be interested in helping him. He decided to humor him. He quickly nodded.
"You said most people in Konoha treat you badly. Like how?"
Naruto shrugged. "They act like they don't notice me, and some even take that to new levels sometimes like not even looking at me. That's the reason I was going to buy something that would get everyone's attention. I was thinking a bright orange..." But Naruto was cut off by Halt who had raised his hand.
"You get ignored...so you try to get their attention." Halt was confused. A ninja...who wanted to be seen. That was a first. And was not going to happen if he had any thing to say about it.
"Alright, is they anyone who doesn't treat you like shit?" He asked.
"Like shit?" Naruto replied. At that Halt resisted the urge to sigh. "Why is it that all youngsters must answer questions with questions?" He asked to no one in particular. Naruto just barely suppressed a laugh on his part.
"I guess jii-san treats me pretty good, same with that Ramen chief guy, and his daughter." Halt just stared at him. "What!" he shouted indignantly.
"Who is 'Jii-san'?" He asked.
"What's it matter?" Naruto responded.
Halt sighed. "Simple, when I was younger I was a member of a group of uniquely talented individuals who reported to our leader. That was because we were his intelligence force."
"An intelligent force?" Halt blinked as a similar conversation from long ago resurfaced. He sub-consciously rubbed the silver oak leaf he kept underneath his cloak. "No, intelligence force, though it does help your intelligence force is intelligent."
"Anyway, because of that I learned long ago to call people call people their names so others," "Like the king?" "Yes, like the King." He answered undeterred by the rude interruption. "Know whom I'm talking about."
Naruto nodded a-bit then raised his hand. "Naruto, we are the only ones here and this is not a classroom. You do not need to raise your hand. Just wait until I'm finished." He stared at Halt for a few more seconds. "I'm finished." Naruto remained silent. "Don't play this game."
Naruto chuckled. "Okay, Jii-san is the Hokage, I think Ramen chief guy's name is tuchi or somethin and his daughter is yummy I think."
"Really, you thinks 'Tuchi's' daughter is yummy? Aren't you a little young to think that?"
Naruto blushed a furious shade of red while Halt did his eye-smile.
"I ment that I think that's her name!"
And at the same time they both thought the exact same thought. 'This is going to be a long day.'
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Yes, terrible ending but I feel that I'm rambling here so I'm stopping it. Yes I know that I've misspelled some stuff but remember, Naruto is six years old and has only been in school for less then a year. As for why he knows so much language, he's been on the streets since he could walk, he's bound to learn some stuff.
Next chapter is skipping back to Konoha and will detail Naruto starting his 'Ranger training'. Naruto is going to be like the Rangers from Ranger's Apprentice, that and the appearance of Halt will probably be the extent of the RA in the Narutoverse.
I think that's it. If there are any concerns or anything let me know. Please review.
Oh and the humongous acronym of GWTtLIOtW stands for Guy Who Threw the Last Idea Out the Window.
Later 7054