Story Challenge: Free to good home! Gandalf hires ninja from Konoha to destroy the One Ring. All rights belong to their respective authors.
The Fox and the Ring
The Hokage puffed on his pipe, studying the strange visitor to his village. He was willing to pay ten times the fee of an S-rank mission to ensure its completion.
The man across from him smiled, pulled out his own pipe and began puffing away. To Sarutobi Hiruzen's surprise, the visitor's smoke formed not only rings, but exquisite looking figures fighting together with swords. It was an impressive display of controlled breathing.
The man standing before him was old, leaning on a tall walking staff, and had a beard of white that all the way down to his waist. But for all his age, he had a look of energy, and both warmth and wisdom in his eyes. The leader of the Hidden Village of the Leaf was not a man to trust easily, but there was something intimately trustworthy about this man.
"So, Mr. Gandalf. You need a team to protect a valuable object, never letting I fall into enemy hands, take it into the enemy territory up to a volcano, and then destroy this valuable object by dropping it down into lava. Is that correct?" The man nodded. "I will send my best jounin ninja on this mission. With two backup teams."
"I require the band to consist of eight persons, myself included. No more, no less. And I must meet each of those you choose to send on this mission to determine their suitability."
The Third Hokage was not accustomed to being told his business. However, when a client had specific requests and paid the appropriate fee, they did have a measure of say in the specifics of the mission. Right of refusal of personnel was not too much to ask for the fee that was being paid.
"Otter!" Sarutobi growled out. Instantly, a man in a ninja uniform wearing a white ceramic mask shaped like an otter was kneeling before the chief of the village. "Go bring Anko to me. Immediately."
"Hai! Hokage-sama!" And then the ninja vanished.
The dango-eating masochist was brought before the Hokage. But one look from the client and he shook his head.
"No, she will not do at all."
The Hokage's gaze bore into the man in front of him. "Do not underestimate the strength of Konoha's kunoichi. Anko is one of the strongest ninja in this village, man or woman."
"Oh, I have no doubt about her strength, Lord Hokage," the man said with a sad smile. "It is the corruption of her soul that worries me." The man reached his staff over to gently touch the shoulder where Orochimaru's curse mark remained on the woman. "This woman has taken many lives, given in to her lusts, and glutted herself to escape her darkness. She battles it admirably, but I am afraid what I need is someone whose soul is pure and not tainted by evil."
Sarutobi sighed. "If you're looking for spiritual purity, I'm afraid you have come to the wrong place. Perhaps a monastery would better suit your needs—"
"Hey, Old Man!" broke in the brash voice of an orange clad ninja. "You need to do something about that crazy pervert! He's tried to drown me in hot water and thrown me off a cliff! And the rest of the time he just peeps at women!"
The orange clad ninja appeared in the room with a look of defiance, two ninja barreling in behind him to try and capture the boy. "Sorry, Hokage-sama, he slipped by us before we could stop him."
Gandalf immediately put his hand to his head. He could feel the pounding in his head. Something dark. Something evil. Something ominous. Fire and shadow.
Gandalf pointed to the boy in orange. "Who is this boy?" He could feel the malevolence within him. "How can you have such a thing in this village?"
"ENOUGH!" Sarutobi snapped. "I will not have you disrespect my ninja in front of me! Especially not Naruto! How you came to your knowledge of what is inside him, I do not know, but you will NOT speak of it here." The Third had risen to his feet and everyone in the room cowered away from him, even Anko. Everyone except the man would be their client.
Gandalf's bright blue eyes looked intently at the quaking boy in orange. And then his eyes widened.
"Light of Valinor! You have contained a Balrog within this boy!" Gandalf suddenly grew in stature, light radiating around him. He reached forward to place his staff against the boy's stomach.
Gandalf spun to face the Hokage. "You have bound a demon within this boy, and yet he the boy withstands its influence?"
The Third's ire was immediately softened. Apparently, this man had realized that Naruto and the fox were not one and the same. "Yes, this boy contains the Nine-Tailed Demon fox. It was sealed within him by the Fourth Hokage, my successor, who gave his life to preserve our village."
Gandalf's head spun. That such a thing was even possible…and a boy able to withstand the darkness of a Balrog! He would make a perfect Bearer.
"I want this boy on the team."
Challenge details: Choose a team that Gandalf will believe will not betray Naruto, or at least will resist its influence. (Hint: Sasuke with his cursed seal is a bad idea). Having one or more members of the team actually corrupted by the ring's influence is optional.
The team must face the Nazgul and Sauruman on the way to Mount Doom. Going through Moria and having Gandalf fight the Balrog there is optional.
The Kyuubi is evil. No "Fem Kyuubi" who loves Naruto in its own way. It's a demon. (It can take the form of a female for seduction purposes in order to help corrupt certain team members, like say, a certain super pervert if he is made part of the team)
No overpowered Naruto. All characters have the powers and abilities they have by the time of the Chuunin exam finals. That means Naruto can summon and Lee can use 3 gates, but that's the limit. No sage mode Naruto. (If you want him to learn Rasengan on the way, that would be alright, but that's the limit.)
No half-demon or whatever Naruto. He's Naruto.
There must be temptations from both the Kyuubi and the One Ring placed Naruto, and the One Ring on the various team members.
If you choose to take this challenge, let me know by PM or by reviewing this story.