A/N: This chapter has been rewritten slightly, more details at the bottom!
Prologue
Into the Nexus
-NWN-
Konohagakure No Sato
Twelve years, twelve long years of hatred but... no more. Today Naruto Uzumaki is leaving, leaving for good. Having secretly studied special Jutsus for his escape Naruto chose today of all days for his escape. Today, the day before the Genin graduations.
-NWN-
In an abandoned section of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki, a twelve year old boy wearing, uncharacteristically dark and sensible clothing prepared a seal on a two meter wide circle of stone. Naruto, a usually happy blonde haired boy whose most notable features are the three whisker marks on either side of his face and the bright orange jumpsuit he wears, was working on the strange seal with a focused expression and instead of the orange jumpsuit he is wearing stolen… ahem… borrowed ANBU armor dyed a deep naval blue, over his face is a mask that covers his nose, mouth and cheeks, nearly identical to the infamous mask of Kakashi Hatake, however Naruto's is the same dark naval blue of his stolen… ahem… purloined ANBU armor.
Watching Naruto are three persons, the first is the aforementioned Kakashi Hatake, he knows exactly what Naruto is planning. However instead of trying to stop him, Kakashi had spent the last few weeks secretly adding more resources to Naruto's sealing scrolls, enough supplies for eight people to survive a year, not to mention a full set of Jutsu scrolls, school textbooks, some fiction novels, board games and the complete Icha-Icha series to date (hey, he's still a pervert).
The second person is Shikamaru Nara, a lazy genius from the shadow wielding Nara clan, he was walking by uncharacteristically looking for somewhere quiet to study with his copy of the Nara clan Jutsu scrolls, when he noticed what Naruto was doing. Instead of going to warn someone Shikamaru decided to watch instead, being a genius he quickly noticed what Naruto was planning and had decided to go with him, anything to get away from his troublesome mother, but, also a chance to get away from this life of kill or be killed. Luckily for Shikamaru his father had made him carry a full Shinobi battle gear set and camping gear set as practice for life as a Konoha Shinobi. Shikamaru has shoulder length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail and narrow brown eyes and is wearing a green lined mesh T-shirt under a short sleeved gray jacket with green edges, adorned on both the sleeves and the back with a circle with a line through it, brown pants, and blue sandals.
The third and final person is Hinata Hyūga, having decide she'd had enough of her father's abuse and insults Hinata had decided to run away, she'd secretly packed up all her stuff into a sealing scroll, stole copies of all of her clans famous Juken techniques and was running through the abandoned area when she noticed what Naruto was doing, when she noticed him murmuring to himself Hinata activated her clan's Kekkei Genkei Byakugan in order to read his lips with the enhanced eyesight granted by the famous Dojutsu. Having read Naruto's lips at which time he was mumbling 'They don't like me, fine! I'm going to leave, I might find somewhere nicer with the Shin Sekai (New World)Fūinjutsu array I'm making' Hinata had decided to go with the boy she had a (not so) secret crush on. Hinata has dark blue hair and fair skin and her eyes are the same pale white as the rest of her clan, or at least they should be, however Hinata has a unique lavender tint to her eyes, her hair is in a short, leveled Hime-cut style just above her forehead, with chin-length strands framing her face. Hinata is wearing a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem, with navy blue pants.
-NWN-
Having finished his seal Naruto is about to activate his new seal when…
"Wait"
He heard two familiar voices, one male and one female shout in unison Naruto spun around on the spot to see Hinata and Shikamaru walking out of bushes on opposite sides of the road leading to the area where he had placed the seal.
Naruto frowned and asked "What? Are you going to convince me to stay?" However to Naruto's surprise they both shook their heads silently saying 'no'
Shikamaru answered first "It's too troublesome to stay here and be a Shinobi, if I go with you at least I might get a chance to relax"
Hinata replied with "I d-don't w-want t-to stay h-here a-anymore N-Naruto-kun, I'm t-treated l-like I c-can't d-do anything r-right. I-if its o-okay w-with y-you I'd l-like to go with y-you a-as w-well"
Naruto thought about it for a second before he smiled and said "Okay, you guys can come, but on a single condition each"
Shikamaru and Hinata both look at him silently saying 'go on' Naruto smirked "Shika, if asked you have to help out, I'll let you cloud-gaze but you have to help out"
Shikamaru nodded, it would be a sacrifice, but it would help him have more time to relax "Sure thing Naruto"
Naruto smiles and then turns to Hinata "Hinata, you have to try not to stutter, okay? I already know you'll help to the best of your abilities"
Hinata gulped and then summoned up some courage to reply with "Okay N-Naruto-kun"
Naruto then waved them over "Hurry up, and stand next to me"
Hinata and Shikamaru both race over to Naruto and stand at his right and left respectively. Naruto puts his hands in the Ram seal, just as he is about to activate the seal the Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shikaku Nara (Shikamaru's Father) and Hiashi Hyūga (Hinata's Father) appeared before the group. Before they can say anything Naruto shouts "Jikūkan Ninjutsu: Sekai Shifuto" (Space-Time Ninja Technique: World Shifting) The Shin Sekai seal array at the trio's feet lit up and suddenly the area was filled with blinding light. When it died down the three children have vanished. Never to be seen in the village again.
-NWN-
The World Nexus
Outside of ordinary time and space is a location known only to the creators of worlds, this location was where they kept prototypes of all the worlds they created and where every living and inanimate thing in creation was first created, from the most basic of atoms to the simplest of life forms to the great engines of creation the stars themselves and even the first true mortal soul.
This place was difficult to navigate if you were not immortal like it's inhabitants who even when killed would revive upon the dawn of a new day.
Luckily for Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru they emerged into an area of the World Nexus extremely similar to the world from whence they had came, perhaps even the original prototype for it.
On the edge of a wide clear river in the middle of a vibrant forest full of oak and pine with trees, sugarcane and bamboo growing on both sides, shoals and schools of fish and other aquatic life, a soft sandy base and nice solid dirt banks, with a single tall mountain with its peak fading into the clouds surrounded my gentle grass coated foothills to the south-west and a vast flat grasslands filled with animals and spotted sporadically with trees and bushes to the south-east fading into a white sandy beach as it ranges to the north-east. To the east a vast ocean is just visible through the trees while to the west a mountain range dominates the skyline above the trees, however it's at the very least several days walk away. From behind the mountain range to the west a single white smoke plume rises to the heavens. To the north is a forest with some tundra just visible in the distance with the smell of soft snow softly wafting through the trees as the wind gently blows down from the north, to the north-east is some ice from the ocean freezing over impossible to see through the trees, while to the north-west is a Steppe with some horses grazing on the sparse but tough bushes scattered about.
On the edge of the aforementioned river, three children appeared. Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru looked around in amazement at the new world they have found themselves in. Naruto pulls out his storage scrolls only to find that there is one more then there should be, he opened it to find a set of nine storage scrolls (Labeled: Supplies, Camping, Weapons, Jutsu, Entertainment, Books, Training, Armor and Parents) and a note labeled 'Read me first'.
-NWN-
Naruto
I'm sorry to say that if I could have I would have adopted you, however not only was I blocked by the council, but I wasn't truly in my right mind after the death of my Sensei and your father, Minato Namikaze, or as you would know him, the Yondaime Hokage. Since you were the little brother I wish I'd had when I found out about your plans to leave I decided to sneak in some extra supplies.
In the scroll labeled 'Supplies' you'll find a year's worth of supplies, including food, clothing and other necessities, for eight people, since I didn't know if you had friends leaving with you I made sure to add some supplies especially for women, in a sub-scroll labeled 'Girl's only' if you don't have any girls with you just throw it away, they're worthless to a guy. I also put some scrolls on healthy eating and why it's good for you, please read them!.
In the scroll labeled 'Camping' I put an eight-man tent and eight futons, along with some small odds and ends you need to camp out, including instruction scrolls on Hunting and camping out in the wilds as well as survival in general.
In the scroll labeled 'Weapons' I put around eight hundred Kunai and Shurikens along with some Katana and Bows and arrows for hunting, along with some more exotic weapons. Of course I added instruction scrolls for all the weapons.
In the scroll labeled 'Jutsu' I put some Jutsu scrolls, I put several hundred in from E-ranks all the way through to S-ranks, however I would recommend you do all of the Chakra exercises in the 'Training' scroll first before doing an S-Rank, I also recommend waiting until you're sixteen before attempting an S-Rank, it would truly hurt to find it was my help that killed you. I also put eight pieces of Chakra paper and a scroll explaining them in as well, don't worry the Jutsu scrolls are in sub-scrolls so you won't get a huge pile of Jutsu scrolls coming out at once.
In the scroll labeled 'Entertainment' I put some board games and other simple entertainments including a full set of cards and a Shogi board along with instructions on how to play each game.
In the scroll labeled 'Books' I put several hundred books, both fiction novels and school textbooks. Along with a full set of books on survival and construction and a special edition set of the Icha-Icha series (I don't recommend you read that in front of any girls with you)
In the scroll labeled 'Training' I put everything you would need to learn to be a Shinobi, along with scrolls to explain everything and give examples of what to do and what not to do.
In the scroll labeled 'Armor' I put several sets of resizing ANBU armor, along with various forms of light-weight leather armor. Instructions on the care, maintenance and how to make these armors are also in the scroll.
And finally in the scroll labeled 'Parents' I put information and pictures about your parents, by the way your mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki. I also added in some funny stories about their past and their time as Shinobi.
I hope one day you can forgive me for my actions, I've tried to look out for you whenever I could.
Kakashi Hatake
(Inu-san)
P.S I know about your use of the Dōbutsu no Tamashī (Animal of the Soul) Jutsu. I also know what you turned into, remember to practice its use and to remember to anchor your humanity.
-NWN-
At the end of the letter is a rough sketch of Kakashi's ANBU mask. Naruto started crying as he finished the letter. He sat down and sobbed quietly, Hinata in a rare burst of courage hugged Naruto from behind. Shikamaru just watched on in silence, no words are needed for this situation.
A few minutes later Naruto regains control over his emotions, he turned to Hinata and says "Thanks Hinata, I needed that"
Hinata blushed and nodded in reply, not trusting herself to speak. Shikamaru just yawned and said "Troublesome, while this is all heart-warming. We need to either find a place to sleep or build one, did you plan that far in advance Naruto?"
Naruto nodded not offended at all, he knew that his playing the fool would make them slightly worried about his planning abilities and he replied easily "Yeah, I did. I picked up several Jutsus designed to work in sequence with one another. The first and most basic is the ironically named Kihon Kurafuto (Basic Crafting) which uses resources we harvested and stored with the Kojin-Tekina Inbentori (Personal Inventory) to create basic items" Naruto slowly moved his hands through the seals and the duo watched as a wooden log was transformed into a stack of wooden planks.
"One of those items is the Crafting Table which is used in conjunction with Kōdona Kurafuto (Advanced Crafting) to create large items like Beds, Furnaces and Ovens. A Furnace is used via the Seiren (Smelting) Jutsu which allows us to use it even when we have no knowledge of smelting whatsoever" Naruto lent against a tree as he continued his explanation.
"Another useful combination is the Oven, Campfire or a Stove and the Muchi Ryōri (Ignorant Cooking) Jutsu which allows us to cook even if we don't know how. The last three and most important Jutsus are the Shigen Kaiseki (Resource Analysis) which will analyze the material we are using it on and tell us: A. What it can make in Kihon Kurafuto and Kōdona Kurafuto either by itself or in conjunction with another material and B. Stores all this information in a set of books that tell us which Jutsu to use by which book it is in and how much of a resource you need" Naruto lifts up a simple book for journals with a brown leather cover.
"The next one is the Kenchikka Sekkei (Architect's Designing) Jutsu which allows us to use paper to plot out a building, it will not only show us what the finished product will look like but also tell us how many resources we need to build it, it then turns the paper into a Blueprint which we use with the final Jutsu which is called the Kage no Kensetsu (Shadow Construction) Jutsu, which takes the Blueprint and the resources need by whatever is detailed in the Jutsu and builds it where the user wants. There are a few more Jutsu but I don't need to go into them right now. Enough information for you Shikamaru?" Naruto smirked softly as he finished, the soft play of shadow and light across his face giving him an almost foxy look full of amusement and mischief.
Shikamaru nodded, a little bemused. He hadn't expected Naruto to be this prepared. He then asked "You can teach us these Jutsu right?"
Naruto nodded "Yeah, easily" he then stopped, stood up and said "But first lets gather some wood and some of that sugarcane, I already scanned those back in Konoha" Naruto heads over and just punches a tree, he doesn't expect the area he punches to break off into a perfect meter by meter by meter cube of wood however. Before a shocked Shikamaru or Hinata can say anything Naruto commented "Huh, I guess a different world would have some different physics, so this isn't surprising. But just to be sure Shigen Kaiseki" Naruto cast the Jutsu and a book suddenly appears next to him, reading over his shoulder Hinata and Shikamaru can see that it simply shows recipes for what the wood can be used for in the Kihon Kurafuto and Kōdona Kurafuto Jutsus, identified by the latter's recipes having a little three by three grid icon next to them.
Naruto then turned to Hinata and Shikamaru and said "Okay, I should teach you the Jutsus now, they each use different hands seals, but most only use one or two so they're very easy to remember and use. Kihon Kurafuto uses the Saru (Monkey) hand seal. While Kōdona Kurafuto adds the Inu (Dog) seal after the Saru seal, and must be used over a Crafting Table. Kojin-Tekina Inbentoriuses just the Tatsu (Dragon) seal. Seiren uses first Saru and then Tora (Tiger) in that order, and must be used over a Furnace. Muchi Ryōri uses only the Tori (Bird) seal, and must be used near a cooking instrument. Shigen Kaiseki uses the Ne (Rat) and Ushi (Ox) seals in that order. Kenchikka Sekkei uses just the I (Boar) Seal (A/N To distinguish between I and the hand seal I the hand seal will always be Bold). Kage no Kensetsu is the most complex and uses the Hitsuji (Ram), U (Hare), Mi (Snake) and Uma (Horse). Clap and then slam both hands down so that you would be facing the front of the finished structure, a light blue ghost like version of the structure should appear first, if it doesn't or its red, you can't use the Jutsu there, if it is blue simply slam your hands down again to complete the Jutsu. That's everything I'll teach you right now. Got it all?"
Hinata and Shikamaru nodded vacantly in answer to Naruto's rapid fire explanation and question.
-NWN-
They then spend nearly two hours gathering the material they'll need to build a house, Naruto in an unexpected burst of insight mentions a bright idea of his.
"Hey Shikamaru, Hinata. I have an idea! How about instead of build a manor house or something like that we instead build a village center? I mean, it's very unlikely that will be alone just us three for very long, so when newcomers arrive why don't we make a village. After all would more people working together with us make it easier for us to survive in this world?' Naruto mentioned his idea with great gusto.
Hinata was torn, on one side it would mean that there would be more free time for her to spend alone with Naruto and on the other it meant that there would be other women who might be interested in him. Tentatively Hinata nodded in agreement with Naruto's idea.
Shikamaru on the other hand was quite impressed by the idea and nodded his acceptance.
Naruto smiled at the two after seeing their acceptance "Well, I have a plan for a village center, why don't you have a look at it?" Naruto pulled out a piece of paper and opened it up to show a blueprint of a circular building.
Hinata and Shikamaru looked at the blueprint. It was of a fairly large building that is circular in nature. In the center of the building is an open courtyard with a fire-pit in the middle of it. The building's outer edge is split into seven rooms, one for three of the cardinal compass points and four for the inter-cardinal compass points. To the east, facing the rising sun is the entrance to the inner courtyard and it's fire-pit, to the north is the library, to the south a Dojo, to the west a store room, to the north-east and west are two apartments each able to comfortable room ten people with their own bedroom, living room and kitchenette. To the south-east a bathroom split into male and female sides and to the south-west a workshop/forge. The primary material used in the construction is cobblestone wall bases with wooden paneling upper walls and wooden roofing with tatami mat floors in the apartments and Dojo and wooden flooring elsewhere except for the forge which was completely made of cobblestone to minimize the risk of fire. Along the inner rim of the circular building is a sheltered low wooden porch that acts as a hallway connecting the rooms together.
All in all it is a very good building to serve as the heart of a village and it has the potential to grow into a larger building at a later date.
The trio of runaways looked at each other and smiled, they then got to work building their new home.
They would quickly discover however that it would be more then just their home in the future.
-NWN-
After ages I've finally worked up the energy to write some fanfiction again, thankfully the busy season is winding down and I get a chance to breathe and relax in between shifts. Not long ago I opened up this story again and read through it to re-familiarize myself with its particulars and to remember what the planned plot was.
Only to find I didn't like what my plan was, too much harem not enough story and the realization I couldn't possibly do justice to what my original idea (and the late unlamented rewrite's idea was) and so decided to do some changes.
The 'Harem' will only be at most five women, Hinata is Not guaranteed a spot in that and I have ideas for some characters with which she might make an interesting pairing... (I suddenly had the image in my mind of Hinata going full on against Gendo Ikari for Shinji's sake) but nothing is yet concrete.
As for my original statement of harmless 'Sandbox' fun, yes that will still be in effect. I have an idea for this Naruto and the RWBY world to mix together at some point as well as a foray into other fun worlds.
Saint's Row anyone?
Perhaps a visit to Hyperdimension Neptunia or a drop in to Mahora to meet Negi, a chance meeting between a certain Senshi of Love and our lovable blonde idiot (who will return to his more optimistic and friendly character as this story continues, because Naruto just isn't Naruto unless he's facing down an unstoppable evil with nothing more then a smile, an orange outfit with wicked accessories and his own determination)
If anyone has some light hearted (or otherwise) worlds they want Naruto and his gang to visit let me know! I'll do some research and see if I can spin that.
Dragonsong2795 Out!
P.S: Hopefully my next update won't be too long... Eight to ten months isn't too long... right?