A/N: This is a crossover between Naruto and Claymore, the totally kick ass manga series by Norihiro Yagi. Hopefully, if you haven't had the pleasure of reading Claymore yet, the plotline to it will be explained as best I can. If this chapter doesn't explain it fully, future chapters will explain a bit more about the Claymore characters. If you're interested in reading the manga, its available from Shonen Jump Advanced (four cents more expensive than your average Naruto volume). I have yet to find a place to read Claymore online, but I'm still looking.

One last thing: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Claymore. They are the properties of Masashi Kishimoto and Norihiro Yagi, respectively.

Konoha woke to what would have been a fine morning. The sun was bright, the sky had only a few clouds, and a light breeze kept the air cool. The problem was the smell that was carried on the breeze, a smell that infested the noses of Konoha's villagers.

It was blood.

The source was easy enough to find. A small crowd had gathered around the mutilated corpse. Those with weak stomachs had already run off when they felt their breakfast coming up. The remaining onlookers barely noticed when two ANBU came pushing their way through the crowd. When the pair reached the crowd center, the leader of the two looked down at the body and then back up at his partner.

"Inform Hokage-sama."

The partner nodded and then poofed away. The remaining ANBU looked at the onlookers who had finally started to disperse. Most of them cast fearful looks at the scene, and those that didn't apparently couldn't trust themselves to look back.

The ANBU didn't blame them. The body lying in front of him was a horrifying sight, even for an experienced shinobi such as himself. The puddle of blood surrounding the body was enough to churn some stomachs but the ANBU found the body itself to be more distressing.

The body was lying as if the person had been trying to run away when it had been killed. The blood had come from the stomach, which wasn't surprising considering the hole ranging from the victim's pelvis to the solar plexus. The ANBU didn't need to investigate further to know what he would find. This person had had their intestines, stomach, their kidneys, everything that could be referred to as a person's guts; all of it had been ripped out of them. The worst part, however, was what was on the person's forehead.

The victim wore a Konoha Hitai-ate.

Tsunade didn't look up from her paperwork at the poofing noise that signaled the arrival of a ninja. It may have pissed her off royally, but she had come to expect the sudden arrival of ninja's in recent years. She was Hokage after all.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Hokage-sama, there has been another attack."

Tsunade's head shot up. "Another attack?"

"Yes ma'am. Same results. Internal organs forcibly removed and now missing. And there is something else. The victim is a Konoha chuunin."

Tsunade stood up in shock. Another victim? And a chuunin this time?

These attacks were getting out of hand. This was the seventh attack in the past two weeks. And now a ninja had been attacked. Someone, or something, was murdering Konoha citizens and ripping out their insides. People were starting to panic and no one had any idea who or what was behind these murders.

Tsunade glanced out the window and then back at the kneeling shinobi. "Fetch Jiraiya. He should be either in the archives or at the library."

The ANBU nodded and then poofed away. Tsunade walked over to the window and took a long, hard look out of it. Seven murders, all of themin a hidden village that had been on high alertsince the first one. To put it bluntly, it was baffling. Ever since the third murder had occurred, Jiraiya had been convinced that no human, ninja or otherwise, could be responsible for the deaths. He had immediately dived into his research, which for the first time Tsunade could remember didn't involve one of his peeping jutsus. He had been convinced that there had to be some clue to whatever was behind the attacks in the historical records.

A knocking on her door brought Tsunade out of her thoughts and back to the present. Jiraiya entered the office, looking more exhausted than Tsunade had ever seen him.

"You wanted me here?" the toad sannin asked tiredly.

"Yes. Jiraiya, there has been another attack."

"Another one?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

Jiraiya sat down in a chair and immediately slumped. Tsunade sat back behind her own desk and looked at her former teammate.

"You've been looking through the library and the archives for the past week and a half. Is it too much to hope for that you found some clue to what the hell is going on?"

"I have a good hunch, but it isn't anything concrete."

"Jiraiya, at this point, I'd take even a vague idea."

"Well, I found one very old text that gave a suggestion of what it might be."

"How old?"

"It's from before Konoha was even founded. As a matter of fact, from the dating and locations mentioned in the book, I think it might have been written by a person living in one of the lands far to the west."

"What the hell is something that old doing… no, I don't want to know. What did it say?"

"It gave a vague description of several murders that apparently were attributed to creatures called Yoma."

"Yoma?" Tsunade asked, "What on Earth is a Yoma?"

"Something that most people of the time apparently did not believe was a being of Earth."

"What do you mean?"

Jiraiya sagged even farther in his chair. Tsunade could tell that he had slept very little recently. She sometimes forgot that it was possible for her old teammate to actually be dedicated to something other than his perverted novels.

"Jiraiya?"

"People of the time apparently believed that Yoma were either demons or barons of hell. Either way, they were monsters with more than a little evil in them.The reason the internal organs of the victims were missing was because the Yoma would actually eat the organs while the victim was still alive."

"Still alive?" Tsunade asked in horror.

"Yes. And no human that actually fought a Yoma ever survived."

"This sounds like something more than just a hunch, Jiraiya."

"It's still only a theory, Tsunade," Jiraiya replied, "The characteristics of the murders fit, and I don't see what else could be responsible. But the reason it is only a theory is that no Yoma was known to have come this far to the east. The last Yoma attack in the records was in one of the western lands."

"Wait, back up a second. How can something like this Yoma creature just evade our notice? I realize that some of our people can be a tad slow on the uptake, but surely they would notice a monster walking around?"

"That was what made the Yoma so dangerous. While they were strong enough to kill a human, the monsters also had the ability to take over the minds and bodies of humans. Anyone could have been the Yoma, and no one was able to tell the difference between a Yoma impersonating a human and the genuine article."

"Then how did the attacks get resolved, or didn't they?"

"There is an organization far to the west, in the lands where the attacks occurred," Jiraiya replied, "It doesn't have a name, but the people who requested its services referred to it as the Claymore Organization. Those that belonged to the organization were called Claymores, although the soldiers themselves were recorded as preferring to be called Silver-Eyed Slayers. Apparently, they had taken the flesh and blood of the Yoma into their bodies."

"You mean they…?"

"Yes. They became half-Yoma. It gave them the strength and speed to defeat the monsters in combat. But they were ostracized for it. They were treated as if they were no different than the Yoma themselves."

"Who does that remind me of?" Tsunade said absentmindedly.

"The situation that they faced and the one that Naruto deals with were not all that dissimilar. The slayerswere strong and fought to protect those in danger, but nonormal humanwanted anything to do with them. And so, the Claymore soldiers traveled from village to village slaying Yomas for a fee."

"I thought that no one could tell the difference between humans and Yomas in human form."

"By becoming half-monster,Claymores gained the power to sense where a Yoma was."

"Does this organization still exist?" Tsunade asked, seeing a small bit of hope.

"Yes, it does," Jiraiya replied, "But no slayer has ever come this far to the east before."

"Haven't you heard the expression There's a first time for everything'? We need one of these slayers. Get in contact with the organization and have them send one of those Claymores out here."

"Alright, but Tsunade, there is something else."

"What else can there be?"

"There was nothing proved, but there were quite a few rumors mentioned in the old writings. One of them was that if a Claymore used the Yoma strength too often, their still-human minds would be corrupted and they would become a full Yoma."

"A full Yoma?" Tsunade asked, her worry tangible.

"It was just a rumor, but…" Jiraiya trailed off.

Silence reigned in the office. Tsunade sighed.

"Jiraiya?"

"Tsunade?"

"Get me a Claymore."

"Over here."

"What do you have for me this time, Rubel?"

"A new assignment, what else?"

"Which village?"

"Konohagakure."

"Konohagakure? One of those odd villages in the eastern territories?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Apparently the leader of the village believes that a Yoma is slaying the townspeople."

"I have never heard of a Yoma traveling that far east."

"Neither have I. While you're out there, you may want to investigate how the Yoma got that far out of the usual territory."

"You're telling me to stay out there long term?"

"Yes."

"Is that wise?"

"Think of it this way: if any other Yoma appear in the neighboring villages, you will be the one to slay them. Meaning you will be the one who gets the slayers cut of the money for it."

"Hmm…"

"If you were to turn this down, I would most likely send Milia or Helen. You are being given this one because you are the closest one to the village. The Yoma has already claimed seven in the past two weeks. It will take you at least a week to get there, considering your traveling arrangements. The others would take longer, and I know how you like to get jobs done quickly."

"True. Send word the village Chief that I will arrive as soon as I can."

"Good. Oh, and one other thing. The village apparently had some trouble with a fox demon eighteen years ago, and hasn't quite gotten over their fear of monsters and demons in human form."

"What do you mean?"

"The fox demon was sealed into a newborn boy. The local population isn't overly fond of him for it, despite his being one of the village's top soldiers."

"I will take that into consideration. But it wouldn't be the first time someone looked at me in fear."

"Of course. You don't care, so long as that boy doesn't look at you that way."

"His name is Raki. I wish you would start remembering that."

"I always warn you not to get too close to him, and you always ignore my warnings."

"As I have said before, he is my cook. Nothing more."

"Be on your guard, Claire. This mission will be very difficult."

"Aren't they always?"

Naruto stood in the Hokage's office, his feet sore and his head tired. It was late and he had just gotten back from a week-long mission. Naruto could think of nothing better than getting an extra large bowl of ramen and finding a place to lie down. However, as Ichiraku's was closed up for the night, a cup of instant ramen would have to do.

All this planning was well and good, but Naruto wouldn't be able to get to any of it if Obaa-chan wouldn't let him go. She seemed to be relishing the fact that he was exhausted and she wasn't allowing him out. Tsunade was looking over the report he had turned in, but didn't seem to be focusing on it. Naruto's sigh of relief was almost audible when she finally put down the paper and looked up at Naruto.

"I take it the mission was a success?"

"You read the report, didn't you?"

"Yes," Tsunade replied, taking a long look at the blonde jounin. "You look exhausted."

"Obaa-chan, I do believe your powers of perception have gotten so much better in your old age."

Tsunade growled, but didn't do anything else. Naruto's sarcasm was to be expected, and it was still one of the reasons that she was fond of theblonde ninja.

"Naruto, while you were gone there were more attacks. The most recent one was a chuunin."

"So this thing can kill shinobi."

"Yes. Jiraiya found out what it is. The creature responsible is called a Yoma."

"A Yoma?"

"A monster that not only eats the victim alive, but it can also take over a human's mind and body."

"Is there any surefire way to kill this thing?"

"Yes, a Claymore."

"Who or what is a Claymore exactly?"

"A part-Yoma soldier with the ability to find the monster."

"These Claymores are part-Yoma themselves?"

"Yes, they are. I contacted the organization that they belong to. The reply letter said that one of them is due to come to the village in the next few days."

"Good. That means that only one or two more deaths will happen."

"Since when did you get so pessimistic?"

"When I realized that total exhaustion really sucks. Obaa-chan, can I go now?"

Tsunade sighed. He didn't appear to truly get it, but, knowing Naruto, he would probably start caring as soon as he got a good night's sleep. "Yes, you can go. Good night, Naruto."

"Night, Obaa-chan."

Naruto turned and started to leave. "Naruto, wait."

He turned back to the Hokage. "What?"

"Be careful out there, ok?"

"Don't worry, Obaa-chan. Even if the Yoma comes after me, my furry little friend won't let me die."

"Not if the seal gets damaged."

"You worry too much," Naruto said, before turning again and walking out of the office.

Tsunade watched as Naruto strode out of the office. "Too much, Naruto, or not enough?"

Naruto walked out of the Hokage's Tower and onto the streets of Konoha. Obaa-chan really did worry too much. It was comforting that she worried about him, but he wasn't thirteen anymore. Sure, he was eightenn and had only recently been promoted to jounin, but there was no way Naruto was going to get killed without a fight that would be certain to attract a lot of ANBU attention. Even exhausted as he was, Naruto would be able to handle himself.

"Hey, Naruto."

Naruto stopped and turned to the source of the voice that was stepping out of the shadows. "Yo, Shinji-san." Komura Shinji had been one of Naruto's jounin exam instructors. He was also one of the few that hadn't known him for a long time that didn't look at Naruto with those cold eyes. That fact and the knowledge that Shinji was an exceptionally talented ninja earned Naruto's respect. "What brings you around so late?"

"Just got off guard duty. You?"

"Meeting with the old hag. I turn in my mission report and she takes the opportunity to ruin any chance of getting a good nights sleep." Naruto started walking off in the direction of his apartment and Shinji fell into step next to him.

"She busting your chops about shoddy work again?" asked the older jounin.

"Not tonight. Tonight she decided to inform me of the latest attack. Tsunade-baba also made sure to tell me that we now have an idea of what the cause is."

"Cause?"

Naruto nodded and turned the corner onto his street. "Yep. Apparently, the attacks are the work of monsters called Yoma. The reason that the victims don't have internal organs anymore is that the Yoma is eating them."

"Sounds like these Yoma are pretty tough customers."

"Maybe." Naruto stopped at the steps of his apartment complex and turned to his companion. "But I'm sure someone will be able to beat it. Seeing as this is my place, I will say goodnight. Catch ya later, Shinji-san." Naruto started heading up the steps.

"I wonder…"

Naruto stopped climbing. "Wonder what?"

"I wonder what human intestines taste like to a beast like this Yoma."

Naruto arched an eyebrow and looked down at Shinji. "They probably taste like organs. Whatever they taste like, I don't want to think about it."

"Perhaps shinobi taste better than others."

Naruto was getting weirded out. "Shinji-san, you're starting to creep me out, so I'm going to go inside." Naruto started to head inside again before a hand grabbed his wrist with incredible strength.

"I wonder what you taste like."

Naruto froze and looked down at his wrist. Shinji's hand was turning gray and leathery. It was starting to grow claws. Naruto looked up.

The face that looked back at him was most certainly not human.

The skin was changing to match the hand. The hair was disappearing and the teeth were growing and sharpening. And the eyes… the eyes were widening and turning a sickly shade of golden-yellow.

"You… you're the yoma…"

"You catch on fast," the Yoma said before throwing the shocked ninja into the street. "You live in a rather isolated part of the village. I doubt anyone will be around to disturb my meal."

Naruto could only watch in horror as the horrific monster in front of him came closer and closer. This moment dwarfed the fear that he had felt against the Devil of the Hidden Mist. But at least Zabuza had still appeared to be human. What was in front of Naruto could in no way be considered even partially human. "But… you can't be… Shinji-san… he…"

"Fool. I took over his mind long ago. I have been using his memories to act as he would. Even your mighty Hokage had no idea."

The Yoma came closer.

"Do you really think any of you will be able to stop me? We Yoma have lived among you pathetic humans since ancient times. You exist only as our food. We are the foremost predators alive, and you are our prey. Prey is in no position to fight back against predator."

Somewhere in the back of Naruto's mind registered what the Yoma had said. And when the Naruto fully realized exactly what was going on, Naruto knew exactly what he had to do.

Naruto had to tear this Yoma apart, piece by piece.

In a flash, Naruto was up and charging the Yoma. If he could get under the monster's guard, he could land a few good hits. But a clawed hand came up and sent Naruto flying into the building on the opposite side of the street before Naruto could get too close.

The impact was a hard one. Naruto was seeing stars that didn't seem to want to disappear. "So fast..."

"You really believe you can save yourself? Yoma can move faster than you could ever hope for. You will die whether you fight me or not. You should just stop struggling. Perhaps I'll make it quick."

"Kiss my ass."

Naruto stood up and his hands flashed through the familiar seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Five clones popped into existence beside him and shifted into battle position.

"Ah, the clone move. Different from the clones that the last one used. Of course, you prefer to use this one over any other move. The Shinji human was always amazed that you could make so many and still be able to stand, even being as young as you are. Too bad I am not impressed in the least. Humans may not be able to tell the difference between the clone and the original. But a Yoma can."

The Yoma shot forward and struck the real Naruto with more force than ever. Naruto was sent flying again, and when he hit the wall he was too dazed to even hope to stand. The clones disappeared. The Yoma laughed; it was high, cold, cruel, and evil laugh.

"I did tell you. You have no hope of winning. I know all of your pathetic maneuvers, all of your techniques. I know of the fox sealed inside you and the strength it gives you. Even if you were able to use that demon's power, you would die."

Naruto forced his eyes to focus as the Yoma came closer to finish the deed. By sheer force of will, Naruto forced the energy to start swirling in his palm. It was all he had. If the Rasengan couldn't do anything, he would die. The Yoma would kill him before he could fully draw out the Kyuubi's chakra. This monster was too fast to hope for anything else.

Naruto forced himself to stand. The Yoma stopped moving closer, watching with amusement as the blonde shinobi used the wall to push himself up. The blue energy rotating in his hand was worth notice. It would be useful when his memories and abilities were absorbed.

Naruto finally reached his feet. He took a deep breath and charged.

"RASENGAN!"

The blue orb went straight through the Yoma's stomach. But the monster didn't seem fazed in the slightest. In fact, it laughed.

"Fool."

The Yoma reached out and grabbed the arm that held the Rasengan. It then proceeded to simply pull Naruto's arm from the wound hole. To Naruto's horror, the hole in the beast's abdomen started closing itself as soon as Naruto's hand had emerged from the wound.

"I did warn you that your efforts would be futile. But I grow tired of this game. I wished to have my dinner long ago and you have managed to postpone the inevitable. Now, I will finish this."

With its free hand, the Yoma extended its claws further than before. With a swift downward slash, Naruto's chest was ripped open and blood flew. Naruto didn't even have time to scream as the Yoma let go of his arm and further tore open the wound as Naruto fell to the ground.

"It is time for me to feed."

Naruto could only watch as the Yoma bent down with hunger in its eyes. But suddenly, it stopped. Two thunks were heard as the Yoma's body jerked in surprise. Naruto heard a faint yelling and the Yoma vanished. Someone was yelling Naruto's name, but Naruto was unable to respond before the world became dark.

Two days later…

The gates of Konohagakure loomed large and imposing. To someone like Raki, a twelve-year-old that had never even left his own village before the death of his family, they were an amazing sight.

When Claire had told him that they would be traveling far to the eastern countries, he didn't know exactly what to think. After living in the west so long, it was almost like a great new adventure. But to travel so far…

Raki glanced over at the woman walking next to him. Claire hadn't told him much about this village, only saying that the military forces used an odd form of magic in their battles and that the soldiers were called ninja.

Claire had always been a bit of a mystery to Raki. She alternated personalities so often that it was frequently difficult to know exactly how she would react to anything. She could be kind and gentle one minute, and cold and violent the next.

"Raki."

Raki jumped. "Yes, one-chan?"

"Make sure to be on your best behavior when we enter the village. I have never been to one of these villages before, so I don't know how they would react to strangers. But I do know that they do not like anyone that is in anyway partially monster."

"What do you mean? I thought that you said that no Claymore… oh, sorry… that no slayer had ever been out this far to the east."

"I told you the truth. I was told that a fox demon had terrorized this village eighteen years ago. The village leader, which they called the Yondaime Hokage, wasn't able to kill the demon. Instead, in a way that cost him his own life, he sealed the demon into a newborn baby. While that baby has grown up to be a strong and worthy fighter, the villagers regard him as nothing more than the demon in human shape. And thus they have treated horribly."

Raki looked up at Claire with his eyes wide. Eighteen years with nothing but bad treatment over something that he had no control over. That story sounded a lot like what Claire and Raki dealt with every time they went to a new village. The people would be afraid of Claire because she was half-Yoma, despite Raki always telling them that while Claire was half-Yoma, she was also half-human, and that should be reason enough for them to trust her. But they rarely listened, and they were always overjoyed when Claire and Raki would leave. Some towns seemed happier over the fact that the Claymore was leaving rather than the fact that the Yoma she was hired to kill was dead.

"He sounds a lot like you, Claire."

Claire glanced down at Raki before stopping in front of the gate. The two oddly dressed guards at the entrance looked at the two of them for a few moments before one of them spoke.

"You two are rather oddly dressed," one of them said, "Where are you from anyway?"

"The west," Claire replied. "We have a business to discuss with your Hokage. She is expecting us."

The two guards shared a glance before the one who had spoke nodded. "Very well. The Hokage's tower is the tall, yellow building in the center of town. Just head down this street. You can't miss it."

"Thank you." Claire looked down at Raki and nodded. Raki took a deep breath and the two of the passed beneath the arch into Konoha.

A/N: If anyone lawyers want to call me on it, the Yoma used a direct quote from the first chapter of the Claymore series (when he was going on about predator and prey). Now you can't sue.

To any others, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Don't worry; the victim in the opener was a faceless ninja. I'm not planning on killing any of our favorite characters (that may change later, however).

I may or may not wait for the third Claymore volume before I post the next chapter (it comes out beginning of August). I may also wait to post seeing as I have been neglecting my InuYasha story recently. I'll probably alternate between the two.

As a final note (this has gone on too far anyway), reviews are appreciated, but not required.