Good evening to all and welcome to my new story which is born completely out of nowhere (as almost all my other stories)! As you have read the summary, this will be a crossover fanfiction between Naruto and Bloodborne set mostly in the world of our young ninja.

Now, a couple of warnings to get started on the right foot. Since a child of twelve provided with a cleaver might not seem very realistic, in this story all the characters start with the age of Shippuden although at the beginning of the canon story. Simply put, Naruto will have fifteen years although still at the academy and so on.

Second warning: this story will contain a huge amount of gore, splatter, lemon and other things for adults, so you have been warned (but will put the warning at the beginning of each chapter).

Reviews are always well received as well as the advices and critical comments to help me to improve. I hope that the story is to your liking and without further delays, here's the first chapter of 'Naruto: ninja or hunter?', Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NOR BLOODBORNE

NOTE:

"Human dialogues"

'Human thoughts / mental dialogues'

"Demonic dialogues"

'Demonic thoughts / mental dialogues'

CHAPTER 1: And so it begins

It was an evening like many others in Konoha. The shops had been closed and the various houses were audible the laughs of children at the dinner table with their parents. However, there was a small restaurant that looked more alive than all the rest, and this was due to a boy with short blond hair intent on devouring his favorite food.

"Another bowl, please!"

"Coming up!" a young brown-haired girl came up to the counter of the restaurant, putting a big bowl of ramen in front of the guy who had ordered it, then taking away the ten empty bowls.

"Naruto, I seem to note that tonight you have more appetite than usual!" a man said, appearing from the kitchen of the restaurant with a smile in sight.

"You can bet on it, old man! Tomorrow I will become a genin so I'll be a step closer to becoming Hokage!" Naruto shouted, finishing the bowl of ramen at a superhuman speed. The girl and the man, as better known as Ayame and Teuchi, the blonde smiled, pleased with his goal.

"I'm sure you'll make Naruto! You trained a lot for tomorrow's exam, therefore, it will be fine!" Ayame exclaimed, then disappearing into the kitchen with the empty bowls. Her father nodded convinced but then suddenly became alarmed at seeing Naruto intent to cough heavily "Naruto, are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, it's just a bit of a cough. Tomorrow I'll be like new!" Naruto reassured him then, getting up from the stool and putting the money for the food on the counter "See you tomorrow to celebrate my promotion! Good night Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Good night Naruto! See you tomorrow!" came the voice of Ayame from the kitchen and, after greeting also Teuchi, Naruto walked toward his apartment, still coughing along the way.

'Damn, this cough don't want to go away! At this rate I will become the same as that ninja that I saw sometimes in the office of Hokage-jiji...Hayate, if I remember correctly.' Naruto thought, trying to drown out other attacks of coughing, without success.

'For sure it's a very peculiar cough. I should be able to heal whatever ails you, yet I can't cure you from this cough.' said a deep voice in his mind, getting his attention.

'Well let's not think too much Kurama, it's just coughing. I just hope that it won't compromise my exam tomorrow...'

'If you say so, kit. I'll try again to see what I can do about it, you're not the only one who can not sleep because of this stupid cough!' the voice said, cutting the mental link. Naruto smiled and shook his head at hearing the justification of his tenant.

It's been three years now that the young boy had discovered the demon sealed inside him, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi. In spite of the initial discomfort, the two were able to coexist together and the demon had helped him in his training by teaching him some things to become a ninja even if she couldn't do much due to the seal. The demon, whose name was Kurama, was a female (the thing had shaken a lot Naruto but had put aside the amazement as not to unnerve the demon) amazingly quiet despite appearances, and had explained to Naruto that, the night of the attack where his parents had died, she had been controlled by a ninja with the Sharingan and that she had not had any intention to attack the village. After a long talk, the two had become 'friends' even though Kurama continued to tease him on several occasions, leaving him to himself most of the time. After all, she always took care whenever he was wounded by the villagers, so he could take care of himself.

Thinking back on that night with a slight smile, Naruto nearly choked due to a much more violent than normal coughing attack that forced him to lean against a wall.

Putting a hand to his mouth, he could feel something warm wet it, then looking at his hand, he was horrified to see it covered in blood.

'Naruto, there's something wrong! I can't find the cause of this disease and I don't understand why you're coughing up blood!' Kurama said in alarm as Naruto fell to his knees, vomiting more blood.

'What's...happening..to me...?'

With one last cough, he collapsed completely to the ground, fainting after a few seconds.

In an unknown location

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, looking confused at the ceiling above him. Turning his head slightly, he saw an iron rod with a drip hanging full of blood. Around him he could notice some shelves full of books and test tubes, lit only by a few candles.

'A doctor's office...? How did I get here?' Naruto thought then he heard a strange creaking to his right.

"Oh yes...Paleblood...heh!" narrowing his eyes, Naruto spotted the silhouette of a bearded man on a wheelchair wearing a big hat and a cape over his shoulders. The man then said "Well, you've come to the right place. Yharnam is the home of blood ministration. You need only unravel its mystery."

'Yharnam...? Blood ministration...?' What he is talking about?' Naruto wondered, then realizing that he could not move due to some straps that held him stuck on a lounger.

Ignoring his confusion, the man approached by spinning the wheels "But, where's an outsider like yourself to begin?" now he was even closer, with his face bent down to the floor "Easy, with a bit of Yharnam blood of your own..."

Finally he stopped, raising his face so as to show his empty sockets, only covered with thin white gauze "But first, you'll need a contract..."

'A contract? What kind of contract and why I can't talk?!' Naruto was increasingly agitated but that didn't stop that old man from cutting him with a knife on the palm of his right hand, then making drip the blood on a piece of paper. Calmly, he rolled up the paper by putting it away "Good. All signed and sealed. Now, let's begin the transfusion." the man seemed to notice the visible fear on Naruto's face "Oh, don't you worry. Whatever happens...you may think it all a mere bad dream..."

The sight of the boy blurred after a few seconds and, before passing out again, he could hear the disturbing laughter of that man who moved away from the table without turning around even once.

After some time, Naruto regained consciousness, awakened by a very strange noise. Looking around, he found that he was still tied to the damn table, only that now the room was completely dark. The noise grew louder to his left and the first thing he thought was running water or anything like that.

Turning to that side, he realized that it was something far worse.

Eyes wide with fear, he saw a huge puddle of blood from which came out a head. Slowly, the whole body of the creature came out, revealing to be a big werewolf with the fur completely covered in blood. Slowly, the creature began to move toward him, looking at him with its bright green eyes. Within seconds it was beside him and reached out a hand equipped with sharp claws towards his face.

Just to catch fire, shortly before touching him.

Naruto watched the creature squirming in pain for several seconds before collapsing to the ground next to the cot. Before he could understand what had happened, he felt something touch his left leg. Moving his eyes, his heart skipped a beat at seeing a kind of abomination humanoid, pale and big as his entire arm.

But it was not alone.

Soon, another one appeared to his right then one near the feet, until he was completely surrounded. Looking at the ceiling in the throes of pure fear, he saw at least six beings now close to his face.

'Go away! Don't touch me! GO AWAY!'

Naruto's apartment

An ear-splitting shriek rang out in the air and Naruto jumped out of bed breathing heavily and completely covered in sweat. Looking around he finally managed to calm down after a few minutes, leaning against his bed.

'It was just...a dream?' Naruto thought 'No...it was a nightmare...'

'Naruto, you're finally awake!'

'Kurama? What the hell happened? I just remember that I've started coughing while I was walking home and then nothing else...' Naruto asked, trying to remember something more.

'I don't know. When you fainted I lost any form of contact with you and when I was able to re-establish the mental link, you were already in your bed in the throes of some nightmare. I tried to wake you up but without success.' Kurama said checking his body for any abnormality. Naruto was silent for a moment, then decided to forget about it. Noting the time, he prepared a quick breakfast and left the house, locking the door.

Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he reached the academy and went into his class. With a quick glance, he spotted a boy with black hair sitting little far away, staring up at the sky outside the window.

'That Sasuke-teme is always the same. Well I don't have time to waste with him today, I have to try to recover a bit of sleep or I will risk to fall asleep during the exam.' Naruto then walked to the desks at the bottom of the class and went to the corner farthest from the door, then leaning his head on his folded arms on the desk.

With every passing minute, other students entered but Naruto did not look at any of them. He had to sleep before the arrival of two certain girls.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, INO-PIG!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS IN MY WAY, FOREHEAD!"

'Say goodbye to your rest.' Kurama chuckled as Naruto just sighed in resignation. And to think that he, in the past, was infatuated with that pink haired banshee.

A moment later, a pink-haired girl ran into the class, pushing away a girl with long blond hair "I'm the one who will sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"Forget it! I'll sit next to him! Your huge forehead would only bother him!" the blonde yelled back running after the classmate until they were both close to Sasuke, who restricted himself to ignore them with a simple "Hn."

Shaking his head, Naruto tried in vain to rest, until someone put a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, the blond saw boy with a white dog on his head, back away abruptly.

"Hey man, what happened to you? You look awful!" the boy said, and his dog barked to confirm his observation.

"I only had a nightmare, Kiba. Nothing more." Naruto explained with a tired look, trying again to rest a little.

"Well it must have been a really bad nightmare to reduce you to this state." before Naruto could reply, the classroom door swung open and the two teachers made their entrance.

The first of them, Iruka, gave a quick look at Naruto, arching an eyebrow at seeing him half asleep but decided to not think about it for the moment. He had an exam to start. His companion, however, could barely hide a slight grin to see that Naruto did not appear in full force in order to take the exam 'It seems that the demon brat won't be able to be promoted! Great, so I'll be able to carry out my plan!'

"Ok students be quiet!" Iruka shouted, silencing any form of chatter "Today is finally the day when you will become real ninja! These years of academy helped you learn the basics, but I want to remind you that your trip is just beginning and that you will improve until you have the will to do it!" after a few seconds of silence, Iruka took a clipboard and a pencil "We will now begin the exam which will be divided into three parts. To overcome it, you will have to properly perform the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique), the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) and the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)!"

Iruka then began to call each student to subject him or her to the test and, from above, Naruto could see that everyone was able to use those three jutsu.

'Sigh, I'm screwed! The Bunshin is my weakness, I never managed to create more than one clone and each time it had a cadaverous appearance!' Naruto despaired mentally, scratching his head.

'Do not give up right now, Naruto. It is true that with your enormous chakra reserves it would be impossible to carry out the jutsu, but you practiced in your chakra control, so you will make it.' Kurama tried to reassure him right before his turn came. After a deep breath, Naruto walked toward his teacher who nodded at him once to wish him good luck.

"Ok Naruto, let's start with the Kawarimi." Iruka said while throwing at him a wooden Kunai. Naruto was able to use the jutsu successfully, making appear in his place a chair and Iruka nodded with satisfaction, noting the boy sat back in the back of the classroom.

"Very well Naruto. Now, let's see your Henge." after a moment of concentration, Naruto used the technique and a 'puff' rang in the air, covering his entire body with white smoke. Once the smoke dissipated, Iruka nodded with a smile at seeing an exact copy of himself.

"Perfect Naruto, now we just have to see your Bunshin." Naruto gulped, but then made the hand signs required for the technique. With a resounding 'puff' another cloud of smoke covered him completely, but this time, Iruka sighed heavily. In front of him there were the real Naruto and three pale clones, slumped to the ground.

"No good Naruto, you still can not perform this jutsu and it's necessary to become genin. I'm sorry, but I can not promote you." Iruka said, and his companion tried to change his mind "Are you sure Iruka? I know that he was not able to execute it perfectly but still he has an iron will and I'm sure he would find a way to improve. He still performed the other two techniques without any difficulty."

"I know Mizuki, but I can not risk to sending him out there without having learned at least these three jutsu." then he turned to Naruto "I'm sorry Naruto, there is always next year."

"I...understand..." Naruto whispered before leaving the classroom, ignoring the laughter of some of his classmates. Inside him, Kurama took note of the names of those kids. Once broken the seal, they would be the first ones to die.

'Kit, I'm sorry about that. You trained for a long time yet that jutsu made you fail. I should have found a better way of training.'

'Nah, don't worry. We'll think of something for next year.' despite apparently he was simply sad, Naruto was completely devastated inside. His dream was to become Hokage so as to be recognized by all the citizens of Konoha, yet he was unable to overcome even a test to become genin. A test for which he had practiced day after day. Sighing once again, Naruto went out from the academy through a window and went to sit on a swing placed not far from the entrance. Within a few minutes, the various students came out one after another and he saw them rejoice together with their parents, who praised them with broad smiles.

"Hey, can I have a word with you?" asked a voice behind him. Turning around, Naruto saw Mizuki leaning against the tree trunk, with a strange smile on his face.

"Mizuki-sensei, what do you want?"

Mizuki moved away from the trunk and walked beside the blond "Naruto listen, I know that Iruka was hard on you, but he did it for your own good. You must understand that he also has to do his job."

"I know, I'm not angry with him. I'll try again next year." Naruto said looking at the ground, missing the evil grin of Mizuki.

"Actually there is a special test for those like you who have the skills but fail to implement them. If you can complete it, you will be promoted instantly." Mizuki said, his grin turning into a smile. Naruto looked up instantly "Really?! I can still be a genin?"

Mizuki nodded but Kurama's voice echoed in his mind 'Naruto, the special exam story does not convince me. This idiot has always tried to sabotage you, why should he help you right now?'

'I know, there is something strange, but I might as well try to see what he wants me to do.' Naruto thought, then looking again at his teacher "What should I do?"

That night, in the forest behind the Hokage Rock

"Well, that was easy." Naruto said, sitting against a tree in order to open the huge scroll that had just taken from the Hokage's tower.

'I must say I'm surprised. This is a forbidden scroll yet there was no guard...you humans and your arrogance. I bet no one thought to a possible theft.' Kurama growled and Naruto couldn't help but to agree with her.

"Now I just have to learn a technique from this scroll so that I can be promoted. If in the end it will be just a lie of Mizuki-teme...well I will have gained a technique." Naruto said, opening for good the scroll. After a few minutes spent reading the various jutsu, he found a very unusual one. In fact, it was the only written in red instead of black and Kurama immediately noticed that detail.

'Naruto, that's not ink. It's blood and is also recently...how the hell is that possible? This scroll was covered with dust, no one should have touched it for years.' Naruto could not give her an answer and so he began to read that strange jutsu.

"Ketsueki ekō no noroi (Curse of the blood echoes). With blood, you'll get experience. With experience, you'll obtain power. With power, you will receive madness. Seeks the Paleblood to transcend the hunt." Naruto remained silent, re-reading several times that rhyme "What hell is this jutsu? It doesn't say anything else and there aren't the hand signs required for it! What a waste of time!"

"Naruto!" the boy jumped on the spot turning due to the fright but calmed down after identifying Iruka little away from him "What the hell are you doing? Why did you steal that scroll?"

"Looking at your expression I can understand that there is no secret test, isn't it?" Naruto asked in a calm voice.

Iruka raised an eyebrow "Secret test? What are you talking about? There's nothing like that."

"Mizuki told me that, if I could steal this scroll and learn a technique, I would have been promoted but apparently it was all a hoax." Naruto explained and Iruka instantly became alarmed. Why Mizuki would do something like that?

The answer was a rain of shuriken that hit Iruka in full, making him slam against a tree. Naruto immediately looked up and growled at Mizuki, intent on watching him with a grin.

"Well well, it seems that the demon brat have made it. Now, give me that scroll and I'll let you go!" Mizuki shouted brandishing a fuuma shuriken with his right hand. At that moment, Iruka stood up, removing some shuriken from his body "Mizuki, what the hell does it all mean?"

"You wouldn't understand Iruka, everything you need to know is that before dawn I will be already far away from here with that scroll!" Mizuki yelled hurling his weapon towards his former friend. Iruka threw himself to the ground just in time to avoid the blow as Naruto tried to hit Mizuki with several kunai but his target avoided them jumping to the ground.

"Eh! You'll have to do better than that demon! I'm stronger than...!"

A menacing growl behind him silenced him instantly. Naruto and Iruka's eyes widened at seeing a huge figure approaching Mizuki with the sharp teeth placed in plain sight and the blond felt a chill of fear in recognizing him.

'It's...it's the same beast of the nightmare!'

Mizuki turned to face the new threat but, with a quick movement of the arm, the monster slashed his chest, spraying blood everywhere. The ninja collapsed back to the ground screaming in pain but, before he could even try to save himself, the werewolf crushed his chest with a paw to hold it to the ground. Without hesitating even for a second, the beast bit into the left shoulder of Mizuki and tore off his arm with his teeth, tearing at his flesh as if it was butter. The man's screams echoed in the forest and Naruto could not help but tremble at the sight of that monster. The creature then began eating the arm of Mizuki, continuing to crush him against the ground until his ribs broke down one after the other, emitting some macabre sounds.

"NARUTO!" Iruka shouted gaining his attention "Get out of here! Run away! I will try to stop this beast!"

"What...?"

'Naruto, I know you do not want to leave him but you can not stop that thing! It is not of this world! You have to go now to look for someone, certainly the Hokage has already sent someone to look for you due to the theft!' Kurama yelled in his mind, but before he could respond in any way, the werewolf snapped at him with its mouth wide open.

Iruka cursed for his carelessness and threw several kunai toward the creature who avoided them all thanks to its speed. Not knowing what to do, Naruto ran into the trees with the creature behind him. He ran for a few minutes but to him they seemed like hours and eventually he founded himself on top of one of the many hills present there.

Holding a kunai to defend himself, Naruto spun around himself, just in time to see the huge creature ready to hit him in the chest. The claws dug into his flesh making him scream in pain and the force of the impact threw him backward, making him roll down the hill in the middle of bushes and trees. Screaming at each impact, Naruto could not stop and, at the base of the hill, he violently slammed his head against a rock.

Despite the chakra of his tenant and her screams, the darkness took him quickly, and a gentle female voice echoed in his mind.

'Ahh, you've found yourself a hunter...'

And here we are! So, what do you think? I used many phrases of Bloodborne without changing them while I've just created the jutsu, although in the next chapter I will explain it better. Now, however, I will entrust to you the future of Naruto! What weapons should he get at the beginning? The options are the same as in the game so tell me what you would like to see!

Also, I just want to let you know that Naruto will become colder and intelligent with each passing chapter. It will not be an immediate change so do not worry, in the end you will have your protagonist covered in blood, cold and without fear (hopefully)!

That said, have a good night and see you around!

P.S: If you have any proposals for a possible pairing, propose as well!