Hello everyone, this is my first story, so please go easy on me in your reviews. I hope everyone can give me constructive criticism so I can improve my writing skills. I apologize for any grammar mistakes. I am using this story as a way to improve my English, and I have hired a beta reader to help me.

Lastly, I don't own Naruto or The Gamer. Now, let's start the story.

"Hah… hah…hah…"

Naruto was panting heavily, orange jacket torn, unable to catch his breath. He was trying to run from the mob which had tried to attack him. He ran as fast as he could go, passing through an alley. He tried to avoid the main street, since every time he went through the main street, the mob just kept getting bigger. He was hoping that the ANBU or the Hokage could find him before he was trampled and beaten by the rioting crowd.

Under normal circumstances, the blond was always protected by ANBU , who lurked in the shadows. Naruto never saw his protectors, but he at least knew that someone was protecting him. He assumed it was the ANBU because he never saw them. Unfortunately, there were times when the ANBU were not watching over him.

For example, when there was a festival planned, the ANBU are given new missions to either protect the festival or protect the Hokage who was attending the festival. Since today was the day of the Kyuubi festival, Naruto was being chased, unprotected. The mob knew that today they had a chance to hurt him, unhindered by the ANBU.

"Die, you filthy demon!" one of the angry villagers shouted, hurling a shuriken. Naruto was scared. Usually the people who hated him didn't get quite so violent. They just sneered at him and mocked him from a distance, knowing that the Hokage had ordered that he was not to be harmed. Today, the villagers were out for Naruto's blood.

"Ah! It hurts!" Naruto cried in pain, pulling the shuriken out of his shoulder, still running like the devil himself was chasing him.

After a few minutes, he finally lost them. He knew that it wouldn't be long before he was found, but he still collapsed, resting and trying to catch his breath.

"Hey, are you alright?" Naruto looked up, seeing somebody near him who hadn't been there a moment ago.

Out of reflex, Naruto scrambled backwards to put distance between them. He raised a hand to protect his face, expecting to he hit with a fist or a kunai. When a blow didn't come, he peeked through his fingers and saw that it was just a kid, like him.

Looking at Naruto, Baron smiled. "It's okay. I won't hurt you. I came here to help you, actually."

Naruto's eyes widened. He'd never met someone who wanted to help him, except the Hokage, the ANBU, Ayame, and Teuchi. His heart filled with hope, but at the same time, he was very wary and scared, not knowing if the boy was telling the truth.

"I'm Baron Hart. What's your name?" the boy asked with a knowing smile. Naruto got the feeling that Baron knew who he was, but was asking out of tradition. Everyone in Konoha knew who Uzumaki Naruto was.

"Uzumaki… Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said, afraid that the other boy would hurt him once he found out who he was.

Baron just nodded, grabbing his hand. "C'mon. Let's get out of here before those people come back."

'Good. The preparation is complete. Now we just need to find a good place to hide before that crowd finds us,' Baron thought, leading both of them out of the alleyway.

"Hold on," Baron said, seeing a big trash can at the end of a dead-end alleyway. It looked like it could hide somebody inside it easily, and he judged that at least one of them would fit in there.

"Here, quick, let's trade jackets," Baron said, a little on edge, knowing that the people were coming and that this would be his first fight. It would be dangerous to impersonate Naruto, but at least the other boy would be safe.

Naruto was confused and suspicious, but he handed over his jacket all the same, just as scared of the mob as Baron seemed to be. He didn't exactly trust the other boy, but Baron looked like he had some sort of plan, and Naruto didn't, so he just went along with it. What choice did he have?

"Good," Baron said, trading jackets with Naruto. "Here, get in," he said, urging Naruto to get in the trashcan. "No matter what happens, don't get out until the ANBU or Hokage come, okay? They won't find you in here if you stay quiet," Baron explained.

Naruto wasn't eager to hide in trash, but he was even less eager to be beaten to a pulp by the rioting crowd. Baron linked his fingers together and let Naruto stand on his hand to boost himself into the garbage can. Baron arranged the lid to look like nothing was out of the ordinary, and the he put on Naruto's signature orange jacket. The crowd was so angry and desperate to hurt Naruto that they probably wouldn't notice that it wasn't actually Naruto they were chasing.

Baron sighed, hoping his plan would work. 'It looks like they haven't found us yet.'

Almost immediately, he heard a voice.

"There he is!" shouted one of the villagers.

Baron was startled, but wasted no time in getting ready to run, forgetting that they were in a dead-end alleyway. They were coming for him and he hadn't planned on how to get out of here. Maybe he could use the garbage can to climb over the wall, but no, what if the villagers followed him and knocked the trash can over, revealing that Naruto was inside?

"Take this!" came a scream from one of the ninja, some of them throwing shuriken at him.

"Agh!" Baron screamed, falling to the ground. He'd never felt pain like this. The ninja stars were so sharp, and they had cut really deep into his leg. "Damn it!" He collapsed.

The people surrounded Baron, who was overwhelmed and unable to fight back.

"It's long since time you paid for your crimes, Kyuubi! You murdered our families!" They started to hit and kick Baron, who was scrambling around on the ground, leg bleeding profusely. The boy was hurting badly, but he still was more focused on hoping that Naruto didn't come out of his hiding place.

This was his job, he reminded himself. He knew what he had signed up for. He was to protect Naruto even at the cost of his own life.

"Stop! Ow! You're hurting me!" he screamed, blocking his face with his arms. The alleyway was dark, and none of the villagers could see that the boy was not Naruto at all. All they saw was the orange jacket that Naruto always wore, and they were so angry that they didn't care if they killed him.

Baron was in deep trouble.

Hearing the screaming and the blows to the other boy, Naruto moved the trashcan lid a bit and peeked out in concern, dreading what he would see if he looked outside.

He saw the people gathering near him, all crowding around something, appearing to be beating it viciously. Naruto was surprised when he realized that they were beating Baron. The other boy hadn't gotten away in time.

Baron had tried to save him. Knowing that made Naruto feel incredibly guilty, but he was so scared that he was trembling, unable to move. He didn't want to go out there and get hurt, but he remembered what Baron had said to him.

Naruto was confused. He knew that he should stay inside the trashcan. Baron was sacrificing himself so that he could be safe, and if Naruto gave himself up, Baron's sacrifice would be in vain. Still, Naruto didn't feel right in hiding while Baron was hurt.

Even though he wanted to save Baron and help him, he knew that he couldn't fight off the older experienced ninjas. He was so scared and conflicted that he couldn't do anything but watch the boy be beaten.

"BOOOOM!"

Suddenly, smoke exploded over the area, covering the ground thickly enough that Naruto could no longer see Baron or the mob.

"Ahh!" Baron screamed in pain when he was stabbed in the leg with his kunai. Despite the blinding agony of it all, he tried to think of what could help him escape. Suddenly, he remembered his earlier plan.

Flashback

Baron was running around the village, trying to find Naruto. He opened his status window, adding three points to vitality and three to charisma. He figured that he was going to have to fight off the mob, so he would need more vitality or he wouldn't be able to escape alive. The charisma would help him negotiate with the people, even though he knew that would be useless. At least it would help him in convincing Naruto to follow him to safety.

After a few minutes of running, he found the Higurashi Weapon Shop. He knew that he needed a backup plan if things went awry, so he decided to go inside and get some equipment while thinking a plan. Inside the shop, he saw an old man sitting behind the counter, smoking and reading a magazine.

"Excuse me, sir. I'd like a smoke bomb, please." he said, standing in front of the counter.

Hearing that someone had entered the store, the old man looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "What would you need with a smoke bomb, kid?"

"Who are you callin' 'kid', old man? My name's not 'kid'. It's Baron Hart," he said, pissed off.

"Whatever ya' say, kid! Now answer my question. Why do you want a smoke bomb? Don't bother lyin'," he said with a serious tone.

Baron knew that this was wasting time, so he just gave in, "Fine then, I'll tell you." Then he went on to explain about a kid in the village who had a rough life and who was hated by the villagers. He knew that the old man would probably guess who he was talking about, but still he explained that the boy was being chased by angry crowds who wanted to kill him.

"That's why I need the smoke bomb. I need it to make a distraction so I can help the kid escape. Besides that, it'll probably let the ANBU know that something's going on."

"Hm," the old man mumbled in surprise, "You plan to help a kid with a smoke bomb just because that? What's in it for you?"

Baron looked at him with a serious expression. "I want to protect him." He knew there was no point in lying, as it would keep him here longer than necessary. He needed to find Naruto, and fast.

The old man rolled his eyes. "You're too melodramatic, kid. It's just some orphan. Don't take it too seriously. It might not even be true. The people of Konoha are peaceful."

"You're telling me that a ninja village is peaceful?" Baron rolled his eyes right back, "But you're right… It might just be a rumor. Just in case it's true, I still want the smoke bomb."

"Damn it kid, why are you so persistent?" the old man griped with anger in his voice.

"Let's just say that I'm on a mission, and that mission could be in jeopardy if the rumor is true," Baron said seriously, "Please, I have to do this."

The old man just stared at him, looking skeptical. Baron grew anxious, knowing that he was running out of time.

"Here, let's make a bet." He took out all of his money, and said, "Let me buy five smoke bombs, with all of this money."

"A thousand ryo. You could buy our basic ninja set with that much, and ya' wanna' waste it on smoke bombs?" The old man pointed to a poster on the wall.

When he was entering the shop, he had already read the poster on the wall it, so Baron knew that if he bought a basic ninja set, he would get ten shuriken, five kunai, five smoke bombs, and five explosive notes.

With serious expression Baron said, "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm asking you to make a bet. If I lose, I'll give the smoke bombs back and you can keep the money."

"And what if you win?"

"I want you to return my money, and I want you give me that katana for free." Baron grinned, pointing at the sword hanging on the back wall. It had a black scabbard and an ornament on the handle. "And I'll tell you my secret. Most people who know it will be angry with me. Think of it as my way to mock you," Baron said with a pleasant expression. The old man just stared at him, mumbling about what a brat he was.

Baron knew that the old man didn't need the money, and that he wasn't a person who would extort others. So even if Baron ran away with the smoke bombs, the guy wouldn't really care. The old man just wanted to make Baron regret his decision and use it to make him be more careful in the future. Besides, the old guy knew that it didn't matter what secret Baron had, because it still wouldn't help him beat so many people just to help one kid.

After thinking for a while, the old man said, "How am I gonna' know whether or not I've won? How do I know you're not lyin' to me?"

Knowing that the old man would agree with the bet eventually, Baron smiled and said, "It's easy. Write out a letter about our bet, and then I will find someone who you think won't lie to you. I will give that letter to the person, and then they'll give it back to you as proof that our bet was fair. They'll tell you whether I win or you win. Do you have paper and something to write with?"

The old man nodded and took some piece of paper, an envelope, and a pencil from a drawer in the counter. He was still looking at Baron like some cocky kid who was in over his head. Maybe the power was going to Baron's head and making him overly arrogant, but he couldn't think of that now. He needed to get the smoke bombs and go help Naruto.

"Good. Write down our bet and sign it if you agree with the bet. Then I'll sign it too," he said.

After wrote the bet, the old man signed it and give it to Baron. Without even reading the content of the letter, he just signed it and returned it to the old man.

"You didn't even read it," the old man mumbled, seeming curious.

"I don't really care about the bet, old man. I just want those smoke bombs," he said. Then he smirked a little, "Besides, you won't trick me, right?"

The old man smiled, and then he put the letter inside the envelope. He took five smoke bomb as promised and gave them to Baron with the letter. Baron paid a thousand ryo, and then put the smoke bombs inside his pants pockets. He gave the letter back to the old man and asked him to write down 'from Baron Hart'. Then he told him to write the address of his shop on the back. After writing, the old man gave the letter back to Baron, and he put it in the pocket of his jacket, zipping it up.

Baron smiled and bowed his head, saying, "Thank you very much, old man. See you later." Then he ran out of the shop.

"See you later, kid," the old man called, watching Baron go.

After Baron left, he was surprised to see his shadow on the ground. When he looked up, he saw a mirror shop across the street. Walking closer, he made sure what he saw.

When he looked in the mirror, he grew frustrated. How could he not have noticed this earlier? "Damn it. Looks like that old man was humoring me. I have the body of a little kid."

Then he remembered his quest, and decided to think about his body later. He started running again, with hope that he could meet Naruto in time.

End flashback

'Damn it. How could I forget to give Naruto the smoke bombs?' Baron thought, still trying to protect his head from being kicked.

He was hurt badly, probably with some broken ribs. He was bleeding all over too, and he knew that he was running out of time. Gathering his energy, he endured the pain as he took out all five of the bombs. He threw one at one of the people, and it was luckily sliced in two. It exploded, triggering another bomb to explode.

"BOOOOOM!"

The sound was so loud that it was impossible for no one to have heard. Someone would see the smoke and come help them.

The people of the mob were coughing and swearing, surprised by the thick smoke. Some of them left, trying to get away from the area so they could get some fresh air.

"Don't think you can get away from us! This isn't gonna' stop us!" shouted someone, and they Baron felt the blows again. His plan wasn't exactly playing out the way he'd expected. His little body couldn't take much more of this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the third Hokage of Konoha , around sixty-eight years old. He wore the traditional hat and robes of the Hokage, looking down at the festival. Currently, he was looking out of the window in his office, smoking a pipe. He loved to watch his people smile and laugh, having fun celebrating this day, this day that had been so sad. It was nice to see that the villagers were recovering and moving on from the horrible Kyuubi attack.

Many people had died during the incident, even the fourth Hokage himself, who had sacrificed himself to protect the village. Even through all the pain and suffering, the village had turned the anniversary of the day into a celebration festival, so that they would never forget the sacrifice of all their fallen ninja, who had died protecting Konoha.

The old man was happy, seeing his people enjoying the festival, but at the same time, he was wary and sad because Naruto, a kid that had been born on the day of the Kyuubi attack, could not enjoy the festival like everyone else.

"What are you doing now, Naruto?" the Hokage mumbled with a sad tone, looking down at the village.

He had planned to take Naruto to the festival with him after giving his opening speech. He'd hoped that Naruto could enjoy the festival like other people, because this was Naruto's birthday after all, and every child deserves to have a happy birthday. Unfortunately, after he was giving his speech, he was told by his assistance that he had some urgent paperwork that needed to be done as soon as possible. He sighed and walked to his own office to finish the paperwork.

A few hours passed, and after finishing half of his documents, he decided to take a break.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. It looks like the festival will be over by the time I'm done with my work," said the Hokage sadly. He clenched his hand, starting to get angry on the boy's behalf. It wasn't fair that Naruto never got to have a happy birthday.

"Damn all these formalities," the Hokage said in frustration, getting an urge to burn his work or throw it off of his desk.

Suddenly, he saw a burst of smoke near the edge of the village. Immediately, he called his ANBU. "Neko! Inu!" The soldiers immediately appeared, kneeling in front of him, both wearing the kabuki masks that hid their identities, one in the shape of a cat, the other, a dog.

"Did one of the programs at the festival involve some kind of explosion or a large amount of smoke?" the Hokage asked in concern.

The man with dog mask said, "As far as I know, anything that involved an explosion have to do with the fireworks used at the closing ceremony, Hokage-sama."

"Then I want both of you go to that location as fast as possible and find out what is the cause of this smoke. I will come as soon as I can," he said angrily.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," both of the ANBU said in unison. In that instant, both of them disappeared.

"What should I do? What should I do?"

Naruto was repeated this over and over, confused and panicking. He wanted to help Baron, because Baron was the first person around his age who would talk to him nicely. He had also tried to protect him from the mob of adult ninja, using himself as a replacement. He felt like he owed Baron some help, but he didn't know what to do.

The adults were coughing now, unable to stand the smoke any longer. "We'll get him next time," the assured each other, running away. Their eyes were red, and they were coughing very hard, stumbling around as they tried to feel their way out of the alley.

Seeing that they were leaving, Naruto knew that this was his chance to help Baron. He gathered his courage, no longer shaking. Then he got out of the trashcan and ran into the smoke.

"The ANBU is coming!" Naruto shouted, feeling around for the other small boy on the ground.

"The ANBU is coming!" Baron heard a young voice shouting. Naruto had come out of hiding to find him.

"Damn! Looks like our time is up," one of the mob said, coughing uncontrollably. "You got lucky today, but next time you will die. Let's go guys." The other men nodded and started to leave.

'Thank god, finally, it's over.' Baron thought. Still trying to bear with the pain, he lay there, motionless. He couldn't move his right arm or either of his legs. His little ribs were broken, and his right leg seemed to be broken too, since it was bending a way it wasn't supposed to.

Fortunately, his little face only had some bruises and a broken nose. His new child's body wouldn't have been able to survive heavy trauma to the skull or brain. He was surprised to find that he could think calmly, even though he was hurting so badly. In his panic, he had forgotten about his gamer's ability to let him always think calmly and logically.

"Baron-kun! Where are you? Are you okay?!" Baron saw a human silhouette feeling around, looking for him.

"Na… ru... to..." Baron choked out, hurting so badly that he could hardly stay conscious. He knew it must be Naruto, because he was the only person here who knew his name besides the man in the weapons shop.

Naruto was trembling. He was scared looking at his friend's horrible condition. He was beginning to panic, thinking that Baron was going to die because of him. He needed to take him to a doctor, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to carry the other boy, and that no one would heal Baron today. Everyone was at the festival. Besides, if he showed his face in town again, the men would come back and kill them both, surely.

Naruto knew he needed to bring Baron to the Hokage, who would help them if asked, but how could he get Baron there. He would only be able to drag the other boy a short ways, and he knew that he probably shouldn't move Baron much in his current state. Besides, he couldn't run anymore or protect Baron if the villagers came back. If he ran by himself Baron might die before he could get back.

Baron could see that Naruto didn't know what to do, and hoped his regenerative ability would start working so that he wouldn't die. If he died or went unconscious, it would probably be from hypovolemic shock. Hopefully, his healing would still work even though his broken limbs hadn't been set back into place. All he had to do was wait through the pain.

"I'm fine…" he gasped, now noticing that his voice was higher pitched, like a child's voice. "Thank you… Naruto."

Naruto started to cry, kneeling down next to the other boy, "Why are you thanking me… It's my fault they hurt you," Naruto blubbered, feeling weak and useless.

"Hello? Is there anyone still back there?!" he heard an adult shout in a professional tone.

Naruto's eyes went wide, red and tearing up against the smoke. It was an ANBU soldier. At least, he hoped so. Naruto immediately screamed at the top of his lungs, not caring that he could hardly breathe through the smoke.

"HELP! HELP! There's a kid dying in here!"

Suddenly, Naruto heard someone using a jutsu. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

The smoke was disappearing, and Naruto could see through the haze that there were two ANBU running towards them.

The man in the dog mask was surprised that Naruto was wearing a black jacket with red sleeves. At first, he was wondering why, but when he look at the dying kid with the orange jacket, the man immediately knew what had happened. He picked up Baron carefully, trying not to put stress on his twisted little limbs.

"We must take him to the hospital now."

"Wait," Baron said weakly, voice scratchy and pained, "Listen to me…"

"You can tell us when we have taken you to the hospital," the woman said.

"No, it's important… wait," he begged, trying to make them listen. The man just assumed that the kid knew that he was dying, so he nodded, not wanting to deny the little boy his last request.

"Okay, kid, we're listening."

With a weak smile, Baron whispered, "Thank you." With the last of his strength, he fought to stay awake, pointing at his jacket, which was still on Naruto. "There's a letter… in my pocket."

Naruto looked down, pulling the crumpled letter out of the zipped pocket, handing it to Baron, still crying. This had all scared him really badly, and he didn't want his savior to die because of him.

Baron smiled, pointed at the letter and said, "There's a weapon shop… Take it to the old man… and tell him… I win," he gasped.

The man knew that Hokage-sama would want to hear of this, and Naruto was eager to do anything he could for Baron now that he was hurt so badly.

"I'll do it!" Naruto shouted, still blubbering. "I promise I'll take Ji-ji to the shop and tell the old guy what you said," he vowed. He couldn't stop his own tears, thinking that this might be Baron's last request.

Baron was exhausted, strength failing, so he just smiled, trying to thank Naruto. Before he could complete the words, his eyes were already closing, and finally, he lost consciousness.

Stats

HP: less than 10%

Stamina: 50%

STR : 7
AGI: 10
VIT: 10
INT: 9
WIS: 10
CHA: 8
LUCK 5
POINT:0
Money:0

Skill List

1.Gamer's Mind (passive) LV max

2.Gamer's Body (passive) LV max

3.Chakra reserve (passive) LV 1

4.Chakra Control (passive) LV 1

5.Observe (active) LV 1

Author's note: this is the end for rewrite version of chapter 1. Thank you for everyone who read and like my story, special thanks to my beta reader who help me rewrite the story.