Welcome to chapter nine of Naruto: The Crow of Konoha. First I would like to apologize for the wait. Second I would like to say that I do have another story up at the moment. And finally I have a challenge on my profile for fans of Borderlands.

Disclaimer: My lawyer told me to tell everyone that I do NOT own Naruto or anything besides the Taggala family. The Final Fantasy VII is not mine it is a mixture of Square Enix and Nicolle I am using her version of Final Fantasy VII from her story This Army Life which is a good read. Again it is her story; I'm just using a scenario she came up with.

Naruto: The Crow of Konoha

Chapter 9: Rock's Princess, Perverted Summoners, and Portals to Nowhere

Previously on Naruto: The Crow of Konoha….

Naruto woke up and the first thing he noticed was that he was in his room at the Namikaze residence. He groggily wondered if he had just dreamt all the shit that had happened. He noticed his calendar and saw that it was at least two days after the prelims. "What the fuck happened? Did I win, who am I fighting in the finals, did the Iwa group think that I avoided them?" He then groaned and noticed he had a new weapon at his side. "What the hell?" He noticed that the blade had the energy he had come to place as a sign of a cataclysm. "I wonder which one it is." He noticed that a weird symbol was on the bottom of the hilt, the symbol appeared to be a tree that seemingly had millions of branches. The branches led up the hilt to the sheathe. The sword had the appearance of a Jian. The blade was a metallic gray with a red stripe that went through the center. Naruto looked at the blade and wondered which of the cataclysms he had been granted once again. He then noticed that it was almost noon and he was hungry. He put on his clothes and headed out to Ichiraku's Ramen. When he got there he overheard one guy talking about what the Iwa kunoichi had done to poor Kiba. He had a spear of lava aimed at his nuts with the threat that next time she would aim a little up. He also learned that the Iwa team was after him and that he was also considered to be lying for claiming to a member of the Namikaze clan. 'Oh well, idiots will remain idiots.'

To the present….

Naruto was walking down the road on his way to one of the many training grounds that he knew would be free when he heard someone mentioning an invasion. As he snuck into a small hidden place on the roof of one of the nearby buildings he saw a member of Otogakure talking to some Suna shinobi. He was slowly inching closer when he noticed that the Suna Shinobi was one of the Suna teams that had not passed the exams. He got as close as possible and slowly let a little of his blood pool before forming one of his blood clones. After giving the clone the mental order to inform the Hokage he dropped down behind the shinobi in front of him and formed one of the Blades of Sin. When he got the memories of the Hokage telling him to kill the traitors he suddenly dashed forward and cut through the Suna and Oto shinobi before grabbing one of the Suna genin that had moved. "Guess you're gonna be spending some time with Ibiki. Here's a piece of advice; just tell him everything you know." Naruto then used a chi-shushin and appeared in front of Ibiki with the prisoner. After dropping the kid off he suddenly took off and appeared around Training Ground 66. When he got there he noticed that it appeared as if someone had set a volcano off right in the middle. "What the fuck happened to my fucking training grounds?"

"So this is where the heir to the Namikaze trains. I guess it's a good thing that my entire team is here then." A female voice said from behind Naruto. He quickly turned around and had his Sin blades ready. "Ah, so quick to attack me, and here I thought you said you would talk with us." Kurotsuchi said as she slowly walked out from behind a tree. "So are you gonna remove your weapons?"

"No way in hell will I remove my weapons." Naruto said as he slowly started to let even more blood leak from his arm and form a field of blood bubbles around him. "You are an Iwagakure kunoichi and I am the sole heir to the Namikaze name and legacy, it would not be safe or smart for me to do so." He saw that Kurotsuchi then held her hands up to show that she was unarmed.

"I wanted to talk, but you passed out after doing whatever you did to the sand chick. You even missed me almost neutering your friend that uses the nin-ken."

Naruto laughed his ass off and released the blades before he sat down and laid his back to a nearby tree. He then nodded at her. "So what did ya want ta talk about?"

"What about how you apparently hate the man that is considered a hero here, your father, and one of the strongest shinobi in history?" Kurotsuchi asked as she sat down across from Naruto.

"I'll answer those in order. He is the bastard that caused me to be beaten until I was six, and the only reason that stopped is because of someone who is in my seal along with the Kyuubi killing my attackers that night. He was a rapist and a sick disgusting fucker who enjoyed torturing his captives when he didn't need to. As for him being one of the strongest, the Taggala family could kick his ass; hell, I could kick his ass as I am simply due to the fact that I took his rasengan and pretty much made it my own by doing what he couldn't and adding an element to it. Do I need to elaborate any further on why I hate that man with my entire being?" Naruto replied, his eyes taking a dark tone when he started talking about his sixth birthday.

Kurotsuchi looked at him. "But you're the son of the Yondaime? Why would they treat you like that?"

"I am the Jinchuricki for the biju that killed a good portion of the village and a living reminder of the night. Civilians are also bigoted idiots who don't know shit about sealing." Naruto sighed. "Sometimes I wish I was born in another village, a village where Jinchuricki are not treated like the biju they carry. Sometimes I wish that I could find my father so I could kill him personally."

Kurotsuchi just stared at the man who should have been treated like royalty in Konoha, and here he was saying that he wished he could have been born elsewhere and that he wanted to kill the man who her village hated. "Why didn't you run away?"

"I couldn't. It wasn't until recently that I wasn't watched by ANBU everywhere I go. Running away would have probably had me grabbed and thrown in a cell until it was time for the fox to be placed in someone else." He looked at her. ""So what's your story?"

"My grandfather is the Sandaime Tsuchikage and I obviously use Yoton. I also had a person I considered an older brother of sorts before he left the village. His name was Deidara." Kurotsuchi said as she slowly lowered her guard. She knew that he could turn on her at any time, but something was telling her that he wouldn't.

Naruto started to get up and held his hand out to Kurotsuchi. "Since training is not looking like such a good idea, how about I take you out to a tea shop that my teammate showed me? My treat of course."

"Oh, is the big bad Namikaze asking the Iwa-hime out on a date? Whatever would our leaders think if they saw that?" Kurotsuchi teased.

"Alas, the Sandaime Hokage would act like a pervert. Plus, this is only a date if you want it to be….. Iwa-hime." Naruto teasingly replied. He laughed as Kurotsuchi blushed.

At the Evergreen Tea shop…..

Naruto and Kurotsuchi walked into the tea shop and a couple of off duty ANBU that knew the truth started looking at Naruto like he was crazy….er than normal.

Kurotsuchi was laughing as Naruto told her of some of the things he did as payback while he was growing up. She would never had believed someone if they had told her that she would one day be sitting and laughing next to the son of the Namikaze that many in Iwa still hated.

Naruto was happy, he had acquired a new friend, and the friend was the granddaughter of the current Tsuchikage. Here was a person who was practically royalty in Iwa and she was with the pariah of Konoha, and he was the son of her village's most hated enemy. "Yeah, I got a laugh when Iruka finally got around to asking Anko out and was stuttering like a shy stalker. He was surprised when I showed up to class the next day and threatened him about treating her right."

"I bet, I mean to be threatened by you while you were in the mindset of attacking anyone who mistreated you and those close to you." Kurotsuchi said, chuckling at the conversation.

"So this is where Kurotsuchi went? Damn, no wonder Tsuchikage-sama was about to have a heart attack; his granddaughter associating with our enemy." An Iwa jounin said as he walked into the tea shop. "Kurotsuchi-san, your grandfather would like to talk to you. He even asked that the Namikaze boy be present as well."

Naruto stood up and stared at the jounin. "Someone close to you was killed by my father, weren't they?"

"Yes, my older sister when she was a genin." The jounin said.

"Then I am truly sorry, but I will stand by what I told Kurotsuchi-san. I have no wish to be compared to that bastard of a father of mine."

The Iwa jounin was surprised as he led the two towards the hotel where the Tsuchikage was staying. When they reached the room he knocked in a way that only the Tsuchikage would recognize. After hearing the all-clear to come in he led Naruto and Kurotsuchi into the room. The Tsuchikage was a short old man with a bulbous nose that noticed that the boy that was the son of his village's most hated enemy didn't even seem to be nervous. "So, boy, are you so confident in your strength that you think you can…."

"No, sir, I don't." Naruto then held out a book to the old Kage. "My father's journal; complete with all of his sadistic acts. The book that made me sick to read."

Onoki grabbed the book and read through a few pages. His anger started to grow before the entire room was filled with his KI. "Boy, are you positive that this is his journal?" Naruto nods his head. "I will need a bit to think over what I've seen and what you have told me. So why don't you tell me how you are treated like a prince?"

Naruto scoffs. "How can I tell you something that is such a huge lie? Until I was a genin I had to hide behind the guise of a bright orange wearing idiot otherwise the civilians would have killed me for 'being too strong of a demon'. I was beat until I was ten, which is when I took my first life; a civilian that wanted to kill me in order to have his revenge for killing his wife. Thing was that I never killed a single person before then, they all thought I was the Kyuubi." He then looks right into Onoki's eyes. "So tell me, would it have been better had I been born elsewhere? Would I have been treated better if I was a Jinchuricki for somewhere like Iwa?"

"No, you wouldn't have been beaten but you would have been mistreated and untrusted." Onoki said. "Alas this meeting is over. Young Namikaze, if you are ever in Rock Country then you will be treated as what you should have been treated like here. I will also talk to Hiruzen about an alliance between our villages, under the circumstances that I get to leave a team here and receive a team from here."

Naruto bowed and said thanks before he started to head out. As he was walking around he heard a perverted giggle coming from the direction of the hot springs. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself upon seeing a man with long white hair sitting on a toad writing in a notebook while staring at the women's side of the hot springs. 'Wait a minute, he fits the description of Jiraiya…. So my godfather is a fucking pervert, of-fucking-course.' Naruto then walked over to the man and poked him until he turned around. As Jiraiya was about to start his usual introduction he was slugged and then kicked into a nearby wall. "So, the first thing my Godfather does when he gets to the village is not check on his godson, but instead watch some women in the hot springs? I wonder what my mother would think; I bet my father would have just let you get away with it. If you haven't guessed yet, Jiraiya-sama, I know my heritage and I will say this: if you ever approach me outside of official reasons I will castrate you and let you bleed out." Naruto then walks away.

A Few hours later….

Jiraiya walked up to Naruto and sat down next to him. He looked around at the ramen stand and noticed that he was getting an evil look from Teuchi and Ayame. "Listen Naruto, I'm sorry about not being here for you growing up. However, I do want to make it up to you. Make any demand and I will carry it out."

"Teach me the Hiraishin. If you want to get back into my life then help me learn that bastard's technique. I'll even forgive you, but only if you do that." Naruto replied.

"Deal. Meet me in Training Ground 23 tomorrow." (I'll just say that this is the location with the ravine.)

The next day, Training Ground 23….

Naruto walked upon a sight that slightly shocked him. Jiraiya was meditating and had an almost serious aura surrounding him. When Naruto was fifteen feet away from the Sannin Jiraiya opened his eyes and stared at Naruto. "Do you have a summoning contract?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"Yes, the Crow summoning. I got it from Natsuki." Naruto replied as he stood in front of the elder man.

"Have you summoned the boss personally yet?"

"No, I have not had such time and Natsuki warned me against summoning the boss for anything less than an emergency."

"Well, could you come over here for a second? Before I help you learn the Hiraishin I must know that you can at least summon a boss level summon without getting too tired. So in that intention, I apologize in advance." Jiraiya states as he pushes Naruto down the chasm.

About half way down the chasm…

'So first I'm gonna kill Jiraiya. Then I'm gonna resurrect him. Finally I will castrate him.' Naruto thought as he calmly fell down the chasm. He looked down and saw a distortion in the air that appeared to spiral. 'Any thoughts on what I'm seeing, especially since we're heading right for it?' Naruto asked the spirits in his mind.

A deep voice that Naruto hadn't heard before sighed. 'That is a dimensional rift to another reality, or dimension if you will. It is also a time distorting rift, meaning that when or if you ever come back from there it will still be within the time that you disappeared into it.'

As Naruto headed towards the rift he just grinned before twirling in midair and dropping through the portal, grinning the entire time.

(From here on till I say we are in the AU mentioned at the beginning of the chapter.) Wutai front…

Sephiroth, while planning on killing Giles, saw what appeared to be a meteor slowly falling down to earth. As he noticed Zack walk up to him he pointed to Cloud and Giles. "You three are coming with to check that out, if you refuse I will stab you." The four eventually arrived to see what appeared to be a Cloud clone with whisker marks.

"Son of a fucking bitch that hurt like a motherfucker." The person said as he slowly walked out of the crater to see the three people and one idiot that was looking at him strange. The oddest thing was that the blonde looked a lot like he would have if not for the random streaks of red and black in his hair. The other one had dark hair and a sword that could rival Zabuza's blade. He looked at the next person and suddenly his hairs went on end and he slowly drew one of his many swords, this one being his nodachi form of Samehada. "Who are you people and where am I exactly?"

Sephiroth stared at the kid and noticed that he had weapons usually associated with ninja, meaning the kid was more than likely a Wutai spy. "My name is General Sephiroth; this is General Zack, Cloud, and Giles. This is the Wutai front."

Naruto watched as the man in the bondage clothes pointed at each person. He slowly relaxed his stance and sealed Samehada back in the seal on his arm. "My name is Naruto. I guess you could say that I am from another dimension. If you want to know more than you will have to feed me."

Sephiroth nodded before staring at Giles, "You will not be cooking, I refuse to have a person who possibly help me kill Shinra the Elder die due to your food."

At the camp…

Naruto sighed as he noticed how the people looked at him; he was getting sick of the glares. At one point a man stepped in front of him and asked if he had been experimented on by Hojo. Naruto replied with a negative and continued on. Zack yelled out that they were ordering pizza. Everyone pitched in except Naruto, who didn't have any of the currency. He explained to Sephiroth and Zack about what his dimension was like and how he had a giant fox demon sealed inside of him that helped him out in combat. He learned about the Planet, the Lifestream, Mako, Materia, and about the Soldier program from Sephiroth. He learned about the geography and different groups from Zack. Naruto eventually got some of the pizza and decided that he would join the army, if only until he found out how to get home.

One assassination attempt later….

Naruto was sitting at a bar next to a short green creature with a knife listening to him telling him about failing to kill Kakashi (Not pervert Kakashi, read This Army Life to know more.) Naruto wondered if he could kill him. Naruto and Tonberry sat next to each other every day at the bar.

Giles walked in. "Message Sir." He handed Naruto the message and ran when Naruto glared at him.

Flashback…

"Giles, I want ramen." Naruto said to the poor idiot.

"Got it sir." Giles replied, before leaving the tent. A few hours later he came back with a bowl of what appeared to be tentacles. "Marlboro ramen."

The sound of inhuman screaming coming from Giles helped many of the soldiers go to sleep that night.

Flashback end…

Naruto looked over the message and sighed. "Damn, looks like I have to go to Midgar with Sephiroth and Zack.

And Cut. Next chapter will be a continuation of this current arc in the story as well as a view of some of the shit that our hero will have occur due to his interactions with the Taggala family.

Please note that any flames will be used in an attempt to kill Giles, or burn down his home in Nibelheim. I would like to thank the author of This Army Life Nicolle for permission in using her story in mine.

Vermiculus-umbra-chorus OUT!