"Crush competition, stampede like a rhino..."

Jonhamsta's back, so you can take off your blindfolds.

Haven't been around for about a year-point-five;

I thought I'd post this to let you know I'm alive.

I've been hiding out, but not from the law;

I was rebooting my mind, to retrofit my jaw.

Mouth via throat ends up at the key-strokes;

Got some wii-elbow playin' with my wii-motes.

I can hear you whining, saying "He's not going to show..."

To all of you PM'ing me: BITCHES, LET'S GO!

Chapter 10

Greetings and salutations, you fancy bastards.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or the franchise I'll be stating at the beginning of the next chapter...if you saw the whole Sakura thing in the recent chapters, I've been tellin' Kishi "NAW! YOU. AIN'T. FUCKIN'. DOIN'. THAT." but the fucker didn't listen. I'mma have to get out the knuckles on this one...now where the fuck was this story going? ^-^'

130 reviews, 27,272 hits, and like 5 PMs saying "...will you update? I'll go down on you if you will!"

*yawn*"...Oh SHIT! What time is it? Fuckin' late 2009 or some shit?" - Person (in this case, the author) speaking (or waking up and realizing he should probably update)

'Was I supposed to post before I went AFK for like a year and a half?" - Person Thinking (in this case, the author thinking he may have missed a beat)

Shit happening in Naruto's mindscape.

"YOU LAZY FUCKER! You let Naruto alone at the monastery for 15% of a decade?" - Demon Speaking

'And if he so much as murmurs that it's for realistic separation of time from the previous chapter, there's not a kami alive who will save him.' - Demon Thinking

Smoldering Leaves, Chapter 10

TIME SKIP: 1.5 years (less 11 days)

Path to the Monastery of the Scarlet Flame

Branches crack off under azure-hued boots. but vanish before they hit the ground. Seconds later wood shavings waft downwards, and a bow string tightens. In one half of a second, Sarutobi Konohamaru will feel a wooden spike jut from between his shoulder blades, puncturing his heart. But, luckily for him, the string never releases. only burns. The hand holding the arrow never unclenches, only burns. The body that would have fired the arrow goes up in flame, a hand crushing its windpipe, lifting it into the air. This hand is not human. It is made of molten stone; searing reds dance across its surface. Bones remain, the hand dissipates into the air; ruby letters untether and wisp away.

"Hokage-sama, our guarding wards have dispatched a would-be assassin. Are you sure you were not followed to these sacred grounds?" a mouth moves from beneath a scarf.

"No, Tien. My grandson would thank you if he could talk yet" Sarutobi Saru, the Hokage of Konohagakure spoke, his infant grandson resting in his arms. "How is Naruto?"

The Priest smiled "He has regained his sanity, but does seem to follow an odd code of conduct. He always assumes strangers are of a higher rank than he; he never swears, always asking before he does any activity. He doesn't seem to care about the response, though. He's a bit OCD about cleaning the bathroom. He's alert constantly when observing or being instructed. He doesn't raise his voice, and only speaks unless spoken to. He never touches anyone...so I fear he may have a problem with intimacy. He's never once cried. But there's a problem. He always answers every question asked of him, truthfully. We can't get him to lie, so we taught him logic and trickery. And then there's his steadfast determination to justice."

"A mouthful, but everything he has said is true, Hokage-sama. My report: he's still smiling" Kakashi said, appearing by the high-priest's side, adorned in a simple orange robe.

"Kakashi-kun here has advanced to the second rank, after re-awakening his dormant Fire-nature. In his studies, he has found something very interesting. Please tell him, Disciple Kakashi. " Tien waved his hand forwards.

"Of course. Sir, I was traveling to research the origins of chakra. Each chakra is tied to a point at which the natural energies in the world are focused. But you already knew that. I was following my lightning-natured chakra, moving in a direction that made it stronger and stronger. I arrived...at the gates of Tetsunogakure, the Land of Iron. It was there that I was allowed past the gates as a scholar, with the blades of two of their most powerful samurai pressed to my neck. Their General, Mifune, told me about the country's history, and I told him of my mission. I showed him my Raikiri technique, which had been growing stronger and stronger. By the time I presented it to him, it had grown so powerful that I nearly carved the sky. But, the thing to understand here is that it cost me virtually no chakra. I drew the energy from the very Chakra of the land. It was then that his finest scholar used a chakra paper to affirm my alignment. It turned to metal. Spending two months in study, I discovered that my Rakiri is not an expulsion of electrical chakra. It is the release of opposing charges between two points. It follows a field that some of the scholars whisper as magnetic. My Chakra is not lightning. It is metal. There is no lightning nature. In fact, the whole knowledge of chakras is far outdated"

"But Kakashi-kun, the Land of Lightning! Surely..." Sarutobi's eyes were wide in shock.

"No, sir. It is actually natured more towards wind and fire. Which gave many the assumption that their chakra was a mix, or a new element. It is only tradition. Looking at the customs of the countries, I observed that their culture is migratory from the Land of Iron. So are their Jutsu."

"Kakashi, you must tell this to nobody! We must avoid this information finding its way into the hands of Kumo ninja; It could start a war!" The Hokage spoke with hushed voice.

"Of course sir. Only the monastery's scholars, Tien-sama, and we know. Even Naruto is unaware." Kakashi answered with certainty.

"On that matter, Kakashi-kun, I would like very much to see him. Where is he?" Sarutobi's mood flipped brightly.

Training Grounds of the Monastery of the Scarlet Flame

As he raised his hands, he raised hell. As he drew his Whisper-wood stave, his reflexes tightened. Spinning it, he drew life-sustaining oxygen towards himself, and twisted it into something far more sinister. A circle of chakra traced itself around him, growing as his voice began to roar. It was the size of the Hokage's tower when his voice died, and he opened his fiery-red eyes, holding it with force of will.

"Mother, mother, Queen who was, I call you to speak, and I gift you with warmth. Mother, mother, Queen who was, I call you to speak, and I gift you with warmth. Mother, mother, Queen who was, I call you to speak, and I gift you with warmth." Naruto chanted, his Skin-tight red-leather armor rippled as his hands held his staff to the sky.

A ripple in space opened, and a ball of light came out. A creature with a human body, but with the wings of a dragonfly and 2 feet tall. "I speak for the Summer Queen. Who are you, and why have you called upon the Summer Court of the Sidhe?"

Naruto's mind stammered, but his voice did not waver. "I am Hatake Naruto, and I have called you because I seek knowledge of the worlds beyond my own."

"How did you learn to call upon us?" the Fae asked.

"...Would you believe that a voice in my head told me?"

"May I place my hands upon your head, to ascertain the verity of this?" the creature asked, floating up and down.

"Make it promise three times that it will not harm you or lead you to harm from these actions" the Kyubi spoke within Naruto's mind, "Or refuse."

"Promise to me 3 times that this will neither harm me nor lead me to harm, and I will let you." Naruto stated.

"I promise, I promise, I promise" The fae chanted, and approached Naruto on fluttering wings.

As it lay its hands upon his head, it was treated to a vision.

Naruto's Mindscape (did you miss it?)

Wandering into a grassy meadow, the sun comes out, and a giant fox weaves through the trees towards you. "Welcome, Fair Fae, into my host's mind. I am the Kyubi no Yoko, the most powerful creature in this world. I am the guardian spirit of this country. I was corrupted by a necromancer, and forced to attack the very country I was created to protect. I seek to join the Seelie Accord as an agent of Summer, for I am permanently fused with the Spark of Fire. It has cleared my mind, and awoken my astral presence. However, the boy I inhabit cannot be seperated from me, nor I from him, without destroying us both. So I ask for him to be my ward. Will you bear this message, and ask for an Emissary to further consult? This I ask." "I will do as you request, Kyubi no Yoko. It was wise of you to seek the Summer Court. My Queens will hear of this, and perhaps they will return your call." you say, barely holding yourself in front of the energy this being produces. "Excellent. But do not call upon me, for I cannot answer. Only my host may be called. I release you with safe passage, and give you a small gift to bear to your Queens." The Fox plucks his largest fangs from his maw, and presents them to you. "This is to show that I mean no harm, and wish to be of help." "I must give you a gift in turn for me to accept this. As I have no power here, may I leave this mind and give my gift to your host?" you ask, hopeful that the might spirit will accept. "You may. What may I call you by in order to thank you?" "You may call me Toot-toot, of the Court of Summer, formerly of the Wyldfae." you respond dutifully to the great beast, who then waves you out of the mind.

Back to the real world...no more first person

"Naruto, I have a gift for you." Toot-toot says, opening a bag he carried along his waist. "This is a boon," he pulls out a small amber charm in the shape of a leaf. "Break it, and take the form of a pixie for 13 minutes. While you are a pixie, you may fly atop the wind and move with fantastic speed. You will have strength and size proportional to the people that believe in you. While you are a pixie, you may subdue any human ill once. You may win the heart of a maiden once, and you may learn to brew the potion of the pixies. I cannot tell you what that potion is, nor what it does; for after all, you are not yet a pixie." And with that, Toot-toot faded away.

Naruto fell to the ground, drained of Chakra, and tucked the leaf safely into his head-band's protective slot.

A minute later, Kakashi, Tien, and Sarutobi enter the field, where Naruto is back on his feet, slowly moving through stances.

"Naruto!" the Hokage cheers, "It is good to see you!"

"Hokage-sama!" the boy says in excitement, "I knew you were coming!" as he runs towards the weathered Ninja, embracing him.

"Have you been well, Child?" he asks, ruffling the boy's red-orange-yellow hair.

"Hai!" Naruto chirps, smiling.

"Good! It's time for you to take the final test of the monastery, and I was called to witness it. If you pass, you will return to the village, where you will join your team, who is waiting excitedly for their new member." The Hokage says, leading Naruto inside, one hand holding Konohamaru, the other on Naruto's shoulder.

In the Presentation Hall of the Monastery

"Today," booms the voice of Tien, "Our charge, who will be the Guardian of Fire, will prove to us that he can, with out a doubt, protect the sacred flame he carries; and furthermore help the Nation of Fire, and the Shinobi world prosper. If he is successful, the Will of Fire will re-emerge in Konoha, and we will build again over the mistakes of the past. We will be stronger than those that came before us, and Naruto will be the one who changes it all. With that, let the Challenge of Fire begin!"

Naruto brings his head up, and declares "Fire is destructive, but it can be controlled!"

The floor falls apart, and the tiles fall into lava.

'The Monastery was built on Konoha's largest and most active volcano, Kono' he thought.

The priests and high-disciples in the stands around the hall began to chant, and two things happened. Firstly, a red barrier began to form around those not taking the test. Secondly, the lava began to bubble fervently.

With a roar, it burst upward, and Naruto prepared himself, holding his hands in the seal for fire. He focused. When the blast came, he absorbed it. As the molten stone washed over him, the loss of heat cooled the tons of stone into a solid, perfectly smooth floor.

"Usually, it's hard for people to pass this test, but I suppose you have an unfair advantage, Naruto." Tien spoke, as the red barrier went down.

Naruto grinned, his hand going behind his head, "Eheheh...I guess you're right, Sensei"

"Well, whatever the path, you have succeeded." Tien's voice suddenly rose to address the assembly "Attention to all! Naruto has passed the Challenge of Fire! He is now free to change the world with the Will of Fire! Step forward, Hatake Naruto, and claim your title as the Guardian of the Eternal Scarlet Flame!"

Raucous cheers went up as the boy stepps forward, accepting a small chest from Tien. He opens this to remove a wide platinum necklace, imbedded in the center is a flawless ruby, with what looks like a dancing flame inside. As Tien fastens it to his neck, the crowd cheers again.

"Naruto, go forth and make your own fate!" Tien called out.

Gates of the Monastery

Moments later, Naruto stepped out of the monastery, his father close behind him, and Sarutobi carrying what little possessions the boy was allowed, sealed inside a scroll.

"To the village then, Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"To the village!" Naruto responded with a cheer, and two hands up in the air, projected in the universal sign for victory.

End of Smoldering Leaves, Chapter 10

So... Hungry for more?

The cross-over for this element should be obvious, but one cookie to whoever reviews with the author who wrote it first. And you get your name on the top of the next chapter! Exciting, innit?

-Johnhamsta, cause I'm hot shit like that.