Disclaimer: ...see previous chapters
Poll for next story to focus on has been set up. KEEP VOTING! IT IS NECK-TO-NECK!
Sorry it too so long. School is killing me!
In addition to doing my school work (I'm in Game Programming, it is tough and challenging, though fun to create your own video games), I am also working on my stories, and even help other authors with theirs.
I also get challenged. Some I accept, others I don't. With 2017 coming, I am planning my course. Next year, I am advancing my plans. I have lots planned.
I am working on a special Fanfic Project that will hold a great impact in my stories. I will not reveal everything, but what I will say is this:
All my stories hold a connection with one another...
I had updated my profile. Posted new story ideas (located above Superior Spider harem list), and a few challenges I was asked to do (bellow the Into the Edge story list). So be sure to check them out.
Story ideas can also be seen as challenges, so if anyone is interested in doing one, PM me.
PS. I was asked if there were going to be other stories that focus on other Naruto characters. Well, that depends on two things:
1. If people tell me the stories (title and author name, I NEED the author's name. Many stories have the same title, and I may not know which one you are requesting. PLEASE remember that!)
2. If I like it (sorry, but that's how I do things)
I had a few non-Naruto centric stories requested, and I did check out. However, a few things made me lose interest (sorry about that, but its true). More so the pairings. If it something unbelievable (for example: KibaxMei), I lose interest. I'm sorry, but that's just how I do things...again.
I do except one-shots displaying the character going through some crazy adventure (like The life and times of Hatake Kakashi, nukenin, which I will be doing soon) to a random day (example: Kiba spending the day with Akamaru and reflecting their time together). Something like that.
Now, I would go and look for the stories myself, but there are so many stories in the Naruto category, and I don't want to be spending my time doing that. Now, there over a hundred of you reading this story, so if you could please help me out...
I know that over 80% of stories being shown in this fic are Naruto-centric, but I would also like to give the other characters a chance at the spot light. So please, help me.
Thank you...
World 3 Scene 2: Shinobi Shaman of Konoha
"Miss Anna it has been a while." The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, said nervously.
"Eh!" The genin shouted. The Hokage, the strongest shinobi in the village, nervous?!
The adults, blinked in surprise at that, the most surprised where Asuma, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. 'Anna must truly be a scary girl for pops/sensei to act nervous.' They thought to themselves.
At first the veteran Hokage was surprised by the two additions to Team 7, but after recognizing who the blonde girl was he grew noticeably jumpy. Not that Team 7 and Haku didn't understand, the looks alone that the girl would give people when they were making her angry would be enough to unnerve even the most battle hardened shinobi. "I trust you are well?" He asked, taking careful note of the hand print on his surrogate grandson's cheek. Apparently Anna didn't enjoy Naruto suddenly picking her up and carrying her off at high speeds; she was smart enough though to wait until they reached the village's gates before delivering Naruto's punishment.
Naruto winced, unconsciously rubbing his cheek, as if feeling the sting of the slap. Beside him, Jiraiya nodded seriously. "Yes, women do not like it when you catch them off guard."
Tsunade smirked at her teammate in amusement. "Speaking from experience?" She asked, getting a pout from the grown man.
"I'm well Hokage-sama." Anna answered the man politely. "I finished my training so I decided to come and keep an eye on Naruto." She explained detachedly. "With the condition I found him on his mission it's clear that he has been neglecting his training." Anna finished sounding displeased.
"I see," The Hokage said, feeling sorry for his surrogate grandson for what was sure to happen to him in the future.
"Not cool, old man!" Naruto shouted at the alternate version of his surrogate grandfather. "Hmph! No faith..." He grumbled.
"Well, pop's not wrong." Asuma whispered to Kakashi, who nodded in agreement. There was a reason he was a bachelor.
"Well it is nice to see you once more." Sarutobi said as honestly as possible. "And who might you be?" He asked after he turned his attention to Haku. Hiruzen then got a brief explanation of who Haku was, what happened on their mission to the Land of Waves, and Haku's wish to join Konohagakure. "I see," The Hokage said once more, taking a drag from his pipe, which he had pulled out at some point during the small debrief. "There is no problem with you joining Konoha's ranks as long as you understand that you'll be instated as a Gennin and some Anbu will follow you for an undetermined amount of time to ensure this isn't some sort of ploy."
"I understand and accept your conditions Hokage-sama." Haku answered, giving the aged leader a slight bow.
"Very well, then welcome Haku to Konohagakure no Sato." Sarutobi said tossing the black haired youth a headband belonging to the Leaf Village. "I think it would be best to assign you to Team 7, so that only leaves where you'll be staying to be decided."
"He can stay with me." Naruto immediately offered.
Naruto smiled at the idea of Haku ‒ even if it was a male version of the Haku he knew ‒ living with him. "Yeah! Totally! That would be so cool!"
Sakura raised a brow as she looked at the blonde. "Um, Naruto. I don't think your apartment will fit both you, Anna, and Haku." She had seen the blonde's apartment, and it was very small for three people.
Naruto blinked, thinking about, and had to agree. His apartment could hardly fit three people living there. There just wasn't enough room. "I'm sure the other me will think of something."
"I'm not so sure that's such a good idea Naruto. Your apartment wasn't meant for three people. That is assuming of course that Miss Anna would be staying with you." Sarutobi said, looking at said girl questioningly, as Naruto rubbed the back of his head for his oversight.
"Of course," Anna said obviously. "But it's fine we won't be staying there much longer. The Asakura's gave us one of the properties they own within the village and we'll be moving there soon." The blonde itako informed the Hokage.
Tsunade raised a brow. "Asakura?" She asked. She looked at Jiraiya. "You've ever heard of a clan named that?"
Jiraiya took a moment to try and recall any clan or family by that name, but in the end, he shook his head. "No. It must be a new clan in that dimension."
Hiruzen nodded his head in acceptance, though Kakashi once more found himself' curious about how Naruto met Anna, became her fiancée, and who the Asakura were. "Good then that solves all our current issues, Team 7 you are dismissed; return home and rest up Kakashi can give the mission report." Sarutobi said dismissing the Gennin and Anna. Sasuke and Sakura immediately left after being dismissed, but Naruto and Haku stayed behind as Anna seemed to have something else to talk about with the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama before I go I have a mission request for tomorrow." Anna said, pulling out the form and handing it to Sarutobi with all the details of the mission on it.
Naruto tilted his head. "Anna wants a mission? Wonder what it is." He said mostly to himself, but the others heard, as they were equally curious.
Looking it over quickly Sarutobi accepted it and informed the itako that it would be carried out the next day. With everyone else gone Sarutobi did a few quick hand seals to dismiss his personal Anbu guards and activate a silencing seal in the room, giving him and the Jounin sensei some privacy. "Is there something you wish to discuss Kakashi?" The Sandaime asked having noticed the questioning looks the Jounin had been giving Naruto and Anna earlier.
"Hokage-sama I'd like to know how Naruto met Anna, became engaged to her, and how he is involved with this Asakura clan. There was nothing about either of them on the info sheet about Naruto that I received when he became my student." Kakashi said, "I've also caught Naruto talking to someone he calls Amidamaru, who also seems to talk back to him, and I am worried that it's the Kyuubi influencing him." The gray haired Jounin finished bringing all his concerns forward.
Kakashi hummed. "Hopefully we will learn some bit of the other Naruto's life. I will admit, I am very curious." The other jonin agreed with him.
Sarutobi took another drag from his pipe before letting it out and focusing his steely gaze on Kakashi. "Kakashi what I am about to tell you is an S-rank secret that is shared by the Kages of the 5 Great Shinobi Villages and those they put their upmost trust in. You are not to repeat what I tell you to anyone." The Hokage finished seriously.
Everyone was shocked that this was such an important secret, and listened very closely. Especially Naruto, wanting to know his counterpart's connection.
"Understood Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied simply.
Sarutobi took a moment to collect his thoughts before he began. "Since before the formation of the shinobi villages there has existed a society alongside ours. This society consists of people who can communicate with the spirit world without the use of a jutsu of any kind." The Sandaime revealed.
The genin gasped in surprise and awe at that. People able to contact spirits without any jutsu to help?! That seemed almost impossible!
To say Kakashi was shocked by the revelation was an understatement. He actually dropped his Icha Icha from the surprise he felt, "Wha-?" Kakashi started only to stop mid-sentence.
Asuma gapped. "Kakashi dropped his book?! Now I'm shocked!" He joked, but was ignored, as everyone focused on the Third Hokage's explanation.
Hiruzen almost chuckled at Kakashi's stupor, sure that if it wasn't for his mask he would have a comical look on his face, but refrained to continue with his explanation. "A majority of these people are known as Shaman." Pausing to take a drag from his pipe Sarutobi continued. "And their existence is a vital part of the continual life of all those in this world." Sarutobi stated.
Everyone was surprised by that. What could he mean by that?
Kakashi was able to gather his wits enough to ask the aged Hokage a question. "What do you mean by that Hokage-sama?" The gray haired Jounin asked.
"Every 500 years a tournament is held for every shaman worldwide to decide who shall become 'Shaman King' who will merge with the King of Spirits and decide the fate of the world until the next tournament." Sarutobi answered with what little he knew about the tournament.
"Eh?" Kiba questioned. "What does that mean? What...does this 'Shaman King' become Kami or something?" He joked. However, the adults didn't find anything about hat hilarious, as seen by the serious expressions on their faces.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in thought. "It sounds like they do, Kiba." He answered.
"What?!" Kiba and Ino shouted in shock. "Shikamaru, you can't be serious!" The Yamanaka heiress told her teammate.
"Well, from what we've heard, a shaman merges with this 'King of Spirits', which is no doubt the strongest spirit there is. And aren't kamis spiritual beings? So to be given such power, would make this "Shaman King" a god-like being." The Nara explained to the shocked group.
The jonin glanced at the other nervously. Some couldn't help but worry on the thought of someone like Orochimaru discovering this fact, and trying to gain such power. Not to mention the other power hungry people or criminals finding out about this, and battle to either become the Shaman King, or get the person's loyalty. It was then that Tenten spoke, a thought appearing in her head.
"Wait...isn't Naruto, or the other Naruto at least, a shaman too?"
Blinking in realization, everyone turned back to the scene.
Kakashi found the information fascinating but saw one problem with what he was learning, "What does any of this have to do with Naruto?" Kakashi questioned curiously before his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, you don't mean…"
The Sandaime nodded his head. "Yes, Naruto is also a shaman. More precisely he is the first shinobi to also be a shaman." Sarutobi stated with a bit of pride entering his voice.
Asuma nodded, seeing he was right. Though he still wondered how. He continued to listen, having a feeling his question will be answered.
"How is that possible? Surely there had to have been at least one person who was a shinobi and a shaman before Naruto." Kakashi replied in some mild confusion.
"There has not," Sarutobi said back absolutely before getting back to his explanation. "For a human being to be a shaman, or any of the other professions that allows one to interact with the spirit world, they must have a high amount of spirit energy. As shinobi we have learned to harness and expand or physical and spiritual energies until adulthood and we continue to instinctually keep the two balanced with one another making it so a shinobi who is also a shaman impossible, until Naruto." The old man explained.
'Well, in that, and other worlds in the Naruto-verse.' Shin thought to himself, having known the truth of chakra being its own energy, and not a mixture of physical and spiritual energy like everyone thought, until Mainstream Naruto learned the truth from the direct source himself, the Sage of Six Paths.
"Then what makes Naruto the exception?" Kakashi asked not quite being able to wrap his head around what was being said. "Does it have something to do with the Kyuubi being sealed inside him?"
"Yes," Sarutobi answered nodding his head. "But not how you would expect." He said, taking one final drag from his pipe before setting it down. "Minato did something completely unheard of when he split the Kyuubi's chakra and sealed the yang half within Naruto and the yin half of Kyuubi's chakra within himself. With this being the first time that such an occurrence has ever happened the consequences of such actions were completely unknown. Now we have some idea of what those consequences are. Yang chakra is the physical half of chakra and with only half of it sealed within Naruto it created an imbalance, but instead of affecting Naruto's yang chakra like it would be expected it affected his yin half." Here Sarutobi paused for a moment to ensure Kakashi was following along, and seeing that he was, the old man continued. "In order to correct the imbalance within Naruto's body due to the excess of Kyuubi's yang chakra Naruto's own yin chakra developed to match it, probably a result of his Uzumaki heritage, but the seal still restrains Kyuubi's yang chakra for the most part keeping the influence in Naruto minimal. The result of the imbalance was Naruto's normal yang chakra and his exceptionally large yin chakra that made it possible for Naruto to purely harness his spiritual energy allowing for his title as the first shinobi shaman. Though as a result it seems that Naruto's chakra control suffers and makes genjutsu nearly impossible for him until he either masters Kyuubi's chakra, or his own yang chakra matches his yin chakra." Sarutobi finished.
Naruto looked on in wonder and awe at what he was hearing. He looked at Shin. "Is that true for me?" He asked.
Thinking about it, Shin shrugged. "Don't know. I don't think anyone's taken a deeper look into your charka before, in fear of interaction with the Kyuubi's chakra. I'll run a scan later." He offered. 'However, I do think that you possess a hidden connection with spiritual energy, due to your reincarnated chakra of Ashura Otsutsuki, as well as connection to the Six Paths Sage through Kurama.'
"That's, that's a lot to take in." Kakashi said. Admittedly he had never considered how his sensei's actions of splitting Kyuubi's chakra might eventually affect Naruto. "Who would have ever guessed that Naruto would become a shaman of all things?" He mused off handedly.
The jonin chuckled at that, knowing that such a thought would seem ridiculous, with the blonde's hyperactive personality. Imagining him all calm and wise seemed truly hilarious...they sighed wishfully. If only...
Hiruzen chuckled a bit at Kakashi's words. "I know what you mean Kakashi. I still remember the little boy who used to be afraid of ghosts." Sarutobi said in fond remembrance.
Naruto shivered at the word. 'It's a legit fear! You can't hurt a ghost, but they can hurt you! Anyone would be scared too if they thought about it, dattebayo!'
(He does have a point...unless you're Danny Phantom, a Ghostbuster, or any other ghost hunter, fighting a ghost is just unfair...)
"It was only Naruto's insistence that he could see ghosts and my knowledge of shamans that eventually had me seek the aid of the Asakura clan." The Sandaime admitted.
"I wonder who this Asakura Clan is?" Jiraiya muttered, before he was hushed by Tsunade.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the mention of the Asakura family again, as he remembered his other questions to the Hokage. "Who are they and how is Naruto connected to them, and his meeting and engagement to Anna?" Kakashi asked once more.
Sarutobi hummed thoughtfully before answering. "The Asakura clan is a very old family of Shaman with many ties to the spirit side of the world. And as to Naruto's connection to them, he was adopted into the clan when his potential as a shaman became apparent to them after an incident and they made him the heir to the clan." Hiruzen supplied. "Legally Naruto's full name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze Asakura. Quite the mouth full don't you think." Sarutobi ended jokingly.
"EEH?!" Naruto gapped in shock. His other was adopted by an old clan, getting a family, and made heir?! The others were also surprised., but also happy for the blonde's counterpart for having a family. Though they wondered why the A-Naruto was still the same as theirs, until the bridge. At the start of the first scene, they hadn't seen a difference.
"They made Naruto their heir, why?" Kakashi asked confused. While happy that the blonde Jinchuuriki was able to obtain a family he found it odd that they would up and make him their heir, especially if they were as old as they sounded as such families usually had traditions against such things as they wanted to ensure the heir was from the bloodline.
"I was surprised by their choice at first as well." Sarutobi admitted. "Eventually I was told that the true heir of the family died during birth due to some complications, which they refused to disclose to me, and as a result Keiko Asakura the only daughter to the head of the clan was unable to have another child. The head of the family explained that they were in desperate need of an heir for the upcoming Shaman Tournament and with Naruto being able to harness chakra and furyoku, the shaman term for spirit energy, he had much potential and could eventually win the tournament, with the proper training." The Sandaime paused for a moment to take a breather before continuing. "What led to Naruto being engaged to Anna is quite the interesting story and also involves his first meeting with the Asakura' clan." Hiruzen said as he gained a distant look in his eye and proceeded to tell the story.
Flashback
"Hey old man, are we there yet?" A six year old Naruto asked the Sandaime for the umpteenth time.
"Aww!" Anko gushed as she looked at the young A-Naruto. "Chibi-Gaki is so cute!" She teased as a red faced Naruto looked away in embarrassment.
"Almost Naruto," Sarutobi replied walking a bit ahead of the blonde child. The Sandaime and his surrogate grandson were currently walking through one of the Land of Fire's many forests a few days' travel from Konoha, leaving behind his advisors to take care of the day to day operations of the village. People can say whatever they want about Koharu and Homura, but there was one thing that the Sandaime knew about his former teammates, and that was that they would do whatever they could to protect the village. Even if they didn't always agree with the choices made, as long as it didn't compromise the beliefs and ideals of the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage.
Tsunade scoffed. Those old bags were nothing but annoying spaces to her. Always arguing against her every decision and choice. SHE was the Hokage! THEY were her advisors! Oh how she wished she could hurt them. But couldn't, as doing so would only turn the council against her.
It was that reason alone that had Koharu and Homura voting against Danzo, Sarutobi's old rival and the founder of Root, when it came to the subject of handing Naruto to the old war hawk for training.
'Well, at least they are capable of making the right and smart choice from time to time.' The female Hokage thought to herself. Like hell she would allow Danzo to sink his wrinkly old claws into Naruto!
The reason for their impromptu trip was something that Naruto had brought to the Sandaime countless times. The fact that he, Naruto Uzumaki, claimed he could see ghosts. At first Hiruzen assumed that it was Naruto's imagination that caused the blonde to make such claims, but it was only Naruto's insistence that he could really see ghosts and Sarutobi's knowledge of the spirit world that raised his suspicion enough to make this trip necessary.
Naruto shivered at the mention of ghosts. He really wasn't liking this world, with all the ghosts around. How could his counterpart be okay with that, and not shitting his pants?! They were talking about ghosts! Well, it no doubt had to do with being a shaman. 'Lucky bastard.' He grumbled at the counterpart's luck at being able to deal with his greatest fear.
Jiraiya looked at Shin. "Is that how you can tell if one has the potential to be a shaman? By seeing spirits."
Shin nodded. "That's right. And it's not just shamans. There are other positions for people intone to the spiritual sense. The shaman are similar to the shinobi system in terms of classes. Just as there are jonin, chunin, medics, and ANBU; people with awareness to the spirit worlds can be classified into different positions. Shamans are seen as the warriors, merging with spirits to use the other's skills. There are also necromancers, who are able to animate and control the dead. Your Second Hokage has something similar to that with the Edo Tensei." Tsunade and Jiraiya shivered at that. While they had never seen the dreadful technique themselves, their sensei had told them, along with Orochimaru, about it back when they there genin. With the former using it against their sensei at their fight. "Daoishi, which are able to transfer a spirit into a corpse and control their movements. Miko, which are shrine priestesses, listen to the voices of spirits for incoming dangers. Yuta, who are healers. They are even more profound in the healing arts than even you, Tsunade. Able to revive someone who had dead within the hour." Tsunade was greatly shocked by that. Able to save a dead person?! She wondered if there were any of these 'Yuta' around. She would love to talk with them. "Shugenja are known as "spirit hunters" as they search for powerful spirits. Most of them take on the role as pilgrims and hermits. Itaki are blind women that can resurrect the dead, by calling their souls back down to earth. Witches who use magic and spells to call on and summon spirits through rituals. And finally, Onmyoji. They are regarded as the most powerful and oldest shamans in existence. They are usually the ones who become the Shaman King. The last known Onmyōji in that world, I believe, was the Sage of Six Paths."
Everyone gasped at that.
A few minutes later they finally reached a traditional looking mansion and at the front of the gates stood a short man with puffy hair, whose head was completely bald on top, and was wearing traditional Japanese looking clothing.
"Who's the short-stuff?" Kiba asked, before shouting when Shin appeared behind him, and slapped him over the head.
"Be respectful. That's Yohmei Asakura, the head of the Asakura clan." The man warned him.
Kiba looked sheepish as he rubbed the spot where he was hit.
"Hiruzen, this is a surprise. What brings the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato all the way out here?" The short balding man inquired, not looking all that surprised.
"Yohmei, how did you know to expect us?" Sarutobi asked him instead identifying the man in the process.
"My shikigami kooni alerted me to your presence some time ago." Yohmei replied.
"Truly a useful ability," Sarutobi commented, staring at a pair of floating leafs that were drifting by. To most they would just be regular looking leafs, but Sarutobi knew that was not the case for shaman.
"Shikigami Kooni?" Kakashi asked.
"They are spirits that inhabit stones and leaves. Even shamans can barely see them, as they look like regular leaves." Shin explained. The shinobi were surprised at the usefulness of such spirits. With them, one could spy on a person, and they would never know as any secret was revealed.
How terrifyingly ingenious…
Yohmei smirked at Sarutobi's comment, most would have just written off his shikigami kooni as useless. "Well there is no point in all of us freezing ourselves standing out here." Yohmei said turning around and opening the gate to his home. "Come on in, after we get comfortable you can tell me what you and the child are doing here." He finished.
At that point Sarutobi realized that Naruto had been far too quiet the last few minutes. Looking behind him to where Naruto was standing Sarutobi was surprised to find Naruto lying on the ground. Apparently the sight of Yohmei's shikigami kooni was enough to cause the young blonde child to faint. Chuckling slightly Hiruzen picked up his charge and followed after Yohmei.
Many sweatdropped at that. 'Okay, so maybe he still has that fear.' Naruto thought with a sweatdrop going down his forehead.
Yohmei lead Sarutobi to a large traditional sitting room with a few candles lighting the room. The two old men sat down, Sarutobi lying Naruto down beside him, before starting their conversation.
"Yohmei it is good to see you again my old friend." Sarutobi said greeting the old man.
"You as well Hiruzen," Yohmei said back. "It has been far too long since the last time we got together for a drink." The short man continued, "But I doubt this is a social visit, so what brings you to the Asakura home today Hiruzen?"
Sarutobi gestured towards Naruto's passed out form. "This is Naruto Uzumaki." Sarutobi began by introducing Naruto "There is something he brought to my attention that you might find very interesting, can you tell what it is Yohmei" Hiruzen asked his friend challengingly.
The Head of the Asakura clan didn't even take a second before answering. "He has an amazing amount of furyoku within him from what I can tell, especially for someone his age." Yohmei stated, his eyes shifting from Naruto to the Sandaime. "It is truly remarkable how much of it he possesses, but it is uncontrolled. Was that what you thought I'd find interesting Hiruzen, a boy with the potential to become a shaman?" Yohmei questioned his old friend with a bit of skepticism. Sure his raw power was astounding, but hardly something for Sarutobi to go out of his way to bring to his attention.
Naruto dropped his head in depression. First his chakra, and now this furyoku stuff? Why can't he ever seem to have control over his energy, dattebayo?!
"In part," Sarutobi replied. "But you also just helped me confirm something." Sarutobi continued a smile appearing on his face. "You might not be able tell Yohmei, like I could not tell for certain that Naruto truly possessed furyoku, but Naruto can also harness the power of chakra. With your confirmation Naruto has the potential to become a powerful shinobi and shaman, the first shinobi shaman."
Naruto smiled. He heard the proud and strong tone in the old man's voice. 'Jiji really believes in me. He always did.' He frowned, he missed the old man dearly. He didn't even get to say goodbye. 'But in the shinobi world, you never know when you could day, and never get the chance to say goodbye.' He thought sadly. That was the first lesson he truly learned after his Wave Mission.
Yohmei was surprised by what Sarutobi claimed. Never in all recorded history has there ever been a person who could become a shaman and a shinobi. It was a feat tried by both groups of people in the past and none had ever managed. A shinobi, the few who knew the truth, had never been able and if a shaman tried either nothing happened or they would lose their shaman abilities for the sake of possessing chakra.
"So, a shaman can't be a shinobi without having to stop being a shaman?" Ino questioned, placing a finger on her chin.
Shikamaru spoke up. "It might also be the case the other way around, a shinobi loses the ability to use chakra."
"Is that even possible?" Kiba asked, getting a shrug from the Nara.
At that moment Naruto began to stir drawing both the old men's attention to him. "What happened?" Naruto muttered drowsily before looking around, his eyes eventually resting on Yohmei. "Who is the short old guy with the weird hair style?" The blonde child asked loudly.
BAM!
"OW!" Naruto groaned, holding his head in pain, Tsunade standing over him, her eye twitching. "What the heck, Granny?!" That earned him another punch to the head.
"You damn brat! When are you going to learn some manners?! You can't be insulting a clan head!"
"It wasn't me! It was the other me!"
"Same thing!"
A tick marked appeared on Yohmei's mostly bald head. "Watch your mouth brat, show your elders some respect! I am Yohmei Asakura leader of the Asakura clan!" Yohmei proudly declared.
"Whatever. I'm Naruto Uzumaki the next Hokage! Believe it!" Naruto said back introducing himself, even though Sarutobi had done so earlier but he didn't know that.
Jiraiya sighed, facepalming. 'Kid's too much like Kushina. The looks of his father, and the same blazing personality of his mother. Why couldn't it had been in reverse? Then the kid would be less of a headache.'
"A loud mouthed brat like you Hokage, don't make me laugh." Yohmei retorted, though he wasn't being cruel like some of the villagers back in Konoha would when they heard of Naruto's dream. He was just mocking the boy lightly in good fun.
Naruto huffed, not finding anything funny from having your dream mocked, joking or not.
Thwack "Ow!"
"That's enough Yohmei; between the two of you it is hard to tell who is the child' and who is the grown man." An old woman with grey hair pulled back into a bun with a couple of bangs falling on either side of her face. She wore traditional clothing, with black round glasses on her face, and was carrying a cane, which she had just used to hit Yohmei in the face with. She stood about the same height as Yohmei, who was currently on the ground nursing his face.
"Ah, who's the old hag?" Naruto asked pointing at the woman, not having noticed when she entered the room.
Thwack "Ow!"
Like Yohmei Naruto found himself on the ground, right beside the man, nursing his own face after the women hit him in the face with her cane.
Naruto flinched. 'That Baa-chan's scary! As much as Anna and Tsunade-baachan!'
Tsunade, on the other hand, smirked, liking this old woman very much.
Sarutobi wasn't sure if he should laugh or be afraid of winding up in the same state as the other two males in the room. The woman's name was Kino Asakura, Yohmei's wife, and she was a blind itako. Not that it seemed to matter as she always seemed to know where everything and everyone was even with the inability to see. She was a very frightening woman.
'Yes she is.' Almost everyone agreed. The only ones who didn't, were Tsunade, and Anko, who were smirking at Kino's display.
"I am Kino Asakura, you don't have to respect my husband, but you will show me proper respect at all times. Is that understood?" Kino finished by banging her cane against the ground, which somehow despite them being in a room with tatami mats banged loudly throughout the room.
The males all flinched at the sound. "Yes ma'am!" They unconsciously replied. Shows just how scary a woman Kino was.
'So they can be taught." The women thought with smirks.
"Understood ma'am," Naruto answered quickly and respectfully in a sitting position, a sight that Sarutobi thought he would never see.
"Naruto the reason we came out here was to meet with Yohmei and Kino." Sarutobi said, drawing Naruto's attention away from Kino and to him.
"Eh, why?" Naruto asked tilting his head to the side and scrunching his face up in confusion.
"Because like you brat." Yohmei began; having recovered from his wife's hit. "We can also see ghosts." The short old man revealed.
"Really?" Naruto asked surprised and a little loud.
"Lower your voice." Kino commanded sternly, sitting beside her husband, lifting her cane threateningly. Naruto nodded his head frantically, too afraid to say anything by the aura the woman was giving off. "And to answer your question yes we can also see spirits." The woman finished.
"So I'm not just seeing things?" Naruto asked just to be sure.
"No," Kino replied her tone suggesting that she wouldn't be answering the same question again. "Sarutobi brought you to us in the hopes that we'd train you in your powers and help you become a shaman."
"A shaman, what's that?" Naruto questioned confused never having heard that word before.
"To put it simply," Yohmei said, "A shaman is a person with the ability to see spirits and fight alongside them." He explained.
Naruto really wasn't all that excited about being a shaman. The fact that he wasn't seeing things and going crazy didn't really help with the fact that the cerulean eyed boy was still scared of ghosts, besides he wanted to be a shinobi so that he could become Hokage, he didn't want to be a shaman.
"Sheesh brat, don't be so impatient and hear what they have to say." Jiraiya told his student.
"I can't help it! *points to A-Naruto* I'm six!" The blonde shot back.
"That's no excuse! You're the same way now!"
"Naruto," Kino said, the whisker marked boy stiffening slightly at the sound of her voice. "Why don't you go explore a little? There are some things that my husband and I want to talk about with Hiruzen, which I'm sure you will find boring." Though it was supposed to be a suggestion nobody in the room thought it was anything less than a command. With a glance toward Sarutobi to make sure it was alright, and getting a nod in confirmation, Naruto left the room to explore the mansion and the nearby area.
Once Naruto left the room Kino turned her focus to Sarutobi. "Hiruzen, while you have been honest to us for the most part, there is something about Naruto you've neglected to tell us." The way she said it made it clear it was not an assumption but an accusation. "Do so, now." Kino stated sternly.
The Sandaime let out a sigh in response, "Very well." He relented before telling them everything he could about Naruto and his childhood so far. If he wanted their help Sarutobi knew he couldn't hide anything from them.
"The old man must really respect them." Jiraiya muttered to his teammate. Tsunade nodded in agreement, as she watched the scene change.
With Naruto
The blonde shinobi-shaman-to-be quickly exited the mansion to explore the surrounding area, finding it much more interesting than an old couple's home. While there wasn't anything overly interesting around the mansion Naruto moved deeper into the woods not at all bothered by the fact that it was dark out, the sun having already set by the time he and the Sandaime had arrived at the Asakura home, it wouldn't have been the first time that Naruto found himself out in a forest late at night. The exception being that it was usually the villager's fault that he was out, them having formed a mob and chased him into the forest to begin with.
The KI of anger spiked from Tsunade and Jiraiya, making the others tense. The two sannin made a mental note that once they were out of there, to research Naruto's past and find out if anyone hurt or assaulted him during his childhood, and if so, make them pay, before sending them to Ibiki.
Coming to a nearby steam Naruto stared at it, noticing the moon reflected off its surface before his gaze shifted up to look at the full moon in the sky directly. For as long as the blue eyed boy could remember he always felt this inexplicable pull to the moon and often found himself' gazing at it late at night when the nightmares kept him up.
Naruto tilted his head at that. Really?
Shin hummed in thought. 'It could either be Kurama reacting to the prison that is the moon...or Naruto's connection to Kaguya.'
As he looked at the moon he noticed smoke rising up to the sky. It wasn't enough to suggest a forest fire which meant it was one from someone's camp.
'Who could be all the way out here at this hour?' Naruto wondered silently to himself as he made his way towards the source of the smoke. His natural curiosity overriding any attempt his logical side made to warn him about the possible dangers of going to some unknown stranger's camp.
The scene once more changing, the group soon saw someone Naruto instantly recognized. "Anna?!" He asked, as he look at a much younger Anna.
"So we are going to see when A-Naruto and Anna first met." Asuma said as he paid attention.
Anna Kyoyama was a six year old girl with blonde hair and black eyes that wore a simple black dress. Even at her young age she knew that she was different from everyone else around her. Anna's power to see the long since departed set her apart from most people, but even among those who were spiritually aware like her she was different.
Naruto frowned at hearing that. Was Anna treated like he was? Like an outcast?
When she was younger Anna had been abandoned by her family because of her abilities that extended much farther than simply being able to see ghosts, the blonde girl could read the minds and hearts of those around her revealing to her a person's true personality. She picked up on the negative emotions of the people around her despite how well they may have tried to hide it. From this ability, which would eventually come to be called reishi, her second power developed the power to summon and create Oni, low ranked demons.
These powers caused people to fear her, to the point that even her parents abandoned her out of fear, and caused her to in turn hate people for the darkness that she could see in them.
Naruto clenched his fists tightly in anger at hearing how Anna's own parents abandoned her, just because she gained some incredible powers. 'Those...assholes!'
But these powers also drew to her the attention of the Asakura clan, specifically Kino Asakura, and because of them she was taken in by the family and was being trained to control her powers. Yet despite her improved living conditions and the fact she was starting to gain a meager amount of control over her powers Anna still found herself unable to ignore, or block out, the voices of other people's thoughts, when there were too many people around. As such she found she still held a great dislike for people in general.
Jiraiya winced. "Poor kid. To be forced to hear dozens of voices in her head all at once, most people would either go crazy or be brain dead."
Tsunade frowned. "Well she looked fine in the present, so something must have happened." She then smirked, glancing at Naruto. "And I think I know what."
That's why as she sat in a small clearing of the forest near the Asakura home, with a small fire keeping her warm, Anna didn't feel all that alone. With the occasional Oni popping up she wasn't exactly lacking in company. So she was honestly surprised when she started to pick up the emotions of someone as they moved towards her. With her reishi ability Anna could tell the person was curious about the person responsible for her camp fire, and yet the young itako couldn't find it in herself' to care. Once the person learned about her powers they would become afraid of her and run away. It was how people always reacted with a few exceptions. Those exceptions being the Asakura clan and those who wanted to use her powers for their own gain.
Naruto frowned at that. 'No I won't Anna. Because I know how you feel.'
When a blonde boy her age appeared from the bushes Anna didn't visibly react, barely paying him any attention, but still took in his features. He had on a white t-shirt with a spiral like flame on the front, orange shorts, and simple blue sandals that everyone seemed to ware. He had spikey blonde hair that struck out at all sides and, unlike her' own blonde hair; it seemed to be the same shade as the sun. His eyes were a bright sapphire color that almost captivated the young blonde girl. The boy's skin was slightly tanned, but what drew Anna's attention the most was the whisker marks on his face, three on each cheek.
Jiraiya smirked. His theory was correct! 'Those whisker marks are a chick magnet! The possibilities!'
The moment that Anna saw them a part of her, a very small part, wanted to say kawaii and touch them for herself' to discover if they were real or not. Luckily she was able to restrain herself and keep her composure.
Naruto flinched at that. He really didn't like people touch his cheeks. He experienced that with Ayame, when the young ramen waitress had decided to rub his cheeks, finding them extremely adorable. Next thing he knew; he was in a pleasurable daze. His cheeks were really sensitive to touch. Luckily not to the extent that getting a cut would hurt more than usual. Ayame was the first person to rub his cheeks. Tsunami was the second person during that time in Wave. That's a story for another time. And Shizune was the last one.
Yep, his whiskers were a magnet for woman. 'Oh kami. I'm starting to sound like Ero-Sennin!'
When Naruto emerged from the bushes into the small clearing he found himself face to face with a blonde girl his age. While he was a little surprised by her being there Naruto was a more unnerved by the fact she didn't react to him at all and how she just focused on staring at him. Shifting nervously Naruto scratched the back of his head as he tried to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Hi," Naruto started with his signature fox like grin on his face.
"…"
"Uh," Naruto muttered, a little put off by the girl's lack of response, but pressed forward. Here was someone his age not affiliated with his home village, for the first time in his young life Naruto thought he had an actual change to make a friend without one of the villagers pulling the child he was trying to befriend away and tell them to stay away from him.
Tsunade growled in anger at that. Oh she was going to take a seriously hard look at Naruto's childhood history and anyone who messed with him! Council be damned, heads were going to roll if she found out anyone hurt her favorite gaki!
"Who are you? What's your name?" He asked her in a slight rush.
Anna could feel his determination; it was almost staggering to think that someone who was only six had such a strong will already. "Are you an idiot or something?" Anna found herself replying.
"Oi!" Naruto shouted in anger, while Kiba laughed.
"Ha! She already knows you so well dobe!"
"Shut it dog breath!"
"Don't you know its common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone for else's, go and die." She said told him in a cold tone.
Naruto wasn't all that bothered, internally happy he got her to say anything at all, well at least he wasn't bothered all that much. "Naruto Uzu-" He began.
"I don't care Blondie." Anna said cutting Naruto off before he could finish introducing himself.
Naruto's eye twitched at the comment and how rude Anna was. 'You're blonde too.' He mentally grumbled. 'How the hell did my other get engaged to her?'
"I'm Anna Kyoyama. Now leave or I'll kill you." The blonde girl said, glaring at him briefly before turning her attention back to the fire in front of her.
'"Go and die." "Leave now or I'll kill you." Who does she think she is?!' Naruto thought as he felt a flare of annoyance rise up inside of him at Anna for cutting him off before quickly dismissing it.
Naruto flinched at the sentences, as he too had experienced such statements from the villages at his earlier years. The genin looked uncomfortable at the threats being heard in A-Naruto's mind, no doubt from the villages. Some looked at Naruto in concern. They were now beginning to realize how they truly knew next to nothing on who he truly was, and the hardships he had to go through.
Sasuke and Neji, who had had rough childhoods themselves, knew it was nothing in comparison to being hated and told to die by your own village. Sure Sasuke had been spared and forced to look eye to eye with the killer of his clan, but at least he had the memories of a happy family. Neji, which he had been marked since his birth to be nothing more than a slave to his own clan, had people who still cared for him.
Indirectly or not, the two had Naruto to thank. Sasuke, for the blonde being his teammate and rival, helping him cope with his nightmares to some degree, for being the first person to truly smile at him, bringing him happiness, when his family was killed. Neji, for the blonde literally knocking sense into him, and making him realize he could change his fate and be more than a slave.
The genin sore to truly get to know the whiskered blonde, and show him they were there for him.
Meanwhile, Tsunade was gritting her teeth hard in anger. 'So many people are going to be seeing Ibiki and Anko. That I swear!'
Sensing the large murderous intent coming off his teammate, Jiraiya wisely inched away from him.
Taking in her appearance Naruto couldn't help but think that the blonde dark eyed girl was cute despite how indifferent she seemed to be. Cuter than the pink haired girl he had seen in the park a few weeks back,
Sakura huffed. She didn't like being compared at looks with someone else, makes her insecure ‒ bad enough Ino was admittedly prettier than her. Even Tenten was cuter, with her panda-like face and buns! And don't even get her started on Hinata!
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, muttered a sorry to Sakura. Though he had to admit that he agreed with his counterpart. After seeing Anna the first time, he thought she was really cute. The same for Bloom and Hilda. His counterparts were really lucky!
Naruto continued to think not noticing the faint dusting of pink on Anna's cheeks as he thought that. Taking a step towards her Naruto also failed to take not of how Anna seemed to flinch at his action.
As Naruto moved closer Anna could feel the control she had over her powers slowly slipping, her reishi ability slowly picking up more and more of Naruto's thoughts and feelings. The sapphire eyed boy was almost unnaturally cheerful and he had a love for ramen that almost border lined on the obsessive.
"It's not an obsession!" Naruto shouted in protest. What was wrong with loving ramen, eating it all day every day?! It was the food of the Gods!
"Keep telling yourself that, kid." Shin teased him with a smirk, making Naruto huff.
The closer he got the more Anna could unconsciously read about him. "S-stay back," Anna quietly muttered, as she held her head with one of her hands trying to suppress her powers.
Seeing the almost pained expression appear on Anna's face Naruto grew concerned for her wellbeing. "What's wrong?" He asked in clear worry as he took another step to her.
Anna flinched once more, this time Naruto did notice it, as she felt her control on her reishi slip completely. The blonde itako could tell her fellow blonde was honestly concerned for her. But the closer Naruto got the clearer Anna could sense a darkness deep within him, and something else as well, but something was restraining her powers from being able to reach it and discover what it was.
The shinobi tensed, wondering what could be happening. The veteran shinobi narrowed their eyes. Anna talked about being unable to control her power, and wondered what the extent of her power could be. They also noted how she was able to sense the Kyuubi within Naruto, but also noted that she sensed another darkness in him! A darkness besides the Kyuubi?!
'I wonder...' Jiraiya thought to himself, glancing at his students His mind recalling back to that world.
Out of some morbid curiosity Anna tried to determine what the source of the darkness in the otherwise happy go lucky boy was. She found hatred and scorn in his daily life from the citizens of his home village as the source of the darkness. Those that didn't outright hate him ignored his existence and passed this all onto their children without revealing why they were turning their children against the blonde orphan, not even Naruto knew why they treated him the way they did. Though Anna suspected it had something to do with whatever the other thing she was sensing within him was. The villager's treatment of Naruto only strengthened Anna's own hatred for people. They hated, feared, and caused Naruto as much pain as possible for no viable reason at all. They caused Naruto to feel a sadness and loneliness that Anna thought only she knew, only to hide it behind false smiles fake bravado in the hope no one would notice how much it really affected him.
Tsunade sighed. Her grandfather, her predecessors, would be rolling in their graves in disappointment at how their village, the people they swore to lead and protect, treated a child. She looked at the genin and academy students, and smiled softly. 'It's up to the next generation to undo the wrongs of the old.'
The more Anna saw of Naruto's life so far the more Oni that started to appear around her, responding to the negative emotions that Anna was feeling.
The shinobi widened their eyes in shock as they watch more demonic-looking spirits appear. They were shock that such things came from such a young girl. Once more, it reminded Kurenai of Yakumo, able to make things happen at will.
Naruto…was trying hard not to faint from fear at all the ghosts. Kyuubi, sensing this, laughed loudly in amusement at its pathetic container.
From Naruto, Anna could sense fear starting to appear within him 'So even he is afraid of me?' Anna thought sadly, a part of her having hoped Naruto would understand her and not be frightened by her powers. 'I should have known better.' She continued to think her mood plummeting. 'He's no different from the rest of them.' Anna concluded, the Oni being summoned growing in number, size, and grotesqueness.
Naruto would have said something about that, like, "No I wouldn't, dattebayo!" But he was stuck in his phobia state.
Of course what Anna failed to realize was that it was Naruto's natural fear of ghosts, unable tell the difference between them and the Oni surrounding Anna, and nothing to actually do with her.
'What are those things?' Naruto thought fearfully looking at the numerous Oni that surrounded Anna. 'Are they ghosts?' A part of the shinobi to be wanted to either faint or runaway but a bigger part was screaming at him that he had to protect Anna from those monsters, "G-get away from her!" Naruto managed to shout.
"Y-Yeah!" Finally manning up, Naruto agreed with his counterpart. Stupid ghosts or not, and alternate world or not, he didn't want Anna to get hurt.
Anna was caught by surprise by the sound of Naruto's voice and the protectiveness it held. 'What is he doing? Is he trying to protect me, but I thought he was afraid of me.' She thought trying to make sense of what was happening.
'He's trying to trick you. He's trying to get you to drop your guard so that he can hurt you.' Anna heard a dark oily voice say from behind her, making her eyes widen fearfully. 'You can't trust him.'
'What's going on? Who are you?' Anna found herself thinking back.
'I'm your protector, your guardian angel.' The voice said slyly, 'One of your children mother.' The voice finished as a shadowed figure started to appear behind Anna.
"Don't listen to it Anna!" Naruto shouted at the scene. Konohamaru and his friends gave their own shouts of agreement.
'They do remember that they can't hear us, right?' Iruka thought with a sweatdrop.
'You're an Oni?' Anna realized as she moved away from it and turned to face it, on occasion an Oni would be created from her powers that would call her mother. But this one seemed different somehow.
'I am more than a simple Oni mother.' It said before finally stepped out of the shadows that obscured it. The Oni was a large demon that easily towered over both children, and it would also tower over most adults. It was mostly a golden color with dark markings on its upper body and the upper part of its legs. It had disproportionally large hands that were tipped with metal claws. It didn't have much of a neck as its head was close to its body with a flat head, fangs, solid green eyes, and a long needle like nose.
"Holly Crap! That thing's huge!" Kiba shouted, as Akamaru hid deep in his jacket, whimpering. The group began to worry for A-Naruto and Anna's safety.
"I am a Naka-Oni" It said with an almost blood thirsty grin on its fanged face.
"I don't care what you are!" Naruto shouted at it growing a bit bolder. "Just get away from her! I won't let you hurt her!"
The Naka-Oni cackled darkly as if he found what Naruto said was hilarious, his laugh caused both kids to shiver slightly.
The shinobi also shivered at the dark, malicious laughter, their shinobi instincts tensing while the Academy students hid behind Iruka, who stood protectively over them.
"You should keep your mouth shut brat if you don't want to die so soon. I'm the one that is going to protect mother from you and the rest of this disgusting world." The Naka-Oni declared, "You're just pretending to care for mother and wanting to protect her, but we know the truth we know that you're afraid of her and I won't let you hurt her with your lies."
"That not true!" Naruto shouted, glaring at the Naka-Oni.
Naruto had a look of confusion on his face before quickly growing frustrated with the Naka-Oni's accusation, "Mother? What the hell are you talking about ugly? I'm not lying about anything!" The blonde boy yelled at the demon.
"Heh, heh, heh so you say but in the end it doesn't matter I will protect her from you disgusting creatures." The Naka-Oni muttered. "But I need more power." The Naka-Oni's solid green eyes shifted to the other Oni that Anna had created in the last few minutes. "They'll do." It murmured before lashing out and grabbing a few of the Oni with its large hands and tore into them with its fangs, blood seeping from between its clawed hands.
The group watched in horror and shock as the Naka-Oni began to eat the other oni's, its sharp teeth tearing their ‒ what looked like ‒ flesh before they began to vanish, getting absorbed through the Oni's mouth.
Some with weak stomachs at the massacre, turned a bit green at the grotesque display, quickly looking away and/or covering their ears to try and block the shouts of anguish from the suffering spirits.
"My kami..." Gai muttered, his eyes wide in horror.
"It's like watching the Kiri graduation ceremony." Kakashi said with a dreadful tone at all the deaths he was watching, but could do nothing about it. They may be spirits, but the way the 'Naka-Oni' ate them was so savage.
Asuma shook his head. "No, this is more of a savage predator eating his course meal...and the kids might be next."
Naruto and Anna flinched at the gruesome sight and anguished cries of the Oni that were being fed on by the Naka-Oni. The sight before them freezing them in place leaving them with no other choice but to watch as the Naka-Oni devoured the Oni as it grew in both strength and power.
"More," The Naka-Oni muttered after it finished devouring the last Oni that was close by. "I need more power!" It shouted almost insanely it attention turning to Anna. "With your help mother I can become much stronger and gain enough power to wipe away all those disgusting humans." It said as it reached out for the blonde haired girl.
"No, get away from her!" Naruto yelled running to stand in between the two.
The Naka-Oni snarled at Naruto's interference. "Get out of my way you stupid brat!" The gold skinned demon roared before swiping at Naruto with one of its overly large hands knocking Naruto away and into a nearby tree, his head banging against the tree and rendering him unconscious, a bit of blood coming out of the back of his head from where it impacted with the tree's trunk.
"Naruto!" Everyone shouted in concern for the other blonde, greatly worried for his safety, especially Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya.
'Come one other me! Get up!' Naruto shouted mentally at his younger counterpart.
Anna looked at Naruto's prone form with her eyes widened in shock. Just before Naruto lost consciousness Anna had been able to sense the fear that Naruto felt as he stood between her and the Naka-Oni. But what surpassed that fear was the six year old child's desire to protect Anna. Even knowing that she had created the Naka-Oni in the first place, or he at least should have a hint of her responsibility in its creation, he was willing to stand against it in order to protect her.
Tsunade smiled softly. 'Of course, that's just how Naruto Uzumaki is.' She thought, recalling how he had protected her from Kabuto, even almost at the cost of his life.
She was just about to move towards him to make sure he was okay when the Naka-Oni grabbed her, it taking extra care to make sure not to harm the little itako.
"There is no need to waste your time with him mother." The Naka-Oni said in its best attempt to sound reassuring, it failed miserably. "He would have just gotten in the way. Now we should go to the nearest village. From their darkness you will create more Oni that I can devour to increase my power and destroy them." The Naka-Oni said, explaining his plan and sound almost gleeful at the thought of devouring more Oni and killing any human it comes across.
"No! Let go of me you freak!" Anna shouted as she tried to escape the Naka-Oni's hold, trying not to think of the blood that was on the Naka-Oni's hand which was also being smeared on her.
"You tell him Anna!" Naruto cheered the young itako on.
"But mother I only wish to protect you." The Naka-Oni said sounding strangely sad, a sound that didn't match its demon like appearance and the blood that still covered its mouth. "Only I can protect you only I care for you." It stated insanely as it dashed away from the clearing leaving Naruto and the small fire behind.
"Come on, me! Get up!" Naruto shouted to his other.
Sakura looked at him. "Naruto, remember. They can't hear us." She reminded him. Naruto crossed his arms with an angry huff. He was worried about Anna, and what that monster would do to her. He hoped his other would recover and go help her, or the old man arrived.
Speaking of the A-Sarutobi...
Back at the Asakura compound
For the last half hour or so Sarutobi had been telling Yohmei and Kino everything about Naruto. His childhood, the way the villagers treated him, his parentage, and his status as the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Neither member of the Asakura was exactly pleased with what they learned about the blonde child that Sarutobi had brought with him.
"Wow, the old man told them everything?" Jiraiya questioned, surprise in his tone. His sensei was the true understanding of the term ninja, and knew that secrets and important knowledge had to be kept. For his counterpart to reveal everything about Naruto, shows how either he respected the two Asakura members, or their trust in one another.
"For anyone to treat a child in such a way," Kino muttered angrily. "It's disgusting." She finished the aura she was giving off simply murderous, one only a mother could give off. Beside her Yohmei agreed wholeheartedly with his wife.
'Tell me about it.' The adults all thought simultaneously. Konoha's villagers were such idiots.
Sarutobi wished he could say something that would lessen the amount of guilt he felt at Naruto having suffered such a terrible life at such a young age. But he knew that whatever excuses he might try to give, no matter how true it might be that he had done everything he possibly could to give Naruto a better life it, wouldn't matter in the end, because Sarutobi knew that no matter what he told himself he would always feel like he failed Naruto. Because he knew he had and he only prayed that Minato and Kushina forgave him when he died, because he knew that he never would be able to forgive himself.
Naruto frowned at how his jiji was beating himself up. While sure he didn't have the best life growing up, he still had great times, like meeting the Ichirakus, Iruka-sensei, and hanging out with his jiji. 'Don't blame yourself, old man.'
"The fact that the boy has kept even an ounce of his sanity despite the life he lives is astonishing in and of itself." Yohmei commented lightly, only his years of training allowing him to keep his emotions in check. "But knowing this I can't in good conscious teach' Naruto how to be a shaman. Who is to say that in the future the child won't chose to use his powers to take revenge on all those who hurt him? Having such a person with the powers of a shaman, shinobi, and the Kyuubi sealed within him would be far too dangerous." The Asakura clan head stated. Kino chose to remain silent not saying against or for her husband's decision.
Shin mentally nodded. 'That's the million dollar choice every celestial being in the universe asks.' Not only Naruto, but every character in the universe that held some high form of important in their future's existence, had a strong power of choice. Like every being, their life was a tree. A base symbolizing their beginning, the trunk being their growing years, and finally their branches, where their futures are split off into different paths, symbolizing the alternate futures created by choices.
In some worlds, Naruto Uzumaki may choose to use his power for darkness and destroy or conquer their world, while in others, he chooses to save and protect it. Every being with a main role in their world, their choices could alter their destiny forever.
Naruto Uzumaki
Ichigo Kurosaki
Monkey D. Luffy
Son Goku
There were many different versions of them across the vast number of universes, some good, some bad.
Such is the terrifying power of choices.
Sarutobi opened his mouth to say something in Naruto's defense, how his surrogate grandson would never do such a thing, but stopped before he could even start when they all felt something evil give off a dark and murderous feeling. "What is that?" Sarutobi wondered, after facing the Kyuubi six years ago whatever was giving off the aura didn't really affect the God of Shinobi.
"Anna," Kino answered softly as she stood up and Yohmei doing the same thing, sensing that her student was at the center of all this.
"Anna?" Hiruzen questioned the woman, as he stood up as well.
"She is a young girl that I have taken under my wing." Kino explained as they all exited the room. "She has some extraordinary power, but I fear that she has lost control of it, if what we are sensing is anything to go by. I also believe that your charge is somewhere near her location."
"Then we should hurry before either of them gets hurt by whatever is giving off this sensation." Sarutobi said seriously.
"Hopefully they will make it before something bad happens to Anna." Ino said with the others agreeing.
A few minutes later the three elders made it to the clearing that Naruto and Anna had been in not too long ago. They became worried when they saw Naruto passed out, with some blood on the back of his head, and fresh blood on the ground. Rushing over to Naruto's side Sarutobi was glad to see that whatever wounds Naruto had suffered had already healed and that his surrogate grandson was merely passed out.
"Whatever was here is gone now and took Anna with it." Kino observed a bit saddened and worried that she did not find her apprentice.
"We must find her then." Yohmei said, "Whatever gave off that aura earlier is too dangerous to be left alone and if it has Anna then who knows what it will do with her." He said a part of him just as concerned for Anna as his wife.
"We should hurry then." Sarutobi said, as he finished checking up on Naruto and removed his Hokage robes to reveal his battle outfit a black shinobi outfit and a helmet on his head. "Yohmei and I will go after whatever took Anna. Kino can you stay here and look after Naruto?" Hiruzen asked the blind itako woman.
"Shows how serious this is for the old man to wear his armor." Jiraiya muttered.
Tsunade frowned. "What will it do anything? We know shinobis can't see spirits, so it's likely he won't be able to help as much."
"Let's see what happens."
"Very well," Kino agreed nodding her head. "Just be sure to bring my student back." She told both men.
"Don't worry Kino we'll bring Anna back safe and sound." Yohmei promised his wife.
"Yohmei, you should climb on my back." Sarutobi said, "I'll be able to get us to Anna faster if you tell me where to go." He explained. The Sandaime wasn't sure what he could do to help since if this situation had anything to do with spirits then he would be all but useless in the fight, not being able to see or harm the ghost they might be confronting.
Tsunade sighed. "I was right."
Jiraiya chuckled. "You think that would stop the old man?"
Yohmei didn't look all that comfortable with the idea of being on another man's back, but eventually agreed.
'Tell me about it.' Kakashi thought with a dreadful shiver, recalling past missions he went on with Maito Gai, and somehow ended up being carried on the man's back.
Not pretty.
Shamans weren't as physically fit as shinobi, especially when they got older, so it only made sense to rely on Sarutobi's greater speed to go after Anna. After a few awkward seconds the two elderly men took off in the direction that the Killing Intent was coming from. It didn't matter what the source was, Killing Intent was the same no matter what.
Not long after Sarutobi and Yohmei left Naruto started to stir. "Ow," He said grabbing the back of his head where his head had impacted with the tree. "What happened?" He asked out loud.
"Something attacked you and Anna and you were rendered unconscious." Kino answered, drawing Naruto's attention to her.
"Kino-baasan," Naruto muttered before Kino hit him with her cane. "OW! What the hell."
Naruto winced, rubbing his head subconsciously. "Oh come on, Baasan!"
Tsunade laughed at him. "See what happens when you're not respectful, brat?" She teased the grumbling blonde.
"I told you, you will show me proper respect." Kino said as if that excused her actions.
"Whatever," The blonde whisker marked child murmured, before a look of realization appeared on his face and he began to look around. "Wait, where's Anna?" He asked.
"Something took her." Kino replied, "Do you have any idea what that something was?" The elderly woman asked him.
Naruto tried to remember what happened before he passed out, which was kind of hard with the way his head was hurting, but slowly he remembered what transpired. "It called itself a Naka-Oni; it ate all these other monsters to get bigger. It called Anna mother and said she could make him stronger, and that it would protect her." Naruto said describing what happened.
"I see," Kino said quietly, troubled by the information.
"I have to go help her." Naruto said as he picked himself up.
"Oh," Kino said feigning interest. "And what exactly do you expect to do?" She questioned him, the question caused Naruto to pause mid-step. "For all the power that Sarutobi might have as a shinobi even he can't do anything in shaman matters, and this is a shaman matter." Kino told him seriously.
"That won't stop me." Naruto said turning to look at the woman. "I'll save her; I'll save Anna from the Naka-Oni." He declared.
The Hokage and the whiskered blonde's teachers smiled softly. Shin chuckled. 'That's just like you, Naruto. Always willing to help those precious to you.'
"Oh," Kino said once more this time genuinely interested and curious. "And why would you risk your life for her? You two just met after all, and knowing my student she wasn't exactly the most welcoming." She pointed out.
"Because," Naruto started, "Because her eyes are like mine." He stated looking down at the ground, "She tries to hide it by acting like she doesn't care, but I can tell that she feels alone like I do. Anna feels like she won't ever have any friends that care about her. I want to show her that, that isn't true." Looking back up at Kino the elderly woman sensed a fire in him that someone his age shouldn't be able to have. "That I will be her friend and be with her always, no matter what." Naruto promised.
Many smiled at A-Naruto's words. That's just the thing about Naruto Uzumaki. When he makes a promise...he always keeps it.
A small smile appeared on Kino's face at the boy's vow before she wiped it off her face and tried to act as serious as possible. "I already told you that a shinobi cannot help Anna only a shaman can. When we told you the truth about shaman I sensed no interest in you about being a shaman, only relief that being able to see spirits wasn't weird or strange." Kino said, pausing a moment to let her words to sink in before continuing. "If you want to save Anna then you must become a shaman."
"Fine, whatever I don't care. As long as I can save and protect her." Naruto said brazenly.
"Even, even if that means giving up your dreams of being a shinobi, of becoming Hokage of your village?" Kino asked him solemnly causing Naruto to stiffen at her question. "If you choose to save Anna and become a shaman then you will never be a shinobi." She told him, refraining from telling him the truth in order to see what he would do.
Everyone went silent, wondering what A-Naruto would say. Naruto narrowed his eyes in determination. 'I already know what he would say. Because he's me.'
For a moment Naruto wasn't sure what to do. As long as he could remember all Naruto ever dreamed about was becoming a shinobi and Hokage to gain the respect of the villagers. In a couple of years he would join the academy prove himself to be a totally badass ninja, go on amazing missions, fight enemy shinobi, and save princesses and countries. But now he was being told he would have to give it all up if he wanted to save Anna. Then the moment passed and Naruto knew what he would do. "Fine I don't care I will save Anna from the Naka-Oni. If I can't become a shinobi then I'll become the best shaman ever so that I can protect Anna and anyone else from whatever ghost wants to hurt them!" He proclaimed.
Everyone smiled, hearing the power and determination behind the 6 year old's words. While shocking to hear him say he would give up his dream of being Hokage – something everyone knew would normally be impossible concerning the constant declaration of his dream ‒ they knew the alternate Naruto would actually go through with it, if it meant helping Anna.
"Is that so?" Kino mused, a bit of amusement in her voice, with her abilities she could tell that Naruto was being honest and his desire to get stronger was entirely focused around protecting those he cared about. There was no hunger for power in the young child that would develop into him seeking out revenge, just the will to protect. "If you are that determined then my husband will train you to become a true shaman. But if you wish to save Anna from the Naka-Oni then you better hurry." Kino stated gesturing in the same direction that her husband and the Sandaime had taken off in a few minutes ago.
"Right," Naruto said a large fox like grin on his face before running.
"That boy, he is a special one." Kino whispered almost fondly, turning to walk back to her home. "With him I am sure that Anna will break free from the pain and loneliness in her heart." She decided confidently. 'But to a girl like Anna words alone mean nothing.'
Tsunade chuckled. 'Trust me, Kino-san. Naruto is a man of action.' His actions in defending her, fighting Kabuto, and winning their bet proved just that.
Sarutobi and Yohmei were quickly closing in on the Naka-Oni; already they could see some obvious signs that the golden skinned demon had been there not too long ago. "Listen Hiruzen," Yohmei started from atop the Sandaime's back. "Once we catch up with whatever has taken Anna I shall take the lead. I am afraid you won't be able to do much against this opponent, so you will be the one responsible of retrieving Anna and ensuring that she is kept safe afterwards." The old shaman instructed.
"Will the small old man be able to do anything?" Kiba asked, raising a brow.
Shin chuckled. "Don't underestimate Yohmei. Just because he's...short, doesn't mean he's not one to be strong. He's an experienced shaman, and if you're lucky, you just might get a glimpse at how an elder shaman does things."
"I understand," Sarutobi replied, knowing that what Yohmei said was true, not even being able to see their opponent once they reach them, and that it was best that he just protected the girl and let Yohmei handle what they will be fighting. Not long later the two finally caught up to the Naka-Oni, though all that Sarutobi could see was a young blonde girl, covered in a bit of blood, being held in midair struggling to escape from something's hold as she was carried through the forest. "There she is." The Sandaime stated.
Yohmei took a moment to take in the Naka-Oni's appearance before he sent a few of his shikigami kooni to stop it, "Release Anna at once Oni!" Yohmei commanded getting off of Sarutobi's back.
Turning to face the two the Naka-Oni had a large fanged grin on its face. "What's this, a couple of old fossils trying to stop me? I'm no mere Oni you know, I am a Naka-Oni can you beat me?" The Naka-Oni questioned amusedly. "What do you think you can do to stop me? Can that one even see me?" It asked pointing at Sarutobi with one of its clawed hands and when he didn't visibly react' the Naka-Oni was almost laughing madly, holding its head with its free hand. "Oh I will enjoy ripping you both apart and consuming your flesh."
"That won't happen' monster." Yohmei stated, summoning a few more of his shikigami kooni to his side.
"Do you think those rotting tree leaves spirits will be able to stop me?" The Naka-Oni asked. "I'll rip every single last one of them to pieces. Then I'll proceed to consume even more Oni to increase my power and wipe every last of you filthy humans off the face of the earth!" It declared loudly.
"We'll see about that." Yohmei replied, "Hiruzen," He continued speaking softly to his friend. "I'll do my best to give you an opening to retrieve Anna wait for my signal." The Asakura clan head said, getting a nod from the Sandaime. Focusing his attention back on the Naka-Oni Yohmei sent the shikigami kooni that he summoned at it.
Keeping a firm hold on Anna the Naka-Oni lashed out at the incoming shikigami slicing through them easily with the claws of its free hand. Yohmei wasn't the least bit discouraged as he summoned more shikigami and sent them at the Naka-Oni, having some of them circle around the needle nosed Oni and attack it from behind. The Naka-Oni jumped into the air, avoiding the shikigami before slamming back into them from above crushing most of them. Those that weren't crushed were immediately torn apart either by its claws or fangs. After dealing with the last of the nature spirits the Naka-Oni dashed towards Yohmei and Sarutobi.
"His attacks aren't doing a thing!" Kiba stated in alarm.
Shino pushed his shades up. "The point of such tactics is not to be offensive, Kiba-san. But to provide the necessary distraction for Sandaime-sama to make the right move to retrieve Anna-san." He explained to his teammate.
Kiba sweatdropped, having forgotten that. "Oh, right."
"Go jiji!" Konohamaru cheered.
Yohmei didn't have to say anything before Sarutobi grabbed him and moved out of the way of the charging Oni, the Sandaime seeing how Anna's floating form was suddenly moving towards them guessed correctly that the Naka-Oni was trying to attack them, shortly after a dust cloud covered the area where the two older men had been standing seconds ago. When the dust had started to settle it revealed the Naka-Oni with its fist embedded into the ground, the earth cratered underneath it, Anna still held in his hand though it seemed to have lost some of its gentleness and care when it came to holding her as she winced in pain from the pressure it was exerting on her.
Seeing that they were running out of time Yohmei sent as many shikigami kooni as he could without endangering Anna. The little leaf spirits slammed into the Naka-Oni irritating it and making it slash at them with its massive arm trying get rid of all the shikigami. After a shikigami barely escaped its clawed hands the Naka-Oni summoned up its furyoku and unleashed it in a terrifying roar, the energy that it released destroying the nearby shikigami so that only a few remained.
Even Sarutobi could feel the Naka-Oni's release of energy and from the grave look that Yohmei had on his face whatever the creature did was not good for them.
"Is that the best that you can do old man?" The Naka-Oni asked. "Can't you see that all your efforts just make me stronger? With all the hatred and darkness you humans emit mother makes me stronger by creating more Oni for me to devour." It held its head with its free hand before continuing, "It doesn't matter how hard you try to hide it or suppress it; mother will still be able sense it deep within you. Soon enough new Oni will be created from our battle and then I'll become even stronger. What will you do then when you can barely even hurt me now?!" It shouted at them lashing its arm out. "In the end all this is pointless. I am simply following my mother's will she wants to be rid of all you disgusting humans. You claim to want to save her, yet this is exactly what she wants. I was born from her hatred, insecurities, and jealousy it is her will that drives me, and will see me kill you all. Isn't that right mother?" The Naka-Oni asked by looking at down at Anna that it still held in its arm.
"That's a terrifying thing. The more darkness there is, the more oni Anna subconsciously creates, and with more oni, the stronger that thing gets by eating them." Jiraiya stated, his eyes narrowed at the serious situation going on.
"There has to be some way for them to beat that Naka-Oni." Kakashi questioned.
"I…I," Anna struggled to say something.
"Go ahead mother tell them the truth." The Naka-Oni urged with a large fanged grin.
"Shut up!" A voice none of them were expecting suddenly shouted. Looking toward the source they were all surprised to see Naruto emerge from the foliage. Naruto had some scratches, and dirt marks on his clothes, and he was panting slightly with a bit of sweat trailing down his face from running all the way there.
"And the hero arrives!" Kiba said with a grin as the group cheered at the young Naruto's appearance.
"Naruto!" Sarutobi gasped shocked to see his young charge there.
"Foolish child, what are you doing here run away now!" Yohmei ordered.
"Heh, if it isn't the little brat." The Naka-Oni said. "Did you come here so I can kill you? Well if that is what you want then I'm more than happy to oblige you. Though I just may end up eating you for all that delicious furyoku and darkness you possess." It said as it licked lips hungrily.
"I said SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted, surprising everyone a bit by the force behind his voice. "I'm here for Anna, so let her go!" The blonde ordered.
The Naka-Oni just stared at the boy for a moment before it burst out laughing. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! Well look who' grew a pair." It said before sneering down at Naruto, "I'll be sure to stomp them into dust when I get my hands on you." The Naka-Oni muttered darkly before pointing one of its clawed hands at Naruto. "How exactly do you think you're going to save mother when you were so scared before?"
"I'm still scared." Naruto admitted, his clenched fist shaking a bit. But when he looked at the Naka-Oni straight in the eye there wasn't even a hint of the fear he said he felt only determination. "But I've already decided that I'm going to save Anna. Even if it means that I'll never become Hokage I'll become the strongest shaman ever and protect her."
"It seems that Kino has had some words with the boy." Yohmei mused, looking at the whisker marked boy. "It is the only way that he would know that it is normally impossible for a person to be both a shaman and a shinobi." He continued, "Clearly she didn't tell him about his unique situation for some reason." The shaman finished.
"I must get him out of here before he hurts himself." Sarutobi decided moving to get Naruto to safety.
"Wait Hiruzen," Yohmei said stopping his friend. "While you may not like it the brat being here might give us the opportunity to retrieve Anna." The Sandaime glared at the shorter man for the suggestion, but Yohmei pressed on. "It is not a suggestion I'm exactly proud of, but we must take advantage of the brat's sudden appearance." He reasoned, turning back to look at the events unfold.
Anna looked at Naruto in equal parts shock and surprise before glaring at him. "W-what are you saying you idiot!" She shouted at him. "Don't you get it? The Naka-Oni was created because of me! People who get to close to me always end up dying, that's why I said you should leave!" Anna finished, a few tears appearing in her eyes that she refused to let spill over.
"I don't care I won't let you be alone anymore Anna!" Naruto shouted back at her.
"That's right! I won't back down, no matter what!" Naruto shouted, agreeing with, literally, himself.
"Don't talk like you know me!" Anna screamed her tears on the verge of over flowing. "What do you know of my suffering?" She questioned him angrily, "The pain of being abandoned, the pain of my hatred, and of being hated!"
"I understand!" Naruto shot back. "I know what it is like to be hated by everyone and how easy it is to hate everyone back for it." The cerulean eyed boy continued much more softly, as he looked down. In his mind Naruto could see every hateful glare and every spiteful world directed at him by the villagers, and with her reishi power Anna could see it all as well. "But hating them won't make you feel better, it won't make the loneliness go away."
"That's right." Naruto muttered, images of Gaara flashing through his head, and how he allowed himself to believe that he could and should love only himself. "I know it's hard, but you can't let yourself get drowned in the darkness, Anna. You have to keep fighting!"
"Shut up already!" Anna shouted shaking her head. "What the hell are you talking about?! Is that supposed to mean something to me?! I told you not to talk like you know me! Stop blathering and run away!"
"I won't!" Naruto replied.
"Then die already!" The Naka-Oni roared, charging at Naruto and swiping at him with its claws.
"No!" Yohmei shouted, sending a few shikigami kooni to try and intercept the attack.
"Look out!"
Naruto dove out of the way of the Naka-Oni's slash, Yohmei's shikigami pushing the demon spirit's arm a bit further away, but one of the Naka-Oni's claws managed cut into Naruto's left arm.
Gasps rang out and many called out in concern, even though they knew it was futile.
"Naruto!"
"Naruto!" Sarutobi gasped, not being able to see what was happening he only knew that suddenly his surrogate grandson was hurt as blood trailed down his arm from a slash that appeared out of nowhere in his perspective. The Sandaime was about to make his way to Naruto's side when Yohmei stopped him by holding up his arm.
"Stop Hiruzen," Yohmei said seriously. "I understand that you may be worried about Naruto and want to treat his wound, but you are unable to see the Naka-Oni. It is far stronger and faster than I thought it would be, if you leave my side there is the very real chance that even someone of your skill and abilities will end up gravely injured. We must stay focused on defeating the Naka-Oni and retrieving Anna." The old man said solemnly.
"Is he crazy! That thing will kill Naruto!" Tsunade shouted in great worry for the chibi blonde being put in danger.
Jiraiya placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. "I know hime. But sensei won't let it come to that. And neither will Yohmei-san. We need to trust them."
Reluctantly, Tsunade nodded.
"Come one kid! Get up!" Anko shouted.
Although he wanted to disagree Sarutobi knew that Yohmei had a point, so he reluctantly stood back and waited keeping a close eye on Naruto. If the blonde child was furthered harm Hiruzen didn't care if it put his own life in danger he would protect Naruto. He owed it to both Minato and Kushina to make sure no harm came to their child if he could help it.
Standing back up Naruto clutched his wounded arm, ignoring the blood that was running down it. A fierce look in his eyes that burned brightly "I won't, I won't run away. I told you that I already decided to become the strongest shaman ever, so that I can protect Anna from things like you, Naka-Oni, or anything else!" At this point Naruto focused his gaze solely on Anna. "Neither of us will ever have to feel alone again. Even if the rest of the world hates us I promise that I'll stay by your side forever. That's my promise of a lifetime!" Naruto declared gallantly.
Everyone's eyes soften at the small child with the large determination in his eyes.
"Aww~!" The young girls couldn't help but gush at the romantic image they were seeing. A young man, doing everything he could to keep a girl safe, and declaring he'll stay by her said forever?! It was so sweet!
Shin shook his head with a smile. Kid sure knows how to change hearts with his words.
The tears that Anna had been holding back started to spill over. 'He really is an idiot,' Anna thought.
'Yeah, but a great idiot.' Tsunade thought with a smile.
'What is he going on about? Giving up on his dream to become Hokage? That's all he ever cared about, and for what? To "protect me," to "stay by my side," the idiot is hurt and he's saying stuff like that.' "Am I supposed to thank you?!" Anna continued out loud, "Because I won't. I won't say thank you." She told him.
"Then don't, because it won't change anything." Naruto replied as he started to grin. "So listen up my name is Naruto Uzumaki future strongest shaman ever, believe it!"
"Shut up already you annoying BRAT!" The Naka-Oni rushing at the boy with the intention of his clawed fist through his body, it could feel Anna reacting to Naruto, opening her heart to him and actually believing that her loneliness had come to an end. It had to end the brat's life before that happened, and once he did the despair that Anna would feel would create so many Oni that his power would skyrocket once he ate them all.
"Naruto!"
"Move!"
"Look out!"
"No!" Anna shouted in some actual concern, as the Oni rushed at Naruto and dragged her along with it.
For the second time that day the Naka-Oni's fist slammed into Naruto, the blonde haired boy raising his arms up in a feeble attempt to defend himself as he was thrown back by the force of the attack, but unlike last time this time he wasn't rendered unconscious. With the Naka-Oni targeting Naruto, Yohmei summoned a bunch of shikigami and sent them all at the Naka-Oni's unprotected back, causing the Naka-Oni roared in pain at the shikigami kooni slamming into its back.
"I-is t-that all you got." Naruto managed to say challengingly as he stood up from the ground, gaining everyone's attention.
Seeing the young blonde still standing, the genin cheered ‒ except for Sasuke and Neji, who just smirked. "Alright tiny Naruto!" Ino cheered.
Naruto's eye twitched at the name for his other self. 'I'm not short!'
"You really have some death wish, don't you brat?" The Naka-Oni asked, "Going on about protecting mother and becoming the strongest shaman ever. But the truth is that right now you don't even have the smallest bit of training as a shaman, so what can you possibly do?" It dared.
"T-that doesn't matter. I will stop you!" Naruto replied, getting to charge the Naka-Oni. Subconsciously Naruto started to call forth his chakra and furyoku at once channeling through his body, translucent blue and fiery blue flowing off his body occasionally. In a burst of unexpected speed Naruto shot off towards the Naka-Oni. Though momentarily caught by surprise Naruto wasn't nearly fast enough to reach the Naka-Oni before it recovered from its shock and lashed out at the speeding blonde. The Naka-Oni's fist slammed into Naruto from above, a few more cuts appearing on the blonde, before actually bounced off the ground which the gold skinned Oni took advantage of by delivering a swift to the boy's midsection sending him skidding across the ground.
Many winched at the strike. That had to hurt.
Despite the injuries he was suffering, a broken bone or two and a broken rib, through sheer force of will Naruto once more stood up. Though it was obvious that it took a considerable amount of effort from the boy and he seemed to favoring one side as put as he seemed to grimace in pain when he put some weight on his left leg. Chakra and furyoku once more started to appear around the cerulean eyed boy as summoned a bit more of both energies to the surface compared to last time.
Seeing the Naka-Oni focused completely on attacking the blonde Yohmei summoned a small legion of shikigami kooni to his side before sending every single last one of them at the Naka-Oni, concentrating greatly on the arm that held Anna. Not suspecting the attack, the Naka-Oni let out a roar of pain as the small army of the nature spirits slammed into it, a majority of the shikigami attacking its arm and causing it to forcibly release Anna, "Hiruzen now!" Yohmei shouted as the shaman summoned even more shikigami to keep the Naka-Oni distracted.
Sarutobi didn't need to be told twice, as he took off in astounding dash toward the falling girl, grabbing her out of midair, before appearing beside Naruto. Setting Anna down beside Naruto, Sarutobi carefully looked over his surrogate grandson's wounds. It was clear to the seasoned shinobi that the boy couldn't take much more abuse from the Naka-Oni; any normal child would probably be far worse off. Luckily Naruto was both an Uzumaki and a Jinchuuriki giving him a stronger body' than most, which also with stand greater injury.
The sannin as well as everyone else sighed in relief at that. 'Thank Kami.'
Anna was carefully looking Naruto over as well, taking note of every injury and how the blonde male seemed to have a bit of trouble breathing. "You idiot," Anna said, though it lacked any real bite to make it sound insulting. "Why did you put yourself through that? Look at yourself you can barely stand." She said doing her best to hide the fact that she was actually very worried about him.
"What are you talking about? For the future strongest shaman in the world this is nothing." Naruto assured her weakly.
"Idiot," She muttered quietly the smallest of smiles appearing on her face.
"Heh!" Jiraiya chuckled. "Yes. Yes he is."
"Hey!" Naruto glared at his white haired sensei. Though he was glad Anna was safe, as well as his counterpart.
"Why?" The Naka-Oni spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to it. "Why are you acting that way mother, why are you showing so much concern for that annoying brat?!" It demanded. "Where is your desire to kill every last human? Is your resolve really that weak?" When Anna didn't offer the Naka-Oni any answers and simply looked at it impassively it became enraged. "I'll kill you then! If you're so easily swayed, then you don't deserve to live!" The Naka-Oni roared, raising both its clawed hands in order to strike Anna down.
"Oh crap!" Kiba shouted. "Look out!"
"The unyouthful spirit is upon you!" Lee shouted.
"I won't let you touch her!" Naruto shouted back angrily, as red chakra started swirl around him. Naruto was on his last leg, despite what he said in the contrary, the injuries he received from the Naka-Oni barely leaving him conscious and his sudden spike in rage at having the Naka-Oni threaten Anna's life had the physically tired boy giving into his rage.
'This chakra it's the Kyuubi's,' Sarutobi thought looking at his surrogate grandson in anxiously. 'Has the seal broken?' He wondered in fear for all their safety before he thought it over more carefully. 'No, Naruto's calling it to the surface in his anger.' The Sandaime realized.
Shin rolled his eyes. 'Why is it that every time Naruto use Kurama's chakra, they instantly think the seal's broken? Of course a jinchuuriki uses the tailed beast's chakra. They are so paranoid.'
'What is this?' Anna thought with wide eyes, her reishi power spiraling out of her control at what she was currently feeling from Naruto, her arms lifted defensively in front of her. 'Where is all this hatred coming from? There is so much of it!' The blonde girl thought on the verge of being overwhelmed by it. But despite it all at the very center of the endless sea of hatred she could sense one other thing that she focused on, Naruto's wish to protect her above everything else, 'Naruto…'
The red chakra spiraled around Naruto's body converging into an ethereal image of a fox, as his body went through some minor changes. The most notable changes were his eyes changing from sapphire blue to a crimson red with slit pupils, his whisker marks became more pronounced, and his teeth elongated into fangs. The fox above Naruto let out a roar before it surged at the Naka-Oni.
The genin shivered. No matter how many times they see Naruto's Initial Jinchuuriki state, it always scared them a bit with the deadly and even demonic look.
The evil spirit tried to move out of the way of the red chakra construct but it proved too fast for the Oni and easily caught up with it, the Naka-Oni let out a wail of pain as the fox's chakra slammed into it. When the Bijuu's chakra dissipated it revealed the Naka-Oni to still be standing, but several severe burn marks manifested where the chakra had hit it. After the Kyuubi's chakra disappeared Naruto passed out the strain of using the fox's chakra.
"Mother," The Naka-Oni called weakly, struggling to raise its hand towards Anna. "Help me. We can still make them all pay for all the pain they've caused you." It pleaded with the blonde girl. Anna refused to even acknowledge the Naka-Oni's words, as she knelt down beside Naruto half out of concern for him and the other half because she was still overwhelmed by the sea of hatred that the blonde boy had unleased not too long ago. "So you've made your choice?" The Naka-Oni growled out, dropping its hand. "Do you expect me to just disappear?! I refuse, I won't die!" It shouted as it started to sink into the ground. "I'll gain unimaginable power without you mother! Once I do I shall return and show you the errors of your mistake." The Naka-Oni declared.
Yohmei tried to stop the creature by sending shikigami at it, but the Naka-Oni still had enough power to dispose of the nature spirits.
"Until we meet again, mother," The Naka-Oni said ominously before disappearing into the ground completely. Once the Naka-Oni was gone Anna passed out from the strain that her reishi abilities put on her, along with the emotional and physical drain of all she went through that night.
The genin shivered. "Why do I get the feeling this won't be the last time they see that thing."
Shikamaru sighed. "As troublesome as it is, it is likely they will sometime in the future."
Ino pursed her lips. "Still, I wonder how Naruto and Anna got engaged in the first place."
Shin chuckled, getting everyone's attention. "Oh, you'll see soon enough."
When Naruto woke up he noticed a few things straight away. One was the sound of a sliding door closing, two was that he was in a futon, and three was that it was morning if the light streaming in through a nearby window and the birds chirping outside was any indication. Looking around didn't reveal much as the room was hardly furnished with the exception of a dresser, a desk, a low table and a few cushions besides that the room was bare of anything worth noting. Hearing the door to the room open again caused Naruto to turn his head toward the direction of the noise to see Sarutobi walking into the room with Yohmei and Kino walking in behind him.
"Old man what happened, where are we?" Naruto asked as he struggled to remember anything that happened after the Sandaime retrieved Anna from the Naka-Oni. "Where is Anna, is she okay?!" He continued alarmed sitting up when he didn't see the blonde girl with them.
"Easy there Naruto." Kino said calmly, placing a hand on the blonde child's shoulder and making him lie back down. "Anna is perfectly safe." She assured the boy, as she and the others took seat beside the futon.
Everyone sighed in relief at that, glad the two younger kids weren't seriously injured.
"We are currently in the Asakura compound; you've been out for three days Naruto." Sarutobi continued as he began to explain. "Once we freed Anna from the Naka-Oni's hold you passed out soon after from the wounds that you sustained. Not long after the Naka-Oni retreated and we brought you back here to recuperate." Hiruzen told him before a grin appeared on the old man's face. "Since that night Miss Anna has refused to leave your side unless absolutely necessary." He said with a teasing quality in his voice, enjoying the look of embarrassment that appeared on the blonde boy's face.
Naruto's brow twitched. 'That's revenge for all the pranks, isn't it old man?' He crossed his arms with a huff, before smirking. 'Touché.'
"It was only this morning that, not too long ago actually, that she finally exited and returned to her own room, informing us of you regaining consciousness just now." The Sandaime finished.
"Eh, really?" Naruto asked rubbing the back of his head.
"Yup, seems you left quite the impression on the young girl." Hiruzen continued to tease him.
Ino and Sakura snickered at the teasing, much to Naruto's annoyance as he rolled his eyes. 'Not cool old man.'
"That's enough Hiruzen," Kino cut in. "You can embarrass the boy later. We have important matters to discuss with him." She said with Sarutobi nodding his head compliantly. Kino turned her focus to Naruto before continuing, "Alright Naruto do you remember what I said about becoming a shaman?" The old itako asked him.
Everyone payed attention to this.
"Yeah," Naruto replied nodding his head a bit of sadness entering his voice. "You told me that only a shaman would be able to save Anna and if I wanted to save her I would have to give up on being a shinobi to be a shaman." He said looking down for a moment before looking back up, all traces of sadness disappearing. "And I'm fine with that, I don't care if I never get to be Hokage because I was able to help rescue Anna from the Naka-Oni and keep her safe." The blonde boy said definitely.
"My wife was right you really are special." Yohmei stated, staring at Naruto intently. "You've been told that your longtime dream of becoming the Hokage of your village is gone, and yet you don't seem all that bothered by it. Why?" The old shaman questioned the boy.
Naruto thought the question over for a second before answering. "Because saving Anna was more important than me wanting to be Hokage, she knew the pain of loneliness and having everyone' hate you. She knows how I feel. Anna didn't deserve to be used by the Naka-Oni like it wanted, so I chose to be a shaman, the strongest shaman ever, so that Anna doesn't ever have to worry about any other Oni trying to use her or hurt other people." Naruto stated, the three elders smiling at his declaration.
Naruto nodded in agreement with his counterpart. 'Haku. Gaara. No one deserves to be alone all their life. To be treated like an outcast, or a monster.'
"Hm, is that so?" Yohmei mused.
"Naruto," Kino started. "While it is true that a person cannot be both a shaman and a shinobi, you are the sole exception." She told him.
"What?" Naruto asked confused. "Then why did you tell me that I would have to give up on your dream of being Hokage!" He demanded raising the voice a bit, but when he saw Kino raise her cane threateningly he immediately apologized quietly.
Jiraiya sweatdropped, chuckling nervously. "One should always fear the cane." He muttered lowly, recalling the times he got hit over the head by Fukasaku during his sage training. 'So. Many. Hits...' Yeah...not fun times.
"I did it to see what kind of person you were." Kino answered him, lowering her cane. "I wanted to see to what ends you would go for the sake of a girl you just met, to see if you were willing to give up your dream, and to test the strength of your resolve." She told him seriously. "I was amazed to find a child had a will such as yours, one that didn't even second think his decision. That is why we have decided to train you to become a shaman."
'Yeah "we,"' Yohmei thought sarcastically to himself, knowing that he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. "But that isn't the only decision we have come to." The old man continued out loud. "We wish to adopt you into our clan." Yohmei said, looking Naruto squarely in the eye.
Naruto smiled at that, along with everyone else. They were happy the alternate Naruto was able to finally find people willing to take him in.
Naruto's eyes widened at the information disbelief clearly evident in them, "Really?" He asked hesitantly. As an orphan Naruto had always longed for a family of his own. But his experience in the orphanage, seeing every child but him be adopted and to only be looked at with hatred by the couples that came in and have to listen to their cruel words, had all but robbed him of the idea he would one day be adopted into a family. "Why?"
A spark of anger appeared in Tsunade's eyes. 'I'm going to have a talk with the orphanage manager.'
The list just keeps on growing...
"Hiruzen has told us of the terrible life that you've lead so far." Kino began in a soothing voice. "No child should have to suffer through such a life on their own. To grow up in such conditions and still be so good hearted is nothing short of remarkable. You've spoken of how Anna' should not be have to be alone, well we agree that neither should you." The Asakura matriarch explained.
"That isn't the only reason that we are making you this offer." Yohmei spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "In a few years' time a tournament will be held that will decide who is most deserving of the title of Shaman King, the strongest shaman in the world, and the power and responsibility that goes with it. Because of terrible circumstances our grandson and heir to the clan died during birth, leaving us without anyone to represent the Asakura clan within the tournament. But by adopting you into the clan, not only will we have an heir and a representative in the tournament, but you will also have an advantage against all other contestants by being a shaman and a shinobi." The man stated.
"So," Naruto murmured quietly his fists clenched tightly in his lap. "The only reason that you want to adopt me is because you want me to win some tournament for you?" The blonde shaman asked indignantly.
Naruto also frowned, but a firm hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Jiraiya behind him. "No Naruto. I can tell these two are not like that. They would not take your counterpart in for such selfish reasons. Trust them." Naruto looked at him for a while, before nodding, turning back to the scene.
Thwack, Thwack
"Ow!" "Ow!"
Two simultaneous cries were heard from Yohmei and Naruto, as they held their faces where they were hit by Kino.
Cue group sweatdrop.
"What was that for?!" They both demanded of the blind itako.
"That," Kino said thrusting her cane so close to Yohmei that it almost hit his face again, "Was for your lack of tact." She told her husband before looking at Naruto, pointing her cane just as close at him. "And that is for ignoring everything I just said. While it is true that we need an heir and would like you to represent the Asakura clan in the Shaman tournament that does not change the fact that we wish to end your loneliness by giving you a family to rely on." Kino said gently. "In the end it is your choice, we will not force you to become a part of our family or to be a shaman if that is not what you want."
Naruto looked at two Asakura's in astonishment because of the honesty in Kino's voice, Yohmei looking a little apologetic at the misunderstanding he had unintentionally caused, as a large fox like grin appeared on his face. "You're serious?" Naruto asked just to be sure, Kino and Yohmei nodding their head in confirmation, "Alright I'll become a member of the Asakura clan besides I already promised Anna that I was going to be the strongest shaman ever, if I have to prove it by becoming Shaman King then that's fine with me." The boy said confidently.
"Yeah!" Naruto gave a loud cheer, along with Kono and his friends, Kiba, Lee, and Choji. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten giggled at their antics, while Shikamaru and Neji sighed. Hinata smiled, happy for the A-Naruto.
The adults smiled, as well as wondered how this new Shinobi-Shaman Naruto would be like in battle. Having the skills of a shinobi, along with abilities of a shaman? Should prove interesting. They were also curious on what a Shaman Battle was like.
"Very well," Kino said as she stood up, "Your training will be spread out over the years and will be looked over Yohmei. Since you'll be entering the Ninja Academy soon you will come to us for training during your breaks from the academy, with occasionally having you miss a few weeks at least during the school year." The itako explained to. "Sarutobi will give us a few scrolls to help you with your ninja training on those occasions to ensure you don't fall behind your fellow classmates. Now you should rest, we'll talk more about your training later." Kino instructed before she, Yohmei, and Sarutobi exited the room, leaving Naruto alone to get some peaceful rest.
Flashback End
"For the next four days Naruto recuperated at Asakura family home before we returned to the village. Neither he or Anna' seem to recall Naruto calling on the Kyuubi's chakra and there haven't been any incidents with it since then." The Sandaime explained, coming out of his memory and focusing back on Kakashi. "In the time that we were there Miss Anna didn't once leave her room, though Kino said that it wasn't uncommon for Anna to stay in her room like that."
"What of the Naka-Oni?" Kakashi asked.
"It has disappeared; there have been no sightings of it since that day." Sarutobi answered, "I asked Yohmei once why the Naka-Oni would take so long to recover after that night." He continued, "Did you know Kakashi that the Bijuu are a contradiction of sorts?" Hiruzen asked, seemingly changing topics completely. "People consider them demons, but they are giant constructs of chakra that have gained sentience, yet their chakra is poisonous to humans like the yoki of demons. Yohmei informed me later that this attribute is why the Naka-Oni was so injured by the Kyuubi's chakra. Without using any of his more powerful techniques, which would have endangered Anna's life, it would have taken much longer to rescue Anna before Yohmei could seriously attack the Naka-Oni with his shikigami." Sarutobi finished.
"How fortunate," The Jounin commented. "I remember the village being strangely peaceful when the academy was out on break, I didn't realize it was because Naruto was out of the village." Kakashi said as he thought back to those days, of course with him having to go on missions for the village he was never around long enough to realize why that was.
Naruto huffed. "They would have missed my pranks. I know it."
Iruka sweatdropped. 'Says you.'
"What about his engagement to Anna?" The grey haired Jounin asked, "And this Amidamaru?"
Now this Naruto payed extra attention to. After seeing Amidamaru, he thought he was the coolest spirit ever! So he wanted to know how his counterpart met him.
"Amidamaru is Naruto's Guardian Ghost; they met while Naruto was with Yohmei with training and somehow convinced the spirit to become his partner." Sarutobi replied, "As to his engagement to Anna it was something that Kino and Yohmei decided afterwards, an old tradition of the Asakura clan where the wife of the next clan head is chosen among potential candidates, though when I informed Naruto of his engagement he didn't seem all that surprised." Hiruzen commented casually, remembering the blonde's lack of surprise or shock.
What Sarutobi didn't know was that Naruto did see Anna one last time before they left.
Naruto walked through the village with Anna and Haku on either side as they made their way to Naruto's apartment. Glancing to his right at his fiancée Naruto thought back to the night before Sarutobi and he returned to Konoha when he first met Yohmei, Kino, and Anna.
Flashback
It was late into the night when Naruto felt something poking into his side demanding he wake up from his slumber. With a bit of unintelligible grumbling Naruto wearily opened his eyes only for them to widen almost comically when he noticed that the person responsible for waking him was Anna, who was sitting down next to his futon. "AN-!"
SMACK
"Be quiet," Anna said chastising, lowering her hand after smacking her fellow blonde. "Everyone else is asleep; it would be rude to wake them at this time of night."
Naruto winced at the slap. Ouch! "Then why did you wake me up?" He grumbled, feeling sorry for his counterpart. While Anna was not as...hard as Sakura, she was just as, or even more, scarier. Especially when she doesn't show any expression of anger.
'Then why did you wake me up?' Naruto complained questioningly in his head, as he absently noted the fact that she was wearing dark blue PJ's.
The blonde rubbed the back of his head while Kiba laughed, slapping him on the back.
Anna gave the boy a light glare that made Naruto shiver fearfully at the sight of it. "You know I can read your mind." She told him plainly.
All the males shivered at that. Each having their own thoughts.
'That is SO troublesome. I hope mom doesn't get that.' Shikamaru thought, shivering in fear at the thought of his troublesome mother being able to read his mind.
'That ability's scarier that the female's perspective mind!' Kakashi, Iruka, and Asuma thought.
'SUCH YOUTHFUL POWER, ANNA-SAN!' No need for naming on who thought that.
'Damn! She might be as scary as mom! Naruto, I am so not jealous of you for being engaged to her.' Kiba thought.
'Anna-san is quite the interesting character.' Shino.
'Damn that girl's scary! Kushina would love her!' Jiraiya thought with a shiver.
'Dobe, I actually pity you.' Sasuke.
'*Munch!* *Munch!* Scary. *Munch!* *Munch!*' Choji.
'Anna-san would actually impress Hiashi-sama with her cold expression.' Neji.
'What is it with my counterparts and scary blonde's?! First Hilda, and now Anna. Why does the universe hate Naruto?!' Lastly, the whiskered main character.
"Eh, really?!" Naruto asked surprised. After calming down a bit, and rubbing the cheek that Anna slapped soothingly, "What are you doing here at this time of night?" Naruto asked her.
"There are a few things I want to say to you before you leave." Anna replied, "First off I've decided to become stronger. You were willing to fight the Naka-Oni for my sake, but the Naka-Oni is my responsibility. I want to be strong enough to deal with it when that time comes." She said firmly before a light blush appeared on her cheeks. "I also wanted to say… Thank you for everything." The girl mumbled quietly, but still loud enough for Naruto to hear. "Even though I told you to leave and you got hurt you refused to abandon me and even made me that promise of a lifetime. So I accept your proposal."
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
"...Eh?" Naruto questioned, a lost look on his face. "My what?"
"My what?" Naruto asked.
"You promised to become the strongest shaman ever to stay by my side forever." Anna said standing up and starting her way towards the door. "So when you win the Shaman Tournament and become Shaman King I'll become your wife, and Shaman Queen." She stated absolutely her back to him, as she reached the door.
"What?! I-He didn't say it like that!" Naruto stated.
Shino looked at him. "On the contrary, you have, Naruto-san."
Neji nodded. "Yes. You promised to grow stronger and to 'stay by her side forever.'"
Naruto looked at them in betrayal. "I didn't mean it like married or anything!" However, his words were lost. Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino gushed, seeing the 'proposal' as being romantic.
"Wait just like that? Don't I get a say in this?" Naruto questioned nervously.
"Are you going back on your promise?" Anna asked, looking at him from over her shoulder.
"Of course not," Naruto replied instantly. "Naruto Uzumaki never goes back on his word." The Uzumaki proclaimed boldly.
'Curse my promises!' Naruto couldn't help but think. He should really be careful when making promises...
"Good to know," Anna said, turning her head back to the door and opening it. "Then I'll be waiting patiently for you to fulfill your promise. Just so you know if you betray me, I will probably never forgive you." She finished calmly, yet with a threatening tone to it that promised retribution, before she exited the room and closed the door behind her. "Goodbye my future Shaman King."
Flashback End
'Anna really hasn't changed in all this time.' Naruto thought, thinking back to when they arrived back in Konoha. The blonde shinobi had noticed the blush on Anna's face and the small smile she wore while they were traveling that spoke of how much she enjoyed being carried by her fiancé, before she slapped him when they reached the village gates. 'She still can't be honest with her feelings, especially when it embarrasses her. But that's what makes Anna so cute.' The blonde shinobi shaman decided, and then he noticed the look that Anna was giving him before realization hit him. 'Crap,' He thought as Anna raised her left hand.
She had been reading his thoughts.
"Once more, welcome to marriage-hood, Naruto." Asuma teased.
Naruto sighed, feeling he should get used to seeing such thing. However, he still had one last thing to say.
"Troublesome."
Shikamaru smirked.
End of Chapter 26, or whatever.
Before you start...Yes. Yes. YES! I know I took forever! Excuse me for focusing on class! It's not easy you manage between class and fanfic you know.
And if any of you mentions Time Management...I WILL shoot you! I already get enough of that from my therapist!
But whatever, I updated, and that's that.
P.S. If you are not happy with the stories I display in this fic, take note of one simple rule: "My fic, my rule!" So bleh! XP
People asked about giving an update schedule...Thing is, I TRIED that, but it became impossible to manage after sudden events and meetings popped up. Trust me, I wish I could update one a specific date and all, but I'm just not able to. So its "Update when possible".
I CAN give you a glimpse of what's to come, what to look forward to:
1. Finishing "Beginning Arc" of Superior Spider
2. Work on Into the Edge (we're only on the third official story, and still have HUNDREDS to go through. It'll be a miracle if I even get through half...)
3. Do a Naruto Halloween Special
4. Do a Naruto Christmas Special
5. Work on *** (keep voting on poll in profile on which story to work on! Ashurado no Kami or A pirate's life for me I want to see those numbers rise!)
6. Two new potential stories: The Devi's Dragon & God's Weapon (check profile Future Stories for more information)
7. Superhero Project
And not in that specific order, alright. Just planning a bit. Once I am satisfied with how things are, I will go back and work on my old fics.
So I hope you've all enjoyed the chapter. Expect the next one...whenever. Watch out for the government and them trying to take down the site (for more information, ask around), watch plenty of anime and rot your brains, and DON'T watch videos of cats, it's a trick!
Ja ne!