A Different Path to Destiny Chapter 38: On the Road Again, A New Adventure, a naruto fanfic

Sunlight poured through dozens of stained glass windows lining the walls of a massive room made from marble that swirled white and pink. Large pillars rose out of the floor to help support a domed roof, which served as the canvas for a painting of armored and robed men battling demonic beasts emerging from a dark vortex. A pathway went between rows of benches carved from the polished marble that led to a raised alcove where there was a large table, covered by a cloth made of purple velvet depicting a bright yellow sun shining through thick white clouds.

On the wall behind the altar was an inlaid fire made from gold that stretched to the ceiling while groups of rubies embedded throughout reflected sunlight and gave the illusion of motion. On the other walls were two massive statues of knights holding their swords up proudly so the tips fell just short of the ceiling. Both were made entirely of silver and had precious gems lining the armor's seams.

A tall, burly man wearing a blue hat shaped like a fish head over his brown hair nervously paced around the altar. A long lavender cloak with black trimming around the edges swished as he walked while anxiously toying with the collar that covered his neck, where a diamond brooch the size of an eye fastened the cloak. Long brown sideburns framed his craggy face, and his eyes had a light blue ring on the outside of the iris while a teal one wrapped around the pupil and kept glancing nervously above the altar.

The man eventually stopped pacing momentarily to pull out a monocle and wipe the glass before placing it over his left eye, then he started once more, not stopping until the altar glowed and the air above it began shimmering. He got down on both knees while bowing his head, revealing the tan robe he wore underneath, and held the pose for several moments until a shadowy figure appeared. It was impossible to discern any of his features except for piercing forest green eyes, but the crown on his head was illuminated in all its glory.

The whole thing was made of solid gold with glittering gems covering every available inch. Four gold bars in a cross pattern gracefully arched up before curving ninety degrees and continued until they met, forming a small circular platform. A fleur de lis made of yellow diamond was mounted there, giving off a powerful glow as the shadowy figure looked around the room. Eventually his dark green eyes settled on the prone figure and a strong voice echoed throughout the chamber, "Why have you requested a meeting Father Haido? It has only been two years since the church established its first mission in these new lands."

The priest's large nose scraped the cold stone while he answered, "My king, missionaries have reported legends of powerful gems that are strikingly similar to those in our homeland."

The holographic man scoffed, "The Empire has conquered many other cultures that did as well, but none of them led to the Gelel stones. What makes you think these stories are any different?"

Haido dared to look up at the intimidating monarch, "These tales claim the jewels were so powerful they completely annihilated a country and toppled an empire, causing a family of kings to flee west. We cannot find the origin of the legends, but they are limited to a relatively small region."

The emperor's dark green eyes showed interest as he spoke, "Interesting, that is very similar to our mythology. Could this be the end of our search, an end to the continual warfare with rival nations that plagues my empire?" The hologram appeared to be walking in place before he sat in a thinking pose. Haido silently remained prostrated on the floor until his leader continued speaking, "There is still something to be gained even if the legends aren't about the Gelel stones, setting up forward colonies before the other countries arrive would give us a large advantage. Having fortifications in place could greatly decrease the casualties when they inevitably try to claim the land. Perhaps I should send General Wallace to handle the situation."

"With all due respect Emperor," Haido stopped as the intense green eyes focused on him, "General Wallace is almost two weeks away and would take several more to get mobilized, that is wasted time my King. Winter is fast approaching, and after it arrives transporting the stones will be impossible, the search must begin now. There are already several hundred priests scattered throughout the area and a sizable force of advance troops fighting savages less than five days away by ship. If some of those knights and wizards move up now General Wallace could send reinforcements to replace them, and more platoons to aid the search here within a week. I can have the operation running smoothly before he arrives."

The Emperor stared at the bishop patronizingly before letting out a sharp laugh, "I see your ambition has not faded in the slightest." He seemed to mull it over for a second, "Very well, your wish shall be granted. Many priests are wise and educated, but few are former colonels like you Haido. I've heard rumors, but tell me, why leave when your promotion to general was all but assured?"

"Less politics and more power my lord."

"Indeed. Very well Father, I shall grant your request and go beyond. Twenty ships worth of men will be sent forward within ten days and placed under your command, yours to lead until the main colonization attempts begin. If everything goes well your reward will exceed the wealth and glory you are no doubt envisioning, but fail me and you shall be remembered as one of the most reviled men in the Empire's history."

The light in his fleur de lis faded and Haido was alone once again. The priest stood up while brushing himself off, and exited the ceremonial hall before walking back to his personal chamber. He sat in a plush leather chair next to an ornate fireplace and picked up a telephone from the table next to him, "Summon Temujin from his post immediately, he oversees our missions in the Land of Rivers."

After placing the phone back on its receiver the burly man turned to the cart on his left and picked up a silver platter covered by a golden dome inlaid with runes that kept the food warm. He slowly removed the cover as steam wafted out and picked up his silverware before eating the roast pheasant and potatoes while letting his mind wander. After retiring from his military post Haido joined the priesthood and quickly became a powerful bishop, then head of the missionary board. He would travel to unsettled areas and set up missions where priests would help provide for the surrounding poor, heal wounded or sick people, help culture the savages, and most importantly, gather information for the military when it arrived.

The missionaries would learn what they could about the unexplored lands like who lived there, the flora and fauna, trade routes, and local rivalries. This data would be used to create a more efficient strategy for colonizing the area, but gathering information was harder here than other continents, so they were unable to learn much over the past two years. Haido finished eating the pheasant before throwing its carcass into the fire and smiling confidently, 'It matters not. No savages have ever resisted the might of our empire.'

"Is there anything else you need?"

Naruto looked up at the attractive purple haired waitress with a smile, "No thank you," then watched her shapely butt as the girl seductively twisted her hips while going to check on a different table. It had almost been a month since the Chunin Exam Finals and the blonde had been working himself to the bone. He was rapidly absorbing everything Jiraiya showed him, but was still having troubles figuring out the Yondaime's idea. It was something he wanted to master though, not only was it kickass and a connection to his father, but it was also something the man never did.

The blonde took a sip of his drink and almost choked when Jiraiya slapped him on the back, "Ohoho my boy, see anything you like."

"Ero-sennin," whined the teenager.

The sage looked down at him with a cheesy grin, "Can you really be calling me that still?" Naruto just looked at the man flatly for a couple of seconds before he coughed into his fist and continued, "Right, well I just wanted to let you know that I have to head into a pretty hostile area to meet a contact and can't babysit you at the same time."

"Oi, I can help you gather information." Responded the fiery teen.

The legendary shinobi just rolled his eyes, "Whatever kid, the Fuuma incident doesn't exactly help your case."

The chunin blushed and quietly said, "I can still do it."

Jiraiya affectionately rustled his godson's hair, "I like the spirit kid, but you've gotta know your limits to surpass them. Anyways, I have to get going, and since I'm so generous I'll even give you some money."

Naruto was expecting a pittance from the stingy man, but he was surprised after getting a large stack of ryou shoved into his hands, "Eh, where's the real Ero-sennin?"

The man laughed heartily before saying, "Well I finally looked at a calendar recently and realized we missed your birthday so… Happy Birthday Naruto." The boy wrapped his arms around his godfather and squeezed tightly while Jiraiya patted him on the back and said, "Don't worry about it, just don't spend everything on ramen." The author stopped when Naruto quickly pulled away before the waitress slowly walk by their table, then the sage waggled his eyebrows suggestively once she passed, "Have fun while I'm gone kid."

He hopped out of the booth to dodge a playful swing from the blonde and chuckled before heading towards the door. Naruto watched him go before making eye contact with the waitress across the room and smiling. He watched her quickly weave through the tables and looked up at the girl after she stopped in front of him, "Azami was it?" She nodded and he continued, "I'm visiting some family here and there's nobody my age, so I was hoping you could show me what there is to do around town."

The girl gave him a small smile, "Sure, I'll be done at ten. Also, your uncle paid so everything is all set."

The boy got up as the attractive teenager walked away, and waved after she glanced back over her shoulder with a small grin.

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino sat in the canopy of a tree and watched their clients pack up the camp. The chunin had been assigned their first B-ranked mission without a more experienced leader, but that was only because they had to leave the country. Everything had been peaceful since the caravan left Konohagakure, no bandits or nuke-nin attacked, and they passed through the border checkpoint with no trouble. The Inuzuka sighed while petting Akamaru who was lying next to him on the branch, "Why do we have to do lame missions still? We're chunin now."

"We are only rookie chunin… well, at least you are Kiba." The Aburame pushed his sunglasses up his nose when he finished speaking and sunlight reflected off the dark lenses before hitting one of the caravan members in the eye, causing him to drop a tent post on his foot.

The dog user growled as the man screamed in pain while hopping around, "Hey, was that a shot at me?"

The corner of Shino's lips twitched while he coolly responded, "I'm surprised you picked up on it."

Hinata held Kiba back as he tried to slash their teammate with his claws, "I'm gonna kill you asshole."

The shy Hyuuga continued restraining the fuming Inuzuka and tried to calm him down, "Please stop Kiba-kun, the mission is over in two days and then we can head back to the village. This is our first B-rank mission without a more experienced captain so it's valuable experience, especially because we're leaving Hi no Kuni."

"I guess," mumbled the Inuzuka, "I just wish we didn't need to keep catching that damn ferret."

Right on cue they saw a long hawk feather weaving through the tents before an older man with wild shocks of white hair sticking out under a large blue fedora—which held the feather—ran over to them. A long thin beard extended to his bellybutton while two small triangles of white hair were under his bulbous nose. He wore a yellowish tan robe that had short sleeves with cream trim around the edges and a long sleeve maroon shirt underneath. The white-haired man stopped in front of the teenagers before jumping up and down hysterically while crying out, "You've got to find Nerugui, he's gone missing again." The elder looked up at the sky forlornly, "Oh Nerugui, why are you doing this now, is it your new food?" Then he stared accusingly at Akamaru, "It must be your fault."

Kiba snorted, "Please, when I woke up the ferret was sleeping on my dog."

The man was beyond caring and just grabbed the feral chunin before shaking him wildly, "It doesn't matter, just find poor Nerugui."

Shino stood up while placing his hands into the trench coat's pockets, "Do not worry Kahiko-san, I have placed a female kikaichu bug on Nerugi, so I shall retrieve him. Why? The female Kikaichu releases a pheromone that attracts the males. Because of this I can locate the ferret easier and make the mission go smoother. Please, feel free to depart because I have also placed insects onto my comrades. Why you ask?" The Aburame looked around and saw everybody had left him there and was getting ready to leave, "They must be anxious to efficiently complete the mission and boost the reputation of our village."

Naruto finished his lunch and sealed the trash into a scroll before patting his stomach contentedly and letting out a burp. He looked up at the sun and realized it was getting close to three, which meant Azami would be getting off work in a couple hours, so the blonde decided to have a spar against a clone horde and head back to the village when a small animal ran out of the forest. It had a long tan body with short black legs, and a black face with two stripes that came down to its shoulder blades. There was a tan diamond between its intense red eyes that stared inquisitively at the chunin, who was squinting his blue eye while looking at the strange creature. "You're a pretty ugly cat."

The animal hissed at him before exploding into motion, blurring across the clearing and leaping towards the surprised boy's face. Naruto let out a surprised shout and pulled the beast's tail, but its sharp teeth had latched onto his cheek and refused to let go. He unsuccessfully tried prying its jaws open for a few minutes before jumping backwards as a strange figure emerged from the woods.

The tall boy wore an unzipped green sweatshirt with the hood up over a long black shirt that went to his knees, while the dark green scarf covering his mouth and large aviator sunglasses over his eyes made it impossible to discern any features. Loose black pants were tucked into bandages that wrapped up his shins, and black shinobi sandals didn't make a sound as the hooded teen easily walked towards the blonde, "Hello Naruto, I am glad to see you in good health."

The chunin tensed when the stranger said his name and quickstepped backwards before taking a defensive stance, with the ferret dangling from his cheek, "I don't know who you are or how you know me, and I don't really care. Just go away and don't make me kill you."

The strange teenager's shoulders appeared to slump underneath his thick clothing, and his head dropped while he mumbled something about forgetting comrades. Naruto could only stare in confusion as the ferret let go and mirrored his actions. After a few minutes an attractive girl with long blue hair and white eyes walked into the clearing, and Naruto's face lit up in recognition as he happily called out, "Hinata."

The kunoichi looked over at him for a brief second before gasping, despite the facemask and different outfit she was able to instantly recognize her longtime crush. The Hyuuga's face turned bright red and she let out an, "eep," before passing out.

"Poor thing, I must have surprised her." The blonde turned and looked at the sulking shinobi before nodding like he just figured something out, "If that's Hinata then you must be… wait, I know this. Don't tell me… Shiro, the bug dude."

The Aburame fell over sideways in disbelief before calmly standing up while brushing himself off. "It's Shino, Naruto."

"That's what I said."

The bug user lifted his finger while saying, "It's important that you don't forget your comrades, it may affect team chemistry and result in a failed mission. Therefore-,"

The blonde chunin cut him off, "Yeah, sorry, I get it Shino. It was only a joke, so what are you guys doing out here?" The teen's blue eye lit up with excitement, "Are you on a mission?"

"Indeed. Clever deduction Naruto, you've come a long way."

"Thanks… wait a second," the Jinchuuriki stared angrily at the Aburame while letting out some killing intent, and laughed when the bug user shivered, "Heh, good one Shino. Anyways, Ero-sennin is off doing his own thing and I'm on my own for now, so, can I help you guys out?"

The bug user nodded, "That is acceptable. Logic dictates more comrades would be helpful when guarding something." He pointed to the animal by Naruto's leg, "We need to bring that ferret back to the caravan with us."

The blonde slipped his foot under Nerugui and gently tossed him over to the Aburame, "Stupid cat," then he went over and picked up the Hyuuga bridal style, "Alright, let's go."

The two headed off into the forest as Shino pushed his sunglasses back into place, "As I was saying, it's important that you don't forget your comrades Naruto because that can affect team chemistry and lead to a failed mission. Therefore it is important to remember your allies." The Jinchuuriki could only groan loudly as the bug user continued his lecture.

Hinata tried to ignore her embarrassment while telling the blonde about some missions since he left on the training trip. After waking up and realizing she was in her crush's arms the girl passed out again, and when she came to a few moments later quickly hopped away with a blush covering her entire face. The kunoichi walked in silence while cursing herself for acting like an idiot for a few minutes, but Naruto's friendly nature and genuine personality eventually got the Hyuuga to open up and talk about their time in Sunagakure.

Shino pushed his sunglasses back into place before saying, "We are nearing the caravan, how do I know this? Because-"

The bug user was cut off by a loud bark before they heard, "No way." Naruto was about to yell back when a white dog that came up to the middle of his thigh jumped out of the trees and tackled him to the ground before licking all over his face. "Hey, c'mon boy, get off him." The dog was pulled back before Naruto stood up with a grin under his mask and faced the brown haired teen. The two clasped hands as the Inuzuka said, "Good to see ya buddy."

"You too Kiba." The chunin let go before turning to face the dog, "And I didn't forget you Akamaru."

The dog let out a happy woof as bug user sighed, "But he forgot about me."

"It was a joke Shino, a joke." Replied Naruto while thinking, 'How are people supposed to recognize him under all those clothes?'

Kiba let out a boisterous laugh before slapping his teammate on the back, "Don't worry about him, he likes to sulk. More importantly, what are you doing here?"

The blonde shrugged, "I'm by myself for a little while and Shino kind of stumbled across me, so I figured why not help on the mission. There wasn't much to do in town anyways." The Uzumaki's face lit up as he remembered something while a trickle of blood dripped from his nose, and he formed a Kage Bunshin after wiping it away, "Oops, forgot to deliver a message."

Hinata watched the bunshin go, wondering why she was getting so angry, and when she faced her crush there was a frightening black aura swirling around her body, "Who is your clone going to see Naruto-kun?

The blonde rubbed the back of his head nervously while remembering a piece of advice from Jiraiya, 'If a woman ever asks you a question harmless question that makes you uneasy, lie.' Originally the teen questioned his godfather, but now he saw the wisdom, "Just the inn I was staying at, had to let him know I was checking out," answered the blonde while laughing awkwardly.

The girl smiled sweetly as Kahiko pulled up alongside them on his ostrich. His face lit up with joy when the ferret jumped out of Shino's hoodie and onto the saddle. "Oh Nerugui, don't scare me like that ever again." He turned towards the shinobi and gave a half bow, "Thank you so much-" but trailed off after noticing the blonde, "And who is this, I don't remember seeing you before."

The Aburame coughed lightly, "This is our comrade Uzumaki Naruto. I ran into him while retrieving Nerugui and he volunteered to help. I accepted because logic dictates-"

The man's eyes seemed to sparkle as he interrupted Shino, "You're the boy from the movie, I feel safer knowing you are helping them protect us."

Naruto was glad the mask covered his blush and waved self-consciously, "Thanks, but my friends don't need help, I'm just tagging along."

Kahiko signaled a man sitting on the back of a wagon nearby, "We need three ostriches over here." As he went to carry out his task the caravan leader turned back to the blonde, "Is there anything else you need?"

Naruto pulled a scroll out of his pocket, "Actually, do you when the next stop is? I'd like to change into mission clothes."

"Of course, we can stop now."

The man rode off on his ostrich while announcing the break, making Kiba sigh miserably, "I've been asking for the past two hours."

The blonde chunin didn't take long to change into his old gear and slipped the light green chunin vest over a sleeveless black spandex shirt and tied the black hitai-ate around his forehead, covering the Sharingan. He wiped the dust off his black cargo shorts and strapped two holsters around each leg before sitting on a stump to tape his ankles and strap black shinobi sandals onto his feet. The Jinchuuriki picked up his saber and slid it into the custom straps between his back and left shoulder blade, then he reached up to the black mask over his lower face, but shrugged and decided to keep it on.

The blonde met up with Kiba and Shino outside of the woods before walking to their mounts. The three chunin found Hinata passed out next to the ostriches with a trickle of blood dripping down her chin into a small puddle on the ground. They managed to wake her up after a few moments and the kunoichi's face turned bright red as she jumped away, pushing her index fingers together nervously while looking everywhere but Naruto, "Um, s-sorry, my, uh, allergies acted up." The Hyuuga heiress winced after using her lame excuse, but sighed in relief when the boys shrugged and mounted their ostriches. She managed to stay composed and gracefully hopped into the saddle of the fourth, silently thanking her ancestors for the Byakugan.

Naruto sighed while trying to suppress his boredom and watched the sun sink in the western sky. It had been a day since he met up with Team Eight and the chunin was beginning to wonder if he should've waited for his godfather in the village, at least he could train there. Instead the shinobi was forced to slowly ride an ostrich while signing autographs and taking pictures with the younger clan members during breaks. His train of thought was broken when someone cried out, and he looked up to see Nerugui hop off a wagon before bolting into the woods. The blonde was so restless he instantly slid off his mount while handing Shino the reigns, "I'll go catch him."

"Are you sure, we all specialize in tracking," asked Kiba while gesturing to his teammates.

Naruto shrugged as he watched Kahiko hysterically ride over to them and said, "Eh, I'm bored. Besides, I can see its tracks from here."

The other three chunin looked over and noticed patches of dirt ripped up and small shrubs trampled where Nerugui ran into the woods, "That is most unusual, whenever the ferret ran off before it would do so quietly without leaving an obvious trail. It must be excited about something," observed the Aburame.

Naruto shrugged, "That just makes it easier," and sprinted after the clan's pet. He followed its trail for ten minutes before it veered off to the right, and the blonde turned with the tracks while scratching his head, 'Nerugui shouldn't have been able to travel this far in such a short amount of time.' The sound of running water pushed his thoughts aside and grew louder as he continued following the tiny footprints. Eventually the noise became a dull roar that drowned out the forest's noises as he entered a large clearing next to a fifty-foot waterfall, where Nerugui was lying at the feet of a strangely dressed teenager eating roasted fish.

There was a silver helmet resting next to him and the armored boy slipped it over his long blonde hair after noticing the shinobi. His blood red eyes looked at the chunin through a one-inch slit cut into the helmet as he slipped silver-blue gauntlets over his wrists and checked the steel extending up his forearms to make sure everything was secure. His breastplate matched the helmet and covered his entire torso before connecting to skirt-like armor that covered his thighs, while silver-blue boots that stretched up to his knees shifted in the dirt as he reached behind his back. A teal cloak with red lining on the inside hid the gloved hand from view, but Naruto could tell the armored blonde grabbed the hilt of a weapon.

The chunin held up his hands peacefully while trying to placate the strange boy, "Hey, I don't want any trouble. I'm just trying to bring that cat back to its owners."

Nerugui hissed at the Jinchuuriki when he finished and the foreign teenager said, "It seems he doesn't like you for some reason." Red eyes stared suspiciously at the shinobi, "I wouldn't put it past a savage to torture animals for pleasure."

"What did you call me?" Naruto angrily retorted, "I'm not a savage, but you're definitely an asshole."

The strangely armored blonde stared at the chunin haughtily, like he was an insect, "Hmph, you just don't know any better. It's almost tragic, watching you heathens behave like common animals while believing this is the pinnacle of civilization. All this untamed land is beautiful, true," the boy swept his left hand wide over the scenic view before continuing, "but it's also teeming with valuable skins, untouched farmland, and untapped minerals, all of which can be extracted to create profit and wealth. Your society stumbles along in its own ignorance like children when it could be advancing, if only you people embraced civilization."

Naruto growled at the strangely dressed foreigner, "I don't know why you think it's acceptable to come into another man's backyard and call him a savage, but that seems pretty impolite to me. Besides, there's more to life than profit and wealth. Money is nice, but if your so-called civilization is based on that it seems pretty shallow. I'd rather play in the mud with friends than spend my whole life trying to get richer, so you're the one that seems like a savage here. Who are you to judge the way I live because it's different than yours?"

The armored teen was enraged after the shinobi finished, "I wouldn't expect a brute like you to comprehend what I said, so perhaps I should use a language you understand and beat it into your skull."

Angry red eyes stared into a fierce blue one as the blondes unsheathed their blades simultaneously and tried to gain a measure of the other's skill. The red-eyed boy's weapon glowed blue and was the same length as Naruto's, but was an inch wider with finely sharpened edges on both sides. The foreigner held it confidently by his side while the Jinchuuriki lifted his saber defensively and growled, "There it is again, you called me a brute but you're the one starting this fight."

The other teen shrugged, "There's something about you I don't like," and burst forward. The tip of Naruto's saber dipped and easily countered the upward slash before he twisted his wrist to redirect the attack away and stabbed for his opponent's head. The knight spun ninety degrees and ducked under the stab then lunged forward to shoulder check the shinobi, knocking him airborne.

Naruto back flipped to regain control after the hit and threw some shuriken to stop his opponent's charge. He landed in a defensive stance as the foreign teen rushed forward and slashed diagonally. The chunin thought it was a feint since the knight's weapon wouldn't be able to reach him, but the glowing blade increased in width and extended while he swung. The transformation caught Naruto off guard and the sword left a long cut up his cheek before slicing off some hair as he leaned back.

The armored teen slashed his sword back down as the shinobi quickstepped backwards while sheathing his blade before performing a quick series of hand seals. He pointed his palms toward the boy when he finished and called out, "Futon: Daitoppa." It was the knight's turn to be surprised as a large gust of wind pushed him back and left cuts on his exposed skin. The armored fighter stabbed his sword into the ground so the attack wouldn't push him off the cliff, but when the strong winds died down ten copies of his opponent appeared in the air around him. The red-eyed teen lifted his sword defensively as the blonde copies threw kunai and prepared to deflect them, but all the weapons pierced the ground in front of him.

The foreigner stared at the burning tags wrapped around the handles curiously, then towards the clones that were grinning widely until a large explosion went off where the kunai were seconds later. With a cry he went flying over the edge before the real Naruto cockily flicked his nose while dispelling his bunshin, "Hmph, he wasn't that tough, now where did that cat go?"

The chunin began looking around when he heard a determined roar and saw the knight get pulled up over the cliff by a stream of green energy that extended from his sword. He landed gracefully and exploded into motion, running towards the shinobi while leaving a dust trail behind him. Naruto was barely able to pull his saber out and block the horizontal slash aimed at his stomach, but he was in a bad position because of it. The boy's lower body was still facing away from the knight while his upper body was twisted so he couldn't push back against his opponent's sword. The shinobi tried to jump away and regain his footing, but the armored teen kicked him in the back and sent him skidding across the ground.

Naruto grit his teeth as his opponent charged with his glowing sword raised. The chunin frantically brought the saber across his body and was able to push the knight's downward stab to his left before the fine sword slid deep into the earth. The foreigner tried to crush the Jinchuuriki's face with his steel gauntlet, but the shinobi was able to pull his legs back and deliver a mule kick to the red-eyed fighter's midsection that launched him away.

Naruto looked at the sword next him before grinning, now the fight was on his terms. The foreigner was probably the best pure swordsman that he ever fought against, it seemed like he trained with that blade since birth. The red-eyed blonde was also stronger and had a longer reach than the chunin, but the worst part was the armor, which made it difficult to land significant blows. None of his attacks dealt any real damage, and that last mule kick hurt Naruto more than his opponent, who easily stood back up.

The shinobi prepared to take the initiative when the foreigner lifted his hand while lightning crackled around it. The Jinchuuriki cursed when he heard the sword shift in the earth and jumped over the blade that tried to spear him from behind. Once again the armored fighter was holding his weapon and Naruto sighed before lifting his sword defensively to prepare for another charge, but the foreigner raised his weapon instead and it grew brighter until the blade glowed white, and a whiplike stream of white-green energy launched towards the chunin.

Naruto dashed to the right as the beam curved and got closer to him, but the blonde stopped instantly and reversed direction, barrel rolling over the stream and running left. The beam looped around his back as another stream went the other way and connected to it before small green energy strands shot up and trapped him inside a mesh dome. The Jinchuuriki began molding chakra and slammed his palm into the ground as the foreigner closed his fist. A seal glowed white in the dirt beneath him before expanding outwards as a blue dome formed to counter the constricting energy.

A large explosion rose up in the middle of the clearing and the armored fighter watched the smoke warily, but the ground at his feet burst open. The knight quickly slashed through the blonde with his glowing sword and it disappeared in a puff of smoke as Naruto ran out of the blast area holding a rapidly spinning orb of chakra. The foreigner eyed the sphere warily and stabbed forward as the shinobi aimed the attack at his chest. The deadly tip of his charged sword hit the ball of rotating chakra and stalled as the two blondes battled for supremacy.

The knight grit his teeth and tried to pierce the chakra ball, but it didn't give, and neither did his opponent. The Jinchuuriki started feeding more chakra into the Rasengan and pushed back with a roar before the attacks exploded, causing the cliff underneath their feet to collapse. They both let out a yell as gravity took over and dragged them towards the rushing water. Naruto looked over to see Nerugui trying to jump up the debris towards solid ground, and was surprised when he actually succeeded. The animal used its claws to latch onto the cliff face and looked down at him with what seemed to be a patronizing grin before starting the ascent, "Stupid cat."

Shino looked up as a small bug flew out of the forest and calmly pulled back on the ostrich's reigns before extending his index finger. The other two chunin saw his actions and turned their mounts around to see what was happening. They waited patiently while the bug user communicated with his kikaichu, and after half a minute it crawled into his sleeve. Shino adjusted his sunglasses and calmly got off the ostrich while saying, "Naruto is about to enter a conflict with a strange fighter, we should move to assist him. Kiba, come with me. Hinata, stay and guard the caravan."

The Inuzuka hopped off his mount and the two chunin sprinted into the forest with Akamaru as the Hyuuga grabbed their ostriches and went to inform Kahiko. The three hopped through the trees in silence, but after jumping on top of a deep blue river nearly seventy-five feet wide Shino looked over to his teammate while saying, "I find this situation quite strange since the chances of conflict with another shinobi are small, why? Because the Kawa no Kuni government has cleared us for travel, and nuke-nin generally avoid this country since it borders two major nations."

Kiba shrugged, "Eh, Sakura said this always happened on their missions with Naruto, but right after he left with Jiraiya every one went by the book. That's part of the reason I was happy to see him, I figured something exciting would happen."

Akamaru barked in agreement as the Aburame pushed his sunglasses up, "Not only is it highly illogical to attribute conflict on missions with Naruto's presence, but one should never wish for battles while on a mission. Why?"

An explosion in the distance interrupted Shino and the trio adjusted their course before taking off full speed. When the shinobi arrived a few minutes later they saw Nerugui scramble over the edge of a cliff before turning around to look back down. The chunin walked over to the ferret and spotted two blondes washed up on a sandy bank where the river took a sharp turn about thirty feet past the waterfall's base.

Shino easily picked up the ferret as Kiba hopped down the jagged cliff before following the Inuzuka. After the dog user made sure both of them were breathing he unsealed a stretcher before strapping it to Akamaru's back. Kiba carefully picked up Naruto and placed him on the stretcher before gently securing him to the board, and after double-checking the straps made a hand seal, "Jujin Bunshin."

The Aburame watched as his teammate transformed into an exact replica of Akamaru and unsealed another stretcher before repeating the process with the other blonde. Shino made sure the foreigner was strapped down tightly before patting Kiba on the head, "Good boy." The dog looked up at him angrily and growled, but the bug user ignored him and started heading back towards camp with the wounded teens.

Naruto shot up as memories of his fight with the strange warrior flooded his mind. The chunin looked around to get his bearings when sharp pains shot through his ribs and left shoulder. He grumbled and gingerly reached for his sword when Kahiko opened the tent flap before walking in with a cheery smile, "Oh good, you're awake, it's almost been a day since your friends brought you back here. I'll just go get some medicines and-"

"Don't worry about it ojisan," Naruto waved the caravan leader off as he turned around and grabbed the hilt of his sword while thinking, 'Come on you miserable furball, help me out here.' There was a rumbling in his subconscious and the blonde had to ask again before the blade glowed orange in the sheath, and soothing warmth replaced the pain in his torso, 'Thanks you stingy bastard.'

Kahiko clapped his hands together as the saber channeled Kyuubi's chakra, "Oh my, what a handy weapon, it keeps people away and heals you."

Naruto looked at the excitable man before considering the drawbacks of having a sentient weapon, it didn't feel like the saber was his anymore. Most of the time it did what he wanted, but every once in awhile it would do something different, or try something he'd never seen. The blonde also didn't know what the blade was capable of anymore, before the transformation it would show him new techniques after he was skilled enough to use them, now the saber performed them randomly like it was testing something right after thinking of it, as if there was another wielder. The chunin realized Kahiko was looking at him strangely and laughed while scratching the back of his head, "It has its moments."

The caravan leader nodded as he got up, "Yes, well I was supposed to tell you that your friends have the other boy in a tent outside the main camp, restrained and under watch."

Naruto could tell he was upset by the last part, but the chunin didn't feel like explaining or justifying something the man couldn't understand. That armored guy attacked him for no reason, whose to say he wouldn't wake up and try to kill them all on his way out. It was just another necessary evil in a world full of them, 'I don't know how, but I'll change that.'

Kahiko saw the blonde was done talking and stepped outside so he could change into fresh clothes. The teen emerged a couple minutes later and followed him to the prisoner's tent before opening the flap, Team Eight looked up as he entered and walked up to the bed while Kahiko slipped in behind him. Hinata shifted nervously while fighting down a blush after the blonde smiled at her and gave him an update, "Um, well, he should wake up soon Naruto-kun, his heart rate is increasing and his breathing is changing. Also, well, there's some sort of weird stone implanted in the right side of his chest. It seems to be giving off some sort of energy that accelerates his healing."

The whiskered chunin nodded as Kahiko's eyes widened, but the other shinobi were paying attention to the Jinchuuriki, "Thanks Hinata-chan, that explains some things. This guy enhanced his movements with chakra, but he also had attacks that used a strange type of energy I've never seen before."

Shino looked over at the unconscious foreigner, "That is most unusual, but humans do many things to attain higher levels of power."

"There's no use wondering about that now, how did you two start fighting?" Asked Kiba.

An angry look passed over Naruto's face and he clenched his fists tightly, but before he could answer the injured blonde let out a groan and slowly sat up. The four shinobi turned to look at the knight and didn't notice Kahiko focus on his right chest, more specifically the strange design. The caravan leader tried to keep the surprise off his face after recognizing the script, and he made sure to stay quiet around the observant teenagers.

The foreigner tried to scratch his stomach when steel wire tied to his left wrist and the bedpost stopped him. He groggily lifted his right hand and reached for the metal string, but his fingers stopped just short, and every time he tried the knots tightened so he couldn't reach as far. "I would stop pulling those if I were you, why? Because every time you do the wire constricts, and it will keep getting tighter until you can no longer move."

The knight looked strangely at the mysterious teenager who spoke before his red eyes settled on the other blonde in the tent and narrowed into slits, "You."

"Yes me bastard, why did you start the fight?" Naruto angrily responded.

The foreigner snorted condescendingly before looking away from the ninjas. "Because there's something about you that pisses me off."

"I pissed you off," was the Jinchuuriki's indignant response. He looked to his comrades for help, but they were staring at everything but him and offered no support. "C'mon guys," Kiba whistled airily and started petting Akamaru, so he turned to the white-eyed Kunoichi, "Even you Hinata-chan."

The girl blushed and timidly poked her index fingers together, "Um, sometimes Naruto-kun doesn't make the best first impression."

The blue-eyed teen just sighed while turning back to the prisoner, "Whatever, I only asked for the stupid cat back. You're the one who called me a savage, dick."

"I can't help your nature."

Naruto angrily pointed a finger at the knight, "There it is again, guys like you really piss me off. You think you have everything figured out and say people are inferior when they're not like you. Maybe it's time to look around and stop acting all high and mighty. Who the hell are you? Where are you from? Why are you here? Why did you attack me?"

The restrained blonde fell backwards onto the bed without saying anything, and Naruto was seriously considering using the Sharingan to mentally torture the foreigner for answers when he spoke, "My name is Temujin. Originally I come from a land far to the west, but I've been living in this country for some time. It is my duty to guard missionaries as they spread civilization to your savage culture, and I was travelling back to the head missionary for the yearly report."

Naruto crossed his arms while looking at the prisoner, "That's a start, but you still didn't say why you attacked me."

Temujin sighed impatiently, like he was speaking to three year olds, "I already explained that, there's something about you that pisses me off, but I'm sorry and it won't happen again."

Kiba growled after hearing the answer, "That's not good enough, nobody would just attack a Kon-, ouch."

The Inuzuka hissed in pain after Naruto slapped his chest, "He's not from around here, and definitely wouldn't have attacked if he knew what we were. Don't give the prisoner information."

The dog user seemed abashed as Shino coughed something that sounded like rookie, but Naruto ignored them and turned to the captive to ask another question, however, Kahiko had seen enough. "Stop this now. I don't like all of your prisoner and interrogation talk. We travel around the Elemental Nations and have stopped at several different missions. They're nice folk, a little pushy, but nice folk nonetheless." The caravan leader reached for the wire, but a quick blast of killing intent from Naruto stopped him and he stepped back before continuing. "The boy already apologized for his actions so that's enough of this nonsense. The world doesn't need to be such a hostile place."

"Kahiko-san, it is illogical-"

The old man loudly cut Shino off, "I don't care about logic, I'm the client and I demand this boy be let go."

The Aburame pushed his sunglasses into place while coldly facing the caravan leader, "With all due respect Client-sama, this is outside the mission's boundaries because he did not attack the caravan and was captured by us. Therefore, he is our prisoner to do with as we see fit. Besides, your input sounds foolish to anyone with half a brain."

Kahiko was fuming and Naruto stepped between them before approaching the bed while his finger glowed blue. He tapped the knight's neck and a seal appeared before turning into the kanji for bind, then he did the same thing where Hinata said the stone was, except a different design appeared and morphed into the Kanji for contain. After making sure his seals were working properly the chunin cut Temujin free, "Now he can't use chakra or that freaky stone energy until I release the seals, so he can wander around but can't go far if he wants me to take them off." The Jinchuuriki's solution seemed to appease Shino and Kahiko so he turned to the foreigner, "Hear that, you're allowed to walk around unsupervised, but don't think about escaping."

Temujin silently looked away from the four shinobi as they walked out, but Kahiko smiled at him before leaving. After he was alone the knight let out a sigh, cooperating with them got him out of bed, but he needed to rejoin his master quickly, the preliminary raids started today.

Naruto stopped following Team Eight while they brought him to his gear and looked back towards Temujin's tent, "That guy is definitely holding something back, he may be a missionary, but the way he looked when Kiba almost said we were shinobi was pretty suspicious."

Hinata nodded after the blonde finished, "My Byakugan said Temujin was telling the truth, but choosing every word carefully."

"Indeed," agreed Shino, "my Kikaichu could sense his nervousness as well, but your solution is ideal. To fulfill his purpose he must leave, but that will be impossible without us knowing. He cannot get far without chakra, and if you remove the seal we shall know to watch him."

Their conversation was cut short when Kahiko jogged over, "Now that we have everything settled preparations for the festivities can begin." The man could see they were looking at him with confusion and coughed into his fist, "Ah, sorry, it seems I forgot to explain. It's customary to have a festival whenever we arrive at the campground for the season to celebrate our safe arrival and thank nature for providing us with sustenance. I insist that you all stay."

The four shinobi looked at each other before nodding and Naruto smiled at the man, "Thank you for the invitation Kahiko-san, we'd love to."

The caravan leader beamed, "Excellent, you can help prepare or rest until later. We are thankful for guarding us so feel free to relax."

Kiba shrugged, "Well, it's not like we've got anything better to do, right guys?"

Naruto was staring at some girls as they picked flowers to make decorations, "Great idea, I'll go help with the flowers."

Hinata saw where, or more specifically what, her crush's gaze was directed at, "Um, well, I like gardening so I shall do that as well."

Hinata sighed as she watched the teenage groupies follow Naruto around the festival, trying to take solace that dozens of them were hounding him. She had futilely attempted to keep the blonde separate from the other girls and secure a date for herself, but he was a shinobi and movie star, a literal knight in shining armor to them, and it was impossible to stop. Some older women without husbands also joined in, and to make matters worse he was always so polite with her compared to everyone else. The blonde's eye would stray and he would look at her curves, but the boy never outright flirted with her like the floozies in the caravan. The Hyuuga had hoped to make him recognize that she was a woman, and he definitely did, but the blonde also respected her and her position too much to do anything about it.

At least Naruto didn't seem to be enjoying the attention, of course, that was because he wanted to quietly slip away with one of them, not be hounded by a mob all night. Hinata cursed the Byakugan and was grateful for a distraction when drums and a biwa started playing before a melodic voice began singing in a strange language. Everybody walked towards the music and saw a massive fire blazing in front of a stage where four men played a large set of drums set up in the back. Kahiko danced wildly in the front of the stage wearing a jade mask and pure silver robes as an older woman sang and played the biwa off to the side. Their performance came to an end when everyone arrived and the caravan leader spoke in a deep voice, "Long ago, before the countries were shaped as they were today, a great empire ruled the lands."

The man threw a strange powder into the fire and blue smoke wafted upwards, twisting wildly before a large cloud formed above Kahiko, "Great rulers presided over an era of peace and prosperity." The smoke twisted into the shape of a man's head wearing a crown, "Enchanted stones granted these Tenno untold influence that allowed them to maintain order, but men covet artifacts of great power and these were no different. Some conspired to steal the stones for themselves and seized the mines where they were harvested. The group was pushed back by the Tenno's great army, but not until they extracted a sizable amount of the precious stone."

The caravan leader threw grey powder on the fire and created dark purple smoke that morphed into hundreds of small men while the blue smoke did the same. "They raised an army that matched the Tenno's and there was a terrible war." The two armies clashed in battle, and as they died wisps of smoke drifted up to the heavens until it dissipated. When the figures were gone Kahiko threw black and red powder into the fire that caused it to increase in size until the flames were over twelve feet tall, then he threw green powder into the inferno.

Green smoke twisted into the shape of a country before the elder continued, "Countless lives were lost as the armies clashed and blood soaked our homeland, but each side also had weapons of terrible power that were created from the gems." The fire began to shrink and expand rapidly as the flames turned black and blood red while the two colors spun rapidly around each other, "These creations could wipe out entire cities within seconds and brought untold destruction to the country." The hot air from the growing flames began to disperse the green smoke, causing it to appear fractured, "Eventually it could take no more and the land was destroyed."

Kahiko raised his voice near the end of the sentence as the black and red flames shot upwards, forming a fireball that burst apart in a mushroom cloud. The children looked on in awe as the light disappeared and the coals glowed bright orange before letting out a grey smoke that took the shape of a mountain as the caravan leader spoke in a low voice, "Much of the royal family fled to the west for safety after the conflict started, and those that remained behind were killed when our country was destroyed. Some clan members survived though, and sealed off the Gelel mine until someone from the Tenno's bloodline returned to destroy it. Unfortunately none did and the location was lost to time."

The coals went completely dark after Kahiko finished his story and Hinata looked over at Naruto to see he was sneaking off with an older woman named Sumie, so she didn't notice Temujin talking to a small child before pointing towards a group of men carrying the bags of powder away. The dismayed Hyuuga ignored her surroundings and slowly wandered around until she found an empty clearing to sit down in as the festivities continued, "Naruto-kun…"

The girl lost track of time as the festival wore on, but eventually loud screams pierced the night. She rushed towards them and saw a forty-foot tall ring of flames around the stage that were slowly expanding over the dry grass outside of it. Loud cries for help echoed from inside the thick smoke as the Hyuuga rushed through the fairgrounds and found the caravan leader before asking, "What happened?"

The old man looked towards the teen gravely, "A poor boy was overzealous and attempted to recreate the performance, unfortunately he used too much of the red stuff and it got out of hand."

When he finished Kiba and Shino ran up as the Inuzuka called out, "Oi, Hinata, where's Naruto, can't he use Suiton jutsu?"

The kunoichi felt depressed after hearing her crush's name, but quickly pushed it aside, "I don't know, but I can create an opening for somebody to get in, it will take some time to recharge and launch again though."

Temujin came up to them and pointed to a pile of crates nearby, "Wait to use the attack, I'm going to pile those up outside the fire. You two come help and and throw me in when we're done," the foreigner turned towards the girl, "after you hear me yell use the move and I'll slip through."

The blonde didn't wait for an answer before taking off, and the two chunin followed as Hinata began gathering all the chakra she could into her palm while carefully molding it. When the crates were stacked Kiba threw Temujin over the flaming wall, and after she heard him call out the Hyuuga thrust her arm forward while shouting, "Hakke Kusho," a compressed air ball nearly eight feet in diameter flew towards the inferno. It hit the flames and briefly opened up a hole the speedy foreigner jumped through, moments before the stage collapsed.

Shortly after a crowd formed around the two and Naruto ran up frantically while saying, "What's going on, is anyone hurt?"

The teen started forming a series of hand seals while Kiba snorted, "So the great hero arrives late, I think you're taking after Kakashi too much. Where were you?"

"Mizu no Tatsumaki," a tornado of water exploded from the ground under the flames before rising up over thirty feet. The blonde went through another set before saying, "Suiton: Hahonryuu," and shot pressurized water onto the remaining patches of flames. "I was busy."

"Save it. I know what you were doing bastard, I have an enhanced sense of smell. What I want to know is why you weren't around to help, not that we needed it."

Naruto's blue eye focused on the Inuzuka, "The mission was over and I wanted to have fun. I didn't know it was my responsibility to sacrifice every part of my life to be ready for trouble"

"You're going to be a real shitty Hokage, if you even get the job."

The Jinchuuriki lifted Kiba up by his flak jacket and yelled angrily, "Take that back bastard, I came as soon as I knew something was wrong. As much as it sucks you can't always save everyone." The blonde let go as his voice fell, "I can clone myself thousands of times and can't. If you ever do I'll let you be Hokage, but until then I'll try my best and believe that other people will help too, like you guys did."

The Inuzuka's face softened as he pointed to Temujin who was being mobbed by gracious members of the caravan, "Actually, that guy did the dangerous part."

The Chunin cocked an eyebrow as the foreigner cut through the crowd and approached him, "I think I've sufficiently repaid my debt, so I'd like you to remove these restraints."

"Is that what you think?" Replied the blonde shinobi.

Kahiko walked up behind the knight, "Actually Naruto-san I have to insist you do. This boy has done nothing wrong in my eyes, perhaps you got off on the wrong foot but Temujin-kun has been a pleasant guest since being here. You can take these off now, or I shall register a formal complaint with Konoha.

"Fine," Naruto's index finger glowed blue and he tapped the two seals before the Kanji broke apart. Temujin flexed his muscles after feeling his strength return as the Jinchuuriki said, "I don't know the side-effects of that second energy source, but after chakra gets sealed it's best to rest overnight and let its normal circulation return naturally."

The red-eyed blonde bowed mockingly, "Thank you for the advice cultured one, I shall leave in the morning."

The chunin shrugged off the insult, "Whatever, now if you'll excuse me I have prior responsibilities." With that Naruto returned to the woman waiting in the field and picked up where they left off. When they finished later that night he escorted Sumie back to her tent before refusing the offer to stay by saying he didn't want to hurt Hinata's feelings, and walked away after a goodnight kiss. The Jinchuuriki went past his tent and continued to silently wander around the campsite until he came upon Nerugui sleeping in the wagon. Naruto pushed up his hitai-ate with a smile, and as the tomoe in the sharingan began to spin he said, "Here kitty kitty."

The flap of Naruto's tent flew open before the blonde walked out and squinted his blue eye while it adjusted to the sunlight. He let out a long yawn and stretched before walking through the peaceful campground, waving to the people performing their morning chores. The chunin passed Temujin's tent and saw it was abandoned, not that he was surprised, so he changed direction and started heading towards the brown hawk feather easily seen above the tents.

The blonde found Kahiko frantically waving his arms while shouting at Team Eight, and after he got closer heard, "But you need to find Nerugui. He's a member of our Caravan and your mission was to protect us."

"True, our assigned task was to protect you," Responded Shino, "however, that was only until we arrived at your campsite. He ran away last night, and because it happened after we reached the destination this task is outside of our mission parameters."

The man's face was slowly turning red, and it appeared he wanted to throttle the bug user when Naruto reached them. The blonde casually walked between the two and stopped their argument, "Eh, let's help the old guy out. Don't you have a bug on it Shino?"

The Aburame shook his head, "Negative, I removed it after we arrived."

The Jinchuuriki nodded before looking towards the caravan leader with a reassuring smile, "Whatever, you guys can head back but I've got nothing better to do so I'll find the stupid cat."

Kahiko looked relieved as Kiba sighed and relented, "Fine, but in the report we're blaming you for our late return." The Inuzuka glanced at his teammate who was staring at the blonde miserably. "Why don't you take Hinata and scan the woods while me and Shino check the area around camp."

The Jinchuuriki nodded, "Sounds good, you ready Hinata-chan?"

"H-hai," was her response."

"Let's go then." After he finished they sprinted into the woods, however, the two didn't get very far before the blonde stopped, "Hold on a second."

The kunoichi's confusion was apparent as she asked, "What's wrong?"

The blue-eyed chunin appeared to be looking for something while he answered, "I figured Temujin would leave before anyone was up, or when he thought everyone was asleep, so I went and found Nerugui. He might have chased after him anyways, but I used the Sharingan to make sure. The dumb cat was supposed to leave a sign half a mile away, but I haven't seen one yet. Can you use the Byakugan to find a scratched up tree Hinata-chan?"

The Hyuuga gave the boy an impressed look while replying, "O-of course Naruto-kun." She activated her doujutsu and scanned the area quickly before the bulging veins around her eyes faded, "It's not that far, there's an arrow less than a quarter mile north of us."

Naruto scratched his head while looking in the direction she indicated, "An arrow, that seems kind of… advanced. Oh well, let's just check it out to make sure." They took off and arrived at the tree a few minutes later before he walked up and rubbed a finger over the scratches, "This must be it, these marks are pretty fresh."

Hinata bent over to check as well and the blonde's eye drifted towards her cleavage before shooting back up. The kunoichi smiled inwardly while she reached out to touch them as well, "It is pretty remarkable, but Nerugui is a very intelligent animal. Let's see where it leads us."

The Jinchuuriki nodded and they leapt into the trees, following the carved arrow, and it wasn't long before they found another one that pointed towards the west. The two shinobi changed direction until they found another arrow indicating they should go north again and turned to follow it. They pushed down their amazement at Nerugui's markings and continued following the trail for an hour until the arrows disappeared and Hinata found boot marks next to weasel tracks. The going was slower as they followed the footprints while the Hyuuga activated her Byakugan occasionally, and after a few more hours she gasped when the veins around her eye appeared, "Temujin and Nerugui are in a clearing two thousand feet south of here."

Naruto grinned at the kunoichi and she blushed, "Great job Hinata-chan, let's go." The two snuck up on the knight and silently climbed a tree just outside of the clearing while the blonde foreigner tossed the scraps of a sandwich to the ferret lying on its back. Nerugui happily munched on his leftovers while Temujin started burying the garbage, however, he suddenly shot up and the shinobi feared they were spotted, but relaxed moments later after two women walked into the clearing and the armored teen dropped his guard.

The taller one had red eyes that stared grumpily at the blonde. She was a brunette with long hair that flowed to the middle of her spine and covered the back of her purple chest plate that had oversized shoulder guards covered by small spikes, and matched the skirt-like armor covering her thighs. She wore no gauntlets, just a steel ring around her wrist with a purple forearm guard that extended to her elbow, while matching boots came up to her knees.

The other woman was a few inches shorter with strange multi colored eyes that had a pink ring on the outside of the iris and an orange one around the pupil. Light brown hair went down to the middle of her back while long sideburns came down to her ample breasts and framed her boyish face. Her breastplate was teal and only covered her ribs, with smaller shoulder pads that had a three-inch spike pointing upwards in the middle of them. She wore no gloves and had many decorative rings on her slender fingers while black spandex sleeves covered her arms. Teal skirt-like armor covered her thighs and matching boots came up to her knees.

Temujin bowed and easily greeted the older women, "Fugai, Kamira, it is good to see you."

The woman in teal armor smiled, "You as well brother."

The other one snorted, "Please Kamira, don't cut him a break. He was supposed to be at the base two days ago and we find him strolling around and casually eating lunch in the woods. If I didn't know better I'd say these savages are rubbing off on you."

The blonde laughed after hearing that, "Never Fugai, I pray you end me quickly if such a thing ever happens though."

"That won't be a problem," was the dry response.

The shorter brunette ignored her companion, "Why are you so late Temujin?"

The armored teen grimaced before responding, "I ran into trouble on the way and got held up by some of the savages, it wasn't a complete waste of time though. I may have gotten a better lead on the Gelel stone, although that part is for Lord Haido's ears only, and I fought a shinobi." The two women's eyes shone with interest as he spoke, no one was able to gather much information on the warriors that locals called shinobi. "It was quite… interesting. He was probably two years younger than me and quite skilled. I actually had to try when fighting him hand to hand, but he was also attacked from range with weapons and magic quite effectively."

Fugai rolled her eyes, "So the brat's a spellsword like Ranke. You're standing right here so he can't be that tough."

The armored blonde shook his head, "That's not all, he was able to perform the magic without any tools and block off my power with strange runes. There were also tags with more runes that created a large explosion. To make matters worse I could tell he was holding back too."

The two older women were visibly surprised by the admission. Temujin was a skilled fighter and very prideful, for him to show this much respect to a savage was incredibly rare and put them off guard. Both were silent for a moment, wondering about the strength of these shinobi if a child possessed this much skill. The purple armored knight shook it off quickly though, "It matters not young one, you have mastered the lower level exercises to a high degree but have yet to learn the true intricacies of combat. The raids have already begun and there hasn't been a casualty, now come, we must report back to Lord Haido."

Kamira looked down to see Nerugui sprawled out lazily at Temujin's feet, "Who's your friend?"

The teen shrugged, "I don't know, he's part of the reason I was late though. The thing has been following me around for the past three days and led the shinobi to me."

Fugai shrugged, "Well it better keep up because I'm not slowing down for a ferret." The three knights started to walk away but Nerugui wouldn't move so the purple armored woman uncapped her canteen, "Hurry up you dumb creature."

The ferret was doused in water and hissed at the woman before looking around confusedly. It gave the air a couple more sniffs and looked away from the foreigners while letting out a hiss. Naruto swore under his breath as the thing charged at him and jumped into the air, "Ow, stupid cat." The boy hopped out of the tree holding Nerugui by the scruff of his neck and Hinata followed while he cursed at the animal, "Seriously, what the hell? Why do you keep on attacking me, what did I ever do to you?" The ferret stared accusingly at his covered eye, "Oh, well you started doing it before I hypnotized you dammit. Besides, it's not like you would've helped if I asked."

The animal looked slightly abashed as Hinata said, "Um Naruto-kun, I don't think Nerugui is the problem right now."

The blonde looked up to see the three knights angrily staring at them before Fugai said, "Really Temujin, this is the kid that gave you trouble?"

He grit his teeth in embarrassment, "Yeah, that's him."

The teal armored brunette smirked, "I'll make sure to show the runt how a real knight fights before I rip out his heart. Now run along, our leader has been waiting for you." Temujin nodded before disappearing into the woods with Nerugui on his heels and the two knights faced the shinobi as Fugai said, "Want to make this a little interesting Kamira?"

The woman grinned before responding, "What did you have in mind?"

"The raids only encountered samurai so nobody has killed a shinobi yet, I propose the first one to slay one of these brats gets to heap guard duty onto the loser for a month."

The shorter knight smirked cockily, "I hope you like staying up late sister."

The woman's multi-colored eyes shifted towards her teammate and growled as the purple armored knight burst forward while saying, "Then you'd better hurry up." Kamira pulled out her sword as Fugai shifted her path towards Naruto, "Now die you blonde rat."

The chunin quickstepped backwards while throwing a handful of shuriken towards the charging brunette that forced her to veer to his right, then he jumped left and went through a short series of hand seals before calling out "Futon: Kami Oroshi," (Godly Wind from the Mountains) and thrust his palms forward. A twister nearly seven feet wide formed in front of his outstretched hands and rushed towards the woman. She ran around the right side of the attack, but the boy jerked his arms that way and it followed. Fugai let out a startled cry as the twister launched her into the woods and the blonde ended his jutsu before looked towards the kunoichi dancing around the other knight's attacks, "I'm going after her, take care of this one Hinata."

The Hyuuga ducked under a horizontal slash aimed at her chest before spinning rapidly and calling out, "Kaiten." A sphere of chakra formed around the white-eyed girl that launched her opponent away, and when she stopped spinning replied, "Hai, Naruto-kun."

The Jinchuuriki pursued his opponent and Hinata faced the brunette as she pushed herself up, wiping the dirt off her teal armor. The foreign woman held her palm towards the kunoichi, "You're tougher than I thought, maybe I should actually try."

Vents opened around her wrist before shooting out clouds of ash and wood dust that were imbued with chakra as Kamira began wiggling her fingers and making motions with her arms, forming a connection with it. The Hyuuga gasped as she watched the chakra take on a red color, meaning it was about to become fire, and formed a hand seal while the women called out, "Wrath of the Flame God."

The strange language confused the kunoichi, but didn't distract her as a massive fireball in the shape of an angry man's screaming face lit up the clearing and rocketed towards her. The attack hit the ground in front of Hinata and shot upwards, forming a fiery pillar over twenty feet tall which turned everything it touched into ashes before exploding into a rain of fire that hit the ground and trees, engulfing them in flames.

Kamira looked around the burning clearing with a smirk and didn't see anything left of her opponent after the attack. The knight prepared to go help Fugai and brag about her victory, but when the woman started walking the ground shifted and Hinata emerged behind her. The knight turned to block the incoming attack, but she wasn't fast enough and the kunoichi's palm pushed chakra into her lungs.

Kamira ignored the pain and completed the turn, backhanding the Hyuuga with her rings. Hinata was dazed as she rolled away on the ground, but her opponent fell to a knee and began coughing up blood while struggling for breath. The kunoichi gracefully flipped back to her feet as her Byakugan saw the stone implanted in the woman's chest shoot out waves of energy that quickly healed her damaged lungs. Kamira looked respectfully at the teen after she pushed herself up and gave a short bow, "I apologize for underestimating your skills, now, allow me to show my true power."

Hinata ran forward as a carved stick about six inches long with engraved lines swirling up it appeared in the foreigner's hand, glowing with energy. The kunoichi didn't want to find out what the attack was and channeled chakra to her fingertip with the intent of ending the fight, but the energy in Kamira's wand burst outward and the world around Hinata went dark. She struggled to move her body and control chakra, but it didn't respond to her commands, "This is my greatest spell, now watch." The Hyuuga tried to shut her eyes but nothing happened, and she was forced to look into the swirls that clouded her vision until everything went black.

Naruto lifted his hitai-ate while sneaking towards the area his opponent flew as a clone jumped through the trees. It was apparent from the way Temujin and Kamira deferred to this woman that she was in charge, and the armored teen gave him enough trouble without the Sharingan. His senses were on full alert and he was easily able to detect the foreigner's clunky approach, even if she thought it was silent. His clone let itself be destroyed as the brunette tackled it out of the tree, and its sudden disappearance startled the knight, causing her to fall awkwardly on her shoulder. She stood up favoring her right side and Naruto attacked from the left.

Fugai turned and grabbed the boy's right arm as he tried to stab her with his blade, but she wasn't able to block the jab that crunched into her shoulder. The woman winced and let go of his arm, falling backwards to avoid the deadly tip of his blade that slashed above her head. She hit the ground and rolled away as his fine red saber stabbed into the earth where she just was and easily sliced through the dirt while chasing after her. The blade cuth through the oversized piece of armor above her right shoulder as the knight regained her feet, then stabbed towards her face.

The shinobi was surprised when she easily raised her left arm while a glowing silver shield inscribed with foreign seals unfolded from her wrist. It was nearly eight inches in diameter and easily blocked his swing, allowing the woman to pull out her sword and slash upwards towards his torso in one graceful motion. Naruto was caught off guard when her injured limb was used to block his attack and was forced to hop backwards, ceding the initiative. It appeared the woman was fine with letting the fight stall when she sheathed her sword and said, "It appears Temujin was right, you were holding back when you fought him. Perhaps I should stop now."

Naruto watched as black fur covered the exposed women's skin and her fingernails changed into sharp claws. Pointed white ears emerged from her skull while her face elongated and sharp canine teeth grew into the muzzle. Fugai's brown hair extended until it reached the middle of her thighs, then a white stripe formed at her muzzle's tip and expanded to cover her long hair. The chunin was surprised as he stared at the transformed woman, "Um, good doggy."

The knight smirked at him before she opened her mouth and howled, causing the air around her muzzle to distort as a compressed blast of sound flew at Naruto. The shinobi jumped to the side before charging, gracefully weaving around several more blasts that followed. The red saber slashed towards her neck when he got close, but Fugai simply lifted her right arm as another shield emerged at the wrist and blocked it, but the chunin jumped and used it as an anchor to roll around her right side, dodging a strike from her dangerous claws. He landed and stabbed towards the creature's spine, but she ducked onto all fours before kicking out with her boots. Naruto jumped over the strike that would've shattered his knees but couldn't avoid Fugai after she jumped up into the shinobi with a shoulder tackle, fortunately he shifted so her spiked shoulder pad only ripped some flesh off his arm before he was sent flying.

Naruto smashed into the trunk of a tree while his opponent landed gracefully and turned around while screaming. A large blast of sound rushed towards the chunin, but thanks to the Sharingan he knew the attack was coming before she even pivoted and was able to substitute with the branch Fugai broke in her initial attack. The woman turned to face the boy while the sword glowed red and healed his wound, then complex seals glowed bright blue on his wrists and ankles before shattering.

The foreign warrior prepared to charge when the blonde seemed to disappear and she froze. The teenager reappeared in front of the stunned woman and stabbed forward through her left shoulder. The blade glowed red as she screamed in agony, but after he pulled the weapon out and the woman fall to her knees green energy flowed from the right side of her chest and started to counter the poisonous chakra. Naruto saw Hinata at the outside of the clearing and was somewhat surprised when she rushed to join the fight when it was clearly over, but shrugged it off as her wanting to impress him.

The chunin waited for the Hyuuga to finish the knight, but his Sharingan could tell her path was somewhat off so he wasn't completely off guard when the girl's hand passed Fugai's head and flew towards his heart. The teen jumped backwards to avoid the hit, but a small burst of blue chakra shot out of her palm and hit his liver despite the distance between them. Naruto coughed up blood while thinking, 'I'm gonna have to learn how she does that after this is over.' He could feel the strangely comforting warmth as the sword healed him with Kyuubi's chakra and looked at Hinata oddly. Usually it was difficult to tell what a Hyuuga was thinking since the Byakugan was all white, but the Jinchuuriki could easily see that his comrade's eyes were completely empty.

Fugai cursed as she tried to stand up, but the Gelel stone was still fighting the Kyuubi's chakra and hadn't even healed the wound yet. Naruto sighed, grateful that he would only be fighting one opponent, but he still didn't know what happened to the other foreigner. Hopefully the knight would need to concentrate in order to control her victim like a Yamanaka, but he wasn't counting on that and kept his guard up.

Hinata raised her palms as they glowed blue with chakra and prepared to charge. The boy tried to use his Sharingan to hypnotize the girl and break her out of it, but it appeared the technique guarded her conscious mind from his intrusions. Naruto sheathed his dangerous blade because he still didn't have full control over it and prepared for his friend's attack. The Hyuuga rushed and tried to break his defenses with a rapid-fire barrage of quick finger thrusts, but the Jinchuuriki was able to stay out of her reach and created some clones.

The bunshin started to attack using Suiton: Hahonryuu, but Hinata was able to gracefully contour her body and avoid the jutsu. The real Naruto sat back while molding chakra in his palms and waited until the kunoichi was forced to use the Kaiten. When her attack ended a clone emerged from the ground underneath her while holding his hand out. Hinata thrust her palm forward and dispelled him, but another one holding the same seal emerged behind her while saying, "Suiro no Jutsu." The water at her feet swirled up and encased the Hyuuga in a sphere as the real Naruto rushed forwards. The clone dispelled the technique once his creator got in close and brought his palm forward. The watery orb disappeared and the blonde blushed when his hand accidentally cupped her breast as he applied the seal.

A strange design appeared on the girl's chest that completely blocked access to her chakra before a clone appeared next to him and shunshined away with the kunoichi so it could break her out of the technique as other bunshin followed. The blonde was about to focus his attention on the other woman when a high-pitched scream caused him to grab his ears before a large blast of air knocked him away and dispelled the clones that didn't accompany Hinata. Naruto tried to clear his vision as the blurry form rushed towards him, it didn't appear to be the transformed woman, although he wasn't too concerned about its identity. The dazed boy made half a seal with his right hand while molding chakra in his chest, and when the woman got closer he launched a weak Goukuhou that was able to knock the surprised attacker back.

The Jinchuuriki retook his feet as his opponent gracefully landed on all fours and he took in the changes. It was still Fugai, but she transformed once again. Fur no longer covered the woman's body, instead her skin was red and her normal brown hair was back, but the knight's jaw was rounder and the reason was apparent when she grinned, revealing a mouthful of dangerously sharp teeth nearly four inches long. The woman had also ditched her armor for more speed and now only wore a black spandex bodysuit that covered everything except her clawed hands and feet.

Naruto could sense the other knight moving out of her hiding spot and didn't know if she would help Fugai or go after Hinata so he needed to finish this quickly. The feral woman easily rested on her haunches and Naruto formed twenty clones before she burst forward much faster than before. Fugai was able to dispel several bunshin quickly, but after the Sharingan adjusted she wasn't able to land another hit on them. The transformed knight growled in frustration and slid across the ground while her claws dug in for traction. A clone tried to kick the foreign warriors face but she turned her head and bit through the leg as the boy dispelled in a puff of smoke. The woman pivoted sharply and kicked one Bunshin while dispelling another with her claws, but a third was able to kick her into the air.

She dispelled another one trying to punch her in the stomach with a claw swipe, but a foot emerged through the smoke and launched her higher. Fugai tumbled upwards as three more clones kicked her, and when she was over the treetops Naruto jumped above her with a swirling blue ball of chakra in his hand. He shoved it forward as green energy bubbled around the woman's claws and she did the same. Her attack was faster and pierced the boy's chest, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke and another blue ball was shoved through the cloud as Fugai heard, "Naruto Rasengan Rendan."

The swirling blades of chakra easily shredded through the transformed woman's torso like it was paper and his arm burst through the other side, causing a shower of blood particles to explode out while spinning rapidly. The chunin's Sharingan was easily able to locate the shocked face of Kamira as she underwent a transformation of her own, becoming a strange black and white bat creature. The woman flew upwards as he descended and took off in a random direction until she was little more than a speck on the horizon.

Naruto sighed in relief before heading towards his clones and Hinata. When the Jinchuuriki arrived he found the Hyuuga apologizing profusely to the bunshin and he interrupted her, "Don't worry about it Hinata-chan, it wasn't a big deal." The girl looked up and him and blushed before staring at the ground embarrassedly, "These guys fight pretty weird, eh."

"Yes, but I, I should've been prepared. I saw the chakra gathering and-"

The chunin cut her off, "So you should've been ready for her to use anything, even something that you didn't know about."

The girl's blush deepened when Naruto placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and nervousness tied her stomach into knots, but she didn't feel guilty anymore, "Um, I guess you're right Naruto-kun."

"That's the spirit. Now c'mon, we still have work to do." The Jinchuuriki dispelled his clones as the kunoichi stood up and they headed towards the clearing where the fighting began. Hinata used her Byakugan to find Temujin's trail outside of the burnt out forest, and the two followed it until his tracks went into a stream. "Well, crap."

The Hyuuga looked at the clear water before saying, "Since the current is slow and it's not that deep he might have gone either way. We could split up until someone finds his trail again."

The blonde shook his head, "No, we don't know if there are other patrols in the area looking for Temujin. I'll summon a tracking toad."

Hinata gave the boy a weird look, "Why didn't you do that from the beginning?"

The blonde laughed sheepishly and bit his thumb before replying, "Heh, well his demands for compensation are pretty high." The teen went through three hand seals before slamming his palm on the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

A puff of smoke appeared before dissipating, revealing a small green toad with blue spots. It was wearing a strange metal helmet that was covered by knobs and switches with two antennae sticking out of the top and a large black visor that covered the upper part of his face, "Yo, what's up Naruto."

"Hey Seki, we're trying to find a guy that went into this stream a little while ago, we don't know which way he went after jumping in."

The toad nodded and began fiddling with several knobs on his helmet as lights popped up on his visor. Gamaseki let out an interested, "hmm," as he began to use some of the switches on the back of his helmet while toying with two knobs on the front. He kept playing with the dials for several minutes before he stopped and his visor went black, "Sorry Naruto, but I can only get the general direction where he is now. The energy source here is almost nonexistant and I wasn't able to track it until I maxed out the range and sensitivity, but when I do that the only thing I get is direction. The guy is somewhere northwest of here, but he could've gone either way here before doubling back. I wish I could tell you more, but there's this strange energy that mixes with his chakra and dissipates it before getting absorbed by the earth."

The blonde nodded after the report, "Thanks anyways, at least we know something now."

The toad nodded, "I wish I could do more so I'll give you this one on the house."

The summon disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the blonde grumbled, "Your generosity has no limits Gamaseki." The chunin sighed before facing the Hyuuga, "I guess I'll send some clones both ways to look for signs while we get Kiba and Shino."

Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously before saying, "Um, maybe we should go back to Konoha since our original mission is finished. We have a decent amount of information to tell the Hokage and he can decide how to continue. This seems a little advanced for us."

Naruto shook his head, "That doesn't matter, we don't know where the main base is and those women said they already started attacking. I can easily get a message to the Hokage with my summons before tomorrow, but by the time a team got out here it would be too late, we need to act now. Let's go back and tell Kiba and Shino what's going on and I'll send a message to the Hokage. It's fine if you guys want to go back to Konoha, but I'm not letting these foreign bastards do as they please."

Hinata nodded, "You're right Naruto-kun, and I'll go with you even if the other two won't."

The boy smiled appreciatively while rubbing the back of his head, "That makes me feel better because I probably wouldn't be able to follow his trail by myself."

I do not own Naruto or any western fantasy worlds like Forgotten Realms, Harry Potter, or anything else this resembles. I wanted to make Haido represent part of an empire's colonization efforts, and it really worked out because historically missionaries were often the first to enter an area before everything else. That's why I say commerce follows the cross, so he represented the interests of an empire looking to expand its territories to gain an advantage over rivals at home. I wasn't taking shots at any country in particular, because the United States committed a lot of the same atrocities against the Native Americans, just taking a different look at colonization, from the view of the colonized.

It's unfortunate that schools teach expansion as inevitable and preordained while sweeping out the atrocities committed against the indigenous peoples and making them seem inferior when they were just different. For instance, British colonists adopted Native American farming methods to survive, and it often took generations and technological advancements until they could match the Native American's yearly outputs after they relocated the tribes. Hopefully this leads you to look things up, like what Columbus did to the Arowacks, or that De Gama and Pizarro followed a step by step guide (Cortez's diary) to conquer the Incas and Mayans that included introducing disease. We have a Eurocentric view of history that encourages us to look at different cultures as savage or inferior to ours. Remember though, if you bring this up in class have evidence to back it up. It's there just look around.

Jutsu List

Futon: Daitoppa

Suiton: Hahonryuu

Mizu no Tatsumaki

Hakke Kusho

Juujin Bunshin

Futon: Kami Oroshi (Godly Wind from the Mountains) B Rank-The user shoots a cyclone out of their palms towards the opponent they control, with practice the twister can be made from wind blades that can slice through steel, otherwise it is used to push people away and clear paths.

Kaiten

Wrath of the Flame God-the user sends a massive blast of fire shaped like a screaming man's face towards their opponent. It forms a giant pillar of flames after impact before exploding apart into liquid fire

Futon: Goukuhou

Suiro no Jutsu