Alright, I know that right now I'm on crunch time, but since I found out it'll actually take a few weeks before the paperwork I sent in gets back to me, I'm going to at least try putting this idea out before I go. At the most, there'll likely be THREE chapters posted before I leave. They'll be slightly longer then my Word of Honor chapters, but I'll perservere and get what I can done.
Just to inform you all, this is pretty much a complete Author's Universe scenario. I'm going to strip away large chunks of the Naruto universe you all know so well in order to infuse a bit of Arabian Nights and Western into it (those are the closest I can get to describing one of the big changes in how the universe is made up). If you want a character you know and love in the story, shoot me a review with their name, and when I get back to writing it, I'll see what I can do. Be warned however that there will be characters already cut out of the storyline simply for living in a certain place; Kirigakure (you'll get it later). This also means I get to keep a few other characters alive. Please take note of who's dead and who's not, because the dead ain't coming back unless they're caught in a ridiculous situation that they can somehow get out of.
Anyways, enough of me rambling (I can do that in the end). Here's my second story; Naruto: Desert Assassin
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do own this spin off, especially since there's no WAY you could mix this up with the original.
Naruto Shippuden: Desert Assassin
Chapter 1: Prologue & the Priest
Throughout the Shinobi (Ninja) Nations, there were a great deal of legends that spawned as time passed on. From overstatements of peoples abilities to the point of fantasy, to actual stories that no one believed anymore. One such story was the birth of the forest that once surrounded Konohagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Leaves). Many believed the forest was likely there since before the birth of the Shinobi Nations, but there was another popular story.
As the story went, after they had gathered together to form Konohagakure no Sato, they elected both Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama to be their first leader. While this led to the cataclysmic battle that formed the Valley of the End, but that had no part in the story of the forest other then the victory of Hashirama.
Senju Hashirama was a powerful man, matched only by Uchiha Madara in power, and had a very special ability. Mokuton (Wood Release), having the ability to create structures of wood, or even trees. Some said it was a bloodline, others a special ability that Hashirama alone could control. Regardless, this ability spawned the legend of the forest.
Believing that the area around Konohagakure was to open, and easily accessible by their enemies, Hashirama performed a feat of titanic proportions; he created a forest that spanned hundreds of miles, and provided a safe haven for the gathered clans. Surely, such a feat was mere overstated mythology. While it only lasted a few decades, the myth grew to such proportions, it simply had to be exactly that; a myth.
And that's what people believed. At least, until the day the forest died.
It happened suddenly, and without warning. During the Second Great Shinobi War, a war spawned by Iwagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Stone) attacking Sunagakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Sand), the battle began to shift in Konoha's favor. The forest made it far too difficult for the opposing forces to attack Konoha directly, as it was meant to, and they were forced to try hit and run tactics. These were insufficient compared to the more direct and powerful blows that Konoha dealt directly to Iwagakure's defenses.
Years later, people speculated it was shortly after Senju Hashirama's death, his chakra no longer there to keep the trees alive. Other believed it was shortly before his death, having lost focus of how he needed to direct his chakra and the forest suffering thus. Regardless of the time, the trees began to degrade rapidly in the time of his death. The forest died, and Konohagakure no Sato was left unguarded against their foes.
Those who remained in Konoha, unaccustomed to fighting in the barren wasteland territory, were subjected to multiple raids that tore the once great village. By the time the shinobi who stood on the 'frontlines' got word of the destruction, it was too late. Unable to support itself, Konoha split itself once more into the various clans that once roamed the nation.
This was considered by Iwagakure no Sato and their allies to be their greatest victory. With Konoha gone, there was no one left to help in the defense of Sunagakure no Sato. Little did they realize how this dramatic change of the landscape would affect them all.
Without the forest to buffer the winds that had once roared across the land, Iwagakure found itself fighting in a loosing battle against the elements. Howling winds turned into raging tornadoes. Unable to efficiently establish a defense against the winds in time, Iwagakure no Sato fell to the powerful forces of Nature. Cursing the winds and Konoha, Iwa too spread and dissolved into obscurity.
In the neighboring village of Kumogakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Clouds), the new winds affected them as well. However, they were more accustomed to the destructive forces of nature, and endured it far better then their former companions. However, instead of pressing the advantage as they knew they could, they drew back into themselves. For with the destruction and scattering of the clans of Konohagakure, they had been able to catch the members of the Hyuuga's Main House off guard. Whisking them away, they took time to do what they felt was necessary to develop and integrate the bloodline into their village as thoroughly as possible.
Sunagakure no Sato had perhaps the greatest change of time. Their daimyo, a man filled with greed and lusting after the power the other nations once had, took charge of this change and had his samurai and shinobi move forwards. Within months, the lands of Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire), Tsuchi no Kuni (Land of Earth), and the many smaller countries in between were suddenly gone, left only with Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind).
Across the sea, Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water), and the shinobi village of Kirigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Mist), took notice of the destruction and demise of two of the five shinobi superpowers. Knowing that they were safe where they were, they remained where they were. Besides, they had to quickly resolve a dispute that was rising in the ranks of their shinobi regarding those with bloodlines. If they were attacked, they'd need all the sneaky, underhanded tricks they could possibly use. Especially since Sunagakure integrated a great deal of their former foes into their ranks to bolster their forces.
Throughout all of this, several of the scattered clans of the former Konohagakure gathered together. Unable to truly return to their homeland, as it had now be come an arid desert, they formed a new form of alliance similar to that the scattered clans once held with one another. Not truly a village, yet holding many of the same bonds as one had once seen in their once prosperous village.
It was the dawning of the age of the desert. This, perhaps a little over a half a century later, is where our story begins.
-xxxxx-
-xxxxx-
No wind blew across the sand the day the stranger walked into town. While not an odd occurrence, the man himself was odd; for lack of better description by the townsfolk. He stood a little over five feet tall, with dust covered blond hair that barely poked out from underneath the sides of his grey high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat, with a loose ponytail of excess hair that crawled down to the nape of his neck gave a better view of his hair color. An oversized weathered orange duster hanging loosely over a white shirt, with a pair of loose fitting, faded light brown pants. On his back, he carried a package that seemed far for one to be carrying unless he was a shinobi.
On alert, the people watched as the stranger glanced around as though lost. He gave a few people hesitant glances before finally setting his eyes on a general food store. Almost comically, his stomach began to rumble. Chuckling sheepishly at this, he walked merrily towards the store in search of a meal.
As he ducked into the store, he was immediately aware of the intense stares he was getting from the people already within the store. His eyes slowly swept the room, catching the gaggle of women who would likely spread word of the stranger. Ignoring them, his gaze eventually landed on some of the people closer to him, shifting nervously as they attempted to continue their shopping in peace. With a wide, disarming smile, he tilted the brim of his hat in greeting. "Good morning."
Off to the side, one of the braver young men spoke up. "It's actually afternoon by now."
The stranger raised an eyebrow. "Really?" With a near frantic scramble, he ducked out of the building to stare at the sky. Walking back into the store, he shook his head. "I swore it was still morning. I must've lost track of time again. Ha, no wonder I'm still hungry!"
As if on cue, his stomach let loose a loud rumble. Several people nearby heard this and despite themselves found themselves chuckling.
His grin widening further, he moved further into the store, quickly browsing the isles to see what merchandise they carried. His hands seemed to ghost along the surface of each item, pausing only once in a while to pick up something and turn it over. After spending several minutes browsing, he appeared to sink in on himself. Walking towards the manager, he fell to his knees, his chin hitting the surface of the counter.
The manager, a woman in her mid-thirties, blinked in shock as the young man lay before her. Tilting her head down to see him better, she hesitantly asked, "Can I help you sir?" As she got closer she was surprised to see that beneath the shadow of his hat, tears streamed down his cheeks. "Sir, are you alright?"
The stranger sniffed heavily, his lips pressed together in a pout. "Why is it that no one sells instant ramen anymore?"
The manager frowned, trying to understand what he'd asked. "Um, what's this about ramen?"
In an instant, the tears were gone, replaced by a hesitant gaze as he sprung to an upright position. "Y-you…you don't know what ramen is?" Placing his face into his hands, he let loose a muffled scream. "Log damn it! Why is it everywhere I go no one knows what ramen is? What did I do to deserve this?"
"Sir? I know what ramen is." The manager said tentatively. "I just don't understand what the issue is about finding ramen? It's in the back corner, over there."
Many people around them would later swear they heard a loud snap as he turned towards the indicated corner, so fast was his movement. With a loud shout, he raced to the corner and gripped the first container of ramen he could get his hands on. For a moment, it looked like a sappy love scene; where two lovers saw each other from across the room and leapt into each others arms and just held each other. Only in this case, shortly after the 'lovers' embraced, there was an extremely high pitched scream followed by the stranger falling backwards in a heap. Landing on his pack, several people winced as the pack make a loud bump against the floor.
The manager, seeing him fall, raced to his side. "Sir! Are you alright?"
Slowly, he lifted the packet of ramen into the air. "Why?" With tears streaming down his face, he stared up at the packet. "Why must ramen be so expensive?"
The manager sighed, toeing his pack lightly in a 'get up' motion. "Sir I have a business to run. If you're quite finished…"
"I'll get up, I'll get up. No need to push me." He said, rolling to his stomach and pushing himself to his feet. With a sigh of longing he replaced the ramen onto the shelf. "Goodbye…my darling ramen."
Shaking her head at the strangeness of it all, the manager walked back behind the counter once again. As she began refocusing on her work, she found herself increasingly distracted by the stranger as he moved through her store. Admittedly, he seemed like a nice enough guy, but then again she'd seen several 'nice guys' who turned out to actually be the complete opposite of how they acted. Of course, none of them played the bumbling idiot to quite this extreme. He even did the 'stare at an object in confusion because you have no idea what this is' perfectly.
The stranger turned suddenly, motioning to the object he'd been staring at. "Why the heck do you guys sell hatchets here? I mean, there's no trees, so why have them?"
She blinked in confusion, staring at the hatchet in confusion. When her mind caught up with his question, she realized he was patiently waiting her answer. "Oh! Uh, there are several shipments of wood that come in from time to time from Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning)."
"They have trees?" He asked, his eyes suddenly sparkling lightly. "You mean real, honest to log trees?"
She nodded, taking a small step back. "Uh, yeah. I mean…wait, honest to who?"
Before he could speak, his hand halfway into his duster, as a commotion outside drew their attention to the front of the store. Not waiting for him to answer her question, she strode around her counter again. Letting his head fall and a small sigh escape his lips, he followed after her.
In the street, a team of five Suna shinobi strode through. A small ruckus was caused as several civilians scrambled to get out of their way, causing more attention to be drawn to them. While all eyes fell on them, they ignored everyone, focusing instead on the general food store.
"Hey there Ami." The lead shinobi said, his eyes roaming over her as she stepped out of her store. Seeing her scowling at him, his grin widened. "Aw, what's the matter? Still upset about last time I was in town?"
"You and your team managed to tear bar and half the block on either side of it." Ami muttered, trying to keep her glare. Despite her valiant effort, her eyes quickly fell to the ground. "Why don't you just leave us alone Yuudai?"
Yuudai shrugged, the motion drawing the civilians attention to the two scrolls on his back. While few had seen the actual incident, everyone had heard the rumors of what he had within the scrolls. "I could. But you know what that entails." He ran his hand across her cheek, leaning in closer as he whispered. "It's only for one night. One night with you, and I'll be good."
Ami shrunk in on herself, memories of the last time she'd let Yuudai spend the night with her. She crossed her arms defensively, trying to take a step back. "I told you the last time you came through; I don't wanna do that anymore."
"Well now, that's too back." Yuudai said, slowly pulling away as he continued. "And here me and the boys were going to have a night on the town. Weren't we boys?"
Ami's eyes widened as she noticed the nods of consent from Yuudai's teammates, fear shooting through her heart. Unlike others, she had been there when Yuudai and his team had cut loose on the town. Seeing the aftermath, and seeing their abilities in action were two different levels of terrifying. Her mouth began opening and closing hesitantly, wondering if it would really be worth it; knowing she could've prevented the destruction of people's homes and livelihood if she simply let Yuudai have his one night.
Before she could come to a decision on what to do, another voice cut into their conversation. "As the log takes your place, you become the log. The log becomes you. For a moment, you are an extension of the logs blessing unto ninja."
Yuudai shifted silently, looking past Ami with a curious gaze. "Excuse me?"
The stranger smiled lightly, motioning to a book he held in his hands. "Ah, Chronicle of the Replacement. No matter how many times I read it, I always find it's most satisfying when you read it out loud in front of a shinobi." He slowly turned the page, sighing contently. "Then again, it's fun to read anything in front of a shinobi nowadays."
"Excuse me?" The larger member of Yuudai's team asked, stepping forward in a rather threatening manner.
Unperturbed, the stranger smiled up at the larger man. "Shinobi are strong, but when faced with and unknown philosophy they stay close to what they know. They lose that flexibility that makes them dangerous."
Yuudai, noting the way his teammate was beginning to go red in the face, stepped between him and the stranger. "Those are some powerful words for someone as young as you." Taking a moment to look him over, he frowned. "I don't think I've seen you in town before."
"I'm just passing through."
"Ah, that would be understandable. This isn't exactly the sort of place I'd settle down in either." Yuudai replied, his eyes wandering back to Ami. "Well, not for long."
"Oh no, it's nothing like that." The stranger replied, shutting his book gently and slipping it back into his duster. "I'm a member of the Book of Log, a priest in fact. It's my duty to ensure that the Log is remembered."
"Really?" Yuudai chuckled, motioning to the desert around them. "How much success are you having thus far?"
"Depends on who I'm talking to. Some take it, while others reject it. But no matter what, as long as a few words are said, they'll be remembered by someone, and they will learn the truth." The stranger said, exposing his teeth in a wide grin.
The grin caused Yuudai to pause, his eyes focused on the young man's larger then average canines. "Really now. And…you said you were a priest, in this 'log' business?"
"Yep! I'd be higher, but I haven't been able to find a young log to bring back with me, to prove my worth to my village. Yet."
Yuudai's frown deepened, but he said nothing in the manner of voicing his concerns. Taking a moment, he turned to his team. "We're heading to the hotel."
The only woman of the group who stood next to the larger man stepped forwards, obviously rather displeased by her leader's choice of action. "Yuudai-senpai, surely you aren't going to simply– "
"I said we're leaving Kin." Yuudai said, his voice now a strained hiss. Moving his hands subtly, he motioned them to follow him. With waiting for anyone to question him further, he moved past them. Sparing the stranger one final glance, the rest of his team quickly scurried after Yuudai.
The entirety of the village that had stood by and watched the scene unfold turned to the stranger with wide eyes. Ami, who stood closest to him, gave him another once over with now fresh eyes. "Who are you?"
"Who me? I'm just a priest of the Book of Log. If you want my name, you can call me Uzumaki Naruto." The stranger said cheerily, pulling off his hat and making a grandiose bowing motion. As he remained in his bow, his stomach suddenly let loose a loud rumble, causing him to fall flat on his face. "And right now, I'm really hungry."
Everyone stared down at him with a look of disbelief and with a large tear-like drop of exasperated sweat coming down the back of their heads. How he'd managed to get Yuudai to walk away from a confrontation whereas he would have normally would have killed a person he thought had insulted him before they had a chance to do so a second time. Certainly, this 'Naruto' was a strange stranger indeed.
-xxxxx-
"Ah! Now that hits the spot!" Naruto said contently, patting his stomach lightly.
It was a little over an hour after the incident in the streets, and Ami had taken Naruto to a nearby bar to get a quick bite to eat. Despite it being a rather small meal, Naruto acted like someone who hadn't eaten anything in weeks. As he ate, he continually praised the cooks who made his meal, something that got him many looks of gratitude from said cook.
Ami, who sat beside him as he finished his meal, simply stared in silence. As he ate the last of his food, and noticed the staring, Naruto finally began taking notice of her look. "Uh, do I have something on my face?"
Ami shook her head, her eyes attempting to face Naruto's. Now faced with Naruto's own bright blue eyes, she found herself looking away as she bit her lip. "I was just wondering…what-what is the Book of Log?"
Naruto's reached his hand into his duster, whipping out the book he'd had during his confrontation with Yuudai. "I'm glad you asked. This is the Book of Log."
Handing the book to her, she inspected it carefully. It was made in a rather unusual manner; a rather thick, box shaped piece of leather covered the book, which seemed more like several pamphlets tucked together for convenience. On the leather, in crude handwriting, was written the words 'Book of Log', with another strange symbol that looked like a short spiral with a point coming off of the edge away from where the spiral curved away from itself. Peeking inside, she was amused to find several different types of bookmarks poking out the sides where Naruto had marked certain passages.
Curious, she began flipping through and skimming a few verses for herself. "Why is it in such a bad condition?"
"It was my fathers, before he died."
Startled, Ami tore her eyes away from the book with a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Naruto shrugged, leaning into his chair idly. "It looked more organized when he had it. His friends used to tell me he'd memorized nearly every important passage there was to know in the book. Me? Ha, I got my mom's memory. Nothing I read stays in my head."
Naruto tapped the side of his head, a surprisingly loud hollow noise echoing as he did so. Ami smiled at Naruto's antics, slowly closing the book and handing it back to him. "I'm sure she must be proud of the man you've become."
Naruto opened his mouth as though to retort, when it snapped shut, a shiver running across his face. "Yeah, I suppose you could say that."
Curious, but not wishing to prod, Ami sighed and let it go. Still, there was something about his gaze that bothered her. An odd sort of memory that seemed to surface in his eyes before it was violently squashed.
Tapping his fingers against the wood of the counter, Naruto slowly leaned forward. "So, Kaminari no Kuni has trees?"
"Um, yes." Ami said, grateful for the change of topic to something more pleasant that she knew more about. "If it hadn't been for the treaty the daimyo's made about fifteen years ago, this town would have been far more desolate. While sand structures are good, and simple to make in places like Sunagakure, and Sakyuu Pagoda where shinobi are trained and can make them on site. Here though, it takes far long unless we contract out to shinobi to come help us. And their services aren't cheap enough for everyone."
Naruto gave a small nod, his tapping increasing slightly as he began to understand a bit more. "So that's what Yuudai and his friends are here for? They're here to fix up the buildings?"
Ami nodded, her grip on the book tightening almost indistinguishably. "There are some shinobi who've contracted out to be full time building inspectors for villages all over the desert. It's safer money, and is great for those who love traveling. For those of us who live in these little villages, they're all the support we're likely to get from shinobi."
"Okay." Naruto muttered, scratching his neck with his other arm. "While that would explain why they're here, that doesn't explain why everyone's so nervous around them."
Ami grimaced, closing the book and setting it on the counter as she turned away. "Whenever they come through, they all ask for something they want. The last time they came through, we didn't give them it. We promised to pay them in full for whatever damages there were before they'd arrive, and then we wanted them gone." Gritting her teeth together, she hissed out the rest as the memory of what had happened drifted through her mind. "When they'd completed their job, they went to the bar and got drunk. By the next morning, over a dozen homes and businesses were destroyed, and none of them were in sight. We've had to make due with what we could, but for some, that's become very little."
Naruto sighed, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the plight of the village. Slowing his tapping to a stop, he silently cursed his conscience. "When do they normally get done repairing the village?"
"Just before dusk, always before dusk." Ami answered, unaware of the glint in Naruto's eyes. Rubbing her forehead lightly, she began rummaging through her pockets. Right when she was about to pull out some money to pay for the meal, she realized she didn't have enough money to pay for the food. With a sheepish look, she glanced at the bartender. "I-I can't pay for it right now. If you'll give me just a moment, I'll –"
"It's on the house this time." The bartender said, picking up a spare glass to wipe down.
The bar went silent for a second as several others who'd heard him gave curious looks. Ami herself seemed awestruck. "I –you –"
"Just go with it before I change my mind." He said with a hiss, glancing from Ami to Naruto.
Before either could say anything, the doors to the bar were opened with a loud clacking noise as someone entered. All eyes turning to the doors, many flinched away as Yuudai and his team strolled in.
Naruto ignored their grandiose entrance, sipping on his drink and keeping his head down to avoid trouble, shadowing his face as much as he could with his hat. Knowing his luck though, he'd likely get drawn into whatever was going to happen anyways. He swore it was the Log trying to have a sense of humor about his life.
"Huh, this place never seems to need repairs, does it?" Yuudai said, motioning to the bar around him. Seeing Ami at the counter, he smirked. "Ah, hello Ami-chan."
"Hey Yuudai, what's up?" Naruto asked, spinning in his seat to face Yuudai – effectively coming between Yuudai and Ami.
Yuudai frowned, turning his gaze to Naruto. "Hello again stranger." Turning to the bartender, he spoke sharply. "Give me a bottle of sake."
"You still need to pay your tab from your previous visits." The bartender replied coolly, unwavering as he made no motion to get Yuudai's sake.
The woman in Yuudai's team stepped forwards, a scowl marring her features as she leaned across the table. "After all we've done for this village, you want to start holding out on a few simple drinks now?"
"I'm running a business, not a charity. If you want to ask for a drink, you'll need to pay for it or do something of worth the price of what you ordered."
"Ah, but I wasn't asking now was I?" Yuudai replied, motioning to the larger man.
Before he could move however, Naruto stepped off his seat and took a step forwards, once again placing himself in the center of the conflict. "Hey now, there's no need to threaten anyone!" The larger man's face remained blank as he looked down on Naruto, his hand clenched tightly into a fist. Naruto ignored the obvious threat as he turned to the bartender. "Just put it on my tab. I promise, I'll pay you back before I leave."
Before the bartender could say anything to Naruto about his offer, the larger man reared his fist back and slammed it into Naruto's head. Naruto went face first into the floor, breaking several floorboards in the process. Without waiting to see if he'd get up from the strike, the larger man brought his hands together and dropped them in a hammer fist onto the middle of Naruto's back; further destroying more of the floorboards as he began to strike him repeatedly. Throughout the entire beating, no one from within the bar so much as moved; watching with pained expressions as while they desired to help, none of them were willing to risk life and limb to save a stranger.
To the side, Yuudai watched in a disinterested manner as the blows became harder and harder. Finally, figuring that enough was enough, he placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "I think he's dead now Hiro."
Hiro took a shaky breath, his anger still at a boiling point. Calming himself, he gave a curt nod to Yuudai. "Forgive me senpai, my anger got the best of me."
"It's fine Hiro, just don't let it happen again." Yuudai replied, turning back to the bartender. "Now, I do believe he offered to put that bottle on his tab?"
The bartender seemed to mull over his options for a moment before he grabbed a bottle and threw it to Yuudai. Before it reached him, the woman snatched it from the air with a greedy grin. Popping the top and taking a quick swig of the alcoholic beverage, she gave Naruto a little kick. "Thanks stranger!"
Yuudai glanced to Ami, his eyes conveying his silent desire and threat. Ami turned away, feeling nausea overcome her as Yuudai and his team left. She knew what her decision would have to be now; there was no way she could let him destroy any more of their town simply because she was reluctant to let him have his 'small request'.
Before she, or anyone else, could move to take Naruto's corpse out, they were startled to find him pushing himself to his feet. Grumbling as he dusted himself off, Naruto rolled his shoulders to check for damage. "Man that guy hits like a girl. And all the girl's I know hit hard!" Staring up at the ceiling, Naruto spoke with a disgruntled tone. "Why do you love torturing me so?"
"Uzumaki-san!" Ami said, dropping to her knees by Naruto's side. Looking him over critically, she was surprised to find that despite the obvious damage he should have taken from Hiro's strikes, there were only a few scratches that lightly marred his body. "How – how is this possible?"
"When you have girls who are likely to burst into fits of spontaneous violence over every little thing you do, you learn how to take a hit." Naruto replied, rubbing the middle of his back where the hardest blow had fallen. "Still hurts, but I'm pretty sure I'll live."
Ami simply stared, trying to voice how ridiculous he sounded at the moment. The last person she'd seen fall into the path of Hiro's anger – granted, he was a far older man then Naruto – had every bone in his spine and chest broken. The worst part had been the fact that he hadn't done enough internal damage to be fatal until he'd suffered for over an hour. Seeing Naruto brush it off…
"Are you a shinobi?" Ami asked hesitantly.
Naruto stuck his pinky in his ear, looking around for his hat. "What ever gave you that idea?"
"No one has matched Hiro in terms of strength, no one from our town at least." Ami replied.
Naruto shot her a deadpanned look as he picked up his hat. "I just told you the girls I know hit harder then him. What kind of shinobi with any respect would let himself get beat up by a shinobi who isn't strong enough to at least break something other then the floor?"
Ami mulled over his answer, agreeing that it would be rather odd for a shinobi to simply allow someone to beat him when he was fully capable of defending himself. "Ah, I guess you're right. I'm sorry for troubling you." Glancing up at the clock, she cursed loudly as she scrambled to her feet. "I've gotta get back to my shop. I'm sorry we couldn't talk more Uzumaki-san."
Naruto nodded, giving her a dismissive smile and wave. As she raced out of the bar, Naruto turned to the bartender with a far more serious look in his eyes. "What do you need?"
The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Well aren't you jumpy? Why the hurry to pay off your debt?"
Naruto glanced to where Ami had left, a flicker of a foreign emotion crossing his face. "I've only got 'til around midnight before I have to move on."
"Good thing what I need done only needs to happen a little after sundown. A shinobi like you should be able to pull it off, given the right circumstances."
Returning his gaze to the bartender, he frowned. "I never said I was a shinobi."
"You never denied it either." The bartender replied.
A wry grin slowly spread across Naruto's face. "I suppose that's true." Grabbing his book and stuffing it back into his duster, he gave the man a short nod. "Thanks for the meal."
The bartender sighed. "Just get the job done."
Without another word, Naruto placed his hat back on his head and walked out. Far from the confused expression he'd worn when he'd entered the town earlier, his gaze was sharp. Already knowing where Yuudai and his team were headed he began the slow stroll towards their hotel. The sun was just touching the shadowed ridge of the mountains in the distance, signaling sunset. Within the hour, he would be on duty once more.
"And the people spoke to the shinobi of the desert, 'We stand by the log, and the log by us. Allies we have been, allies we are, and allies we will be; even when the world turns to the very sand you see before you, the log will hear.'" (Book of Log, Redwood Journals Verses 13-14)
-xxxxx-
Hiro sat before Yuudai, his expression taunt as he recalled what he'd been told. "You truly believe he's from one of the scattered clans?"
"I'm almost assured of it." Yuudai replied, pacing back and forth in front of Hiro with an expression of disgust. "The problem with the old clans is that it's impossible to know which were of the former bloodlines, and which were the common shinobi who simply had family jutsu without fighting them to determine which clan they come from." Turning back to Hiro, he scowled. "And you've now made it impossible to approach him on neutral terms."
"Forgive me senpai, I didn't know." Hiro said, bowing his head before Yuudai to the point it nearly touched the floor. As his head remained there a thought came to his mind. "Senpai, you speak as though you believe we will meet him again."
"Of course we'll meet him again." Yuudai scoffed. "He's from a clan after all; they wouldn't let him go out until he was trained enough to hide from our scouts and be capable of fending for himself should it come to that. Otherwise, we would have captured, killed, or integrated the remainder of the clans into our forces."
Slowly lifting himself back into a seated position, Hiro frowned in further thought. "How skilled do you suppose he is?"
"I'd say he's at least where we'd rank our chunin." Yuudai replied, coming to a halt in his pacing as he thought over the stranger. Something about the young man seemed to strike him as being off, but no matter how he thought of it, he couldn't place his finger on the cause.
"Senpai, would you like me to call Momoji, Haku or Kyo in to speak to you?" Hiro asked, already certain of his answer.
"No, that'll be all. I'm certain I'll be…busy later." He gave Hiro a sharp glance. "Make sure I remain undisturbed."
"Of course senpai." Hiro said, giving one last bow before he left the room.
Unlike Yuudai, Hiro was not calm enough to pull off many of the subtle manipulations Yuudai did. For the most part, he found himself impressed by the fact that Yuudai could take anything, whether it was his own outburst, or something as trivial as a bottle of sake, and blow it into such epic proportions that people would begin backing down before thinking of doing anything. Fear was his greatest weapon in controlling the populace of many cities.
The fact he was a jonin ranked shinobi of Sunagakure was helpful too.
As he rounded the corner to his room, he paused in front of Kyo's room. While Kyo was not a man of habit, he did have one or two things that he did consistently in every town they went to. One of the things that caught his attention now was the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the handle of his door; something Kyo would never place on his door. He figured if someone wanted to disturb him, it was his duty to drop whatever he was doing and get whatever was needed done quickly so he could return.
Cautiously, Hiro cracked his door open and peaked inside. To his surprise, the room appeared to be completely unoccupied by anyone. The only thing that would have suggested otherwise, from Hiro's limited vision, was the scroll on Kyo's nightstand that held all the equipment he ever used. His trepidation rising, he slowly pushed the door open and walked in.
Immediately upon entering the room, the years of shinobi training to hone his senses to threats kicked into high gear. Across the wall on the far side of the room was a short line of blood that appeared to sink back into the bathroom. Taking a step back, he reached into his equipment pouch to pull out the scroll that held his weapon of choice.
Before he could reach into his pouch, another hand gripped his wrist and yanked in further behind his back and shoved his arm upwards. Caught off guard, Hiro opened his mouth to let loose a howl of pain; his hopes that the noise would be enough to alert his comrades to his plight. Before a noise could leave him, he felt a pressure on the back of his knee which was followed quickly by a rag being shoved into his mouth.
Falling to his knees and his screams muffled, Hiro knew better then to simply give up without a fight. Pulling his arm free, he attempted to put his hands together to begin forming hand seals. Before he could complete the short string of hand seals required, a pair of hands gripped across his forehead and under his chin. Realizing his assailants plan, he attempted to turn his neck in the opposite direction that his head was about to be turned. As he did so, he felt his neck continue on the path he'd begun turning it until with a loud pop he knew no more.
Holding him for a moment, double checking on what his life signs were, Naruto let Hiro fall onto his face with a dull thud. Gripping Hiro's oversized hand, he yanked him back into the room to hide him from the rest of his companions. Panting at the exertion, he froze as he heard the click of a door from across the room.
Haku, roused from her light slumber by the commotion she'd heard outside her door, took a peek outside of her door. Glancing from left to right, she was startled to hear something coming from Kyo's room. Opening the door further, she stepped out. "Kyo, I swear if you're messing around with your sword again, I'm gonna –"
In mid rant, the door to Kyo's room was flung open and Naruto bolted out. A kunai attacked to a spring-loaded rope slid out of his sleeve and into the palm of his hand. Before Haku had even realized she was under attack, Naruto had buried the kunai into her throat and moved her back into her room.
Naruto muttered a string of curses under his breath as he pulled his kunai from Haku's throat. He'd only wanted to take out Yuudai, and yet somehow he'd wound up taking out three of the four members of his team.
"What's going on out there?"
Naruto rolled his eyes, not recognizing the voice as Yuudai's. Sidling up to the still open door, he waited.
His patience was soon rewarded as the final member of Yuudai's team wearily stumbled past him. "Are you guys drinking all the sake without me again? I swear, it won't get weird like that one time."
Naruto, seeing his opportunity, rushed forwards. Gripping the back of the man's neck, he gripped it so that it would tilt his head to face the ceiling. Kunai still in hand, he quickly brought it through the bottom of his jaw into his head. The man's eyes widened momentarily in surprise before they slowly began clouding over as the life began to leave him.
With another yank, the man fell from Naruto's hands to the floor. Naruto looked between the man and his four companions to the hallway. "I'm so not cleaning this up."
Stalking down the hall, Naruto darted from shadow to shadow, peaking out from time to time to make sure that his target hadn't heard him. Unnoticed up until now, he grew somewhat bolder, crawling to Yuudai's door. Seeing the door slightly open already, he shuffled himself to the side until he saw a shadow pass in front of the door.
Through the little crack, he saw Yuudai pacing on the other side of the room; just enough room between him and the window behind him to prevent Naruto from knocking them both to the ground below. Still, "Yeah right, there's no way this is that easy."
In the room, Yuudai paced back and forth, trying to think of a way to get the stranger to come to him. As he rolled on the heel of his foot to shift to the other direction, his door swung open and Naruto rushed in. His eyes widened in a startled expression as Naruto drove his blade just under the left side of his ribs. As Naruto pushed though, the blade made the sound of metal on wood, rather then metal through flesh. Naruto, expecting more weight from Yuudai, plowed forwards, pushing Yuudai and himself through the window and down several stories to the ground below.
In the streets below, Ami slowly strode towards the hotel she knew Yuudai was staying in. She hadn't changed her dress, knowing that it wouldn't matter how she dressed for Yuudai's sick perversion. Wincing at the memory, she took a deep breath to fortify herself. This breath served her better to scream as two bodies crashed in front of her; one disappearing almost immediately after, while the other bounced lightly.
Ami stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground as she attempted to get away from whatever had fallen. Frozen in her now prone position, she could only watch as the one who'd remained slowly picked himself back up, his joints popping as they rolled back into place. What was left of the air in her lungs was stolen away a moment later as the 'man' before her spun his head around to face her. Half of his face was made of sand that was slowly breaking off to reveal the other half; a puppet. Yuudai's specialty.
A shadow dropped beside the puppet, Ami's breath slowly coming back as she recognized Yuudai's form. Yuudai however, didn't appear to share the same sentiment as he launched his right hand forward. From each finger, a strand of chakra launched out and attached itself to Ami's still form. As he yanked his arm back, her attached by chakra strings, the nauseous feeling returned.
"Where did he go?" Yuudai hissed, Ami almost nose to nose with him as he glared at her with a blind rage. When Ami didn't immediately respond, he gave her a harsh shake. "Ami!"
Ami gasped for breath, the oppressive feeling of Yuudai's killing intent washing over her. "I-I-I don't know! H-he just disappeared!"
"Like hell he just got up and walked away! Where is he?" Yuudai shouted, focusing his chakra strings around her neck.
Slowly, the world around her began to fade to black, lack of oxygen beginning to force her into unconsciousness. Before she could simply fade away into the oblivion of unconsciousness, and potentially death, a kunai dropped between her and Yuudai. Scowling at the object, he released Ami from his hold as he pulled a second scroll and unfurled it.
"Pretty brave fighting a civilian, aren't you?" A voice echoed through the darkened streets. While there was enough light to see, only the slightest slivers of the sun remained over the peak of the mountains. Enough light to cast a plethora of shadows.
Yuudai's eyes darted around, his hand on the center of his scroll. The element of surprise had always been the deal breaker in any and every fight he'd ever fought. Then again, he'd never fought anyone quite like this before.
Every few seconds, a small shadow shifted just within the corner of his gaze. As soon as he'd shift to see the one shadow, another would quickly flirt past his vision. A chill ran down his spine as he felt a light breeze brush against the back of his neck. When he turned around though, there was nothing in his sight.
"And you're any better?" Yuudai asked, his mind racing as he thought of a plan.
"I'm fighting a shinobi." Naruto whispered, his voice echoing all around Yuudai.
The sound of someone falling to the ground broke the mysticism Yuudai felt had been placed upon him. Channeling chakra into his scroll, a giant scorpion-shaped puppet emerged. Connecting his strings to the puppet, he sent it after the one who made the noise.
Naruto stumbled out of the alley where he'd fallen, a dazed look in his eyes. Grinning in triumph, Yuudai maneuvered his hands to unlatch a senbon launcher hidden within the puppet's mouth. With a flick of his left middle finger, the launcher activated, spraying a burst of poison laced senbon at Naruto. Just as the puppet's weapons were nearly upon him though, his eyes widened and he disappeared in a plume of smoke.
"Looking for me?"
Yuudai spun around, his puppet scurrying to his side, clacking wildly as its two sickle-like pincers whipped around Yuudai defensively. While he didn't immediately see Naruto, he noticed a small movement from above him. Slowly looking upwards, he found himself startled to find that Naruto was standing in his room, waving down at him with only a large grin visible beneath his hat.
"Did you miss me?" Naruto asked cheerily. Instead of getting a verbal answer, Naruto ducked back into the room, a wave of senbon narrowly missing him. "I guess not."
"Why don't you stop hiding and face me face-to-face?" Yuudai asked, his scorpion puppet slowly drawing back its senbon launcher, a second hidden weapon moving in to replace it.
"No thanks. I don't really don't like puppets, they're too annoying." Naruto replied, mentally going over the few supplies he had. While there was always the simplest of items – kunai, shuriken, wire, etcetera – there was one other thing he had hidden away that he could use. Dropping his pack from his shoulders, he began rummaging about to pull it out.
Yuudai smirked, having pinpointed where Naruto's voice was most likely coming from in the room. Pulling his right middle finger into the palm of his hand, the weapon letting out a hiss as the chakra he sent through to fuel it launched a small ball covered in rectangular strips of paper that in turn were covered in some writing.
The ball thumped lightly as it rolled within the room. Naruto had a moment to notice the ball and recognize it before the entire room was engulfed in a giant explosion. With his bag loosed, he was able to whip around and shield himself as the explosion rushed in on him.
At the bottom of the building, Ami slowly began rousing from her state of unconsciousness. As she gazed around, her mind slowly began to piece together what had happened before she'd passed out. As she slowly turned to Yuudai, her gaze soon passed by to the building in flames. "What have you done?"
Yuudai rolled his hands, moving his puppet to circle around him. "What have I done? I've performed by civic duty as a shinobi, and taken care of an assassin. It would've been nice to bring him in alive, but there are so many issues that would bring up." Yuudai stroked the top of the puppets head, giving Ami a look out of the corner of his eye. "Like endangering the people here."
"Yes, you could endanger them. I'd like to think that throwing explosives around would do better job of that then me though."
Yuudai paused in mid stroke, his teeth gritted tightly together. Ami on the other hand was far more loose-lipped. "Uzumaki-san?"
"And you people continue to mock the log." Naruto said, stepping out of the flames. Despite being a bit singed, he looked to be remarkably fine. In his hand though, the item of his defense was not quite as lucky. "Excerpt of the log number one-three-two; and the usage of the log to defend against an explosion shall be permitted, provided one follows excerpt four-three-seven in penance should the shinobi be able to avoid the explosion without the use of the log." A wide grin crossed his face as he held the log in his hand by a thick knot that stuck out just enough to fill a little over half his palm. "I'm pretty sure that counted as a life or death situation."
Yuudai felt a small twitch in his hands, the desire to see Naruto dead rising quickly. Moving his hand in a quick intricate dance, he launched his puppet towards Naruto. "Die!"
In response to the charge, Naruto launched himself at the puppet. Pulling his arm back, log in hand with a layer chakra encasing it, he brought it down hard on the puppet's head. Unlike the log, the puppet was not reinforced and under the crushing force of Naruto's log. Spinning with the blow, Naruto rolled to his feet in a crouch. Before he could slide through the epic finale he'd planned, he was forced to bring his attack to a screeching halt when Yuudai reattached his strings to Ami and yanked her in front of himself.
Seeing that Naruto wasn't going through with his attack, Yuudai smirked. "Alright, that's good." Pulling a kunai from the pouch strapped to his hip, he laid it lightly on Ami's throat. "Drop your…your weapon. And don't make any funny movements."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, slowly setting the log next to his feet. Keeping his arms away from where normal shinobi hid their weapons, he took a slow step to the side. "You know, a lot of people don't get some of the deeper meanings of the log."
Yuudai pressed his knife tighter against Ami's neck. "Don't move!"
"Some people think the message is self sacrifice or some mumbo jumbo like that." Naruto continued, his step growing shorter, but never stopping. "What those people really don't get though, is that the whole thing behind the log is about having someone constantly around to help back you up."
Yuudai scoffed. "Oh yeah? And how is a log going to save her?"
Naruto shook his head, a dark smile crossing his face. "I said that's the lesson that's supposed to be taught. I never said the log was the only way to apply it."
For a brief second Yuudai simply looked on in confusion. Then, his face morphed into a grimace of pain as a blade was planted in the collarbone of his arm that wasn't holding the blade. Before he could carry out his threat of killing Ami, a second figure launched out from the shadows and removed the kunai from his grasp. Naruto watched as Yuudai was separated from Ami, his eyes never leaving him. The two figures threw Yuudai away from themselves, having removed the few weapons they could find and remove as quickly as possible. When he caught himself, Yuudai found himself faced with something he hadn't expected. Three Naruto's.
"That's, that can't be possible." Yuudai muttered, eyes wide as he began backing away. "That technique…that technique is –"
"Jonin level. I know." Naruto said with a small smirk. Twisting his left wrist slightly, he caught the small, three blade shuriken that slid into his palm. "Now, since I'm a good sport, I'll give you to the count of ten. One."
Yuudai turned, frantically scrambling in a desperate attempt to get out of town. He had to inform the nearest Suna shinobi, to tell them he'd discovered one of the lost clan members. To tell them –
"Ten." Naruto muttered. Without waiting for any words of indignation or startle shouts, Naruto flicked his wrist and sent the shuriken flying rapidly towards Yuudai. Yuudai made the mistake of looking back when he heard the sound of the shuriken racing towards him. This gave the shuriken just a few more seconds to catch up.
Naruto didn't watch as the shuriken struck into the back of Yuudai's head. The sound alone gave him all the information he didn't want to know. Motioning to his two counterparts, he motioned them off. "Collect their stuff, and bring the bodies. Remember to pack only what I need and can use." They both nodded, giving a small salute before running off. Seeing them going to their own duties, he turned to where Ami had fallen to the ground. She stared up at him with wide eyes, confusion and betrayal flirting through her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"He…is he really gone?" She asked quietly.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, he's gone now. It's all over."
Ami wrapped her arms around her waist tightly, trying to glance towards his body discreetly. "What-what are you going to do now?" She suddenly shrunk in on herself as she peaked up at Naruto with a curious expression. "I thought you said you weren't a shinobi."
"I never said that." Naruto said smoothly. Turning back to the hotel he and Yuudai had wrecked he groaned. "And, since I really don't want to draw attention, I'll dispose of the bodies." Kneeling in front of her, he tapped her forehead gently. "They came and left. If anyone asks, no one knows anything, and it's going to stay that way, alright?"
Ami slowly nodded. Picking himself, his log, and his hat off the ground, he smiled brightly despite the situation. As the other Naruto's returned with the bodies and equipment, Naruto turned to leave. Before he picked up Yuudai's body, Ami called out. "Who are you really? Are you a shinobi, or not?"
There was a moment of silence as Naruto stood in thought. With a sad smile, he picked up Yuudai's body and slung it over his shoulder. Giving Ami a brief glance he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto; just your average wandering priest, who's looking for the few people willing to lend an ear."
AN: And this is the Naruto part. I'll have to overtime to get the other two chapters/introductions to the other (four or five?) main characters.
This felt a bit rushed, but I want this to at least have the start ready to go so I won't forget that this thought ever came into my head. I swear though, no more listening western music while watching a subbed episode of Naruto (unless it's for inspriation). I swear, listening to that western whistly theme from The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly while watching Gaara fight Deidara was one of the hilights of my day when this story decided to pop into my head. That, and no more watching old Disney movies to see how they screwed those stories up (Percy Jackson and the Olympians...enough said).
Next time on Desert Assassins; The Arsonists.