Disclaimer: See prologue

EDITS: Moved Hinokuni to the Southeast ocean. From a politicogeographical perspective, it opens for a little more action with the Leicester Alliance in the long run and contextually makes more sense. A nation surrounded by territory comprised by the empire that used to own it would probably encounter a lot more issues than what is feasible to write in or rationalize. Additionally I modified the value of a crest mentioned in the prologue to join the ranks of the now thirteen elite, should be fairly obvious which character/student from the Foxes got upgraded based on her ancestry in the source material.

Well I wasn't sure what I was going to expect going into this fic but based on the legit reviews I did get, I was pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback! It's really nice seeing people following and favoriting this story so I definitely want to make sure I put my best foot forward from here.

I was able to take some time and get into some pretty intense story related bits from 3H and I gotta say, the game doesn't disappoint from a narrative perspective. My big challenge now is trying to incorporate a fourth power player into this setting without making it feel shoehorned in, I got some really fun ideas though. The prologue was pretty much safe writing for me to set up a background that doesn't step on any other character's toes but if there is critical information I seem to be missing or contradicts something I wrote, please don't hesitate to let me know.

More notes at the end of this chapter along with an open ended question for anyone interested in this fic as well as a poll. Feels like I've confirmed enough about the tidbits of the game, enough to make me confident to release the next part. From here on out though we'll be starting up Naruko's first interaction with the Three Houses cast, but not quite at the part where we see what impact her little group has on the overall house dynamic. Should be fun!

"Speech"

Exposition/Flashback

"Loud"

Emphasis

Naruko's Exposition

Author's Note

Greetings from Mainland: Part I

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a sigh, Looking down at a downtrodden redhead girl, no older than six years old from an outsider's perspective. Wearing a dress an observer might have noted seen better days, the girl was the very picture of a troublemaker at that very moment.

"…Naruko. Look at me." Said girl stiffened her body and continued to look down in front of the elder in front of her. Hiruzen gently tried again, "Naruko, could you please look at me?"

Guilt ate the girl away and she relented after a pause. Her face, the picture of a child aware of the trouble she was in. Her eyes were troublingly red and puffy, it looks like she was still calming down after a fresh wave of crying again…

"You know better than to attack other nobles like that. I know there are times we don't agree with what other people might say, but that does not mean we can always resort to violence-"

"I know!" Naruko pleaded, mumbling a smaller reaffirmation and looking away. "I know…"

Hiruzen looked worryingly at the little girl, of course she knew but these incidents still continued to happen… Retiring to let his sons manage House Sarutobi's activities and taking on a more lax position as a senior advisor in Hinokuni politics had its ups and downs, but nothing was more concerning to the elder than the lack of care directed towards the young crest bearer.

Naruko's mother hailed from the House of Uzumaki, directly linked to House of Senju as a sister branch and thankfully lived a quiet life outside of the Confederacy's political machinations thanks due to her lack of a crest. With future generations of leaders already present and actively being groomed on the Senju side of their family, she was able to marry freely and found love with Minato, a General of commoner origins but legendary for his successful campaigns defending Hinokuni's coastlines, living modestly for several years. The halcyon days of Kushina Senju-Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze's lives ended the moment it was discovered their daughter possessed the minor crest of Asura of the Thirteen Elites.

The Heads and elders of Hinokuni wasted no time urging the young family to begin their lives of grooming Naruko for leadership in the capital of Konoha. Knowing it was inevitable, a deal was struck instead to allow Kushina and Minato to raise their child for six years away from the capital in the countryside, where they would prep her themselves and give her the semblance of a normal childhood before her life changed forever.

It was a small mercy that would never get a chance to come to fruition.

On the tenth day of the Wyvern Moon, Naruko's first birthday, an assassination was carried out in the small, rural home of the Uzumaki-Senju family. All the memories Kushina and Minato hoped to bestow upon their baby girl were burned along with the cottage they lived in. The soldiers that finally found the family were horrified to see a wailing baby in the arms of two corpses easily identifiable as the retired General Minato and Lady Kushina. While the would-be assassins were thankfully killed, the two parents had given their lives in the process to protect their daughter.

With no home to return to, the baby Naruko was brought to the capital five years earlier than bargained where she ended up in the custody of Hiruzen, who wasted no time to announce his plan to watch over the girl in the absence of her parents and godfather, away from the other nobles that would undoubtedly use her crest for their own gain. It was the least he could do for her bright young mother and years of service her father put into Hinokuni, years of Hiruzen's political favor finally paying off which lead to young Naruko's current situation.

"Naruko, if you know not to start incidents, why did you fight Lord Kamoshida's enoturage?"

"…" Naruko began mumbling again.

"Could you please speak up? I promise I'm not angry." Years of raising the girl taught Hiruzen to be patient with issues such as this.

"…They said bad things about Mama and Papa…" little Naruko finally whispered. Hiruzen let out a sad sigh, the small redhead wasn't completely privy to the concept of death yet, but the one thing that was apparent was that she no longer had a mother or father. There wasn't even any justice for her to take satisfaction over, Hiruzen noted. The assassins didn't leave behind clues who sent the hit. It had been his goal to grant as many happy moments to the child as he could while in the capital but occasionally the bitter truth presented itself far too often. Naruko spoke up after a moment of shuffling. "I still don't understand, gramps… why can't they be here to say something? Did they hate me?"

"No! My child, you must understand that everything they did, they did because they loved you." Hiruzen got onto one knee and gently placed his hands on the distraught girl's shoulders in care. This troubling unchildlike conclusion had to be fixed here and now. "You will understand when you are older, I promise, but never forget that your parents loved you more than anything, enough so that they would give you a chance to be happy and find your own path, you must be strong for them though. When you are older, I will tell you the stories of your mother and father's adventures, okay?

"…okay." Naruko looked up to her elder with a small smile who gave a relieved smile of his own. "Am I still in trouble?"

"…No." The wizened noble noted after a pause. "You must treat this incident as a learning experience, however. A lesson in being strong, not physically but also mentally and emotionally, to make your mother and father proud." The now rebounding girl nodded vigorously, taking her caretaker's words to heart. "Also, we will have to explain to your aunt about the situation that has transpired."

"Aww, not Granny!"

"Hoho, she is the current Kage, dear girl! She'll inevitably hear about it whether you want her to or not." Hiruzen chuckled as he and his charge walked down the hallway, the irony of little Naruko calling him 'gramps' and her aunt (and his protégé) 'granny' awkwardly not lost on him.

The girl's story may not have had a happy beginning, but it was entirely possible with her determination to make the rest of her life a better one.

Chapter 1 – Greetings from the Mainland Part I

Docking at the town of Gheese had been a pretty straightforward affair. It was one of the designated ports in Hyrm that the Confederacy had agreed to open to trading with the Empire and often served as an unofficial piece of the mainland that Hinokuni had significant influence over. There were few from the Empire that would agree with the assessment of Kunian influence but considering that the Viscounty of Hrym already had a tenuous relationship with Emperor Ionius IX after their coup was quashed in Imperial Year 1167, there was probably more validity to that statement than what was apparent on paper. With House Hyrm's bloodline lost to war, the current Viscount of the region always absent, and the present dissatisfaction under the Empire's brutal regime, it was no wonder that the denizens of the province felt safer with the their Hinokuni neighbors than it did with their Emperor.

Even so, the sizable force of Kunians found themselves interrogated and escorted to the town's fortress by the Empire's soldiers that had been waiting for their arrival, armed with the intention of making sure there wasn't any ulterior motive outside of enrolling into the academy. The Kunian soldiers looked ready to come to blows with their Adrestian counterparts at the callous treatment of their princess but Naruko placated them and assured them nothing would happen.

…At least that's what she promised up until two thieves passed below the bridge she was being escorted over.

Everyone present on the bridge heard the yell of an undistinguishable man below on the canal side to stop the crooks that were beginning to pass underneath. Soldiers began to look amongst themselves to see who would continue the escort and who would pursue as the captain began to get everyone's attention to issue orders. It was imperative that order be restored and everyone's focus was in the right place if things were going to be handled in the most straightforward manner.

Unfortunately for the captain, Naruko did not have such an attention span.

Without any hesitation and to everyone's shock, the human firecracker vaulted over the side the bandits were to arrive from and timed it well enough to land on the one with the stolen goods, beaning him with her boots leading to a satisfactory "thud" that echoed in the canal.

There was a brief pause of gawking from all parties, minus Naruko, before the remaining fearful thief took off a second later in a desperate attempt to get away from the soldiers, only to discover to his growing horror that the crazy girl that decked his associate elected to wildly pursue him with zealous focus.

The chase took them out of the lower canals and onto one of the main streets. Finding himself quickly out of breath and losing ground to the bottomless well of energy that was pursuing him, the thief elected for a different approach, darting for a nearby child and successfully grabbing him away from his now screaming mother.

"S-stop right there! N-not another step closer if 'huff' you want this kid to stay in one piece!"

"…Tsk!" Naruko stopped in her tracks at the newly developed predicament with a snarl on her face. The poor child was crying as a knife was held dangerously close his face. Only a day on the mainland and she somehow ended up in a hostage situation.

She wouldn't hear the end of this from Sasuke or anybody, would she.

"T-that's right, that's right! Back off and nobody get hurt. I'll just be taking this kid with me to make sure no one has any funny ideas, ya got that?!" The robber began to cackle as he deemed the situation under his control. "You only have yourself to blame, y'hear ya crazy bitch? Coulda let me go and nobody had to get hurt, some hero you are. Hahaha!"

The newly labeled kidnapper began to back up, the well-dressed parent and child sobbing for one another but helpless as Naruko's mind began to race, contemplating a solution. The growing crowd not helping her thought process as murmurs and shouts of panic flew around. Her eyes narrowed in a combination of annoyance, concentration, and fury as the bandit started ranting again progressively becoming more deranged and confident.

"That's what you get for playing the hero, girlie! Being a hero gets you nothing but pain, you let this happen, y'hear?! That's what you get for sticking yer nose in places they don't belong! You got nothing to stop me with!" spittle now flying from his mouth.

"Yeah, maybe not me. I'm out of answers for this one." Naruko surprisingly concluded to everyone present, right before she smirked, gesturing to the area behind the kidnapper. "But those guards behind you might have something to work with."

"…?!" Ash faced, the man turned around to face the guards, only to see an empty street. Staring in shock, he quickly turned around to scream at the girl, but it was already too late for him.

It only took Naruko two and a half seconds to kick her heel back, dislodging a hidden dagger thrown into the air from the momentum, catch it midair from its brief suspension, and fling it deftly in the motion of a single swing from catch and release.

The bandit let out a howl of pain as the knife lodged itself snugly in the shoulder of the side he was holding the boy, releasing him in pain and shock. As the boy ran away, the redhead wasted no time dashing for the crook and slamming into his head, boots first.

By the time the Adrestian captain and his soldiers caught up, the suspect was already unconscious and apprehended by the girl they were supposed to be 'escorting', backed by several burly shop owners and sailors that were passing by and eager to help. She was sheepishly surrounded by a cheering crowd and a blubbering mother and child thanking her.

The captain of the guard noted that standard security protocol dictated that individuals who disobeyed figures in authority would be detained for an undisclosed amount of time, but the situation was far from normal when the individual in question was the heir to a rival nation's throne, detaining a kidnapper, and now seen as a local hero to the port town.

What a mess of a write-up.

He was already getting a migraine from the work ahead of him. Still, she did do a great favor for the town. "Ehehe, um… Do you mind if we skip the security check now?" the girl embarrassingly asked.

"…Fine. Why not."

One less thing for him to worry about. This day was already messed up as it was, and it wasn't even noon yet.

"Well that worked out better than we thought it would!" Naruko chirped from her place in the road.

After the debacle back at harbor and a few harsh words of scolding from her retainer and an amusing exasperation from Sakura who wished for a quiet trip to the Monastery, the group of students and their soldiers were surprised to discover that the guard of the port town elected to drop the 'security check' and opted for a written agreement from Naruko to not invade any Adrestian territory in route to their final destination. Apparently, goodwill went a long way with the citizens of the area who were legitimately impressed by the heroics of the redhead.

In an additional twist of good fortune, it turned out that the rescued child that Naruko saved belonged to family of one of the more influential merchants of the region. Considering that the Viscount was never present to properly govern Hyrm, the Kunian's unintentionally won the favor of the next best individual to help them out. Since a formal ball was out of the question (though an open dinner invitation remained on the table in the future), the merchant opted to use his influence, negotiating the captain of the guard to dedicate a section of his force to escort the group up to the midway point in their journey as a token of gratitude.

Sasuke opted not to say anything snarky about the sheer absurdity of the situation from his place beside his braindead liege at the front of their group, choosing instead to glare straight ahead. Not even a day on the mainland and she already went and got herself involved with a hostage situation, never mind the situation escalated as badly as it did as a result of a certain someone's hero complex. Regardless, they were now more than halfway to the monastery, having said their goodbyes to their Adrestian escorts who bid them a safe journey. No sense getting mad here when he could be scanning for threats and looking out for Sir Kakashi's party to take them the rest of the way. He idly motioned for a soldier in his party to grab a couple of things from their supplies in the back.

"It was a stroke of good luck, Naruko, but must you put yourself in danger so early in our journey?" Hinata, always the voice of reason, softly asked looking at her leader straight ahead as they walked.

"Coincidences aside, you should have left it up to us, more specifically me. I could have taken care of those guys for you and let you take it easy!" Kiba chimed in from nearby.

"It was a split second decision, Kiba." Naruko defended. "Even if I wanted to sic you on them, no one was close enough to react besides those Adrestian guards and they sure as hell weren't reacting quick enough for my liking, y'know?"

"I guess it shouldn't be surprising considering who you are, but maybe one of us should just stick by you in the future just in case." Choji suggested while gently nudging an unmotivated Shikamaru to keep up the pace.

"Even so…" Kiba muttered before suddenly halting. "H-hey guys hold up!" Kiba began looking around sniffing the air, halting the soldiers behind him and allowing them to see the tattoos present on his cheeks.

"What the… do you guys smell something metallic? Almost like iron?"

"Huh? You sure it isn't coming from our group? We're all carrying swords here."

Ino didn't seem too convinced but Sasuke narrowed his eyes while Naruko looked at him, mutally sharing the same concern. Of their group, Kiba spent the most time around blacksmiths and testing swords. Injuries were uncommon but if there were two scents Kiba was familiar with, it was blood and iron.

"I'm serious, there's something funky in the air. It's way different than it had been up until now and I can differentiate what our group's weaponry smells like!"

"That's kinda dog-like, not gonna lie…"

"S-shut up, Sakura! No one asked for your commentary!"

"Enough!" Sasuke snarled, finally understanding what had the Inuzuka noble so worked up. "Naruko, to my left…" Said girl squinted, taking a moment to register what her retainer was referring to with his motioning. It didn't take long to notice the signs of a prior struggle close to where they were marching.

It seemed hastily concealed, but several splotches of blood littered the trees and ground ahead. The scuffling and lines of blood seemed to indicate that whatever corpses previously inhabited the area, they were not only dragged off, but were fresh.

Someone knew they were coming and didn't want them to see the work done prior to their arrival.

Naruko wasted no time. "Defensive formations! All eyes lookout for any surprises!" Like a well-oiled carriage, students and soldiers alike readied their weapons and partnered up, protecting each other's flank points. Captains shouted orders to support their platoons and support each student. A handful armed with shields moved to the front to support the Lady Uzumaki and Lord Uchiha who were on guard and looking ahead, their iron swords unsheathed.

There was a brief pause as shields went up before Sasuke's eyes widened. "Ambush!"

An incoming volley of arrows ricocheted off the shields of the guards in front, some getting past and hitting a few behind them with a shout of panic echoing from those hit.

"Archers straight ahead!"

"Bandits coming from the left!"

"Right too!"

"No movement in the rear!"

"They're aiming for the nobles! Provide additional support, go!"

"Hawk company, rotate with the Toad company in the front! Toad company, move towards Slug company in the center! Slug company, prioritize healing those hit by the arrows!"

That last command was said by Shikamaru who began mobilizing the platoons to repel the enemy force attacking from both sides, leaving Naruko and Sasuke's platoons to deal with the archers in the front as they began to press forward. There was a great deal of shouting commands as the students began to clash with the bandits that sought to end their lives, some with more vigor than others.

Every budding noble and commoner on Hinokuni was enrolled early to begin training as a soldier from the moment they were declared an adult, as such it was mandatory for each of them to carry a sword which they were trained in, befitting a nation of mercenaries that sold their services to the mainland.

While most youths were trained early to carry a blade with adequate proficiency, they had never been trained to kill before. Each student present had a different level of skill displayed as a result of their upbringing, but there was no curriculum present how to deal with taking your first life.

As Kiba slashed a bandit that couldn't handle his assault through his chest, he looked on in mute shock as the bandit fell, quickly covering his nose and gagging.

"U-ugh, t-this is what it smells like? To kill someone?"

Sakura nearby was able to land a solid swipe on the bandit attacking her, slitting his throat. The attacker ended up dying, gurgling up blood the entire way. Sakura nearly collapsed at the sight, now crying in shock.

"What have I done? What have I got myself into?!"

Choji wasted no time to bring his axe down on an interloper aiming for a member of his platoon in the back, sending him crashing into the earth and splattering his blood everywhere. Before the soldier could give his thanks, he quickly rushed to provide support for the large student who looked like he was about to faint or heave his lunch.

"I think I'm going to be s-sick, ohhh..."

Ino wasn't so lucky enough to kill her opponent in one strike, instead being forced to deliver a mercy kill upon witnessing the struggling man stumble with only one arm. She fell to her knees repeating the mantra her father warned her about in this situation.

"It's either them or me… I-it's either them or me!"

As Shikamaru began hyperventilating upon removing his sword from an attacker that got too close to him for comfort he quickly grabbed his chest in an effort to calm down and regain clarity of the situation.

"Dad was right… there really is no way to prepare yourself for your first kill..."

Hinata finally found an opening from her would-be killer's assault and went straight for the jugular as her cousin instructed her to. The sheer brutality of her strike did not prepare her for the blood that sprayed from the dying man's wound and she was quick to erupt into tears at the suddenness.

"I-I'm sorry! I had to do this, I'm s-so sorry!"

"Another volley incoming, shields up!"

Naruko and Sasuke took cover as their front guards negated the assault from the archers attempting to force them to backtrack. With the ranged assault finished, the two nobles pounced on their attackers in a flurry of slashes and strikes a cut above the average fighter's skill level. As the final archer fell to a horizontal slash courtesy of Naruko's blade, the blood from the blow sprayed onto her face, thankfully not in her eyes but enough to make her recoil in shock.

Sasuke stoically pulled his blade out his target and absentmindedly wiped his blade on the archer's clothing.

"Nothing compared to the wounds on father's corpse…" he muttered.

He looked around at the pile of bodies from their assault and spotted Naruko not too far away panting and looking at her slain enemies, eyes shadowed. He walked closer and noted the blood on her face wasn't hers. There was no pleasant way to snap her out of her funk but he'd make an effort to be gentle at least.

"Hey. You good?"

Naruko registered her retainer speak amidst her freeze and took a moment to regain a bit more air and glance over at him, still panting but now talking.

"It's nothing."

It most certainly was something based on her reaction. Sasuke mutely noted that the blood present on the Uzumaki's face in combination with the sharp look in her eyes and crimson hair did wonders to make her appear much more intimidating than usual. She began steeling herself as their platoons began to rejoin them. Breathing beginning to even out and regaining the focus in her eyes, she regarded the Uchiha for another moment before walking out of the woods and towards the field where the bandit leader was most likely stationed.

"I can mourn later. Keep moving forward." Naruko said with an edge in her voice. Was that a message for him... or her? "There's obviously a leader directing the movement here. We take them out, we halt the bloodshed."

It was clear to a lot of people in their group that the next Kage was an emotional individual, she wore her heart on her sleeve and was quick to display how she felt. Sasuke knew this better than anyone but it was clear that when the mantle of leadership was finally thrown into Naruko's lap, she felt the need to put up a strong front, more than ever before. There were opponents both were aware of among the nobles of Hinokuni to Naruko's plans but showing weakness in front of them was undeniably something they wished to avoid. Bottling up her feelings was bound to have an effect in the future but it was an issue he was unprepared to resolve alone. The raven-haired noble would have to ponder this development later.

His liege was clearly getting more intricate with her personality masks but for the time being, she was right. The leader of the bandits needed to be eliminated and judging by the lone farmhouse ahead, their prey wasn't too far away.

"Well, well, well! Looks like the islander and her dogs managed to get passed our men!"

Larrick the Be-header considered himself a relatively simple fellow following a simple trade with his associates. Dirty killing was a practice not necessarily looked upon favorably by the masses but when he and his men struggled to find work among the towns that elected to frown upon their various… quirks, he saw an opportunity to band together the unwanted and simply take what was rightfully theirs.

So what if the Ravager clans he managed were composed of criminals and supposed scum of the public? They were a little more in tune with their passions, society be damned! Nobles have too much wealth for their own good anyways, so why not do a bit of redistributing? As far as he was concerned, these Kunians might as well get acquainted with how things go around here. Shame the there was no option to capture them, some of the female soldiers and the redhead they accompanied were lookers…

"Bit far from home aren't ya? You sure it's a good idea to come here when our boys might be slaughtering your group?"

It was a decent bluff, Naruko noted. Might've actually rattled her had a messenger not updated her on the solid defense Shikamaru put into practice, halting the assault and pushing back against their unsuccessful murderers. Instead she elected to address the bandit leader chortling with his men as she and Sasuke approached with their own troops, the sun ominously red as it began to set in the horizon.

"So you're the orchestrator of this little greeting, huh? Not exactly the flowers and gift baskets I was expecting but my comrades and I can make do with this I suppose." The Uzumaki idly wondered if all bandits were as ugly as the one she was currently approaching or if that was just a stereotype. She really didn't want to believe all bandits looked this hideous but this guy wasn't doing her imagination any favors…

"Oh, that's quite a tongue on ya, lass. Honestly wasn't expecting you to get this far but they did warn me those church goons we cut up might give us away. So much for assassinating you lot under your noses…" So there was a scouting party sent by the Monastery searching for them. Damn it all, what the hell was going on here?

"Assassination you say." Sasuke muttered from next to Naruko catching everyone's attention. "So your goal was a bit higher-browed than the run of the mill raids than you lot are known for. Something far more meddling than you trash would bother investing yourselves with." The casual tone Sasuke spoke with caused the bandits to bristle with rage but the stoic swordsman continued his assessment anyways.

"Ignoring caravans, aiming for students of the Academy specifically. Nothing about your pathetic actions make any logical sense here, which begs the question..." The highwaymen looked ready to maul them before the Uchiha's comment made them stop as he glared at them with a critical eye. "Who is your employer?"

There was a pregnant pause at the question as both groups contemplated the facts presented. The quiet was disrupted as the bandit leader began roaring with laughing.

"Heh heh heh. Hahahahaha! Look at you playing detective, pretty boy! Quite a bold claim to make there. But who said anything about someone buying our, uh, services?" Larrick wiped a couple tears from his eyes and motioned his men to ready their weapons.

"Look, no offense gents, but you all really don't look like the type to critically think beyond where to eat, sleep, and shit next." Naruko snarked and tried to diffuse the situation at their growing anger. "Tell us who hired you to take us out and we can all be on our way, this attack is practically over and I'm sure you all have very busy schedules, sooo…"

"Pah! Forget about the assault, what really matters is claiming the bounty of you and the pretty boy, everything else can go to hell. Chop their heads off, boys! The ones to bring me their corpses gets a bonus of the gold!" The brutes raised their weapons in a roar of agreement and began moving in to clash with the opposition.

"Ah. Negotiations failed, Sasuke."

"So it seems. You insulting their intelligence might've had something to do with that."

"You kidding? You're the one who called them trash and pathetic, who's the real aggressor here?!"

"If my memory serves right, they began charging after your comment. Truly your diplomacy needs work."

"How 'bout you take your diplomacy and shove it up your ass, you ass!"

"U-uh my lady, my lord. The enemy is upon us." A soldier exasperatedly interrupted their bickering to alert them of the approaching bandits. Naruko and Sasuke looked up and recomposed themselves immediately as Naruko raised her sword towards the enemy force.

"Suppress their attacks, pick apart their weak points!"

The two forces met in a clash of iron and while every bandit gunned for one of the two nobles, it also led to a lot of accidental collision on their side, something the Kunian forces were more than happy to take advantage of. There was a clear difference in training and objectives present as the fight drew out. Most of the thugs attacking were motivated to prioritize royalty, the soldiers present on the other had the advantage of prioritizing anybody that got close to their leaders.

Naruko and Sasuke meanwhile paired up and worked together seamlessly to take down the assaulters after their throats. Each blocked hit from one of them was followed up by a slash from the other. Years of training and understanding each other's styles were displayed at that moment as the modest showing of technique and teamwork succeeded at preventing any openings from being discovered. There were no weak spots to exploit due to lack of skill from their opponent's side. The number of attackers began to dwindle in the midst of their team up, eventually reducing to zero thanks to the combined efforts of the duo and the soldiers that were never the focus of the assault. After a moment of letting their gaze focus on the corpses from their skirmish, they turned their attention to the fuming leader next. A still rattled Naruko, quickly losing her patience with the situation and blood on her hands, finally issued an ultimatum.

"Like I said, captain dipshit, assault's over! I'm giving you one last chance to leave and turn a new leaf. You keep this up, I can't promise whatever happens next is going to be pretty for you!"

Larrick looked ready to blow at the development as he and his guards prepped for their fight.

"There you go again with your bleeding heart, moron. Does he look like the kind of fool to throw down his weapon and actually do something with his life after what just happened? Not to mention he's probably the type that doesn't deserve mercy."

"If I have the opportunity to prevent a fight, I'm going to take it, Sasuke! Can we not do this right now?"

"I'm just saying you shouldn't aim for such lofty hopes."

"…The Ravager clans of East Fódlan… destroyed by a bunch of damn island bumpkins…" The bandit leader began muttering, grinding his teeth in rage at the mocking display in front of him. "Screw the reward, and screw that damn reaper. I'll kill both of you with my bare hands!"

Wait, reaper? Naruko and Sasuke blinked and looked at each other.

"Hold it! What's that about a reaper? Was that your client?" The deranged barbarian let out a cruel laugh as his guards slowly approached following the redhead's question.

"You wanna find out so badly who paid us off then, to meet the bastard?! Why don't you beat the answers out of us, girlie?"

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary."

A new, sinister voice spoke from behind the abandoned barn they were fighting nearby. All fighting preparations were halted as the new player made his appearance. Clanking noises alerted everyone present as the new player began slowly walking from behind the structure, revealing himself to be a terrifying entity garbed in black armor and accompanied by an equally black horse. He began making his way towards the two groups, walking from behind the bandit group but eyeing Naruko and Sasuke as though they were finest cuts of meat it'd ever seen, scythe in hand.

"Y-you! You were here the entire time?! Why didn't you help us!"

The revenant paused at the interruption, breaking his gaze from the two nobles to address the sweating raider.

"At ease, worm. I wished to see for myself how these new… rabbits fared against the common rabble in the face of a challenge. I've seen enough, I will take my turn to personally snuff their flames."

Well that was a blatant declaration of intent to harm. Sasuke and Naruko paired up once again and readied themselves for a fight against the bandit squad and their nightmarish client as their platoons likewise went into defensive formation.

"W-well fine then, but I still expect to get paid for this!" Larrick announced as the knight finally approached the other thugs on foot. There was a clear bit of posturing present from the nervous man but no one seemed to buy his bravado for a second.

"You seem to misunderstand, there is no reason for you to remain present on a battlefield suited for warriors. I intend to fight them. Alone." The new player rasped out from behind the group, raising his scythe ominously.

"Your services have... concluded."

"Wha-"

Whatever the head bandit was going to say was brutally cut off as the ominous knight beheaded the main source of the Orange Foxes' welcome party, blood spraying unceremoniously over the battlefield, caking it in an ominous new color. No one seemed particularly fine with the events that just transpired.

"B-boss!"

"Why you!"

Larrick's guards attempted to avenge their leader but were likewise cut down in equally savage and effortless manners. All bandits outside the forest were now accounted for as the remaining two mangled bodies slumped lifelessly to the floor, to the horror of the remaining soldiers and two nobles present. Glowing red eyes returned to gaze at the Uzumaki and Uchiha crest bearers, the rising moon serving to illuminate the battlefield in a foreboding glow.

"Ah shit." Muttered Naruko, aptly summing up how everyone present felt.

Well I promised we'd see interaction with characters from the main game but I have to imagine not many expected to see a conflict with this guy so early on in the story, hm? What the heck prompted his presence anyways? Sorry for the cliffhanger. This was an arc that required a separation before it ran on forever.

Okay, time for an open-ended question for anyone observing this story before I continue my notes. Male or female Naruto? I made the conscious decision early on to have our protagonist be the gender bent Naruko for the sake of having an even ratio of male and female lords as well as House members. I don't particularly regret this decision, but I do acknowledge that many people simply don't enjoy reading about female versions of male characters. Most of the story told so far is pretty easy to edit on my end in regard to this change but I wanted to ask if people enjoy reading about this version of Naruko or if they have a stronger preference to read about good ol' Naruto instead serving as the third male lord. His personality would pretty much stay the same along with his hair color, but some interactions would obviously change. Just wanted to address this now before getting further as it would be an easier time to fix, I'm working on putting up a poll but feel free to give me some feedback in the reviews.

I have a ton of ideas now of the various conflicts and characters I can weave into the story that make use of what I know now of the various paths you can take in the game as well as an endgame for how this story is meant to conclude now. With the beginning complete and an end now decided upon, I just need to finish up making the story of how to reach the finale. So yeah, for the time being have some standard heroics, unforeseen conflicts, and early first blood trauma to set the stage on the Orange Foxes' story, all before reaching the Monastery. Everything happening here is occurring for a reason but no worries, I'm sure the Death Knight won't immediately maul them. Maybe.

Pairings are also undecided at the moment. While I do have some ideas, feel free to drop me some suggestions if you want. Romance isn't really going to be a focal point of this story and wouldn't occur towards the end of the story, similar to the game it's based off on. I do understand this will inevitably a be a struggle to find which pairings will appease everyone but like I said, it's not going to be a huge focal point.

Once again, I wanted to thank everyone who took time to follow, favorite, or review this little story. I don't expect it to pick up as much traction as some of the other crossovers in this corner of the site, but the support has been wonderful thus far and I'll do my part to keep this little writing exercise of mine chugging along.

See you all next time!