I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'


Chapter 96: Adventures in Another World

While Naruto watched Iruma's training, he tried to get Bachiko to train him as well. But she refused, knowing that he wouldn't be here long. Naruto was almost tempted to stay longer in this world, but his desire to return home was stronger. So he settled for just watching Iruma and Bachiko. He had to admit that Bachiko's power was really cool. The ability to never miss a target was every shinobi's dream. He wasn't the best when it came to using weapons, so that ability would be very useful. Still, he was more of a hands on kind of guy, so he'd rather just pummel someone. He shivered slightly as he thought of Sakura and her monstrous strength. So many be he wasn't so hands on after all. His strongest jutsus always involved the Rasengan. As a Hokage, he'd have to learn more elemental jutsus even if they didn't suit him. Wind and water were his strong points and he was descent with fire due to Kurama. Plus, it was easy to keep picturing Sasuke's fire jutsus. He blushed slightly when he realized just how often the raven popped into his head.

Thoughts of the older boy kept plaguing him. He had told Sasuke that he wasn't going to pressure him to come back to Konoha. His heart ached at that, but he knew that it wasn't wrong. If Sasuke really didn't want to return to Konoha, he'd have to let him go. He wasn't happy about that, but he would have to live with it. Sasuke's happiness always meant more than his own. He knew why; he wasn't as stupid as people thought he was. But he wasn't planning to act on those feelings. Naruto thought about settling for someone like Hinata, but the Hyuuga girl didn't deserve that. He didn't want to take away someone else's happiness just for his own. Once he returned to Konoha, he'd have to tell her how he felt. Hopefully Shino, Kiba and Neji would be able to console her. Another dark haired boy popped into his mind: Sai. That had been a strange pairing, but Hokage Naruto had said they were happy, so maybe they could be happy together in his world too.

Opera appeared, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. He was carrying a few large baskets. Naruto jumped down from his perch on a nearby tree before joining everyone for a mid-training snack. The food may have looked strange, but it tasted really good. Naruto hoped that he'd be able to take some of the food with him to the next world. Cooked food only lasted a day in his scrolls, but that was fine. He was sure that Kurama and him could finish whatever Opera cooked.

This time, it was Iruma who interrupted his thoughts. "You know, I really wish you could stay longer, Naruto."

"I have to get back home soon though," Naruto said. "My friends are probably worried about me."

"Why would they be worried?" Iruma asked. "You've only been here for three days."

Naruto suddenly remembered the lie Sullivan had used to excuse his, Kurama, and Sasuke's presence. "Oh… ah…" He looked at the group that was staring at him. Opera knew the truth but Bachiko and Iruma didn't. He sighed before telling them what was really going on. Bachiko looked a little surprised while Iruma looked both intrigued and a little sad. Feeling a connection with Naruto, Iruma admitted that he was not a demon and was in fact a human. But Naruto wasn't surprised. He informed the group that he had already known about Iruma being human since he could smell it. "You may be wearing some strange perfume, but my sense of smell is so strong that I can smell your natural scent through it. Kurama also knows since his nose is even stronger than mine, but I don't think Sasuke does."

"It… um… doesn't bother you?" Iruma asked.

"Why would it?" Naruto asked. "Between the three of us, only Kurama isn't human. He's known as the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. But that doesn't matter. He's my friend." Bachiko and Opera smiled at that while Iruma looked at Naruto in amazement. He was starting to idolize the blond.

"Well, I think it is time to get back to training!" Bachiko said. Opera and Naruto cleaned up while Bachiko took Iruma aside.

"I hope that you'll be able to come back and visit one day," Opera said. Naruto looked up at the older man. "You are a good influence and you fit in very well with his classmates."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back," Naruto said. "But If I can, I will. I like this world."

"I'd ask you to stay, but I know you won't," Opera said.

Naruto nodded. "Konoha is my home. No matter what happens, I'll always want to return there." Opera simply nodded before he lifted up the baskets. He said his goodbyes to Bachiko and Iruma before nodding to Naruto. Naruto waved after the man then jumped back into the tree. He settled down on the branch, getting comfortable enough to doze off.

Naruto awoke to Sasuke shaking him. He blinked a few times as he took in the form of the crouching man. "They said it was time to go back to Iruma's." Naruto took in the darkness around him, surprised at how late it had become. Sasuke held out a hand. "Let's go." Naruto blinked again before taking the hand and allowing Sasuke to pull him to his feet. Sasuke jumped down first and Naruto was quick to follow him. They joined up with Iruma who was waiting for them along with Opera and Sullivan. The five of them returned to Sulivan's mansion where Kurama welcomed them back. Naruto was more quiet throughout dinner, but only Sasuke and Kurama noticed. Sasuke chose to ignore it while Kurama promised to question him later. Dinner came to a sudden close when three red lights turned green. Sasuke and Naruto were quick to grab their bags. To Naruto's absolute joy, Opera handed him a large basket. He quickly sealed it away, thanking the man for his kindness. Naruto hugged all of them and told Iruma to make sure that they knew Naruto said goodbye. Sullivan and Opera wished the three of them luck on their journey before the green light surrounded them. Naruto gave one last look towards Iruma, and his eyes widened. He rubbed at his eyes as two different Irumas flashed before him in the same spot. He suddenly smiled as he put what Iruma had told him together. Sullivan was the only one able to read Naruto's lips as he said, "may we meet again, Demon King Iruma."

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A wide open field filled with flowers is what awaited the three of them. Gone were their tails, Naruto and Kurama's fox ears, and Sasuke's bat wings. Sasuke was going to miss being able to fly. The area around them was peaceful, causing them to think it was too good to be true. And they were correct. Suddenly, a blue blob jumped towards them and Sasuke quickly swiped at it with a kunai. It disintegrated into yellow cubes. A look of confusion appeared on their faces before Sasuke felt a strange jolt. A rectangular box appeared in front of him. His eyes widened as it took in his stats. He touched the box and saw it change as it informed him how much experience he had gained from killing the slime.

"It's like a game," Sasuke said.

"What are you talking about?" Kurama asked. "And why are you poking the air?"

"You can't see it?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke?" Naruto gave him a look of concern.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Check your status. I think we are in an RPG or something." Naruto and Kurama looked at Sasuke as if they had no idea what he was talking about. "A video game. I think this world is set up like a video game. There is a screen in front of me that shows me the experience I gained when I killed that slime. You may not be able to see mine, but you should be able to see your own. Try opening your status screen." Naruto and Kurama looked at each other before they both said the word status. Two pairs of eyes widened when their own screens appeared before them. Sasuke couldn't see theirs, just as they couldn't see each others'. They frowned.

"Level one?" the two said in unison.

"Mine says the same," Sasuke said. "Though my experience bar shows that I'm very close to leveling up. My guess is that when we came to this world, we got the stats of an average level one person. We'll have to fight to gain experience to level up. There is a section on my screen under skills that is locked. I'm guessing we have to level up to unlock them." He closed his eyes and tried to activate his Sharingan but it didn't work. He then tried to form a Chidori, but only a few sparks appeared. "Our jutsus and my Sharingan are sealed."

"That's not good," Kurama said. "That may mess with our connection."

"I don't feel any different though," Naruto said.

"Neither do I, but we don't know if that will change," Kurama said.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

"We need to find an inn and maybe a place to buy medicine since I'm guessing your healing ability isn't gonna work," Sasuke said. "That means you are vulnerable." Naruto pouted. "And I don't think us being only at level one is safe. We should probably level up as fast as we can or else we may be in danger."

"How do you know so much?" Naruto asked.

"There was a group at Babyls that insisted that I played their video games," Sasuke said. "I was pretty good at it."

"I'm sure you were," Naruto frowned.

"For now, let's just find that inn," Sasuke said. He looked at the sky. "It seems to be early morning here so they should be open for guests." Naruto and Kurama agreed and followed after Sasuke. They found an inn rather quickly, but it wasn't cheap. They agreed to share a room with two beds, meaning that two of them would have to share a bed, or one of them would have to sleep on the floor. Not wanting to argue, Naruto offered to sleep on the floor. Kurama argued that the floor would be cold and that his bed was big enough for two. Sasuke didn't like that and asked if Kurama could just go back inside Naruto, but when Naruto tried to do so, the jutsu failed. This meant that Kurama was stuck in his human form. Naruto ended the argument by asking what they should do about money. They would need more money to stay in the inn and for food.

"We join a guild and do some jobs," Sasuke said. "But I think we should level up first."

"So what?" Naruto asked. "Do we go looking for those blue things since they are easy to take out?"

"Hunting for slimes would probably be the best," Sasuke said. "But it may take awhile to gain levels since they are weak. From the looks of things, we need to kill at least two to make it to level two. If this world is like the RPGs I played, we'll need more experience per level."

"That means we'll have to kill a bunch of those," Naruto said. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"Just pretend that they are fish and that you are killing them to eat," Kurama said. "Survival of the fittest Kit."

"Right," Naruto said. Sasuke gave Kurama some of his kunai since he could just use his sword. The three of them left the inn, bringing their backpacks with them since they didn't want anyone to steal them. Luckily, their maps still worked and they were able to find a horde of slimes. Naruto was surprised they even showed up on the map, but Sasuke said that map ust have changed a bit to suit the world. Naruto chose to just go along with whatever Sasuke said since it was clear that he knew what he was talking about. Naruto and Sasuke tried to form a battle plan, but Kurama just charged on ahead, ignoring their yells. Naruto and Sasuke joined in and the three of them spent the next hour taking down the horde of slimes. By the end of it, they had each reached level six.

It didn't take them long to return to the inn where they took turns freshening up. There wasn't a bath or shower so they had to do it the old fashioned way, with buckets of water that Sasuke heated up using his newly acquired fire skill and several towels. To speed things up so the water didn't get cold too quickly, they whipped each other down. Kurama smirked the entire time that he helped Naruto and Sasuke since the two were blushing. When it was his turn, he glared at Sasuke a few times as he was a bit more rough than necessary. The group promised to find a lake to bathe in next time.

Soon, the three of them found themselves inside of a guild. Sasuke took charge again, allowing the three of them to easily register. An argument broke out when they went to the mission board to take on their first quest.

"But that seems too easy," Naruto whined.

"We're only at F-rank," Sasuke said. "We need to take on those quests in order to rank up."

"Why can't we just take on all of the F-rank quests?" Kurama asked. "Wouldn't that speed up the ranking?"

"Because there are time limits," Sasuke said. "And any quest we don't complete will receive a fine. We need to make money, not lose it."

"What if we complete a quest we didn't take?" Naruto asked. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I mean, say we took down these Goblins. What if some…" He looked at another piece of paper hanging on the board. "Horned Rabbits got in the way and we killed them as well. Should we also get rewarded for that too?"

"In the case you defeat a monster that isn't a part of your mission, you can still get the reward for it," a voice said. Naruto turned towards the man. He had dark brown hair and green eyes. On his back were two short swords. "You three must have just registered if you didn't know that." Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the man, but he didn't seem to notice. "I'm Akuji. If you'd like, I can show you the ropes. I'm a B-rank adventurer."

"B-rank?" Naruto asked. "So that means you can go on stronger quests!"

"Yup!" Akuji said. "Interested in going on a C or B rank quest? You can join my party." He motioned to the two women behind him. One was dressed up as a witch while the other wore what looked to be a maid outfit. The witch had dog ears while the maid had bunny ears. "Inu is an attack mage and Usagi is a healer. I'm a fighter."

"That would be cool," Naruto said. "But I'm not sure if we'd really fit in. We're only at level six right now."

"Oh you won't have to worry about it," Akuji said. "With us, there is no way you'd get hurt."

Naruto turned towards Sasuke. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

"No," Sasuke said. "We'll stick with our mission."

Naruto pouted before turning back towards Akuji. "Maybe next time?"

"Sure," Akuji said. "We're staying here for a few more days before we head out towards the dungeon. As long as we are here, we can always help you."

"Thank you," Naruto said. He waved at Akuji and his party before he left the guild with Sasuke and Kurama.

Akuji frowned. "Those stupid brats."

"A-akuji-sama," Usagi called. "W-what should we do now?"

"We'll go after them and make sure they know their place," Akuji said. Usagi and Inu had grime looks on their faces, but neither could speak up against Akuji.

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Naruto had been right about running into other monsters so the three of them took them down. Everytime they finished taking down a monster, Sasuke would pick up what looked to be a marble. He explained that it was a monster core and could be used as proof that they took down those monsters. Just in case, they also took anything the monsters left behind. During a break, Kurama put his gained skill points into strength so he could carry their loot more easily. Sasuke looked at his skills with disappointment. He was now able to make a small Chidori, but his fire attacks were still lacking. Naruto on the other hand was happy with his since he could now make a gust of wind. It also wouldn't be long before he'd be able to unseal their scrolls. He was looking forward to eating Opera's meal and he needed to unseal the scroll it was in soon or else it would go bad. They were stuck eating energy bars until them.

Once Kurama hit level eight, he was able to make a clone. Naruto happily took out Opera's bentos in celebration. Sasuke on the other hand just ate in silence as he tried to spread his Chidori through his sword. It only worked for a second. He didn't like how weak he was compared to Naruto and Kurama.

It took them only another hour before they made it to where the Goblins were. They had already taken down a dozen or so Horned Rabbits and several slimes. Their breaks were helpful enough so that they weren't tired. Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurama entered the cave, ready to complete their quest. However, not even three minutes into the cave, they came a diverging path. Their map showed two groups of goblins.

"Should we take one group down first?" Naruto asked.

"Since we are nearing level ten, it may be ok to separate," Sasuke said. "If we go to take on one group, the other may try to sneak up on us while we're fighting."

"There are only three of us though," Kurama said. "If we split up, one side would have two while the other would be alone."

"Are you saying I'm not strong enough to take down a group of Goblins?" Sasuke asked, glaring at the redhead.

"That's not what I mean," Kurama frowned. "I just don't think we should separate." He got closer to Sasuke and lowered his voice. "That Akuji guy followed us here." Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked at the map. Akuji was nowhere to be seen. "I think the map is also affected by this leveling system. That or Akuji has a skill that lets him hide from the map. The only reason I know he's here is because I can smell him. Guy needs to bathe."

"I doubt it is just a skill," Sasuke said. "Even Judar had shown up on the map and he had a very strong invisibility power. If I had to rank him, I'd say that Judar is a lot stronger than Akuji." He put the map away. "What about his party members?"

Kurama closed his eyes and sniffed before nodding. "Yeah, they are here too."

"Why did they follow us?" Naruto asked.

"Possibly to steal the cores if we get too weak to defend them," Sasuke said.

"Are you sure they aren't just here to help us?" Naruto asked.

"You are too trusting, Kit," Kurama said. "Something about that Akuji guy screams bad news." Sasuke nodded in agreement. "I think he was lying about his rank."

"Then we should just force both groups of goblins to come to us," Naruto said. Both Sasuke and Kurama raised an eyebrow at that. "If Akuji is really planning on stealing from us, then maybe we should force him to fight for it." The grin on Naruto's face caused his comrades to smirk. "Shall we?"

"Yes," Kurama and Sasuke said.

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A few seconds later, a loud explosion shook the cave.