-NARUTO-

-Mugen-

A/N: Right, since nobody hasreviewed so far I guess nobody knows about this story yet. But then again, it doesn't stand out like some other stories do so I guess that I should've expected it.

Oh well, enjoy the next chapter!


Cloud and his team arrived at the gates of Konoha. The large wooden double doors were grand and impressive to the outsider, and Cloud had to stop himself staring.

"Wow…" Sora wondered. "It's so big…"

"Yes, a sign of outwards strength." Cloud said to his students. "Konoha does not want to appear weak, so the large gates symbolize the fact that they are one of the strongest shinobi nations to exist today.

"Yumegakure doesn't have large gates like these." Ramza noted. "Why is that?"

"Because we, right now, are weak." Cloud said bluntly. "We do not have the resources nor the time to waste in creating grand images like this. Not to mention we do not want to attract attention to ourselves. Plenty of other growing ninja villages were snuffed out because they stood out too much."

Ramza nodded, that made perfect sense.

"That means… One day we'll also have gates like these, right, Cloud-sensei?" Yuna asked, cheerily.

Cloud smiled.

"Of course… With Sephiroth-sama to lead us, there will be no problems." Cloud told them. He had absolute faith in his friend and mentor.

Then a voice came from above.

"Declare your purpose!"

With his students staring at him, Cloud answered with a strong, bold voice.

"We are here to forge an alliance!"


A few days before…


An orange figures was lying down on top of the Hokage's monument.

Naruto was depressed, something that the boy usually wasn't. After they had come back from retrieving Sasuke… Everything changed for the worse.

It had been two weeks since they brought Sasuke back.

Shikamaru spent every day by Chouji's bedside. The rotund young ninja was in a coma. Neji had suffered grievous wounds and was still in critical status. The Hokage herself, Tsunade-baba, tended to the white-eyed genius. Kiba was fine, he was still resting up, and Akamaru was alive.

The Sand nins, Gaara, Temari, and Kankurou had been transferred over to the Leaf as an apology for the attack on Konoha. Naruto liked that, it meant more people to talk to, and he wanted to get to know Gaara.

But the most frustrating thing was… Sasuke, the bastard, was still being treated like a fucking hero, while he himself was treated worse than ever.

The villagers seemed to have started thinking that it was all Naruto's fault the teme had decided to leave, and started practically mobbing him in the streets. He recalled dodging rotten fruit thrown at him while he shopped for groceries, and the angry glares sent at him when he visited the hospital.

Naruto stared up at the clouds. It was an activity usually reserved for Shikamaru, but right now he wasn't here, so Naruto might've as well do it for him.

Stupid Sasuke… Even when he's a traitor he's still more well-liked than I am. Why did I have to be the one stuck with this stupid demon anyway…?

Naruto groaned, then his eyes grew determined.

What have I been doing all this time…? Showing off to Sakura? Proving myself to Sasuke? My ideals… Lee trains harder than me everyday… he's more deserving of becoming Hokage than me!

Naruto got up, clenching his fist.

I can't slack off anymore…

He quickly started running down the heads of the Hokages, dashing off towards the training area.

I don't need to learn fancy jutsus… I don't need to have flashy tricks… I've got everything I need, right here. All I have to do is to learn to use them… That's all!


A few days later after the Hidden Dream enters…


Ramza wandered around aimlessly, not noticing the random passerby stare at the large sheath that was tied onto his belt. He was bored, there was nothing to do.

Cloud-sensei was still negotiating with the Hokage, and Sora and Yuna were off doing their own thing.

So far Ramza had looked around the market, checked out the local weaponry, and nothing interested him. But there was one thing that Cloud-sensei had told him he could do…

"Well… You could go to the training grounds, for one." Cloud said. "They have larger facilities here than Yumegakure. I'm willing to bet it'll interest you.

Ramza sighed, there was nothing better to do anyway. He tugged at the Hidden Dream forehead protector around his neck, it was kind of uncomfortable.

He strolled around until he came to a clearing.

There were three logs here, and a blonde Genin around his age was punching the logs with incredible force. Ramza could see he was training, and training hard.

The Genin's discarded orange coat was on the ground, and he was hitting as hard as he could. He was dirtied and tired, but he kept going on, kicking maniacally. Ramza stared in awe.

If all Konoha shinobi train like this, then it's no wonder it's one of the strongest shinobi countries in the entire world…

He made up his mind, he was going to approach this fellow ninja. His teacher had told him specifically not to talk to Konoha shinobi, but then he was allowed to stray from rules every now and then, right?

"Hello." He called, entering the clearing. The blonde ninja looked up at him, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Hey, what's up?" The blonde ninja grinned, and Ramza was reminded suddenly of Sora. "Haven't seen you around before."

"I'm from the Hidden Dream." Ramza said, smiling. "I came with my teacher and teammates to create an alliance with the Leaf. The name's Ramza Beoulve, and yours?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The Genin cried. "Nice to meet you, Beoulve!"

"Actually, I'd like it if you'd call me by my first name, thanks." Ramza said, extending a hand. "And nice to meet you too, Uzumaki-san."

"Oh? Your first name's Ramza?" Naruto asked. "I've never heard of people saying their first names before their last names before."

"My teacher warned me about this." Ramza said. "In our village we have different customs, I guess."

"Cool, cool." Naruto said. "So, do you like my village?" He asked, grinning. Ramza felt a connection with this boy.

"Yeah, it's great." Ramza said. "What were you doing just now?"

"Oh? Training!" Naruto answered with a bright smile and the nice-guy pose. Ramza sweat-dropped. What a weird ninja, were all Konoha shinobi like this? "But I'm not improving much…" His head drooped. Ramza smiled.

"Are you wearing weights?" Ramza asked.

"What? Weights?" Naruto's head perked up. "Oh yeah! Fuzzy eyebrows wear them, and that's why he's so fast! I should get me some!"

Ramza sweat-dropped some more.

"I can help you pick out some." Ramza said. "I'm sure my instructor wouldn't mind me being a little bit late."

"Really?" Naruto asked. "You'd do that for me? A complete stranger?"

"Well, sure. I mean, you're not a complete stranger." Ramza said. "You've already given me your name and stuff… I guess we're friends now."

"Yeah!" Naruto yelled. "Let's celebrate! My treat!"


Some time later…


"…And Squall-san is really moody." Ramza said. "Sometimes he can act really nice though, and the next moment he can threaten to chop your head off with his Gun Blade."

"Cool. So, you're from a fancy pants clan of something or the other, right?" Naruto asked, slurping his ramen. Ramza nodded and took a bite. "What's it like?"

"What do you mean?" Ramza asked.

"What's your Bloodline Limit like?" Naruto asked. "I mean, it's gotta be pretty powerful or something, right?"

"Well, in my clan, you get born into four categories." Ramza told him. "There's the Black Wind category, where the baby is born with one black wing and can use Kyokugen techniques. There's the Enhancer category, where you can use these unique jutsus that can boost you and your allies strength and speed. And the rest is classified, sorry."

"Wow…" Naruto said, awed. "So what category do you belong to?"

"Me?" Ramza said. "I'm messed-up. I'm not really sure what category I belong to. I'm definitely not Black Wind, but I can use Kyokugen. I can use Ikuji Ninpou, so that means I can be a part of Enhancer… But then again, I've got improved power with the Seikengi jutsus and the Shingon jutsus, so I don't really know… But enough about me, what about you, Naruto-san?"

"Me?" Naruto said, reluctantly. "I'm not a part of any clan, really… I'm an orphan."

Ramza felt suddenly terribly guilty. Here he was, blabbing about his family to a guy who's never had parents before. Naruto recognized his facial expression for what it was.

"Chill out." Naruto grinned. "I'm over that now. It's not that bad when you've got friends to substitute. Iruka-sensei is like my older brother!"

"Oh, really?" Ramza asked, interested. "Please tell me about him, what's he like?"

"Oh, he's great! He always brings me here for ramen…"

The laughter of a loud and obnoxious blonde shinobi and the soft chuckles of another young ninja was heard through the nearly empty noodle stand. The owner of Ichiraku smiled, the kid had gained another friend.


And, again, some time later…


"Run for your life!" Naruto yelled as they scrambled through the streets with a mob chasing after them wielding anything they could find. Ramza wondered why he agreed to this.

When Naruto had gotten his new weights, he had instantly decided to try them out. He had tied them around his arms, inside his jacket, and around his legs. The fact that he could barely move didn't stop him, in fact, it seemed to egg him on more. And so, he played a little prank on the villagers and now they were running for their lives through Konoha.

Ramza wondered where he had gotten all that white paint from as he quickly glanced behind him at the masses of white bodies.

They scrambled through the streets, Ramza a lot faster than Naruto but still slowing enough for the blonde ninja to keep up.

"Uzumaki-san!" Ramza called. "Maybe we should just use Bunshin or Kawarimi or something!"

"What, and spoil all the fun!" Naruto asked. "We need to work on your sense of excitement! And this is good training!"

Ramza had to note that.

Not to mention… for some bizarre reason… he really was having fun. He didn't play too big of a part in the prank, but still, it felt like he had been a part of something great.


At the same time, elsewhere…


The sounds of screaming and cursing flitted through the windows, and Tsunade closed it instantly.

"What's going on out there?" Cloud asked as he looked through the documents that he had been given.

"It's just my little brother, Naruto." The fifth Hokage said. "He's caused another riot again, that's just like him. Well, good to see he's back to normal."

"Oh?" Cloud wasn't usually this nosy, but this seemed a bit too interesting to pass up.

"Yeah… He was a bit too quiet when he came back from that mission a few days ago…" Tsunade sighed.

Cloud had an itching feeling that there was something he had missed. Sora and Yuna were in the waiting room, so where was Ramza?


The training grounds, after the crowd had dispersed…


"Did… (huff) you… have… (puff) fun?" Naruto panted, after their run. Ramza was only slightly out of breath, but Naruto was plopped down on the ground. Ramza was amazed, the first time he had put weights on he couldn't even move, not to mention run three laps around a village as large as Konoha without stopping. Naruto was really special.

"Yeah… (huff) sure." Ramza said.

They were back in the training grounds again.

They rested up a little bit, and Naruto started staring at Ramza's sword.

"What's that?" He asked, pointing towards the sheath, questioningly. "I've never seen a katana like that before?"

"Katana?" Ramza questioned. "This is a knight sword, Uzumaki-san. It's one of my family's treasures, one of the Goshinken, the Five Heavenly Swords. It's the Chaos Blade."

He pulled it out, and Naruto let out an awed gasp.

It was beautiful, even Ramza himself was still stunned by its beauty every single time he pulled It out. It seemed to be made of a dark violet crystal, except it was as hard as diamond and as transparent as glass. There was no hilt, and the handle was big enough for two hands to grab onto, but for Ramza, who had been taught to use the large sword before he had started walking, holding it with one hand wasn't a problem.

Naruto fell into a contemplative pose and started thinking. After five minutes of doing that, he suddenly perked up.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto cried. "Wanna spar?"

Ramza gave him an incredulous look.

"Please?" Naruto begged. "I really, really wanna see that thing in use. Come on!"

Ramza sighed, then he smiled. Naruto-san really reminded him of Sora.

"No problem, Uzumaki-san." Ramza said. "Do you want to rest up a bit before we begin or take your weights off?"

"I'm fine!" Naruto cried. "One hundred percent and completely ready to go!" He charged forwards, intending to start.

Ramza whipped the sword around horizontally, blocking Naruto's punch. Then he pushed forwards, using the sword as a shield. Naruto fell back, and lost his balance. Ramza pulled the Chaos Blade back, preparing a horizontal cut.

Naruto quickly did a few seals, and Ramza's sword sliced through him. He instantly went out in a puff of smoke, and Ramza's eyes widened.

Kawarimi…? Wait… There's no log…

Then he felt a presence approaching from the back and used his sword to block it. Three kunai were deflected instantly and fell to the ground. Soft cursing was heard.

Personally, Ramza was surprised. Nobody was this fast at adapting to weights. He quickly grabbed a few kunai from his belt and tossed it back. Another poof of smoke.


Naruto was a little worried now. His adversary's sword was so big he was able to block anything that he threw at him just by turning it sideways. That meant he had to go close range, but with a huge weapon like that…

He grinned.


"Alright! You prepared for this?"

Six Narutos jumped out of the trees, and Ramza was taken quickly by surprise. Which one was real? Then he decided it didn't matter.

Rotating his sword in a three-sixty degree swing, he quickly dispatched two of them, before the third and fourth jumped him and a barrage of kunai and shuriken started flying out of the trees.

Ramza cursed and sliced the third and fourth Narutos down with the Chaos Blade, but he wasn't fast enough to completely block the shuriken and kunai. He received a few nicks, but he was mostly fine.

He felt the earth rumbling, and his eyes widened.

Four kicks propelled him from ground and into the air as four Narutos appeared out of the ground. A fifth Naruto was already in the air, coming down at him with a spinning leg.

Ramza tried to throw his sword up in a futile guard, but Naruto sneaked pass it, slamming his leg into Ramza's torso. Both ninjas tumbled to the ground, one faster than the other. Ramza hit the ground with a thud, the Chaos Blade landing some distance away from him. Naruto landed on his hands, then he back-flipped up.

Ramza was breathing heavily, he knew he had to end this soon. He smiled at Naruto, who looked back surprised.

"It's time to show you a jutsu of my clan, Naruto-san. I hope you're watching." Tiger, ram, mouse, monkey, horse, tiger. "Ikuji Ninpou: Omajinai no Jutsu!"

A circle of light surrounded him, and it looked as if he was bathing in holy Chakra. His wounds healed almost instantly and he looked a little refreshed. Then he performed another set of seals.

"Ikuji Ninpou: Kiai no Jutsu!" He called, and a green battle aura surrounded him. He grabbed the Chaos Blade and charged forwards, and Naruto's eyes widened.

He's so fast now!

Ramza's sword swung downwards, and Naruto quickly grabbed onto either sides of the blade. Ramza was shocked. Naruto had unknowingly performed the Shinken Shirahadori. Naruto was in shock as well, but he snapped out of it quicker, and tossed the blade into the air, wrenching it out of Ramza's grasp.

Ramza was practically useless without his sword, but he had one last trick to pull off.

"Saikyou Ikuji Ninpou: Arutema no Jutsu!"


A/N: I hoped you guys liked this chapter, and if you guys would, please spare me a review or something?