-NARUTO-
-Mugen-
A/N: Thanks to everybody for the positive feedback. Oh, and Disgaea is a great strategy RPG. You don't necessarily have to know the game, because my versions of the characters will be different a little bit, but I'd recommend the game if you like games like that, cause' it's one of the best games I've ever played in my life.
General Grievous, don't worry about it. I'm most definitely going to put Zidane and Rsuty (Steiner) in here, probably Kuja too. So you have something to look forward to!
Naruto and Ramza were talking. Wait, Nevermind that. Naruto was talking and Ramza was listening.
"…So then I stuck a kunai with an explosive note up his ass and then he thwacked me with that dumb tail of his and so I…"
Ramza just listened with a smile on his face. These stories of Uzumaki-san's were really interesting, and there was no doubt they were real. For some reason, Ramza could tell.
"…Then I summoned Gamabunta, and he fired these funky great balls of air at me and Gamabunta could jump so high…"
He did have to admit, this was getting somewhat repetitive, though.
"…Then I Henge-ed Gamabunta into this huge fox and grabbed that Shukaku thing and I ran onto the sand monster and headbutted Gaara in the face…"
Couldn't… appear… rude… Must… not… doze… off…
"Tell me about your village!" Naruto said, cheerily. Ramza blinked.
"Huh?" Yeah, very intelligent.
"Well, we'll be there in a few days, now, right?" Naruto asked. They had been traveling for a week now with the rest of the shinobi. "So you can at least tell me about your village. So I know what I can see there!"
"Well, there's not much to tell." Ramza said, polishing his Chaos Blade. "Konoha is a lot bigger than Yumegakure after all."
They were sitting down beside a stream. It was their job today to catch the fish that were to be used for lunch. They had caught all they need in a bucket, and were just resting for a bit.
"Well, can you tell me about your family?" Naruto asked. "You never got into much detail, just told me that you belonged to some clan."
"Well, yeah." Ramza said. "My Bloodline is centered around weapons. Yumegakure looks down upon anybody without a unique weapon, so when we get there you might want to get yourself a sword or something. This is mine, the Chaos Blade, there's quite a bit of history behind it."
"Oh?"
"Yep. The Chaos Blade was first made to control demons, by containing their souls within the blade. See here." Ramza tapped the transparent blade.
Suddenly, three white wisps of flame appeared within. Naruto felt a chill go down his back, these were real demons?
"The first demon my blade was used to seal was the Baal the Tyrant, the second one was Altima the Fallen Angel, and the third was Sin the World-Destroyer." Ramza said. "Each soul that goes into the sword powers it up even further. That's why it's the most prized possession of the Beoulve clan."
"Wow…"
"Yeah." Ramza sheathed his sword. "You want to hear about my uncle's swords?"
"Yeah, sure!" Naruto said.
"Well, Cloud-sensei uses a sword called the Buster Blade. There're three holes near the hilt of the sword he can put little orbs called Materia in. The Materia does different things for him. Power him up, allows him to breathe underwater, that sort of thing. My other uncle Squall-san uses the Gun Blade, I don't know much about it, except there's only three Gun Blades in the world. My uncle's is the Revolver, and the Hyperion and the Lionheart are still out there somewhere."
"Awesome." Naruto grinned. "Can I get something like those?"
"Well, sure." Ramza smiled. "The blacksmiths back at Yumegakure are better than the rest. They use a special jutsu to make a unique weapon for you."
"AWESOME!" Naruto yelled. "Do I get to choose what I get?"
"No, but the weapon you get reflects your soul. It will act like an extension of your own body." Ramza explained. "It's like another arm or leg."
"Cool…"
Suddenly, a call came from the camp. Naruto and Ramza looked at eachother and nodded.
It was the signal for danger. They both got up instantly and ran back, ignoring the fish on the ground.
"Missing-nins." Cloud hissed as they came to a stop. Invisible Chakra presences surrounded the camp, even though they were in a meadow and there was no cover for the renegade shinobi. "Everybody get your weapons ready!"
All the ninjas dropped into battle positions.
Suddenly, whirring sounds reached their ears.
"Incoming projectiles!" A Jounin shouted.
Naruto dodged the kunai that had been aimed for his heart by stepping backwards, Sakura ducked the incoming attacks and Ramza caught the shuriken with his fingers.
"Kai!" The Chuunins and Jounins cried.
Thirty men appeared out of nowhere, their slashed forehead protectors indicating they had abandoned their village. They moved in quickly, covering ground. Cloud narrowed his eyes, from the feeling of their Chakra signature they were probably Chuunin and Jounin level. This was pretty bad, they were outnumbered twelve to quite-a-lot.
"Ikuji Ninpou: Kiai no Jutsu! Ikuji Ninpou: Sabeku no Jutsu!" Ramza cried, doing a set of seals, and Naruto suddenly felt himself getting lighter. He turned to Ramza with a questioning glance. "Kiai no Jutsu can affect my allies as well. Don't worry, there are no side-effects."
Naruto nodded and grabbed a kunai from his pouch, holding it forwards like a dagger. Ramza unsheathed his Chaos Blade, covering Naruto's back.
Sora and Sakura turned their attentions towards the duo.
Since when did Naruto meet this guy anyway? We didn't hear about the Hidden Dream until a few days ago and Naruto acts like he's been with him all his life… Why didn't he act like this with Sasuke and me? Then again, when did we ever pay attention to him…?
Whoa, surprise. Ramza was the first to make a friend in the Leaf, huh? Oh well, a loner like him needs more friends than just his teammates and family… He's a nice guy, if only he wasn't so shy.
Cloud said nothing as he watched the two.
Pairing Ramza up with Uzumaki Naruto was a good idea. I've done some digging… Uzumaki Naruto is a special boy.
The missing-nins attacked, and Ramza and Naruto instantly found themselves fighting two. Naruto felt like his body was a lot lighter than usual, courtesy of Ramza's jutsu.
Ramza parried the enemy's kunai stab, before twirling his sword around and slicing the missing-nin's waist. He burst into smoke, and Ramza's eyes widened.
Bunshin!
He quickly turned around, just in time to block another kunai thrust. He grit his teeth, and threw his sword into the air, surprising his opponent.
Come on… Zidane-san, your training had better work…! Zodiac Kenshido… Cancer Style! He quickly made a seal, and the Chaos Blade changed immediately in midair.
Ramza caught the blade as it came down, and it had changed indeed. Instead of one single blade, there were now two that branched out from the hilt. Both were lined on the inside with deadly spikes.
The enemy missing-nin was taken back. He had never seen this type of jutsu before.
Ramza saw a chance and took it. The man before him was distracted, this was the perfect opportunity. He quickly thrust his blade forwards, catching the opponent's neck in the middle of the spikes. The Chaos Blade snapped close with a sharp crack, and the missing-nin's horrified face was separated from his body with a crunch.
Ramza blanched, this was his third kill, but that didn't make things easier.
Naruto was busy with his own opponent, a user of Doton jutsus. He quickly drew back his arm and slammed the Rasengan into the wall of earth his opponent had erected. The enemy's astonished face was quickly wiped when the wall blew into pieces and the debris caught him in the gut.
He flew back a distance, before quickly dropping into a crouch. Naruto didn't waste any time, and used his enhanced speed to make four Kage Bunshins. He charged forwards, and jumped into the air.
The enemy was unpleasantly surprised when the four bunshins kicked him into the air. He tried quickly to form the seals for Kawrimi, but it was too late. Naruto's foot connected with his stomach and slammed him down.
Naruto breathed slowly.
"Uzumaki Naruto Rendan… Continued!" He called, and the Kage Bunshins below him made their own Kage Bunshins.
As the missing-nin fell, the Kage Bunshins gave him a solid uppercut, sending him back into the air, where Naruto's falling self intercepted him, catching him in a position familiar to Sakura, who was fighting another missing-nin along with Sora.
That's… Lee-san's Initial Lotus!
"Naruto Lotus!" The orange blur yelled as he connected with the ground.
The explosion shook the earth, stunning the other shinobi out of their matches. Dust particles blew into the air, just as impressive as when Rock Lee had done his Initial Lotus for the first time.
Naruto got up, sparing a look at the missing-nin beside him. His neck was crooked, and he wasn't breathing. He had killed. The realization made him sick, and he suddenly felt a need to vomit.
Oh god, oh god…!
Ramza just stared at him in empathy, and tried to help his barfing friend by patting him on the back. The other shinobi turned back to their battles.
It was an unspoken rule among ninja-kind: never challenge a ninja whose recently done his first kill.
The battle was over. All the missing-nins had been killed. There were a few wounded ninjas, but none had suffered critical injuries.
"You alright?" Ramza asked. Naruto nodded, still a little shocked. "Don't worry, it'll get better with time."
"R…really?" Naruto asked, trying to clean the vile taste from his mouth. "It sure doesn't seem like the type of thing to just get better magically…"
"Look, think about it this way, alright?" Ramza said, offering his friend a drink. "If you didn't kill him, then he would've killed you. You don't have to feel bad, it was in self-defense."
"But… still…" Naruto said, then he shook his head. "I—I guess you're right…"
"Yeah, don't worry about it." Ramza said, giving his friend a shake. "We're almost to my village soon, you want to hear some of my stories?"
"Y-yeah, sure!" Naruto said, putting on a bright grin and made Ramza smile a little, even though it was quite obviously fake.
"Well, there's this nice ramen stand in the middle of Yumegakure in the market place, my dad usually…"
Naruto's eyes brightened at the sound of ramen, and Ramza smiled. He knew the oriental noodles were the way to cheer him up.
"Oh, hey, Yuna, Sora!" Ramza called. His previous teammates came over. "I'd like to introduce you two to Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, these are my ex-teammates and friends, Braska Yuna and Sora."
"Cool! Nice to meet ya!" Sora and Naruto said in sync. "Do you like ramen/udon?"
"What do you mean udon!" Naruto cried. "Those are blasphemy to the Church of the Ramen! Don't you know they are cooked by the devil's hands themselves and roasted in the fires of Hell!"
"Oh yeah!" Sora replied. "What about your stupid ramen? Those things are so small and so cheap! Udon is the food of the higher-class people!"
Both boys bristled and glared at each other.
Yuna giggled and Ramza sighed.
Sakura, who was sitting down ten meters away from them, noted how happy Naruto seemed to be.
Even the other people from Yumegakure are treating him so much better… They don't give him the cold glares that Konoha does… Why…?
Sakura then set down her resolve.
I'm going to say sorry. I'm going to patch up relations with Naruto-kun. All this time I've been ignoring him for favour of Sasuke… That's going to change!
A/N: What did you think of the chapter? Maybe it was a bit short this time… Still, what do you think?
