Naruto: World Tour Chronicles 1

Quest of the Necronomicon

By: Nagi-Oki, the Kabuto no miko

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the evil book they search for.

Chapter 2: ROYALLY! One Night in Castle GreenHaven!

The thundering hoof beats of three horses galloping across the grounds filled their ears, the riders of Green Knot traveling at top speed to the castle stronghold of the neighboring territory of GreenHaven. The hard hearted captain leading with his two subordinates on either side. The sun had risen and was almost blinding them. They had been riding for hours now over open country, grassy fields, and through small clumps of trees.

"ARE WE THERE YET?"

Maze growled to himself, Naruto had asked that same question 15 minutes ago and another 15 minutes before that. A stream came into view, he gestured for them to slow down. Once the horses were stopped, Maze dismounted and removed the bit from the horse's mouth, "We'll rest for a little, the horses need water..."

Naruto eagerly joined Maze on the ground, pulling his pack down with him. Sasuke kept his eye on Maze as he let his horse go to the stream, he still felt uneasy about the older boy taking them on this mission. He either knew Sasuke was watching him and refused to comment or he didn't care as he sat down pulling an apple out of his knapsack.

"Ne, now that we're on the road, can you tell us about that Nakedcrayon thing?"

Sasuke sighed to himself, Naruto couldn't get anything right, "Necronomicon, dobe."

With a snarl of rage, Naruto launched himself at his rival, tackling the Uchiha. The two rolled and wrestled back and forth as Maze took a bite of his apple, watching the display of stupidity with mild interest, "I'll just leave you two out here if you're gonna play all day."

This broke up the squabbling ninjas, they took a seat in front of Maze pulling some snackish food to eat. Maze stretched out a bit before starting.

"The Necronomicon originally started out innocently enough as a book of funerary practices and rites. But the deeper the mystics of old delved into the world of the dead, the darker the book became. The book is bound in human skin and the pages are written in human blood."

Naruto made a sick noise hearing that, Sasuke watched as Maze just took another bite of his apple before continuing.

"The book contains not only funerary rites, but also ways to control spirits and demons, to empower the dead, and to absorb life energy from anything living. For every page written in the book a living sacrifice was made to increase it's wisdom and power. Unfortunately, the mystics opened a door to knowledge, but that door let in other things as well."

"The Deadites you mean?"

"The world is full of souls filled with hate and anger, whatever got through fed those souls, made them strong enough to manifest physical bodies."

Sasuke crossed his arms, "And they want this book to make them stronger, right?"

Maze nodded, happy at least one of them was following him, "The book contains many paths to power, all of them bad news. This is only rumor based so I might be wrong, but some of the paths include virgin sacrifices, infant sacrifices, and blood offerings."

Naruto yeeeuuggghhhed, "Sounds like something Orochimaru would read at bedtime..."

"Who? Oh, the rogue sannin. Yea, he's one of the wicked people who'd sell out their own mothers to get a GLIMPSE at the spells in that book."

Sasuke rubbed his chin, was the book really that powerful? Maybe there was a way to gain power from the scriptures. He shook his head, he heard what Maze said about the book. He also remembered that talk he had with Maze about revenge. The confidant Uchiha knew that skill and experience was worth more in a fight than power. But he subconciously rubbed his cursed seal, it had been a long time since he felt pain from it.

"Yo, earth to Leaf brat!"

Sasuke looked up from his thoughts at the expectant eyes of Maze, apparently wanting him to take part in the conversation. He simply turned his eyes to the horses drinking from the stream, "Hn..."

"I said do you have any questions?"

Naruto scratched his chin, "Yea, I have one. In that meeting hall we saw this painting of a naked guy fighting a dragon with his bare hands, what's up with that?"

The ever-present frown on Maze's face curled up as he started laughing to himself. This earned him confused looks from his students. Maze wiped a tear from his eye before continuing, "Ooohh, you guys are NEVER going to believe this story..."

"You going to tell us or are we going to guess?"

"Ok, ok, as much fun as it would be to hear your theories, I'll save us all a trip. That man in the mural is Hogarth Alfed Smeeth, he became a legend in our village by inventing a technique that created an energy armor around the body. I believe he called it the Soulus Armor technique..."

Naruto oohed, such a technique would be a real asset in the shinobi line of work, "Can you teach it to us? Huh? Huh?"

"Sorry kid, that's considered a sacred technique only Adepts can learn. I'm not an Adept yet, I should be but I have a little...handicap holding me back."

The fox boy pouted, he really wanted that technique.

"But I'm trying to figure it out on my own, once I have it down I'll try teaching it to you."

Sasuke held up a hand, "Wait, you didn't explain why the guy was naked in the painting."

Maze fought to hold back his laughter, "The only reason that technique came to be is because he was a nudist!"

This earned a pair of wide-eyed stares from Sasuke and Naruto, "..."

"He didn't like wearing clothes or armor so he made up that technique so he could still fight in the buff without getting hurt!"

Maze collapsed into a fit of laughter that only brought sweatdrops to the ninja's heads. Sasuke rubbed his forehead, muttering about drunken barbarian perverts. Naruto just held that cute indignant face, "You foreign guys are too weird! No ramen, no ninjutsus, you fight naked and keep woolly monsters as pets! Why can't you be normal like the rest of the world!"

Maze stopped laughing suddenly, instantly he was up on his feet and walking back to the dirt path they were travelling. He stared off into the distance, seeing some figures on horeback heading for them. Sasuke and Naruto were instantly on their feet behind him, hands on their swords.

"Ease up boys, see that banner on the staff? That's the banner of GreenHaven's stronghold Verdelance, they're probably here to escort us."

The boys eased up as three riders approached them. They were in full armor like Maze, except theirs looked more polished and pricey. The leader approached Maze, "State your name and business..."

Maze obliged by lifting his shirt sleeve, showing off his shoulder. Tattooed onto his skin was the green braided ring that was the village symbol of Green Knot, "Captain Maze Ursarius Bakanetsu of Green Knot. We're here on a mission for GreenHaven."

"I'm Dancun, son of Olgin McBerth. The Lord of GreenHaven. We've been sent to escort you to Verdelance, my father requests your presence before you journey after the Necronomicon."

Naruto's eyes lit up in excitement, "Anno sa Sasuke, does that mean we get to meet royalty?"

"He said LORD dobe, he's just the one who owns this land and a few villages, not the whole country. But yes, we get to meet royalty."

The blonde fox almost leaped for joy, he was going meet royal people! He'd better be on his best behaviour to make a good impression. Who knows, maybe being on good terms with royalty would help him become a Hokage in the future. Maze turned to the boys, "You two behave or ELSE! This is royalty we're dealing with and they get offended easily."

The ride to the castle was relatively quiet until they reached the stronghold Verdelance. Sasuke and Naruto were awestruck by the massive stonewalls that reached almost as high as the Hokage monument. Four towers, positioned in four points around the pentagon shaped fortress stood guard, the head point being the main housing structure. The fort was surrounded by a large moat, the only way into the castle was over the lowered drawbridge.

Inside the fortress were many guards and armored men training with swords and spears. Some people were tending to horses while others were sharpening blades for use. After leaving the horses in care of the stable master, they headed into the main hall. An older man was seated on a fancy looking throne and beside him stood several important looking men in armor.

Maze dropped to his knee before the Lord and bowed respectfully. Naruto and Sasuke mimicked him, remembering Maze's threats from earlier. Dancun stepped forward, "Father, this is Captain Maze of Green Knot. He was sent to retrieve the Necronomicon."

"Excellent, I knew I could count on Arlan and the Knot for aid. Rise boys, no need to show me such formality."

Maze rose to his feet with his students, "Thank you sire, it's an honor to serve you."

A man dressed in black finery looked over the team, "Sire, they've sent CHILDREN to retrieve the book, of all things. They don't stand a chance against the Deadites. This is an insult!"

Naruto fixed a glare on the man in the fine clothing, this guy was just ASKING for a pummeling. Maze didn't look phased by the jab but it definately struck a nerve with the ninjas.

"Please excuse my brother's words, he's merely concerned for our people's safety."

Maze . o O ( More like concerned for his position next to the throne...

"What are your plans for this mission?"

Maze cleared his throat, "I need to study the maps of the region, then we'll head off for Moulin Verde and retrieve the book before anything can be released. We have little over three days to wait."

"Then I insist you stay the night in our stronghold while you study for your journey. Moulin Verde is a day's journey from here, I extend our hospitality to you brave souls."

Naruto looked ecstatic by the invitation, even Sasuke had the hint of a smirk on his face. But Maze said, "Thank you sire, but we would not want to overstay our welcome or put you out."

"Nonsense my boy, you know you're more than welcome here and I will not take no for an answer."

"Then we'll be honored to be your guests sire."

"Very good, I'll have one of my servants show you to the guest rooms."

An old man with a long grayish beard in a long brown robe steps foreward, "If I may, your highness...I will show them, I wish to discuss matters with the young captain here."

"Very well then, wiseman Feltstav will show you."

The group followed the older man through the torchlit corridores as he spoke, "Thank the gods you've come, I was afraid that Green Knot wouldn't even take this threat seriously."

"When it comes to Deadites and evil, Green Knot doesn't have much of a sense of humor."

"Yea! We'll get the Nicoteenimin for sure!"

"Necronomicon dobe..."

"Stop calling me dobe, teme!"

Maze turned to the confused wiseman, "War orphans, the trauma they suffer is incredible..."

The old man nodded then opened the door to an austere room. The room was decorated in a green and gold motif, it was huge, with a big spacious bed, a desk, a dining table, and a fireplace in the corner. Sasuke and Naruto were instantly silenced when they saw the room. Maze however still was engaged with the wiseman.

"According to the extensive research I've done, you will have to encant a special prayer ritual to ensure the evil forces within the book will not escape."

"Ok, understandable, what do we have to do?"

"You three must form a triangle around the book, hold your hands up, palms facing the other's palms, and recite the sacred prayer Klaatu Barada Nikto."

"Simple enough."

"Do you want me to write it down for you?"

Maze shakes his head, "I think we'll be able to remember this on our own, right men?"

Maze turns to see Sasuke laid out on the bed relaxing and Naruto helping himself to the fruit basket on the table. The young captain calmly turns again, "If you'll excuse us, we've got to discuss our plan of action."

The old man nods and closes the door as he leaves. Once the door is closed he hears two loud cries of pain.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing, getting all comfortable while I'm talking to that old geezer! Where are your manners? A warrior NEVER settles in front of any royal or high ranking people! Who do you two think you are embarrassing me like that! I have half a mind to beat you two bloody for that insubordination!"

Feltstav opens the door again, Maze is standing calmly in the center of the room with Sasuke and Naruto behind him. Maze turns towards the door, surprising the wiseman, "Did you forget something wiseman?"

"Ah, the lord will request your prensence at dinner. We start promptly at five and please, refrain from bringing your swords."

Maze smiles and nods, "Understandable, we'll be there at five."

The wise man shakes his head as he leaves the room, "Warriors..."

Inside the room, Maze started to take off his sword, "Alright boys, leave your swords here."

Naruto hesitantly removed his sword, a little uneasy about being parted from it. Sasuke placed his sword on the bed, "What about the other weapons?"

"Leave 'em on, he only said swords anyway."

About two hours later, the group was heading down to the dining hall for dinner. Naruto couldn't stop ogling the size of the castle, "Wooooowww! This place makes the Hokage Tower look like my apartment back home!"

Maze hmmed, "Yea, about that, it's best you two stay quiet about your home village. You don't want to scare our host."

Naruto ohhed, adopting a concentrated look of thought, folding his arms as he walked. Sasuke however, just took to walking silently, trying to copy the professional air Maze was projecting. As they entered the main dining hall, they could see that Dancun and the other members of the house were standing by their seats waiting for their guests and lord to arrive. Maze nodded to their hosts and stood beside one of the three empty seats.

The two young ninjas felt a little out of place, the decorum and manner in which these people act was something to get used to. Of course, they managed to get by with just mimicking everything the captain did. They all stood until Lord Olgin arrived, the man in black following him.

The Lord smiled, "Forgive my lateness, I had matters to attend to."

Once he took his seat at the head of the table, everyone else sat. Several servants brought out plates bearing roasted hen, baked potatoes, a bread roll, and some cabbage. Naruto internally whimpered, no ramen here, Maze better start teaching them some stellar jutsus soon or he was going to swim back to Konoha for his beloved ramen.

Dancun cleared his throat thoughtfully, "Actually captain, it is quite a coincidence that you were leading this mission..."

Maze raised a green eyebrow at Dancun's statement, "Really? How so...?"

"Father and I were discussing that I would soon need to take a bride."

"And...?"

"And, I understand your sister is approaching marital age..."

"And you were planning on courting her, correct?"

The young noble's cheeks turned a slight crimson shade, "It would be very good for our people, it would strengthen our country's mystic community. Not to mention the additional support for her village and additional land. It really is quite a beneficial joining for both sides."

The ninjas picked quietly at their meal, listening to the conversation with mild interest. This was foreign affairs and really didn't involve them. Sasuke read the noble man's actions as being more interested in the girl herself than the benefits for their country. And apparently Maze saw it too because he casually raised his goblet, examining the liquid inside with feigned interest before answering.

"Yes, it does sound good for both parties concerned. However, as you know the custom of our people, you have to past a test of character..."

The dark man smirked, "Surely, you do not intend to insult the young lord with your backwood traditions and superstitions."

Maze took a mental count of the people in the room, out of habit and caution. He counted 7 members of the house, 8 honor guards, 8 hand servants, 3 chefs preparing more food, and 1 old lady mixing a broth. He answered casually, "I would think the young lord would be insulted if he were excused from such a test, after all, it is a test that will establish him in the eyes of his elders and peers...Oh, and don't call me surely."

Naruto was busy picking apart his hen while this discussion was going on. It really didn't involve him so he just listened with mild interest. Sasuke however noted Maze's posture and tensed, he saw the young captain ready to spring at a moment's notice. He looked around curiously, wondering what prompted him.

The young lord picked up the conversation, oblivious to their tension, "Well, I do intend to take this test Maze, I am a man of honour and would never use my title as a dodge for anything..."

"I expected none less from a son of a McBerth, but we'll talk of the test once our mission is completed. Call me a workaholic but I believe in business before pleasure."

At that statement, Naruto looked up, a chicken leg half hanging out of his mouth, "Oi oi, if that's true, why're we staying in a castle tonight?"

"You'd much rather have kept riding all the way to the Moulin Verde on horse back for another two days?"

The two ninjas clenched their buttocks in answer to that question, still adjusting to the western mode of transportation. Just because their captain has callouses on his ass doesn't mean they have to suffer. Olgin gingerly chewed his cabbage, looking over the two young boys under Maze's command. Once he swallowed he spoke to the boys, "And may I know who your brave souls are?"

Naruto eagerly answered, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

Sasuke spoke reservedly, "Sasuke Uchiha..."

This brought a slight look of confusion to the court, their names were truly unsual. Maze quickly covered, "They're are war orphans taken in from the outter rim wars I'm afraid."

A murmur of acknowledgement went around the table, all were familiar with the disturbances to the Color Countries' border by the Beast Countries. It was a plausible enough excuse that children were orphaned and taken in on both sides. Sasuke had to hand it to Maze for covering so quickly and believably.

As the heads of the country chattered away, an ill wind seemed to snake through the room. Felstav and Maze felt it first, a bitter chill that bit clean through to the bone, like being dipped in ice water. The two ninjas felt it too, tensing as they braced themselves for whatever that wind brought.

A loud clang silenced the room as all eyes focused on the broth pot the old woman was stirring a second ago. The steaming broth pooled around her feet as she stood with her back to the house. Spinning around suddenly revealed her face had changed, the aged wrinkles now gave way to a bony distortion of her cheeks and eyebrows, making them look more pointed. Her teeth had gone from non-existant to gnarled and decayed, her eyes were completely white and her hair blowing wildly in the ripping wind.

FOOL MORTALS!

Two of the guards charged her on both sides but she effortlessly swatted them away, sending them crashing against the walls in armored heeps. Energy seemed to pool around her, lifting her body from the floor as her boney, death-like hands pointed at the men and women around.

YOU WILL NEVER LAY HANDS ON THE NECRONOMICON! THE DEADITES SHALL REIGN ABOVE ALL! YOUR SOULS WILL BURN IN THE FIRES OF THE PITS AND FEED THE ARMY OF THE DAMNED!

With that her body went slack and fell crumpled on the floor, curled up away from the eyes of the frightened court. Dancun rose from his seat approaching the seemingly dead hag.

"Holy crap! What the HELL was THAT?"

Leave to Naruto's tact to sum up the feelings of everyone in the room. Maze was already up looking over the hag from a distance, cautiously pulling the knife hidden in his boot. Sasuke watched from his seat, ready to jump in. Dancun stepped closer towards the body, but was intercepted by the green-haired captain who motioned him to stay back. The young lord obliged as Maze gripped the knife in both his hands, prepared to see how dead this hag really was. He thrust down, looking to drive the knife into her neck...

But the hag's clammy hand grabbed the blade and held it steady. Maze grunted as he tried pushing harder only to be thrown back by the possessed woman's strength. Maze recovered in mid air flipping back onto his feet, "I HATE uninvited dinner guests!"

The old woman prepared to lunge at Maze when she was assaulted by a barrage of dinner forks. She turned glaring angrilly at the grinning kitsune with flatware between his knuckles. With a loud KYA! Naruto threw the last vestages of silverware he could reach at the witch, most of it ending up embedded in her midsection. Maze saw the opening and ran behind the witch, he leaped forwards, twisting his body around with his hands, lauching himself feet first. He connected, sending the witch flying in Sasuke's direction.

"Sasuke! Fireball!"

Sasuke quickly went through the hand seals and sucked in a deep breath. He brought his hand up to his lips, "KATON: GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!"

Flames flew from Sasuke's curved and engulfed the old woman as she screamed her final scream. Her flash roasted corpse fell to the gound with a sickening thud, the charred body mostly crumbling. Maze sheathed his knife before walking over to his seat and taking a big gulp from the wine goblet.

Naruto jumped into the air, "Yatta! We beat that old bat! These Deadites ain't so tough! Bring 'em on!"

Sasuke rubbed his temples, "Yes, and all it cost us was the Lord's expensive silverware."

Naruto let out a panicked scream as he scooped up the fooks and knives trying to cleanm them up, "YIPES! I'm so sorry your Lordship! I'll clean it up! Good as new! I promise!"

The Lord smiled as Naruto fussed over the forks and knives, trying to raise a hand to calm the panicked boy. Maze in the mean time ordered six more goblets of wine while Sasuke finished his dinner.

Feltstav shook his head and leaned into his left hand, "Mother always told me inviting warriors to dinner was an invitation for trouble..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Whew! Finally pumped out another chapter! I really like this story so I'm gonna keep writing it. So now Sasuke and Naruto have met with the Deadite enemy and have won this battle! But the war is still ahead! Now they have to journey to the Moulin Verde where the book will appear!

Next Time! SENDOFF! THE QUEST GOES ON!

It's Delightfully Distracting!