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Alchemy no Jutsu: Hagane no Shinobi

Chapter 2: Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke

I…have nearly killed my best friend, betrayed my country, and broken countless hearts, and…yet, they still accept me for who I am and what I must do. I still distance myself, but they do not falter from my side. Is this part of your equivalent exchange?

-Uchiha Sasuke, 17


Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, being elite Jounin from Leaf, were amongst Tsunade's handpicked ninja to summon this 'mysterious' person from a world apart to seal the demons. Naruto didn't understand why this specific person had to do the sealing – why couldn't they just use ninjutsu? However, Sasuke had reminded him that, if they used ninjutsu, the Akatsuki could undo it and extract the demon inside, which would defeat the purpose of sealing the demon. Sakura also added that, to seal the demon, the sealer had to sacrifice their life.

Nevertheless, the summoning was unlike anything Naruto, or any of the other Jounin for that matter, had seen before. They had drawn this incredibly complex circle on the ground and were supposed to channel their chakra into it. Naruto had placed both hands on the circle and tried, concentrating despite the Kyuubi growling its disapproval inside him. Once his chakra reached that strange, circular array, the whole thing glowed with a strange, blue light and Naruto felt as if chakra was being sucked out of him. The light grew blindingly intense before disappearing in an explosion, leaving Naruto feeling slightly drained.

To Naruto's right, Sasuke was down on one knee, panting heavily with his head down. Sakura had collapsed on top of her legs, almost completely drained of chakra. Actually, looking around, almost everyone was tired out, even Tsunade-sama. He came out all right because the Kyuubi automatically replenished his depleted chakra.

Naruto heard Sasuke gasp suddenly, causing the blonde ninja to squint into the settling dust. Someone was standing in the middle of the circle. The dust completely settled and many other Jounin rose slowly to their feet, feeling their chakra slowly recover again. Complete silence deafened Naruto before Tsunade stood up and asked the person, "Stranger, are you the prophesized one? Can you explain why we have summoned you?"

Again, there was silence. Naruto strained his ears, waiting for a dramatic reply that would assure him when he heard a voice that was obviously male, and no older than 17 years old. "Would someone please tell me where the HELL I am?"

Tsunade seemed taken aback by this sudden outburst. No doubt, she was expecting…well…someone older, wiser, and taller. This…boy didn't look any older than thirteen, even if his voice indicated around seventeen. True, his eyes were gold, but what about the limbs of steel?

She answered, "You are in Konoha, the Hidden Village of Leaf." The boy gave a confused look, and then seemed to understand and curse under breath once he noticed the strange, summoning array drawn on the ground. Tsunade seemed reassured by this and again, asked, "Do you know why you were summoned?"

Ed, of course, knew exactly how he was 'summoned,' but that wasn't what was bothering him. If this circle was here, then he was no longer in Amestris, but some other world. Moreover, it had to happen just one year after he got back to his own world too!

Ed turned to the person addressing him. "I have no idea what you dragged me out of my own world, but, now that I'm here, I want a reasonable explanation. In other words, WHY THE HECK AM I HERE!"

A Jounin leapt forward and threw a kunai at him, shouting indignantly, "How dare you show such impudence to Hokage-sama! Any other person would have been killed on the spot!"

Ed saw the knife fly at him without any sign of disturbance, raised his right arm, and let the knife glance off the automail. Tsunade heard the impact and drew a sharp intake of breath. Seek the eyes of gold and limbs of steel. Yes, this boy was the one.

"Boy, we have summoned you because we heard you could help us. Our situation is dire. We know you are not obligated to help us, but we beg of you. All will be explained if you agree to help us." Tsunade pleaded, crossing her fingers behind her back, hoping for his assent.

Ed looked around him. Every person present seemed to plead him with their eyes. He finally sighed, and said, "Alright, since I can't go home anyways until I figure out how your world works, I'll help you for now. I have no idea why you summoned me, of all people, but I'll see what I can do."

A whoop of victory sounded out behind him and Ed turned to see a blonde, a girl with pink hair, and someone who reminded him very heavily of Roy Mustang, complete with the annoying smirk and hands shoved into his pockets. They were easily the youngest people here, about his age. The blonde waved at him and smiled a wide grin, "Hoy, Tsunade-sama, can he come with us? After all, he's about our age too!" Ed looked behind him and saw the woman who had been addressing him, this Tsunade-sama, and saw her contemplate the idea, then nod. Tsunade decided that it would be best to learn about him through Naruto and his friends because they seemed about the same age.

"I'll agree for now, Naruto, but it's up to you to make sure nothing happens to him." Naruto grinned again before shifting his attention to Ed. The rest of the Jounin began to disperse and leave, having finished what they came to do. Ed walked over to the blonde-haired person, apparently Naruto, and his two friends.

"Hi! I'm Uzimaki Naruto, the greatest ninja of all time! This is Haruno Sakura, and the guy with the scowl is my best friend, Uchiha Sasuke." The Roy-like person looked away and scowled more. Ed felt it was only common courtesy to give his own name.

"Ah, I'm Edward Elric, Ed for short. Nice to meet you." Ed held out his right hand, then decided against it and switched to his left. Naruto grabbed his hand and shook vigorously. Sakura gave a small curtsey and Sasuke nodded his head politely.

"ALRIGHT! Now let's go get some ramen! Sasuke, it's you're turn to pay! Oh, and afterwards, let's take Ed to the training grounds!"

The four teenagers left the room, one excitedly talking and the other three following along in amused silence.


A/N:

okay, now for a question: do you prefer short chapters that get uploaded quickly or longer chapters that take a while to write? tell me in a review

I'm trying to update as fast as possible, so bear with me. the chapters are a bit short for now, but the first two were originally one chapter, and I split them to make short chapters...

so, review! and, I promise in the next chapter, the plot will take a huge leap forward and there will be some action, as well as more introductions!

REVIEW! (many reviews are the life of a fanfiction - quote from Socrates)