Konoha's Dragon Slayer
Disclaimer: I own none of this. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, and Fairy Tail is the Property of Hiro Mashima. All other references to other media are the property of their respective owners. So please don't sue me!
Chapter 1: The Beginning
(Six Years after the Kyubi attack)
Jiraya was walking towards the gates of his home, Konoha. The Gama Sennin was on his way to deliver a report to Hiruzen and update the Sandaime about the latest information from Jiraiya's spy network.
"After I talk with sensei," Jiraiya giggled to himself, "I'll hit up the local hot spring for some 'Research' after all, I can't keep my loyal readers waiting." As Jiraiya walked, he noticed some older Shinobi, respect, and awe. Finally, after some time, Jiraiya arrived at the Hokage office, and he saw Sarutobi's new secretary. Her hair was brown and tied with a ponytail. "85, 55, 83, old man sure does know how to pick 'em." Jiraiya giggled perversely.
"Here to see Hokage-sama?" She asked. "Jiraiya-sama."
"Yeah, gotta give the old man my report." Jiraiya leaned forward, resting his arms on the desk, "but when I get done here, maybe you and I can grab some sake and get to know one another?" The Secretary blushed a bit.
"Tempting, but I need to stay here to avoid Hokage-sama from burning his paperwork again."
"Again?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow. "He's burned his paperwork before?"
"Yes, the last secretary wasn't very good at her job, and so she got here an hour late. Although by that time, the civilian council had come to bug him about Naruto again, Danzo-sama showed up. Apparently, many angry words were exchanged, and when she brought in his paperwork for the day, Hokage-sama's temper exploded. I wasn't aware that paperwork could burn different colors."
"Yikes, guess I'll see him now."
"Of course, Jiraiya-sama." The Secretary pressed a button on her desk, "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama is here to see you."
"Send him in." Sartuobi's tired voice responded.
"Of course, sir." Jiraiya watched as the seals drawn on the door glowed slightly, then returned to an inactive state. Jiraiya walked in to see piles of paperwork scattered all over the room.
"Hey, sensei," Jiraiya smiled, "you're looking well." Sarutobi glared at his perverted student with a 'don't fuck with me' look on his face.
"Jiraiya," Sarutobi began, "I have been here for almost three days, with little to no sleep. So I really hope, for your sake, that you've come with something to get my mind off this."
"Well, I have some updates on my spy network, and I wanted to talk about Naruto."
"We've gone over this, Jiraiya; you can't raise him. It would attract Minato's enemies; specifically, Iwa, if they got wind of you raising Naruto, they would march to war, assuming you're giving rise to another Kiroi Senko." Jiraiya sighed.
"You're making me pull the 'Godfather' card, Minato and Kushina declared in their will 'should anything happen to us Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin is to become Naruto's Legal Guardian.'"
"We are done talking about this." Sarutobi snapped, "For now, let's focus on those reports from your spy network. We'll talk about Naruto later."
(Time Skip 8 hours later)
The Kyuubi's death festival is in full swing. Children were running from booth to booth, playing games, winning prizes, or begging their parents for sweets. Adults without children were in bars, some mourning the loss of family or friends. Others were celebrating the Kyubi's death. Everyone was in high spirits, even those in mourning, as those who sacrificed their lives didn't die in vain. The Yondaime destroyed the Kyubi forever, or at least that's how the story was told. But for one resident of Konoha, this was the worst day for him every year. Naruto was running as fast as his legs could carry him, as he was running for his life from an angry mob chasing him with pitchforks, torches, bats, and other blunt objects.
"GET HIM!" one mob member shouted.
"KILL HIM!" Another shouted.
"WE'LL AVENGE YONDAIME-SAMA, YOU DEMON BRAT!" Naruto continued running. He ducked down alleyways, trying to lose the mob, but the villagers always managed to find him again no matter which way he ran. Eventually, his running led him to a forest. There was a sign on the gates surrounding it. He'd been running for hours trying to escape. Finding a small respite in the fact that the villagers hadn't seen him yet, Naruto leaned against the gate, completely exhausted.
"Why do they hurt me?" Naruto asks himself. "What did I ever do to deserve this?" The smell of burning torches soon reached Naruto's nose, and he looked up to see the unmistakable light of multiple torches heading his way.
"The demon is really slippery." Then, Naruto heard another voice speak.
"Careful Gaji," a fourth voice chastised. "The demon brat has senses that rival an Inuzuka."
"Oh please," a fifth voice spoke up. "The demon's got nothing on my clan. He's just lucky."
"Well, his luck runs out tonight," Gaji replied, "with Yakuwa's senses, my sensory talent, and your Kage Mane, we'll end him once and for all. Naruto's eyes widened in fear, and he attempted to sneak off silently. He made it about halfway to a small hole in the fence when he stepped on a loose twig causing it to snap. The man in the middle turned towards the sound and sniffed the air.
"I smell the Kyuubi brat!" Yakuwa shouted, pointing, and the mob turned to the direction he was pointing. The angry mob ran forward; pitchforks raised high, Naruto scrambled to try and fit through the hole in the fence. Naruto was almost through the hole when his shirt snagged on the torn chain link. Naruto fumbled with the snagged fabric as panic filled his mind at the sight of the angry mob getting closer and closer. Finally, Naruto's scrambling pays off as the caught part of his shirt rips off in the nick of time, allowing him to crawl to safety. As he ran off into the forest, Naruto heard a few voices shout in protest.
"Damn," the voice of one villager shouted. "The demon got away."
"Don't worry about it," Gaji replied, "this is training ground 44; he's not going to get out alive."
"Out of the frying pan," Yakuwa agreed, "into the fire." As Naruto walked deeper into the forest, he heard the sounds of animals rustling in the undergrowth. Naruto soon came across a clump of gnarled but sizable roots that were tricky to navigate through. After a bit more walking, Naruto heard a hiss, and he turned to see a gigantic snake bearing down on him. Naruto started panicking again, as he hadn't smelled the snake. The snake lunged at Naruto, ready to swallow him as prey. Naruto's fear kept him rooted in place as the snake closed in.
"MOVE, YOU IDIOT!" A dark voice shouted, the shout broke Naruto's fear, and he rolled to the side just as the snake bit the ground where Naruto was standing not a second before. Naruto ran deeper into the forest, the serpent hot on his heels. After about 10 minutes of running, Naruto eventually lost the gigantic snake, and he soon found himself outside of a building painted to blend into the surrounding rock. As Naruto got closer to the door, he saw an intricate series of kanji surrounding every bit of the door, forming a sealing network that Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of.
"What is this?" Naruto wondered as he walked forward. As he did, the seals on the door started glowing. Naruto placed his hand on the outline of a door, which glowed, then hissed open. Naruto walked forward, passing over the threshold, and immediately sneezed from all the dust he'd kick up. As soon as Naruto was past the doors, they slammed shut, trapping Naruto in the darkness, but not a second later, lights blazed to life, illuminating the entire room. Naruto blinked from the sudden shock forcing his eyes to adapt. When Naruto's vision cleared, he saw a large blue crystal sitting on the table; it was about as big as his head and rhombus-shaped. Every so often, Naruto would see it pulse with light, almost like a heartbeat. Naruto started walking towards the crystal, and as he approached, the pulse in the crystal began to speed up. Naruto was now standing next to the crystal, which had started pulsing slower. What shocked Naruto the most was that it was in perfect sync with his heartbeat. "What is this thing?" Naruto stretched out a hand to touch the crystal. As soon as Naruto touched it, the crystal started glowing a myriad of colors; then, the crystal started sinking into his hand. Naruto began glowing. At first, it was the same flash of colors the crystal had been glowing. Then, energy exploded outward in a blinding display of color, pain erupted through Naruto's body, easily hundreds of times worse than anything the villagers had done to him. Naruto endured the pain for a moment, but soon it overwhelmed him, and he started screaming, then passed out.
(Hokage Office)
Sarutobi was staring out the window of his office, looking at the village he loved, the glow of the city celebrating the Kyubi festival. As he looked out the window, Sarutobi had his arms crossed behind his back.
"Jiraiya's right," Sarutobi thought as he stood motionless, "I've kept him from fulfilling his duties as Naruto's godfather, but this situation is more complicated than he realizes." Sarutobi sighed. "I'm getting too old for this shit." he then turned away from the window, looking at the pile of paperwork still on his desk. Sighing again, he sat down at his desk and began filling out reports again; this went on for about five minutes when a massive wave of power washed over the village. The sounds of celebration went silent as everyone looked in the direction of the energy wave. Sarutobi felt his heart skip a beat as he recognized the sensation and who it was originating from; leaping to his feet, Sarutobi shed his Hokage robes revealing his battle armor. "Anbu!" he commanded, "on me."
"Sir!" 5 voices responded simultaneously, and five Anbu emerged from the shadows as one they bowed.
"What are your orders?" The Anbu wearing a cat mask, asked, "Hokage-sama."
"We have a Code Bloody Orange," Sarutobi responded; the Anbu gasped in shock as Code Bloody Orange meant only one thing; tracking down Naruto Uzumaki and preparing the hospital for an emergency blood transfusion. "I need to know Naruto's last known location."
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Cat responded, bringing her hand to the long-range radio on her ear. "This is Neko calling all Anbu on this frequency; we have a Code Bloody Orange. I need the last known location of Naruto Uzumaki; this is not a test; I repeat, this is not a test!" The radio was silent for a second; then, it buzzed to life.
"This is Inu," the voice of Inu responded, "last known location was heading 45 degrees south by southwest from the central district; reports indicate he was running from a mob."
"Confirmed," Neko responded, "Inu reports that he was headed 45 degrees south by southwest from the central district. " Sarutobi felt his heart almost stop.
"Isn't that-?" An Anbu in a boar mask started asking when he saw the look on his leader's face.
"Neko," Sarutobi's voice was deadly calm which freaked out the Anbu even more. "Inform Inu that he is to find Jiraiya, bring him up to speed, then join us in the search for Naruto."
"Hai," Neko responded. "Inu, your orders are to locate, inform Jiraiya-sama, then join us at training ground 44."
"Confirmed." Inu's voice came over the radio, "Inu, out!" the radio went silent. Sarutobi wasted no time and ran out the door with the Anbu right behind him.
"Please," Sarutobi prayed as he lept, "please, Naruto, still be alive when we get there."
(Hot springs 10 minutes ago)
Jiraiya was using his Tōton Jutsu while sitting on a branch above the women's section of the hot springs, journal in hand, taking 'notes' on the females, bathing.
"This is gonna make for a great next volume." Jiraiya giggled perversely as he watched the girls bathe. Jiraiya sat on his perch, taking notes. "Alright, a few more minutes, then I'll start writing." Jiraiya giggled again when a wave of power passed over the village, and Jiraiya looked into the sky. "What the hell?" Jiraiya got up from his perch. Even though it was night, Jiraiya could see waves of blue, white, gray, and red energy expanding outward in that order. Just then, an Anbu landed next to Jiraiya in a kneeling position.
"Jiraiya-sama." The Anbu spoke, "I've been ordered to bring you up to speed, then we are to meet Hokage-sama in training ground 44."
"What's going on, Inu." Jiraiya's mode had changed.
"We have a Code Bloody Orange," Jiraiya's eyes widened in horror, "Hokage-sama is currently en-route; we must meet him there."
"Bring me up to speed on everything as we travel." Jiraiya began making his way towards the Forest of Death. "Naruto, please be okay." Jiraiya prayed as he and Inu kept towards the source of power.
(A/N: Well, it's certainly been a long time since I posted, well, anything. So here's a little "Where the fuck have I been." Working for a grocery store on a good day is challenging. Working for a grocery store during a global pandemic IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE! It seems all I have time for these days is, wake up, try to sit down and write, get called into work, work all day, come back home, try to sit down and write again, realize I have no energy after dealing with my job for 10 hours, go to sleep, rinse and repeat. A quick "thank you" to all those who have reached out to me and inquired about my well-being or just a general update. It is messages like that that motivate me to continue with all my projects. That being said, I've realized that my brain does not like being trapped in "Finish one story, then you can focus on others." So here's what I'm going to do from now on. I'm going to publish a chapter of a new story every so often and see how it does. If I get the motivation to return to an old project, I'll work on that. At the end of the day, my updates will be sporadic at best. I have no clear path forward on how I will update or upload. If you have questions, concerns, or hell even a few new ideas, feel free to let me know. Please keep in mind that I may not get back to you right away as my life is about as predictable as the weather. But, I will give my answer as quickly as I can, but it could be minutes, hours, or even days. Thank you all for your continued support, CJShikage.)
