Bored yet? If not, then welcome to chapter three of The Prophesy of Three. Hope your journey is a pleasant one. :P

As always, no flames please. I would love some constructive criticism, please.

Naruto Masashi Kishimoto & Lord of the Rings © J.R.R Tolken. I do not own any of their characters, just this story.

Enjoy and review responsibly! :D

THE PARTY
"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can…"

On the morning of Bilbo (and Frodo's) birthday party, Naruto awoke with the rising sun – having had the first best night's sleep in years. Naruto heaved himself out of bed in the Baggins' guest room, forgetting in his grogginess that he was in fact taller than the hobbits and ended up braining himself on a supporting beam.

"Fuck!" He cursed underneath his breath, rubbing at his forehead.

Naruto bundled himself into his tracksuit jacket, grabbed his weapons' pack and his travel satchel and made a hasty beeline for the door. The first time he had done this at this time of the morning, Frodo and Bilbo thought he was mad. That is until Naruto explained that he was used to getting up this early in the morning for missions. Naruto yawned as he shut the heavy wooden door behind him, put his toeless boots on and started stretching. The air was still slightly cool in the morning breeze, but it was fresh and clean as Naruto took in a deep breath and scanned the beautiful landscape. The Shire's green rolling hills, divided with manmade fences; and some evergreen trees of varying ages – including one particularly large evergreen dubbed 'the party tree', which was where Bilbo's party was going to be nestled underneath. He saw the tiny picturesque 'hobbit holes' as Bilbo fondly told him they were called, large and small dirt footpaths and the sounds of birds and animals waking up to greet the dawn.

Shikamaru would LOVE this!

Naruto took off with an easy sprint to a nearby isolated meadow he had stumbled upon with Frodo, who had been helping him get the fresh air and exercise he needed to recover from his injuries. Hardly any hobbit ventured this far out from the village, as most of their time was taken up by farming and gardening or just generally relaxing the warm sunlight; so Naruto's training regime was unlikely to be interrupted. The blonde sauntered over to a nearby tree he had been using for his training, and dumped his satchel at the base. He opened and reached inside the bag, pulling a good long length of strong rope which Bilbo had graciously loaned to Naruto for use after the blonde politely asked for training purposes.

Naturally, this had sparked the old hobbit's curiosity and he inquired what its use was for.

"Target practice," was all Naruto had said before thanking Bilbo and darting off. Bilbo was then seen standing in his front yard looking completely befuddled before shaking his head and turning to head back into his home.

"Strange lad." He had muttered with a small smile. Naruto located the stump he had been using for his training and expertly tied the rope to it before suspending it from another tree. He absently wondered if Sakura and Sasuke were okay wherever they were, since he was positive they had been sucked into that portal like he had been. The question that had been plaguing his mind was: where were they? Were they searching for him? Were they okay?

Okay … Sakura-chan might be, but Sasuke?

As far as Naruto was concerned, the jury was still out with that. Sighing sadly, Naruto sank to the ground sitting in the lotus position and meditated – trying to find his inner serenity so he could shift into his sage mode. He still remembered the countless hours he had to undergo learning this particular senjutsu technique: sitting indian-style on a thin rectangular piece of wood, shirtless and risking one hellva sunburn underneath a hot, unforgiving sun whilst trying to remain in perfect balance on top of a sharpened stalagmite.

Stupid, masochistic toads…

Naruto had been instructed to remain perfectly still so that he could become one with nature and be able to balance the natural energy with his physical and spiritual energies. He had discovered during his training at Mount Myoboku that too much natural energy expelled would result in the senjutsu to fail to work. Too much taken in would cause the body to turn into stone – a situation Naruto hoped that he'd never find himself in – or risk being changed into a toad himself.

Naruto shuddered.

No thanks!

"Naruto?" The blonde's attention was broken and he silently cursed whoever interrupted him. Then realised he'd been meditating for quite a while.

"Morning!" he chirped and stood to stretch out his limbs after sitting in the same position for so long. He turned to see Frodo who was carrying a book and looking at him curiously.

"Are you training again?" asked the curious hobbit as he came over and sat down against the same tree that Naruto had his things laying against. The blonde nodded and looked sheepish when his stomach suddenly growled, reminding him that he had yet to eat. Frodo chuckled and reached into his trouser pocket. "Here." He tossed a shiny red apple at Naruto who caught it easily with one hand, and smiled brightly at the hobbit in gratitude.

"Thanks!" The blonde shined up the skin with his shirt, "So today's Bilbo's birthday party, you excited?" Naruto asked as he climbed the tree Frodo was sitting against and bit into the apple. The hobbit shrugged, but looked cheerful.

"I'm guessing that it will a night that we'll all remember for a long time. At least that's what everybody is saying. Personally, I think it's just another excuse for folks to show up, eat, drink and be foolish." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"And that's bad?" He asked taking another giant bite, savouring the sweet taste that burst in his mouth. Frodo chuckled.

"Of course not!" He opened his book to the page he had bookmarked and sat back to enjoy it. "Besides, Gandalf's coming!" Frodo added excitedly. Naruto finished his apple and tossed the core into some nearby bushes.

Naruto grinned, remembering that Gandalf was apparently a powerful wizard.

"Did he say when he was coming?" But before Frodo could reply they could suddenly hear somebody with a deep voice singing:

"The Road goes ever on and on.
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
and I must follow, if I can…"

Naruto hopped down from the tree and stood protectively nearby his new friend, ready to defend Frodo from the possible danger. But he judged by the excited expression on Frodo's face that he was jumping to conclusions.

"C'mon, Naruto!" yelled Frodo as he darted off across the field and out of sight.

"Frodo!" shouted Naruto.

He heard no reply, so he quickly grabbed his weapons' pack and satchel and sprinted to keep up with the surprisingly spry hobbit.

By the time he had found Frodo, the hobbit was chatting animatedly with an elderly man dressed in long, thick grey robes with large sleeves and a brown plaited leather belt wrapped around his waist sitting in a cart and smoking a hand carved wooden pipe. On the man's head was a very large, well-worn faded grey velvet conical hat with a bent tip.

"Geez, wait up!" Naruto grumbled when he finally caught up with Frodo. The excited hobbit was practically beaming from ear to ear when he turned and introduced his new friend to Gandalf.

"Oh, Naruto! There you are, this is Gandalf."

Both ninja and wizard sized each other up, trying to determine a possible threat within the other.

If Naruto were to describe Gandalf, the first word that came to mind was: weird, followed by intimidating and radiating a lot of power. But he also couldn't sense anything dangerous or threatening about the wizard, so Naruto extended his hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you." He said, flashing the wizard his trademark toothy grin.

At the same time, Gandalf had been mentally inspecting Naruto, who looked relaxed but guarded. The lad appeared to be the epitome of sunshine, as he seemed to take on a very bright and enthusiastic personality and possessed a childlike innocence. And it was obvious judging from his appearance and his thick accent that the boy was a stranger in these lands. However, the wise wizard could see within the boy's bright sky blue eyes; a deep sadness and a need for acceptance and recognition. He could tell that this child had suffered a rough upbringing, which might explain the evil entity he could sense very deep down in the boy's subconscious. But like Naruto, Gandalf couldn't sense anything threatening about the blonde, barring the obvious evil buried within him.

The wizard smiled politely and accepted Naruto's extended hand.

"Likewise. I hope Frodo has been treating you well?" Naruto beamed and scratched his head, oddly feeling like he was being examined.

"I've been made very welcome. Thank you!" Gandalf chuckled and caught Frodo in a hug when the hobbit launched himself at him.

"It's wonderful to see you, Gandalf!" Both hobbit and wizard hugged briefly before Gandalf disengaged himself from Frodo, who moved to the passenger seat of the wagon.

"You didn't think I'd miss your Uncle Bilbo's birthday?" Frodo grinned happily as Gandalf turned and smiled politely at the amused looking ninja, who was feeling a little envious of the obvious affection and friendship shared between the two.

"Hop aboard then, I'll give you a ride back into town." Gandalf offered as Naruto debated if he should decline and return to training or accept, since he hadn't eaten yet and was unable to focus. He decided to forgo training for once and nimbly bounced into the back. He would've tripped out of the wagon had his ninja instincts and control not restored his balance. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw what had almost caused him to fall out of the wagon.

"Fireworks?" Gandalf clicked his tongue to get the horse to move on, as Frodo spun round.

"Yes, Gandalf is famous for his fireworks in the Shire." Naruto grinned.

"Wow, that's really cool."

"Thank you, some of them are my specialties."

The blonde nodded politely but chose not to reply. The trio travelled in silence as the wagon rattled its way over the stone bridge towards the busy Hobbit marketplace. Going through the marketplace and out into the rolling countryside, Naruto observed that nearly every hobbit that they passed by looked up and exclaimed in wonder and excitement as they rolled past. The blonde cocked up an eyebrow.

Clearly, this Gandalf guy is wildly popular among the locals…

The wagon rolled by the Green Dragon inn. Before long the three of them came upon the party field Naruto had glimpsed earlier that morning from Bag End, where hobbits were darting around like worker bees preparing for Bilbo's huge party. Gandalf broke the silence.

"Ah, the long expected party. So how is the old rascal?" He nudged Frodo playfully in the ribs, "I hear it's going to be a party of special magnificence." This peaked Naruto's interest. Anything to do with his eldest host was kept hush hush around him. He suspected it was because he was a stranger and was not to be trusted yet. Frodo smiled fondly and rolled his eyes.

"You know Bilbo. He's got the whole place in an uproar." Gandalf chuckled.

"Well, that should please him."

"Half the Shire's been invited. And the rest of them are turning up anyway." This sparked laughter between them as Naruto rolled his eyes, but smiled nevertheless. The hobbits were Naruto's ideal people – creatures that had the freedom to enjoy the simple, carefree way of life filled with some, but not a lot of responsibilities … and eating and drinking non-stop 24 hours a day.

But Naruto was dealt a different hand in life. One that offered him very little time for rest and relaxation, and more often than not meant that he was facing death at a very young age. But he wouldn't trade his way of life for anything in the world, if it got him one step closer to his ultimate goal in life: being the Hokage.

"To tell you the truth though, Bilbo's been a bit odd lately. I mean, more than usual." Naruto and Gandalf picked up their ears, listening intently to what Frodo had to say.

"Yeah, I noticed that too." Naruto commented. Frodo turned and looked at Naruto strangely. "I was heading out for training and I saw him looking at some really old maps." Frodo nodded.

"He spends hours and hours looking at them when he thinks I'm not looking." Naruto noticed Gandalf had gone quiet the moment he and Frodo had mentioned Bilbo's strange behaviour, and when he heard the word 'training' from himself. He frowned, wondering what his deal was. "He's up to something…" Frodo trailed off, sounding like he was in his own little world. Naruto cleared his throat jolting Frodo back to the present, but barely fazing Gandalf who merely grunted and gave Frodo a sideways glance.

Naruto frowned suspiciously.

"Alright then. Keep your secrets." Frodo sounded amused. Gandalf looked at Frodo in surprise.

"What?"

"But I know you have something to do with it."

So do I… Naruto agreed.

Frodo smirked teasingly.

"Before you came along, we Bagginses were very well thought of." This time Naruto frowned at Frodo.

You sound very sure of yourself…

"Indeed" queried Gandalf, surprising Naruto who thought Gandalf could read minds until he realised that the wizard was playing along with Frodo's speculations. Frodo nodded sagely.

"Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected." This time Gandalf looked a combination of slightly offended and unconvincingly innocent.

"If you are referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved." That surprised Naruto even further.

Dragons? Wow!

"All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door." Gandalf continued protesting his innocence while Naruto was still geeking out over the existence of dragons. He missed Frodo giving Gandalf a 'sure you did' look before continuing to 'scold' him.

"Whatever you did, you've been officially labelled a disturber of the peace." Gandalf almost dropped his pipe as he drove past an elderly hobbit who was sweeping up his front yard. The moment the hobbit saw Gandalf he threw the wizard a filthy look, which Gandalf took in his stride.

"Sorry, back up! Did you just say Dragons?" asked Naruto sceptically. Gandalf nodded. "They really exist?" Naruto tried and failed to keep the excitement out of his voice. Gandalf didn't know whether to laugh at the excitement on Naruto's face or voice his disapproval that this strange boy was actually getting excited over a dangerous flying reptile that could breathe fire.

"Yes, dragons do exist. The last one I saw was 60 years ago." He frowned disapprovingly at the blonde who stared defiantly back. "But they are exceedingly rare and I should tell you extremely dangerous." Naruto smirked.

"Danger? Ha! I laugh in the face of danger." He bragged cockily. This didn't amuse neither Frodo nor Gandalf.

"Then I should say that you're a very foolhardy boy." Naruto rolled his eyes and sat back to continue observing the countryside. Some hobbit children suddenly noticed the wagon and started running for them almost immediately.

"Gandalf! Gandalf!" they yelled out excitedly. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with them?" Neither Frodo nor Gandalf replied, and Naruto, thinking that they were giving him the cold shoulder because of the 'dragon' conversation, voiced his protest.

"Oh c'mon! I was just kidding around about the dragon thing." He whined childishly. The hobbit children were gaining.

"Fireworks, Gandalf! Gandalf! Fireworks, Gandalf!" Naruto suddenly paled. He sincerely hoped Gandalf wasn't about to do what he thought he was going to do. There was silence for several minutes broken only by the sounds of disappointed hobbit children. The blonde ninja sighed in relief, only to curse colourfully when a blast of fireworks suddenly came to life in colourful sprays.

"YAY!" cheered the hobbit children, as Gandalf and Frodo laughed fondly and Naruto glared at the back of Gandalf's head in annoyance.

"OI! I'm sitting back here, remember!?" shrieked Naruto. Frodo rolled his eyes at how childish his new friend was behaving.

"Oh hush, Naruto! You're still in one piece." Frodo admonished before getting to his feet and moving to hop down from the wagon. He smiled fondly at Gandalf. "Gandalf? I'm glad you're back." Gandalf smiled back.

"So am I, dear boy!" Frodo hopped down from the wagon and stared expectantly at Naruto.

"Are you coming, Naruto?" he asked. The blonde shook his head.

"Nah, I'm going to eat something. I've been up since the crack of dawn." Frodo shrugged.

"Suit yourself. See you at the party then." He waved before darting off out of sight.

Gandalf pat the seat Frodo had just vacated.

"Now then, Naruto was it?" The blonde looked surprised.

"Yes, sir?"

Gandalf waved the blonde over, not bothering to stop the wagon. It seemed he suspected Naruto was not a typical boy. He hesitated for only a second before he vaulted over the seat and landed soundlessly next to Gandalf.

"Tell me a bit more about yourself." Naruto hesitated.

What's he playing at?

"I'm 16 years old and I'm a shinobi." Naruto decided less was better as far as complete strangers were concerned.

"Shinobi?" Gandalf exclaimed. Naruto was about to explain what a shinobi was, when Gandalf continued speaking, "Good gracious, you don't look old enough to be one." It was Naruto's turn to be surprised.

"You know about it?" Gandalf chuckled.

"Of course I know about it. As a wizard, I was well-informed during my studies about the existence of ninjas and assassins from alternate worlds." He pulled up to Bag End's gate and called the horses to stop. "But what I am curious about, is why you are here in our world?" Naruto looked troubled.

"That's what my friends and I would like to find out." He answered quietly. Gandalf sensed that Naruto wasn't telling him the whole story, but figured that the boy would tell him as soon as when he was ready.

"I see. And where are your friends?" The wizard asked, carefully getting out of the wagon and retrieving his staff. Naruto sprang agile from his seat and walked around to the gate.

"I don't know. That's what bothers me the most." Gandalf's face was grave. It seemed that Naruto was involved in a very complicated situation.

"I think we need to have a bit of a chat, lad." Naruto nodded. Gandalf stepped up to the gate and noticed a sign had been nailed in place:

'No admittance. Exception party business.'

"Hmm." said Gandalf thoughtfully. Naruto rolled his eyes and breezed on through the gate, ignoring the sign completely and trotted to the front door followed closely by an amused Gandalf. Almost immediately, he thudded solidly on the heavy green door.

"No thank you!" Naruto and Gandalf exchanged confused looks as Bilbo's annoyed voice bellowed out at them from inside the hobbit hole. "We don't want any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!"

"And what about very old friends?" inquired Gandalf.

Naruto smirked. Bilbo paused for a split second before the door opened and his head peered out curiously.

"Naruto? How did you change your-? He cut himself off when he saw who was standing behind the thoroughly amused ninja. "Gandalf?" He said in disbelief. The wizard smiled warmly at the 'old' hobbit.

"Bilbo Baggins!" The green door was thrown wide open and Gandalf received an armful of the hobbit.

"My dear Gandalf!" The old friends greeted each other with a long overdue hug and Gandalf pulled back to inspect Bilbo more clearly.

"Good to see you. One hundred and eleven years old!"

Naruto let out a low whistle. He hadn't realised exactly how old Bilbo was.

If Bilbo is THAT old, exactly how old is Frodo? Gandalf suddenly frowned as through realising something very important, and not liking it one bit.

"You haven't aged a day…" Naruto's cheerful grin faded at the tone of Gandalf's voice, and quickly pasted it back on when Bilbo turned to address him.

"Naruto, my lad. You don't have to knock you know. You're living here remember?" The blonde scratched his head uncomfortably. Gandalf placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"There's nothing wrong with having some good manners." He reminded Bilbo, "God knows there's not enough of it nowadays…" He trailed off as Bilbo ushered them inside with a bright 'Come on, come in!' Bilbo relieved Gandalf of his hat and staff, as Naruto shut the door behind him and removed his shoes, needlessly. The wizard observed that it probably was a common practice to remove one's shoes when entering a private residence wherever Naruto came from.

He smiled.

Good to see that there is hope for his generation yet… Bilbo re-entered the room from where he had put away Gandalf's hat and staff.

"Tea?" He offered, "or maybe something a little stronger?" asked Bilbo very chatty like as he rooted around his cellar looking for something.

Naruto had momentarily disappeared from the room.

"I've got a few bottles of the Old Winyard left. 1296. Very good year, almost as old as I am!" He chuckled at his little joke, and Gandalf politely smiled – still unnerved by Bilbo's unaged appearance. "It was laid down by my father. What say we open on, eh?" Naruto chose that moment to re-enter the room, just as Bilbo resurfaced with a bottle of red wine clutched in his hand.

He frowned sternly at Naruto.

"None for you though, you're too young…"

Naruto pouted before walking past Bilbo and Gandalf into the Bagginses' living room; still messy with Bilbo's old maps and scrolls and perched himself on a nearby chair, scanning one of Bilbo's scrolls. The blonde had expressed an interest into learning where he had been stranded, and Bilbo had very generously allowed him access to everything, except what was in his study.

Naruto recalled a very strange incident where he had unintentionally stumbled into that room one day, and Bilbo had flown into a deep rage. But before Naruto could explain himself, he noticed Bilbo fiddling around with something in his waistcoat pocket and calming down. At that point he made Naruto promise not to go in there.

"Just tea, thank you." Gandalf replied. Bilbo shrugged and darted into the kitchen. Gandalf backed into a chandelier and sent it swinging, then turned and brained himself on a low beam – much like Naruto did that morning. Naruto sniggered at the wizard's misfortune, earning a chastising glare from the wizard as he too came over to inspect the maps, papers and scrolls.

"You sense something weird about Bilbo too?" asked Naruto now serious.

Gandalf nodded.

"It's probably nothing to be feared." He reassured Naruto who was watching Bilbo darting around the kitchen, trying to find something for the three of them to eat. He vaguely sensed Gandalf disappearing momentarily, particularly when Bilbo entered the living room seconds later.

"I could make you some eggs if you'd like—Gandalf?" He looked at Naruto inquiringly, and the blonde ninja feigned ignorance just as Gandalf reappeared peering into the room from the kitchen.

"Just tea, thank you." Gandalf repeated his earlier request. Bilbo looked a little startled.

"Oh right." Naruto had to force himself not to laugh out loud, before getting up and moving for the kitchen to help himself to some food. "You don't mind if I eat, do you?" He heard Bilbo ask, putting a piece of cheese into his mouth.

"No. Not at all." answered Gandalf.

Suddenly there was a sharp knocking at the door and Bilbo choked on his mouthful of cheese. Gandalf was about to thump him on the back, when Bilbo threw himself at the wall obviously trying to hide from his 'latest visitor'. Naruto moved quick as lightning for the door.

"May I help you?" They heard Naruto ask with forced politeness. Bilbo buried himself deeper into his kitchen, but still within earshot of the conversation.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm looking for Bilbo Baggins!" snapped a rude, irritated woman's voice.

"Sorry to disappoint, but he's not here at the moment." replied Naruto, sweetly, "May I take a message?"

"Rubbish. I know he's in there!" she tried to force her way in, but Naruto was stronger than she was and remained firmly in place.

"It's the Sackville-Bagginses." whispered Bilbo to Gandalf who was slightly confused about his behaviour. It took several minutes for Naruto to forcibly dissuade Bilbo's relatives from entering the premises and to get them to leave.

"Sheesh. They don't know how to take a hint." Naruto came back into the kitchen and tore off a chunk of bread, stuffing it into his mouth. Bilbo flashed Naruto a grateful smile before sighing resignedly.

"They're after the house." He explained to Gandalf who made an 'oh' face, "They've never forgiven me for living this long." He started pacing the length of the kitchen. "I've got to get away from these confounded relatives hanging on the bell all day. They never give me a moment's peace!" A small nostalgic smile spread across Bilbo's face, "I want to see mountains again. Mountains, Gandalf! And then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book."

The kettle over the fireplace started whistling. "Oh, tea!" Bilbo grabs a towel and removes the tea.

"So you mean to go through with your plan then?" asked Gandalf. He was choosing his words carefully.

"Yes, yes. It's all in hand. All the arrangements have been made." Bilbo said distractedly trying to juggle the heavy kettle and open the lid of the teapot until Naruto opened it for him. "Thank you, lad." Naruto gave him the thumbs up. Gandalf poured some milk into his cup.

"Frodo suspects something." He reminded Bilbo.

"Of course he does. He's a Baggins! Not some block-headed Bracegirdle from Hardbottle."

What's that got to do with anything? Naruto wasn't getting used to the old way of speaking in this world and it was starting to give him a headache.

"You will tell him, won't you?"

"Yes, yes."

"He's very fond of you." Bilbo paused looking a little guilty for whatever reason Naruto wasn't sure of. But he hoped it wasn't for a bad reason. Suddenly he smiled bittersweetly.

"I know. He'd probably come with me if I asked him—"

Naruto chose that moment to leave, obviously suspecting that Bilbo needed to talk privately with Gandalf. The wizard subtly nodded to him in thanks.

Later that night, the party was just starting and Naruto was sitting alone on a nearby hill that overlooked the party field down below.

He had spent the time away from both Bilbo and Gandalf thinking about how he was going to get home. He sincerely hoped that Sakura and Sasuke were okay and not in serious peril and hoped that he would be able to see them again soon.

Maybe Gandalf can help. He seems to know all about us, something I never suspected would happen here…

Eventually, Naruto made his way down the hill towards the party and flinched when his advanced hearing thanks to the Kyuubi picked up the colourful fireworks exploding overhead and showering the crowd in sparks. He smiled as he picked up a drink and took a generous sip from it as he watched the other hobbits dancing, eating, drinking and generally talking and laughing with each other.

"Cheers!" shouted some nearby hobbits and waved Naruto over to them. Naruto hesitantly sauntered towards them.

"Don't stand there by yourself, son. You look awkward." Naruto smiled slightly.

"I will, thanks sir." He promised and turned to find Frodo, Sam or Gandalf.

"Say, son. How old are you anyway?" asked one of the older hobbits looking at him suspiciously.

Naruto froze with his drink halfway up to his mouth. He wasn't altogether sure if the drink he was sipping from was alcoholic. Mind you even if it was, the Kyuubi would've have neutralised the alcohol in his system before it could make him even the slightest bit tipsy.

"Uh, 16?" he replied, hoping he wasn't in for it. Thankfully, the hobbit made a loud guffaw and clapped him hard on the back, almost causing him to spill his drink.

"I figured as much. Have you got a sweetheart back home?" The hobbit asked slyly and Naruto felt his face heat up almost immediately – as he instantly thought of Sasuke and his secret relationship with his troubled ex-teammate. Thankfully he was saved from answering that question by one of the females who happened to be sitting nearby.

"Now, now. That's none of your business if that nice lad has a sweetheart or not. You leave him alone!"

The hobbit looked slightly ashamed of his question, and Naruto was briefly visited with the image of Jiraiya being told off by Tsunade (if Tsunade punished Jiraiya verbally instead of physically). But thinking of Jiraiya also brought painful memories that he wished remained forgotten. Jiraiya had been killed by Pein days before Naruto and Sakura had been tasked with finding and bringing back Sasuke, which consequently lead to his current predicament.

"You run along now." Urged the female hobbit warmly and Naruto nodded as he spotted Frodo walking off the dancefloor towards an awkward and miserable Sam watching somebody dancing. A quick scan of the dancefloor and Naruto realised that Sam was staring with a lovelorn expression at a pretty female hobbit with loose golden ringlets and ribbons in her hair dancing gracefully in the crowd. He grinned and headed straight towards them. His advanced hearing immediately picked up Frodo and Sam's conversation:

"Go on Sam! Ask Rosie for a dance." Frodo insisted, yet another attempt to get Sam to come out of his shell, Naruto strongly suspected. Sam hesitated for several seconds before turning away and getting to his feet.

"I think I'll just get another ale." Naruto's hand fell heavily on the surprised hobbit's shoulder and spun him around to face the dancefloor.

"Oh no, you don't." He said and Frodo silently thanked Naruto for the interception. Together, Frodo and Naruto gave a gentle push to Sam who stumbled into the dancing crowd directly into Rosie's arms. Rosie took only a couple of seconds to recover before she smiled brightly and pulled Sam along with her. Sam stumbled slightly as he went. Frodo turned to Naruto and noted the sad expression on the ninja's face.

"Having a good time?" He asked, slightly concerned about his new friend.

"Hn." Naruto nodded, not sounding very convincing. Frodo frowned and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He looked up into his friend's caring face.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just realising that this is the first party I've ever been to in my life." Naruto admitted.

Frodo looked surprised.

"You've never been to a party before?"

"Never. I've always been either banned or uninvited. I wasn't allowed to have a party for my birthday either." Now Frodo looked horrified.

"Now that's ridiculous. Who would stop a child from experiencing something as fun as a birthday party?" Naruto smiled humourlessly.

"People who believed that I was the demon who killed their loved ones and teammates." Naruto went on to tell a non-judgemental Frodo his tragic life-story, and by the time he was finished – Naruto feared that he would lose his friendship with the hobbit. He was about to get up and walk away, not wanting to see the hatred or fear on the hobbit's face when a hand grabbed his wrist stopping him in his tracks.

"I don't believe that for one second." Naruto turned back to Frodo, hope shining in his eyes, "from what I learned from your story, is that you saved your village, not destroyed it. And I don't believe for one second that you are the demon you told me in your story."

"I agree."

Both looked up to see a somber faced Gandalf who obviously overheard Naruto telling Frodo the truth about himself. "What possible threat could a small child pose against a village he did nothing to?" Tears leaked from Naruto's eyes as he heard the nice words told to him by two complete strangers. "We all make mistakes, Naruto. It's just a question of whether or not we learn from them or make things worse for ourselves."

Suddenly, they were surrounded by eager hobbit children all wanting Gandalf to continue with his fireworks display.

"I've been summoned it seems." said Gandalf as a particularly eager child tugged insistently on his sleeve and dragged him away. Frodo laughed and pulled Naruto to his feet.

"C'mon. Let's see what Bilbo is up to." Frodo suggested and Naruto nodded and followed. Almost immediately, they stumbled upon a slightly red-nosed Bilbo hurrying away from something behind him.

"Hello, Bilbo." said Naruto, but Bilbo shushed him indicating behind him.

"Sackville-Bagginses!" Naruto scowled. "Quickly, hide!"

Frodo and Bilbo immediately moved to hide from their horrible relatives, but Naruto having had enough of them harassing his friends decided to confront them. Two sour and grumpy looking hobbits shouldered their way through the crowd and froze when they saw Naruto waiting for them.

"What do you want?" demanded Lobelia rudely. Naruto frowned at her angrily, causing both hobbits to cower away uncertainly.

Figures. A couple of cowards… He thought before straightening up and moved towards them with small, calculated steps.

"I think the real question here is: 'Why are you harassing my friends?" Naruto inquired pleasantly. Lobelia scowled at Naruto obviously not wishing to answer the blonde's question, but Naruto wasn't giving in. "You know it's rude not to answer a question asked of you." He reminded them.

"This is family business. You're not privy to it, so mind your own business!" she snapped.

"Well, I'm making it my business. And I'm telling you to leave them alone or deal with me. Your choice."

"Is that a threat?" demanded her husband. Naruto smirked, promising pain if crossed.

"No, it's a promise."

Both hobbits gulped before reconsidering their attempts to find Bilbo and Frodo and walking away. Bilbo reappeared from behind Naruto and clapped a hand on the blonde's arm.

"Thank you, Naruto. Let's hope we've seen the last of them for a while." Naruto turned to see a rather confused looking Frodo staring uncertainly at Bilbo. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and all three of them turned to see one of the party tents suddenly taking to the sky.

"What the?" exclaimed Naruto as the tent blew away to reveal something red which explodes in the sky in an array of sparks. Everybody except for Naruto clapped, unaware of the danger they were suddenly going to be in. The red fireworks display changed into a dragon which flies towards the party field. "Shit!" cursed Naruto as he turned and ran towards Frodo and Bilbo.

"Bilbo?" Frodo started, sounding afraid. Looking even more so when he saw Naruto heading straight towards them looking serious. "Bilbo, look out for the dragon!" Bilbo frowned.

"Dragon? Nonsense! There hasn't been a dragon in these parts for a thousand years." Naruto managed to grab both hobbits and ducked and covered just as the dragon changed course and headed for the horizon, where it exploded into an impressive mass of colours. Frodo and Bilbo clapped and cheered with the other hobbits, while Naruto sighed exasperatedly.

I'm convinced they're trying to kill themselves…

A short time later, it was time to cut the cake.

"Speech, Bilbo! Speech!" chanted the hobbits as a cheerful Bilbo steps up onto a barrel and bows to his family and friends. Naruto grinned happily, looking forward to a big slice of cake after the speech.

"My dear Bagginses and Boffins, Tooks and Brandybucks, Grubbs, Chubbs, Hornblowers, Bolgers, Bracegirdles and Proudfoots!" began Bilbo.

"Proudfeet!" he was corrected by a particularly hairy footed hobbit sitting in near the buffet table, smoking his pipe. Bilbo rolled his eyes and continued with his speech.

"Today is my 111th birthday!" Choruses of 'Happy Birthday' filled the air and Naruto clapped along with everyone else. Suddenly, Naruto could sense something terribly wrong and he scanned anxiously around the crowd searching for the threat he could feel. To his surprise and dismay, Naruto located the threat hovering around where Bilbo was standing giving his speech.

Of course. Why wouldn't there be a huge problem?

He thought sarcastically and quickly and silent moved to investigate without the other hobbits suspecting. However, Naruto suddenly began noticing how strange Bilbo's speech was sounding. Then as though sensing him, Bilbo suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out something golden which he hid behind his back.

What is he doing with a ring? More importantly, why is he being so secretive about the ring?

Naruto glanced over at Gandalf who like Naruto had obviously suspected something too and was focusing very seriously on Bilbo. Merry and Pippin who were scrubbing dishes beside the wizard suspected nothing, but each looked confused. Frodo's smile had vanished and he looked worried.

"I regret to announce this is the end! I am going now. I bid you all a very fond farewell." Bilbo announced sounding very mysterious. Naruto knew something was about to go down. "Goodbye." whispered Bilbo, before he suddenly disappeared without a trace. Everyone gasped, and there was bedlam.

What the fuck is going on?

A/N: I made Gandalf have some knowledge about the Shinobi way of life, which will go with my plans for this story. I hope that people are actually enjoying this story. The plot bunnies had gone mad when I made my plans. Please review respectfully xx