This is Ryu Kotei with another chapter of Fox of Amber and a reminder to help spread the word about needing to put an end to SOPA before everyone loses their complete freedom of the internet. As a reminder, SOPA affects Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, , and many more awesome sights that allow us to show others the great imaginations that anyone can have. We need to end SOPA forever!

On a final note, I do not own Naruto or Steven Universe.

"Believe in Steven!" normal speech

"Believe in Steven!" thought/mind speak

"Believe in Steven!" demon speech

Chapter 2: New Resolutions

* Beach City; Crystal Temple*

Naruto stood on the sands of the beach that was in front of the Crystal Temple with his toes in the silky sand. This feels nice, Naruto thought while the sea breeze caressed his skin as he stood in an orange Hawaiian shirt and red and black swimming trunks, to feel something so nice after having nothing but misery with little happiness. It had been a whole week since Naruto had arrived in Beach City and he's been adjusting alright with the help of Steven and his father, Greg, along with the Crystal Gems; Pearl helped Naruto learn about his power as a Gem, Garnet and Kurama helped him with his training as a shinobi and a Gem, and Amethyst, Steven, and Greg helped the blonde with his social life. Overall, Naruto was enjoying his new start.

Naruto then began to think about the other Crystal Gems and how they had helped him with his new life. Garnet, being the leader of the group, was a real sensei to Naruto and at times a true mother figure for him whenever he needed it; something between the two had somehow clicked as the tall woman would help correct Naruto's stances or even just provide that motherly wisdom for the blonde. Stern like a leader should be, Naruto thought as he remembered some of the teachings Garnet had given him, yet kind like a mother.

Amethyst was immediately Naruto's sister as the Gem would sometimes know how to cheer the blonde up or even just hang out with him for fun. Whether she would annoy Pearl or Kurama or even freak Greg out through her gem's power, Amethyst would always bring a smile to Naruto's face. I'm glad to have someone like Ammy-chan as a sister, Naruto thought as he chuckled at some of the pranks he and the Gem would pull off sometimes, even if I'm the victim sometimes.

But then his thoughts went to Pearl, the girl who had saved his life on the beach. The girl was very beautiful and her delicate form both in and out of combat just caught his attention in ways Naruto would have never thought. The pearl embedded into the Gem's forehead just added to her beauty like a priceless tiara that could only be perfect for the right princess. Even her voice was pure enough to turn angels green with envy and Naruto has been hypnotized by Pearl's voice quite a few times. Even her nose is cute, Naruto thought as a dreamy look in his eyes and a small blush on his face, Pearl-chan is a princess among princesses.

"Kit," said Kurama from inside Naruto's mind, "you do know that she's old enough to even be Tsunade's great-grandmother!" So what, Naruto argued with the fox, besides, Pearl-chan told me that she and Ammy-nee are teenagers in terms of age as Crystal Gems. "Okay, so physically she could be about three or four years older than you, big deal," said Kurama as he rolled his eyes, "How is an idiot like you supposed to impress a girl like her, hmmm?" Naruto turned towards the temple and thought, Love is crazy like that, Kurama…at least I think its love? "You don't even know if it is love or just another crush," scolded Kurama as he reluctantly brought up the memory of Sakura crushing his arms, "and I absolutely refuse to let you go through that again! Even though you never showed it, you were balling your eyes out after what that bitch did to you!" Naruto scowled a bit at the memory as he bitterly thought, I'm over her considering she was willing to end my ninja career even after fulfilling a promise to her; Pearl-chan would never do that, I know it.

The blonde entered the house to see that the Crystal Gems, minus Steven, had just returned from whatever mission they were on. "How did everything go?" asked Naruto as he opened the fridge to pull out a can of cola, "Anything interesting or important happened?" Amethyst walked towards Naruto and said, "Aside from monster fighting, nothing really exciting. I'm going to find Steven." Naruto chuckled a bit after his sister figure exited the door and said, "I bet $10 that Ammy-nee has a huge crush on Steven." Pearl giggled a bit while Garnet had somehow vanished into the temple. "I can actually see those two together," said Pearl as she got a bottle of water from the fridge, "So how have you've been since you decided to live here? I can't believe it's already been a week since you arrive; it feels like yesterday that you had just washed up on the shore."

"I've been alright," said Naruto as he took a sip of the cola, "everything will fall into place soon enough." Pearl smiled a bit as it was still taking some time for Naruto to adjust to everything, but she was happy that the boy was adjusting. Pearl and the others had been helping him adjust to everything after Naruto decided to live in Beach City; from a simple change in diet to even hanging out with others, the Crystal Gems were there when Naruto needed it. "I think I may ask Greg to teach me how to play the guitar," Naruto said as he tossed the empty can into a small recycling bin, "Just something to get my mind off things."

"Any luck with activating your gem?" asked Pearl as she looked at the two orange amber gems on Naruto's arm, "I'm kind of curious about what your gem's weapon could be." Naruto examined the gems on his arms; he has tried to bring out their power like the others (and Steven occasionally), but he had only successfully mastered shape shifting, projecting holographic images (mostly maps and other forms of navigation), a universal translator, and he is getting a hang of psychokinetic abilities similar to Garnet. "I'd like to know myself," said Naruto as he examined his reflection in the amber gem in his right arm, "whatever they may be, I'll use them to protect those who are precious to me…even at the cost of my life."

"Precious to you?" asked Pearl, "You mean those who are close to you?" Naruto nodded as a stern looked appeared on his face as he said, "Remember that because of my condition with Kurama sealed inside of me that I never had a lot of friends. At first I had no one, but as time went on, I was able to get friends: the couple at Ichiraku's, Iruka-sensei, the Sandaime Hokage, Konohamaru and his friends, and I was then able to make friends with the other genin, even Sasuke and Sakura long ago." Pearl saw the blonde close his eyes and let out a sigh; the memories of what was had still haunted Naruto.

"On one of the missions I had," said Naruto as he opened his eyes and looked at Pearl, "I had met someone who told me the secret of finding true strength: in order to find my true strength, I have to fight for the people I hold dear and consider precious to me. It was ironic that he died protecting the one he considered a father." Naruto got off the chair and looked out the window with eyes of determination. "Now after meeting you and the others," continued the blonde as he saw Steven and Amethyst throwing a Frisbee back and forth, "I now have new people that I consider precious to me. I'm not saying that because you saved my life, I'm forever grateful you did Pearl-chan, but I'm saying that because you guys have helped me with so much this past week with adjusting to my new life. I will fight to protect everyone from all dangers that arrive and more; just like the Yondaime Hokage, I'll fight to the bitter end to ensure the safety of those I consider both friend and family."

A bright light shone from Naruto's arms as the two realized that the gems' weapon was about to appear. The glow was bright enough to be seen from outside as Steven and Amethyst rushed in to see the commotion. "No way," said Steven as Naruto began to focus on bringing out the weapon. Garnet arrived to just see the blonde summon his weapons: two golden gauntlets with claws formed on his hands as spiked armored plates soon formed up his arms towards the shoulders where shoulder plates in the form of fox heads rested. "Amazing," said Pearl as the light died down, allowing the others to examine the gauntlets, "I have never seen gauntlets such as these before!" Naruto examined the gauntlets with inspired awe as he could feel the power radiating from them. So this is the power of the Amber, the blonde thought as he flexed his fingers to examine the claws on the gauntlets, I will use this to protect those who are precious to me…including you, Pearl-chan.

Naruto let the claws vanish as the others were smiling at what the blonde had accomplished. "That was awesome Naruto!" said Amethyst as she wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulders, "Betcha can't wait to fight some monsters with those claws!" The blonde chuckled at Amethyst's and Steven's energy as the two of them began talking about how awesome Naruto was, but he then saw Garnet approached him with her stoic face. "Guess this means my training is going to be more intense now that I can summon my weapon, right?" Naruto asked as he then received a nod from Garnet. The blonde did a small fist pump as he said, "Bring it on Sensei!"

*Konohagakure; Hokage's Office*

Tsunade was looking over some paper work as she had a very long week since Naruto's banishment and sudden disappearance. She had stripped Sakura of her shinobi rank for her attack on Naruto, then had to deal with what the council wanted to do with the treacherous Uchiha. Thankfully the Fire Daimyo was there and had heard everything and through much arguing, Sasuke was to be stripped of his shinobi rank and have his chakra sealed until the Curse Mark that Orochimaru had placed on him was dealt with; even if the Curse Mark was the sole cause of Sasuke's attempted defection, Tsunade didn't want to chance anything in case the Uchiha tried anything. The Civilian Council wasn't too happy, but after hearing the truth and discovering the corruption hidden in the council, the Daimyo disbanded the Civilian Council and executed them along with Hiruzen's former teammates and Danzo. Unfortunately the warhawk had escaped using his implanted Sharingans on his implanted Mokuton arm, which the news caused panic within the village when the truth about the Uchiha Massacre was made public during Danzo's escape. Tsunade then rescinded Naruto's banishment and sent Iruka and Kakashi to retrieve the blonde, only to learn from the sailors that the ship Naruto was on ran into a powerful storm and no one on the ship had survived.

News of Naruto's supposed death had shocked everyone as word had spread like a dangerous wildfire. Iruka had gone into a deep depression at the thought of losing his little brother, Ichiraku's was closed for a week as the owners took the time to mourn the death of their favorite customer, even the remaining Konoha 12, minus Sakura and Sasuke, had held a small private funeral for their lost comrade. When word had reached Suna, Garra had wept for his first friend and would have attacked Konoha if Baki and Garra's siblings hadn't held him back while comforting him. Then the other countries that Naruto had aided began cutting off deals with Konoha and giving them to Suna and The Great Naruto Bridge had placed a heavy tax on all Konoha shinobi while the Princess from Snow/Spring refused to star in the Icha Icha Movie declaring that she would never be involved with anything that was related to Konoha.

Things only got worse when Naruto's heritage was revealed as many of the people who have harmed Naruto began to either panic about harming the child of the Yondaime Hokage or go into denial about the Yondaime having a son. The law involving Naruto's status as a jinchuriki was rescinded as the truth about the Kyuubi's defeat was revealed with Jiraiya explaining the seal that the Yondaime had used, explaining that if Naruto were to die, the great Kyuubi would have been released. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Tsunade thought as she turned her chair around to look out the window, Naruto is gone and he is never coming back, even if he has pulled of the impossible many times before.

Tsunade was pulled from her thoughts as Jiraiya had entered through the window with a smile on his face. "Orochimaru better be permanently dead or dying with no hope of coming back if you're smiling like that," Tsunade threatened as she wasn't in the mood for any of Jiraiya's antics. "Unfortunately no, Hime," said Jiraiya before he quickly said, "but I do had good news and bad news." Tsunade gave the Toad Sage a look to continue on before she decided to hurt him. "The good news is that Naruto is still very much alive and well," said Jiraiya until the blonde before him began to hug him with schoolgirl giddy. "Naruto's alive! Where is he? How is he doing? Tell me how my little gaki's doing!" said Tsunade with a desperate voice. "Calm down, Tsunade, you're going to give yourself a heart attack," said Jiraiya as the Hokage calmed herself down, "Naruto is alive, but the bad news is that there no way to find Naruto in the Elemental Countries because he's not in any of the Lands. His name is still active in the Toads' contract, but unfortunately there's something wrong."

Tsunade didn't like what was coming up as if even the Toads can't bring back one of their summoners, then the only way to find Naruto would be the hard way. "For some odd reason," said Jiraiya as he crossed his arms, "the Toads cannot summon Naruto and they discovered that something is preventing them. The Elder Toads had said something had drastically changed the gaki's blood which probably preventing them from summoning him; like Naruto is both himself and another person at the same time." This caught Tsunade off guard; could a simple blood transfusion be blocking the Toads. No that's impossible, Tsunade thought as she remembered doing a blood transfusion with Kakashi one time and the jonin was still able to summon the Dogs. "You and I both know that a blood transfusion wouldn't prevent any of the animals from reverse summoning those who have signed their contract," said Tsunade as she laced her fingers together before resting her chin on them, "So Naruto or the Kyuubi must have done something for this to happened; any clue as to how?" Jiraiya frowned as he said, "Unless Naruto had signed another contract or died, something like this should be impossible. More than likely the fox, or something else, is preventing the Toads from bringing Naruto to them."

Before the two could continue, there was a knock on the door. "Enter," said Tsunade as the door opened, "What do you wish to talk about?" The person walked through the doorway and with determination, she asked, "I wish become your apprentice, if you will allow me." Tsunade studied the girl over and began to size her up; the Hokage knew that the girl was on the meek side, but she saw great potential in her as the tightened knuckles showed both nervousness and determination. "I hope you understand that what I would teach you should be used for the right purpose," said Tsunade as she circled around the girl, "because if I ever hear that you are abusing what I have taught you, I WILL beat you into your own grave. Do I make myself clear?" The girl had swallowed a lump in her throat before she said, "Hai, Shishou!" Tsunade briefly smiled until she saw Sakura enter the office.

"Lady Hokage," said Sakura as she bowed towards the woman, "please take me as your apprentice, I need to make everything right…I need to apologize to Naruto for what I've done to him. It was wrong for me to do that to him and seeing what he has gone through…I need him to forgive me!" Tsunade frown and said, "Unfortunately Haruno, I have no desire to teach someone who would never treat their comrade with such hatred, even after fulfilling a promise they might make to her. Besides…" Tsunade placed her hands on the shoulders of the previous girl and said, "I have already found my apprentice since she would never allow herself to be blinded by her own fantasies. That and she never smashed her comrade's arms into oblivion, robbing him of not only his career as a ninja, but his dreams as well! Now get out!" Sakura had a look of devastation on her face before she ran out the office with tears running down her face.

"Wasn't that a bit harsh Shishou?" asked Hinata as she looked at her new master. Tsunade let out a sigh and said, "One of the most important lessons that you will learn from me is that life never plays fair as one day will be the best day you ever had, then complete crap the next day. Now be back here tomorrow at 8 a.m. and be ready for the most intense training you have ever had in your life." The Hyuga nodded before she dashed out the office with a smile on her face. "I can't believe that Hinata of all people came up and asked you to take her as your apprentice," said Jiraiya with a bit of shock in his eyes. "Hinata Hyuga has more than earned the right to become my apprentice," said Tsunade as she pulled out a small container of healing ointment, "With her skills in medicine as well as her acute chakra control, I could mold her into the best damn medical ninja in Konohagakure as well as trust her with my secrets." Jiraiya wasn't sure to either be awed at the possibility of Hinata's full potential being brought out thanks to Tsunade, or scared to death at a Hyuga version of Tsunade thanks to said Sanin. "Just be careful with her Hime," said Jiraiya as he paled at the second thought, "Her unfortunate history due to her father had made her frail, so try not to break her." Tsunade smirked as he moved one of her ponytails behind her head and said, "I don't plan on breaking Hinata…I plan on recreating her into the shinobi she is meant to be."

*Beach City; Crystal Temple*

Naruto had his claws ready as he was in a sparring match with Garnet who had her gauntlets prepared for an attack. "Fight till one of us surrenders?" said Naruto as he got into his brawler battle stance. Garnet said nothing as she got into her own stance, sending the silent message to the blonde. The two stared each other down until Naruto rushed in for the first blow. Garnet easily blocked the attack and countered with a swift elbow to Naruto's gut before grabbing Naruto's wrist and tossed him to the side. The blonde bounced off the sand once before getting to his feet while gripping the sand to slow his momentum. Garnet leapt into the air and was about to slam a fist into Naruto before the blonde jumped to the side to avoid the attack. Naruto shielded his eyes from the flying sand before he saw his opponent charge towards him. "Gem Style…" said Naruto as he pulled his arms back, launching some small spikes, "Crystal Needles!" Seeing no chance of escape, Garnet crossed her arms and buried her face behind them as multiple needles were jabbed into her body and hair.

"Not bad Naruto," said Garnet as she pulled out one of the golden needles in her shoulder, "I see that you have improved in the past few days of training. Let's see how much longer you can last in a fight." Garnet rushed towards Naruto for an overhead attack, but she missed as the blonde jumped back. I can't slow down, Naruto thought as he dodged another attack from his mentor, even if Garnet-sensei is holding back, I can't let my guard down for even a second. The blonde went to slash his opponent, but Garnet sidestepped and grabbed his wrist before throwing him towards the sidelines where the other Gems and Greg were watching. Naruto slid on the sand and got to his knees as he saw Garnet leapt towards him from up above with an attack ready. "He's done for," said Greg not seeing the smirk on Naruto's face. "I wouldn't say that," said Pearl as she knew that the blonde was up to something, "Naruto has a lot of tricks up his sleeves."

Garnet slammed her fist into the sand and when the dust settled, Naruto was nowhere to been seen. "Where did he go?" asked Amethyst as she and Steven looked for the blonde. Garnet looked around as she took a few steps back as she wondered where her opponent was. No one notice a small mound of sand building from behind the tall woman until it had burst open to reveal Naruto with an attack ready. Garnet noticed too late as the attack connected into her back and the blonde dove back underneath the sand. "Clever," said Garnet she held her injured back as she saw a small dust cloud of sand moving around, "but not clever enough." Garnet pulled back a fist as she watched the dust cloud move around in different direction before two more dust clouds formed and began closing in towards her. It wasn't until the three clouds got close enough before she slammed her fist into the ground, causing three Narutos to be launched out and disappeared into clouds of smoke. Where are you Naruto, Garnet thought until a small mound of sand formed behind her, There! The mound erupted as Naruto had his hands in the form of the tiger seal. "A Thousand Years of-urk!" said Naruto until Garnet sidestepped and landed a powerful blow to his head. The blonde was about to get up before he felt pressure on his back and the back of his neck and turned to see Garnet holding him down. "Crap," said Naruto as he knew he was finished and had no other choices, "I give."

Garnet got up and helped Naruto to his feet as the others approached them. "That was good Naruto," said Garnet as she dusted herself, "but you should find a better stance for your weapon; your normal brawler stance only focuses on brute strength. You should try and find a stance that will help you focus on speed instead of power." Naruto bowed towards his mentor before he saw a large mound of sand building in the distance. "Sensei…" said Naruto as he pointed off towards the distance as everyone looked to see a giant blue crab rise from underneath the sand.

Acting quickly, Garnet turned towards the others and said, "Get ready! Steven, you and your father need to get to safety while we deal with this!" Steven wanted to argue, but the look on the others and on his father convinced him otherwise. "But Garnet," said Steven as he tried to argue, "you're injured." Garnet looked at the giant crab and said, "I've had worst." Greg quickly grabbed his son as he decided to let the experienced fighters deal with the monster. Garnet looked at Pearl, Amethyst, and Naruto with a small smirk and said, "Let's go." The Crystal Gems along with Naruto rushed towards the large crustacean as a great battle began to unfold…

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Ja ne!