Hey! Sorry I haven't updated sooner. Superbowl party was pretty sick. Ate too much and stayed up too late. Good job Saints! I plan to continue to improve my writing skills while making this story so while the style won't change, the quality might. On to the story!!!

I do not own Naruto or Warhammer 40K

The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon when Thane and Naruto made it to the front gate. Thane had stopped about an hour earlier to stash the trunk so he could pick it up later. After all, he didn't think the gate guards would react to well to a 7 foot tall man with a 14 foot tall metal trunk which was covered in blood. The reached the gate just as a guard with a cloth around his nose began to approach them.

"Halt. State your business in Konoha."

"I am returning this child. I found him lost about a day's travel from the village. If I could get the chance, I would also like to speak to your Hokage," Thane finished. This was the story that he and Naruto had practiced on the way back towards the village. Naruto had run away from some villagers and ended up lost. Thane, who was a Ronin, found him and decided to lead him home. And after Thane returned Naruto, he would speak to the Hokage about settling down for a while in the village. It was simple, but that was ok. Simple left little to question. The guard had just looked behind him to spot Naruto. Upon doing so, his eyes widened.

"Izumo, get down here!"

Izumo dropped down from the gate wall to observe what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw the size of Thane but when they landed on Naruto, he immediately Shunshined away towards the Hokage tower. The guard turned back to Thane.

"Sir, I'm going to need to ask you what happened."

"Well I was traveling in this general direction and I happened upon a small child. He seemed lost, so I asked where he lived. He told me Konoha, so I decided to lead him back home." The story was perfect for this situation. Konoha had thousands of visitors every week. Posing as one wouldn't be hard. The guard seemed to take his story at face value and asked for him to wait for the Hokage. In the mean time, Thane observed Naruto. The boy didn't seem that happy to be back in the village. Actually he seemed afraid. This confused Thane. Why would the boy be afraid of returning to his home? Was someone trying to harm him? Thane couldn't find a valid reason, so he decided to wait and let it play out. Soon he was snapped out of his revere by the arrival of the Hokage and two ANBU. He immediately recognized the ANBU by the description that Naruto had given. White armor, animal masks, ninjato strapped to their backs. The guard whispered into the Hokage's ear while looking towards Thane. The Hokage was not what he expected. An old wizened man, with a slight slouch and enough wrinkles for three people. Though he guessed that he shouldn't guess strength by age. Look at Gabriel. The man was 400 years old and could probably tear Thane apart in seconds.

The Hokage walked forward. "Ah, I see you're the man that brought our Naruto home. I must thank you. Could you wait for a moment?" He asked. Thane nodded and Sarutobi turned around towards the guard.

"Kotetsu, I have sent Izumo to alert the council that we have found Naruto. Since you're down one man, were going to switch shifts early today. Go home and get some rest." The Hokage finished talking to Kotetsu and turned back towards Thane.

"I believe that you wanted to speak to me? Please, follow me to my office. You too Naruto," The Hokage said as he began to turn around. They began to walk towards the gates and Thane got a peak at the village beyond them. It was rather large for such a primitive settlement. The defensive structure would protect from outside attacks, but it was wide enough to give them combat room if the enemy ever breached the wall. Thane guessed that the village had an underground tunnel system, as there didn't seem to be any other exits as far as he could see. Upon entering the market district just beyond the gates, Thane began to attract stares. Of course he had expected this. He had visited many civilian settlements across the Imperium. Even where Space Marines were common, people tended to stare. But Thane wasn't the only reason that the people were staring. He noticed that the local populace was giving rather heated glares to Naruto. Thane began to wonder what the child had done to anger these people so. The boy seemed unfazed by it. Thane also noticed the peaceful atmosphere he was getting from the village. Everyone was leisurely taking their time to accomplish their daily tasks, walking around without a care in the world. Heresy grows from idleness. It made him nauseous. Finally after about ten minutes of walking, they reached the entrance of the tower. The two guards saluted the Hokage and stepped aside to allow them access. They too stared at Thane as he walked by. Walking up a few flights of stairs, they reached an office where Sarutobi pushed the doors open. With a wave of his hand, the ANBU dispersed and Sarutobi sat down at his desk.

Smiling at them both he began to speak, "I would like to thank you…ah."

"Thane."

"Ah yes. Thane. I would like to thank you Thane-san for returning Naruto home safely. We have been searching for him for two days now. I was worried sick." Naruto at least had the decency to look sheepish. Thane still sat with the same stoic expression on his face.

Sarutobi continued, "We must wait here for the head council members. They will most likely want to question you about how you came about the boy. Not to worry. It won't take long. Then I will answer any questions you have. Ah, here they are now." The door opened and a few people stepped inside. They looked about the same age as the Hokage. They spotted Thane and gawked at his size for a moment before turning towards Sarutobi.

"We were unaware that you had company Hokage-sama. Would you like to conclude your business before we have our meeting?" The elder women asked.

"That will not be necessary Koharu. This man, Thane, is the one who recovered Naruto from the wilderness. I thought that you might wish to question him. Just to clear up anything you might want answered," Sarutobi said leaning back in his chair as he lit his pipe. The smoke began to billow around the room, leaving a slight haze in its wake. Koharu and Horuma turned towards Naruto and Thane.

"Thane-san, was it?" Koharu asked. Thane nodded. "I would like to know how you came to find Naruto. We had ANBU members searching the village as well as surrounding settlements in order to find him. The fact that a mere civilian was able to find someone that our village's elite could not is quite strange."

"As I told your guard. I was traveling in this direction and found the boy. He told me where he was from and I led him back. That is all," Thane said, almost challenging Koharu to question him again.

"Why were you traveling towards Konoha? Do you have some business to attend here?" It was Horuma that spoke this time.

"I am a Ronin." Thane said. Immediately Horuma's eyes widened, along with Sarutobi's and Koharu's.

"You're a mercenary?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes. I do random jobs here and there. I have been in the profession for most of my life."

"Then I suppose you have shinobi training?" Koharu asked. Thane shook his head.

"I cannot use chakra. I was born that way. My skills are more practical than most." Thane hoped that the Hokage and council would take that explanation at face value. Thankfully it seemed that they did.

"I was wondering why I could not sense chakra from you," Sarutobi said, taking another puff on his pipe. "I hope this answers your questions, honorable council?" Sarutobi asked. Koharu and Horuma silently looked at each other before looked back at Sarutobi. They nodded and left the room. Once the door was shut, Sarutobi sighed.

"I am sorry about that. I knew that they would question you about Naruto sooner or later, so I decided to be there when they did. I trust their determination to protect the village, but sometimes they take it too far. I hope you're not offended?" Sarutobi asked. Thane shook his head.

"There is no need to apologize Hokage-sama. But I do have something to speak to you about." Sarutobi leaned forward.

"What do you need, Thane-san?"

"I have been traveling for a long time. I am older than I look. I would like to make a residence in your village." Thane said. It would make his job much easier if he could be near the boy. Having to make the commute to the village would be troublesome. And even then, having a valid reason to be in contact with the boy would be very hard to forge. It would be better this way. Sarutobi looked lost in thought for a moment before answering.

"I believe that an arrangement can be worked out. I can have the papers sent to you while you stay at a local hotel. From there we will finalize your residential papers. Do you have enough currency for the fare?" Sarutobi asked. Thane shook his head.

"I am not very wealthy right now. Is there any way I can work it off?"

Sarutobi thought for a moment, "Yes, I believe I do have some work for you. It's settled then," Sarutobi said getting up from his seat. Thane also got up and bowed. It was a Japanese custom, so he believed that it was the right thing to do. Thane walked towards the door and went to leave.

"Goodbye, Thane-niisan," Naruto said. Thane turned his head and nodded at him, before leaving the room. Sarutobi looked at Naruto before sighing. He needed to question Naruto more about the villagers that attacked him. Doing so here would be uncomfortable. He knew his wallet was going to regret his next action.

"Say Naruto, would you like to get some ramen with me? I'll pay." The words were like music to the small child's ears. The boy lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Alright Ojiisan! Let's go!" The boy practically drug him through the office doors. Well, at least he could get away from the damn paperwork for a while.

Opening the door Thane looked into the room that he would be staying in for the next few days. It had a nice bed with a portable fridge and a small bathroom. All in all, it was too fancy for his tastes. Walking over to the bathroom, he entered and shut the door. He then pulled out a Vox communication device. Powering it on, he waited for the signal to connect. It didn't take long.

"This is Captain Gabriel of the Litany of Fury."

"Captain, it's Thane. I have a SITREP for you." Thane said. Gabriel was quiet for a moment before responding.

"What do you have to report?"

Thane immediately began to inform the Captain of everything that had happened since they took the drop pod. Once or twice Gabriel interrupted him, but Thane was able to recall all events relatively quick.

"The culture of the populace is almost a mirror image of ancient Japanese. They are ruled by a Hokage, which is advised by a council. Above the Hokage is the Daimyo who controls the county and funds the village. The only thing that differs is the military. I have already witnessed one of these 'Jutsus' the boy mentioned. The user was able to transport himself a long distance in just a few seconds. As it was used by a gate guard, I'm guessing that it is a quite common technique. Something is not right here. It is obvious that these people either were seeded on this planet thousands of years ago or someone from the outside has influenced the people to an extreme level," Thane finished. Gabriel seemed to contemplate this for a moment before answering.

"I haven't been able to dig anything up yet, but give me time. Something is bothering me though. Our orders came from the Departmento Munitorum. They control all military decisions in the Imperium. The moment I contacted the Inquisition my call was connected directly to Inquisitor Barret. Normally calls go through the reception unit first. It was as if they were waiting for a communication from the system. This would also mean that someone in the Departmento Munitorum was working with Barret to conceal this. I may be looking too far into this but I can't shake the feeling that something big is going on."

Thane's head spun at the accusations made by the Captain. If the conspiracy had reached up that far in the chain of command then maybe the Imperium was aware of this. Maybe they had a reason for keeping it a secret. Thane relayed these concerns to the Captain.

"I thought so too at first, but then when you think about it, it doesn't add up. Why would they hide something like this? The smart thing to would be to post an Imperial fleet around the planet for further protection. There wasn't a ship near that planet for a thousand light years. The orks were within forty kilometers of that village. if the Imperium had something planned for the planet, they wouldn't risk it like that. And why was the Litany contacted? We weren't the closest ship. There was an Ultramarine Cruiser right near the system. No, I believe that somebody high up has something planned for that planet. I need to try and uncover the plot. If there is a 1% chance that this could harm the Imperium…. I would rather die than let it happen," Gabriel said, taking a breath. "While I look into this, I want you to begin training the boy. Because he already knows about the Imperium, he can do things on that planet that we can't. A Space Marine would draw too much attention. Using him as our middle man on the planet will be the best choice. He also wants to be Hokage. Having a military leader on our side would be valuable." Thane agreed with this choice of action. But he did have one question.

"Are we going to make him a Marine?"

"Maybe. He is not old enough now. His body couldn't handle the procedure. I have a feeling that this incident is going to last a long time. We will see what happens in the future." Thane agreed. They cut contact and Thane put the Vox away. He sighed as he left the bathroom and sat down on the couch. If somebody high up was pulling strings than this would be harder than originally thought. Thane would just have to trust the Captain. He seemed to have ways of achieving the impossible.

The man sat alone in the dark room. He looked calm on the outside but inside he was fuming. Barret was the wrong person to recruit. His hair-trigger reaction to Gabriel had made the man suspicious. Now Gabriel had uncovered much more than the man had originally planned, if the intercepted call that he had just listened to said anything. He had left Commander Thane on the planet to train the Kyuubi child. That was something he had not planned for. But it might work to his advantage. Taking a sip of his wine, the man chuckled a little. He could change his plans a little.

So what did you think? Sorry about not updating for so long. I'm a Senior in high school and I have to complete my CP project to graduate. I plan to have Naruto trained in one of the Space Marine melee weapons. I was thinking about Daemonhammer, you know the weapon that the Inquisitor gives to Gabriel in Dawn of War. If you have an Idea, just post it. Please to dear god review. I need feedback on the story.