The Hokage's office has always been dark at night… something of preference of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, ever since the Fourth Hokage had died, and given the position back to him. The darkness was some sort of acknowledgement that he felt somewhat wronged by being given the job back at him, or maybe the fact that someone so skilled and young had died before him.

Today, though, the darkness was a cover. The old man, the Third Hokage, looked at the ANBUs, black-ops shinobi who assembled, hidden in the shadows with a glint reminiscent of his old days, back in the great Shinobi war he had fought in his prime.

"I express myself… disappointed," the Hokage muttered with a slight cold edge in his voice. The younger ANBUs shivered slightly, unused to his aura. The man was always warm and grandfather-ly. Not today. "I can understand a somewhat lax of immigration watch in the gates, and even the roaming guard around our city, considering it to be our most festive event of the year… but the absence on security detail on Uzumaki-san is just horrible."

The Hokage slammed a file on the table.

"Twenty civilians along with five chuunins attacking a young boy at public. I do not care how any of you view him as, but as ninjas, who are under my command, I thought you'd show a bit more professionalism," he muttered. "And because of that little incident, we have five shinobis at the hospitals, recovering from broken ribs and bruised bodies. Not only that, Uzumaki-san has been kidnapped. Is there any explanation?"

There was nothing but silence.

"Hmph… I expected that much," the Hokage shook his head. "Who were assigned to guard Uzumaki today? Step forward. Now."

Half of the group, mostly the younger ones stepped forward without hesitation, though with fear.

"Guard duty for six months. No pay. Dismissed."

There was no confrontation. Those who found the punishment too severe didn't voice it, knowing the Hokage wouldn't spare no quarter if anyone of them protested. They did as what was expected of ANBU… they bowed, and disappeared, leaving the other group of ANBU alone with their wizened leader.

"Talk to me," the Hokage muttered. "Who were those two?"

One of the ANBU stepped forward.

"According to their passports, the one with the sword is Keitaro Aoyama… a samurai who had been dismissed by his lord in Vegetable Country. The other is a Negi Springfield, a scholar of the same country. They came along with Ichiraku Teuchi and Ayame, who claim to have found them on the road as they traveled here. They had proper papers, and we were expecting them as they have bought a business space to set up a Ramen shop."

"Of course, the passports were fake," another ANBU stepped forward. "We took the serial numbers of their passport… they looked proper, but there was something wrong with the sequencing of the numbers. Plus, Vegetable Country didn't have anyone by the name of Aoyama or Springfield in their records."

"Spies?" Sarutobi asked.

"Most probably…"

"Where are the Ichiraku family?" the Hokage asked.

"In detaining cells, though they will be released in an hour's time. Morino cleared them."

"Were they harmed?"

"No sir," the ANBU replied readily. "He used a truth serum and genjutsu. They had no training, and repeated everything they have told us so far."

The Third Hokage looked down towards his table, in thought. He then looked up, and asked, "Probability then that this Aoyama and Springfield actually came here for Uzumaki?"

"Considering he is the jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox… I'm afraid to say it is quite probable," an ANBU replied. "Even with your law, Sir… it wouldn't stop people from talking amongst themselves. They could easily pick-up from the grapevine, especially since they are spies."

The Third Hokage nodded, and contemplated towards his desk once more. After a while, he finally reached his decision.

"Retrieve and Capture," Sarutobi declared in an emotionless tone. "Retrieving Uzumaki will be your highest priority. Capture those spies… alive as much as possible."

"What if in case they killed Uzumaki?"

The Third Hokage had a cold look in his eyes. "Spare no quarter."

"Yes sir," the ANBU bowed and disappeared.

The Third Hokage sighed as he stood up, and walked towards his window, the cold wind washing over his aged face. Outside, the festival went on, the civilians and most ninja families and clans gave no care in the world. The Hokage gave a slight growl as he sat back on his table in the darkness, waiting for good news.


It all started a few hours ago, when Teuchi and Ayame finally arrived at the borders of the Hidden Village. Keitaro knew immediately because he felt the faint spike of energy. He wasn't impressed. Keitaro had met ninjas, and he would describe them as tough, silent, and invisible. They hide their energy signatures almost completely, yet these 'ninjas' patrolling around felt more like samurais.

"We're close, Keitaro-san," Ayame said.

"I'll tell Negi then," Keitaro replied with a small smile. "Thank you for brining us this far."

"No, no, young man," Teuchi smiled. "Thank you for being such good company. We'd have been bored without you."

Keitaro bowed slightly as a means of thanks, and moved deeper in the carriage, towards the room where Negi was staying. He knocked on the door twice, before it opened, revealing a smiling mage. Keitaro smiled back.

"I'm guessing you did it…" the samurai said.

"Yup," Negi replied, and revealed two small booklets.

He was actually busy the past few hours, using a little magical creativity to modify two magical passports, which they have been using back in their home world. Being hunted down all over the world by the senshi didn't exactly give them the opportunity to travel around normally with regular passports, so every resistance member had a passport that would magically change their names and past history as not to raise red flags.

The Senshi were only seven warriors. They couldn't be everywhere at once, so they maintained their order by using the local police, and international law communities to keep them aware of movements. Luckily for the resistance, they had little to no experience dealing with magical items.

Now, they were going to be used in a different manner. Instead of hiding their identities, Negi modified them to create new identities. All Negi needed was information, which Teuchi had, somewhat unwillingly, given to them. Using his mind-reading abilities, he gathered enough details and was able to develop a magic program to fake their history. The only thing real in their passports was their names.

Keitaro flipped it open. To his eyes, the passport was nothing more than pieces of paper with magical runes imbedded on it. While not well versed in the magical arts, he could see the modification his mage partner had used, and nodded with satisfaction as his back-story began to show itself.

"Great. Teuchi-san told us without these, we wouldn't be able to enter any village or country anywhere," the samurai muttered. "We're quite near the said ninja village."

"I know… not exactly great ninjas. Kaede-san was much adept in hiding her presence, and she was young," Negi shook his head, remembering one of his former students. "I don't even know what to say."

"Perhaps different world, different ninjas?" Keitaro reasoned.

"Maybe so… but still…"

Ayame had come in, smiling. Negi and Keitaro had grown close to her and her father that they bonded a sort of friendship. It wasn't a very close one, mind, but it was more than just passing acquaintances. Negi and Keitaro were grateful for them for giving them a connection to this world, while Teuchi and Ayame were grateful for their presence.

"We're coming to the village!" Ayame exclaimed happily. "Come on!"

She took Negi's hand, and the boy blushed a bit before he was led out. The older Keitaro shook his head with a smile, and followed suit. Outside, the carriage stopped as they came to a massive gate, with two masked ninjas approaching them.

"Papers?" one of them asked.

Teuchi immediately took out his and Ayame's passport along with a few official looking papers. One of the ninjas checked and verified the contents, while the other looked towards Keitaro, his stance stiffening as he spotted the man sporting two blades, one at his back, and the other on the waist. After what seemed to be a few seconds, he looked away towards Negi, who gave him a friendly smile.

"Passports?" the ninja asked.

Negi and Keitaro handed theirs, and the masked man looked at them, studying them. He looked over Negi's quite easily, nodding a bit, but when he came to Keitaro's, his stance easily gave away a look of curiosity.

"It's been a while since Konoha had a visit from a Samurai... even if it is from a minor lord," and the masked man looked at Keitaro again. He seemed satisfied. "You have a look of a man who has seen many things."

"Probably too many things," Keitaro answered gruffly, though respectfully. "My friend here got a wander-lust in him, so I joined him on his journey."

"Scholar Springfield, right?" the ninja asked.

"Yes," Negi replied easily.

"Well, today is you're lucky day. Today is the Festival to commemorate our victory against the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and mourn for the great Fourth Hokage who had sacrificed himself to save us."

Keitaro said nothing, and neither did Negi. Their passports have no information about such creature, so, they just did what they felt was natural: nodding, and feigning understanding. Now done with the checkpoint, Negi, Keitaro, Teuchi and Ayame were both allowed inside the ninja village, with a friendly reminder not to cause any problems.

The village, Konoha as the ninja had called it looked more like a flourishing capital than a ninja village. Keitaro looked at Negi oddly, who seemed to shrug, he too apparently confused.

"You'd think being a military power would make this place a bit more..."

"Spartan?" Negi suggested.

"Quite."

The village reminded Keitaro too much of the bustling commercial parts of Tokyo… except it was less urban, and more rural. For Negi, the village reminded him of a mix of Mahora festival and the Magical World. There were flower shops, blacksmiths, clothing store, and flea markets where they sell fruits and other goods, the salesperson shouting bargains to anyone interested in listening. The whole place was bustling, busy in preparation of the festival later.

"Ayame and I have to go to the Council to finally settle our place of business," Teuchi stated. He offered his hand to both Negi and Keitaro, who both shook it firmly. "Thank you for accompanying us. Let's see each other around?"

"It'd be our pleasure," Keitaro replied, smiling slightly, and nodded towards Ayame, who looked a bit sad.

"Yeah, Keitaro and I will be around, no problem," Negi assured.

Waving them goodbye, the two other-worldy visitors were finally left to their own devices, looking around the village they looked at each other, and nodded. Walking away from each other, Negi and Keitaro began to explore the village, agreeing to meet back before dinner where they started.

The sun was beginning to descend. Lanterns were being lit and there was a band playing music somewhere. The whole village was slowly turning a bit festive, and the only ones that weren't in the mood was Keitaro and Negi, who had finally met up once more.

"They use old Japanese currency… Ryo," Negi stated as he sat down on one of the benches. "And here is the funny part… they were all paper money. I had to trade a few gold pieces for a nice sum! Imagine that? Paper Ryo. And I used gold to get them!"

"Don't let it go over your head, Negi," Keitaro smiled. "How about our situation? When can we get out of this world?"

"I can actually cook up the spell anytime. I have been experimenting on it while modifying our passports," Negi replied.

"I hear a 'but' coming," Keitaro said.

"Yes, but…" Negi grinned a bit. "I'd rather do it in a presence of a leyline, just to make the spell more stable. Mind, this is the first time I'll be doing an accidentally created spell."

Leylines were energy veins that grow naturally around earth, made of very pure energy that would easily be converted to any kind of energy, magical or otherwise. Most mages use them as an extra source of energy, or to be used as a stabilizing factor for spells that were pretty dangerous… and a spell that rips open a hole between Time-Space is pretty dangerous.

"How about you?" Negi asked. "Found anything?"

"It isn't very helpful to us, but this whole town is a mix of ninjas and civilians," Keitaro replied. He motioned towards a group of young kids accompanying an adult with a vest. "Ninjas have some sort of cloth with a metal plate. Stamped on it is a symbol, probably of the village. It's very odd. It's as if the whole village is a small country, with its own economic work, and the ninjas are just there as a military. Of course, this is just guesswork…"

"Kaede-san would have liked it here…" Negi seemed to sigh as he spotted the kids in the group asking the adult something. The adult just nodded, and the kids smiled, and went around the place, pointing from one brightly lit booth to another. "It's… peaceful."

"Until it shows its true face," the samurai added.

The mage nodded. "Yes… until it shows its true face."

The sun finally went down, and the place was lit in lights. Oddly enough, they were electrical lights, and Keitaro for a moment wondered how the village was getting their own electricity, but after a while, with Negi towing him around the village's sites, began to relax as the mage did. The festival was pretty much a traditional Japanese summer festival, complete with caramelized apples, goldfish scooping (which Keitaro noticed a sign reading 'No Ninjutsu!'), and crossbow target practice.

He watched Negi partake in a few games, the younger man looking happy, something which Keitaro hadn't seen since the war had started. The village was very peaceful, and the veteran had been longing for such peace… but at the same time, he knew he couldn't stay. He and Negi had a job to do… a responsibility for their world.

But… even for a moment, he let it be, and relaxed. Nothing good came out of being tense all the time. He had fought the war for three years… three years of constant fighting, death, and void. He took a deep breathe, and promised to himself he would enjoy the little respite, if not for him, but for Negi's sake as well.

Then came a cry.

Keitaro was alerted immediately. The cry came from somewhere near… a kid's sob.

"Hey, Keitaro, you should try this," Negi looked at his partner as he lowered the crossbow he had been using just a few seconds ago, only to notice the older man was walking away from him. "Keitaro?"

Negi recognized the stance. Even with his back turned, he knew Keitaro well enough after all these years to know the man was now on a warpath. Immediately paying the man a few Ryo, he immediately followed Keitaro as he moved past the crowd, pushing through the gaps, and entering the narrow alleyways between the buildings.

Then, the man stopped. The young mage wondered what was going on, when he heard the sob. Quickly walking beside Keitaro, he looked at the shocking display that Keitaro had led him to.

"Good God," Negi muttered in English.

In front of them was a boy, very young, not older than ten by Negi's estimates, being lynched and beaten by a mob. The kid was already bleeding from the mouth, and his arms were down, dirty and bruised. The kid had tried defending himself. Now, he was being kicked down by shouting and cursing men and even women.

The worst of it was when someone near Negi suddenly muttered in a hushed whisper, "The fox brat is getting what he deserves."

"Stop it!" Keitaro growled, loud enough to be heard. The crowd faced him, and for a moment, looked confused, then promptly ignored him, and began to continue beating the kid.

"I said… STOP IT!" Keitaro shouted the last line this time, letting loose a burst of Ki. The crowd immediately dispersed, feeling the Ki spreading out towards them in a very unfriendly fashion. The only ones who stood their grounds were men with forehead protectors, and they looked a bit confused.

"You are not from around here, are you?" one of them asked.

"I do not see why that question is relevant," Keitaro replied.

"If you're not from here then you wouldn't understand."

"True, I wouldn't understand why a group of grown men and women would feel the need to beat down a very young boy," Keitaro stated with a slight snarl, "after all, I am no coward."

"You dare call us cowards?" one of the ninjas growled.

"That is the appropriate term I would use from such attitude and behavior. Now, cease and desist immediately, before you force me to draw my sword."

All the ninjas began to draw out their kunais, looking towards Keitaro threateningly.

"I will not warn you again," Keitaro began to draw on his katana from the grey sheathe. To the trained eye, or anyone close enough to see, it was a reverse-edged blade, earning a scoff from the ninjas.

"A reverse-edged sword. Seriously?" one of them muttered.

"Get out of here, you useless samurai-wannabe," another one said. "Before you get hurt."

There was a flash, and Keitaro charged in. Negi saw it… the fight lasted five seconds, but Keitaro hit them hard on their sides and ribs. The crowd gasped with surprise and horror as the ninjas all fell into a heap, unconscious, with Keitaro in the center, his eyes closed as he took a deep breathe. He began to sheathe his sword, the clicking sound indicating his sword was now secure in its sheathe, and proceeded to walk towards the fallen boy. The crowd dispersed, parting as he walked by them. He ignored them, and approached the fallen and unconscious form of the boy.

He had wild blonde hair, black shirt and white pants with leggings that only reached just slightly below the knee. He was dirty, and looked very malnourished, thin, almost like a skeleton. Keitaro moved the boy's head slightly, placing a hand glowing with Ki just to asses the boy's body, and see if he could heal some of his injuries.

There were odd marks all over his face. Six marks, three on each cheek, like some sort of whiskers. Suddenly, his vision flooded to red, an evil face appeared, behind a wall of bars. It had a long face, and pointed ears, radiating evil energy that Keitaro was forced to take his hand away. When he did, the image vanished.

"Kami-sama…" Keitaro muttered. He then noticed the boy's wounds beginning to close up.

The crowd stirred, and one of them bent up to pick up what looked like to be a large stone, and threw it towards Keitaro, whose back was facing them. Negi quickly blocked it with his staff, his face flushing with anger.

"I dare you to do that again!" he declared angrily. "Any one of you! I dare it!"

Keitaro turned his head, and saw Negi in a fighting stance, ready to defend him. "Negi… that was unnecessary," he whispered.

It was true. If there is one thing that Shinmei Ryuu specialized in was the ability to defend in any forms of projectiles, and a single stone was nothing, really. There was also the fact that Keitaro was Negi's magical partner, the mage's shield. Granted, Negi is more of a combat mage that fights along with his partners, but it was the principle after all.

Of course, Negi, being Negi, was a kind, if not over-thoughtful young boy with a somewhat overabundance, if not outdated, of English Chivalry in his veins. Keitaro appreciated the gesture, though he wished the young mage wouldn't act too recklessly. Next time, it won't be a stone thrown to him… a car maybe, or even two killing destruction spells at least.

"Let's get out of here," Keitaro muttered as he carried the boy carefully. He looked really fragile. Keitaro faced the crowd, who all looked apprehensive, not knowing what to do. "Get out of the way, before I make you."

The crowd dispersed immediately, leaving Negi alone with Keitaro, who was carrying the boy, and the unconscious ninjas on the ground.

"I'm sorry, Negi," Keitaro stated softly, looking at the young mage. "Seems we have to move away from here sooner rather than later."

"It's fine…" Negi nodded. He then looked at the boy. "Are you… taking him?"

"Yes… this village isn't safe for him," the samurai replied. "When I poured some of my Ki in him, trying to see how badly injured he was and trying to see if I could heal him, I felt such a malevolent force in him. As my wife would call it… a demon."

Negi blinked, and looked at the boy. "He's a demon?" he asked, but then immediately corrected himself. "No, silly me. The manifestation is all wrong. He doesn't even have a taint in him… something sealed a demon inside him? That might explain the attitude of that mob."

"I saw an animal… red eyes, red fur, pointed ears and nose…" Keitaro muttered.

"Sheesh, that sounds like any kind of animal four-legged mammal," Negi replied, then realized something. "One from the crowd called him the fox brat."

"Fox…?" Keitaro's eyes widened. "Kami-sama… lets move Negi. This place isn't safe… for any of us."

In the dead of the night, one Uzumaki Naruto was rescued by two strangers. The very same night, he would leave the village, and unknown to him, changed his life, forever.

To Be Continued…