Rune Soldier Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own either the series of Naruto and Rune Soldier Louie, because if I did, I'd be one rich dude right?

Chapter 3

Battle in the Ruins

( ): Thoughts

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Back in Konoha…

Tsunade slammed her hands on the desk with surprise in her face as well disbelief.

"Naruto disappeared?!"

It had nearly been half an hour or so in the Hokage Tower when she had been busy running through some documents with Shizune when Sai as well as Yamato walked in, she looked at the former member of Danzo's Root ANBU as well as the ANBU sensei of Naruto, Sai, and Sakura, she had been wondering just what was going on at the moment u8ntil she was told what happened.

Yamato nodded as he and Sai looked on, Shizune was quite surprised by this as she and Tsunade looked at one another. The Hokage was not happy with what she had just learned and she had been hoping for a nice day in the office, with the threat of Akatsuki gone, as well as Madara and Sasuke, she had been hoping that peace would finally settle in not just Konoha but all over the countries.

She had been planning for the next year's Chuunin exams and planed to personally hand Naruto his application for the Exams. Naruto was still a Genin in rank though many ninja in Konoha as well as in Suna consider him to be already a Jonin in ability as well as being able to be given the title of Sannin as well as a very likely Hokage candidate. She smiled at the thought of Naruto finally getting to get closer to be a Hokage, just like his father Minato…

But now this?!

"I am afraid so, the portal came out of nowhere and dragged Naruto into it, we attempted to rescue him but the portal faded."

Tsunade sat back, this was totally unexpected, while there had been stories of portal opening at times and there were supposed to be jutsus that could open dimensional gates, she was not keen on believing them completely. There were too many things happening at once before and she needed time to process and think them all through. She wished that Jiraiya was still alive, despite being a perverted old man, her friend and fellow Sannin was a master of seals and several powerful jutsus, and he might have been able to find a way to trace Naruto.

As she thought on it, she decided to ask Yamato a question.

"Was Naruto carrying the Toad Summoning Contract with him?"

"I believe so Tsunade-sama."

"Hmm…he might be able to use it to summon Gamabunta or the other toads to help him, he might even be able to send himself back here through summoning. But that would require a considerable amount of jutsu."

Sai then spoke.

"We could try and locate him Tsunade-sama, he might have been only transported in another country."

"Are you sure of that?"

"It's a possibility. I know that it's far fetched but that seems to be the likely possibility we have to work with at the moment."

Tsunade thought over and then spoke to Shizune.

"Shizune, send out dispatches through the mail with pictures of Naruto so we can see if he was been seen around the rest of Fire Country, and dispatch several teams to our allied countries to make sure that we can at least have some idea on where Naruto is."

"Hai Hokage-sama!"

Shizune went to work to find Naruto while Tsunade thought over many things that were flying about in her head on this new development. She then thought of Hinata and Sakura, the two were close to Naruto and no doubt they were taking this situation very hard, Sakura was tougher than she looked and could handle herself well enough, but Hinata was another matter. She then spoke to Yamato on that particular train of thought.

"How are Hinata and Sakura taking this?"

The ANBU and now new Jonin sensei of the reformed Team 7 spoke.

"Hinata-san is currently back in the Hyuuga estate while Sakura is with her."

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Hinata was not very happy as she sat on the walkway of her home's court yard, the same court yard that her cousin Neji and her father Hiashi would usually train in. Her thoughts were on what had just happened to her long time crush and current boy friend and it made her feel even more sad that something had happened to Naruto.

"Here Hinata, this might help."

Hinata turned and there was Sakura with a glass of cold water and she took it as she drank some of the contents. As soon as she was done, she spoke to Sakura.

"What could be happening to Naruto-kun? Why did this have to happen?"

"I don't k now, but we will find him Hinata, count on it."

"But what if he's in trouble?!"

"Hinata, Naruto's defeated Uchiha Madara, Pain, Akatsuki, Sasuke and Team Hawk, and others as well, all of whom are powerful ninja, I think he can handle himself well enough on his own. We have to believe in him like we always have. I don't know what kind of trouble he might be in, but he will fight his way out of it, as well as surprise people along the way."

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Naruto was in trouble all right, but as before, he was going to find his way out of it well enough….and surprise a number of people along the way.

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In the Ruins…

Naruto scanned the area and realized that the current situation was not good for a mage, while he knew that Merrill, Genie, and Melissa could handle themselves, there was no way he could be able to cast spells, fire balls were a good choice, but there was a chance he could bring the whole ruin right on their heads, area of effect spells like chain lighting were out of the question as well since there was a chance the others could get hit…

That left only one option….it was time to stop being a mage and be a shinobi.

One of the Goblins attacking the group tried to attack the Kage Bushin before it but got cut down by Genie with her sword and the swordswoman turned to Naruto and spoke.

"What are you waiting for?! Use your magic!!!"

Naruto shook his head and replied.

"This isn't the kind of terrain for it, I might use a spell that can bring the whole ruin collapsing on our heads. It's time to quit being a mage…and become a Shinobi."

Melissa and the others were curious what that meant but Naruto was not going to answer as he quickly took out a pair of kunai and leaped into the fight. As he closed the gap the blonde ninja was accompanied by his Kage Bushin, and the group smashed hard into the large group of Goblins. One of the Kage Bushin kneeled in front of Naruto as the blonde suddenly leaped into the air and fired the kunai at a pair of Goblins who were lifting some of the rocks to use as projectiles.

The Goblins roared in pain as the leaf shaped daggers struck home on their shoulders, and unlike Merrill's daggers, the kunai were more effective due to their design and power in combat both as ranged weapons as for close combat. Naruto was quickly joined by his Kage Bushin as he quickly summoned more of his Kage Bushin in flight.

"TAJUU!!! KAGE BUSHIN!!!!"

In the span of a human heart beat, the Goblins found themselves seeing over five hundred exact copies of the blonde Genin flying over them. They stopped their attacks as despite not being too intelligent, they were not expecting this, and their hesitation was shared by Melissa, Merrill, and Genie, they had seen him create more copies of himself before….but never this many at once!

(What the?!)

Merrill was surprised at this, she had expected this to be the work of a charm or something as mages would use other mediums for magic apart from wands, and could copies of themselves, but she had never heard of the mage making THIS many at once!!

Naruto then reached for his pouch and in each of his hands were three shuriken and that equaled to at least six shuriken in hand, but when one would add that to the same number of shuriken in all of the other Kage Bushin. Naruto had at least three thousand six shuriken in hand, mirroring the attack that he had done on Gaara when they fought during the invasion of both Oto and Suna on his village.

"SHIHOHAPPO SHURIKEN!!!!"

The attack was devastating as the Kage Bushin unleashed a storm of shuriken, while this technique was not that powerful he was told that it was considered an A-ranked Jutsu through the use of Kage Bushin and while it had been some time since he had used this particular technique it would prove to be deadly in it's own right. The Goblins found this out the hard way as they were bombarded by the weapons and there was a loud scream of pain from the monsters as they were hit hard by the attacks. As the technique allowed Naruto and his Kage Bushin to attack with the shuriken in all directions, the enemy would have a hard time blocking that many attacks at once.

The Goblins resembled pin cushions in a heartbeat as the shuriken were sticking out of them as Naruto closed in with his Kage Bushin, the very second he landed in the middle of the Goblin forces, he went to work using his Taijutsu training, he dodged a club strike aiming for his head and rolled down to the floor and used his hands to spring board his feet right into the chin off the Goblins sending the monster flying back into his companions.

As soon as he was on his feet, he flipped back as another tried to slash him with a crude sword and he landed and charged right in as soon as he was on his feet, dodging the sword strike and unleashing a hard left upper cut on the chin and then he struck at the foot forcing the Goblin to move forward and as soon as that happened, the blonde ninja moved in and grabbed the Goblin's sword arm, he quickly flipped the Goblin over, using his chakra to augment his strength, the throw sent the Goblin flying right into his compatriots, resulting in a pile up.

The Kage Bushin were also thrashing the Goblins as one joined Naruto as the two of them charged towards their foe, the Goblin tried to use a crude spear to stab either of them, but the Kage Bushin moved in low and landed a powerful kick to the stomach while Naruto leaped into the air, delivering a powerful spinning heel kick to the side of the Goblin's head. The Goblin fell back as Naruto moved in with a kunai in hand, he blocked another clumsy club strike from another Goblin, he quickly stabbed the Goblin on the thigh, making it growl as he unleashed a powerful kick to the chin and followed through with another kunai strike to the side when another Kage Bushin closed in just Gai did with his Dainamikku Entoni move as the Kage Bushin unleashed a powerful flying kick into the face of the Goblin.

Two Kage Bushin also moved in with their own attacks as both used Gai and Lee's moves in combat, one used the Konoha Shofu attack sending a Goblin into the air for a short distance while the other unleashed a powerful spinning heel kick to send the Goblin crashing down to the floor hard. Naruto had been trained by both Gai and sparred with lee so he knew a portion of their moves, though he could never match the full power of both ninja, Gai said that with Naruto's abilities, both he and Lee would be true Taijutsu masters and coming from Gai, that was something in itself. He however learned early on that the physical strain would limit his use of Gai and Lee's techniques, but with his stamina as well as the Kyuubi's healing, he could handle it to a degree.

Naruto moved in and unleashed even more hurt with his Kage Bushin in combat while the others watched on as the blonde was tearing through the opposition like a hurricane running through a forest as well as a village. A pair of Goblins tried to double team him, but they got far worse as Naruto leaped over the first and landed both his feet into the face of the second Goblin, he then flipped backwards over the first Goblin as it tried to strike him from behind and he landed on his feet, he then split downward and landed a powerful blow to the crotch. While the Goblin was by no means human, it had the same human anatomy and the Goblin roared in pain at the hit….dropping the club as Naruto got on the move, using his hands to spin his legs, slamming a hard kick into the face of the Goblin as he got to his feet.

Naruto then spun a pair of kunai in his hands and used them to block yet another attack aimed at him by another Goblin with a stone club, the clashing of their weapons as heard as the Goblin tried to use it's strength to force Naruto back. Normally a Goblin's strength was higher than that of a normal human, but Naruto was far from ordinary as he summoned a portion of the Kyuubi's chakra and retaliated by forcing the Goblin back, the creature was joined by two others from either side and they were armed with stones to throw at Naruto.

The blonde ninja saw that and quickly flipped backward and while in flight fired both kunai at the Goblins, wounding them in the arc of his flip. The thrown kunai wounded the Goblins and forced them to drop their stones, which smacked them right on the heads with a resounding crack. Naruto was then joined by a pair of his Kage Bushin who blocked the club and forced it back into the air as Naruto unleashed a powerful spinning kick to the chest of the Goblin.

Several more of the Goblin closed in but with their numbers thinned down by the Kage Bushin, the Goblin forces were quickly being beaten back quickly by the blonde Sannin.

(What the heck is this?!)

Genie was not happy with what she was witnessing, in her mind, the measure of a warrior was their skill with weapons such as axes, swords, spears, bows or other assorted weapons. Fists and feet were used only by tavern brawlers and as such, had no place in the battle field. That was why she dismissed the fighting style that Naruto was using, there was no way this mage could be a real fighter if he relied only on his fists, I real warrior couldn't defeat monsters alone with his fists. though she did admit that the kunai and shuriken were rather interesting to see in action, of course, she would never say it out loud.

Merrill looked on as the blonde ninja moved through the ranks of the Goblins with an ease that made her wonder just what was going on, she had never heard of anyone fighting Goblins with their bare hands before and she couldn't help but wonder just what was the deal with this guy, he was certainly no mage that she knew of. Or he could be using some charms to increase his speed and strength, yeah, that could be the reason he could fight the Goblins using only his hands and feet, no person could ever win a fight using just hands and feet when dealing with monsters right?

(Why is he fighting like a…a drunken brawler?!)

Melissa couldn't help but feel very shocked as well as disgusted, she had envisioned her champion to be the perfect gentleman and would use a sword, or in the situation before her, use his magic, but here he was fighting like a drunken brawler before her. She couldn't help but wonder why was this her fate and having such a vulgar man as her champion. He fought without gentlemanly control as well as using such underhanded tactics, he had magic and a sword so why is he fighting like a drunken brawler in a tavern fight?!

Apparently the three of them had been so used to their world's method of fight enemies that they had no idea that as a ninja Naruto had to learn how to fight hand to hand, all ninjas had to learn the basic arts of Taijutsu to supplement their skills in either Genjutsu or Ninjutsu

The three had gotten to so caught up that they didn't notice that another band of Goblins were heading towards them. Naruto however spotted the incoming forces and shouted a warning.

"HEY!!! QUIT GAWKING AND LOOK BEHIND YOU!!!!"

The three of them turned to see the Goblins heading towards them with their own weapons as well as the hungry look, some of them also resembled the very same Goblins that they were dealing with a few days before.

The three began to fight with the Goblins with Merrill using her daggers and throwing daggers, with Genie using her sword and Melissa using her war hammer. The fight was going well enough, until Naruto came in the scene and began to help fight the monsters when one managed to break through. This one Goblin was an apparently larger and much stronger one and was armed with a rusty but still useful and sharp short sword. The Goblin charged at Melissa and Naruto quickly moved in to help as best he could.

He moved in and spotted the sword going down and there was no time to get a kunai and he grabbed the one thing that he knew was handy, his wand, he grabbed it and used it to block the sword going down. The trick worked but as the Goblin moved it's sword free, a considerable chunk of his wand was removed. That got Naruto angry, he needed the wand to use magic to find a way home and now that Goblin had just trashed it.

"THAT'S IT YOU UGLY BASTARD!!! YOU ARE SO DEAD!!!"

Naruto didn't revert to his tailed Jinchuuriki forms but he used instead his basic Jinchuuriki form and the red chakra of the Kyuubi finally came out from his body and since the chakra was powerful enough to create the shell he needed only to handle the rotation of the chakra and then as soon as the glowing blue sphere was formed with the red chakra of the Kyuubi surrounding it Naruto smashed it hard into the massive Goblin.

"TAKE THIS!!! RASENGAN!!!!"

BOOM!!

The results were more than explosive as the Rasengan smashed hard into the larger Goblin and sent him flying like a rocket out of a launch pad, the Goblin leader was sent6 smashing hard into the other Goblins and Naruto got his wand, he looked at it with a sad and angry look, this was the wand he needed to get home with, as well as a special present for him by Carwess who was a good man to him as well as a great friend and teacher. And now here it was…ruined.

However he knew that since this mission was a bust, they would have to get out of the area fast, the Goblins were very much out of the way as his actions on their leader had apparently frightened the usually ferocious Goblins into leaving them along for the time being. He then turned to the rest of his companions and spoke to them.

"Come on, those Goblins won't be back for a while, now's the time to leave."

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Outside…

As the group came out into the sun light of the afternoon, Naruto sighed as he checked his gear, everything seemed to be there, though he was not happy with the fact that his wand got damaged in the fighting. A portion had been shorn off by a Goblin's rusty but still sharp short sword when he had no choice but to use his wand to block an incoming strike aimed for Melissa by the Goblin that managed to fight past Genie and Merrill.

The wand was not totally useless, but he needed a replacement in order to use magic again and he would have to figure out what to do…

"This whole adventure was a total loss!!!"

Merrill was not happy with the results of their searching for treasure had turned out to be a bust, the supplies they bought were all on credit and now that was added to their debt to the collectors.

"Having a mage should have brought in more chances to find treasure, but we are still deep in the red!!"

Genie sighed at the news while Melissa had a very disappointed look, Naruto saw that before and replied.

"Why are you three so out of it anyway?"

The others looked at him with disbelief and Merrill was the first to make her frustration known. She walked over to Naruto and glared at him while speaking in a very annoyed tone.

"Why are you so smug Naruto?! We thought this place had treasure and it turns out it had none!!!"

Naruto gave her a glare and replied.

"And why are you getting mad at me anyway? As far as I recall you were the ones who found this ruin and you asked me to help you open it. No sense in you getting worked up about this, I bet you're not the first to find a ruin already raided and you won't be the last either. Besides, there are other ruins to look for in this world and there's always a chance that you can get one that has the real goods, but in this case, the most precious thing at the moment is our lives all right."

Merrill shook her head and moved away in an annoyed mood, they were deeper in debt and this mage or whatever he was at the moment, was being cool about it though he was right in some part of it. She decided to just figure out how to deal with the soon to come collectors on her case.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder just what he had agreed to, he had better things to do than waste his time with this bunch, and added to that was the fact that his wand was trashed and he would have to get a new one. He gave a snort and placed the wand back on his back. That was when Genie spoke.

"Why weren't you using magic in the beginning? You could have finished the Goblins easily."

"I said that using magic would be a bad idea in that kind of enclosed space, if I did, there was a chance the ruins would have fallen on us."

"You're lying, that glowing sphere you used was magic wasn't it?"

Naruto shook his head and showed his ruined wand once more and spoke to the swordswoman.

"In case it may have escaped your attention, my wand is ruined so I can't use it for the moment, besides that, the Rasengan doesn't need magic to be used."

"Did you use a charm or a medium?"

"No, the Rasengan is something I use that has no magic, and that's all I am going to say. Now I got to get a new wand, I hope you girls have enough funds to help me get a new one."

That got a reaction from Merrill as she turned and replied.

"WHY SHOULD WE GIVE OUR MONEY TO HELP YOU?!"

Naruto growled and replied.

"Two reasons, first I had to sacrifice my wand to prevent your friend from being reduced to sushi by that massive Goblin. And the second is the fact that since I am part of this team I expect to be given the same level of help as anyone here."

"We are already in the red as it is! We can't give any money already!"

Naruto shook his head at this and growled mentally and spoke.

"Of all the things I have to deal with right now…man, if Kiba was here, he'd laugh his ass off, and I can't even begin to guess how Akamaru would react…"

With that in mind, Naruto moved away and took out his wand to look at the ruined medium. it annoyed him to no end that this happened at this time, he had gathered all he could in order to find a way back home to Konoha, he had no idea how the village was doing, and how his friends were dealing with disappearance, he also thought about Hinata as well as Sakura, how were they handling the fact that he was no longer there?

Melissa was still in a very sad state of mind, she had gotten a man who fought in a very ungentlemanly way, he was not fighting fair when facing the enemy, as well as the fact that he was not above hitting women, something that she still didn't find the least bit desirable in a hero, this young mage was not her definition of a hero in the least, but yet she could do little at the moment as she looked at the setting sun. She looked at Naruto and noted something, the blonde mage or whatever he called himself looked at his wand with a very serious eye, and she recalled that he had used it to block the sword of the Goblin that was about to attack her and that made her realize that he had given up his wand to save her life.

Naruto however had other things on his mind, it was going to take another set of days before they got back to Ohfun and he decided to go to Master Carwess and see if he can have a new one made for him, he knew it was not going to be easy and it was going to be a pain in the neck for him. But if getting a new wand was the way to get home, he was going to do it.

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In the tavern…

"My God….that actually happened?!"

Ila couldn't believe the story that Naruto was telling her through the orb she had with her, the orb was something that she had decided to give Naruto when he was still in the Academy and it made her happy that he had not lost it.

Naruto scratched his head and nodded.

"Yep, my wand's useless now, and it was the one Carwess-sensei handed to me when I left the Guild too….damn waste."

Ila could tell that Naruto was feeling down, she thought it over and had to admit that the wand would indeed be of importance to her friend. She couldn't help but wish she could do something to help him. However, she did have some bad news to hand to her friend.

"I guess you're going to have to get a new wand made, and that's going to be risky…you know you do need to find a five hundred year old oak tree to make the medium for the wand right?"

"I haven't forgotten Ila, and it take three days to make a new wand, Carwess-sensei told me about it and Old Foltess never let that fact slid whenever he got the chance. And since the Guild is the only place in demand for that kind of wood, I take it they have some in stock?"

"That's….the bad news actually, our stock for the wood is already dry since we had to ship a number of it to the other Guild's outside of Ohfun so there's none for Master Carwess to make And the only place that the wood can be found is in the Tarsuis Forest."

"The Tarsuis Forest? The one with the name of the Demon Forest?"

"I'm afraid so, it's the only place where you can find the wood and there's always the story that only one out of ten people who get lost there come back alive."

(Hmmm…reminds me of the Forest of Death back in Konoha…)

"It doesn't matter where it is Ila, I need a new wand, I guess I'll head back to Ohfun and get some supplies rounded up for the trip."

"But aren't you worried a bit about what the dangers are in the Demon Forest Naruto?"

"Ila…let's just say that when I was younger, I was in WORSE places than that. I guess I'll see you back in Ohfun."

"All right, be careful Naruto."

As Naruto's image faded away, Ila couldn't help but still feel worried about her long time friend from the Guild, Naruto had some very amazing abilities but going to the Demon Forest was something that she was worried about greatly, she had heard all manner of rumors surrounding this place and despite her cheerful outlook on things the place was far from pleasant in her mind. She knew that there was no way that Naruto would be dissuaded from his chosen course of action. He was stubborn and hard to dissuade when he got his mind on things.

(I wish I could help him in some fashion….hey, maybe I can use some of the stuff I've collected over the years….besides, I can always send a letter to my dad and ask for supplies to give Naruto.)

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In the forest…

As he placed aside the crystal, the blonde ninja/mage looked at the stars and was now deep in thought. He was not kidding when he said he had been in worse places than the forest he would be going to. The Forest of Death where he took the Chuunin Exams came to mind, wild tigers, snakes the size of a horse, blood sucking slugs the size of dog puppies, and more besides. There were also some of the places he had gone to with so many traps and hidden surprises; he could have made a guide on it all. Not to mention he had been in a volcano fighting a massive demonic dragon with Shion, a giant ship of steel fighting with Temujin against Haido, trapped with Hinata with Kiba and Akamaru in a giant chameleon 's stomach , he also got swallowed by one of the snake summons of Orochimaru. Fought in a floating air fortress with Sasuke, Sakura, as well as Hinata and Amaru, and he had seen one of Orochimaru's labs…

As he thought about the situation before him, he looked at the camp that they had set up and he was there sitting on a tree branch, using his Tree walking technique to get up there. He thought about his actions, revealing his Rasengan to the others, he had wanted to keep that a secret, but his anger at losing the wand made him lose his focus….he could almost here his late Jonin sensei Kakashi scolding him for that.

(He would have said that this was no game and revealing your abilities to a foe was a mistake….man I miss you Kakashi-sensei…)

"Naruto!"

The blonde Sannin looked down to see Melissa looking up at him and he replied.

"What is it Melissa?"

"I just wanted to know where you were, how did you get up there?"

"Simple, I jumped."

"But that's over twenty feet! Did you use magic again?"

Naruto sighed at that and got off the tree branch and to Melissa's surprise, he WALKED off the branch, down the tree and then onto the ground, despite the fact he carried on his back his giant scroll as well as his sword and his wand, or what was left of it. As soon as he was on the ground, Melissa spoke.

"How did you?"

"Not today Melissa, I'm not telling any more secrets and I'm in a foul mood already."

"About the wand?"

Naruto nodded and took out the ruined wand.

"Carwess-sensei gave this to me as a gift when I went out adventuring when I left the Guild a few months back. It was something I needed to keep as well as find my way back home."

This surprised Melissa a bit, she thought Naruto would have been born in Ohfun like his friend Ila.

"I thought your home was in Ohfun."

"It isn't…..my home's a LONG way from here, I was hoping to go back….there's still a lot to do for me to get home. Anyway, I'm not in the mood for a discussion, and you don't need to say anything about me using my wand to save your life."

"How did?"

Naruto looked at her with a simple look.

"Let's just say I was expecting it to happen at some point, besides, until I get a wand, seeing my home is going to have to wait. Anyway you'd better go grab something to eat, its still a long way to Ohfun from here."

As Naruto walked away, Melissa looked at him and wondered just what was the deal with her champion…and why was it he needed a wand as well as magic to get home, he could take a caravan as well as ride a ship home. Not that it was her business, she still wished she had a real champion to be with.

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In Ohfun a day later...

"YOU WANT TO GO WHERE?!"

The three women were shocked at this, they had just arrived at Ohfun and had spent the day resting and hoping to get some things straightened out, but now, just hours after they had arrived in the tavern for a drink the blonde mage arrived and told them that he was going to Tarsuis Forest to get wood from a 500 year old oak tree to get a new wand made..

Naruto sighed and replied.

"I said I was planning to go to the Tarsuis Forest to get some 500 year old oak wood to have a new wand made to replace my ruined wand, I figured I should ask you all to help, but if you're not interested…"

"Of course we're not interested in this idea of yours you blonde dummy!"

"What was that Pip Squeak?"

Merrill growled and was eager for a chance to get even when Genie spoke at that moment.

"You're asking us to go with you to a place where very few have ever come back just that after all, what do you think we are? People with a death wish?"

"You don't HAVE to come along you know, I only made the offer, I sure as heck am not going to force you three to come along. I'll do it myself if I have to."

Merrill looked at him in a very shocked fashion and replied.

"You've got to be kidding! You go there alone?! You're crazy as a loon to think you have chance there without that wand."

Naruto snorted and replied.

"Just because I don't have my wand doesn't mean I'm someone you can look down on, as far as I figure I can handle things well enough on my own."

"Use those charms you have, sure….some fighter you are."

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't need to use magic all the time, besides, most of the moves I use were taught to me in my younger days, and the Rasengan does not use magic. Anyway, Ila's already gotten supplies as well as some spare gear ready so I can leave at any time. I just came here to give you the offer if you want it…"

"Which we don't thank you very much Naruto."

Naruto shrugged.

"Have it your way Melissa, but I rather doubt Head Priestess Jenny would like the idea of you shrinking from your duties as a Priestess of Mylee."

Melissa gasped at that, she couldn't help but be angered and dismayed, she had just been blackmailed by her champion!! How cruel and ungentlemanly this man was!!! Why must he be her champion?!

(THIS IS AGAINST MY WILL!!!!)

"You're blackmailing Melissa?! How dare you?!"

Genie replied as she tried to get up but Naruto took out a kunai and held it at the ready, he looked at Genie and replied.

"I did no such thing, I had already told Carwess-sensei and Head Priestess Jenny that I was going to the Forest when I got back, so that naturally would make Head Priestess Jenny very curious as to why I am going on alone, I told her already that going alone was all right by me and none of you had to get involved, but she reminded me that I am Melissa's champion so I have to go with her. But that works both ways doesn't it? If I am going somewhere then she has to come along as it was required by the law of the Church of Mylee."

Melissa was stopped cold by that, he did have a point there, as her champion, Naruto had to go with her whenever they would go out on adventures and missions for the Church of Mylee, but it worked the same way, wherever Naruto would go, she would have to come along with him as part of her duties as a Priestess of Mylee, to do otherwise was considered the greatest sin any Priestess of her Order could ever do and she would be stripped of her rank as well as her place as a member of the Church of Mylee.

She had no idea what to do at this moment and Naruto replied.

"Look, you don't like and neither do I Melissa, but sometimes we have to do things that we find distasteful even of they are needed."

Genie snorted and replied.

"Like you're one to talk….being the favored student of the head of the Guild must really get you to places."

Naruto looked at Genie with a very calm but annoyed eye and replied.

"I don't use the fact that Carwess-sensei treats me as a favored student to get ahead in being a mage, everything I've learned in magic I learned on my own, besides that…as a shinobi, I was asked to do things that even I found distasteful at times so I know what it's like to do things you don't want to be have to do it anyway."

Merrill then spoke.

"You've called yourself a shinobi before so just what is that supposed to mean anyway?"

"You sure you want to know?"

"Yeah I do, you said back in the cave when we fought those Goblins that it was time to quit being a mage and become a Shinobi, so what is it exactly anyhow, some joke name you guys use in the Guild?"

Genie gave a light smirk as she sat down to hear this and Melissa was curious as well. Naruto knew that he was going to have to say it anyway so he sighed and spoke to them in a very serious tone.

"Shinobi means male ninja and before you ask, ninja is the term for Shadow Warriors, where I come from, ninjas form the army of our village. We do a lot of missions that we are hired for by higher level people as well as take on assignments handed to us by our leaders in the village."

Merrill and the others looked on and Merrill laughed a bit.

"You….a warrior?! You fight with your fists! You're no warrior!"

Genie nodded and she spoke.

"I agree, a real warrior uses weapons in combat."

Naruto laughed at that and replied.

"Then you don't know just what ninja are capable of in combat, to be honest we use other weapons as well, the kunai and shuriken I use are part of our arsenals, the kunai is a ver useful weapon, in most cases it can be disguised as a farming or gardening tool until we use it in combat and if you recall the wounds I gave those Goblins it can make seriously deadly wounds on foes if used for throwing or striking. The hand to hand combat we use is called Taijutsu….every ninja I know uses them in combat."

Naruto then smiled and spoke of a pair of ninja he knew well.

"I mentioned Neji before if I recall, he uses a style called gentle Fist which is a Taijutsu style and it can kill a man without any problems as well as his partner lee who can punch and kick hard enough to make stone cave in."

Genie snorted and replied.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Me too….if I can't see these two guys in action I won't believe it at all."

Melissa then spo9ke to the others.

"I agree with Merrill and Genie, until we see them in action, we can't really be convinced."

Naruto shrugged at that and replied.

"I thought as much, but what I say is the truth, besides that, I learned some moves from Lee and his sensei Gai, and I used them in the battle with those Goblins so I know that they can fight very seriously when the need comes to it, Gai is the strongest master of Taijutsu in our village despite his…rather unique antics."

Merrill then spoke.

"You guys take missions, so ninjas are like mercenaries?"

"You might say that, we are an official army but we take assignments from allied or neutral parties."

"What sort of jobs do you do?"

"That depends on the requirements and the type of mission, some missions are handed to lower ranking ninja, other missions are to mid ranked ninja such as escort missions and involves combat to a degree, as well as dealing with deadly animals and creating out booby traps, higher missions can include escorting high ranking or key personnel, gathering information on other nations, as well as disposing of enemy ninja, the second highest missions involve open warfare as well as vital missions for nations, escorting high ranking VIPs, and battle maneuvers against opposing forces. Those missions are ranked from D to A, the highest are S ranked missions those can be escorting or protecting vital documents and information and assassination of key personnel. The higher the risk the higher the payment…"

Melissa blanched as she heard one word in particular….

"Wait a minute….did you just say that you…assassinate people for money?!"

Naruto nodded at that. That was part of the job of being a ninja, and there had been missions taken by other ninja of that requirement, he had no doubt in his mind that even his Jonin friend Neji had been given that before, and Kakashi had taken those missions as well. Even his dad Minato had taken them so he was used to that aspect of being a ninja.

"Ninjas work as spies, soldiers, guards, and assassins. It's what we do. Is there a problem with that?"

Melissa was shocked and stood up and slammed her hands on the table and shrieked in horror.

"You're an ASSASSIN?! YOU'RE A MURDERER?!"

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To be continued…

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Author's notes:

Well, the cat's out of the bag, now that Melissa knows just what a ninja is, how will she react?

This chapter took me a while since I have to watch Rune Soldier all over from beginning to end so I can have a more precise idea on how to make this story a lot more effective. But how will Melissa react at the knowledge that her champion is an assassin?

Find out on the next chapter!!!