Yay, I finally have a review! As a reward here's the next chapter. I really like writing Kyuubi's part. If you wonder how Kyuubi knows Naruto isn't from here, it's because I imagine he's been observing Naruto the whole time Naruto's been in the forest and is smart enough to figure that out.
Naruto walked for a long time. He was getting impatient at how long it was taking him to reach the end of the path and Konoha. He turned around a bend and found a very large tree in the middle of the path. Or at least that was how it looked since the trail went straight up to the trunk. However, upon walking around the tree Naruto did not find the path continuing in any direction. Frustration and anger built up inside him. "Kyuubi!"
"Yesss?"
Looking up at a branch to his right two eyes and a toothy grin appeared. "You said this path would bring me to Konoha."
"And so it has." The head and tails formed, though the body remained invisible.
"How so? This is a dead end."
"Dead end? I admit the path did not bring you directly to Konoha, but this is no dead end."
"Then would you mind telling me where to go from here?" Naruto addressed him.
"In that door would be a good start."
"What door? I'll I see is this huge ass tree."
"Foolish kit, haven't you realized that this world is not the same as the one you are from? Tell me, what is a door made out of?" The fox asked him.
"Wood, usually. Your point?"
"And what, prey tell, is a tree made of?"
"Uh, wood," Naruto answered uncertainly.
"So if a door is made from wood and a tree is also wood, then it follows that a door and a tree are the same thing."
This made Naruto's head spin. He nodded it weakly.
"Good," Kyuubi said and disappeared.
Naruto studied the tree before him. There was a rather large knob sticking out on the left side. It looked like a branch that had been cut off while it was growing. On the other hand, it was about the same size as a doorknob. Naruto grabbed hold of the knob and gave a slight push. To his amazement the tree responded and creaked open. Pushing the door the rest of the way Naruto gulped at what was before him. Instead of the trunk of the tree Naruto was looking in on the room of doors he had first landed in all that time ago.
"I don't get it, but I'm not about to question it." Naruto walked out of the forest and into the room. He closed the trunk door behind him. The room looked like it had when he first arrived. There was no water on the floor, no broken wall, and the glass table was sitting upright in the middle of the room.
"This time I'll do it right," he said walking over to the table. A gold key about the length of his fingernail sat on the tabletop. Naruto picked up the key and held onto it tightly. He dug around in his pockets and pulled out a chunk of the underside piece of the mushroom. He nibbled on the mushroom and dropped to about half of his previous size. He did this two more times before feeling satisfied he was the right size for the door.
Naruto took off running for the door that would surely bring him back to Konoha. 'Damn, I should have shrunk myself closer to the door,' he thought minutes later when he was only halfway there. Finally he made it and put the key in the lock. Turning the key Naruto heard a satisfying click. He opened the door and stepped out into the streets of Konoha.
Naruto closed the door behind him to what appeared on the outside as an ordinary building. 'I wonder how such a big room can fit in this building.' Putting that though away as just one of the mysteries of the place Naruto started for Hokage Tower. He felt an eeriness about this Konoha but he couldn't place what was causing the feeling. Then he realized there was absolutely no one around. No shopkeepers, no parents and children, no ninjas, it was like a ghost town.
'Man, I hope Tsunade's around somewhere. Jiraiya and Sakura are supposed to be meeting with her. Where is everyone?' Naruto turned down a street and saw three figures ahead of him. They seemed to be huddling around something. Naruto ran to them, glad that he was no longer alone and wondering who they would be.
As Naruto got closer he saw that the three figures wore masks. 'ANBU, but I thought there were always animal faces on the masks.' Indeed the masks were unusual. There were numbers and the same corresponding amount of images, kind of like a clover, on the masks. Each one had a different number and it made Naruto think of the club suit in a deck of cards. As he got closer he could hear the conversation between the three people.
"Oh, this is terrible, absolutely terrible," the one with Two on his mask said.
"She's going to beat us for sure," the one whose back was to Naruto said.
"Us?" said Five. "This is your fault Seven. This was your part of the city to watch over."
"Do you really think that will matter to her? All three of us were on duty so all three of us will be punished," Seven replied.
"Only if she sees it," Two stated. "If we can pull them all down before she comes through here we won't have anything to worry about."
Naruto reached them. "Excuse me, but what is going on?"
The three ANBU members turned to look at Naruto. They were silent for a moment as if surprised to find someone had snuck up on them. Finally Two spoke up. "Well miss, a horrible poster has been put up around here disgracing Hokage-sama." He held up the poster they had been looking at.
Naruto tried not to laugh. "Granny Tsunade is showing her granny side." The picture showed a wrinkled, gray-haired Tsunade asleep at her desk.
"Yes, and she'll go into a terrible rage if she sees this. I'm sure she'll beat us to within an inch of our lives," Five said.
"I'll help you take them down," Naruto offered.
"Oh thank you miss," Two said. He pointed at the other ANBU members. "You two work this street while we go check the next one." Naruto and the ANBU member cut through an alleyway to get to the next street over. Once there they scoured the buildings for more posters.
"So, where is Tsunade?" Naruto asked.
"She's out in the forest training her student Sakura. We expect them back soon, so we must hurry," Two replied.
They worked for about ten minutes, each one finding two posters, when a noise made their blood run cold. There was a loud, angry yell followed by a bang, then the crashing of a collapsing building. Naruto and the ANBU member rushed back to the other two. The four stood there helplessly as they stared at the debris and dust falling on the other side of the street.
As the dust settled Naruto saw a very angry Tsunade. Sakura and Shizune stood on either side of her. Behind Shizune was Jiraiya. Surrounding the back was a whole group of ANBU members. Like the ones Naruto was with all the masks looked like cards instead of animals. It seemed that the entire suit of hearts was escorting Tsunade.
When Tsunade spotted the three club ANBU members it was unfortunately unclear as to whether they were putting the posters up or taking them down. Although Tsunade was probably to mad to really care either way. "What is the meaning of this?" she bellowed.
"Ho…hokage-sama," Five started.
"You dare disgrace your lord?" she asked as she and everyone else moved closer.
"No, Hokage-sama. We are not the ones who put up the posters," Two said.
"You are still responsible, you allowed this to happen," Tsunade replied. "Prepare to be executed."
"No," Naruto said loudly.
Noticing Naruto for the first time Tsunade peered at him. "Excuse me?"
"You are more responsible. The poster would not exist if you had not gotten yourself into that state. You are the one who allowed it to happen," Naruto said confidently.
Tsunade turned to Shizune. "Who is that girl?"
"I don't know. I think we should show her respect though, she might be a daughter of one of the lords who support us," Shizune replied.
"Hun." Tsunade turned back to Naruto. "What is your name girl?"
He felt the sting of disappointment that Tsunade didn't recognize him either. "I'm Naruto, and don't you forget it!"
"Very well, Na-Ru-To. Perhaps you are the one who created these posters in an attempt to make me disgraced so you can take over. I will offer you one chance to prove the innocence of yourself and your accomplices," Tsunade said looking pointedly at the three club ANBU. "I challenge you to Cho-Han Bakuchi. If you win I will forgive whatever part of this horrible incident you had a hand in. However, Naruto-chan, should you lose all four of you will be immediately executed."
"Bring it on," Naruto said without hesitation.
"Good," Tsunade said with a smirk. She turned to the ANBU group escorting her. "Ace."
The ANBU guard with and "A" and a single heart on his mask approached her. "Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Bring the executioner," Tsunade said to him and he immediately took off. Looking back to Naruto she addressed him. "I never loose little girl. Follow me." Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura, and Jiraiya headed for the Hokage tower while the heart ANBU guards stayed back to keep an eye on Naruto's group.
Naruto faltered briefly. 'Is it true, could this be the world where Tsunade wins at gambling? Even if it is I will prevail.'
"Naruto-chan, what are you thinking?" Two asked him.
"Hokage-sama never looses," Five informed him.
"This is suicide," Seven said.
"We were going to be executed before, so what's the difference? At least now there is a possibility of getting off," Naruto said.
"But you didn't have to get yourself involved with this, you could have just gone back home," Two said.
"I'm trying to speak with Tsunade so that I can go back home. She's the only one that might be able to help me. Besides, I don't know the meaning of the words lose or quit. This won't be the first time I win a seemingly impossible bet against her." Naruto followed after Tsunade.
