Team Hot Wheels X Naruto

By AlxkendBlader

Disclaimer: I do not own Team Hot Wheels: The Origin of Awesome! or Naruto! They belong to Mattel and Masashi Kishimoto respectively.

Chapter 4: Encounter! The Emotionless ROOT!

The next day, we see Naruto training with Teams 8 and 10, giving him a chance to observe how they sharpen their skills. Thankfully, they're taking their training a little more seriously than usual, and for a VERY good reason…

[Flashback: Last Night]

Asuma and Kurenai had just informed their squads that they would be up against ninjas from an underground organization covertly active within their own village; ROOT.

"ROOT, huh? I bet Akamaru and I can beat these guys," said Kiba confidently, but Shino retorts coolly, "Do not push it, Kiba-san. I have heard of ROOT from my father; it is a splinter faction within the ANBU Black Ops comprising of emotionless ninjas lead by Councilman Danzo Shimura."

"Danzo Shimura", started Ino before asking, "Isn't he that elder with the bandages that cover nearly all of his body? And why would he lead a group like that?"

Naruto explains, "Danzo believes that ninjas like us should be nothing more than emotionless tools to fight and die for their masters. That war-hungry old man deludes himself that he is above Shodaime-sama's ideals of peace and tolerance in that way, and only desiring to rule by fear and power. The Third Hokage ordered Danzo to disband ROOT, but he had been continuing it behind his back."

"You see," started Larry, "Danzo sent his ROOT ninjas to try and capture Naruto, but he managed to fend 'em off. I figured that he would send more of 'em after him, so I sent the mission request, because I didn't want for Naruto to have to take them on by his lonesome with a bigger risk of being captured and made into an emotionless weapon."

"But why," asks Hinata curiously, "Why would one of the village elders order Naruto-kun's capture, and to use him as a weapon?"

"Yeah," started Kiba in agreement, "Why would old man Shimura want to use such a cool guy like Naruto for something evil?! What did he ever do to him?!"

Kurenai, assuming that Naruto doesn't know of his demon container status, replies, "I'm sorry, but there is something about Naruto that is classified, an S-rank secret that if revealed, would result in the death of the person who opens his or her lips about it."

In response, the blonde chuckled, "Kurenai-san, I already know about it, so don't you worry anything. Besides, it is MY secret anyways."

He then turns to the genin, and says to them, "However you'll react to what I tell you will determine things, but before I explain to you what my high-ranking secret is, let me give you a little lecture on jinchuurikis; A jinchuuriki is basically a human host to one of the nine infamous Tailed Beasts, chakra-based entities who are forces of nature. To become a jinchuuriki, the person has to have his or her demon sealed inside of him/her at birth, usually through a very powerful sealing technique, such as the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, that which usually involved summoning the Death God and selling your soul to him in order to seal away the demon. But, the cruel fact, is that jinchuurikis were usually looked down on or even abused by those fearful of the unknown, seeing them as the demons they contain, while others also see them as lapdogs or weapons for their village, because with the right training, they could control their demons' power effectively."

In reaction to how jinchuurikis were generally treated, Choji remarks in outrage, "That's terrible! Nobody should be treated like dirt for holding a demon inside his or her body!"

Shino then deduced, "You are implying that you are a jinchuuriki," at which Naruto smiles, "Just like an Aburame to put together the pieces like this."

Shikamaru asks, "Wait, if you are a jinchuuriki, then which demon do you—Oh, how troublesome! You have the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of you, don't you?"

"Give the medal to Mr. Lazy," started Naruto sarcastically, before saying, "Now that you know that I'm the Nine-Tailed Fox's host, I suppose you'd probably hate and betray me…"

At this, Ino retorts incredulously, "What do you mean, hate and betray you?! You saved our village by holding back the demon that had attacked us all those years ago!"

"Yeah, why would I betray a member of the pack for something like that!?" remarks Kiba, "So you have the Nine-Tailed Fox inside you, so what?! That doesn't mean that you're the demon itself," as he then turns to Akamaru, "Right, boy?" The ninken lets out a bark in reply.

"But," started Hinata, "There's one thing I don't get; if you had the Nine-Trailed Fox sealed in you, then why didn't you stay in the village?"

Larry replies with a serious tone, "That's because Naruto would've been shunned and abused for something he didn't have any control over, and the villagers would've made his life a livin' Hell. He would've attended your little ninja academy, but the instructors might as well have taken bribes from corrupt council members to mess up his education. That's why he sent Naruto to live with me, along with a set of scrolls to learn the ninja arts from, especially scrolls from the Forth Hokage himself, as well as the legendary "Red Death", Kushina Uzumaki."

At the mention the two highly-revered ninjas, Naruto adds, "And they happened to be my biological parents," before turning to Hinata, "You know how your mother died, right?"

She nods with a sad look, as Naruto then says to her while giving her a reassuring hug, "If it's of any consolation, I never knew my parents personally, but I do know that they're two of Konoha's greatest ninjas, and I'm proud of it!"

Asuma then asks, "Who else here in Hot Wheels City knows about Naruto's burden?"

Larry replies as he crosses his arms, "Well, you know those four boys that showed your students around the city? They know about it, too. You see, they were there when ROOT attacked my boy the first time, and one of those masked morons opened his mouth during the whole thing! Knowing that they most likely got all curious and stuff, he had to tell them about his demon container status and made 'em promise not to say anything about it, although the the funny thing, is that one of them doesn't actually quite believe in demons."

Naruto then says to the genin in a stern and serious tone, "This is a very serious time, and who knows when that next batch of ROOT operatives may show up? We'll have to train heavily if we are to get past them, and to ensure that I don't become another weapon for Danzo to mess around with."

[Flashback End]

As Naruto, along with the two senseis, watched the six genin train their butts off, especially Shikamaru, who was threatened into being more active in his physical training, the blonde jinchuuriki also kept a look-out for any possible ROOT ninjas that may come by. Indeed, he does sense ROOT ninjas, and in a larger group than the one he fought last time, as he then goes to the genin.

He warns them and the senseis, "Guys, the ROOT ninjas are coming and they're coming in fast! Get ready!"

The genin stop their training, as they all quickly get into fighting stances, as does Naruto, Asuma and Kurenai, who notices that Hinata is shaking slightly at the aspect of having to face down the ROOT ANBU, at which Naruto gently puts a hand on her shoulder.

He soothes, "It's going to be alright, Hinata-chan, I'm here. It's scary that you're taking on emotionless ninjas from your own village, but this is one of those times when you have to stare defiantly in the face of adversity. Don't let them get to you. Show some courage!"

The Hyuga heiress calms down thanks to Naruto's reassurance, and takes on a more vigilant expression, as Naruto pulls out his sword and gets into a stance.

After a few tense seconds of anticipation, the ROOT ninjas finally appear via Shunshin, surrounding Naruto and the genin.

The stand-off was tense, and everyone is waiting to see who makes the first move. Shikamaru was quickly playing out various scenarios in his head as he held a kunai, Ino is trying to keep her cool while having some shuriken at the ready, and Choji is punching an open palm in anticipation. As Hinata maintained the Gentle Fist stance, Kiba and Akamaru are also in their family's taijutsu stance; while Shino is coming up with whatever strategy he could while holding a kunai. Kurenai is also at the ready in a fighting stance, as Asuma wields a pair of trench knives.

As for Naruto, when he sensed the ROOT ninjas approaching, he covertly sent a distress signal to Larry's secret test facility…

[Meanwhile]

We see Larry going over some test data of the Cloud Engine, when he receives the distress signal, along with a message that reads, "ROOT ninjas present. Send help ASAP!" As quick as a flash, Larry contacts Gage, Wyatt, Rhett, and Brandon while triangulating where the distress signal originated. A few moments later, the four boys arrived, having put on their Team Hot Wheels racing suits.

Gage asks, "What's going on, Larry?" as the other three nodded in agreement.

Brandon adds, "Judging from how you called us here, this must be very important!"

The eccentric genius and mechanic replies, "It's Naruto and the others! They're fightin' off a bunch of ROOT ninjas, and he's sent a distress signal. We're going to get 'em out of there and shake off those emotionless guys in case things got ugly. I'll get the Livin' Large ready, and you boys get to act as the escorts!"

[Back with the ninjas]

We see them fighting off the ROOT ninjas to the best of their ability, but the latter have shown to put up quite a nasty fight, and our heroes know that if something doesn't give soon, they're history. The blonde demon container then notices that some of the others are in need of a little help, before creating a few Shadow Clones and having them give a helping hand. As he parried a ROOT's chokuto with his own katana, he hears the faint sounds of five to six super-powerful engines roaring getting louder.

"ROOT-san, you may want to move out of the way, if you don't want some friends of mine in this town on their way here to run you over," smirks Naruto, as he sees the Twin Mill slam into the ROOT, sending him flying into a wall.

The Quik n' Sik also appears, firing a paralysis beam gadget at some other ROOT ninjas to freeze them in place, as the Jump Truck flattens a few more ROOT ninjas when it jumped and landed on them, and the Bone Shaker just simply rams into ten of them, sending them flying like bowling pins. The last to appear is the Livin' Large, as it skids to a stop in front of Naruto and Teams 8 and 10. They quickly get into the limo as it sped off alongside the four cars of Team Hot Wheels, leaving behind the ROOT ninjas.

The cars soon made it to a secret entrance that leads to Larry's secret test facility, as the ninjas stepped out of it, while Gage, Rhett, Wyatt, and Brandon did the same, before taking off their helmets. Both the jonin were surprised that these four boys that took their genin students on a tour of the city were also the drivers of the four powerful cars.

"We figured that you'd be surprised that we're also Team Hot Wheels," started Brandon before turning to Asuma and Kurenai, "If you want an explanation, we'll give you one. Oh, and it's a long story."

[One explanation later]

"To think Naruto would not only know of his own burden as the Nine-Tailed Fox's container, but also a considerably skilled ninja in training, as well as a member of a team of heroic racing drivers," remarks Asuma, "And to top it off, he knows the kenjutsu style that Kushina Uzumaki knew, as well as having known the Rasengan, one of the Forth Hokage's signature techniques! Oh, that reminds me; dad wanted me to give you something when we left for Hot Wheels City."

He reaches into one of his pocket, and pulls out a Konoha headband, before handing it to Naruto, who asks the jonin, "Is this a Konoha headband? Why are you giving it to me, I never entered the village's academy."

Kurenai replies, "Trust me kid, Lord Hokage knows that you're more than skilled enough to deserve this headband and you proved it out there when those ROOT showed up, but there may be a chance that you'll have to travel to Konoha in order to report for active duty as one of its ninjas. Knowing that, are you willing to accept?"

Naruto thought long and hard, taking things into consideration, before replying, "I accept," before putting on the headband.

Gage remarks, "Whoa, that headband looks awesome on you, Naruto," as the other three expressed their agreement.

The next two weeks went on without much incident, and on the last day, we see the members of Team Hot Wheels seeing Teams 8 and 10 off for the journey back to the Hidden Leaf Village. But not before Hinata gave Naruto a good-bye kiss on the cheek, as well as thanking him for the kindness to help her with her self-esteem issues. He returned the affection with a kiss of his own...On the lips, causing the Hyuga heiress to gasp and redden like a tomato with steam coming out of her ears, before fainting. Larry hands the jonin the reward money for the mission, along with a message for the Hokage that would inform him that the limousine he promised would take weeks to complete, but will be delivered to him. The mission was a success, and everything is back to normal.

Chapter End

Chapter 5.1: Team Hot Wheels in Konoha! Part 1

A couple of weeks later, the limousine that Larry promised was completed, with some help from the team, especially Naruto. The limo itself is a luxurious 10-passenger van based on the Renault Espace F1 (A/N: Again, this is a fictional limo and not a real Hot Wheels car. BTW, the Espace F1 is a racing variant of the Espace van). The reason for the limo being a van, is because they wanted the vehicle to be small enough to maneuver through the village effectively. However, it's as luxurious as the Livin' Large, with just as much cool-factor and high-octane performance.

"Now that we finished this limo," started Brandon, "How are we going to get it all the way to Konoha? Are we going to airlift it all the way there or something?"

At this, Larry replies, "Not necessarily. We'll use a semi-trailer truck to carry it all the way to Konoha, and you boys will be escorting me. We'll travel to the Elemental Countries by cargo ship tomorrow."

Gage then turns to Naruto, Brandon, Rhett, and Wyatt, "You heard the man. We gotta get ready for this delivery tomorrow. Brandon, in case we run into any bad guys, get your offensive-based gadgets ready. Wyatt, you and I will be guarding the front. Rhett, you and Brandon guard the rear. Naruto, if you got a map that could help us get to Konoha...Well, you know, guide us."

The next day, everyone is set for the journey to the Hidden Leaf Village, as they loaded a semi-trailer that has the limo, along with the team's cars onto a cargo ship that is headed to the Elemental Nations. After three days at sea, the vessel made it to a port in the Land of Fire, which is ruled by the Fire Daimyo and it is also where the village is located.

"Guys," started Naruto, "I can't believe that we're here; the Land of Fire! To think that this is such a well-hidden place from the rest of the world," as he then takes out his map, "Anyways, according to my map, Konohagakure no Sato is northwest of this port. If we went by foot, it would take us several days. But, since we have the cars with us, it would take us less time. But, there's plenty of things to take into considerations; having to get through tight spaces through trees, encountering bandits (or worse, rogue ninjas), etc."

Wyatt took in a breath of fresh air, as he remarks, "Whoo-wee! With all them trees 'round here, that oughta be plenty o' fresh breathin' air!"

It is then that Larry remarks, "Alright team, let's get this delivery moving!"

[Several hours later, at the gate of the Village Hidden in the Leaves...]

Izumo and Koutetsu AKA the "Eternal Chunin", are bored out of their minds as usual while guarding the massive gate to the village. As dull and boring as it is, considering that there's not much action these days, it is an important job, especially to be on the lookout for anything. It is then that they hear the rumbling sounds of several high-powered automobile engines approaching, as four tricked-out vehicles and a semi-trailer roll into view before slowing down and stopping in front of the gate. The two chunin went from their post to where the vehicles are, as their occupants stepped out.

"Whooooaah," started Rhett as looked on at the gate in awe, "Those are some huge doors," as Wyatt replies, "Yup! Y'know how Konoha's supposedly the strongest village? I guess with the way that gate's built, they must think REAL BIG!"

We also see Larry speaking with Izumo and Kotetsu, as he said to them, "So, we came all the way from the outside nations to deliver this limousine to the Hokage, and if it's not too much, I'd like for him to come here and see for himself what me and the boys here got for him!"

It is then that a puff of smoke appeared, and when it had cleared, everyone sees the Hokage himself, flanked by two ANBU guards.

"Guys," started Naruto excitedly to the others members of Team Hot Wheels, "It's him! The Hokage's here!"

At this, Gage asks, "What do we do? You know more about the village than we do." The blonde himself replies, "You guys bow to him Asian-style, some him some respect; After all, he is the leader of the strongest of the Five Great Villages!"

As the team bowed respectfully, Sarutobi said to them, "Please, there is no need for that, young ones. As your friend has informed you, I am the Hokage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

It is then that Naruto stepped forward, offering his hand, as he says to him, "Hiruzen Sarutobi A.K.A. "The Professor", may I say that it is an honor to meet one of Konoha's most legendary shinobi in person," as the elderly war chief shook hands with the jinchuuriki.

[The next day...]

We see Naruto, Gage, Wyatt, Rhett, and Brandon exploring around the village under the covert and careful supervision of one of the Hokage's ANBU operatives. The Hokage himself was generous enough to give them a map of the village, and for Naruto, the keys to his biological parents' estate, which old Sarutobi himself had kept out of the hands of the more greedy council members for years.

"This looks like such a nice place to live in," remarks Rhett as he took in a breath of fresh air, "With all that closeness to nature, it's a meditation enthusiast's dream come true!"

"Speak for yourself," said Brandon snarkily as he tries to get a wi-fi signal on his tablet computer, "I can't get a signal on my tablet," before sighing, "Oh, well. Least I can still play my saved games on it offline."

"Hopefully," started Wyatt, "There's someplace in the general area where I could rumble and tumble with the Jump Truck, maybe show off what a little Wyatt-Style could do," as he then flexed his arms.

Gage turns to Naruto, and asks him, "Dude, so are we going to see your birth parents' estate? I bet there's some really cool stuff in there!"

The blonde jinchuuriki was about to reply, he hears the sounds of a cat angrily yowling and young voices shouting.

"Did you hear that?" asks Gage, "Sounds like some kids have gotten themselves in trouble with some cat that they probably shouldn't have ticked off."

Naruto nods, "Mmm-hmm. The Fire Daimyo's wife has a cat named Tora, who kept escaping from her, thus the local genin squads have to put up with bringing the darn thing back. I heard that she's a very temperamental creature, and that the Fire Daimyo's wife kept squeezing it too affectionately."

At this, Gage, Rhett, Brandon, and Wyatt flinched, as the Louisiana-born stunt-loving boy remarks, "If I were a cat, I'd be as angry as a bull seein' red, too, if someone done squeezed me too much!"

"Anyways, we're saving my parents' estate for last," says Naruto, before smelling something delicious in the air, "Guys, I smell a fresh batch of sata andagi coming out of the fryer. We must be near a bakery. Wanna grab some goodies?!"

Everyone nodded, as they then found the local bakery, and decided to grab some desserts from there. Not only did it have Japanese-style desserts (such as sata andagi and karinto), but also donuts, eclairs, churros, cinnamon rolls, etc. In addition to the pastries, sweet rolls, and fried dough foods, the shop also served coffee, tea, milk for customers to enjoy with their snacks.

Naruto hands the cashier some money as he paid for a box of eclairs, as he then notices Team 8 coming into the shop, most likely after having completed a mission.

Kurenai greets, "Naruto-san, fancy seeing you and the boys here," before asking, "What brings you five to Konoha?"

He explains, "Well, we completed the limousine and brought it all the way here. While he's meeting with the Hokage, me, Gage, Wyatt, Rhett, and Brandon are going around the village; under the supervision of one of the ANBU in case things got ugly," he then turns to Hinata and asks her, "Hey, Hinata, nice to see you again. Is your family treating you any better, especially with your confidence problems resolved?"

"A little," she admits with a small smile while twiddling her index fingers, "And it's nice to see you, too, Naruto-kun."

"Good," smirks Naruto before turning serious, "Because if I hear one peep about them treating you the wrong way, they'll be asking for it!"

"Please," she gently retorts, "Don't do anything hasty for my sake, Naruto. I don't want to see what may happen if you got into conflict with my father. I don't want to see you get hurt or worse, and for that to be on my conscience," before feeling the jinchuuriki's arms around her, at which she gasped and blushed a heavenly pink.

"Hinata-chan, I won't let myself be killed that easily," he reassures while rubbing her back, "I took down ROOT ninjas the first time that Danzo sent them after me. Although, there's one thing that I don't get..."

At this, Kurenai asks, "What is it," as Kiba and Shino nod in agreement. Naruto then replies, "How did Danzo know that where to find Hilly Woodlands, I mean Hot Wheels City? Unless," as he then gets into a thinking pose.

After a moment or two of everyone else waiting for Naruto's conclusion, the blonde driver-slash-ninja-in-training replies, "I now have a hunch that Danzo had most likely have had at least one of his ROOT ninjas spy on Hokage-sama when he made the decision to send me away from Konoha when I was a baby at the time. Figures. The guy's a devil at covering up his own tracks," as he then thought, "Plus, I wouldn't want to see what would happen if he were to get his hands on the Cloud Engine. To see such a revolutionary invention be used as a weapon of war to kill hundreds of enemies on the battlefield, devastate the landscape, and conquer everything would be a disastrous catastrophe and an even bigger insult to everything dad holds dear. Plus, when imagination gets unleashed, anything could happen!"

[Hours later, Namikaze Estate]

After paying his respects to his deceased parents at the memorial stone, Naruto and company had finally arrived at the estate of Minato Namikaze himself. Using the keys given to him by the Sandaime, he opens the gate to the mansion. It was initially assumed that he would have to summon some Shadow Clones to help clean up the place, provided that it is actually in rough shape. This wasn't the case however, as everything was kept in great condition due to preservation seals placed around the house. Needless to say, the mansion has running electricity and water, among other things, such as a panic room, a well-stocked kitchen, a fully-equipped training room, and a vault containing jutsu scrolls, weapons, and artifacts of the Uzumaki clan. The vault is protected by an array of blood seals developed by his parents.

In short, it's got practically everything, and Naruto likes that! Well, so do Gage, Rhett, Wyatt, and Brandon, impressed that their friend has such sweet digs left to him. Not only that, but before their deaths, Minato and Kushina had made a lot of money (which is saying it lightly) in their careers as shinobi, so not only did Naruto inherit the estate and all of the contents, but also his parents' bank accounts. With that kind of money, Naruto could do some renovating to keep the house up with the current standards, set up a garage, etc.

However, he would have to consider how to spend money at a later time, for an ANBU had shown up and told Naruto and company that they are needed for a council meeting.

"Oh, crud," started Naruto, "Must we go?"

The ANBU replies, "Yes. The Hokage has ordered it, and you'll have to come, you and your friends, both."

"Great," thought Naruto sourly with a troubled look on his face, "If I go, I'll have to face Danzo Shimura and anybody else on the council that may potentially be loyal to that war-hungry old codger! Plus, Hinata's father will be there, too! Who knows how he'll react to the fact that I interacted with his daughter!"

Noticing this, Gage puts a hand on his shoulder, and tells him, "Dude, it's going to be alright. Me and the guys'll be with you all the way, no matter what happens," as Wyatt, Rhett, and Brandon expressed their agreement.

"Thanks guys," smiled the blonde jinchuuriki, "It's most appreciated. We won't let that old coot drag us down! Remember; because we're going to talk with the members of Konoha's government, we have to be civil, alright?"

The four car enthusiasts nodded in understanding, as he turned to the ANBU, "Okay, ANBU-san, take us to the meeting."

Chapter End

The computer I'm currently using these days does not have MS Word on it (and it has a 30-something GB hard drive), so I'll have to improvise like I just did here by adding the first part of Chapter 5 here. If I want to work on Chapter 5.2, I'll have to upload a file from my thumb drive, and then re-write it into a chapter.

Anyways, be sure to review! Constructive criticism is most appreciated! :)