I do not own the rights to Naruto or God of War, and that prick The Dark Void won't help me steal them.
XXX
The next morning, Athena awoke to a queer sight. On the other side of the room was Kratos, standing almost protectively over the sleeping form of a small, blonde boy. The former goddess had little time to contemplate this strange spectacle, for as soon as he saw she had awoken, Kratos spoke to her gruffly.
"Hurry up and get ready. We're going to see the Hokage." Still half asleep, Athena nodded, questions about the child flying through her head.
XXX
She could not believe it. There was no way the fervent bundle of energy running around her, chattering a mile a minute, was the same peacefully sleeping child from earlier this morning. It took most of her focus just to keep track of the boy.
On the other hand, Athena had to admit it was a bit cute, and some of her questions had been answered. She gathered that Naruto had been attacked by four people before Kratos had come along and intervened; however, these answers just led to more questions. Why was Naruto attacked? Why had nobody else helped him, and for that matter, why did Kratos help him? Ever since the death of his wife and daughter, the Spartan had closed himself off to the world, becoming an even colder killer than he had been before. Such an image as Kratos the defender did not fit well with that of a man who had slaughtered thousands just to obtain the power to kill her brother. It could not have simply been his lust for battle that made Kratos enter the fight, otherwise, why would he have brought Naruto back to their room? Why did he seem so protective of the boy?
Athena's contemplations came to a halt when she realized they had entered the Hokage's tower. The threesome was soon greeted by a young secretary sitting at the main desk.
"Hello visitors. Can I help you with anything?" she greeted.
"We're here to see the Hokage." Athena quickly answered, not wanting Kratos' quick temper to become an issue.
"I'm sorry, public meetings with the Hokage do not start until ten o'clock. You are welcome t-"
"Kana!" Naruto quickly ran around the desk and jumped into the girl's lap, giving her a giant hug. To say the girl was shocked is an understatement.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?"
"The big, gray guy saved me from some bad men and then let me sleep in his bed!" Naruto said, as if it were the best thing in the world. Kana quickly schooled her fetchers and, after a glance at Kratos, said,
"I'll show you the way."
Now Athena was thoroughly intrigued. Not only had Kratos saved the boy, but Naruto seemed to be of at least some importance if the secretary's willingness to bend the rules upon his appearance and explanation was any indication. The group soon reached a door that Kana knocked on.
"Come in." A gravelly voice answered. When the four entered, it was a repeat performance of downstairs, with Naruto running up to an aged man behind a desk and giving him a big hug.
While this was going on, Athena examined the man who she supposed was the Hokage. He was an elderly man, far older than most Greeks lived to be. To be ruling at such an age would be considered a great accomplishment in the Aegean and is surely a testament to this man's skill. Athena also noted that once the surprise left his face, the Hokage looked down at Naruto lovingly as the two talked. She was again stirred from her musings when she heard Kana speak up.
"Naruto, I have a coupon for Ichiraku's I was saving for the next time you visited." Naruto's head whipped around before he practically dragged the poor girl out of the office, cheering the entire way.
"Ichiraku Ramen!" Once the two had left, the Hokage turned to the former gods, his caring look turned into that of a hardened warrior.
"Now, I wish to know who you are and how you met Naruto." Oddly enough it was Kratos who spoke up and, in his gruff manner, answered the question. As he listened, the Hokage's hardened face changed to a solemn one. When Kratos was finished, he fished a wooden pipe out of the depths of his white robes, lit it, and took a deep puff. "There were no markings or symbols anywhere on these men?"
"No, they all looked the same, including the blank masks they wore." The aged leader nodded before taking another puff.
"Thank you for the information and for protecting Naruto. We will be sure to look into this." At that, Kratos' reigned in anger exploded.
"A child is attacked in your village, and all you do is sit there and say you'll look into it!" He roared, slamming a fist down on the Hokage's desk. Athena hastily stepped between the two before Kratos could do anything else. When she separated them, she noticed the venomous look Kratos shot her before he stepped back and repressed his rage. To her eye, and his credit, the Fire Shadow did not appear shaken one bit.
"If you do that again Mr. Kratos, I will remove you from my office personally. I can tell you are angry, but this is a matter of my village. I will decide how to respond to this attack." The Hokage glared at the Ghost of Sparta.
"Now, you said that you came to this village wishing to join our ranks?" At Athena's nod he continued. "Then we might as well get that out of the way while you are here. There are two methods by which you may join this village. The first is to allow one of our Yamanaka clan members to enter your mind and confirm that your intentions are pure."
"My mind is my own, and I refuse to let anyone in it." Kratos spat out, seemingly still trying to control his temper. The Hokage carried on.
"That is understandable. Most who wish to join our shinobi ranks do not chose this option. Our minds are our final sanctuary after all. In that case, to join the village you will be placed on probationary teams and must successfully complete five D-rank missions and three C-rank missions. While you perform these missions, your teammates will be evaluating your skills and will report back to me with their thoughts. Should we deem your skills sufficient, you will be admitted into our forces at the appropriate level. Do you agree to this?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Athena answered for the both of them.
"Then after a few preliminary questions, you are free to go. Do you know what chakra is?" Seeing the confused looks of the once great deities, he sighed. "Chakra is the mixture of the spiritual and phyiscal energies that reside in the body. Shinobi use it to fuel the different jutsu we use in combat." In demonstration, he flashed his chakra and then made a few basic clones. Kratos and Athena were astounded.
"Magic." Athena whispered.
"Perhaps to some, but for ninja, it is an everyday affair. By your response, I'm guessing this is the first time you two have seen such a thing, and have never used chakra before." The Hokage said, not noticing the quick glance the two shared. "In that case, most of the other questions are redundant. Mr. Kratos, you will be on Probation Team 3 under Squad Leader Genma Shiranui. Meet them at twelve o'clock tomorrow at Training Ground 1 for your first mission. Mrs. Athena, you are on Probation Team 5 with Ebisu Ito. You will meet with your team in three days in front of this building. Basic shinobi gear will be provided for you, but any special equipment you desire must come out of your own pockets. Any questions? Very well, you are dismissed."
XXX
Sarutobi sat in his office, deep in thought. The two newcomers to Konoha had just left, leaving him to ponder the tidings they brought. He had known Danzo would make a move to obtain Naruto eventually, but he had not expected it to be so soon. Typically Danzo waited to abduct children after their first year in the academy, but it seemed the Root leader desired Naruto very much. This left the old Hokage in a bind. He could not move against Danzo, for he had next to no knowledge on this new Root he was sure the bastard had formed after the old one had been disbanded. The village did not have enough resources for him to send ninja on a wild goose chase, even more so when the goose knew exactly what they were doing.
On the same note, though, Danzo did not have the strength or numbers to openly defy the Hokage. Of that, he was sure. As such, it was a stalemate, each of them vying for political power, mustering their strength, and carefully monitoring the other, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Now Danzo had made the first move. He needed to ensure Naruto was protected at all times, but who could he trust to do so? Danzo had Root members at all levels of shinobi, so he could not simply assign a guard to him. Those he could trust were too important to the village to be pulled away for such a thing and would draw suspicion from the other nations. Another way would be to have Naruto adopted, but everyone in Konoha had strings, and Danzo was a master puppeteer. What could he do?
Suddenly, a smile came to the aged man's face. That smile evolved into a chuckle, and then into full blown laughter. Gaining control of himself, the Hokage quickly sent for his three advisers. It was time for some politics.
XXX
Night had fallen, and two guards were dutifully patrolling the dark forest surrounding their camp. They know full well what repercussions would be if they were caught slacking.
Silently, a figure shrouded in shadows emerged from the blackness behind them. Racing towards the bandits, it quickly slit one man's throat with a large sword. Tossing the limp corpse aside, the shade proceeded to stab the other guard through the stomach with another. The shadow continued on through the perimeter of the camp, pausing for a moment at the sight of the main body. It growled menacingly and readied the twin swords in its hands.
Charging forward, the specter vaulted into the air and began to spin his blades by their chains to gather momentum. The bandits relaxing in front of him stood no chance as he completed his jump and brought the weapons crashing down onto the earth. Limbs were cleaved, bones shattered, and flesh seared as the blades struck in the center of the group, a plume of flames erupting out from them when they did. Recalling the pair of blades, he swiftly finished off any survivors as alarms began to sound in the background.
Straightening up from his grizzly work, he was greeted by the rest of the brigands that inhabited the clearing. There were a four score in all, well-armed and ready for bloodshed. An entire force of experienced cut-throats was now pitted against one lone man in the middle of their base. It was a massacre.
As one, they descended upon Kratos. With a mighty roar, he met their charge, his lust for battle taking over. One quick swing of his blades was enough to take down the entire first row of bandits. Kratos then slammed an elbow into the sternum of a bandit attacking his side, pulverizing the man's ribs. He pulled back his blades and sent them out again in rapid succession before unleashing another Plume of Prometheus into their midst. Seeing their opponent momentarily disarmed, the rouges surged forward, hoping to take down the fool. A flick of his wrists returned the blades to their master, shredding through any enemy unlucky enough to be in their way. Kratos pivoted and released the mythical swords from his grasp, causing them to whirl around and cut down the assailants that had closed in. One man had the sense to duck and was able to survive long enough to slice Kratos across the stomach with his blade. Kratos returned the favor by grabbing him by the throat and then removing his intestines from their resting place. The Ghost of Sparta tossed the disemboweled carcass to the side, sending it crashing into another group of charging bandits.
Sensing their master's injury, the Blades of Athena began to pour the energy they had feasted on from the bandits into Kratos' wound. It was a small part of the symbiosis between them and their wielder. The owner brought them battle and blood to gorge themselves upon, and in return, they healed the injuries such fights brought. It was through combat that the bond between swords and possessor grew, and of all those who had wielded them previously, Kratos was by far their favorite.
Recovered from his injury, Kratos once again began to butcher his foes. He tore through the bandits, ending life after life with every move. Caught up in the battle as he was, Kratos was barely able to dodge the massive tree-trunk of a club that had been swung at his exposed back.
Turning to face this new adversary, the Spartan saw a man even larger than himself with bulging muscles and a broad chest. His entire body was completely covered in strange, scaled armor. His head was covered by a similar helmet, and a demonic mask covered his face.
No pleasantries were exchanged as the two charged towards each other. The man swung down, attempting to crush the Ghost of Sparta, but a quick roll was enough to evade the attack and get behind the brute. Kratos was surprised when stuck out only for his swords glance off of the bizarre armor. He jumped back to avoid another club strike when a bandit was able to sneak in close enough and stab him in the thigh with a spear. This gave the rest of the bandits enough courage to attack as well including the large man who led them.
Having faltered from the stab, Kratos was unprepared for the onslaught but not for long. After receiving a few cuts and other wounds, he had had enough. He was the God of War, and he would not lose to these insignificant pests. Cutting down the next few attackers, he saw the leader in front of him, his club drawn back to smash Kratos into the ground once and for all. Instead of dodging, Kratos let loose a terrible roar and met the attack head on, his blades ablaze with his anger. He cleaved cleanly through the massive piece of wood and continued on to the giant himself. Leaping onto the man, Kratos plunged his blades deep into his foe's clavicles.
Here Kratos' wrath reached its peak. All of his fury and hate had surfaced and was seeking escape in any way possible. Then he felt it, a sharp tug in the back of his mind he had thought lost to him forever. Focusing all of his will on that pull, he allowed it to consume him and unleashed his rage.
Lightning coursed down from the sky, piercing Kratos' body and streaming out around him. Bodies were blackened and burned by the electricity. None could escape as Kratos cried out even louder, pouring more and more magic into the spell. In the middle of it all was the bandit leader. The cold fire raced through his body, slowly cooking him from the inside out. Soon, steam began to pour out from the man's orifices, and his muscular physique finally broke under the strain. In one ferocious moment, his carcass exploded outwards, and the bandit leader's liquified insides erupted into the sky, covering the area in gore.
Kratos stood silently in the middle of it all. He released his hold on the magic and gazed at the bloody dye blanketing the camp. As he stood there, his blades bleached with the blood of the bandits, he began to laugh.
This was where he belonged. He was a Spartan, born and bred for battle. War had been his home since the day he turned seven. Here he did not have to fear the terrors of his mind, or worry about the boy with bright blue eyes. Here, there was only kill or be killed.
Here, he was free.
XXX
At the edge of the camp, Genma Shiranui watched the newest member to his team. One of the other chunin with him spoke up softly.
"Sir, I don't think we have to do any of the other missions."
XXX
Well, that's another chapter down. Any ways, probably one more chapter of intro stuff, and then we get into the real meat of the story, hehehe. Oh, do we have some plans. See you all next time.
Glock3bb, The Dark Void