Chapter Twenty-nine

Ino was in one of the Yamanaka training yards experimenting with her new sword. She wasn't alone, she had Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten with her. At the moment she was doing some weapon exercises along with Tenten while Sakura and Hinata watched. Though the Hyuuga heiress was distracted.

"What are you doing Hinata?" Sakura asked, seeing Hinata shuffle through some scraps of paper. "Wait, are those runes?"

"Yes, my uncle Hizashi said runes are very good to know and Naruto-kun said those that experienced great suffering could use them. Considering I got kidnapped so someone could use me as breeding stock, and my cousin has hated me ever since, I figured I'd see if that counted."

Hinata had gathered some kindling and then put a piece of paper on it. Sakura saw the symbol ᚲ on it, having no idea what it was. Hinata then checked her rune reference sheet.

"Kenaz."

The paper sparked and ignited much like chakra paper reacting to fire chakra, and burned to ashes. The kindling did not ignite with it.

Sakura gasped then smiled. "Way to go Hinata, you got a reaction."

Hinata smiled too. "Paper doesn't seem to be the best tool to work with. I should probably get some stones like Naruto-kun uses."

"I wonder if I can learn any of these new skills." Sakura mused. "I don't have a kekkei genkai or massive chakra levels, and I never experienced a lot of suffering. Being made fun of couldn't possibly count, otherwise everyone could use runes. I need to find something that works for me, otherwise I'll never be able to help Naruto stop Sasuke-kun."

Meanwhile, Ino was trying to cut through some bamboo poles set up by Tenten. She swung her sword and cut through one pole while knicking the other, but that the extent of her attack.

"Okay, you need to build up your upper body strength if you want that sword to be anything other than a decoration." Tenten advised.

Ino imagined herself all bulked up like a stereotypical body builder and shook the image out of her head. "I'm not getting all muscular."

"You won't. Have you ever seen an overly muscular kunoichi? The training we get is designed to ensure we gain the skills we need without losing our feminine looks. Kunoichi need to blend into the crowd more than male shinobi after all." Tenten assured her.

Ino took another breath before swinging the sword again, getting the same results as before. "It's weird. I mean, the sword is light and moves well, but at the same time it almost feels like it's resisting me."

"Resisting you?" Tenten repeated.

"Yeah, like it doesn't want me to swing it."

"And yet you're the only one who can use it." Tenten pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe there's something I'm missing. I should talk to that Frey guy about this." Ino said.

With that, the sword felt warmer and actually seemed to wiggle in her hand. Due to surprise, Ino released it but the sword didn't drop. Rather, it hovered in front of her with the blade pointing down. Then it took a swing at the bamboo, cutting through all poles.

All four girls just watched in awe.

"Whoa, didn't see that coming." Ino claimed, smiling a little.

"A sword that... does its own fighting?" Tenten asked, not sure how to feel about this.

"This sure gives you a heck of an advantage Ino." Sakura added, walking up to her friend.

"There are a lot of people in my clan who would be afraid of a weapon like this." Hinata noted.

The sword then went rigid and moved around just as several beams of light shot out of nowhere, intercepting and deflecting them. The girls yelped and jumped back, getting into defensive stances, while the light beams hit invisible targets that shimmered and became visible. Said targets looked like people, four in total, but they had pointed ears and alabaster skin with hair that looked like it was made out of either gold or silver. Each one wore robes like the ones ninja wore to cold places, except these appeared to be made out of prisms that created rainbows each time the wind so much as touched a thread, and each held an ornate bow in their hands.

"You're not from this realm, are you?" Sakura asked, immediately getting that vibe from these people. And yes she knew it was weird how she had already met several people from other dimensions and would likely meet more in the future.

"Girl, you possess the Sumarbrandur. We are in need of you." One of the newcomers said to Ino, putting down his bow.

"Who are you? What are you?" Ino asked, trying to hold the sword like she knew what she was doing with it. Honestly she wanted it to do its own fighting again, but for some reason the sword wasn't doing that this time.

"We are light elves from Alfheim, servants of Lord Frey." Another newcomer clarified.

"You know Frey?" Ino and Sakura asked together.

"Yes, and we are in need of the one who wields his sword."

"This is his sword?" Ino asked.

"That is Sumarbrandur, one of many weapons destined to play a role in Ragnarok. Right now though it is needed for an important job."

"What job?" Ino asked.

"Time is of the essence." A light elf insisted.

Ino frowned. "This sword has been a family heirloom for generations. I'm not giving it up without a good explanation why. And if Frey wants it so badly, he can ask me himself. I know for a fact that he can."

"I didn't say Lord Frey needed you, I said we did."

All four light elves fired arrows, only they turned into light and wrapped around Ino and the others like chains. The girls tried to get them off but their arms and legs were bound together making them fall over. The light elves grabbed Ino and Sumarbrandur then disappeared in a flash of light, taking the Yamanaka heiress with them.

"Ino!" Sakura called as the light binds on her faded, releasing her along with Hinata and Tenten.

"Neji and the Uchiha, and now her?" Tenten said, confused.

"This was different. Sasuke-kun and Neji were recruited, this was an abduction. I don't think this was connected to Loki." Sakura said.

"We still need to tell Hokage-sama." Hinata insisted.

Sakura and Tenten nodded and the three left towards the hokage tower.

Walking through the forest was nothing new to Naruto, but the ground around Konoha was considerably flatter compared to this terrain. Here he had to go uphill and downhill and even across some small crevices. It's like the village Angi was from was the one bit of flatland surrounded by mountains.

'No wonder places like Iwa and Kumo are difficult to invade.' He thought, following a river through one of the crevices downhill.

"Notice that?" Angi asked, pointing to some tree stumps.

"They look broken. Like something big tore through them. If they were chopped down the top part would be smooth, not splintered." He replied.

Angi nodded. "I don't know anything in this area that can do that, so I think we're close to the threat."

The wolves seemed to agree, though that didn't mean they were happy.

The crevice ended into an open area where the water flooded a portion of grassland, more of a marsh on the edge of a pond, with no visible way for the water to drain so it probably emptied into a sinkhole or something. There were a couple of trees in the center and some logs around, looking like they belonged to the shattered tree stumps, and a bit of raised land on the northern side covered in grass.

Sitting under the tree was something that Naruto had never seen before. It was shaped like a man and had enough hair to rival a lion, but it was so big Naruto would be lucky if his head reached this thing's waist. The skin was a dirty gray, like unwashed concrete, and it had moss covering patches of it, including its hair. The face was human except the nose was cartoonishly big, and two sharp teeth poked down from the mouth like small walrus tusks.

"Oh dritt, that's a troll. And it doesn't look healthy." Angi warned.

"How can you tell?" Naruto asked.

"That's not moss on it's skin, those are sores. Get it on your, you're just as sick as the wolves were. It might even be connected."

"So what do we do?" Naruto asked.

"Trolls hate sunlight, so for it to be out here means it's either trying to die, or someone's making it stay here to guard something. My guess is the latter, and that someone can only be bad news. Possibly a danger to the villagers."

"So if that thing stays, innocent people will be in danger?" Naruto asked, and Angi nodded. "Alright."

He stepped up to the troll, hand in his pocket. The troll saw him and grunted unhappily, like Shikamaru when he was annoyed, then stood up making itself look taller. Naruto created several clones that surrounded the troll, confusing and angering it, causing it to lash out and smash a few. The real Naruto got in close to the leg.

"Fehu!"

A glow spread over the leg and then the rest of the body. The moss fell off the troll's body, releasing purple mists like when he cured the wolves. The troll paused and looked over itself, sounding like it was better, then it looked to Naruto and tried to smash him too. A substitution with a log saved the whiskered blonde, putting him back by Angi.

"What were you thinking? You just made it stronger!"

"I thought he'd be grateful and go away." Naruto defended.

"A troll's idea of grateful is not ripping your body in two, you idiot!"

A log was thrown overhead, prompting them to duck. They had to split up as the troll ran towards them. The wolves went to fight it, keeping it occupied, and Naruto threw in more clones to help them out.

Angi took some of the wood laying around and used magic to sculpt it into a pole weapon. Naruto wasn't an expert on weapons, but it reminded him of a naginata or a monk's staff with a ring at the top. She spun it and ran at the troll, digging it into the beast's back. The troll yelled and spun around, backhanding her away.

Naruto dawned his valkyrie armor and sword and came at the troll. The troll grabbed him and hurled him upward, spinning in the air. Thankfully, Naruto had wings so he could right himself in the air, but when he did he saw something. Over the hill and past some more trees there was a building similar to the one he had seen back in Jotungipt that Angi had called a longhouse, only this one was blue and had some light around it.

'If someone put this troll up to this, I bet that's where they are.' He thought, flying down and jabbing his sword into the troll's foot. The troll bellowed, already bleeding thanks to the wolves, and when Naruto pulled his sword out the troll began to run off into the woods. Or more like limp away as fast as it could while the wolves chased it off.

"That was easier than I thought." Angi noted. "My guess is they must have gotten one of the weaker trolls, thinking it would be easier to curse and control."

"Speaking of which, I think I know where 'they' are." Naruto said, going to the hill. Angi followed.

After a while the longhouse came into view, and Angi encouraged Naruto to stay out of sight. Some people were gathered outside, though they didn't look normal.

"Those are light elves." She whispered to him. "They come from the realm of Alfheim, a world where the sun never sets. They normally never come to Midgard because nighttime unnerves them."

"Then what are they doing here?" He whispered back.

A light elf that appeared to wear a crown came out of the longhouse while a group of elves brought along someone tied up. Someone that Naruto recognized.

"Ino!" Naruto called out, only for Angi to tackle him into some shrubs. Several light elves looked behind themselves and drew their bows. Agni immediately said some words Naruto didn't understand and a bunch of crows flew out of the trees, loudly cawing. This seemed to trick the elves enough who went back to the show.

"Be quiet! Let me hear what they're saying so I can tell you what they're doing with your friend!" Angi sternly whispered to him, giving him a look that he was certain could have made the kyuubi obey her. Thus, he nodded, and she moved away from him to listen better as the crowned elf spoke.

'What's Ino doing here? Why would she be taken too?' Naruto asked, keeping an eye on the platinum blonde in case they did anything to hurt her.

"Okay, they're talking about Frey and Freya, saying that the two gods left something that they think is inside that longhouse. They're not sure what, but it's supposed to be something Freya used to make the valkyrie stronger... wait, no, I think he said it was some way to get to Valhalla without dying. Whatever it is, it's inside there but they can't unseal the lock. And now he's say that girl might have the key."

"So they just want her to open a door? Then what?" Naruto asked.

"That depends on if she... survives unsealing what they want." Angi informed him.

Naruto growled and got ready to interfere, but Angi grabbed his arm.

"Hold it. Right now you're outnumbered. If you wait until she's about to unseal the lock, all their attention will be on that. That will give you the best chance to stop them without needlessly endangering yourself or her."

Naruto huffed but nodded, admitting she had a good idea.

The light elves forced Ino to the door of the longhouse, which had an insignia on it. There was a design of a snake eating its own tail and nine runes down its body forming a circle. In the center was an ax crossing with a sword to make an X shape. They pushed Ino in front of it and said something firmly.

"I can't understand a word you're saying." She protested, struggling to get free.

One elf held out a sword and pointed to her before miming jabbing the sword into the door.

"You want me to open this thing with my sword? Why should I?"

All of a sudden, the golden sword came out of her hands and hovered before the door.

"Huh? I'm not doing this." Ino noted, though the elves paid it no mind.

The sword pierced the first rune, resulting in a blue light. Then it pierced the second and there was more light, and so on. Nothing dangerous was happening or appeared to be on the verge of happening, still Naruto moved in closer staying outside the longhouse.

"What's that sound?" He asked.

"What sound?" Angi asked back.

"Can't you hear it? It's almost... like music, but moaning at the same time. I think it's coming from the door."

"I can't hear a thing."

"What's that?" Ino asked, not really expecting an answer. The light elves looked annoyed but didn't answer. "I know for a fact some of you can speak my language, so can one of you try to explain what that singing is about?"

"She can hear it too?" Naruto asked.

Angi hummed in thought before she stepped forward. "Change in plans, follow me and don't do anything stupid."

"What?"

Angi ignored him and stepped into the longhouse, calling out something. Immediately all light elves turned to her with bows ready, and she shouted something in the local language that was unexpected. Naruto saw her look oddly authoritative right there, like a commander putting rowdy subordinates in their place. She radiated power like only a hokage could, and the light elves stepped back. So far the only thing in the building that had no reaction to her was Ino's sword, having just now pierced the sixth rune.

The light elf with the crown stepped forward, demanding to know what she thought she was doing. Naruto got the impression he was trying to assert dominance over her, but Angi was giving no ground. She gestured towards him and the only word Naruto understood was 'valkyrie', then gestured to Ino and said 'Frey'. The light elf however said 'Loki' among other things.

"You work for Loki?" Naruto asked.

Angi held up a hand without looking at him, and said something. The ninth rune was cut and the sword returned to Ino's hand. The door began to slowly open, and the singing got louder.

"Ino?" Naruto said, going up to his former classmate. None of the light elves tried to stop him.

"Naruto? Where are we? What the hell's going on?"

"I honestly don't know what's going on, but we're in the western lands. Someone brought me here to deal with finding a treasure, why did they bring you?"

"Search me, I guess one of my family heirlooms used to belong to that Frey guy and I think they want it back."

"None of them can hear the sound coming from inside." Naruto pointed out, gesturing to the door and then the crowd. The door showed no room or exit, just an empty void colored a shimmering gold and silver and red. Like a child spilled a bunch of glitter that floated in the air.

Angi walked up to them with the light elves quite attentive and displeased. "Okay kids, I've convinced them that since you two have 'special connections' and can hear something the rest of us can't, that you two should go into the room first and see what the big deal is. As long as you don't take out anything, the light elves will agree to not go in with you. Can you just go in and take a look for a minute and see what all the fuss was about?"

"Who are you?" Ino asked, the light binds being removed from her so now she could move.

"An ally in these lands, but I can only do so much. Now, can you swear that you'll just go in and take a look without taking out anything you don't already have on you?"

"You expect us to go into a strange room and trust that you won't lock us in there?" Naruto asked.

"Whatever's in there, they want it, so why would they lock you in there with it? I'm thinking that if there's a song in there that only you can hear, then maybe you're the only ones who can get whatever's in there out. So just go in and give it to them and they'll bring you back home. You can forget about the problems in this country and focus on your own. Doesn't that sound fair?"

"We might as well do it. What do we have to lose?" Ino asked.

"Fine, but any funny business and there will be trouble."

With that Naruto and Ino stepped into the glowing room. Then the door swiftly closed before either could get out.

Right away several light elves were up in arms, until the runes on the inscription began to glow again. But this time it was different. The one at the end of the snake glowed, then faded and was replaced by the next one up the body. This repeated until finally the one by the snake's head glowed and faded, then the crevice between the two doors glowed and began to creak open.

'Weird, why would it close after them only to reopen after a timer? What did Frey put in there, and why could only they hear it?'

The door opened and the two shinobi stepped out. Neither one seemed to be holding any kind of treasure, but there was something different about them.

"What happened?" Angi asked.