The night sky hovers over a large and bright city. The city sat near open waters with a large statue standing in the middle of it about a few miles from the coast.
A port city that is essentially the criminal underworld personified. The streets run rampart with crime as if it were an everyday walk in the park. Small-time gangs to organized criminal organizations control the city, and the local government is as corrupt and rotten as the criminals they were sworn to fight against.
A paradise for the opportunistic and wicked, a living hell for the weak and those with morality – And a perfect place to hide for those with more questionable backgrounds.
People from all walks of life come and go into this city; The opportunists who's looking for their next score, the unfortunate who suffer in the city, your everyday for-hire mercenary, those who simply who don't have anywhere else to go, and many more.
Within this City of crime and excessive sin, one individual stands out from the rest; An innocent soul tempered with justice and determination, a soul that could change the fate of Roanapur. For better or worse.
=== Roanapur ===
In one of the poorer districts of Roanapur, a young blond man stands in the shadows of one but many alleyways scattered across the district, in his hands is a pile of fruits.
He peeks out of the alleyway briefly, eyes darting out into the streets.
People walk the streets, minding their own business. None of them seem to see the young man hidden in the alleyway.
The blonde sighs before looking down at the pile in his hands with clear glee.
"...Thank kami for actual food!"
This is the words spoken by the young man called Naruto, gorging himself on an apple as if it he hasn't eaten in days.
Which is accurate for his current situation.
Naruto Uzumaki, Hero of the 4th Shinobi World War, Savior of the Leaf, The Child of Prophesy, and Dead last of Team Seven.
The same Naruto that is currently hiding away in a dark alleyway, like a thief lurking.
'Heh, that should teach that fruit vendor for being such an ass!' Naruto referred to the fruits that he stole from a fruit vendor a few minutes ago. Of course, he had a good reason for stealing!
He was an asshole, plain and simple.
Honest!
Seriously, all he wanted was to buy something to eat with the little amount of change he got from knocking out a thug who thought he'd be easy pickings.
But no! The vendor refused him service for thinking of him as a bum who's looking for freebies. Well, he did get freebies... Without the vendor's permission.
That, and he was hungry to the point of starvation.
It's been about a week now since he's been in this city and he wasn't exactly packed for long-term survival, so all he had on him is a plain black V-neck shirt and some baggy gray pants that were a bit loose that he stole off a clothing rack.
His long and spiky hair during his younger years was now cut down to resemble a buzz cut. At first, he wanted to not resemble his father so much– He likes it but he missed his old hairstyle. Maybe after some time, he'll grow it back to how it used to. Style it differently, maybe.
Arriving in the middle of a jungle in a different world shocked him but when he saw the city just a few miles away from where he woke up, he regretted leaving the jungle for it.
'The people in this city feel... nauseating. The amount of negativity and evil here is just... Ugh, makes me wanna throw up''
Naruto grimaces at the thought of the inhabitants. The city itself felt oppressing and sickening from what he's seen on a daily basis from the short time he was unwillingly brought here.
Even the less 'lawful' side of the towns and cities that Jiraiya brought him to during his training trip years ago, was nothing compared to the overall vibe of this place.
'Dammit... I should've been more careful!' He thought back to the beginning, the cause of this mess he unknowingly put himself in...
=== Previously, in Konohagakure ===
"Neh, Kurama? Can I ask you something?" Naruto Uzumaki, at twenty years old, asked his life partner within his seal.
"Hm?" Kurama, The Nine-Tailed Kyubi, grunted from his interrupted nap as he answered his container with closed eyes. "What brought this on?"
Said Container hummed as he put his hands on the back of his head "During our study period with Iruka-sensei – We were reading up on the history of the Hokages and we reached the part about my dad, then I remembered how he teleported from one place to another without any effort during the war using his 'Flying Raijin Jutsu' "He references the 4th Shinobi World War about 2 years ago.
"I see..." The fox mused "And you wish to recreate the 4th Hokage's Jutsu?"
"Yeah! Think about it; I could go from one place to another in a blink of an eye with a 'Rasenshuriken' then bam!" Naruto put his fist into an open palm, creating a hard slap "Hit in such close distance that there's no way to escape it! Plus, I wanted to honor dad with something... Other than my hair, of course."
"And what about your mother? I don't think she will be pleased in being left out"
"Hmm... I think keeping my last name as 'Uzumaki' even though I had the option of taking my father's last name, should've made her happy, right?"
Somewhere in Paradise, a smug and satisfied Kushina nods in approval at her son's decision of keeping her clan's name with a sweat dropping yet happy Minato behind her, pleased that his son is taking up and continuing his two techniques; 'The Rasengan' and 'The Flying Raijin Jutsu'
"Besides, I've already asked Kakashi-sensei if dad left some notes about it and looks like he did!" Naruto fished out a bunch of scrolls from his jacket as well as a jar of ink and a paintbrush, spreading them across the grassy ground of the Training Grounds he is in.
Asking Kakashi-Sensei for them was easy! One of the many perks of being Hokage, he supposed.
'Being the son of his late sensei and 4th Hokage may have played a big part in its relinquishment by that 'Copy Ninja'" Kurama pointed out as Naruto starts reading up his father's notes as well as practicing to perfect his writing to be as fluent and smooth as possible for his Fuinjutsu.
Time passed with him focused on recreating the 'The Flying Raijin Jutsu' based on his father's notes, his knowledge in Fuinjutsu, and his writing skills was inadequate and lacking when he started. Luckily, the ability to retain information with his 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu' really helped on speeding up the process.
What took Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and Prodigy, to be a Master in 'Fuinjutsu' for years while being aided by his sensei; Jiraiya, The Toad Sage and Master in Fuinjutsu in his own terms.
Alongside very helpful advice and knowledge from his wife, Kushina, a prominent member of the destroyed Uzumaki Clan; One that was famous for its creative usage and skill with Fuinjutsu.
Even just to recreate the basic form of 'The Flying Raijin Jutsu' originally created by Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage of Konoha, took him a year.
It only took two months for Naruto Uzumaki and his legions of 'Kage Bunshins' (Shadow Clones) to achieve the same progress altogether.
"All right! Our first prototype seal is ready!" Naruto finished up his first proper Fuinjutsu prototype seal based on his father's notes. Many frustrating days and nights of either creating duds or accidental explosions was a nightmarish journey, but it was worth it!
Sadly, the amount of property damage he caused with his Fuinjutsu mishaps got him a lot of scolding's from Sakura and Kakashi-sensei, as well as a lighter bank account to pay for the repairs.
"Hmph, just don't blow us both up again if you get it wrong, kit" Kurama was confident that this experiment will fail, he's seen enough sealing mishaps during his time with Mito Uzumaki, his first container, and Kushina Uzumaki to know that the first prototype of any seal will likely not go well.
His jinchuriki nodded at the warning, but he wasn't too worried about it. He already faced numerous explosions right at his face from his training and experiments with Fuinjutsu.
What's the worst that could happen?
Naruto plastered the seal onto the ground before jumping back a few meters, he then formed 'The Seal of Confrontation' as he pumped his chakra into the seal to activate it.
To any outsider, the blonde looked as if he merely did the 'The Shunshin'(The Body Flicker) and flickered out of sight.
=== ? ===
When Naruto pumped chakra into his prototype seal, he expected to see his surroundings blur by like how 'The Shunshin' effects his vision when going spontaneously fast. Then end up at the other side of the field.
Instead, in the blink of an eye, he ends up in some empty black void just like how his father described in his notes whenever he used the 'The Flying Raijin Jutsu'
Strangely, he appears to be floating in this void. But Naruto grins at the results of his seal.
'Yata! I did it!' At first, he celebrated over his successful(?) first experiment before he quickly realized something crucial.
'I CAN'T BREATHE!'
Naruto panicked as he felt his throat and lungs being constricted, as if something is preventing them from taking in air.
Then, he felt his body being slowly crushed by some sort of pressure upon him. The pain of his body being crushed and unable to breath, this was not what he expected nor mentioned in any of his father's notes!
'Kurama!'
"I got you, kit!" Kurama allowed his chakra to intertwine with Naruto's, activating their 'Nine-Tails Chakra Mode'.
The now golden Naruto greedily take a series of long breaths, panting slightly.
'Thanks... Kurama...'
'No problem, kit... But where in my old man's name did you take us?' Kurama asked, his vision sharing with his human partner, allowing him to see out of it and seeing the black void around them.
'No way... Dad wrote in his notes that the 'Hiraishin' allows them to go through a dimension to teleport, so this-.'
'- Must be said dimension' Kurama finished Naruto's line of thought.
'Yeah...' Naruto agreed with Kurama's words
'Kuso! (Shit!) How do we get out of here?! More importantly, how do we go back!?' He cursed under his breath.
'No clue. Not even I nor any of my siblings have ever experimented with the inner workings of dimensional travel. The only one I could think who would've done so would be my old man'
'Damn... Well, I'll think of something to fix this, no way we're dying here!'
'Just don't take too long, kit – This isn't the Elemental Nations where chakra is abundant; Here, this place feels... empty. As if nothing is here. So, I'm not sure if we can keep our mode on indefinitely.' The fox gave out his warning as he focused on keeping up the mode as long as possible.
'Got it, Kurama!' Naruto took his partner's warning seriously and began thinking up on how to get himself out of this mess that he created.
Some time has passed for the two, as they done everything that can help them before the void presumably crushes them into oblivion.
First, Naruto tried to recall back to the marked seal that he planted back in the training ground, he felt the former feeling of his body being sucked into something like a vacuum then unexpectedly, he then felt like he was violently spitted out – Pushing his body forward tremendously like a bullet.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Thanks to low-gravity, or lack thereof, Naruto and Kurama experienced how it was like spinning uncontrollably for an hour.
'Oh, I'ma be sick' The jinchuriki held in his lunch from spewing out of his stomach from that horrible experience.
'Grr... Don't. Do. That. Again...' Kurama groaned from inside his seal, feeling his partner's dizziness and stomach sickness into his own.
They then tried to explore where the space that they are in but after half an hour of walking (flying? floating?) endlessly – They came to the conclusion that this place is infinite cause everything looked the same and nothing out of place came into their vision.
After exploring the vast space of nothing, Naruto was starting to get irritated before his eyes widen then frowning.
'Kurama, I got an idea but you're probably not gonna like it...' Naruto hesitantly told his partner which said partner only huffed in response.
'Hmph, I have a strong feeling that your 'idea' might get us killed.' Kurama blatantly stated his feelings on the matter. For good reason too!
Most of his partner's plans in near-impossible situations like this tend to end up with a plan that could get them both killed.
How Naruto managed to think up these plans on the fly while fighting against opponents obviously more powerful/skilled than him, and came out victorious most of the time, honestly baffled the nine-tails for years.
'...Maybe?' The blonde could only sheepishly grin with a sweatdrop
'...'
Even without seeing it, Naruto can already feel the fox's deadpan gaze on him before hearing a grunt which meant his approval.
=== A few minutes later ===
'Here we go! 'Six Paths Sage Mode!'' Summoning forth the chakra that his ancestor; Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki granted to him, his golden-fire-like aura began to shrink and become to internally focus within himself.
However, due to the situation he is in – He couldn't meditate to gather nature chakra inside a void that lacked it. So, he substituted it with the nature chakra that is naturally within him and his partner's chakra.
Ever since he became the Toad Sage, Senjutsu became a part of his life and after various uses, some of that Senjutsu remained dormant within him when he didn't diminish the amount that he gathered.
A few seconds later, his figure was more golden with black marks stretched across his clothes. His whisker marks thickened into three black rectangles on each cheek with his eyes turning golden yellow with cross-like pupils.
The last thing to note is the nine black orbs floating behind his back along with a staff made of black material in his hands – These are the truth-seeking orbs and truth-seeking bo-staff.
'You ready, Kurama?' Naruto asked in a tone of finality.
'Ready, kit!' His partner's confirmation only gave Naruto the queue to begin.
The Six Paths Sage commanded his truth-seeking orbs to hover in front of him, forming a circle formation.
'All right... Focus...'
The nine orbs began to slowly rotate clockwise, it started off slow with the orbs still being singularly visible.
'Faster...'
In seconds, the rotation speed began to pick up with the orbs itself starting to phase out – Unable to see with the normal human eye. Eventually, the speeding orbs start to look like a circular doorway.
'There!' Using both the Senjutsu energy and Kurama's chakra, Naruto presented his right-hand holding chakra paper with kanji on it.
'Hiraishin!' The blonde formed his left hand into the 'Seal of Confrontation' to activate it.
As a response to this, the circulating orbs started letting out sparks of bloody red – Coloring the doorway red as the void around them begins to rumble and shake.
'Oh crap!' Quickly, Naruto started to apply his Senjutsu energy into the mixture. This turned the color of the doorway from red to orange with the sparks ceasing to exist. A few seconds of orange high velocity circular rotation, the empty middle part of the doorway phased into being.
'Yatta! That worked!' Naruto cheered as his idea of creating a portal similar to Kaguya was a success
'I thought you were going to get us killed by bringing this space down on us' Kurama was both surprised and relieved on avoiding being crushed to bits by the void's pressure as well as his partner's stunt.
'Yeah, it was either this or waiting for something to happen which was unlikely.' Naruto stared into the portal that he just created, the spiraling orange infront of him, obscuring whatever is behind it.
Now, he's come to a crossroad – He can go through the portal and pray to Kami-sama that the portal will take him back home... Or he can stay here.
A step to the unknown or death in the void till his and Kurama's chakra runs out.
But this is Naruto, The No.1 Most Unpredictable Ninja of Konoha. The ninja who often comes up with elaborate plans on the spot and manages to come out on the winning side, most of the time.
He'll take his chances on this one.
'Well... Shall we, Kurama?'
'Not like we have any other choice, Naruto.' Kurama responded with an eyeroll.
'Heh, I guess so...'
With that, Naruto took a leap of faith as he stepped through the portal before it closed behind him.
And like last time, he felt the familiar burn around his body like last time. But he persisted against it. He pushed through the agonizing pain of his skin and organs burning up, feeling as if they were being slowly melting!
Unknowingly, Kurama felt the brunt of the burn through this. Despite his seemingly unlimited chakra supply, even he has limits, and his dense chakra coating around Naruto is disintegrating at an alarming rate.
'Ngggh...!' 'Grrr...!' Both Naruto and Kurama grunted as they continue to push through the portal they created. They only hope that they make it to the other side soon.
Eventually, both of them see an opening at the end of the passageway.
'There, Kurama! Just a little farther! Aaaahhhhhhh!'
'Grrraaahhh!'
The two roared as they made a last dash to the opening, Naruto can feel the dense shell that Kurama made for him starting to break down as his skin directly feels the burn, forming nasty burns along his body. Same with Kurama within his seal, as his remaining chakra plumets to near-death levels of empty.
Finally, they broke through as they no longer feel the scorching heat wanting to burn them to ashes. Instead, they felt the rush of air hitting their face as Naruto experienced his body... falling?
Through half-lidded eyes, Naruto sees the dark night sky around him and barely visible greenery below him.
'Am I... back home?'
The answer showed itself not a moment too late. Instead of the peaceful, sleepy-looking village of Konoha – Naruto sees a large city that lit up the night and an ocean on the side of it.
A city that looked nothing like home.
"That's... not... Kono... ha..." Naruto could only mutter those words as the exhaustion and excruciating pain caught up to him, rendering himself unable to react any further to prevent the fall to his death.
'Naru..? Na...To!" He can only vaguely hear Kurama's words over
=== In an Unknown Land ===
That day when he woke up deep in a crater in the middle of the jungle, only to find Kurama not responding to him, Naruto feared the worst for his partner.
Fortunately, he could barely sense the fox's chakra and presence within him after a minute of searching but unlike the usual overpowering presence that was familiar to him, it felt meager and delicate; As if a sudden gust of wind could blow out the small fire to nothing but embers.
Even now, Kurama was still sleeping – Blissfully ignorant to the outside world.
'Get well soon, Kurama'
Naruto offered some words of encouragement to his unconscious friend unsure if his words will even reach the fox but still did so anyway if only to sooth his own concerns on how long his friend will wake up.
For now, he's all alone in a world vastly different from his own. Buildings unfamiliar to him, strange metal boxes with wheels that move forward without chakra or horses, people speaking in a strange language and so much more. The last two were more recent to him as one of the metal boxes almost ran him over the first time when he entered the city.
And the other proved to be a more pressing concern as he can't understand the locals!
He tried communicating to them but he was either ignored, shouted at, or given pitying looks. Something about those looks felt off to him, as if they were looking at him like they know my situation and seen it frequently.
Those who were more helpful, or annoyed judging by they looked when he asked, locals just pointed me in a direction before saying something in their language then walking off. Naruto followed the very vague directions and he seemed to have ended up in the... poorer side of town.
From his years of travelling with Jiraiya, the poor districts can be as pitiful as it is deadly. Like any decent ninja worth their salt, any resident can be as deceitful and dangerous – Usually with numbers and environment advantage on their side.
'Well, atleast the slums have room for anybody with no money or identification to their name' His eyes dart over to the alleyways and barely functioning buildings, spotting a bunch of shady figures squatting and hiding in the shadows. His heighted senses can tell that they're sizing him up – Either looking for anything on him for a score or cause he's a stranger intruding on their 'territory'.
'Remember what Pervy Sage said when going through these areas; Look confident and sure of yourself, and most muggers will think twice.' No need to change how he strides since this is how he usually walks, just got to intimidate them a little.
His slight glare and the glint of his kunai must've worked since they backed off after a moment of hesitation. Walking past their obvious hiding spot, he continues to look for any more possible sketchy individuals and some shelter for the night.
That was when he decided to sleep in an abandoned store. The numerous entrances via broken walls, doors, and windows made it a bit difficult to sleep while keeping his guard up for any intruders that may come in.
This isn't the first time he slept in the slums though. Back in Konoha when he got kicked out of the orphanage when he was only four years old before the Third Hokage, whom he fondly called 'Jiji' (Grandfather), caught word of his apparent homeless state after three weeks before he gave him a home to stay in.
From Naruto can remember, his former orphanage's matriarch got 'mysteriously' fired from her job before being replaced by a new matriarch the next day. Soon after that, 'Jiji' kept on visiting him weekly, which made him happy and feel less lonely.
It was obvious that Jiji was guilty of not noticing sooner and kept up his visits as a way to say sorry and to make up for lost time.
But during those weeks of living in the streets was one of the hardest and terrifying parts of his childhood; Having to sleep in the cold streets while keeping an eye out for anyone looking to rob him or just beat him to an inch of his life. Not to mention only being able to eat from the nearby forest or trashcans since the village's stores refused to sell to him, with everyone in close proximity calling him 'demon' and 'monster' or just keeping their distance with those glares...
That ingrained experience still carried over to present day, even after everything he's done for the whole shinobi world and their overwhelming approval towards him should've made those dark memories a thing of the past.
But only after accepting his darkness, he also accepted those painful memories that it made him who he is today instead of trying to reject it.
The first night passed through quietly, surprising since he sensed the shady characters from before just loitering around the store for a few minutes then walking off. He kept his kunai close to him that night.
After getting some good shut-eye, his top priority was to find some way to communicate with the locals – Either by finding somebody who spoke his language, which he highly doubted anyone from his world is here, or reading up some books to get started on learning the local language.
Seeing as the first one was highly unlikely; he started his search for a library of sorts to learn while also finding some way to feed himself as he seems to be stuck here for quite a while.
=== In the 'Poor' Districts' alleyways ===
Back to the present, hiding in the shadows of the alleyway he took refuge in as he ravaged the food he stole.
He reminisced during his meal; He couldn't find a library or anything similar after a week of searching around the city. It's like they don't even exist! The only building that resembled a library looked like it's been abandoned for decades alongside a school that carried the same state of disrepair.
Another problem is his chakra still isn't working so he couldn't run to the nearby jungle to forage for food since it's so far from the slums. Nor use any of his jutsu to speed up the information gathering without feeling a painful burning sensation in his body.
'Damn it... This could've been so much easier if I could use my 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu''
Letting out an irritated sigh, he munched the last bits of the fruit in his hand till only the core remained. He tossed it away, looking at the pieces of fruits huddled up with his left arm.
'Still got to save some for later.' He made a mental note of that, making sure to ration the rest once he goes back to the store.
'Guess I'll just go back to the store for now, it's really late and I'll continue the search in the morning...' Just right when Naruto pushed himself off the wall of the alleyway, his ear picked up the sound of a metal can hitting the cobblestone ground.
His head whipped to the direction of the sound; his shoulders squared with his guard up. It isn't the first time he got mugged in an alleyway in this city, and it probably won't be the last.
His thoughts of facing a thug or two went away as Naruto saw three shivering children, hiding deeper in the alleyway. Two of them are clearly scared just by looking at their fearful eyes, but the other one was more cautious of him and pointing a makeshift glass shiv at him.
Wearing dirty and hole-ridden clothing, their overall behavior and state is clear that these kids are street urchins or something close to that.
A staring contest ensued as Naruto felt the awkward situation with the silent stares of the children upon him. But once he analyzed them a bit more, their eyes were obviously flickering to the pile of fruits in his arms.
'...They're hungry.'
Seeing the desperation in those eyes resonated with him for some reason but then he remembered as to why.
'Ah...'
It reminded him of himself during those weeks of living in the streets of Konoha.
The cold during those windy and raining nights...
The darkness of the alleyways...
The hunger in his stomach...
And the fear for his life...
"..."
"...Hey." Naruto softly called out to the three, who flinched at his voice. He nods down at the pile of fruit in his left arm "You want some?"
Naruto couldn't let these kids starve, not when he has food to share. So, what if he has barely anything left for himself; He could always steal more later.
The three kids looked with skepticism in their eyes, not one showed any movement to take up the offer. The blonde ninja couldn't really blame them; A stranger in an alleyway offers some food to a bunch of kids, especially in a city like this.
Sounds like a child kidnapping in the works, if he's being honest.
Still, he couldn't let them walk away hungry cause they were cautious of him so he put on his best disarming smile that he often used with the kids, and his fangirls, back in Konoha.
"I won't do anything, if that's what you're worried about." Naruto tried once more, trying to look as disarming as possible.
This time worked, as the cautious one merely glance back to his fellow kids and whispered in the unfamiliar language that Naruto cannot understand before he slowly stepped away from the shadows of the alleyway and approaching the blonde ninja.
Seeing him more clearly with light, the child looked about ten or eleven years old with a shaven head and dark brown eyes along with fair skin that was stained with dirt. What struck Naruto with pity was how skinny he was and sunken his cheeks were. Clear signs of malnutrition.
The young cautious bald child stopped just a few meters away from the blonde, the shiv shakily pointed at him but he didn't really feel threatened by it.
The distance between them was wide enough that he couldn't reach the kid with his arms unless he moved from his position, which he will not do since that would probably spook him off.
Instead, Naruto only extended his left arm holding up the fruits for the kid to take if he reached for it.
The child was still staring at him, slightly glaring even; As if he's waiting for Naruto to do something suspicious or sprung a trap on him.
But nothing, he only offered the fruits with a disarming smile as his blue eyes observed in silence.
Gulping, either out of nervousness or the aspect of eating one of the fruits, the child started to slowly reach for a fruit with his free hand. He grabbed one and yanked it back so fast, one of the other fruits fell from his arm.
"Whoa, just take it slow, okay? They ain't going anywhere" Naruto lightly teased the young child, which earned him a confused expression.
Oh, right. Different languages.
The blonde instead let the arm stay where it is, allowing for easy access to the fruits.
And so, the child only picked more and more of fruits till his tiny arms could not carry no more. The kid then backed up slowly, keeping his eyes on him, as he returned to the other two who looked relieved and ecstatic.
Looking down, the only thing left was a pair of bananas.
'Welp, another run tomorrow then' He mentally sighed in his head before looking back at the three kids, who just disappeared from the shadows of the alleyway 'And they're gone too.'
Letting out a breath, he put the pair of bananas into his jacket before making his way back to the store which he calls home for now.
'Guess I'll keep looking tomorrow for something to help me. Hope those kids will be okay.'
Naruto then walked out of the alleyway, missing three familiar small pairs of eyes from the shadows trailing him.
=== Near the Run-Down Store ===
Two days has passed since his encounter with those kids, every time he silently stole some food from an unsuspecting vendor/store clerk – He always came back to the same alleyway every night to see if the kids came back. He doubted they would but one can hope.
What he gave them last time couldn't really sustain their hunger for long and he'd feel pretty guilty if those are what he can only give them when he has the capability to get more for himself.
To his happy surprise, they did come back and just like last time; he offered the stolen food to them. At first, the bald cautious one went first to grab the food again; Looking to ready to bolt it for any signs of movement from him before going back to the others and sharing what he grabbed from Naruto.
But yesterday, the three actually came up to him, nervously and obviously suspicious of him, but that's clearly a step up from before!
Seeing the kids eating his share filled him with a bitter joy; He's happy that they're getting food from him but they shouldn't even be starving out here on the streets in the first place.
At first, he thought where their parents or caretakers where; It's clear that the three looked nothing alike, so they must not be related. To his guess, they either ran away from their homes or are orphans.
Looking back at the three, he can see that they didn't finish their food and instead wrapped it up into a plastic bag.
'Maybe they'll eat it later.' He mused to himself.
"You kids take care now!"
He gave them a goodbye wave and one of them, a youngling with tan skin, actually responded with a meek wave of her own before they scampered off to parts unknown to him.
Naruto got up and started walking back to his place, thinking to himself the lack of info or ways of translating what he's saying to the locals these past two days. He can only be irked at his lack of success but he'll keep on searching till he finds something; Naruto isn't one to give up so easily.
Just as he is about to see his makeshift residence after turning the street corner, he sees a figure at the distance at the entrance of the rundown store. A closer inspection showed that it was a short black-haired woman in her mid-twenties he presumed. Yet one thing stood out to him, her facial features and skin color were different from the locals.
Unlike the local women's skin color being more tannish brown as if they were out on the sun for a while and sleeker facial features with slightly narrow eyes, this woman's skin was pristine white with more roundish and plump facial features with roundish eyes.
Her state of appearance was a mess; Her clothing was nothing more than a greenish dress with patches of different colored cloths stitched onto certain parts and a pair of flip-flops. Her short-frazzled hair looks oily and dirty as if it hasn't been given a good wash in a long time.
'Haven't seen her around here before...' The blonde ninja hugged one of the nearby walls, its shadows concealing him as he saw the woman looking into the rundown store but appears to be hesitant to enter.
'Hmm... What's up with her?'
Curiosity fueling his actions, he stealthily walks up behind the distracted woman. His mischievous nature slyly told him to give her a little scare for the heck of it, but his rational side won by explaining that scaring a stranger in a place like this might not end well.
He stops a few meters away, close enough for her to hear him.
"Uh, excuse me?"
His sudden words made the woman flinched as she quickly turned around with slight panic in her brown eyes.
"Oh kami!"
Her spooked words were spoken in a dialect that Naruto found very familiar, it took him a second to realize that he just understood what she said!
'She's speaking my language! Or something close to it'
This reveal filled the blonde with hopeful joy, he finally found someone that he can talk and understand in this city without doing charades.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you!" He quickly worded out an apology, seeing the woman backpedal once he saw him. He didn't want the only person that he can understand to be spooked away.
His words seem to affect her as she stopped backpedaling but appears wary of him. For a moment, the woman scans him from head to toe as Naruto tracks her eyes.
Deciding to take the first step, he speaks out in a questioning tone "Are you looking for something?"
His words break her out of periodic inspection of him as she widens her eyes briefly before she talks in a melodic voice "Y-You speak Japanese?"
'Japanese?' Naruto thought to himself, unfamiliar with the word but decides to roll with it "Uh, yeah, yeah! I am!"
"You don't look Japanese, though" Her eyes narrow slightly at him, her suspicion evident in her expression
"Well, my parents weren't really what you call 'normal' in terms of appearance" He briefly flashbacks to his Father's and Mother's distinct hair colors, bright yellow blonde and darkish red respectively.
"I see..." The woman glances back at the rundown store then back at Naruto "Do you live here, by chance?"
The blonde nods in response as she shoots off another question "Were you also the one that's been feeding three children nearby?"
Widening his eyes at that information, he nods again "Yeah, that's me. How'd you know that?"
"I am their caretaker, and it raises concern if the children surprisingly come back with food in their arms. I thought they stole them but apparently, someone's been giving it to them which is you" The woman explains before her eyes bore into his, staring into them with a frown on her face.
"I doubt you're doing this from the bottom of your heart, so what are your intentions with them?" Her accusation cuts him, with clear distrust. Naruto can see one of her hands hanging behind her, hiding out of sight.
'Probably a weapon'
Judging from her body language, she seems hesitant to draw it. In her eyes, he can read a list of emotions behind them; Caution, Desperation, and most of all...
Fear.
Yet he understands that fear; Just from living a week in this city, it's practically filled with so much scum and darkness that it felt nauseating with his 'Negative Emotion Sensor' , the few passive abilities that he was still able to use while his chakra remains unusable.
"I gave them food because they looked hungry; I can't stand the sight of seeing a starving child when I have the option to share what food I have."
He let out his genuine feelings and intentions on the matter. Naruto didn't expect to be rewarded for his actions, he only did so because it felt like the right thing to do.
If he kept those fruits for himself and leave those kids to starve, he wouldn't forgive himself for doing so.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence permeated over them, the two gaze upon one another under the moon-lit night.
After that silent moment, the woman let out a small sigh as her hidden hand returns to her side before looking at the young man with less guard in her stance.
"I see... Thank you for the food – Both on their behalf and mine." Her words and tone were formal yet genuine from what he can tell.
He smiles in response "It's no big deal, just did what I thought is right."
She returns the smile, but hers was sadder than his. "Doing what is 'right' is very rare in this city. Everybody here is only out for themselves and their own interests." Her blank eyes aimlessly staring at the blonde, yet he notices that he's not really 'looking at him'.
He frowns at her vacant stare, reminding him of seeing it happen to some of his own friends back in Konoha after the war.
Naruto looks up at the night sky before stating "I think you should head on home; I don't think it's safe for a lady like you to wander the streets this late"
She appears to break off from her trance, before nodding in response "Indeed. May I know your name before I go?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet ya!" He introduces himself with his usual greeting-style, complete with a grin.
"Ito Akari. Again, thank you, Uzumaki-san. Goodbye then." Akari bowed her head towards Naruto before turning around and walking off.
"Wait!"
Akari stopped and turned around with a brow raised.
"I know we just met today but uh... I actually need a favor from ya'" Naruto took a risk with this, especially when Akari frowned from his sudden request.
But after a week of unable to read the language or understand the locals in this city, she could be his only hope in this city.
Naruto clasped his hands together with his grin still in place "Can you help me out with something?"
=== A few days later... ===
"-Have that, please?" Naruto awkwardly spoke in English with a light accent to his voice.
"Correct! You read out the entire sentence clearly" Akari nodded in approval at the blonde who whooped in delight
"Yatta! This English thing is a lot harder than the other one, that's for sure!" He fist-bumped to himself with a grin. Who knew learning new languages was this difficult?
"That's probably because English is much more difficult to pronounce and say compared to Thai." She replied back in Japanese with an understanding tone.
Both Naruto and Akari were sitting on two old wooden chairs with the store's only non-broken table in front of them.
On the table is a stack of books and some open notebooks with both English and Thai letters written down onto barely readable and pronounceable sentences,
"You know, when you asked me for a favor – I didn't expect you to ask for lessons." She remarked while scanning his written notes, which looked like something an elementary schooler would write.
Embarrassed at his writing, Naruto scratches the back of his head with a chuckle "That's because everything here is new for me. I didn't wanna end up here but stuffed happened that was out of my expectations and I ended up here."
"Were you brought here against your will?"
Naruto's mind went back to his accidental arrival in the void then into another portal that landed him in this world.
"Yeah, something like that" He nods to Akari words who raised a brow at his unclear answer but seemed to refrain from asking further.
Taking one last look over the blonde's notes, she glances outside of the window which showed the slowly darkening sky.
"That's all the time we have for today" She stood up from her seat, followed by Naruto who nods in gratitude.
"Mhm! Thanks for agreeing to teach me. I doubt I could talk to anyone in this city without ya." He went around the table and grabbed a large plastic bag near his sleeping quarters.
His sleeping area wasn't much, the only valuables he really had nearby was his shinobi outfit, his weapons kit, and his headband that carried the Leaf Symbol on its metal plate.
The rest were basic necessities for him to survive; A blanket and pillow, some extra clothing and food, and some local currency of bills and coins.
Some were scavenged from nearby abandoned buildings, some were stolen, and the loose change mostly came from the occasional thug that tried to shake him down. Often ending with his fist or foot knocking them out.
Honestly, the constant attempted shakedowns were getting annoying for him at this point.
"Here's your pay, as per our agreement." He handed him the plastic bag and she took it with no hesitation.
Akari inspected its contents which contained a various amounts of foodstuffs like fruits, veggies, and canned goods as well as some clothing that looked a little too small for her size.
"...This is more than what I asked, Uzumaki-san" She looked up with a questioning look at the blonde who responded with a wistful smile.
"The extra is for the kids. Since I asked ya for lessons, you sacrificed your time with them for me, so I wanted to make it up to them in some way"
Despite their brief time and mild interaction together, the children garnered a ton of sympathy from him, not because he used to be like them back in his childhood, but because he believes that they shouldn't be living like this.
They should be living free as a bird; having fun with games and friends, cause a little trouble, be curious and explore the world around them. Have this child-like innocence that kids like them should have.
Ya know, like normal kids.
Not scrounging around in the garbage for food or be afraid of every new thing they come across. And have this gaze of paranoia and fear when they look at him.
'That's not how it should be...' Naruto gloomed from his thoughts before his teacher's voice broke him out of his state.
"I... Thank you, Uzumaki-san... This really helps, a lot" Akari looked flabbergasted with her voice carrying a hint of gratitude, bringing the plastic bag closer to her chest as if it were a lifeline.
"No problem! Want me to take you back to your place? This part of the neighborhood isn't really safe if you're carrying something like that all by yourself." He gestured to the large plastic bag, full of items that anyone in this place would desperately snatch for themselves.
He could sympathize with them; The inhabitants of this place tend to look like they've barely ate anything and really down on their luck. However, he's got priorities to focus first.
The Japanese woman stared at him again for the how-many-eth time. The shinobi noted that she's been doing it a lot with him since they met, even more so during his lessons with her.
To him, it felt like she's scrutinizing him for something. Whatever that is, it was lost on Naruto.
Akari briefly closed her eyes and sighed as her face went back to her neutral look "...Unfortunately, you're quite correct on the possibility of me being mugged while carrying this." She paused for a moment before continuing "All right, Uzumaki-san; Let's go"
Noting her brief pause, Naruto nods with a satisfied grin so wide that it forced him to close his eyes, which Akari thought that he looked like a cat that ate the canary.
"Just give me a minute– Don't want anybody looking through my stuff while I'm gone." The shinobi started to pack up his supplies and equipment before hiding them in discreet spots that only the keenest eye will see.
"Very well, I'll wait outside"
She informed the busy blonde who gave her a brief" Okay!" before walking to the front entrance of the store.
Despite Naruto patching up the rundown store's broken-down walls, shattered windows, holes in the ceiling, and a missing door for the entrance with either wooden planks, sheet metal, or thin blankets for both security and comfort reasons. It's in his natural ninja paranoia to atleast store and hide his equipment before leaving.
He mentally thanks Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin for beating this habit into his head in the past, now it's benefiting him in the present.
After a short time has passed and completed his basic routine of securing then hiding his stuff, Both Naruto and Akari are now walking on the streets, with the lady leading the way to her residence.
"Neh, how far is your place, Akari-chan?" The nonchalant question prompts the woman to sigh with a frown.
"Not too far, just two blocks away. And Uzumaki-san, please refrain from calling me that."
"Eh, why not?"
"We barely know one another to be called as such"
Naruto placed a finger in his lips as his eyes closed in thought before naturally giving a peppy answer.
"I think we've known each other for long enough. To make it fair, you can call me Naruto too, ya know!"
Akari slumped her shoulders as she shook her head in slight exasperation
"I'd rather not." Her response was like ice; Cold and unfeeling.
To the average person, that would usually be a cue to stop pushing the matter to avoid offending someone
Fortunately, Naruto is no stranger to conversing with such individuals that seem to have a stick up their ass. One Neji Hyuga, bless his soul in paradise, would be an example he instantly thinks right off the top of his head.
Sasuke too.
"Come on, Akari-chan! Don't be so stingy. You don't have to be formal with me."
"It's called being respectful and having proper manners, Uzumaki-san." His carefree and informal nature seems to have irked the young Japanese woman, as evident by her eye constantly twitching paired with her frown.
The two continued to banter, or bicker in Akari's case, while continuing their walk back to the Japanese woman's residence. Their conversation obviously attracted the nearby locals, preferring to watch the scene infront of them.
Naruto briefly look over the area as they're passing through, seeing the buildings in a much worse state unlike his fixed up homebase that actually look livable in comparison.
But while his area was mostly occupied of thugs and shady-looking individuals; This part of the district seems to cater the less... fortunate, in polite terms.
As they went deeper into the district, Naruto notes the more frequent sightings of people living in clear disarray; Huddling on the sidewalks, or the wooden benches that's barely standing if you're lucky, standing near fire barrels to provide warmth.
Even without 'Negative Emotion Sensing', their expressions and eyes seem to say it all; Misery and despair filled their entire beings.
"...What happened to them?"
Naruto's words prompted the attention of Akari, who flinched at his sudden somber tone compared to the chipper and kinda obnoxious chatter from before.
Looking over to where his eyes are directed, Akari sighed as she looked back to the front with slight indifference.
"A lot of things could've happened; They could've been unlucky to end up here or the city just chewed them up then spit them back out. It's nothing out of the ordinary, really."
The indifferent tone annoyed him but her next words is what really got on Naruto's nerves.
"Don't bother helping them or giving them money, they'll use it for drugs or something else to drown their miseries in. Focus on yourself to survive in this disgusting city lest you end up like them."
"What you said was out of line, Akari."
His displeasure on her words was clear but she ignored it, continuing to display her opinion on the matter.
"But I'm not incorrect, Uzumaki-san... These people will do anything to get their next fix or drunk themselves to death. There's nothing you can do to help them when all they do is dig themselves deeper into their vices just to escape reality."
"Then I'll do something about it! Show them that it doesn't have to be like this!"
"I advise not doing that, Uzumaki-san"
"Why is that?"
"Because whatever you're planning to do is a hopeless endeavor... Or your good intentions will get you stabbed in the back sooner or later"
The two stopped in the middle of the road, staring at one another with frowns on their faces. Naruto looked determined in his desire to help while Akari was stoic in her warnings.
"You say it's a hopeless endeavor, but I refuse to submit to that! Even when life is beating you down, there's always hope if you don't give up!"
"You're not understanding what I'm trying to warn you, Uzumaki-san..."
"I do... I definitely do."
After all, he's tasted betrayal from Sasuke and how it feels like nothing matters in the world... He knows that well.
"Then why do you persist? What do you gain from doing this?" For the first time since this little argument started, her voice began to rise as its indifferent tone started to change into annoyance.
"I just can't stand seeing all of this pain and misery when I can do something about it... Is it so wrong to help a person in need?"
"..."
.
.
.
The silence was broken with a barely audible voice.
"...Then you are a fool, Uzumaki-san"
Right after that, Akari walked off once more without another word. Naruto stood alone for a brief moment before following her, jogging till he reached her side.
She didn't say anything, only turning her head to the side with her bangs covering her eyes.
If he was any younger, Naruto would've pushed more to convince the clearly agitated woman infront of him. Clearly, past Naruto didn't have much tact.
But he held back, for now.
=== Roanapur's Orange Menace ===
Akari was surprised of Naruto's offer. Even more so, when she uncharacteristically accepted it.
It wasn't the first time that a guy wanted to escort her home. Either back in her homeland or here in this rotten city.
There was a time when she was flattered of such gestures. It felt like she was wanted, it made her feel validated. Sought after and desired.
Now?
She felt apprehensive. Skeptical and suspicious during their time walking together.
Especially with the type of people this hellhole city tends to inhabit, something in her paranoid mind felt like it was making a mistake taking this blonde enigma back to her home.
Back to the children...
Even after days of talking and teaching this person, with no clear indications or gestures of other motives; Some part of her still believed that this was a front.
A lie.
A façade.
When is he going to stop pretending?
Why does he keep doing this?
And most of all, will her battered heart finally fall apart if his mask slipped and showed her for whom he really was?
These series of confusing emotions and thoughts kept spurring in Akari's mind as she prepared 'dinner' in the rundown kitchen with the food she received from the blonde. Her small and battered home couldn't compare to your typical house but it was better than the streets or where that blonde is staying at.
The wooden walls and floor were old and rotting, the windows were barred with spare planks and tattered cloth while the space could probably fit about eight adults inside. A single door lead to the bedroom, if you could call cots on the ground as one.
Glancing towards the living room, she can briefly see Naruto entertain and speak with the children on her rickety dinner table.
Well, 'attempt to' would be the correct term.
Her eldest child, the bald one, looked like the one who was most on edge. His gaze was full of suspicion as his eyes wouldn't stray from the stranger that she brought into their home. Occasionally, he would glance towards her with a familiar suspicious look.
Don't give her that look... It's not that this time...
Meanwhile, her middle child, a young brown-haired girl of similar age, was trying to follow her eldest in staring at their guest with the same look. Except she gave up after a few minutes and decides to gorge herself with the snacks that Naruto brought.
What an endearing little glutton.
And of course, her youngest. The one who convinced me to bring this fool into her home. Her eyes peel over to a small tan-girl with short black hair that is just the definition of cuteness and purity. Just having her by her side is enough to feel like she's been cleansed and purified from this rotten city, even though it's temporary.
Said young girl is listening to Naruto whom is doing very expressive hand gestures. Whatever they were speaking about is too inaudible for her to hear but it seems to caught her little girl's undivided attention.
Why her youngest was so fixated and trusting of Naruto was beyond her. People say that young children can tell who was 'good' and who was 'bad' from a single interaction but she didn't believe that for a second. She was still so young, so naïve, so innocent; One drop of kindness was enough for her to trust him.
Innocence like that will have her swallowed up in a city like this, chew her up then spit her out till nothing of her remains but a broken and hollow shell...
Hence why she took her and the others into her protection. To prevent these last bastions of light from being corrupted by the nauseating darkness of Roanapur.
Though she was very weak, she will protect them.
Even if it meant sullying her hands and body to do so.
=== Roanapur's Orange Menace ===
Dinner was an awkward affair, that's for sure.
Originally, Naruto didn't really intend on entering Akari's home when he offered to escort her back. Other than wanting to make sure she reaches home safe and sound, he was just planning to study and practice his language skills. Especially English.
Naruto? Studying? Surprising, yes. But he's gotten used to high-speed and difficult studying ever since being Hokage involved in a lot of reading of papers and reports. Who knew his end-goal could be such a cruel form of torture.
Thank you Iruka-nii-chan for teaching me though. Atleast the ramen we ate together every night was worth it.
The more he reads, the more he becomes more proficient in both Thai and English. This means he can finally start gathering information on how to get a way back to his own world. Right now, though, his skills are less than sub-par so he'll get better after trial of error and practice!
But back to the present. The whole atmosphere on the dinner table was awkward. Akari was minding her own business as she ate, the bald one was glaring daggers at him, one was busy stuffing themselves with food, while the last one was-
"Um… Mister?"
-Was innocently oblivious to everything around her.
The youngest looked up to the blonde ninja with a shy look as her eyes were glued to him. She called herself 'Maria' when we briefly spoke to one another and appears to be the only one willing to converse with him.
The glutton, 'Bertha' as Maria informed Naruto to call her, was either ignoring him in favor for the food on the table or tolerating his presence.
Meanwhile, the eldest whom Maria fondly called as 'Big Brother Jacob', looked ready to shank Naruto with that shiv he has. No thank you, he was not looking forward to have sharp glass stuck in his gut tonight.
Lastly, Akari appears to be trying to ignore everything that's happening but he can see her glances toward him and the young one.
"Yes?" Naruto replied with what little English he knows as Maria called out to him.
"Um…" Maria shuffles for a moment, as if trying to find the right words to say before looking back with her head slightly bowed "T-Thank you…"
Naruto titled his head to the side, a bit confused. Thankfully, Maria pressed on with her words "F-For the food… Akari brings more food now because of you now so…"
Struggling with her words, Naruto can't help but smile fondly at the little one. He rose his hand in an attempt to pat her head, how could he not when faced against such sincere cuteness.
It struck his heart with sadness as he saw her twitch with a wide-eyed look at his hand, one that was filled with fear…
Immediately, he switched targets as he placed them onto the table instead.
"No problem, Maria-chan! Is happy help you" Despite his horrible English, his words and forced smile eased her discomfort and gave a shy nod in return as she went back to eating.
Looking back at the other two children, Jacob dropped his glare into a long stare while Bertha's suddenly sharp eyes glance towards him before going back to eating.
Akari spoke up for the first time after sitting down as she now finished her own plate "All right children – Naruto-san has to go now as it's very late". Without waiting for his own reply, she stood up and gestured towards the door "I'll show you the door."
Of course, Naruto complies as he mirrored her own actions. He gives one last smile and a wave to Maria before following. It was clear that most of them were uncomfortable having him here with them – With the exception that is Maria while Bertha was most likely tolerating his presence. Jacob's opinion was obvious.
Maria responds with a shy wave to my own.
As both of them reached the door, Akari's voice dropped lower as to not let the children hear "...Do not expect this to be an everyday occurrence, Naruto-san."
Her tone was sharp yet guarded against the man, her eyes narrowed at his own.
"Our relationship is one out of business – You learn how to be fluent in English and Thai; You provide me with payment. Nothing more, nothing less." Her words were harsh and final, as if not wanting to hear a counterargument. Yet, Naruto can hear the anxiety and fear behind the veiled words…
"I understand, Akami. But…" Naruto turns to Akari, staring at her cold and distant eyes with my unwavering own "If you're afraid of me; Afraid of me hurting them, then don't be. As I promise that I won't purposely cause them or you grief."
Putting his thumb over his chest, Naruto gives Akari a determined look.
"And I will never break a promise, not if I can help it!"
With that statement, Akari could only stare at the man before falling silent, keeping her head down as if to hide her eyes and the intent behind them. Her hands gestures to the open door, silently signaling the man to leave.
Knowing that pushing forward for an answer will only lead to further distrust, Naruto nods as he walks out the door – Back out into the trash-ridden streets of the slums. Hearing the door slam behind him, the blonde pushes forward with his strides.
A minute passed as the back of our blonde ninja becomes smaller and smaller till he is no longer in vicinity of Akari's home. Soon after that, a figure steps out of the shadow – Looking over to the direction where Naruto departed, they stare for a moment before their gaze lingers over to the house.
With a smirk, their heavy boots clunk loudly against the ruined road before finally reaching the door.
"Hmph."
Man, it's been so long since I actually posted a chapter in this site.
Hello there, I'm FictionMilitia - A few probably remember me when I was still actively writing and positing stories on this site. Well, after some time to myself and focusing on being a regular in University after failing a major back in my first year - I finally decide to go back and write up stories again. If you followed any of my other stories - Don't worry, they'll get their own update and chapter releases soon enough. Well, the ones that I haven't discontinued or in the process of rewriting that is.
Now onto the main Author's note on this story - Black Lagoon x Naruto. A weird matchup, I know, but it seems like my type of story to read; A heroic character is dropped onto a gritty world where injustice and corruption runs rampant! Now, if any of you seen the manga or anime for Black Lagoon, don't worry, Rock himself will still have his own spotlight in this story - I actually quite like Rock as a character, especially the development he goes through after each arc; Something I intend to do with Naruto as well... Ooh, the interactions and inner monologue I can write for either of them (Rock mostly) once they meet each other would be something to look forward to.
As for pairings... Well, I'll keep that to myself ;)
For now though, I'll see you later in the next chapter! So long.