(Naruto's home)
The Dragonzord had once again dawned the flesh of his previous host to his powers and was staring at Naruto as he slept "You've trained in mind, body, and soul Naruto, but it's time for your true test." he said as Naruto's master morpher glowed.
(?)
"Naruto." a loud voice said echoing.
Naruto woke up finding himself in the sand "Well this is different." he said picking himself up "Where the hell am I?" he asked himself seeing someone standing in a stone arch a few feet away.
"This is where you are going to be tested." a woman in yellow ranger armor said to him.
"Mighty Morphin Yellow?" Naruto asked in surprise "But, you're dead." he said as he was pretty sure she was no longer alive.
"Funny you're about to share the same fate." Trini said taking out her power daggers.
Naruto reached for his morpher only to see his red gem and his morpher's metal was pure green "I don't know what this is, but it's morphin time!" he said changing into his red dragon armor and charging Trini.
Naruto was able to clash as her daggers were like kunai and his dragon dagger and power sword were more than a match for her daggers.
The two kept battling and while Naruto had skill, Trini had experience.
"You are good Naruto Uzumaki, but are able to withstand the weight of being a ranger." Trini said to him as she disappeared.
"What the hell is this?" Naruto asked before seeing his morpher change becoming pure red with stripes "Ok this is getting weirder." he said before seeing all the sand from the desert he was in vanish leaving him in a forest in mist "And now this is creepy." he said before hearing voices and soon growls "Ok I can't morph at will and I am somewhere where I met a dead person." he said to himself before looking at his morpher guessing it was his Jungle Beast red ranger armor "Better morph to be safe." he said becoming the Jungle Fury red ranger.
"You dare call upon the tiger spirit without knowing how to fully use it, pathetic!" a masculine voice said from in the mist.
Naruto was surprised as he saw a tiger monster before him "Who are you?" he asked as this person looked familiar.
"Whiger, former general of the Phantom Beasts, and user of the White Tiger spirit." Whiger said to him.
"You faded from existence, how are you here?" Naruto asked as Trini was dead and Whiger had faded away from existence after losing his rinzin after helping Casey Jones.
"Enough talk!" Whiger said charging him and attacking him with his claws.
(with Sasuke)
"Are they dead?" Shizuka asked Tsunade as they found Naruto comatose and when Sasuke was unresponsive they went to check on him only to find him in the same state.
Tsunade didn't answer, she was currently looking through Naruto's symbol power notes as she was curious about the healing power of the symbol power he used on Orochimaru.
(with Sasuke)
"Ugh, I swear you are such a dick!" Sasuke said as he fought against the blue ranger 'I swear it's like I'm not even fighting a person.' he thought as this person he was fighting was bland, emotionless, and had a fighting style that seemed like a combination of training and combat.
Sasuke kept battling the copy following his movements closely as while he was bland as paper his skills were sharp.
(with Naruto)
'What is this?' Naruto thought to himself as the way Whiger fought was odd as he knew he was being completely serious, but it was the way he moved that caught his attention, like he wanted him to move a certain way 'Wait a second.' he thought in realization "You're testing me, this is a test." he said in realization.
"You finally caught on." Whiger said in begrudging respect "You are being tested along with Sasuke Uchiha, it is rare for a ranger to be part of more than one team, besides Tommy Oliver, you and Sasuke are the first rangers to ever hold more than one power and while you both have performed admirably, you are being tested to see if you can push that power." he said to him simply.
Naruto was silent as he knew he was lacking in at least two ranger powers those being the Mystic Force and Jungle Fury.
"You have a long journey before you till you become a master, but you have earned the right to the tiger style." Whiger said as the cub was young, hard-working, passionate, and had much spirit, it was like looking at a younger version of Casey "Also a gift from Casey's master, he used the fox spirit himself." he said as he showed Naruto two scrolls one red and one orange both having Pai Zhua master marks on them "You will have them once you awaken along with these." he said as he showed a purple, yellow, blue, and white scroll "A ranger with their spirit should know how to call upon it, farewell cub, Casey believes in you so I will as well, stand tall and proud tiger." he said as he faded away.
(1 hour later)
"So you're here too." Sasuke said as he ran into Naruto.
"Yep, I've met a dead ranger and a dead enemy/friend, what about you?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Blue Samurai and I fought an old enemy that is somehow here Zergain." Sasuke said having fought and beaten the general enemy of the Ninja Storm rangers.
"Where the fuck are we!?" Naruto asked no one in particular not liking this place.
"I can answer that." a feminine voice said calling out to them as a white magic circle appeared and teleported them.
(?)
"I swear if this is another test, I am going to chidori someone!" Sasuke said in annoyance.
"Get in line." Naruto said to him.
"My my both of you lack manners." the female voice said as an elderly woman appeared before them.
"Oh shit, you're the Mystic Mother." Naruto said in surprise.
"Who?" Sasuke asked getting a slap to the back of the head.
"She was Rita in the dark ages, she was an enemy of the MMPR and later became this to the Mystic Force." Naruto said to him as she was not someone you wanted to piss off.
"Yes, and I am here to deliver your next test." Rita said to him as she made a magic circle appear before Naruto and Sasuke, and what stood before them shocked them.
"A purple red Mystic Ranger?" Naruto said in confusion seeing the red Mystic Force ranger only his color was purple instead of red.
"Leonbow?" Sasuke said seeing the red counter to Koragg's armor.
"Darkness can not exist without light and light can not exist without darkness." Rita said as she knew of the darkness and the light very well and how thin the line was especially for these rangers.
Naruto and Sasuke morphed facing their counterparts.
"Think we have a chance?" Sasuke asked Naruto.
"Actually yeah." Naruto said getting a look of surprise "They can't do the things we can with their powers." he said as Sasuke soon caught on.
"Dual wolf attack!" Sasuke yelled firing from his shield and eyes.
"Legendary red ranger mode!" Naruto said as his copy soon did the same "You can fight like the red ranger, but you can't fight like me!" he said summoning his staffs making both magic staff and lion staff into a pair of twin swords like he did in his fight with Neji "Dual Phoenix swords!" he said with a smile.
Rita watched in approval as these rangers weren't just copies they were able to use the powers of their predecessors and make them into their own.
"Sasuke, this is taking too long, time to fight fire with fire." Naruto said looking at the Leonbow armor.
"And darkness with darkness." Sasuke said as they switched.
'A little less stubborn than most rangers.' Rita thought smirking to herself remembering Zordon's idea of a team with attitude 'I might be wrong.' she thought seeing the anger and ferocity both had.
Before Naruto and Sasuke could deliver the final blow their opponents disappeared.
"You have shown creativity and adaptability a ranger's greatest asset." Rita said as they were developing nicely "Your next test is coming Naruto, be ready." she said as she vanished.
Sasuke caught on quick "I've been tested by all my ranger powers what about you?" he asked curiously.
"All except Samurai and Dino Thunder." Naruto said wondering what those tests were gonna be.
"Wonder what those tests will be." Sasuke said before he vanished.
Naruto said nothing as he waited till he found himself in a grassy field looking at the white ranger "So who am I speaking to, Trent, Evil Trent, or the Evil White Ranger?" he asked as all those were fair options given he met the Evil White Ranger last time.
"Hmmm you are funny, but I'm Evil Trent." Evil Trent said to him.
Naruto knew this was the version of Trent made because of the White Dino gem, but there was a difference between him and the Evil White Ranger, Evil Trent was smart, cunning, and honestly a dick he was basically like how Sasuke was before they all became rangers and Evil White Ranger was a savage and brutal on the battlefield.
"Aren't you gonna ask what your test is?" Evil Trent asked him curiously.
"Would you tell me?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Probably not." Evil Trent said to him.
"Ok then answer me this, why am I being tested?" Naruto asked remembering that this had happened before to Tommy himself when his black dino gem broke.
"You have been given power kid, this is to see if you're worthy of it, each ranger is given power and they prove their worth along the way, but you've been given too much and haven't suffered like the rest of us." Evil Trent said to him seeing the glare in Naruto's eyes.
"I'll admit, I never did anything as grand as saving the planet, but I saved my village, made a team, and I HAVE suffered my whole life, you don't get to dismiss that!" Naruto said angrily.
"So did Trent Mercer, I was what he was before that laser hit the white dino gem, that was by pure chance, can you say you could've done better with that kind of evil?" Evil Trent asked wondering what his answer would be.
Naruto was silent knowing the history of the white dino gem knowing that its power was pure evil, he often wondered why it worked so well for him or what it meant about him on some level and to top it off he had been ignoring a certain evil inside of him for some time "No probably not." he said to him.
Evil Trent smiled "Acceptance is a powerful thing kid, let me give you a piece of truth before I go, even after he was freed Trent was a little cocky with his dino ranger powers, maybe he was darker than he realized or maybe the gem helped reveal what was hidden beneath the surface." he said before he vanished.
Naruto felt like he didn't know which way was up or down anymore as each test was confusing yet somehow simple at the same time, he knew the next test was his final one, but he was dreading it.
(with Sasuke)
"He's being tested?" Haku asked Sasuke as for a ranger to be tested was both common and rare as all rangers were tested in some way, but to see their worth and test them in different unexpected ways past getting their powers was rare.
"Wonder if we'll be tested." Shizuka said as it was possible as technically they were compatible with these powers and didn't necessarily earn them.
"If we get tested, it better not be in some asshat way." Zabuza said as his talking sword was crazy enough and tested his patience daily.
"Can you go back?" Kakashi asked Sasuke as their sharingan could allow them to enter Naruto's mind.
"First thing I tried, whoever is doing this wants this to be private." Sasuke said to him.
(with Naruto)
"Tea?" Naruto asked seeing a cup of tea on a table, he looked around seeing he was in a dojo, before he saw kanji on the wall for fire, water, wind, earth, and nature "I guess this is the Samurai test?" he asked no one in particular.
"Test is a bit excessive." a man said appearing on the other side of the table.
"I don't know you." Naruto said to him as the man didn't seem like any ranger fitting anyone he knew.
The man chuckled "I am Jaden Shiba's father." he said introducing himself "We're a lot alike you and I." he said to Naruto.
Naruto sat down but didn't drink the tea.
"Samurai is the highest rank a ninja can get in my world did you know that?" Jaden's father asked him curiously "The premorph attire of the Samurai rangers are black gi, we start them from the base level and train them." he said to him.
"Is there a point to this?" Naruto asked not seeing what he was getting at and honestly, he thought he was rambling.
"There is, do you ever wonder which you are more of, ninja or ranger, because kid for my generation and the ones previous to us, it was always which we were more of, Samurai or Rangers." he said as being Samurai meant they had a duty to stop the muggers, but being rangers meant they served a greater calling like all the others.
Naruto wondered about that, he took off his headband and looked at the leaf symbol critically along with his now fully restored morpher.
"A dual life is often the hardest to lead, take my word for it as a samurai ranger I was a leader, but as a father I had responsibility to my kids, I'm not sure if I did the right thing in the end or did the best I could, but I am proud of what my kids accomplished, you've more than lived up to the legacy of the power rangers Naruto, you have nothing to prove to us." he said as he began to fade "Guess my times up, hope I don't see you too soon Naruto." he said to him as he vanished.
Naruto took his words to heart and soon left.
(?)
"Oh c'mon the test is over, what is this!?" Naruto asked finding himself in a void.
"Even when people think things are over, they're never really over." an amused voice said to him.
Naruto turned around and saw Tommy Oliver "Dragon zord?" he asked curiously.
"You've met a few dead people and that's your first guess?" Tommy asked him teasingly "No kid I'm the real deal." he said to him "You've done a good job with that master morpher." he said as he was watching closely on Naruto's progress and the boy made him very proud.
"Thanks." Naruto said unsure of what else to say.
"Now this will be your final test." Tommy said morphing into his green ranger armor "You've had your powers for months and have trained diligently, but will it be enough to beat me?" he asked seeing Naruto transform into his MMPR red dragon armor.
"Time to find out." Naruto said knowing this would be his toughest battle ever.
Both readied their dragon daggers and watched the other closely before charging each other.
"Is this the best you can do?" Tommy asked in slight disappointment as he thought Naruto would use the power sword as well to give himself an edge.
"Not even close Tyranno Rasengan!" Naruto said using his free hand hitting Tommy in his shield dead center inside the diamond.
'He didn't use the sword on purpose.' Tommy thought smiling as that was a clever trick as that rasengan used the power of MMPR and Dino Thunder, which together had more than enough power to break his shield "Impressive." he said as that attack now left him in a vulnerable state "It's Morphin Time Zeo Ranger 5 Red!" he said transforming into the red Zeo Ranger.
"Go go, Samurai!" Naruto said as he changed into the red Samurai armor.
Both readied their swords and struck the other furiously with speed and power they both felt each vibration from each clash.
"Fire smasher!" Naruto said mid clash his sword gaining much more power "Tiger disc!" he said adding his disc to the fire smasher.
"Powering yourself up." Tommy said smiling as he was having fun as both continued to clash Tommy needing to be careful as he felt the heat of each of Naruto's strikes.
"It's Morphin Time White Tiger zord/Jungle Beast Spirit Unleashed!" Tommy and Naruto called out together.
"Time to see who's the real top cat!" Naruto said hoping he could pull off this next attack "Jungle Chucks powered by animal spirit!" he said as his spirit aura coated his nunchucks.
"Saba!" Tommy said as he focused his powers into Saba as he began to teleport.
(with the others)
"He's charging up with Morphing energy!" Tsunade said as Naruto was powering up to a severe degree.
"What the hell is he doing in there!?" Sasuke asked in shock as Naruto was really pouring out power.
(with Naruto)
"I'm gonna break that damn shield." Naruto said in exhaustion as he and Tommy destroyed each other's weapons and were now relying on hand-to-hand, Tommy had the most experience, but he had chakra.
'This kid, his style is good, but it's his stamina that is the real impressive thing, he ever gets to my level of mastery in martial arts and he will be a real force of danger.' Tommy thought to himself as Naruto had true talent while he had experience on his side.
Both panted before they looked at each other "Dino Thunder Power up!" they said in unison "Super Dino Mode!" they said once again in unison and charged roaring in pure primal fury.
(1 hour later)
"Kid you put up a decent fight." Tommy said as both lay on the ground demorphed "Man you certainly lived up to my expectations." he said with a grin.
"That means a lot coming from you." Naruto said as to be acknowledged by your hero was something else entirely.
"I'm no different than any other ranger kid, sure I may be more of a veteran, but it doesn't matter how much we did, it matters that we did it, 'Once a Ranger Always a Ranger' isn't just a motto, when you stand up to evil and fight, you're no different than I am." Tommy said as he understood that he was a legend, but he did what any other ranger would've done when the time came for someone to step up.
Naruto honestly thought he just got cooler saying that.
"Well, Naruto it was an honor to meet the new heir to the dragon power I had, stay safe, keep fighting, and never give up." Tommy said adding that last part knowing Naruto was never one to give up, it was one of the many reasons he was worthy of that morpher.
Naruto watched as Tommy faded away and soon returned "Dragonzord?" he asked getting a nod "Can I ask what this is?" he asked him.
"This Naruto, was a test to see and earn more power to your ranger powers, you may be worthy but you still have a ways to go before you unlock everything." Dragonzord said to him presenting him with the Samurai Rangers Black Box and the scrolls he won from Whiger "Rita also sent this, it is for you and Sasuke." she said as both unlocked the next step in their Mystic Force powers.
Naruto nodded "Guess this thing isn't loaded is it?" he asked referring to the Black Box.
"Nope can't make it too easy, plus you need the Gold Samurai ranger." Dragonzord said to him as Naruto would have to learn tiger style from the scroll, the Black box would need to be programmed, and in all honesty, the only power truly given to him was the Mystic Force power as when he used legendary mode his body was forcing itself to maintain that power.
(Uzumaki Compound)
"What the hell?" Naruto asked seeing everyone in his room.
"You gave us quite a scare Naruto." Kakashi said as he was worried Naruto would've died a while there.
Before anything else could be said all the supplies Naruto had in his coma state shot out of his morpher.
"You will not believe what happened." Naruto said to them.
(1 week later)
"Remind me to kill Kakashi for thinking he's funny." Zabuza said as they were on a protection mission as his genin recently turned chunin were brought in for extra protection given the woman was technically a princess who was usurped by her uncle.
"Could be worse." Naruto said as he was actually interested as the land of snow had chakra armor and he wanted to study it see if there was any relationship between it and their ranger armor.
"Bet you feel at home here." Sasuke said to Haku as they were in her element, she had home field advantage with her snow and ice.
Haku couldn't deny that as her powers felt right at home here, and with the cold weather, it'd make using her techniques easier and more effective.
"I think you speak for just her." Tsunade said as she was pretty annoyed as her powers over nature were not strong enough to be used on the frozen and dormant nature here.
"I gotta ask why are you here?" Sasuke asked the Senju woman.
"Because being dead means I have no actual mission records." Tsunade said as second chances were bittersweet as during her return she had to re-earn her status as a medic as there were some upsides as Shizune was head of the hospital and she assigned her patients worth her time that the other doctors couldn't solve and it was so much better than dealing with the doctors that thought they could show her 'a thing or two'.
"Can I ask why Kakashi sent all of us?" Sakura asked curious as to why Kakashi so many ninja.
"Security for a politician." Zabuza said as it was both annoying and necessary "Is pasty face still outside?" he asked as he sent Sai up ahead and killed all his little infiltrators he found.
Sakura went upstairs and saw Sai was a good distance away.
"Think we'll find more rangers?" Shizuka asked Naruto curiously.
"Probably not." Naruto said to her as it was hard to find and judge someone's worthiness of being a ranger.
"It might be more than just being worthy kid." Zabuza said to him "Let me be honest I still can't believe this chose me." he said as he summoned Saba "I am the villain of my own story, yet I was given a second chance, I think my life turned around when I met some dumb kid who wore too much orange when we met." he said with a smile as Naruto turned his life around in more ways than one "It's not about being worthy, it's about trying to be something more." he said to them.
(1 hour later)
"I swear I am freezing my ass off." Naruto said as he and Haku were in their respective Mystic Force armor looking for the princess.
"It's not that cold." Haku said to him as they walked.
"How's Brightstar?" Naruto asked her curiously.
"He's adorable." Haku said as she often summoned him, brushing his mane, and feeding him some apples "Have you tried to summon Catastros?" she asked as he was a zord Naruto or Sasuke could use as the mighty steed had a connection to both Koragg and the Red Mystic Force ranger.
"I've thought about it, but I don't have a connection to Catastros." Naruto said knowing that the steed was picky about who it let ride them.
Haku admitted that it was next to impossible to summon a zord without the right requirements as besides the zords linked to certain powers each ranger had, auxiliary zords were outside of Naruto's range as they had no set power and Naruto couldn't build them from scratch, the samurai zords were the exception given they were the size of medallions and expanded due to symbol power, Naruto did what he could using the weapons to become their zords but they were still limited.
They soon found the princess her face on the snowy ground.
(few minutes later)
Naruto was pushing his chakra outward to keep the princess warm as a sick princess would not do anyone good.
"Can I ask you something?" Koyuki asked them as they walked, she didn't hear them say no so she took that as a confirmation "What is this, because it feels much different than chakra armor." she said as when she was a little girl, she had seen her father fiddling with machines to make the earlier prototypes and this seemed much more advanced than what she was used to.
"Our armor is unique there are a select few who can wear this armor and even then the armor is rather choosy and who uses it." Haku said as that was the truth as each ranger team was different and had different requirements, her general guess was that because she used ice something similar to snow that it recognized her as possible candidate for the White Mystic Ranger.
"That reminds me of the Swords of the Mist." Koyuki said getting their attention.
"How so?" Haku asked as her master rarely talked about his previous unit.
"The swords were designed for a specific type of person, some were sentient and some had some otherworldly power." Koyuki said to them.
Naruto wondered if those swords would have any reaction to the morphing grid as Zabuza had been trying to use the White Ranger Power with his Executioner's Blade, but he had been having no luck, which wasn't surprising given Saba was the real sword to the White MMPR Ranger and the power was toward pure skill.
They were all brought out of their thoughts when a track appeared.
"Haku, summon Brightstar now!" Naruto ordered as Haku did as ordered summoning the Unicorn as she got on Naruto put the princess behind her and that was when they heard it "Go!" he said slapping the Unicorn's behind making it run 'Damn no time to change into Dino Thunder!' he thought as he started running.
(Naruto's seal)
Kurama stared directly at the Mystic Firebird as it glared and screeched at him demanding him to help Naruto 'I should introduce my brother to this thing.' he thought wondering how Chomei would react to a giant bird made of fire.
"Do I even need to point out to you that if Naruto dies, you die too?" Dragonzord said to him "And don't insult me, I know you can revive, but be honest, I know being here in more preferable to dying." he said as all tailed beasts could reconstitute themselves, but he thought death would be an unpleasant thing for him which is why he had given Naruto chakra in the past.
Kurama huffed angrily.
(with Naruto)
Both Haku and Koyuki were amazed by the heat Naruto was letting out and saw his magic staff glowing.
"Galwit Mysto Motro!" Naruto said as beneath him appeared the Mystic Speeder, but it seemed to be roaring with power as if the engines were literally roaring.
(with Zabuza)
Zabuza was looking at Saba in wonder as he had been thinking of HOW he could use him as with his executioner blade he was great with silent killing allowing him to use the giant sword to make a decisive and critical blow, but Saba changed that dynamic as it was a much shorter sword.
"What's on your mind?" Tsunade asked him curiously.
Zabuza normally would've dismissed a brat, but given she was technically twice his age he kept his trap shut "Nothing." he said to her.
"Thinking of that other assignment?" Tsunade asked him curiously.
Zabuza was even more silent now, but after a few moments he nodded "It's a matter of principle, plus up until I met the kid, I didn't think it was possible." he said to her.
"How long did Kakashi give you?" Tsunade asked him curiously.
"Two weeks." Zabuza said to her as it was small but understandable.
"Naruto mastered a jutsu and pushed past its limits in a matter of days less than half a week." Tsunade said reminding him of how Naruto beat her "And don't forget about yourself Zabuza." she said as she understood Zabuza a little better after meeting and training with him.
"What do you mean?" Zabuza asked now confused.
"You are a ranger, from what I knew of your profile, you were a low rent thug, with no morals and self respect." Tsunade said to him seeing him scowl at her "But look at you, you have regained your honor and have become better as a man and as a ranger." she said to him.
Zabuza appreciated the words of encouragement.
(with Naruto)
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how screwed are we?" Haku asked as Doto stole something very dangerous from Naruto.
"I'd say about a million." Naruto said as he was in his red dragon MMPR armor, but it was missing something, the dragon shield.
"How is it possible for the shield to be stolen?" Haku asked him curiously.
"The dragon shield is adaptable." Naruto said as in reality any ranger belonging MMPR could don it, but given chakra armor and ranger armor worked on similar fundamental principles, Doto's armor must've been close enough.
"So we're chakra restrained." Haku said motioning to their stomachs "You lost a critical piece of your ranger armor." she said pointing to his missing shield "And we have a crazy princess." she said as the princess made no sense.
"You know I can hear you right?" Koyuki said from the cell across from them.
"Oh, I hope you can." Haku said glaring at her from behind her helmet.
(with Sasuke)
"Man you snow ninja are a pain!" Sasuke said as they had all the advantages given this was their country.
(with Kakashi)
Kakashi had been wondering something given his earlier encounter with Itachi's recent village, he had judged him and his morpher declared him innocent, he had looked over all the Anbu data around that time 'More forgeries.' he thought to himself as he knew it had to have been lord third or the peons he worked with, and Sasuke had told him about what Itachi told him, he hadn't gone to the third yet, but this was terrible information to sit on.
Kakashi was an anbu captain, he knew dirty work and village secrets better than anyone, but this was next level 'I suspect Danzo.' he thought as Hiruzen would not readily kill an entire clan or order their kin to do it, that screamed Danzo 'If those two idiots helped him, 'convince' Itachi, I may just kill them myself.' he thought thinking of Hiruzen's other teammates from way back when.
Shizune soon came in with paperwork "I'm surprised you don't use your sharingan to finish early." she said as she found it rather odd as she had seen sharingan users work like that.
"And what memorize every tedious line on paper." Kakashi said as he scoffed "I have memorized a thousand jutsu, let's not change that to paperwork." he said jokingly.
(with Naruto)
'What the hell is the matter with you, you colossal moron!' Dragonzord said to him mentally 'You lost your damn shield, how the fuck did that happen, I take a nap and you drop the whole damn ball!' he said as he was able to sense the extension of the green ranger armor.
Naruto was thinking of how outgunned he and Haku were when they boarded the blimp and got suckered by the ninja and the princess' acting to try and stab Doto.
'Let me be clear, you will get that shield back…even if it kills you!?' Dragonzord said as it was an insult to him and if his host lost it he'd get it back.
(the seal)
Kurama was chuckling a bit "Not all you hoped he'd be?" he asked mockingly.
"Oh please." Dragonzord said as he laid back "Do you know how many times a ranger has lost their power or something else?" he asked as it was basically a right of passage at this point "Plus that shield is just armor it's not the whole thing." he said as that was a bit of a misnumber as his shield was mostly a focusing lens for the green MMPR power, which was why it seemed so powerful, it was an extension of the power the green ranger had.
"That is what the shield is?" Kurama asked curiously as Naruto had another form with a shield.
"Rangers with additional pieces to the traditional armor usually have more power or a special power." Dragonzord said as that was very much the case very often.
(with Naruto)
"Please tell me you have a better idea!?" Haku asked as Naruto was building up morphing grid power and being tied to him didn't make her position ideal.
"Nope gonna overload these chakra suppressors!" Naruto said as he gathered power.
"Seriously have you not found a better way to do that yet!?" Haku asked as she heard he blasted Tsunade in her chest, but from what she heard it sounded like a painful process.
"Who would I test it on?" Naruto asked her and before she could answer he blew up.
(few minutes later)
"Give me back my damn shield!" Naruto screamed running past two black dragons made of snow 'Note to self steal this jutsu for Haku.' he thought as that jutsu was powerful.
Haku was having similar thoughts as while not possessing the sharingan, she noted the hand signs, and while Ice style was difficult, it was fundamentally the same with each technique besides changing the way the ice formed and being Zabuza's student, she knew the water dragon technique well, if those two techniques had any principles in sync with this technique she could do it.
(with Zabuza)
Zabuza watched the clash seeing Naruto and Haku battle, he thought this was a nice test as Naruto was facing his own power and Haku her own element 'If they can't get past this, they won't survive what's coming next.' he thought as this person fought on their level so it'd be a good test.
(few days later)
"You didn't." Sasuke said to Naruto as he was in a hospital bed having taken most if not all the hits in the fight "You made a feudal lord a ranger!" he said to him as Koyuki was now the gold samurai ranger "You do realize she literally has the one armor that can revolutionize her nation right?" he asked as the gold ranger was meant for an intellectual and a person with a showy attitude, that described Koyuki to a T.
"Ok it's not that bad." Naruto said to him.
"Can she even program the black box, I thought that required all Samurai?" Sasuke asked as they were missing yellow and pink and without their unique discs they couldn't program the black box.
"It does, but hey now we have an inside connection, plus we are getting our own movie and tv francise." Naruto said as he gave a copy to Koyuki of ranger history and she was gonna get it into production.
"How much of the royalties do we get?" Sasuke asked curiously.
"40%." Naruto said to him as he saw that as a great deal.
"Naruto, c'mon were going." Zabuza said as he came in and Naruto got dressed "We're going on our next mission." he said to him.
"What about Shizuka?" Naruto asked wondering why she wasn't coming.
"She's visiting her former village while we go to the Mist, I recently heard some news." Zabuza said to him.
(few days later)
"Be careful in this mist." Zabuza said to him "It distorts chakra like my hidden mist jutsu." he said as it was a reason the mist developed so many sensors as living in the mist constantly made people adapt to it.
"Do you know where we are going?" Naruto asked as Zabuza actually shook his head.
"It has been a long time since I've been back, it's very possible they changed locations in that amount of time." Zabuza said to him simply.
"And who are we looking for?" Naruto asked as Zabuza had been a little vague on the details.
"The resistance." Haku said to him "Zabuza left the mist early on as he saw the Mizukage for what he was and after his departure, the bloodline purges got even worse." she said as she didn't think that was possible.
"So what anyone from a clan is their target?" Naruto asked as that was a fundamental thing as most clans possessed either unique techniques, bloodlines, and in cases like him unique bodies, as the Uzumaki clan was famous for stamina, high chakra, and longevity.
"Basically." Zabuza said to him as that was the basic answer for people who killed others in the purges "Listen there is someone there that is worthy of being a ranger." he said as if the Mizukage was dead it presented an opportunity.
"Must be some person if you think they're ranger worthy." Naruto said as Zabuza never spoke highly of anyone who didn't earn it.
"They are and don't use your full name here." Zabuza said as he searched around.
"Why?" Naruto asked as he wasn't famous or anything.
"Naruto the Uzumaki clan bordered the land of fire and water, before the destruction of your clan they were allies to this land as well as the land of fire, if people discovered your unique clan heritage, they may try methods to keep you here to breed or kill you." Haku said as it was always one of those options for people like them.
"The woman we're meeting might have Uzumaki blood in her." Zabuza said as he knew of the Uzumaki clan as well, but some of their descendants lacked the traditional features the clan was supposed to have, Naruto himself was a shining example as he had all the traits except the red hair.
"I do." a female voice said in the mist "My great grandmother was an Uzumaki." she said as she made her presence known, the woman looked about 16-17 and had spikey auburn hair "This is the reinforcements?" she asked looking at Haku and Naruto.
Both of them morphed at that moment and their weapons glowed.
The woman looked impressed.
"So I heard Yagura died." Zabuza said to her wondering if it was in fact true.
"He did, Itachi Uchiha burned him." Mei said to him.
"Amatarasu." Naruto said knowing about the technique "Oh where are my manners, I'm Naruto and this is Haku." he said introducing themselves..
"No last name?" Mei asked curiously.
"Uzumaki and Yuki." Zabuza said pointing to them respectively.
"What happened to not telling anyone?" Naruto asked as he thought he was following his lead.
"If I thought she was a threat, I wouldn't have come here." Zabuza said to him "Mei is the leader of the resistance, many are people have a kekkei genkai or are people who believe kekkei genkai shinobi are no different than them." he said to him.
"I thought the Yuki clan died out." Mei said looking at Haku "And it's nice to see the Uzumaki are still alive and well." she said looking at Naruto.
"Listen Mei blind faith time, this kid can increase your chakra astronomically, he's a jinchuriki and a lot of other crap." Zabuza said to her as she raised a brow.
Naruto's hand began to shine with the rainbow colors of the morphing grid.
"Finally some control." Zabuza said as after the Orochimaru debacle making the psycho rangers he had Naruto train in all his free time to limit when he channeled the morphing grid, so there would be no more accidental power ranger making.
Mei was curious as she had never seen anything like the glow in the boy's hand, she took it and felt it envelop her.
(1 hour later)
"Of course." Zabuza said as Mei was admiring her blue Mystic Force armor, as while the woman favored midnight blue, she did like the baby blue the armor had, but the real surprise was the Overdrive Red armor 'If I remember correctly, that armor had a very special sword to it.' he thought to himself as the Overdrive rangers were a bit lacking in his opinion, but had potential none the less.
"I knew I was enchanting but to be an actual creature of beauty from the sea." Mei said feeling a sense of majestic with the blue ranger's mermaid power.
"With her kekkei genkai, the super strength from the Overdrive ranger, and the more water control she has, she an even more powerful shinobi than before." Naruto said as while her water mainly affected her acid power and not lava, she was still an incredible force.
Mei demorphed and looked very young.
"How come everyone but me regained their age?" Zabuza asked seeing Mei looked 16 again "May wanna use a henge from now on." he said as it was a bit ironic that she'd need to look older when all she ever wanted was to stay younger.
Mei was too happy to care right now.
(next day)
"The mist is a chakra field?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Yes, the normal mist jutsu is to obscure sensory functions by stretching out chakra to mask a person and others chakra, only veteran sensors have a chance to counter and see through it, and for people working with the caster, it requires a great sense and understanding of their chakra in order not to be effected, the Mist around the village is more like a sensors net, the village uses sensory ninja to cast the mist technique and when an unregistered signature enters we're aware." Mei said as that was how the mist operated.
"Sounds hard to break through." Haku said unaware of this from her last time being here.
"It is, but there is a weakness, if a water user casts the jutsu, it acts as a smokescreen." Mei said to him.
"That trick was corrected in my short time as a member of the seven swordsman." Zabuza said to them "You need to cast the jutsu in four separate locations to even out the dispersal." he said as if the chakra was not evened out the village would know.
"Well, I don't have a water affinity so I'm out." Naruto said as his elements were fire and wind.
"Zabuza taught me the technique." Haku said as she volunteered.
"Zabuza, Haku, and I make three." Mei said as they needed one more.
"Any of your subordinates up to our level?" Zabuza asked knowing it was a tall order as he and Mei were on the level of a high jonin, Haku was on average jonin not counting her unique skill set.
"I have one person in mind, he's actually a member of the seven swordsman." Mei said as Zabuza raised a brow.
(10 minutes later)
"Pitiful, you call yourself a swordsman of the mist!" Zabuza said as he was training Chojiro.
"Does he have room to talk, technically speaking, he's a rogue and a traitor?" Mei asked as while he was one of many to go rogue due to Yagura's actions, he was still technically a traitor for joining another village.
"Traitor he might be, but he's a man worthy of respect." Naruto said as he knew the man Zabuza was.
Mei saw the look in his eyes and smiled 'A ninja and a man.' she thought as most ninja rarely caught her eye as most of them weren't up to her standard, but this boy had much potential 'Maybe even a leader one day.' she thought to herself.
(3 hours later)
"That sword is meant to adapt, it is meant to surprise the enemy as it goes from physical combat, to long range, to a new style entirely." Zabuza said as he remembered the last wielder "You were chosen by Mei and I know who she is, she wouldn't have picked you for nothing, so show me your ability to adapt." he said as Chojiro was not doing bad for a newly minted swordsman.
"So what is the plan for when the multiple mist jutsu are cast?" Naruto asked Mei curiously.
"You will go with Ao, there will be a siege." Mei said as that would be a simple way to specify it.
Naruto met the man and even Zabuza said he was 'old school', the man was rather bland and seemed like the opposite of Naruto as where he is creative and colorful, Ao was bland and tasteless.
"Zabuza mentioned you could make hundreds of clones?" Mei asked as if that was true even if the mist plan failed, Naruto's clones could minimize casualties or even defeat the mist forces.
"Yeah." Naruto said to her "Hey can I ask a question?" he asked getting a nod "What was the whole driving force behind this blood purge?" he asked her curiously.
Mei sighed "You could say, it was jealousy." she said as that was it in simple terms "Shinobi saw kekkei genkai users as cheats for being able to advance more quickly given their unique talents as it came naturally to them." she said as kekkei genkai wielders often sped through certain elemental exercises and accomplished it quicker "Your clan was blessed with a longer lifespan, that certainly made the other nations jealous." she said as it was one of the many reasons the Uzumaki clan was attacked especially since they specialized in sealing, kenjutsu, and kinjutsu they specialized in the areas most shinobi never bothered but because of that, they fought on a different style most could not accommodate to.
"How many times has something like this happened." Naruto said to himself.
"You see it more often than you think Naruto." Mei said to him "The Uchiha was one example as is the Hidden Cloud." she said as the Hidden Cloud's previous Raikage attempted to steal members of certain clans as the land of lightning lacked clans to her knowledge compared to the other nations "Do you ever wonder why certain people develop kekkei genkai out of the blue?" she asked as it was more common than one would think "Genetic anomalies are in everyone Naruto, it can be in our blood, our chakra, and maybe even our soul, who is to say." she said as that was what she believed.
Naruto had to admit that was an interesting stance, it even seemed likely Mei was right.
"Naruto you there, I have a surprise for you." a feminine voice said over the comms.
(next day)
"Are you idiots ready to do this." Zabuza said over the comms as he heard the affirmative "Remember an even amount of chakra and this all needs to be done simultaneously." he said as if they slipped up they were screwed.
"Zabuza are we sure about this?" Mei asked as she was confident in the mist plan, but the new addition was what had her concerned.
"I so very am." Zabuza said smiling sadistically as when he heard the news yesterday he was ecstatic "Chojiro, be a man." he said hearing his teeth clattering over the line.
Haku was chuckling as she turned her head slightly seeing the majestic beast behind her.
(Hidden Mist Village)
The shinobi of the bloodline purge were frozen solid as they felt the seismic quakes happening in rhythm as it approached the village, the first thing they saw was a massive dragon dawning the colors green, gold, and silver, the next was a giant red tiger, the next a red tyranno with a drill like tail, and the final one was a red lion with the symbol for fire on its side.
"I've never had so much raw power behind my fingers before." Zabuza said fully aware of what the dragonzord could do 'Still surprised the kid used the mist to pull it off.' he thought wondering just how heavy the moisture was for this zord to be summoned from it.
"I have to admit, this was more than I expected." Mei said as the red tyranno sword scarred many of the shinobi by spinning its tail directly at them taunting them and daring them to do something and it made her smile.
Haku was on the red lion smiling down as it moved majestically and she readied herself.
Chojiro was doing…ok as his face was hardened ready for battle, but his legs were shaking under the red tiger's head very nervously making the spiritual manifestation sweat drop.
(1 hour later)
"Full surrender and they made you the Mizukage." Zabuza said as this was both sad and hilarious as his former village had no backbone, but he did make a show with the dragonzord accidentally firing in the distance hitting a lake and making it blow up and it was seen by everyone.
"Seeing me couldn't have helped." Naruto said as he made a hundred clones all dawning his armor.
"At least it was bloodless." Mei said as that really helped with the citizens "Can I count on your help should I ever need it?" she asked the other rangers.
"We're shinobi from rivalling villages, it wouldn't seem right helping a village we don't have an alliance with." Naruto said to her.
"Cocky-!?" Ao was saying till Mei glared at him and Zabuza held the tip of the executioner's blade at his neck.
"But whenever a ranger needs help, you can count on help from the others." Naruto said winking her way as he left.
"That boy-No young man will have a tough time keeping the girls away." Mei said to no one in particular "You could learn something from him." she said glaring at Ao.
Zabuza chuckled at that "He has potential, I truly believe he will be a force to be reconded with when he hits adulthood." he said as Naruto was growing nicely 'He'll surpass them.' he thought as Naruto vowed to surpass all the Hokage before him and he was well on his way as a ranger or a ninja "I better hear your name boy, that sword carries a lot of responsibility." he said to Chojiro "Wield it well, strike swiftly and fiercely, and most of all don't bring shame to the group that wielded these swords." he said to him.
"Should we not confiscate the executioner's blade Mizukage?" Ao asked Mei curiously "It rightfully belongs to the Mist." he said to her.
"It belongs to me and if you even try to take it, I'll chop off your hands and feet throw you in a lake and watch as you struggle to swim and bleed out in the water." Zabuza said scaring Chojiro and Ao looked terrified by that detailed execution of his possible and likely death.
(few days later)
"You're lucky that the war was minimized." Kakashi said as Zabuza was reporting in.
"How were things on your end?" Zabuza asked Kakashi.
"Better than you might think." Kakashi said holding up three SPD cards with familiar shinobi in them "We have the ROOT agents that fled from the Mist hopefully this is all of them." he said to him.
"What's the matter if they're not, people know about the zords and megazords." Zabuza said reminding him of the battle with Orochimaru.
"Yeah, but that was happening in the leaf village, it has mostly been rumors and little else for the other villages." Kakashi said not mentioning the sand despite Gaara being their sole ranger.
"Oh yeah I forgot to mention the new Kage is a red and blue ranger." Zabuza said to him.
"Fantastic, that all we need." Kakashi said as he wondered how many ranger powers were left "And Koyuki is studying the zords?" he asked wondering about that as she was able to understand the technology as well as Naruto.
"How are those ninja not dead yet?" Zabuza said examining the cards seeing that they were still alive when normally Danzo killed his missing agents.
"Naruto assumes it is because of the cards acting as a barrier canceling the connection, but not destroying it." Kakashi said as that was both useful and annoying as even though they were alive, they couldn't interrogate them.
"Anyway overall, Naruto performed decently given all the complications." Zabuza said as while the mission was a disaster none of it was Naruto's fault given the elements in play, such as a runaway princess, a dictator, advanced technology used against them, and other factors.
"I'll say." Kakashi said remembered when that woman was a child he had rescued, he knew she had lost everything but she was not one of the most pleasurable clients he handled.
"Let me ask you, do you think Naruto will be ready for the jonin exams?" Zabuza asked as he was all for Naruto taking those exams given how ready he seemed.
"That will be his decision." Kakashi said as he knew with Naruto being so young that responsibility of being a jonin may have been a bit much, he remembered when he made jonin at 13 and he graduated the academy at 8 years old.
"Ok how is the red psycho ranger?" Zabuza asked as that girl had been on his mind lately.
"I think you mean purple." Kakashi said as Zabuza looked at him curiously "Naruto brought her the blue psycho morpher and it melded with her own red one." he said to him.
"So what do we do with her?" Zabuza asked him curious as the was a mixed bag of information.
"Well Naruto has claimed her as an Uzumaki, so no one can touch her not even the council." Kakashi said as that was both a smart and precise move on Naruto's part as her being a ranger aside, she was to dangerous for the council and more importantly Danzo to get their hands on "But we face an opportunity, if she can absorb the other psycho powers, she can take Orochimaru's." he said as Orochimaru didn't have a zord or a monster form thankfully, but he had Nokrea a woman who knew ranger history and that was a dangerous thing.
"Yeah, but you are forgetting one thing, what'll happen when our former red now purple psycho gets all the psycho powers." Zabuza said as he knew Megaforce had ACCESS to all the ranger powers, but they never had the full use of them "She'll be a one-person ranger team, the only people like that are Naruto and Sasuke." he said as if his count was right there were 7 psychos total Tayuya currently possessed 2 and Orochimaru had himself and two others, plus two morphers that equaled up to 5.
Kakashi had thought about that as given Orochimaru abandoning her he was hoping Naruto could lay out some charm.
"There's another thing you may not have realized, we get one shot of her stealing those morphers." Zabuza said "The moment Orochimaru realizes she can do that, he'll kill her, or avoid her like the plague." he said as that was the basic truth.
"And given who her targets are." Kakashi said as Kabuto was classified as a high-ranking jonin as he killed a few leaf ninja and an anbu, so he was skilled, and Nokrea possessed Tayuya's face, they were unsure if this was merely a cosmetic change or a genetic one.
"Do you think Orochimaru could've found hosts for the two morphers he has?" Zabuza asked him.
"No." Kakashi said as Orochimaru would have more luck destroying the leaf, as ranger powers had about the same chances as an organ transplant, it was all up to chance so even the psycho ranger powers needed a compatible host, it was pure luck that Orochimaru got a full roster to begin with.
"Well that's one pro to that long list of cons, but Orochimaru may be keeping the morphers close to him." Zabuza said to him
(Orochimaru's base)
Orochimaru glared at the mountain of corpses.
"I told you, it is pointless, even we psychos are limited to the rules of the morphing grid." Nokrea said as Orochimaru had been trying to find new hosts for the yellow and black psycho powers.
Orochimaru was infuriated that someone wearing the face of his former subordinate was giving him sass "We need Naruto." he said as Naruto's body held immense power, the power of the morphing grid.
Nokrea was silent as while helping Orochimaru, she was curious about Naruto as no one in the history of the power rangers, held the power of the grid, not even Zordon or Gosei when he was leading the Megaforce and they had partial powers of the other rangers 'He can be a god.' she thought to herself as that was the true reality of it, he could possibly absorb the morphing grid into his very being instead of just channeling it 'There have been a few evil rangers, perhaps I can remind him of that evil.' she thought as the morphing grid was not as heroic as one would think, either side good or evil could tap into it and use it, or one could be turned to the other side.
(with Tayuya)
"Fuck you." Tayuya said as she smiled brightly as she threw down her cards as she had been gambling with Tsunade.
"This is a bit sad to watch." Shizuka said as she was watching the two Uzumaki kin gamble and act like idiots.
"Yeah sad, those are my booze they're drinking." Naruto said as he found the Uzumaki had stored a lot of alcohol here in their compound, it somewhat explained why Tsunade drank so much.
"Are we really going to trust her, Sasuke is one thing, but this is something else entirely." Shizuka said as the psycho rangers were enemies pure and simple.
"The psycho ranger powers were corrupted forms of the supersonic rangers, who knows maybe she can change them, or make some use out of them." Naruto said as only time would tell.
"I hate you." Shizuka said to him as he was right, but it was hard to accept especially given who previously owned those powers.
"Yo newly weds, unless your putting on a show get over here so I can steal your money to." Tayuya said as Tsunade was cursing at her loses.
"I gave you the money to start gambling with her in the first place technically that's all my money." Naruto said to her.
"And technically you're a bitch, come and try and take it." Tayuya said challengingly.
"Is this a common trait in Uzumaki?" Shizuka asked wondering if this was what she should be expecting if she had children in the future with Naruto.
"Pretty much./Yep./Fuck yes!" Naruto, Tsunade, and Tayuya said to her in unison.
Author's Note: You all know the drill, It's Morphin Time!