AN(2024): Hey I'm updating this story for porting purposes, so there's been corrected grammar added foreshadowing, and other fun goodies. I hope you guys enjoy it and keep an eye out for more content. I'll be going through the other chapters as well and I hope that by the time I finish, I'll have a new chapter or two to post.


Amity Park, Illinois

Pu: Also known as Plutonium from what he bothered to remember from his high-school chemistry class. It was rare as it was deadly and volatile, often being used in nuclear-powered endeavors. It should never be in the common man's hands.

Probably one of the most dangerous elements on the planet.

He ignored the bold black letters on the wall showing it was there.

Why did it seem like every lab he came across had it?

He didn't know nor did he care.

Thankfully, that was not what he was here for. The Bloodstream Nanobots were the prize of today's heist. He would leave the chemistry stuff to his sister.

The intermittent flashing of a golden sun tattoo was the only sign that the lab had an intruder.

The security at Axiom Labs was pitifully lax. Then again, most security was in the face of his skills. It also helped that there was currently a 3-way brawl happening outside the lab. The only thing he had to worry about was not tripping the infrared lasers.

Who said a little smoke bomb didn't go a long way?

The cameras were taken care of with a glob of silk each on the lens.

The Nanobots were located in a simple locked cupboard. Surprisingly old school for how high-tech everything else was. He elongated his fingernail into a claw and picked the lock effortlessly with practiced ease.

With a soft pop, the lock came off in his hand granting him access to rows and rows of pill bottles holding things from simple medicine to animal parts to even hard drugs such as cocaine and crystal meth.

Why a lab would need hard drugs was beyond his pay grade.

He decided to not think further on it as he grabbed the bottle conveniently labeled "Blood Stream Nanobots"

Stuffing the bottle in a pouch on his infantry belt, he quickly flipped upwards, his black combat sandals gently touching the ceiling and adhering him to the surface as if he gave a personal 'fuck you' to gravity.

He made his way back to the vent he'd entered from and crouched down to pull the grate, his fingernails-turned-claws letting out a soft tapping sound as he grasped the metal bars and pulled it open.

Before he could enter his escape route, he had to leap out of the way of a ghostly green blast. The blast missed him by a wide margin, but it closed the vent. For good measure, an ice-blue one followed, freezing the vent entirely as a method of escape.

He landed on top of one of the shelves, looking at his assailant as he phased himself and his three partners through the wall.

"Going somewhere, Fox?"

"Does the Kitsune mask mean nothing to you?" He fired back pointing at his Kitsune-themed Kabuki mask that concealed his identity. "We've been over this Phantom. It's two completely different things."

"A demon fox is still a fox. Ergo, your name is Fox."

The local superhero known as Danny Phantom said to him as he set his three companions down on the floor. The goth girl, the nerd, and the latest addition to the group: a redhead.

"I disagree. It's a cultural thing, Danny. Like how some people call that burger joint Carl's Jr. and some people call it Hardee's. It could be a major insult in his culture." The redhead said as she cradled a high-tech thermos in her hands.

"Thank you, Miss—?"

"Jazz,"

Danny facepalmed "Don't tell the bad guy your name. That's like rule number one!"

All four of them opened their mouths to comment but Kitsune decided to interrupt before an argument could start.

"Ms. Jazz," he began "It's nice to have someone show respect in this town. It's a really big thing in my book. You'd think I'd have earned at least a little bit considering I'm the only 'villain' Amity Park's very own superhero has never apprehended."

"Wait really? You've never caught this guy?" Jazz turned and questioned Danny.

"Yep, he's as slippery as they come." The teen with the beanie; Tucker confirmed.

"Danny, Skulker, The Guys in White, and Vlad have tried hunting this guy. No one has laid so much as a finger on him yet. He's that good." The goth girl added on.

"Rub it in, why don't you? And stop writing it down, Jazz!"

"It's good info to know! Also…where…did he go?"

"Great. You take your eyes off him for a second and— "

Danny was cut off by a sudden dropkick to his back, courtesy of Kitsune.

The teen was sent flying into one of the shelves, knocking over it and the shelf behind it.

"—That happens…" Danny finished weakly.

Kitsune used the rebound to flip in the air and land between Danny's friends.

Despite his mask, his sheer presence caused them to cower a bit. It also helped that he towered over them at 6 feet even and the image of his claws gripping the bottom of his mask served to be a terrifying one even for the bravest of men.

Jazz snapped out of the stupor first. Whether it was because she was new, brave, or dumb, Kitsune didn't know. She jumped back, opened the thermos, pointed the end at him, and pressed a button on the side.

A bright blue funnel of light hit him in the chest—And didn't do anything.

Kitsune gave a mock yawn through the mask and fanned his face as the beam continued to non-effectually affect him.

"Why?! Why isn't it working?!" Jazz exclaimed.

"Heh. Sorry Jazz. Sam and I forgot one tiny little detail about this guy…" Tucker gestured by moving his index and thumb closely together.

"He's…not a ghost. He's fully human, believe it or not. How he got superpowers we don't know. It's also why he's the most dangerous of Danny's rogues. Conventional means don't work on him." Sam said, filling in Jazz on the situation.

Jazz's eyebrows raised in confusion "Well…that's problematic."

"Yes. Very," Kitsune replied, using his superior speed to suddenly appear in front of her.

The girl let out a squeak of surprise and stumbled back. Kitsune took the opportunity and gave her wrist a light palm strike, angling the thermos towards Danny who had just recovered and was about to fly over.

With a scream that was equal parts pain and equal parts frustration he was sucked into the thermos as the blue light hit him. With a click the cap snapped itself back onto the device, trapping the teen inside.

"...Oops."

"Pfff ha ha!" Kitsune couldn't help but burst out laughing as Jazz's face went red with humiliation. Sam and Tucker were also not immune, their faces were also slightly red from secondhand embarrassment.

"Be careful of the techniques you use. If used carelessly it could come around to bite you in the butt." Kitsune repeated a variation of the lesson that was imparted to him long ago. "That's a lesson I suggest you take to heart, young lady."

His spiel finished, he flashed his hands through a series of signs. He took a deep breath in preparation for what he was about to do. Slightly lifting his mask, he let loose a small stream of fire, just enough to melt the ice on the grate.

Replacing his mask back down, he leaped to the ceiling, defying gravity, and pulled open the grate once again with inhuman strength.

"Tell Ghost Boy he still needs to work on his Taijutsu. Also, you all need teamwork training. See ya later kiddos,"

Still laughing, Kitsune flung himself into the vents. The two senior members of Team Phantom opted not to chase, knowing he was long gone at this point.

Jazz lifted her flushed face to Sam and Tucker "I know you two have weapons on you. Why not shoot him? Or-or do something?!"

"What's the point exactly?" Sam reasoned, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, what she said. You saw how fast he is, he would have beat us down before we even lifted a finger! It's happened before. Our best chance at winning is currently doing yoga inside that thermos you're holding."

Jazz cringed at Tucker's words.

"We managed to pit Skulker and Valerie against each other, yet Kitsune managed to slip by everyone," Sam let out an exhausted sigh. "Danny is gonna be pissed when we let him out."

"Oh, boy…" Jazz whimpered.

Tucker scratched his head in confusion, still staring at the grate.

"I still don't know what that 'Taijutsu' word means…"

Retroville, Texas

Kitsune stood in front of the unassuming backyard shack in the suburban neighborhood.

The shack looked like it had been cobbled together seemingly with spare pieces of wood and metal, but what set it apart was the high-tech modern DNA scanner that functioned as a lock.

It was one of the only places in the world Kitsune would actually have to try to get into.

He pressed a button, and the security system became active.

"Oh, it's you Kitsune… One moment." The garbled voice of his current employer came over the intercom.

The rug beneath his feet suddenly opened up to reveal a long orange tube leading underground.

Kitsune, having done it before, seamlessly transitioned into a slide as he went down the repurposed hamster tube, leading into the titanium-lined bunker.

The place was lined with various inventions ranging from ray beams to jetpacks to even a girl-eating (?) plant. Even Orochimaru would have been impressed with this guy. If his sister saw this place, he didn't know whether she'd condemn the boy or try to marry him. Kitsune was just glad that unlike the former two, there wasn't as much human experimentation.

"I trust you have what I need?"

The voice came from a boy sitting in an office chair looking at a giant screen.

Kitsune leaped his way onto the railing where his employer was, sipping coffee and typing away.

"Yeah, yeah I have the nano-whatever's you requested."

The sound of clacking keys stopped, and the boy turned around to fully face him.

He had a hairstyle that most would describe as an antigravity dip. He donned a red shirt with a golden atom printed on the center, underneath a spotless lab coat. Simple blue jeans and black short top all-star converses completed his look.

He was known as James Issac Neutron or simply 'Jimmy' or 'Jimmy Neutron' to those who knew him.

It did somewhat bother him that the kid could only be about 14 at a push performing potentially world-altering research, but hey, he did C-rank missions at 12, and Jimmy was cutting his checks more often than not. It wasn't his job to question his boss–at least at this moment.

Kitsune reached into his pouch and produced the requested item, then held it out for the boy genius to take.

"I trust there was no trouble?"

Kitsune scoffed "Phantom was there but he wasn't a problem for me. He got captured by his own thermos—Again. You should have seen his expression."

He snorted, remembering the look on the teen's face as he vanished in the gadget.

Jimmy sighed as he took the pill bottle "The Fenton's are amazing scientists and Phantom is a good hero when it matters… It's just the people who use their inventions… Aren't the most capable to put it lightly."

"They'll eventually learn," Kitsune countered, "But I don't think you really have room to talk…." He said as he gestured to a nearby picture of Jimmy and his friends. The photo included one Sheen Esteves who was still missing in space to this day. Knowing his luck, Kitsune figured he'd get strapped to a rocket to go look for him one of these days.

"I can't argue with you on that point," Jimmy said as he snapped his fingers, summoning his robotic dog Goddard to whom he handed the pills for storage.

Goddard then made his way to Kitsune, where a robotic hand holding a wad of cash came from his back.

"Are you sure you don't want me to simply wire the money to your account? It's quicker and easier." Kitsune didn't miss the scheming look in the boy geniuses' eyes.

Kitsune shook his head as he took the money from Goddard who then ran off to some unseen part of the lab. "No, 'cause then you'd find out who I am in a heartbeat based on my bank account. We've been over this, Jimmy."

"That's exactly why off-shore accounts exist, Kitsune! It's almost risk-free!" The boy goaded.

"The fact you know about that at your age, means you know how to get around it. I much prefer the old-fashioned way, hard to trace and easy to know and take care of when someone is trying to stiff you. Which happens quite often in my profession."

"I would never try to cheat you, Do I look that sleazy?" Jimmy looked actually offended. Kitsune wondered if he was close to crossing some sort of line.

Kitsune shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the railing where he counted his money.

"Well, you work in a secret subterranean lab, and you have extra-terrestrial enemies no one wants to deal with,"

At Jimmy's eye roll, Kitsune let out a puff of amusement. "C'mon, it was a joke. I know you're good on your word. It's why I even take your requests in the first place."

A smile formed on Jimmy's face.

"I thought Shinobi weren't supposed to have a preference if the money was right,"

"Stereotypes are bullshit. Don't believe everything you hear, you'll get farther in life that way. I'd know if you were up to no good or if you were going to short-change me. Vlad Plasmius learned that the hard way." He wasn't going to tell Jimmy he had a built-in radar for sensing negative emotions. It was almost impossible for him not to know. And Jimmy rarely if ever pinged with malicious intent. A stark contrast to Vlad who made his head hurt just by being in proximity.

Kitsune pulled a frog-themed wallet out of his pouch and placed his hard-earned reward inside. "What do you plan to do with the bots anyway?" he curiously asked.

Jimmy held up his finger and wagged it as he sat back down in his chair "Contradictions," He said smugly "I thought you were supposed to already know, being a shinobi and all."

"Are ya going to tell me or not?"

The teen folded one leg over the other and turned his chair back around to face the screen. "Those Nanobots are going to function as a failsafe for a certain project of mine I intend on starting back up again."

He typed in a few commands on his keyboard and brought up various images of himself in green spandex. His hair was also a faded green and his skin was radiation orange.

"Project N-Men. A mishap where I and my friends accidentally gained superpowers via the Van Pattern Radiation Belt."

"So…What went wrong? Seems pretty cool if you ask me."

Jimmy craned his head to look at Kitsune "Says the guy with natural-born superpowers as far as I can tell." He then shifted his body back to the screen where he brought up a couple more photos. This time it was an overly muscular version of Jimmy terrorizing the military. Kitsune winced when he saw Jimmy hurl a hotdog stand into an F-16 just as casually as if he was throwing a baseball.

"We were all reckless in what we were doing. We thought we were helping people, but we were just making life harder for the townsfolk. To be completely honest with you; I especially went out of control. Nobody could stop me, not even my other super-powered friends. Not only that, the radiation poisoning almost killed all of us. Thankfully I managed to come to my senses and fix it just in time. The town… eventually forgave us, like they usually do,"

Kitsune laid a hand on the teen's shoulder. "I remember seeing that incident in a magazine some years ago." That incident made it harder for him to do his personal work for a bit.

"Yeah, the government is good at covering things up, so the common man doesn't freak out or have a conniption."

"Don't beat yourself up too much. Having power like that suddenly given to you can be pretty hard to control. I've had some rough patches myself over the years,"

Jimmy raised an eyebrow in confusion but thanked him anyway and brushed off Kitsune's hand. "After that incident, I found the concept of superpowers simply too fascinating a topic to leave alone." He pointed to a corkboard that was filled with clippings of magazine articles and blurry photos. All of it was connected by red string and post-it notes.

"There's Phantom in Illinois. I've heard Mexico is crawling with powered individuals," Jimmy explained. "Then there are rumors of a big chin guy and husband and wife duo in California. So, I'm designing a serum that'll let us gain those powers back." He pulled up a complex diagram of formulas and serum that made Kitsune's eyes spin. "The Nanobots are going to be the failsafe in case something untoward happens. I needed a fresh new set of Nanobots to reprogram for what I plan to do with them."

"And that would be?"

"They will be in our bloodstream, not only filtering out any potential excess radiation but also functioning as a shutdown switch in case someone goes rogue."

"Cool."

Jimmy turned himself back around "Any further questions?"

"Why go through the trouble, to begin with?"

Jimmy let out a laugh. "That's an easy one. You're a good 'fixer solution' Kitsune but I can't rely on you to solve all my problems."

Underneath his mask, Kitsune smirked as he jumped atop the railing with perfect balance and his arms folded.

"Even though that's what you literally pay me to do, you're growing up Jimmy. I plan to be around for a long time, but the reality is, in my field, there's always the chance I won't,no matter how small."

"That's a very morbid way of looking at life," Jimmy pointed out.

Kitsune waved him off. "Sometimes you hafta take the good with the bad." His point made, he pivoted in the direction of the sewer exit and crouched in preparation to jump.

"You sure you don't want me to beam you back home?"

Kitsune swiveled his head to look back at the boy. "You sure are persistent. That would involve me telling you where I live. Besides, I'm fast enough, I got here from Illinois, right?"

Jimmy threw his hands up in mock surrender, then pressed a button that opened the bunker walls in the sewer. "Can you blame a guy for trying to solve a mystery?"

"Nope, I did the same thing to my sensei. Try to start with taking off my mask first," Kitsune gave Jimmy a two-finger salute. "See ya," Kitsune then launched himself into a powerful jump that brought the man clear to the sewer entrance where he then transitioned into a dash that took him out of Jimmy's view.

Once Kitsune was out of sight, Jimmy pulled up his security monitors.

The Shinobi was nowhere to be seen. Not even his radars were picking up anything.

"Just like I thought. He's gone like smoke in the wind."

The man was a complete enigma, one that just popped into his life one day when he and his friends were infiltrating a castle. Jimmy was lucky he was able to convince the man to work for him. Sheen and Libby might've died otherwise.

He wanted to inquire on precisely what he was, but the man usually evaded any question surrounding his origin.

Goddard strutted up to his master and raised his head expectantly. Jimmy obliged and began to pat his head.

"Maybe some things are better left unknown, boy," he said to the dog who barked in reply.


Royal Woods, Michigan

It didn't take him that long to make his way from Texas back to Michigan. It took him roughly 3 to 4 hours give or take. That is if he didn't opt to just teleport back. (Jimmy didn't know he could teleport via his kunai)

Once he made it into town, he kept to the rooftops to keep from being seen.

Kitsune made his way outside of town, into a forest bordering Lake Huron, just north of Port Huron and about a stone's throw away from Canada.

He found an old hollowed-out tree that he used to stash his spare equipment. He started by peeling off the kabuki mask.

His face freed, he rubbed his signature whisker marks to bring feeling back after wearing the mask for so long. The cold late winter air nipped at his skin as he trotted over to the lake to splash some water on his face and admire his reflection.

The whisker marks that had followed him even in another life, along with his golden blonde hair and striking sky blue eyes. His appearance was virtually the same as it had been in his previous life, except that he was afforded the opportunity to live another year and the growth that came with it. His face had lost a bit of its roundness to be replaced with the angular sharpness of a young man.

His musing was broken by a deep booming voice in his head.

"…Don't you have somewhere to be?"

And of course, Kurama. The Chakra beast had also followed along with him. He was honestly okay with that. They had painstakingly forged a bond that couldn't be broken. They were friends, comrades, and war buddies.

Amongst a sudden world's worth of unfamiliarity forced upon him; he was grateful for the one constant.

The only thing that hadn't followed him was his name. His name was now Nate Loud, the new one he was born with; Naruto Uzumaki was his previous birth name, but it'd always be his original name.

He was Nate Loud now-

His watch beeped signaling it was 6:00 pm.

-and he was currently late for dinner.

Inside the seal, Kurama let out a huff as his host frantically stripped himself of his gear and stuffed it in the tree before bringing out his civilian clothes from the same tree.

He hastily dressed in a white cotton long shirt, over top of it, a black short-sleeved T-shirt, and over that, an orange and white checkered shirt left open completed the look. He pulled up his faded blue jeans that had rips in the knees. Finally, he shoved his feet into his white and black high-top all-star Converse sneakers, lacing them up as fast as he could, nicking himself in the process as he forgot to retract his claws back into fingernails.

"For claiming to be one of the fastest beings on Earth, you move pretty slow,"

"It's not my fault, Kurama! It's these stupid sneakers! Why do people insist on wearing this stuff?! Sandals are so much more convenient," Nate said as he inspected himself. With his current look and build one would classify him as a college skater punk. "Lori says I have look 'proper'. Yet she lets Leni wear flip-flops all the time!"

"Sounds like excuses to me. Suck it up. I believe tonight's dinner was Lynnsagna? If I remember correctly. You wouldn't shut up about it."

Nate swore as promptly grabbed his nearby Skateboard and took off at a blazing speed, jumping from branch to branch, ignoring Kurama's laughter at his misfortune.

If he didn't hurry, his siblings wouldn't leave even a crumb left for him.

Trees eventually gave way to rooftops. The asphalt shingles of the various houses were just soft enough to leave an imprint of his foot behind whenever he landed.

He got to the top of Mr. Grouse's house just prior to sundown, where he dropped into the older man's backyard both unseen and unheard.

Skateboard in hand, he soundlessly hopped the fence separating Grouse's backyard from the Loud's driveway and snuck around Vanzilla and across the front yard to the living room window.

He pushed up the window and stuck his right leg and head in.

"There you are. You literally always come through the window. Can't you go through the door like a normal person for once?!"

*THWACK*

The voice caught him by surprise, and Nate jolted upward, his head hitting the bottom rail of the window.

The blonde tumbled into the house and onto the floor. He found himself sprawled on the carpet looking upside down at a figure he'd come to recognize as familiar.

His immediate younger sister Lori Loud was looking at him with an expression of annoyance. Her hands were perched on her hips and her lips were pressed together as she bent over to put her face closer to his.

Just like him she also had golden blonde hair, but while his could be described as spiky, hers was most often silky and done up in a Farrah Fawcett style. Out of all his siblings, she was arguably the one who resembled him the most. She even had his whiskers, though she often covered them with a healthy application of make-up.

"Ah. Lori. What a surprise… heh heh. Ouch, that's ya know, smarts" Nate said nonchalantly as he sat up and rubbed the top of his head. He scanned the living room and saw it was already occupied by a couple of his siblings already.

Luan, Lynn, and Lincoln were sitting on the couch and Leni was off to the side in the armchair knitting. From the various papers and books scattered on the coffee table and the relieved faces of his siblings, it looked like he had accidentally tumbled into one of Lori's (forced) study sessions. If they thought he was going to bail them out, they were SOL.

He'd been hoping to sneak in without specifically Lori catching him. She really didn't like him using the window. He didn't need to throw himself into the fire more than he already was.

"One of these days someone is literally going to mistake you for some sort of robber and call the cops on you!" she chastised him.

"Looks like our dear eldest brother is back and is currently receiving verbal reprimanding by our eldest sister for his repeated entry through the living room window." His second youngest sister, Lisa said as she descended the stairs and walked into the dining room.

"You can't say Nate ever misses a window of opportunity!"

The pun was followed by hearty laughter that came from the couch, his fourth younger sister, a brunette with braces: Luan. Both older siblings groaned at the pun.

Nate normally had a special fondness for her due to their shared love of pranks, but her wordplay usually left much to be desired.

"I don't even know why you try at this point, dude. Big bro has been using the window to get in the house for as long as I can remember." A brunette girl said as she climbed in the window and stepped over him, guitar in hand; his third younger sister and aspiring rock star Luna.

"The point is that it's not normal!" Lori fired back.

Luna shrugged as she headed up upstairs, most likely to her room "Neither is a lot of things we do. To be honest it's far from the weirdest thing we do."

"See? Lunes doesn't have a problem with it."

"Didn't say that bro. It is pretty suspect." Luna's voice echoed from upstairs, causing Lori to smirk victoriously. Her smile melted when she finally realized Luna came in the same way he did.

"Hey, Luna, come back here. You're just as guilty as he is!"

"Sorry, can't hear you. You're breaking up!"

"Luna Loud!"

Nate could hear Lori's teeth grinding in frustration, her legendary temper building.

"At least he didn't come in from the second-floor window like he did that one time. Now that was a story to tell!" Luan held her gut as she broke out in laughter once more.

"Are you done?" Nate asked.

"I for one think it's pretty cool. He's like a ninja." Said his only brother and middle child Lincoln from the seat on the couch next to Luan, workbook in hand. They shared the same eyes and skin complexion but that's where the similarities stopped. His hair was white as the fresh snow compared to Nate's warm sunlight blonde. The only person in the house who came even close to his shade of hair was Leni, who was a platinum blonde.

The young teenage girl on Lincoln's other side scoffed.

"If no one sees him, I don't see the problem. I mean Lucy gets up to God-knows-what in the vents and we never see her," Lynn Jr., the other middle child reasoned while tossing a ball in the air, her books discarded on the table.

Nate had to agree with Lynn, Lucy was sometimes hard for even him and Kurama to keep track of.

"Speak of the devil…"

"Sigh."

The sudden appearance of the gothic girl scared all three occupants of the couch. And Lori too for that matter.

Only Nate and Leni remained unaffected. Nate because he sensed her preemptively, and Leni… Most would chalk it up to her being unaware, but Nate could tell she sensed her too.

"If you must know, I bide my time in the air ducts contemplating the morality of life along with Edwin," she said while holding up the bust of the vampire. "Completely different from ninjas that cause mortality by bringing someone's life to a swift end. It highlights life's ephemeral beauty, yes, but radically different in meaning from us goths and morticians,"

Everyone blinked at the monologue.

"Thanks for showing up, Lucy. If you have time to wax poems to us, you've got time to join us and do your homework. There's plenty of time before dinner."

Nate snickered and pushed himself to his feet as Lori grabbed Lucy's arm and brought her over to the table with the others. He ruffled Lynn's hair as he made his retreat.

"Why doesn't Nate have to join this tort— study session? He's the biggest slacker of us all!" Lynn complained, stopping Nate in his tracks from trying to slip out to the kitchen unnoticed.

"Uh, because this slacker is already in college and has straight A's," Nate said mockingly in response. Lynn sneered at him in return and threw her football at him, which Nate deftly caught by his fingertips and sent back.

"Still the mystery of the century in how that happened," Luan snarked.

"Ouch! You wound me, Luan." Nate grabbed his chest theatrically which elicited a snort from the aspirating comedian.

Leni looked up at the mention of the word 'wound', putting down her sewing project she rushed up to Nate. She effortlessly picked him up off the ground to give him a once over, turning him like a rotisserie chicken, much to the amusement of the others. "Oh no! Are you okay Nate? Do we need to take you to the hospital?!"

"He isn't actually hurt, Leni. It was just an expression." Lori said, reassuring the platinum blonde. Leni to be certain, turned Nate to face her and searched his face for any sort of doubt. Nate shook his head fervently to confirm her words. Smiling and tilting her head, she set him back down on the ground.

Leni honestly reminded him of Sakura. When she wanted to be, she was freakishly strong. He did not want to go to the hospital for no reason… again.

Visibly relieved, his second younger sister let him go and returned to the armchair where she picked up her sewing kit as if nothing ever happened.

Lori rolled her eyes "Anyways, Nate and studying? Even I know a lost cause when I see one."

"Yet you still get on him about coming in through the window…"

"What was that, Lincoln?"

"Nothing, Ma'am!" he barked, his pencil scribbling furiously in his workbook.

With Lori's attention taken to keeping the others in line, Nate saw his chance to make a clean getaway.

He made his way past the dining room where Lisa was currently setting the table along with his mother Rita Loud. His youngest sister Lily was sitting at the end of the table in her high chair.

His mother gave him a warm, loving glance as he passed by, and he replied with a wave that she returned.

When he entered the kitchen he spied his dad of this world, Lynn Loud Sr., putting the finishing touches on the side salad to go with one of his most famous dishes.

As if sensing his son approaching him, the man turned to greet him, using the break in momentum to take dinner out of the oven

"Heya, how ya doing son? How was class today?"

"Pretty good, Pops. College pre-Calc sucks but I'm enjoying History and World Myths"

"Good. I wasn't sure about community college for you at first, but that's what you wanted, so as long as you're happy, I'm happy." The man nodded his head and earned a wry smile from his son.

"How was work?"

Nate skulked up to the fridge and opened the door, searching for something to drink.

"Same as ever, nothing major."

"Same as me, huh?"

Nate closed the door to see Lynn standing behind it, a daily tabloid in hand.

The teen spit out the orange juice he was guzzling straight from the carton, upon viewing the cover of the magazine.

"Phantom trashes Axiom Labs! Masked Man caught on camera!"

On the cover was the briefest glimpse of the corner of his mask, mere seconds before he covered it in Chomei's silk.

"You'd be surprised how fast new travels in the central U.S.; you got sloppy, son. They print these things like hotcakes." His father tapped his index finger on the cover.

Nate set the half-drunk orange juice on the counter and pushed his index fingers together nervously. A habit he'd picked up from Hinata.

He had of course told his parents about his origin. He felt it'd be foolish not to. They had little choice but to believe him once they saw their six-year-old could walk on ceilings. That led to questions about Rita, but eventually, they came to believe him.

"Heh-Heh… Guess silk isn't as good as ink for covering cameras?"

"Mmmhmmm." His father put down the article and crossed his arms. "You're lucky most of it runs in the circles belonging to conspiracy theorists and insane cultists. This part of the country is so full of them, I'm sure most everyone outside of it doesn't believe a ding dang thing that goes on around here." Lynn scratched his head in both curiosity and amusement.

"…You're not like, going to tell Mom about this are you?"

"And get her blood pressure even higher? No, thank you. She already has enough on her plate with your sister's college tours coming up. This stays our little secret between men." He said picking up and drinking the juice Nate had set down.

"Thanks, Dad, you're a lifesaver,"

The older man brought down the carton from his lips "Yours or mine?" He chuckled at his own joke. "But just be safe, son."

This time it was Nate's turn to nod "You know always coming home is my first priority, Dad. You guys mean everything to me." he said proudly.

"And you mean everything to us. Forget me and your mother, I don't know what some of your siblings would do if something happened to you. Lori, Lincoln, and Lynn Jr. would be devastated."

"I won't let it come to that, my nindo is to never go back on my word."

The man smiled at his proclamation.

"Never forget that. A man never goes back on his word." Lynn's facial expression suddenly warped into one of realization. "Oh, and don't forget to deposit your payment in the bank. You and Lola are notorious for squirreling cash away,"

Nate was about to respond but his father continued.

"And pay me five dollars for getting a new carton of orange juice. We just got that one today. You know the rules, son."

"But you drank it too?!"

"That," he pointed to the now empty carton. "Was dad tax,"

Nate grumbled and reached into his pocket and pulled the bill from his wallet, then placed it in his father's open palm.

His frustration was only superficial. Secretly, Nate was grateful for any chance to help his parents out.

Despite his huge, though inconsistent, income, this was one of the only times his parents would take money from him. The only thing he really paid for was his phone bill with Lori, Leni, and Luna attached to him. Even that was after a lengthy discussion. Even that was tenuous at best. Now that the three of them had jobs, they paid him their share of the bill every month.

Both his mother and father insisted he keep any money he earned for himself. They had made it a personal policy that the kids shouldn't have to cover for the parents, and at the end of the day, he was their kid. (Rita had gone over his birth in excruciating detail once he was old enough) It impressed the hell out of them considering they had twelve hungry, growing mouths to feed.

"Would you mind getting the twins from upstairs and letting the others know dinner's ready?" his father requested after slipping the bill into his pocket.

Nate nodded and trudged back the way he came and up the stairs, having to slip past Luna who was heading the opposite way.

"Sorry bro," she said as she edged past Nate, slightly bumping into him.

"It's cool, sis,"

Luna flashed him a cheesy smile and pointed her index fingers in a 'bang bang' motion as they parted ways.

Once up the stairs he hung a sharp right to the nearest door next to his own room.

He gave a light rapt on the door to alert the twins he was standing outside. He received no answer in response, so he leaned his head and pressed his ear against the door.

"I told you not to bring any more of those slimy…creepy…crawly…t-things into our room! One is bad enough!" A high-pitched voice yelled out.

"But they're Hop's friends! It hasn't rained in a while so their mud puddle dried up; I can't just leave them without a home!" This time it was a voice with far baser than its twin.

The sounds of scuffling followed, and Nate knew it was time to intervene.

He forcefully pushed open the door purposely to attract attention to himself.

The first thing he noticed was that Lana's half of the room, while normally filled with nuts, bolts, tools, and bits of metal, was instead filled with an army of frogs, absently ribbiting and hopping as they pleased.

In the middle of the room where grime and oil met pink and glitter, were his two seven-year-old twin sisters, locked in the midst of grappling with each other, paying his entry no mind.

Lola had tried to lunge to Lana's side of the room, no doubt an attempt to gather the amphibians. Lana was forcing her back. One hand on her face, another on her sparkling pink dress, smearing it with dirt and mud, something Nate was surprised she let happen. If she wasn't careful Lana might do worse, she was known for wet willies and burping.

"Anger makes you ignore a lot I suppose…"

"Speaking from experience?"

Nate decided not to humor Kurama with an answer as he reached his hands into the scuffle and grabbed both twins by the scruff of their clothes as if they were helpless kittens. They thrashed around for a moment but then both twins went still as they recognized his presence.

"Oh, hey Nate! Didn't hear you come in." Lana greeted. She adjusted her cap and gave him her most disarming smile, waggling the single whisker marks on her cheeks. It was the same expression she put on when she was about to explain what she just fixed, or just broke.

"If it isn't Natey! My most favoritest biggest brother in the whooole wide world."

Lola praised him with her hands clasped and her eyes sparkling innocently while batting her lashes. Her smile was just big enough to show off the gap in her teeth and emphasize her whisker marks but not big enough to look forced or manufactured.

Okay. They were both buttering him up HARD. Nate was ashamed to say it worked more often than not on him compared to the others. When it came to it, he just couldn't say no to his younger siblings. With Lola, it usually led to him being involved in whatever Machiavellian scheme she had come up with that day.

"What do you want, Lola?" He said, cutting to the point before Lola could entrap him in some crazy scheme.

"Would you be a dear and tell Lana here she can't bring every animal she finds into the house."

"But they don't have a home, how could you be so cruel!" Lana yelled

"That's sad and all, but it doesn't have to be here!" Lola yelled back.

"Nate!" They both said in unison, looking at him with big blue eyes.

Nate cowered a bit, being suddenly put on the spot as the deciding vote. He took a breath, regained his composure, and gave Lola a smile that was eerily similar to her own.

"I hate to say it, Lans, but your sister is right. We simply can't give every frog the same love and care you give Hops. They need a habitat with plenty of space and food to eat. They belong outside."

Lola made a sound that said 'I told you so'. On the other hand, Lana deflated and went completely slack. Her eyes began to moisten in realization.

Nate hoisted up Lana to where she could face him at eye level. "Tell ya what. After dinner, I'll personally make them a new home they can enjoy."

The girl instantly perked up and wiped her eyes. "Really?!"

"I promise," Nate said as he extended his pinky finger and Lana returned the gesture in earnest.

"You're the best, big bro!" Lana exclaimed as she swung herself in his grip and hugged his head.

Once she let go of him, he set both sisters back on the ground where they looked up at him awaiting what he was going to say next.

"Now you two go wash up. Dad said dinner was ready. I'll put the frogs in a container, so they'll be easier to move."

The duo nodded and ran out of the room and towards the bathroom.

Nate quickly followed them out into the hallway but turned the other way into the room he shared with Lincoln.

He went over to his bed and reached underneath, his hands searching for a specific spot under his box spring.

"It's… gotta… be… around here somewhere…" he said as his fingers roamed every which way.

"Maybe you already found it and you just did the seal wrong. I wouldn't put it past you." Kurama's deep voice rumbled.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping? Also, if I did it wrong, the tank wouldn't have disappeared!"

"I would if I could, but those things you call siblings are just as loud as you are…" Kurama paused for a moment as he realized what he said. "...Pun not intended."

Nate tittered at the thought as he felt his fingers graze over the spot he needed.

"Aha. Gotcha."

He injected his chakra into the seal and heard the dull thunking sound of the tank hitting the floor.

"It speaks volumes for how many times this has happened for you to specifically have a tank sealed away for this exact situation."

Nate shrugged in response, then slid out the tank and picked it up. "What can I say? Lana loves animals as much as she does machines."

"Don't forget dirt. The kid is almost as filthy as Shukaku… Which is impressive. The fact she has a neat freak for a twin is irony at its finest." Nate sensed Kurama's amusement as he made his way back to the twin's room.

"I remember you saying Matatabi was a neat freak too. Like, aren't you technically her twin? You both have whiskers," Nate said, referring to the flaming two-tailed cat that was once inside Yugito-Nii

"Idiot. We're technically nonuplets but we look nothing alike. Yours truly was born first of course. Also, I'm not a slob like Shukaku; that moron does it on purpose to piss her off, so there's that too."

"Yeesh, sorry I asked," Nate said.

Once he got into the room he snapped his fingers. Responding to his command the frogs lined up and started to hop into the tank.

Oddly, his toad contract granted him dominion over common frogs and toads in this world.

Now that the frogs were safely in the container, Nate secured the mesh lid over the top, making sure they wouldn't escape.

His job done for now, he headed downstairs ready to fill his stomach.

He came downstairs and swiftly took his place at the dinner table between Lori and Luna and across from Leni.

Dinner was always a fun affair for him. It was the best opening to cause chaos given that everyone was almost guaranteed to be in one area, save if someone had special permission to eat in their room.

Any current plans he had were put on hold. Lynnsangna was a rarity. A delicious rarity. It almost compared to Ichiraku Ramen. Almost.

As soon as he sat down, he reached over and loaded his plate with food, hoping to catch up with his siblings who were already stuffing their faces.

Normally they'd be discussing their day or stalling if Lynn Sr. had decided to make goulash that night. An event that had been alarmingly increasing in frequency as they grew older and developed specific dietary needs. But today they moved in harmony.

Halfway through his plate, Nate just couldn't resist the urge. He slipped a pair of chopsticks into his hand from underneath his sleeve and gave a malicious chuckle.

He reached his long arm around Luna's back and flicked her in the ear. As expected, she turned her head the wrong way to find the perpetrator.

In the split second she was distracted, he lunged his hand and captured the rest of her square of Lynnsagna between his chopsticks. He quickly crammed it in his mouth, swallowing it whole like a pelican.

He saw Lori out of the corner of his vision, rolling her eyes at him for the action, knowing the resulting outcome. He also ignored the kick to the shin she gave him underneath the table.

Luna's head swiveled back around to her plate and her pupils went wide as she took in the sight of her now empty dinner plate.

"But—I—Dude!" Luna clutched her head in frustration before it finally clicked for her and she turned to face her older brother, her face flushed red with anger.

"Nate!"

Nate instantly applied his hand to her face in a grip, staving off her predicted grab for his plate, chuckling as he did so, while her arms reached out and flailed futilely.

That was the cue for all hell to break loose.

Luan immediately imitated him (complete with chopsticks) and did the same to Lincoln. The boy as a result let out a loud extended 'No' that sounded straight out of a cartoon.

Lola and Lana reached for each other's plates at the exact same time, leading to their heads smacking together.

Lynn convinced Leni she had already eaten earlier and got the older girl to agree to hand over her food willingly.

Lily threw her food onto the floor, while Lisa added… something to her food from a vial that made her plate explode leaving her covered in soot.

The only Loud sibling who wasn't caught up in the hoo-blah was Lucy, who was calmly eating while murmuring to Edwin.

At the head of the table, Lynn Sr. pressed the same five-dollar bill Nate gave him earlier into his wife's hand. With a grunt of annoyance, Lynn Sr. then got up to go back into the kitchen.

Nate guessed they had a bet on who was going to cause trouble first between him and Luan.

Using his chopsticks, Nate swapped the plates between himself and Luna and finally let go of the punk rock girl.

Her face scrunched up in bafflement before he directed her to the food now sitting in front of her.

Luna gave him a light punch in the shoulder then picked up her fork and resumed eating.

"Why can't we ever have just one simple dinner, Nate?" Lori addressed him.

"Cause we wouldn't be the Louds otherwise," he replied, waving his chopsticks in front of her face.

"Right…" Lori sighed in resignation and slumped on her arm as the others raged on around her.

"You're gonna miss me when you go off to college," He prodded her shoulder teasingly with his chopsticks.

"I know…" She conceded, a little bit of a whine mixed in her voice.

She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. "You're literally my big brother, of course, I'll miss you." Her face changed to a look of pleading "You sure you don't want to transfer to Fairway with me?"

Nate put his utensil to his chin in thought. "Maybe…Once I finish community college. You know I'm happy here in town."

"Taking care of us you mean."

"That too, but c'mon Lors, it'll do you good to get away from us for a while and not have to worry about taking care of us for a change."

She gave him a wry smile "Yeah, I don't know what you'll literally do without me."

Nate beamed back at her and stuck his thumb up "There we go, that's the spirit!"

"You know I was talking about you specifically, right?" Peals of laughter came from them both as he shook her shoulder.

"Alright, kids! I have more food if anyone wants any!" Lynn Sr. yelled as he entered the room with another steaming pan of Italian cuisine.

"See, Lori? All's Loud that ends Loud."

The girl groaned in response.


It was way past sundown nearing 10 pm.

Nate had just returned to the house from making a new home for the frogs Lana had found.

A simple water and earth jutsu had done the trick just fine.

Lana of course had wanted to come and help, but he shot her down under the pretense of it being too dark for her to leave the house and go to the woods.

He made his way upstairs and thankfully since it was getting late, the younger ones were already in bed, and the older ones were probably not far off unless they were cramming in some late-night study time. This meant the bathroom was usually open for use, and stench free at this point.

He went into the bathroom, locked the door, peeled off his clothes, and turned on the water. He frowned for a moment at the Six Paths Yang seal on his right palm, then stepped into the shower. The replenished hot water ran over his body, washing away the dirt and grime.

The Yang seal served as one of three "birthmarks" on his body, the others being the Eight Trigrams seal on his stomach and the whisker marks on his face. Thanks to the seal's disappearing-reappearing nature, only his parents had seen it. The sun mark, however, was always visible for all to see.

His siblings thought it was cool. Lisa had asked to study it on numerous occasions, though he always evaded the topic.

For Nate, the mark served as a reminder—A reminder that it once had a twin. For Kurama, it reminded him of his siblings and other half who were most likely still trapped and helpless.

He pushed the thought away by scrubbing as hard as he could. Thankfully a knock at the door derailed his train of thought.

"Um…It's Nate in there, right? Can you like hurry up?" Came the valley girl accent from the other side that could only belong to Leni. "I have to powder my nose," She whispered as if she was ashamed of the fact.

That was one thing about being one of twelve. Even when you thought you had a free moment; you didn't. Either that or it was extremely fleeting. He couldn't be too mad at this one since he almost slipped into a funk.

"Okay! Just give me a second Leni."

He turned off the water and hurried to dry off and put on at least his boxers. It wasn't uncommon for the hastier members of the family to barge into the bathroom anyway.

Leni wasn't one of them, but he'd still rather not risk being doused in hot water because someone needed to use the toilet.

He may have super regenerative healing, but that doesn't mean things don't hurt like hell, dammit!

After he put on his boxers he gathered his clothes, opened the door, and stepped across the bathroom threshold.

Taking care not to stare at him, Leni at once gave him a word of thanks, dashed in, and shut the door.

Nate went down the hallway and into the room he shared with Lincoln.

Originally, when Lynn and Rita first bought the house, it was a linen closet. In those days Nate and Lori had shared a room until they were six and five respectively. That's when Rita and Lynn saw the need to separate them.

By that point, all the rooms had at least one occupant, so the linen closet was refurbished into a small but cozy room Nate promptly took over.

Nate remembered that Lori was very upset about his departure. She bawled her eyes out the whole week leading up to it.

Even after he had moved out, every night for what felt like the first month, Lori came to sleep with him in his bed anyway.

It slowed down eventually. Leni moving into her room during the reshuffle helped, but she'd still come to him occasionally for the next couple of years.

Lincoln had a similar situation with Lynn. The only difference was that both parties were weeping like there was no tomorrow. The two had to be virtually pried apart; they were hugging each other so tight.

Once their parents deemed, they needed to be separated, they renovated Nate's entire room to be big enough to fit two people now. It was a massive undertaking since they had to add material and space to the house. On the second floor no less.

On the bright side, Rita and Lynn Sr. took the opening to also add a master bathroom to their personal bedroom.

Nate stepped inside the room he shared with his younger brother. Lincoln as usual was lounging on his bed on his stomach in his tighty whities reading a comic book.

Their room was unlike the others on the same floor. Firstly, they had two windows compared to everybody else's. They sat on either wall; so that meant his and Lincoln's bed were perpendicular to each other instead of parallel. A tall dresser sat next to each of the beds to compensate for the lack of a closet. On the other side of Nate's bed specifically was a mini fridge and on top of it a hot water pourer for his ramen.

At the top of the room sat a computer desk with Nate's desktop and Lincoln's laptop. At the bottom was a TV that rested on a stand, and underneath the cabinet held a bevy of game consoles and games belonging to both brothers.

Paid for by Nate, this was the other major thing that set their room apart from everyone else's.

Of course, this attracted the attention of the other Loud children given the only other accessible TV was in the living room. It made them the envy of the house the day Nate brought home the appliance. Seldom did a day went by where one of their sisters didn't request to use the boy's room for that exact reason.

"'Sup, Nate?" Lincoln called, rolling on his side to give Nate room to change.

"Hey, Linc. Talk to Ronnie-Anne today?" Nate replied, changing into a fresh pair of underwear and pajama pants.

Lincoln rolled to his back, looking at Nate upside down, confident he was decent at this point "Yeah, we had a video call today. It went pretty well! I thought it'd be awkward but it's like we picked up where we left off!"

Nate lay on the bed, crossing his legs and folding his arms behind his head as leaned up against the headboard.

"Like I said, you two have a bond that can't be broken because of distance. Same with Lori and Bobby."

"Blech," Lincoln retched. "I hope we don't end up like them."

"Boo-Boo-Bear! I literally missed you in the last minute we haven't texted each other!" Nate said in his imitation of Lori's voice.

"Yeah, Babe! My new job at the store pulled me away but I could never sell my love for you!" Lincoln said, doing his best impression of Bobby while hugging himself.

The boys couldn't keep it together as they shared a laugh at their sister's expense.

Lincoln wiped a tear of mirth from his eye and sat up to look at Nate fully. An inquisitive sparkle was in his eye.

"You know, it's almost scary how well you do her voice. If I didn't know any better or closed my eyes; I'd have thought, she was in the room with us." The white-haired boy then put a finger to his chin in thought. "Now that I think about it you do all our voices to where they're almost identical. Matter of fact, you usually just need to hear someone once and you can copy them."

Nate offered him a non-committal shrug to his observation. "One of my many talents. Luan is still trying to pick up how I do it."

Lincoln shivered at the thought. "Please don't let her learn it before April 1st…Why am I saying that to you? You're just as dangerous as her that day." The eleven-year-old cringed at the enigmatic grin on the eighteen-year-old's face. "Guh. I'm going to Canada that day."

"Why are you running?! You know I'll just catch you!" Nate said in a deliberately flamboyant voice.

Sufficiently mortified, Lincoln's hand snapped to the lamp on his nightstand and flicked the switch, sending them into darkness followed by the sound of ruffling. Most likely, Lincoln had retreated under the covers.

"Night, Nate."

Inside the seal, Nate sensed that even Kurama had an inkling of worry though he'd never say it out loud.

Nate plus Luan plus pranks were the equivalents of giving a monkey the nuclear launch codes.

The teen guffawed as he relaxed back in his bed, arms still behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

Before he had Iruka, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Team 7 as his "family". But after meeting his mother and father, he had secretly yearned for an actual blood-related family.

Sure, he and Tsunade were distantly related by blood, but due to the war and the Akatsuki, they never had a chance to interact and live together as a family. He hadn't even known Jiraiya was his godfather until after the man had already passed.

Here he had a bloodtie family, he loved them, and they, him. Actual siblings. The chance to live with parents. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows; he had plenty of disagreements with both his siblings and parents. The big one was when he told his parents he wanted to continue his shinobi work. However, when it came down to it no matter what they always had each other's back.

Naruto sighed and shifted to his side, feeling sleep overtake him.

Despite his regrets, he was grateful for what he now had.


New story; not much fanfare. This was something that stayed in my head until I wrote it. I was inspired by other writers for the Loud Fandom, but it was a Naruto crossover that caught my eye and gave me the idea.

The main difference being in that story Nate Loud was a well-off YouTuber, caretaker older brother who had no powers but the memories of Naruto Uzumaki who also had the less than familial affections of his sisters.

Here, he's the Community College going unattached mischievous slacker, yet mysteriously is good at everything he does, who unbeknownst to his siblings, moonlights as a super-powered shinobi.

My intentions with this is to subvert some of the tropes I see with a lot of Naruto crossovers.

Firstly, Naruto has his six paths powers yes, but he isn't here to be some paragon of good that resolves every plot with minimal effort for the heroes. As seen with the fight with Danny(Who is a hero) and talk with Jimmy, he walks the world of grey while still having some of his easy-going idiotic nature and optimism. In that same vein, this won't be some grimdark story where death and consequences lurk around every corner.

My goal here is to illustrate a Naruto and Sasuke who basically got the opportunity to swap places with each other and how they would handle life in that role.

Even though I have an overarching story, the day-to-day mishaps is all me throwing shit at the wall. So, if there's any idea you may have and want to see, I'll consider it

That's pretty much every major thing I want to say for the opening chapter, so I hope you enjoy what you've read here and consider sticking with me for the whole ride.

PS. Looking for a beta with this one. Please DM if interested.

Taka out