Hello there, Prof. Majora here. This is my first ever fanfiction that I have ever written. Hopefully you will enjoy this one. For this one, I offer you a Naruto, and Harry Potter Crossover that I think has not been done yet. Regardless, I hope this story will be to your reading pleasure.

Now, a few disclaimers and explanations:

While I list this as Naruto and Harry Potter Crossover; this story will more so be a Naruto story with strong Harry Potter elements included. There are no characters from the original books present here, and if they are it will mostly be present. The Magic Creatures and Magic itself from the Potter Universe will be present, as well as various artefacts. This story takes place in the Naruto World, with other crossovers mixed into it. The Harry Potter World existed before this one, but was destroyed through events I will describe later on.

Furthermore, this fanfiction will also include several other crossovers as well, including League of Legends and Legend of Zelda, among others that I may include. In fact, to some degree one could argue that this is more so a crossover between Naruto & League of Legends, considering that I will spend a big chunk of the plot with those characters.

However, keep this in mind - this story will primarily deal with matters relating to the Potter Universe magic. Naruto will be looking for various forms of Magic, and try to find what is left of the ancient Wizarding World while also adding it to the expanding Magical World Naruto will be enveloping herself in. Furthermore, considering that Naruto will essentially become heavily involved with Dementors and other magical creatures; I deem this as a Naruto & Harry Potter Crossover, with League of Legends being a very close third crossover.

Also, on that note - this story will contain not only a female!Naruto, but also a darker!Naruto, so expect her to be OOC from the original. Alongisde that, she will also be Beyond Godlike. There will also be other clichés in this story that include Sharingan, EMS Sharingan, Rinnegan, Rinne-Shraingan, Chakra and Magical-based techniques, Konoha Bashing, Council Bashing, Elder Bashing, Sasuke Bashing, and some other characters will be bashed as the story develops.

Other disclaimers include Yuri/Futa Lemons, Limes, Swearing, Lots of Gore, as is fitting of Dark Naruto.

Pairings: Yuri Harem, Shinobi girls as well as League of Legends Girls, among others. You will see as it goes along.

Without furher ado, let's get going:

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Dementor Speech"

"Demon Speech"/Spell or Jutsu

'Demon Thought'

The Dementor Representative

Chapter 1

The definition of the Sound of Life will vary depending on who you ask to define said sound. Some would define it as the sound of people's chatter and children's laughter when they run down the street. Others would be more inclined to refer to the noises of birds and insects in the middle of trees of the Forest. Then there are those in Konohagakure who would state that the sound of life is the sound of two fists locking together in combat. This would not be too surprising in a Shinobi village after all, even one as seemingly peaceful as Konoha.

If one was to ask the young child sitting in the small restaurant, Ramen Ichiraku; he would probably say that the sound of cooking a bowl of ramen, or the sound of slurping up the broth. Of course, the child would not care about what this Sound of Life discussion was all about, as he would be more concerned with the seventh bowl of ramen that he had just ordered and devoured, before it even had time to be set down on the stand itself.

"You know, I still cannot believe that you are capable of devouring over five bowls and not get sick", said the young waitress, who barely looked a day over thirteen. She rubbed was leaning on one hand as she was staring at the blonde, spiked-haired child in front of her.

"Well Ayame-nee, I just can't help myself. And if I keep enjoying the food – what is the harm?" The child inquired with a ridiculously large grin. The waitress Ayame sighed loudly at the boy's stubbornness and rubbed some her brown hair out of her face. All of a sudden, a slightly hefty, but cheerful man came out from the back with some boxes of freshly delivered ingredients.

"Don't discourage him, Ayame! Naruto here is our favourite customer, and I refuse to allow our favourite customer to walk away without filling up his stomach first. Go on Naruto – eat as much as you can", exclaimed the kind restaurant owner, Teuchi Ichiraku.

Naruto's smile seemed to grow even bigger, as he somehow during the conversation, managed to start devouring his eighth bowl. Teuchi and Ayame just smiled and shook their heads. One gets used to Naruto's quirks and strange habits with time. As Teuchi went to take care of the newly delivered ingredients; they were not going to put away themselves. Naruto kept slurping up his eighth bowl with an expression of pure delight on his face.

As he was about to finish the last of his delicious noodle soup, or as he called it 'Food of the Gods'; Naruto slowed down, and turned his attention to Ayame. The girl in question, feeling Naruto's gaze, turned around to see his blue eyes, normally covered up with sheer joy, now holding a degree of uncertainty.

"Ayame-chan, can I ask you a question?" Naruto's voice didn't carry the full enthusiastic potency it always carried. Ayame put her hands in front her on the stand and her face adopted a warm smile towards Naruto, in hopes of calming down whatever form of insecurity he felt.

"Of course, Naruto-kun; you can ask me anything", she replied with a gentle tone, hoping to make him feel more comfortable asking whatever it is he has on his mind. Naruto started looking down into his bowl, almost as if trying to look anywhere else but into her eyes.

"Well… um… what would…" Naruto's voice was almost so small that one could have mistaken it for a whisper. Ayame thought that she probably would not have heard it, if not for the fact that her fullest attention was centred straight at the boy. After a few moments of hesitation, Naruto noticed Teuchi return, and seemed to snap himself out of his mood and cover it with an awkward smile. "You know what, forget it – it's nothing important anyway. It's getting late anyway, and I should probably get home", he exclaimed with an equally awkward chuckle, while subconsciously tugging on the sleeves of his worn and torn long-sleeved shirt. The shirt looked about one size too big, and its green colours and red spiral had faded a bit from use. Ayame pouted, as she knew that Naruto was clearly hiding something. Ayame sighed loudly, as she knew that once Naruto got like this; very little, if anything, could get him to open up.

"Well, if you say so. Just know that that you can come to me whenever there is something you want to talk about." Just because Ayame was letting Naruto go for now; it didn't mean that she wasn't going to offer the olive branch for Naruto to take whenever he needed to unload whatever was bothering him.

Sadly, that was not going to happen today, or any day soon for that matter.

Naruto nodded and gave her his biggest grin yet. Afterwards, Naruto grabbed his bowl and finished the last of his ramen, before bringing out his beloved toad-shaped wallet, affectionately referred to as 'Gama-chan'. He was about to offer what little money he had, when he felt Teuchi place his hand on top of Naruto's. Naruto looked confused up at Teuchi's face, which was adorned with that soft smile only he seemed to be able to create.

"It's okay Naruto – today, it's on the house", Teuchi said with the same gentle tone that Ayame used. "Just make sure to come back whenever you want to. Remember that our door is always open for you." Teuchi's words made Naruto's confused gaze turn into a small smile.

"Thank you, Teuchi-oji", Naruto softly responds. The small smile Naruto carries is nowhere close the size of any of his previous grins, but this small smile seemed all the more powerful than thousands of those previous grins. Naruto then jumps off his stool and leaves the small establishment. After she is sure that Naruto is out of hearing distance; Ayame turns towards Teuchi with a stern glare.

"Tou-san, you stopped Naruto-nii from opening up to me. Didn't you hear our conversation?" Ayame puts her hands on the sides of her hips while tapping her foot at her father, for ruining Naruto's moment to try to open up.

"Yes, I did", Teuchi responded with a sombre tone. "I heard his tone, and I knew he wasn't ready to open up. He wasn't going to open up, and if he did – it wouldn't have been truly honest. We can only help him with whatever it is, as long as he is honest about it."

Ayame looks down, with a forlorn expression regarding the boy who had grown on them ever since they met him about three years ago. Ayame leaned against the counter. "I know; I just wished he would open up to us more… it feels like we are everything he has." While Ayame muttered the last part to herself, Teuchi could still make out what she said. The sad thing was; he strongly suspected that she wasn't that far from the truth.

Teuchi had known Naruto for almost four years now. He could still remember when Naruto, a skinny little blonde child, shyly peeked into the restaurant while still standing in the rain. Teuchi also remembered the sheer surprise when Teuchi asked Naruto to come in, away from the rain. At first, Naruto was scared, and ran off, but came back shortly afterwards with a curious and confused reaction. Teuchi also remembered the sheer smile on Naruto's face when he got his first bowl of Ramen. He acted like he was given the key to Paradise, all over a simple bowl of noodles and broth. There was something so precious and yet so heart-shattering at seeing that smile.

"I know what you mean, sweetie. I want to know what is bothering him just as much as you do. Sadly, we cannot do anything until he tells us himself. But eventually, he will be back, and he will tell us what is bothering him. After all, he is our number one customer for a reason", Teuchi exclaimed to his daughter with a feeling of optimism that was so thick; not even Tsunade could destroy it with her immense strength.

Ayame smiled and nodded. Her father was right. Eventually, Naruto would come forth with the truth about whatever it is that is bothering him. Naruto knew that he could trust in his beloved Nee-chan. No matter what it was, it couldn't be anything bad enough to alienate him from them. Eventually Naruto would realise this, and come to Ramen Ichiraku, ready to open up about his problems. And she would be there to hear it all; no matter how long it would take.

-Meanwhile -

Naruto was walking down the street. The murmurs and whispers about him were all too clear in his ears. He was well-aware what the main populous thought of him. After all, the beatings, assaults and insults made it pretty damn clear of what the villagers thought about him. Naruto snorted to himself. All of this was because of their reluctance to move on from the past, and choose to hate Naruto rather than embrace him. Way to preach the whole "Will of Fire" thing.

Naruto entered an abandoned apartment building. Or at least it looked abandoned. The truth was that at the age of four; Naruto was thrown out of the Orphanage where he had lived since he was born. Not like that place was missed by Naruto in any regard, as the caretakers were terrible to him. They would not feed him, they never allowed him to play with any toys and they would keep him isolated in the attic with only a moth-eaten blanket to keep him warm. Not to mention that they allowed the other children to bully him, and whenever Naruto would fight back, then he was suddenly the big bad villain.

In theory it wouldn't have mattered that he was thrown out the orphanage. However, the main difference was that he was thrown out during a winter storm. Naruto spent three days in that blizzard, and it didn't help that on the third day a mob gathered around him and started to torment the young child. Then they simply left his bloodied body in the freezing snow, and he remained there for so long that his blood had frozen onto the ground and his skin. If it wasn't for that grey-haired Anbu; Naruto would not had been alive today. He was rushed into the hospital, and got treatment for his severe injuries, which included broken ribs, multiple lacerations and multiple traumas from blunt instruments, alongside hypothermia and frost bites. After being treated for the damages, with the word 'treated' being used lightly; the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, managed to get Naruto an apartment of his own. Though not only would all of the other inhabitants of the apartment complex suspiciously move away shortly after Naruto moved in, but his apartment was also constantly the target for vandalism.

Naruto soon stood before the door leading into his apartment. The words 'BE GONE, DEMON FREAK' was written with bold, red paint.

"Why is it always red", Naruto mused in his own mind. After defusing the multitude of traps that covered the door; Naruto went inside the small apartment. It was only a two room on a very small surface. It was big enough to have him, a bed, a table and a refrigerator comfortably. If he tried to fit anything else into the apartment, then he would not have been able to move around comfortably. And even if the walls had cracks and were slowly falling apart, Naruto could not deny that it was still identified as his home; if only because of the crude marks on the door.

To think that all of this happened because of a simple giant, nine-tailed Fox the size of the Hokage Monument. Yes, despite what the Third Hokage believed; Naruto was very much aware of the Kyuubi's existence. It wasn't too hidden after all, because when people scream after you and beat you up, screaming about you being a 'demon' and the 'Kyuubi Brat'; one tends to make the connection.

Almost eight years ago, on October 10th; the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. The Nine-Tailed Fox ravaged and destroyed a lot of Konoha's buildings and businesses, and killed thousands of people in its destructive wake. It was without a doubt a tragedy. And on that day, the Fourth Hokage made the ultimate sacrifice, and gave his own life to kill the Kyuubi. At least, that is what the history books would try to make you believe. However, Naruto knew what actually happened, as he had read in a book regarding the demonic and supernatural, that Bijuu cannot be killed in the traditional sense. That means that something else happened that night he was born, and she quickly pieced together what happened. On that night, the Fourth Hokage didn't kill the Kyuubi; he sealed it away within a newly born child. That child was Naruto Uzumaki.

Now, upon doing this, the Fourth Hokage had done this with the hope that Naruto would be seen as a hero for keeping the Kyuubi imprisoned. Sadly, it would seem the Fourth Hokage overestimated his Will of Fire, and likewise underestimated the hypocrisy of his subjects. At some point, the Third Hokage revealed to the Council that he contained the fox, as he had to tell the council of what actually happened, as keeping it secret might only be worse in the long run. As soon as that piece of information was revealed, the Civilian Council was screaming and demanding for Naruto's death. At that point, Hiruzen declared the revelation of Naruto's Jinchuuriki status an S-Rank Secret, and forbid any parent from revealing it to the younger generation. However, someone in the council felt it was their sworn duty to protect Konoha, and leaked the information regarding Naruto's status as the Kyuubi, and not as its Jinchuuriki. Of course, said person was executed promptly after revealing said information, but the damage was done. This revelation would lead to a chain of events, consisting of neglect, abuse and even downright torture, just because Naruto had the unfortunate luck to be born on that fateful day.

Naruto started rubbing his shoulder as he remembered the kunai that had been thrown straight into his shoulder blade this very morning. Naruto stood in front of his mirror, took off his shirt and stared at himself. Naruto was not really a short boy, but he was not exactly tall either. He was of a somewhat average height. But he was however underweight, as one could see the ribs poking out whenever he removed his shirt. Naruto looked at his piercing blue eyes and his wild, spiky blond hair that reached down to his neck. He also looked at the three lines on each cheek resembling whiskers. The young child scoffed; how on earth would he not have realised that he had the fox within him with all of the clues that surround him daily; from the words of the villagers, to the clues staring him quite literally in the face, every time he looks himself in the mirror? It was ridiculous.

Now, one would think that the aspect of knowing that a giant, millennia old, demonic Kitsune sealed within your belly would scare and destroy someone mentally. Well, not Naruto. He was well aware of that there was a difference between him and the fox. Besides, he honestly did not mind the fox. Sure, he could deal without the Fox Hunts that happened on his birthdays, when the villagers would form mobs and try to 'finish what the Fourth started', but that wasn't really something the Kyuubi asked for. Ironically, it was because of those mobs that Naruto appreciated the fox. Even if he had never talked to the Kyuubi; Naruto was grateful to the fox for helping him heal all the injuries the villagers caused him. Besides, Naruto had always tried to form his own opinion about things around himself. Naruto had learned early that not everything was at it seems.

Naruto looked once more in the mirror, and stared at his upper body. There were severe signs of his malnourishment, as he could see his ribs. However, it was the bandages wrapped around his chest that caught Naruto's full attention of the painful reminder of the very secret "he" had kept hidden from all those around "him".

Yes, Naruto was in fact a girl. She had always been one since birth. The only one who knew the truth was the Third Hokage, as he was the one had hid her gender in the first place, with the intention of protecting her. The Third revealed this particular secret to her when she was four years old, after she was thrown out of the orphanage, and he got her this apartment. He revealed that because of the villagers' angry disposition against her, and how little girls are sometimes in more danger than little boys; he felt the need to take precautions against such things happening. He stated that she would have to keep hiding her gender until she graduated and became a kunoichi, after which point he believed that she would be strong enough to reveal her real gender. She never revealed to him that she always knew that she was a girl, and was more surprised that it was meant to be a secret. Naruto figured out later on that somehow; she wasn't affected by the henge Hiruzen-jiji put on her.

Now, while most would blame the Kyuubi for being the source of all the pain one goes through in life; the truth was that she had never blamed the Fox for what had happened to her. The loneliness, the abuse and all of the torment Naruto had faced her whole life, was all because of the civilians who were blinded by prejudice, as well as the shinobi, who should damn well know about the difference between the prisoner and the warden. All of her attackers were the ones to blame in her mind, as they were projecting their frustrations and anger on to her, and felt justified for doing so. The Kyuubi was never once involved in any of those attacks. The only thing the Fox was guilty of was attacking the village almost eight years ago, but she always felt that there were more to that story than what was seen at first glance.

In fact, there were only two things related to Kyuubi that she technically blamed him for, and even then – it was mildly blaming him at most.

The first thing is the reason for her carrying the bandages around her chest in the first place. The Kyuubi is such an immense force to be reckoned with, beyond anything anyone could imagine. Because of this, the Kyuubi had managed, knowingly or not, to provide Naruto with a source of energy that gave her strength and even development which helped substitute the lack of food in Naruto's life. Despite Naruto's malnourishment, she was still of an average height, when she actually would have been immensely shorter because of said malnourishment. Unfortunately, this advanced development also made other things develop, perhaps a bit prematurely. Naruto was starting to develop breasts. She was only turning eight within a few months, and she was already developing breasts.

The reason this bothered her was because she was fully aware of what Hokage-jiji meant when he spoke about how little girls could be treated worse than little boys. She lived in the Red Light District after all, and you don't live in the Red Light District for close to four years without picking up a few things about the seedier elements of the world. Naruto was well aware what sex was from an early age, and that most men really liked to have it… even if sometimes the women did not.

Naruto remembered when she was outside one evening, at the age of five; when she all of a sudden heard a woman scream. She followed the noise and saw an older shinobi pin a teenage kunoichi, sixteen at most, with purple hair; being pinned up against a wall by a Chuunin with a syringe laying by his feet. Naruto was well aware of prostitutes that would have sex with men that would sell their services to men who paid enough money. However, she had only ever seen the prostitutes carry expressions of boredom, or faked joy – never that of rage or fear. Naruto, while not knowing what this action really was, immediately understood that this was something wrong. She charged the Chuunin, and attacked him with a strength she never even knew she had. It was like she was in a daze, while unleashing something within her that was built up from all the darkness the villagers had thrown at her. Afterwards, when she was done – the Chuunin was laying on the ground, a mass of broken bones that was twitching and barely making a groan. Naruto briefly looked at the shocked would-be-victim, before Naruto ran away. She was afraid that the purple-haired teenager was going to attack her for attacking someone else, even if she had just saved the kunoichi from a terrible fate, and thus completely ignored the shouts from the teenage girl asking her rescuer to wait.

It was later when Naruto learned what that disgusting action truly was. Naruto did not wish for that to happen to her, even to someone she considered an enemy. So she was aware that by turning more womanly; there would be an increasing risk that this abominable action would be included in her torture regiment, all for the sake of taming the demon no doubt. Though, then again; she was also aware of how little boys would also be a victim of this abominable action, if they were pretty enough. Naruto sighed in hopelessness at the thought of said action occurring. She just hoped that they would find doing that to a demon too dirty to even consider it, but she wasn't too enthusiastic.

The second thing she blamed the Kyuubi for was not really his fault, but she couldn't deny that he had some involvement in this, even indirectly; Naruto's distrust of Hiruzen Sarutobi. And this one really hurt Naruto, because she didn't want to distrust Hokage-jiji. He was always nice to her. He would come by every now and then to the orphanage and visit, and when she was thrown out he managed to get this apartment for her. It wasn't a luxurious suite at a Hotel or anything, but it was certainly a home for Naruto to have, even if she was alone. It was much more than anything that anyone had ever given her before. And still, the old man would come and visit her, and she could talk to him about her with any issues she may have. Hokage-jiji was even so nice to offer ramen every now and then and money for her to support herself.

However, the reason Naruto started developing trust issues with the man who she has considered her grandfather for years was not because of something he has done, but rather what he hasn't done. Hiruzen kept secrets. Naruto remembered when she had figured out that she was the container of the Kyuubi, or Jinchuuriki as it is called, about a week after she had turned seven. That birthday she had endured one the worst beatings as of yet, and had to be in the hospital for at least four days. If it wasn't for the Kyuubi, she would have probably been there for at least four months. Afterwards, Naruto had figured out that she was in fact the container of the Bijuu in question. It wasn't hard to connect the dots when the villagers gave them to her in their blind rage. She had previously asked Hiruzen-jiji on a few occasions why the villagers hated her so much, at which point he would simply shrug and confess that he didn't know. After finding out that she was the Kyuubi, Naruto realised that Hiruzen probably knew all along. So she asked one more time when she met him, and once again his answer was:

"I am sorry, Naruto-chan. I don't know why the villagers hate you so much. I wish I did, so that I could find a way to make them stop."

It was the same answer as before. It was in fact too similar, almost like he had rehearsed it. She strongly suspected that he was aware all along, and simply didn't tell her. Now, Naruto was very intelligent and perceptive, but also mature for her age. She had to be, considering the life she was enduring. As such, she figured that Hokage-jiji simply didn't say anything because he didn't want to put that burden on Naruto's shoulders. Some may argue that it would have been better to tell her, so she knew what she was dealing with, but in the end; Naruto was confident that Hiruzen had no sinister intentions when not telling her. After all, she was still considered a young girl, and even if she was incredibly intelligent; there was not guarantee that she would be able to handle the news of an Ancient Demon being sealed within a seal on her stomach.

However, Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to things than what Hiruzen was actually saying. She knew that the position of Hokage would make you the absolute head of the village, with the Fire Daimyo being the only one who could supersede your decisions. This means that not only was Hiruzen the highest authority of the village, but she was also aware that he knew the inner workings of the village. So unless there was something going on behind the scene, which could be possible considering the Village Council; she doubted that Hiruzen was completely truthful. If Hiruzen was keeping one secret, why couldn't he be keeping another?

This made Naruto cringe, as she felt she was not really any better than Hiruzen. She was so close to revealing the truth about her gender to Ayame today. As she was developing, she longed for having a friend who was also a girl; someone who could help her with all of her issues that would come around with being a developing woman. True, she did consider the shy Hinata Hyuuga a friend, as after she had saved her from those bullies; Hinata had been very nice towards Naruto. She had been incredibly shy and would blush all the times, but she was still truly nice. All Hinata needed was a boost of confidence, something Naruto would gladly assist with. Naruto had tried to spend more time with her, but they had not been able to spend much time together as of yet. She felt a connection to the girl for sure, but she couldn't open up when those bloody overprotective bodyguards that would always stand around. Today, she had planned to open up to Ayame for the first time, as she and Teuchi-oji were two of the few people she genuinely trusted. However, she pulled out in the last moment, and didn't have the guts to reveal that she had kept her very gender and identity secret. She knew deep down that neither Ayame nor Teuchi would do anything, as being a girl really changed very little of whom Naruto is.

However, it was instinctual for Naruto to hide who she really was. It was the same reason she put on a façade and pretended to be a bumbling, cheerful and happy idiot with a penchant for pranks. True, she did pull pranks because she genuinely enjoyed pranks, and it was also a way for her to get back at some of the villagers, but that was the only part of the mask she had created for herself, which was actually true. It was safer to pretend to be incompetent than to actually show her intelligence; that way the villagers would not suspect that the demon was growing too strong. Of course, it was not like the villagers had already tried everything they could to make sure that Naruto ended up an imbecile, by providing no source of education for the young girl, and trying to deprive her of any intellectual stimulation. If it wasn't for the combined effort of Hiruzen, Ayame and Teuchi, along with her vast intellect; Naruto was confident that she would not be able to outsmart the ramen she loved to eat.

And that was another reason this deception hurt so much for Naruto. She was deceiving Teuchi-oji and Ayame-chan, the two people closest connected to ramen itself. She lied over ramen. Now, this didn't hurt her just because ramen was delicious (which it definitely was), but because of what Ramen meant to Naruto. She remembered when she was first introduced to Teuchi and his delicious ramen. It might have seemed strange that she was so happy by the simple offering of a noodle dish, but to Naruto it was so much more. For the lonely orphan, she had never really been given anything by anyone before. Naruto had smelt something delicious coming from the restaurant, and peeked inside; longing to have a taste, but expected to be thrown out if she ever asked. So to get not just get a dish of that food, but for free; meant the whole world to Naruto. To her, ramen didn't just become her favourite food; it became a symbol of friendship and acceptance. Hence why it hurt so much that she couldn't find the strength to push through her trust issues, and tell Teuchi and Ayame about her real issues, especially since she felt that Hiruzen was not completely trustworthy himself. Maybe she never would find the courage to open up and be honest. Maybe it was better to lie-

Naruto's eyes snapped open at this thought. She immediately slapped herself across the face. What kind of thinking was that?! Was this the same girl who desired to become Hokage, in order to become something much greater in order to prove that she could push through the boundaries people around her had set? No, it wasn't. She was not going to let those miserable villagers ruin the friends she had made for herself. She decided that tomorrow at noon; she was going to go straight to the Ichirakus and confront her worst fears. She was going to let someone in. With this determination in mind, Naruto went to her bed, and lied down to get some sleep, filled with determination of how she was going to confront her fear. She fell asleep, with a confident smirk, not knowing that today was the last time she would see the Ichirakus for several years.

-In the depths of Konoha-

Within a secret underground base, an elderly man was sitting all by himself. His black and shaggy hair was hanging over the bandage that was covering his right eye. He was dressed in a white shirt underneath a black high-collared robe. This was Danzo Shimura, one of elders on the Konoha Council. He was sitting at his desk within his secret chambers, looking over several pieces of paper regarding his organisation, Root. Even though Hiruzen had ordered Danzo to disband Root, because of the underhanded ways Danzo handled things; he had kept it operating, just without the Third Hokage's permission or knowledge. Even if Hiruzen suspected that Danzo had not actually disbanded Root; he couldn't prove it as long as Danzo was careful. To Danzo, it didn't really matter, because he felt that Root was necessary for the survival of Konoha and for it to truly become the greatest village among all of the existing shinobi villages. In the end, Danzo was a true patriot and knew what was necessary for the survival of Konoha, even if no one else could see it. He would not let the sentimental values Hiruzen held on to interfere with Konoha's glory.

This was one of the things that Hiruzen had been most diligent in preventing Danzo from obtaining; the power that was rightfully his, and would help Danzo fully make Konoha the greatest village in the world; heck that would dominate the world. That power came in the form of two objects: the title of Hokage, and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. For decades, Danzo had held onto his ambition of obtaining the illustrious title as the Hokage of Konoha, and he had dreams of how glorious his reign would truly be. If he was only given that blasted title, then he could truly turn Konoha into what it was always meant to be. Furthermore, the title in question would also aid Danzo in getting his hands on the Jinchuuriki.

For almost eight years; Danzo had tried everything possible to get his hands on the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. Yes, he knew they boy had a name, but he didn't care and kept calling him by his title of Jinchuuriki. The demon was meant to be controlled, and the demon container was merely the weapon to allow said demon to be controlled. The boy was merely a weapon, an object to be used. And yet, Hiruzen insisted on denying Danzo his priced weapon. He knew what Hiruzen was planning – if he could get the brat to become a Shinobi, then Naruto would only need to answer directly for the Hokage, and he would be away from Danzo's grasp. Didn't Hiruzen see that by doing this, he was squandering the potential of the Kyuubi, the strongest of the nine Bijuu? Danzo remembered his attempt and talk about turning over the Jinchuuriki over to his care.

-Flashback, about a week ago-

"Hiruzen, I request that you give me the Jinchuuriki. You know that I can make it into a powerful weapon that will serve Konoha's greatness", Danzo told his old friend and rival. They were standing in the Hokage Office, as Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting behind his desk; the Hokage hat proudly sitting on top of his head.

"Danzo, we have been over this repeatedly. I am not going to let you be in charge of Naruto's training. Naruto will be going to the academy like every other child", Hiruzen sighed exasperatedly at Danzo's stubbornness.

"Hiruzen, surely you must realise the advantages of having that boy be properly trained. You will squander his true potential if you let him go to the academy. I can see to it that his potential is fully realised."

"I will not let you turn Naruto into one of your emotionless drones." Hiruzen was getting annoyed and angry at Danzo's callous disposition regarding Naruto's mental wellbeing. This was one of the things Danzo and Hiruzen would always disagree upon: the value of emotions within Shinobi.

"Why would that be so bad? Emotions are only a hindrance for Shinobi, as they are only meant to serve their village and not let their personal ambitions get in the way of the village's glory. Weapons certainly don't need emotions. Because that is all Jinchuuriki are; weapons to be used for Konoha's glory", Danzo exclaimed with a stern voice that showed his conviction on the matter.

"Danzo", Hiruzen started while giving an unfaltering look at the Root Founder. "I know you have a personal resentment towards emotions and emotional attachments, and that you find them worthless for a Shinobi's efficiency. But this is not a case when the arguments surrounding the value of emotion will matter. A Jinchuuriki needs their emotions to function. Otherwise, they cannot use the power of their Bijuu. If I let you deprive Naruto of emotions; it would not only make us lose the power of controlling the Kyuubi, but it would also put the entirety of Konoha at risk of the Kyuubi breaking free again." Danzo was quiet for a while after hearing this, before trying once again.

"Hiruzen, I implore that-"

"No, Danzo", Hiruzen interrupted. "I have heard quite enough. You are not getting Naruto today or any time soon as long as I have anything to say about it. I am the Hokage, not you. Now leave my office." Hiruzen's tone left no room for argument, and Danzo simply gave the slightest of bows, before leaving the office.

-Flashback end-

Danzo seethed at the memory. Hiruzen was truly blind to it all. He intended the brat to go to the academy, form bonds and learn all about being a Shinobi. Hiruzen genuinely believed that the boy would learn anything from the teachers, much less gain friends. They would never let the boy learn anything, and if they boy was taught anything; it would be done incorrectly. All because of the stupid idea, that they should weaken the Kyuubi. These idiots would be hindering the ultimate weapon's potential, and Hiruzen would allow it, in his blissful ignorance that he was helping the boy forming friendships.

This could not be allowed to happen. Danzo had repeatedly tried to get the Jinchuuriki under his control, but every time he tried to appeal to the council to get it; he was overruled. He had the Civilian Council on his side, as they didn't care what happened to the boy, and as long as he was under their control; they were happy. It was most of the clan heads and of course the Hokage himself that proved to be real obstacle. They didn't want him to remove the boy's emotions and some even accused that he would just use it for his own gain. Those sentimental fools – do they not realise that Danzo was thinking about the well-being of Konoha? That his version of Konoha was the way to the future of glory and power?! Of course not, all they saw was a boy, not a weapon. The only one who seemed to not be against the idea of using the boy as a weapon was Fugaku Uchiha. If only that poor fool was on Danzo's side and that Uchiha clan was not planning an uprising. They would have to take care of that soon enough, and secretly Danzo was considering the idea of utilising the Sharingan in more… creative fashions. That way, he could control the Kyuubi directly, if the rumours of the Sharingan being capable of controlling the Bijuu were in fact true.

However, first he needed to get hold of the Jinchuuriki himself, which is not an easy task on its own. Because of the attacks on the boy, Hiruzen kept a constant Anbu unit that would follow the boy, one of them being Kakashi Hatake. They couldn't just snatch the boy, even with a distraction at hand. They would trace the boy back to the Root Base immediately, especially since Hatake had his dog summons that were extremely good at picking up scents, even if one was to leave no trace of any scent. No, they had to be cleverer and catch the boy without leaving a single trace.

The best way to do that would be to reverse-summon the boy to his location, but while Danzo knew a deal of Fuinjutsu; he didn't know enough to the point he could pull of feats like that. If he had the Hirashin, then maybe he could, but not at his current level of knowledge. The one who could come closest to it was Jiraiya of the Sannin, and even then Danzo doubted the Toad Sage could do it. Furthermore, Danzo couldn't use a summoning animal either, as none of his Root-nin had any contracts of their own. True, Danzo had his own personal summon, but he would rather keep that hidden and save it as one of his trump cards, not use it to capture one little boy. It would also bring too much attention. So using summoning creatures was out of the question. However, just because he couldn't use the Hirashin or summons; it didn't mean that Danzo was out of options. In fact, while it was not as efficient as say the Hirashin; it would serve his purpose of capturing the Jinchuuriki nicely.

A little over a year ago, he had met up with a man named Yin Amori. Yin was a civilian merchant that was very good at finding unusual artefacts and selling them to people who desired to use it. No questions asked, just offer the payment and leave. Yin was fully aware of client confidentiality, so he had hired a seal master to put a seal on his tongue, similar to the one Danzo puts on his Root Operatives, which prevents Yin from revealing any of the names or identities of his clients. He could discuss where he got an item, but not about who gave it to him. Danzo could respect that, as much as he at times loathed admitting it. Yin had done a few dealings with Danzo in the past, and he had managed to acquire a few rarities that Danzo enjoyed, including a very nice sword that was made from a rare material in a country to the far West.

On this visit, he had a few nice tantos that he was looking to sell for a cheap price; to which Danzo agreed. Afterwards, when Danzo asked Yin if he had anything interesting in stock this time, Yin seemed to be slightly hesitant. Then he brought out a wooden box covered in seals, and handled an extraordinary amount of care, almost like it contained a volatile virus. Danzo even noticed that Yin unlocked the box, something that, along with keeping several seals on it; he had never done before to Danzo's knowledge. However, upon opening the box, to Danzo's confusion; there was only a set of two pendants. They didn't look really that extraordinary; there just looked like round badges with some strange markings on them. One of them was made of copper, while the other one was made of iron.

Before Danzo could question the merchant's sanity, Yin swiftly told him to not underestimate the simple appearance of these two necklaces, even throwing in a jab of how Shinobi are supposed to look underneath the underneath. Yin explained that despite the pendants cheap and crude exterior; they contained a very potent ability that only the Hirashin could beat. Danzo became slightly interested, and reached out to grab one of them for further inspection. However, before he could; Yin swiftly reached out and stopped his hand. Of course, while this got the attention of his Root-nin as they were about to kill the man in front of them; Danzo stopped them, as he was aware of Yin's extremely customer-friendly approach. Yin would rather drink acid, before doing anything that could alienate his customer. So to stop and grab his customer's approaching hand around Shinobi assigned to protect said customer, would not only be dangerous for Yin, but it would definitely be seen as endangering the customer's relationship with him. This, if nothing else, gained Danzo's attention. What was so peculiar about these pendants?

Yin explained that these pendants are capable of summoning and reverse summoning. Yin explainted that, upon repeating a particular phrase, "Darkness is coming", while holding the Copper Pendant; that person would be instantly transported to a specific location. You can even send several people, as long as they are touching the pendant or the person wearing the pendant, and the pendant itself left little to no trace. After using the Copper Pendant, the one holding the Iron Pendant could reverse summon the person with the Copper Pendant, simply by saying the words "Darkness has left". The only condition was that the person would have to wait fifteen minutes, before they could reverse summon them. Now, this had completely caught Danzo's interest; the ability to essentially mimic a miniature of Hirashin. True, the fifteen-minute delay was very much a bother, as it meant it couldn't be used for combat. But it would be brilliant to use as an instant escape, or to hide something away and not leave any distinct trace. Danzo understood now why Yin prevented Danzo from touching any of the pendants; he could have been sent away by mistake. However, it was when Danzo asked Yin about where the pendant sends the one wearing the Copper Pendant that it became abundantly clear to Danzo that there was definitely something more to this object than meets the eye…

-Flashback-

"This is an interesting object, Yin, very interesting indeed. I think you may have gotten yourself a sale, but first I must ask: where exactly does this object send you", Danzo asked. His head was going over the various possibilities such an item could bring, but he stopped those thoughts when he saw Yin's expression. The normally tan skin now seemed to pale something fierce and Yin was even twitching uncomfortably.

"Okay, Shimura-sama", Yin started, his voice having a surprising trembling quality to his usually calm and confident voice. "Please know that I would never lie to you, as that would damage my reputation as a businessman. So do know that I'm telling the truth when I say the following: be very cautious. I have never used it on myself, but I have seen it in action twice: once from the person selling it, and once from my own experimentation of the pendants. Wherever the one wearing the Copper Pendant is sent to… it is beyond dangerous. There is something at this location, and that something is not friendly. I am willing to sell it to you if you wish, but do know the risk of using this item. No one wearing the Copper Pendant when it is activated returns, without being horribly affected."

-Flashback end-

Danzo agreed to purchase the Pendants, but asked to test it first on one of his soldiers. Yin agreed, just as long as Danzo further agreed to not hold Yin responsible for whatever happened to those soldiers. Next, Danzo brought out two of his Root Operatives. He ordered one of them to wear the Copper Pendant, while the other held on to the wearer. Danzo then gave them clear orders that they were to find out as much as they could about this location. If they found any creature, they would not engage it and instead try to document what it was and if it could possibly be used in future endeavours. He would try to call them back within ten minutes, to test the time limit. If it didn't work, he would bring them back within fifteen as it was meant to. If twenty minutes had passed and they had not been reverse-summoned; they were instructed to find a way out and to get themselves home to Konoha as soon as possible.

The Root-nin understood and upon activating the phrase; they instantly vanished, just like Yin promised. Next, the first test of summoning them within ten minutes did not work, but it did work at the fifteen-minute mark to the second; again, what Yin promised. Danzo may have been surprised that the pendants worked as they did, but that paled in the sheer shock that rose, he saw the state of his two Shinobi. They were covered in claw marks and had tears in their clothes. However, it was their mental states that worried Danzo. They were broken, terrified and could not stop crying and twitching. Danzo tried to ask them what had happened, but every time he tried; they wouldn't respond. It was like something had grabbed their very cores and traumatised them beyond belief. The soldiers he had personally trained into becoming his loyal subordinates, unable to feel fear. Not even Yamanaka Jutsu could break through that emotional conditioning.

What could possibly break them into these broken messes in fifteen minutes?

Since then, he had performed several experiments with the Pendants and its obscure location. For now, they just called this place the Prison. The reason for this is because the only description he could get of the place; was that it looked like a maze reminiscent of prison halls with barred windows. Danzo had sent some Root-nin, but mostly bandits, civilians and even Missing-nin. Out of everyone he sent, not one of them came back unaffected. None of them could describe what they had seen, only that it was horrible. In some cases, Danzo didn't get anyone back – just the pendant itself.

However, some of them didn't just come back completely traumatised; some of them came back in what was essentially a vegetative state. They wouldn't move, talk or respond to any form of stimulus. While one could say that this was a persistent vegetative state, there was something completely different about this. It was like they had completely died on the inside and lost their very being, but the body had yet to catch up. For some reason, this bothered even Danzo. There was something too unsettling with this. They had no clue of what it was that caused this. Even when he had Fuu Yamanaka go through the memories of the ones they sent, they learned nothing. When Fuu tried to check the vegetative ones, there were no memories found, like someone had completely erased them with no trace. However, when Fuu tried finding memories within the minds of those who were not vegetative; it was like he was hit with a massive backlash. The memories were affected to the point that even a Yamanaka would be injured if they tried to relive it. It was clear that whatever was behind this, it was dangerous. No one had managed to stand up to whatever it was causing this, not a single Shinobi they sent could. And some of them were even A-Rank Missin-nin from Kumo, who came back with some of the worst injuries yet, not to mention they too had ended up in the same vegetative state. He sent about seventy people to the Prison, and out of all of them; only twenty returned, and out of them; only three were still considered fit for Shinobi Duty. In the end, it was determined that the Prison was too dangerous for anyone above A-Rank. True, he could ask Orochimaru, but he didn't want to involve that man into this for obvious reasons.

Danzo had decided he was going to use these Pendants and the Prison as his means of obtaining the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. That way, he would get the brat without leaving any trace whatsoever. It was by no means a perfect plan, as he ran the risk of the Jinchuuriki returning completely unstable or even worse in that vegetative state. However, it was a risk worth taking, as long as he could get the Kyuubi in his grasp. Heck, if he could get a Sharingan in his grasp, then he could still control it.

Hiruzen had his chance, and so far he has proved zero results. Now, it was Danzo's turn, and he would prove that he was indeed the one to bring Konoha into a new age.

-The Next Day, at noon-

Kakashi Hatake, also known as the Anbu Operative Dog or Inu, was jumping between rooftops, his spiky silver hair blowing through the wind as he was moving faster than anyone could detect. He was wearing his mask resembling a dog and Anbu outfit, as he was jumping towards his designated location to switch shift with another fellow Anbu. This shift was the protective detail of Naruto Uzumaki. He was one of the few Anbu that would actively seek out to actually help Naruto, even if his orders were to stay at a distance from the boy, and interact only if necessary. Kakashi understood and respected those rules, but still whenever he could; Kakashi would offer Naruto an ear or someone to talk to. Whatever he could provide the kid with. Some of his fellow Anbus were rather surprised by this, because in their minds: Kakashi would have the most reason to hate Naruto. After all, he is the result of the death of the Fourth Hokage. To which, Kakashi would scoff, and simply say that beating up a young boy that is not even ten years old is not how you honour his sensei's memory.

It was true that Kakashi still mourned the death of Minato-sensei along with Kakashi's dead teammates. One would often find Kakashi standing by the Memorial Stone, mourning his fallen comrades. But despite all the despair, Kakashi found in himself to not hold Naruto responsible, despite how easy it was to just blame the boy. Some of his fellow members would find this stupid, but there were also just as many if not more that admired Kakashi for his determination and honour. Kakashi may not know why Naruto was chosen for the sealing that took the Fourth's life, but Kakashi would trust in Minato-sensei's resolve and trust in Naruto.

As Kakashi was approaching the designated meeting spot, he was surprised to not see the Anbu he was going to meet being there. True, this was a rookie Anbu, but it wasn't common for said Anbu to be late. That was usually Kakashi's role. The rookie had been brought in to replace Crow for the day, as Crow had come down with a surprising cold. After waiting a while, an Anbu appeared in front of him, with a mask resembling a hare covering his face.

"I am sorry; I am a bit late, Dog-Senpai. I had to settle a dispute down the street – some intoxicated shinobi were fighting each other", the Anbu appeared as he is stood in front of Kakashi.

"How long ago was this, Hare", Kakashi asked sternly. He could tell that Hare was not telling any lies, but he was still not pleased with the Anbu in front of him. The rookie Hare, noticing this displeasure, looked down on the ground in shame. He knew he had messed up.

"About twenty minutes ago, I dropped them off to the Police Force-"

"And next time, you let the Police Force take care of drunken Shinobi. While I commend you for taking initiative and stopping that fight; it was still careless of you to leave your current mission unprotected. I understand you had good intentions, but you don't leave your post as an Anbu unless it is really urgent. A drunken brawl does not count. If this happens again, I will have you demoted. Is that clear?" Kakashi's voice left no room for arguments, and delivered a promise pain if Hare would try to argue.

"No, Dog-Senpai, it will not happen again. Forgive me." Hare bowed on the ground in front of Kakashi.

"Just make sure this doesn't happen again", Kakashi responded sternly. He knew that Hare genuinely had nothing against Naruto, and that Hare just had a habit of wanting to stop fights from breaking out between Shinobi. However, this was Anbu; you had a higher obligation now than simple bar brawls. Why on Earth were they drinking at noon anyway? "Report, where is the mission?" Kakashi hated referring Naruto as just 'the mission', but it was important for Anbu to remain secretive.

"Yes Dog-Senpai, the mission is currently on its way to Ramen Ichiraku. It should be there soon enough, and there are no real signs of danger-"

Just when Hare finished that word, a great noise could be heard in the direction of Ramen Ichiraku. It sounded like people screaming as they were running, or more so chasing after something. Considering the direction and what big groups of people tend to chase in this village; it didn't take long for Kakashi to understand what all of this meant.

"Hare, the mission is presumably being attacked. Follow me, when need to save him", Kakashi ordered with a clear tone.

"Yes, Dog-senpai!" Kakashi and Hare jumped between the roofs towards the destination. On the way, Kakashi radioed to the others responsible for Naruto's safe-keeping that they were needed. It didn't take long for three more people, one man and two women, to appear right next to Kakashi and Hare. They bolted through the roofs, and saw that Naruto was being chased by a huge mob. That on its own was strange, because the size of the mob was only seen around Naruto's birthday. This made Kakashi question why there were so many on this day, but he decided to ignore it for now. Naruto was in danger and needed help!

"Hare, Weasel, Cat, Snake – form a wall preventing the civilians from getting to Naruto!" Kakashi ordered.

"Yes sir", all of the present Anbu responded as one unit. Then they all jumped down on the ground, covering the way for any of the mob. Kakashi was depressed and angered when he saw several Chuunin in the crowd alongside the civilians.

"In the name of Hokage-Sama; you are all guilty of attempt and assault on a minor. Lay down your weapons, or we will be forced to use force", Kakashi said, his tone dripping with the authority fitting for his status as an Elite Jounin. It caused some of the people to falter, and Kakashi thought for a brief moment that it was going to end right here. He shouldn't have jinxed it too soon.

"It's worse than we thought! The demon has bewitched these Anbu! Let's kill the beast so that we may save them too", screamed one of the most enthusiastic Kyuubi haters, who ran at them along with his fellow haters. The rest of the mob simply went with the flow and charged as well.

"Use non-lethal force, unless it is absolutely necessary." Kakashi took his stance alongside his fellow Anbu, as they swiftly started dealing with them. The civilians and chuunin tried to fight through the five Anbu, but even with their superior number; they couldn't even make Kakashi and his fellow Anbu break a sweat. Just as he was done and he let his subordinates wrap everything up, he allowed himself a brief moment to look after Naruto. However, in his peripheral vision, he noticed how Naruto bolted and ran down the street, and around the block. Kakashi shouted after the boy to wait, but Naruto would not stop. Kakashi started running after Naruto, and saw how Naruto ran into an alleyway. However, he also saw the brief flicker of a ninja jumping down from the roof of the neighbouring buildings into the same alleyway. Kakashi picked up his speed and bolted into the alleyway, but saw no one upon arrival. He didn't see Naruto, or any of the ninja he clearly saw jump down into the alleyway. Kakashi was confused, but didn't let it deter him, and he quickly summoned his trusted dog companions.

"Kakashi, what is the matter", said a deep voice, coming from small, brown pug-like dog wearing a blue vest and the Konoha forehead protector on top of its head.

"Pakkun, I was chasing Naruto, and I saw him running into this alleyway. However, I also noticed a few unidentified Shinobi jumping in from the roof at the same time. I need to find them."

"Okay, give me a moment", the dog now known as Pakkun replied. The dog started sniffing the opening of the alleyway, before stopping himself. He turned back to Kakashi. "Kakashi, are you sure that only Naruto went down this alleyway", Pakkun asked.

"Of course, I have only seen Naruto enter, as the other ninja jumped in. Why do you ask?"

"Because I only smell two scents, that are both very recent. One is yours, but the other one is clearly that of a girl", Pakkun responded. Kakashi felt his jaw drop. He had not seen any girl enter before Naruto, and there was no trace of anyone else when he entered either. And since Pakkun can only smell two scents, and one of them was Kakashi himself, then that would mean…

"A girl? Are you sure", Kakashi asked, wanting to clarify what he just heard.

"I am sure. There is a clear distinct smell, and it is really clear that she is a girl, who is also starting to develop the hormones of a woman. Her scent carries youth, but also extreme power. Considering who Naruto is, it adds up… well aside from the fact Naruto is supposed to be a boy", Pakkun responded. Kakashi felt his world turn on itself. Naruto was actually a girl this whole time? He quickly shook his head – that was for later.

"Well, let's assume that Naruto is a girl and that is her scent – what can you tell", he asked urgently. He had to find out where Naruto was, and if he/she was okay. Pakkun started sniffing into the alleyway and was baffled once more. He took another sniff just to be sure, but it didn't make any sense.

"Okay, Kakashi. I can detect that Naruto, or whoever this girl is, ran into this alleyway, just like you said. She was ambushed by a total of five men, one of them smelling like insects, but all of them also smell kind of like Anbu." Pakkun's explanation made Kakashi's mind start to work up the most logical conclusion. The insects would suggest the Aburame clan, but they have never really had reason to go after Naruto. If anything, the Aburame Clan was very supportive of Naruto's plight, being able to relate on the prejudice of the civilians due to the Aburame Clan carrying hives of insects within their bodies. Additionally, there was also the detail of the perpetrators smelling similar to Anbu Operatives. Kakashi knew that there were no current members from the Aburame Clan among any of the Anbu members. Though there was one type of Anbu that used to have at least one Aburame in its midst: Root. So this was most likely Danzo playing at trying to get Naruto.

"Danzo, your greed is still present as always", Kakashi muttered with rage lacing his tone. "Where did they take him- I mean her?" At this, Pakkun was quiet for a while as if contemplating something.

"Well… Kakashi, has anyone else learned the Hirashin", Pakkun asked after a while, with confusion in his voice. The question took Kakashi by surprise. Why on earth would he ask that?

"…No, no one but the Fourth can use the technique due to the intricate seals. Why do you ask?"

"Because it is the only way I can make sense out of all of their scents just disappearing", Pakkun responded. Kakashi felt his whole world stop briefly.

"What do you mean 'disappeared'", Kakashi asked with a brief panic entering his voice. "There has to be something, no one can just disappear out of nowhere!"

"I am sorry Kakashi, but they do. I can smell that the five Anbu-like presences jumped Naruto in this alley, and I can smell that they used some faint and unfamiliar energy that is very small and mainly located around Naruto's scent. However, this power was added to her, as I only smell it where she disappeared and not before she entered. There is nothing on the walls or ground suggesting seals or anything smelling like it, and likewise I don't smell the scent of any summon of any kind. They just disappeared, all six of them, from this one spot. I am sorry, Kakashi", Pakkun apologised. Kakashi felt his world fall underneath him. Naruto was gone? Not only was she suddenly revealed to be a girl, but she was also missing. She had been taken, most likely by Danzo. Kakashi had failed Minato-sensei again. He couldn't even protect Naruto when Naruto needed his help. No – Kakashi couldn't stand here and mope. He had to help Naruto, and if he- she is in the hands of Danzo; only the Gods know what he is planning to do to her. He had to confront the Hokage about all of this immediately!

-With Naruto, about ten minutes earlier-

Naruto was walking with cautious steps through Konoha. While she was still determined about talking to Ayame and Teuchi; she was not as determined to get assaulted by villagers. She needed to talk to the Ichirakus today, and if the villagers got interfered and started attacking; then that would delay that confrontation. She was contemplating what the Ichirakus' reactions may be. Would they be accepting? Would they call her a liar? She did lie over ramen after all. Then Naruto started taken a deep breath and calmed herself down. She had known them for almost four years; she had entrusted plenty to them, and everything about them have always seemed genuine. It is pretty safe to trust them out of everyone in this village. She briefly thought about the people that mattered to her, Teuchi, Ayame, Hinata, and even some in Anbu that she felt was more trustworthy than the others: Dog, Weasel, Snake, Cat and Crow; especially Dog, Weasel and Crow. She even knew Crow's real identity. Thinking of him and the rest of them filled Naruto with joy and confidence with what she was about to do. Naruto calmed down and her walking started to reflect her confidence, which gained the attention of some of the villagers.

Naruto looked down the street she was at, and noticed she was almost at Ramen Ichiraku. She just needed to walk a little further and then Naruto would arrive to the Ramen Restaurant and be able to enjoy some deeper bonding time alongside Ichiraku's ramen. Sadly, it would seem that the luck did not favour Naruto in this moment, for a large group, or rather mob of civilians, and even several Chuunin started to gather around her.

"Today is the day that the demon will die!" Voices screamed for Naruto's blood, and Naruto cursed her bad luck in that they would form a mob after her now of all times. Naruto knew she was outnumbered, so she did the next reasonable thing after fighting: running away. Naruto started evading the mob and their weapons to the best of her abilities. She had been running for five minutes at most, when all of a sudden a group of five Anbu landed in front of the mob.

"On the orders of Hokage-Sama; you are all guilty of attempt and assault on a minor. Lay down your weapons, or we will be forced to use brute force", said the Anbu Operative Dog. Naruto recognised him from earlier whenever he had helped her. There were many brief moments over the past three to four years when Dog would appear out of nowhere and just speak to Naruto. They were very brief, at most ten to fifteen minutes, but they meant everything to Naruto. She considered Dog to be her friend, and one of the few people in this village who she could trust.

"It's worse than we thought! The demon has bewitched these Anbu! Let's kill the beast so that we may save them too", screamed a voice from the crowd, as he charged along with the rest of the mob. The world started growing hazy for Naruto. Her entire being became filled with sadness and rage. They had the nerve to dare accuse her of bewitching one of her friends, and were going to kill her for it? They were all so quick to buy into that lie. Will others also be that quick? With Hiruzen most likely keeping secrets, who can she trust?! Confused, hurt and angry, Naruto ran away from the fight, not even noticing the shouts coming from Dog. Her mind was just focusing on how this whole blasted village never seems to care for her. What was the point of it all?

Why would she have to go through her whole life just to be the punching bag that they project all of their hatred and frustrations upon? For the love of Kami; Naruto had even been targeted at one point, just because that man had a long day at work and needed something to let his aggression out on. She knew that she had the Kyuubi in her, but what excuse was that? Naruto couldn't be even truthful about her actual gender. If she is so despised that she cannot even be honest in regards to what sort of genitals she was born with, then what the hell was the point of even being alive?! Tears started pouring down her cheeks, as Naruto ran into an alleyway. Sadly, she did not notice the five shinobi until they were already grabbing on to her. She noticed that all of them were wearing the standard Anbu mask and robes, but their uniforms that were visible underneath the robes did not look like any Anbu uniform she had ever seen before. Before she could ask what they wanted, one of them slipped something over her head and around her neck. She looked down and noticed it was some kind of copper necklace. Then that same Anbu grabbed the necklace and held on to her, before leaning forward.

"Darkness is coming", he said in a quiet tone. And just as those words were uttered, it was like someone was pulling her through the air at lightning speed. It took just a single moment, and then the alleyway was empty. Even when Kakashi and other Anbu Operatives would search for her, they would not find her. Naruto Uzumaki was gone.

-Elsewhere-

The dark, empty halls were completely silent, devoid of any sound of the living. The only thing that could be heard was wind breezing through the corridor. It was as if life itself had left this place and left nothing more than the darkest of voids. That silence was swiftly shattered when the sound of six bodies hit the stone floor at once. The five members of Root had evidently an easier time recovering from the disorienting experience than the sixth participant. All of the Anbu were swiftly getting their bearings and after making sure the immediate area was safe; they started to plan the mission. They had landed in The Prison, as they had dubbed it, just where one hallway was connected to the end of another hallway, forming a t-shape. The Anbu turned towards each other in order to proceed with the situation. It was clear that while they had the robes and masks; these five men were not actual Anbu. They were all wearing unique uniforms underneath the robes. The only piece of their uniform they all had in common was a short, black, midriff jacket that each one of them wore.

"Alright, listen up. Danzo-sama has given us clear orders", one of them started firmly. There was a faint buzzing among his clothes. "We are to wait for fifteen minutes with the Jinchuuriki. During this time, it is imperative that we keep the Jinchuuriki alive. We need to make sure that the objective is functioning and alive upon the point when the fifteen minutes are up. Each one of us is expendable for Danzo-sama's True Konoha to come to fruition", said one of the Root-nin in a stoic voice. He was distinctively older than the rest, and he even took off his mask in front of them. Underneath the mask, a pair of sunglasses was proudly sitting. With the sunglasses, the stoic face, and the buzzing noise; one could easily reach the conclusion that this man was an Aburame. The Aburame was the oldest member here, and had gotten his instructions from Danzo, along with clear orders that failure was not an option.

The sixth member was slowly getting up. Naruto was feeling incredibly nauseous from the sudden trip. It was only an instant in reality, but it felt like it had lasted for several minutes. Things were definitely not improved upon when she landed on the hard, cold, stony floor like she was a sack of potatoes carelessly thrown down. Without a doubt, that was one of the most uncomfortable means of transportation ever devised. As Naruto got up, she started assessing the situation she was in. She tried to pay attention to what the man with sunglasses was saying. From the appearance, she would guess he was part of the Aburame clan. She had only seen some of them from afar, as they were one of the few that never sought out to hurt her, something she came to truly appreciate. Of course, they never really got themselves involved either, so that kind of nullified it, but she did break it down to them thinking similarly to bugs and being all about logic. So the presence of one of them amongst those who just kidnapped her was rather odd. She also heard the name 'Danzo-sama' being repeated, so she assumed that whoever this Aburame was working for, may not necessarily be involved with the Aburame Clan. She tried to listen to him relaying all of the instructions regarding the mission of holding her there, but she couldn't take the eyes of her environment. It looked like she was transported into some cold, dark dungeon. This place had an ominous feel to it. The walls, floors and roof were made of stone. There was little to no light, with the only source of it being from barred windows near the roofs, and underneath some of these windows were small puddles of water that had been created from rain. As Naruto was looking around this place, she tried to understand the feeling she was getting while looking at the stones, and breathing the air. She felt dread and pure emptiness roaming around her, and it made her feel… fulfilled. How can emptiness and dread make her feel fulfilled? It was like something within this place was stirring something within her she never knew she had or had felt before, but had longed to feel ever since she was born – like a glass of water being given to someone who has never heard of it. As she was contemplating what all of this meant, she picked up the last pieces from the Root-Nins' conversation.

"Tsuchinoto, Kanoe; you are to check the local area and make sure that we are safe for the next fifteen minutes. Kanoto, Mizunoe; you will stay here. Whatever is present here has caused significant amount of damage to everyone who arrived; we cannot afford to be careless. As long as the Jinchuuriki is safe with that necklace", said the Aburame. The other men just nodded and two of them, one of them with a mask with dark green markings, and the other with a beaked mask with purple markings, immediately got ready to find anything out of the ordinary. The other two, one with yellow markings on his mask and the other dark blue, made a parameter around Naruto, alongside the Aburame. For some reason, said Aburame had taken off his mask. Maybe it was to establish his position as the leader or something? She honestly didn't know. What Naruto did know however, was that she had to get out of here. Obviously, their leader Danzo had intentions for her, and she did NOT want to be a puppet in someone's plans. She didn't know what would happen within fifteen minutes, but she wasn't going to stay to find out. Naruto started looking for an opening, and was prepared to take it the moment she saw it, when she and the other nin felt something.

In one moment, the air was filled by a cold aura. The void that previously embodied this place became all the deeper and potent, like all the love and warmth of the world was surgically removed with pinpoint precision and only emptiness and dread remained. The air became colder and each of the puddles of water started freezing over. The Root-nin felt something like fear, but that is impossible; Danzo-sama's teachings had gotten rid of that. They stood above fear, and they couldn't feel it… right? As for Naruto, she again felt at home, to her immense surprise. It was cold sure, but it was easy to get used to. For her it was more like a chilling wind that is blowing straight at you, albeit mildly. She did feel that something was approaching, and that she wanted to see it. At that moment, both Tsuchinoto and Kanoe returned.

"Aburame-senpai, something is approaching", said Kanoe with a serious tone that desperately tried to hide the fear building within, but unable to do so

"Everyone, remember your mission", the Aburame said sternly. Once his words were spoken, all of them took position around Naruto. Because of this, Naruto no longer had her opening to escape. Out of the Root-nin, the Aburame was the best at holding himself together, but the fear was building up even within him. However, they all put themselves back together. They were going to face whatever these things were, and serve Danzo proudly. It was at that moment, a strange noise resembling a distorted combination of a hiss and a shriek filled the halls, making the Root-nin tense up at the sound.

-At the same time, inside Naruto's seal-

Deep within the recesses of a dark hallway, with the floors covered by water, there was a giant cage. Within this cage, simply locked by a sheet up paper with a seal on it; a massive creature started to stir. It was the Kyuubi, the giant nine-tailed fox that attacked Konoha almost eight years ago. Since then, he had been trapped within this girl. He growled at the thought.

"Damn you, Minato Namikaze. I will be whole once more, and when I am, I will have my revenge fulfilled", his voice rumbled through the empty hallways. Kyuubi had spent most of these last few years sleeping, but had occasionally woken up and looked at the world outside. Usually he saw the girl being tormented by those stupid villagers or nothing interesting would happen. Often he would be woken by an injury he had to heal, but he was surprised that it wasn't any injury that called for his attention. It was something else. The Kyuubi looked around and saw nothing was amiss with his host's body. No, he realised that something outside must have been waking him, which was an immense surprise all on its own. Despite what the villagers thought in their all-knowing stupidity; hurting the girl did not physically affect the Kyuubi in any way. The only way it affected him was in how the host's mindscape looked, and not so surprisingly; it was a sewer. But that was the extent of something affecting him through the girl. So what on earth could remotely affect him?

As the Kyuubi was considering this conundrum, his thought process was halted by something immensely strange occurring. In one moment, the water all over the cage started freezing over, and at a rapid pace. The aura felt cold and full of dread, like the semblance of life was replaced with an infinite void. Kyuubi's eyes widened at this phenomenon. He had been sealed within two people before this one, and while strange things had happened within both people at occasions; nothing compared to this. This might be a reasonable situation if the individual could manipulate their mindscape, but even then; very few could pull of feats like this at the age of eight. And even if the girl could, the Kyuubi could tell that the source was not from her, but from something else. The Kyuubi immediately used the girl to look outside at what was happening.

"It was a good thing that the girl accidentally activated her unusually potent chakra that day when the purple-haired snake like woman was about to be raped. Otherwise, I never would have been able to see directly what is happening outside", the Kyuubi muttered to himself. Even he could get bored at times, and counting the amount of furs on his body could only challenge him the first hundred times. The other ten thousand times was simply in order to spend the time. As Kyuubi took a look at what his vessel was looking at; he actually wished he hadn't. The Kyuubi may have seen a lot in his life, but has never seen creatures like those before. For the first time in a long time; the Kyuubi felt something else aside from undiluted hatred. He felt fear. He could tell that those creatures were strong, but nowhere as strong as him. They would be challenging sure, but they could be defeated in the end, albeit with some effort. It was what was connected to them that frightened him. An endless storm of power was directly connected to these creatures. He had never felt anything like this ever before. It actually dwarfed his power. And even if the Kyuubi had the power to stand up to it; he was stuck in this cage. While his host had opened up their chakra, the Kyuubi couldn't access the mind or take over his host without their express permission.

The Kyuubi shivered from fear, and prayed that his vessel get them both out of there. This was one enemy he couldn't beat.

-Outside the seal-

In their lives, the Root-Nin had been trained to not feel fear, and had been taught to expect the unexpected. The Aburame had extra training in this regard, and his upbringing made him think to approach situations with logic and thought, instead of emotions. All of that meant nothing here, as nothing they had ever done could have prepared them for the… things that were in front them. In the corridors, there were several tall humanoid shadows, floating in the air above them. All of them reached about three metres in height. They were all adorned in hooded, black cloaks that covered their entire bodies. It looked like that despite being solid cloaks, that their cloaks was made out of ripped black cloth, and that they should be falling apart at any moment. It was too dark to make out the shadows' faces, but they could see that beneath their clothes, their bodies were skeletal, grey and decomposing like a corpse. From the arms of the cloaks, the Root-nin could see bony hands with clawed fingers poking out. The skin looked decayed, grey and scabbed. And from what they could tell, there was a big open hole where their mouths should to be, surrounded by grey, scabbed skin. These creatures were floating in the air, their tattered cloaks breezing and floating around them despite there being no wind around them. There were three of them in the hallways, one in each of the three different ways that the shinobi could take. While they were floating and not moving, it sounded like deep breaths that were sucking in air were coming from their mouths. No matter how human these things looked; they were clearly not human, at least not anymore.

"Everyone, get your tant-", started Aburame, getting ready for any sort of attack, when all of a sudden; one of them flew straight at them with that hissing screech, at an alarmingly fast speed that they could barely detect. It ended up floating before one of them, and a deep, guttural sucking noise was heard from it, and Mizuone started screaming as the air around his face started to distort, almost like if something was being pulled out of him. Mizuone collapsed on the ground shivering horribly, as the shadow flew around with a light shriek and ended up back where it first started. Aburame had seen and heard nothing like it. How could Mizuone, one the strongest members he had seen, collapse against so little? What had this shadow just done?

"Everyone, attack them. Mizuone has been taken down. Protect the Jinchuuriki", shouted the Aburame, feeling fear welling up deep within him, but his instincts made him fight back. Another one flew forward, but this time the Root-nin Kanoto threw several kunai at the beast. It whistled through the air, but upon impact with the creature; they simply bounced of like they hit pure metal. The monster flew forward with more determination, and just like the other one; it started sucking something out of Kanoto, as the air said Root-nin's face became distorted. Kanoto then fell to the ground with a scream. Aburame and his fellow Shinobi saw the whole thing. It was invulnerable to physical attacks.

"Sir, recommending a joined attack against all of them" Tsuchinoto suggested with urgency.

"Agreed – Kanoe, Tsuchinoto use only elemental attacks", Aburame exclaimed, to which the others nodded in confirmation. All of them swiftly targeted one of the three Shadows each, and swiftly went through the hand seals for each of their techniques, before unleashing them:

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique."

"Water Style: Gunshot."

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."

Tsuchinoto, Kanoe and Aburame respectively called out. The next second, a straight line of fire, a condensed blast of water the size a third of Kanoe's body, and a flaming dragon; all charged against the shadows. They simply floated there and didn't even try to dodge when the attacks came, though they had nowhere to dodge, considering these were narrow hallways. Nevertheless, the attacks hit the shadows, and the Root-nin felt an incredible amount of elation at the prospect of these beings dying, which again was surprising considering their emotional conditioning. However, that elation soon turned to an inherent sense of fear when that shriek filled the air once more, and they saw those shadows again – completely unharmed by their attacks. Just like the water on the ground froze; they felt as if the blood in their bodies was freezing into ice. All three shadows then seemed to gear up for an attack at once. At this point, Tsuchinoto swiftly made the 'Tiger'-hand seal, and unleashed another technique.

"Fire Style: Running Fire." He called out, and created a stream of fire that ran a circle of fire on the ground around them, effectively putting up a protective barrier of fire for the Root-nin. All of them then grabbed their tantos and to finish them off if they were stupid enough to charge through the fire. To their surprise; the shadows flew right through the fire completely unharmed, charging at the three Shinobi. The three got ready and charged the three shadows at once.

"For Danzo-sama", the three of them shouted proudly and brought down the sword to cut off their heads… or they would have if the tantos didn't immediately break upon impact with the shadows. They felt their shock rise within them for just a second, before an unimaginable pain struck them, as the creatures started sucking something out of them all. The pain made them all collapse and they were shaking on the ground. Aburame was the best off, but only due to experience, as he still felt horribly weak from the experience. How could this be? It felt like these creatures grabbed on to his very heart and soul and started pulling out everything at once through the orifices on his face. Aburame managed to stay conscious as he heard the three of them attack three of his fellow Root-nin, and their screams echoed through the hallways. In his peripheral vision, Aburame managed to see one of the creatures bend down and pull its hood back slightly, and put its face on top of Mizoune's face. He heard a muffled scream unlike any other, alongside some gurgling noises. Then it was completely silent. As Aburame turned his eyes towards his comrades; he saw that Kanoe and Kanoto were completely unconscious, while twitching, indicating they were still alive However, he felt fear swell through his entire being when he saw Mizuone. Mizuone's mask had been removed, and his eyes were completely empty. These creatures had put him in a vegetative state. Aburame took a good look at these shadows as they were staring down at him and the only other remaining Root-nin. He noticed that the third of them was behind them, as if waiting for something. In Aburame's mind, he knew he had to try one more thing. Hopefully he could use his bugs to suck out the energy out of these shadows. He had to stall them, for as long as needed for Danzo-sama to use the Iron Pendant to bring the Jinchuuriki back.

"Hidden Jutsu: Beetle Sphere", exclaimed Aburame as he expected his bugs to encircle the enemy and attack them… but nothing happened. In own his terror; he had forgotten to check with the bugs. They were terrified and had hidden themselves as deep within their hives as they could in order to avoid these creatures. He tried to urge them to attack, but they all refused, stating that whatever these shadows were; they could not go anywhere near them without dying by the negative and cold energy these creatures exuded. Aburame was at a loss, and desperately tried to think of any means of defeating them, but before he could come to a conlusion; they attacked. One of the shadows started sucking out air from his fellow Shinobi, who screamed in agony before ending up unconscious, while the other shadow bent down towards Aburame. The shadow pulled back its hood a bit, and revealed its horrifying and decaying hole for a mouth, and before Aburame could do anything; the shadow put its mouth on top of Aburame. It was kissing him! He was very confused by this action, until he felt it. An unimaginable pain started coursing through his body, and his muffled scream echoed through the hallway, and it felt like everything was pulled out of him. Aburame thought he was going to die, as the worst of the pain came and then, he felt -

… Aburame… who is… feels… …nothing…

…

…

-Meanwhile, with Naruto-

Naruto could only stare in pure shock and awe as these cloaked and hooded creatures were flying above the ground and not being affected by anything that these Anbu members threw at them. These were powerful Shinobi, capable of easily killing anyone in a matter of seconds, and these creatures were not affected in the slightest. And when they flew and seemed to absorb something from them, distorting the air around the Anbu's masked faces; Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, and even more so at the scream of indescribable pain that came from the Anbu. Neither that impressive combination of techniques nor their sharpened tantos could even do the slightest damage against these… wraiths would probably be the best term for now. They were skeletal corpses that were covered in dark cloaks, so she was going to call them wraiths for now. Regardless, Naruto was completely frozen, but unlike the Shinobi that were now writhing on the floor, she wasn't frozen out of fear, but out of shock. As the creatures had dealt with all five of them; Naruto managed to snap herself out of it. All of this happened within the span of just a couple of minutes at most. As the one bent over the Aburame got up; she truly noticed Aburame after that strange… kiss, that the shadow gave him. His eyes looked empty, and yet it seemed he wasn't quite dead. Like the soul itself was missing. Naruto didn't even know what to feel about that. On one hand, it made her feel incredibly intrigued and curious behind the mechanics of such a technique. On the other hand, she also became worried that she was next. However, she simply sighed and started to consider the best course of action: to fight or accept the inevitable. As she was thinking, she heard something cold and raspy. Naruto opened her eyes and paid attention from where it came from. She noticed the three wraiths look at each other, before one of them waved a hand, and somehow all three of the "surviving" Anbu started floating in the air behind the shadow, as it guided the three of them into the depths of one of the halls. Then she turned her attention to the remaining two shadows, and figured out what it was that she had heard.

The two shadows were speaking to each other, and she could hear what they said.

"I am telling you, that one-eyed fossil doesn't know when to quit. Constantly throwing people in here just to see what we do", said the first one, all the while that strange hole for a mouth never moved. Its voice was strange; it was both cold and raspy like its voice embodied winter itself. At the same time, there was a melodic quality to its voice that Naruto couldn't quite explain. The voice also had something of a feminine character to it.

"I know what you mean. While I am grateful for the free food – we are Prison Wardens, not garbage disposal units", said the second one with a somewhat irritated voice. Its voice was similar to the first one, but with a slightly lighter tone. "Also, was it wise to take the oldest one? He could have provided plenty more memories."

"True, but younger ones usually last longer. I was going with how long we can stretch them out this time, considering less people has been sent to us over the past few months. Besides, the oldest one; Tatsuma Aburame, I think his name was; held the most information about everything. It seems like they had deemed this location to be 'too dangerous' and only used it for a brief objective", the first one replied.

"Speaking of which", the second one started before turning to Naruto. "What are we going to do about him?" The other wraith turned to Naruto as well and seemed to shrug, before turning back to its companion.

"I am not sure. I guess it would be more merciful to just kill the boy, and considering what the old bastard has planned for him, it would be more merciful to just end his life probably than let him spend his life here", the first one stated with a cold, but also melancholy tone to its voice. It seemed to not want to kill Naruto, which caught Naruto a bit by surprise, considering the ease they had killing the Aburame.

"True, it would be the best for the boy. Though when you look at him, he doesn't really look like a boy. Kind of too pretty, ya know", replied the second one. All the while, Naruto started to twitch at the fact that these beings were calling her boy. One would think that soul-sucking wraiths could tell the difference.

"Maybe he is one of those girly guys, you know those people are always taking it", the first one crudely joked. This was the last straw for Naruto. Considering that she was intending to break out of her shell and come clean to Ayame-chan and Teuchi-oji; only to be interfered by a mob trying to kill her, followed by false Anbu kidnapping her by awkwardly transporting her to what seems to be some kind of nightmare realm; the aspect of two wraiths making fun of her really got her agitated. The pressure had just been building up since she had decided to open up last night, and now she was ready to blow. Something was released within her and she just let it out.

"Or maybe it is because I am in fact a NOT boy. You know, maybe instead of assuming that judgmental bigots know which gender I really am; you could have just asked me personally and found out who I actually was; you insensitive arseholes!" Naruto had no idea why she chose to reveal her true gender. Probably, because she just didn't care anymore, or because she wasn't in Konoha, and there was no one from there who was currently in a conscious state of mind.

At this point, the two wraiths turned their hooded faces towards Naruto, and while she couldn't see any eyes; she could somehow tell that they were wide in surprise.

"What… what did you just say", asked the first one, surprise evident in its voice. "Can you hear us?"

"What do you mean – of course I can hear you as clear as day", Naruto replied confused at the bizarre question. Was she not meant to be able to hear them? The two wraiths looked at each other.

"No, that cannot be true. Must have been luck or something", denied the second one vehemently.

"I don't think it is, but let's just test this to be sure. Okay, girl", the first one started, and turned to Naruto. "I want to test you. If you understand, nod." At which point, Naruto, while confused, obliged and nodded in confirmation. She could feel like the surprise flaring from the two wraiths. "Okay girl, please repeat this phrase; 'Magic really exists, and it shall always be there to guide us'", the wraith finished.

"'Magic really exists, and it shall always be there to guide us'", Naruto repeated. At this point, the wraiths looked at each other in immense shock.

"It is actually so. This girl understands our language! But what does that mean? How is this possible", the second one asked; the denial completely gone from her voice, and replaced with inquiry.

"I'm not sure", replied the first one, before turning back to. "Girl, how can you understand us?"

"I get the feeling that you have your own language, but I can hear your voices pretty clearly. For whatever reason I can clearly make out what you are saying, I don't know. Also, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. It would nice of you to use it." This reply took the two wraiths by surprise once more. What was with this girl?

"Are you… not scared by either of us", asked the second wraith, putting an emphasis on the word 'scared'. Naruto put her hand on her chin in contemplation upon that question. What exactly did she feel about these two creatures?

"Well, I don't feel exactly scared by you. I felt a bit intimidated when you arrived and dispatched the guys who kidnapped me with so little effort, but I suppose that is rather normal to feel. Otherwise I feel rather okay", she replied honestly, but still somewhat casually. The two wraiths kept staring at her like she was a complex algebra equation, before they shook their head and snapped themselves out of it.

"I do apologise for our shock, Miss Uzumaki. You have to understand that close to none have ever come here and not remained terrified at our mere presence. And it is even more surprising that we are able to communicate through speaking like this, as no one has ever understood our native tongue", the first one explained. Naruto felt all the puzzle pieces fall into place; it was as she suspected.

"Well, that would explain the confusion, and I would be confused as well if I was in your position. Also, you can call me Naruto. I don't mind it", she replied and rubbed her spiky hair. "I wish I could explain why I understand your tongue, if no human before me ever has been able to understand you, but I honestly have no idea. I could just understand what you were saying."

"I see", responded the first wraith. It turned towards the other one, and it seemed like a silent conversation was going on between the two spectral figures, before the first one turned back to Naruto. "Please Naruto; we would like it if you could come with us. This needs to be addressed in front of all of us", it requested with a polite and curious voice. There was no malice within its tone, but Naruto couldn't help but be cautious of the situation.

"Wait, before I go with you, I need to know more. I introduced myself, it is only proper manners to do the same in return. Who and what are you, and where am I", she asked with a determined voice that left no room for argument. The wraiths stopped and they shook their heads.

"Of course, how rude of us to not properly introduce ourselves", stated the first one, as its long cloak flowed through the wind as it took a bow in Naruto's direction. "My name is Morgana, and this is Opaque", she said gesturing to her comrade. "And we are Dementors, Dark Magical Creatures that have existed before your world did. And this place is our castle in which we have based our colony, and that we have named in memory of one of our former colonies, Azkaban", the Dementor called Morgana finished. Naruto took in her words with wide eyes, knowing that things were definitely beyond anything she could have predicted.

"Now please", asked the other Dementor named Opaque, with a tone that revealed her desire for answers. "Could we go and gather the Council? We promise to explain more as we walk you there." When she finished, Naruto nodded and was about to walk, when the one called Morgana stopped Naruto.

"Hold on for just a second", she said, before grasping the Copper Pendant around Naruto's neck and put it around the Aburame's neck. "Trust me; you don't want to go back to that man. Now, shall we?" Naruto nodded to Morgana's words, albeit confused at the situation at hand. Then she started following the two spectres called Dementors into the depths of the hallways, into the unknown…

-To Be Continued-

Alright, that was the first chapter. I will upload the next chapter as soon as I can. Please let me know what you think, and I will see you in the next chapter.

Prof. Majora