Chapter 1 – Clash of Worlds – Ninjas & Dragoons Meet!

Their fierce battle in the Dragon's Nest had finally come to its conclusion. Feyrbrand, the Dragon of the Wind had finally been defeated, and his master Greham along with him. Now, as Greham lay upon the ground, beaten and breathing his last breaths, Lavitz looked down upon him with a mixture of emotions roiling inside of him. His thoughts were racing and he couldn't quite figure out how to feel or what to think at this moment. So, instead, he chose to listen to Greham's dying words.

"You have Servi's strength. It seems my efforts were to no avail. I even used betrayal to obtain this power…." Greham sputtered out, chuckling in mild amusement after these words had been spoken. However, his body was soon wracked by pain and the Dragoon of Wind found himself coughing up specks of blood.

The loyal knight of Bale, Lavitz, stepped closer to his fallen opponent and knelt down, staring deep into the eyes of his father's killer. "I still…don't understand. Why did you betray my father? You were not like this before."

Greham frowned and gazed calmly into Lavitz's eyes. Despite the pain his body was in, the Dragoon refused to let it show. Instead, he began to speak again. "Nobody could be stronger than your father. That was the only thing I could never quite conquer. I…admired him. Not only as a fellow knight, but as his friend. But time goes by, and it turned into this feeling…."

Sighing softly, Greham donned a quiet smile and continued talking to the son of his once best friend. "This fear from realizing the limits of your abilities…. This fear…that goes absolutely nowhere. The only thing you can do is curse yourself for your own weakness…."

Lavitz couldn't accept this answer and rose to his feet, anger evident in his features and in his voice as he spoke. "But you couldn't possibly overcome your 'fear' by defecting to Doel. You needed to overcome my father!"

At this point, Greham spoke up again, quickly catching Lavitz's attention once more. "There was…an alternative. If only I could obtain a new power, I could be equal to your father…or perhaps I could have even surpassed him…."

Beginning to cough again, Greham clutched the Dragoon Spirit that lay upon his chest. "That power was…the Dragoon Spirit I got from His Majesty Doel." Smiling up at his friend's son, Greham reached out a hand, or at least tried to. "Lavitz…live strong. Not just for your father, but for your kingdom and for those you love." Turning his gaze ever so slowly towards the ceiling of the cave, Greham's smile turned into a much more peaceful one as he closed his eyes. "Now…I can go…to be with Servi again…."

With that, Greham's body faded away into nothingness, death finally overtaking him. Lavitz was silent for a time until he heard Rose's voice. Looking into her eyes, he listened to the woman speak.

"He is lucky to be dead now. Greed for power eventually conquers you. Such power unleashed will only generate sorrow. It's such a shame. He should have known that." Despite her usually cool demeanor, Rose shook her head and sighed. "He was lucky to die now and avoid even more sorrow."

Lavitz didn't reply, nor did Dart and Shana say anything. They all looked to Lavitz as he stared at the Dragoon Spirit that lay on the ground before him. Greham… Before his thoughts could proceed any further, the strangest, most unexpected thing happened. The Jade Dragoon Spirit began to shine brilliantly once more and slowly floated in the air before the one it chose as its rightful new wielder: the knight of Bale, Lavitz Slambert!

"Wha…what is this!?" Astonished at what was taking place right before his eyes, the knight took a few small steps forward and almost jumped when the Dragoon Spirit began to shine even more brilliantly!

Rose, meanwhile, took a step back and watched the events unfolding with a critical eye. Such a coincidence…! It can't be…or…could this perhaps be fate!? Before she could even think to say anything, Dart's voice rang in her ears. Looking to him, she listened to what the wielder of the Red-Eyed Dragoon Spirit chose to say to his dear friend.

"Lavitz, maybe you too are…."

Rose smiled a small little smile and nodded her head calmly while gesturing towards the still hovering Dragoon Spirit. "Dart is right. The Dragoon Spirit of the Jade Dragon recognized you as the next master."

Lavitz shook his head in disbelief, never taking his eyes off the Jade Dragoon Spirit. "I am…a Dragoon? I deserve to rule over Dragons?"

Rose shook her head in the negative, feeling it would be prudent to 'correct' him in his assessment. "Not only do you 'deserve', but you have an obligation to accept your fate as a Dragoon, don't you?"

Lavitz watched as the Dragoon Spirit dropped slowly to the ground, taking in Rose's words as it did. I understand. Father, Greham…I understand my purpose. I promise I'll use this power and protect the people of Serdio!

Kneeling down, Lavitz Slambert lifted the Dragoon Spirit into his hands and rose once more, the small orb shining brightly in his clenched hand. "It's what Greham left for me. I understand. I accept it! I accept the fate of a Dragoon!" Glancing around at his companions, Lavitz let his gaze linger just a moment on Dart and Shana before returning his gaze to the veteran Dragoon of the group: Rose. "I will use this power for justice!" Turning to face Dart now, the powerful knight grinned at his best friend and traveling companion. "Just like Dart and Rose!"

Rose shook her head and laughed lightly. Use it for justice, huh? I suppose that's to be expected from one such as he.

Shana chose this moment to approach Lavitz and clasp his hands excitedly. "Good for you, Lavitz." However, before anything more could be said, the young woman doubled over, barely catching her balance. Hands on her knees, she watched as Dart rushed to her side, supporting her.

"Shana!? What's wrong!?"

Shana was gasping for breath at this point. Her lungs were on fire and tears stung at her eyes. "I…I can't…breathe."

Dart's eyes widened in horror and he quickly looked to Rose. "Could she be suffering from too much of the dragon's poison!?"

Lavitz spoke up at this point, already formulating a plan that would get Shana the help she needed as fast as possible. Folding his arms over his chest, the knight closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "We cannot make it over Villude carrying Shana. Our only choice is to go to Lohan!"

Dart interrupted, clearly not understanding why Lohan would be the first place Lavitz thought of to take the sick Shana to. "Lohan…. That commercial town!?"

Lavitz remained calm and nodded his head in response. "Yes, that's the one. I heard there is a great doctor there!"

Dart didn't want to waste anymore time, so he threw Shana onto his back and shouted at his companions. "Hurry!"

However, it was at this point that everything went terribly wrong. Before they could even take a single step towards the exit, the ground beneath their feet began to rumble and quake uncontrollably. In fact, it felt as if the very world itself was being torn asunder! "What's going on!?" Dart found himself shouting in confusion as he struggled to maintain his footing and keep Shana from any further injury.

Rose glanced about and shook her head. "I don't know, but I have a terrible feeling."

Lavitz nodded in response to this sentiment. "I do too Rose. It would appear that things are about to become much, much worse."

Moments earlier – Naruto's World

Naruto found himself screaming at the top of his lungs as Jiraiya, the very man that was supposed to be helping him train, threw him into a chasm! Tears stinging at his eyes, the young genin quickly bit his thumb and began going through the necessary hand seals for the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique), thrusting his hand out as quickly as he could.

Unfortunately for him, or, perhaps fortunately depending on how you look at it, Naruto pumped far too much chakra into the technique and ended up summoning the Boss Toad himself, Gamabunta! Before either of them could even say anything, Naruto landed atop the toad's head and held on for dear life as the entire world began to quake. Surprisingly, the Toad summon didn't say anything and merely told the young lad to hold on tight as he jumped away to safety.

Upon touching down, the Boss Toad glanced about as the scenery began to shift before them. "Gaki, did you summon me for this? The world…it's being transformed. What in the world is going on here?"

Naruto simply shook his head as Jiraiya joined him atop Gamabunta's massive head. "It would seem the gaki pumped some of his captive's foul chakra into the Kuchiyose no Jutsu. How this began happening is beyond me. Gamabunta, think you can get us somewhere high up and safe so we can check out what the heck is going on?"

Gamabunta grunted an affirmative to the request before leaping to a location nearby that was elevated a bit more than their previous location. As the trio looked around at the events taking place before them, they couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread wash over them. "This is going to be very bad, isn't it Ero-sensei?"

Jiraiya could only nod his head in response as he instructed Gamabunta to carry them swiftly back to Konoha's gates. Perhaps the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have some answers!

An hour later

Shortly after Jiraiya and Naruto arrived at the gates of Konoha and dismissed Gamabunta, they spotted an odd group of travelers approaching the gate at a hurried pace. Quickly drawing their kunai and preparing for what might end up being a battle, Jiraiya and Naruto awaited the arrival of these new 'guests'. However, as the group of four neared the gates, the two couldn't help but notice how oddly dressed the four of them were. Not only that, but they were heavily armored and the man in red was carrying what appeared to be a very sickly girl in his arms.

Glancing up at his sensei, Naruto gave him a quizzical look before the both of them slipped away their weapons. When Jiraiya shrugged to indicate he clearly had no idea what was going on, Naruto turned his gaze back to the man in red and frowned before taking a step forward. "I'm not sure who you people are, but…she doesn't look well. What happened?"

Dart looked at the strangely clad young man and frowned. "This…isn't Lohan, is it?" Shaking his head clear of the thought, the armored male glanced towards the village before him before quickly returning his gaze to the blonde-haired young man. "I don't know or care who you are. My friend is suffering from the dragon's poison and needs immediate medical attention! Please, if you have anyone here that's skilled in medicine, take us to her now!"

Naruto frowned, but nodded his head quickly. "We have medic nin in the village. I'm sure they can help your friend. Follow me." Turning, the Uzumaki boy quickly rushed into the village, only to freeze at what he saw.

There, in the streets of Konoha, was a large crowd of people he had never even seen before. In fact, as he glanced around, Naruto began to notice just how different Konoha now looked. It seemed that the strangers felt the same way.

Lavitz slowly stepped forward and glanced around. "It's Lohan…but…it's not at the same time. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for that doctor in this village." Shaking his head at the oddity that was Lohan, yet not Lohan, the knight waited patiently for the young man to lead them towards help.

Before anyone could even say anything or take another step, the raven-haired female stepped forward past the group and stared around. "I see." Understanding immediately that none in the group understood just what she seemed to 'see', Rose turned to them and frowned. "It would seem that our two worlds have merged. If I had to fathom a guess, I would say that two incredibly powerful forces 'connected' our two worlds and drew them together into one."

Jiraiya quickly glared down at Naruto and bashed him over the head with his fist. "Damn it gaki! You just had to go and fuck up your damn jutsu again, didn't you?! Now look at what's happened! How the heck am I supposed to explain this to the old man, huh?!"

Rose's attention was drawn immediately to the young boy, a highly disbelieving look upon her face as she listened to what the old man had just said. There's no way a boy like him could have possibly unleashed a force strong enough to connect to our world… Trying to shake the thought from her head, Rose tried to consider the point in her world that connected the worlds together.

It was at this point that Lavitz stepped forward and looked between Rose and the child. "You're thinking it too, aren't you Rose? If two powerful forces are required, then perhaps our battle with Greham and Feyrbrand is what connected us on our end?"

Rose nodded slowly and closed her eyes. "That would be my best guess. But there shouldn't be anything powerful enough on this end to connect to our world. This requires further investigation before we can come to any conclusions."

Dart shook his head and stepped forward, past Lavitz and stopping in front of the young man. Kneeling down so he was eye level with the young ninja, Dart forced a smile onto his face and spoke. "I don't care if you are the one that connected our worlds together from your side. I just need your help right now. Please, Shana could die. Take us to your village's doctors."

Naruto nodded and glanced around quickly before his eyes landed on Jiraiya. "Ero-sensei, you should go check in with Jiji. See if you can learn anything more from him and inform him of what we've learned. I think I know how to get to the hospital from here." Seeing Jiraiya about to protest, probably because he was being given orders by Naruto of all people, Naruto narrowed his eyes and nodded his head towards the Hokage Tower visible in the distance. "Just do it Ero-sennin! Some weird stuff's happening and he needs to know about it!"

Turning back to the group of strangers, Naruto smiled and began hurrying them towards their destination, the hospital of Konoha. "I'm not sure what the doctors are like in your world, but I guarantee you that here in Konoha, we've got some of the best in the world. Heh, with all the times they've had to patch me up over the years, they'd kinda have to be." Chuckling nervously at that, beginning to frown at his memories, the blonde led them closer and closer towards their destination.

The entire time they were rushing through the busy streets, Rose couldn't help but stare hard at the boy. There's something…different about this boy. I just can't quite put my finger on it. I suppose the best way to get answers would be to speak to him about it later. Shana's life is more important at the moment.

Hokage Tower

Hiruzen and Jiraiya stood on the balcony overlooking the village of Konoha. Or at least what used to be Konoha. Now, if what Jiraiya had told him was true, Konoha and this village of Lohan, as the otherworlders had called it, had somehow merged into one village. If he felt like joking, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have turned to his pupil and joked about what they could possibly call this new village.

Sadly, now was not a time for jokes. With his back turned to Jiraiya and hands clasped behind his back, the elderly Hokage shook his head. "I can't believe that Naruto's unleashing just a small fraction of the Kyuubi's chakra could cause all this. If he's this powerful now, just what can we expect from the boy in the days to come?"

Jiraiya chuckled a bit and shook his head. "Honestly? I don't know. What I do know is that he's got a good head on his shoulders and I'll continue to train him to the best of my ability. In fact, I think it would be a good idea for me to start getting serious if he's going to be pulling stunts like this."

Shaking his head, the Toad Sannin looked into the Sandaime's eyes as he turned to face him. "What bad timing, huh old man? What are we going to do about the Chunin Exams, and more importantly, the invasion?"

Sarutobi closed his eyes and shook his head. "We will continue with the Chunin Exams as planned, but we'll have to figure out what to do about the new villagers. They're a part of our home now, and we can't just let Orochimaru's army harm them." Breathing a heavy sigh, Hiruzen sat at his desk and motioned for Jiraiya to take a seat as well. "We're going to need to discuss this further Jiraiya-kun. Leave Naruto-kun to take care of our guests for now. You and I need to go over our plans for the invasion."

Jiraiya nodded slowly and glanced quietly out the window. "I've no problems with that old man. I just hope that everything will be okay…"

"Me too Jiraiya-kun. Me too."

Konoha Hospital – Emergency Ward

The doctors that had been desperately trying to heal Shana stopped after a time and shook their heads. Turning, the head doctor removed his mask and left the room to discuss things with the patient's companions.

Upon finding them waiting nearby, the doctor made his way towards them, a frown clear on his face. "I'm sorry, but there's really not much we can do. Physically, she's fine. The, erm…dragon's poison?" Seeing the group of strangers nod quietly, the doctor nodded. "The poison seems to be eating away at her mind. We did what we could to ease her pain and slow the poison, but there's really only so much we can do."

Frowning further, the doctor shook his head and closed his eyes. "Even with our treatment, she has, at best, two weeks to live unless something is done to counteract the poison soon."

When Dart looked about ready to cry out in frustration and demand that the doctors try harder, another man, clearly one from their world, came walking down the hall towards them. Curious as to why he was here, Dart was about to speak up when he saw the man raise his hand.

"I saw the girl you were carrying here. Would you mind explaining the situation to me young man?"

When Dart simply nodded his head in response, the doctor listened patiently as the man clad in red armor regaled everyone with their tale. When Dart had finally finished, the doctor, a man by the name of Sanator, nodded his head and began to scratch his chin in thought. "I see, I see. I have heard of one thing that might be able to cure her; however it's something I've only heard about in legend. It's a curious plant called the Dragoni Plant. I'm afraid I don't know of where you can find such a thing, but it is said to grow in places where dragons have lived."

With a shrug of his shoulders, Sanator walked with the head doctor towards the room Shana was currently resting in. Before stepping foot inside, he glanced over his shoulder and smiled softly. "I wish you the best of luck in your search. Remember what the good doctor said: she has two weeks. Use that time efficiently and find what you need to save her." With that, Sanator stepped into the room, leaving the group of four to discuss things amongst themselves.

As the four of them wracked their brains in search of any ideas that could help them find this item known as Dragoni Plant, Naruto suddenly perked up. "Hey, I've an idea. We don't know exactly where to find this Dragoni Plant thing, right?" Seeing them nod, the blonde ninja grinned and thumped his fist against his chest. "Well, you guys said this Lohan place is a huge center of trade and stuff right?" Once more, they nodded. "Good. Then there's a good chance somebody might know something about it. Give me a little time and I'm sure I can find somebody to help us."

Stepping back away from them, Naruto performed the hand seal for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) and grinned as he announced the name of his technique and created fifty clones, much to the astonishment of his new friends. "You guys know what to do. If you find somebody that might be able to help, tell that person to wait for us and dispel yourself so I know how to get there. Got it?" Seeing them nod and rush off, the Uzumaki turned and grinned at his companions. "So, what'd you think of that?"

Dart and Lavitz blinked a few times, too shocked for words. It was Rose that finally broke the silence. "It makes sense now. You're a ninja, aren't you? We had a few of those in our world. It would seem that they didn't quite know as much as the ninja of your world do, however. Clever use of your ninjutsu Naruto. Let us hope that it pays off."

As Naruto grinned in response and gave her a thumbs up, shouting something about 'dattebayo' or something, Dart stepped forward. "Naruto, why are you being so helpful to us? We only just met you."

The blonde genin frowned at that and looked up into Dart's eyes. "Do I need a reason to help people in need? If I see somebody in trouble, it doesn't matter if I know them or not, you can bet I'm going to help them. You'd better believe it, dattebayo."

What is this dattebayo that he keeps speaking of? Does that word have some special meaning in his world? Dart couldn't help but think as he stared curiously down at the boy grinning up at him. After a moment, the Red-Eyed Dragoon nodded quietly and offered a kind smile. "Thank you Naruto Uzumaki. We welcome and appreciate all of your help. I'm sure we'll be able to save Shana with you helping us like this."

Lavitz stepped forth at this point and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. "You have a good head on your shoulders Naruto Uzumaki. From what you've explained to us already, you don't get a lot of respect here in your village. Personally, I can't understand why that is. I do know that it doesn't matter, however. You've a strength unlike most people your age, and a kind soul. We welcome your help and look forward to working with you." Seeing Naruto grinning up at him as well, the knight of Bale couldn't help but offer a big smile of his own right back.

Great, it seems the two of them have found a new friend. But can we even trust him? If he does have the kind of power to connect our worlds, what else is he capable of? Rose thought to herself as she kept a close watch on the boy known as Naruto Uzumaki. If he was going to be working with them to save Shana's life, she would take this opportunity to observe his actions and learn exactly what kind of person he really was.

Half an hour later

The group had lost themselves in conversation as they waited for Naruto receive word from his clones. When the young man suddenly froze in the middle of saying something, Dart and Lavitz placed their hands upon his shoulders and asked him if he was okay. Looking into their eyes, Naruto brought a hand up and scratched at the back of his head. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. One of my clones might have found somebody that can help us."

At their inquisitive looks, Naruto figured it best to just spit it out. "When my clone asked this guy if he knew anything about the Dragoni Plant, he said he had a book on it. He asked me what I needed the plant for, and when I mentioned you guys, he acted like he knew you." Scratching a little more, Naruto looked at the floor and shook his head before deciding to just say it. "Do you guys know somebody named Dabas?"

Seeing their eyes light up in recognition of the name, the blonde genin nodded. "So you do. Well Dabas is waiting for us. I promised I'd lead you guys there so we could talk in person. It's kind of easy to get lost on the way, so just follow me you guys." Seeing them nod, Naruto led them out of the hospital and on their way to Dabas' Antiques Shop.

Moments Later – Dabas' Antiques Shop

As soon as Naruto led his new companions into the shop, Dabas rushed over and clapped Dart on the shoulders. "So good to see you again Dart!" Turning, he looked at Lavitz and Rose and smiled brightly at them as well. "It's a pleasure to see both of you as well, Lavitz, Rose."

Returning his gaze to Dart, the Antiques dealer sighed and turned, taking a few steps away as he motioned for them to follow him over to the counter. Reaching it, Dabas pointed out the pages in a small notebook he usually carried on his person. "After speaking with Naruto, I got to searching and found this passage. It says: 'North of the poisoned forest. Past the troublesome plant. Observed Dragoni Plant in back of the Shrine!'" Looking at the group of four, Dabas scratched his chin in thought as he closed the book. "Does this help you any?"

Lavitz looked up at the ceiling of the store for a moment before he remembered something. "That reminds me…. I saw a strange plant in the back of the forest when Shana stopped to rest."

Rose, instantly picking up on what he was getting at, nodded her head and turned to face him. "Oh, the one that became a monster because of the Dragon's poison…." Sighing, she shook her head and looked at the notebook Dabas now clutched in his right hand. "But you cannot get past it unless you purify it with something."

It didn't take long for a rather ingenious idea to pop into Lavitz's mind. "How about the Spring Water underground!? That might help the plant."

Dart, clearly agreeing with the plan, shouted out: "That's it!" before turning to Dabas and clapping him on the shoulder. "Thanks Dabas!" Dart shouted mere moments before he, Lavitz, and Rose rushed out of the shop, leaving Dabas and Naruto standing there staring at each other for a few moments before the merchant finally spoke.

"I guess they won't be doing any shopping?" Seeing Naruto shrug his shoulders before rushing off after his friends, the merchant's shoulders drooped and he shook his head. "Well isn't that just my luck."

Konoha Gates

As Naruto caught up with his new friends, the boy shouted out to them to wait. "Hey, hold up! I'm coming with you guys! I want to help Shana too, and you might need my help. Just give me a moment. I need to go talk to Jiji and tell him I'll be leaving with you guys to get the Dragoni Plant. Promise me you'll wait here for me to return?"

Dart and Lavitz looked to each other and nodded before turning their gaze to Rose. Seeing as she didn't seem to care one way or the other, Dart turned his attention back to Naruto and nodded. "We'll wait Naruto. Do what you need to do and then we'll be off."

Rose watched as Naruto rushed off to speak with the one he called 'Jiji' with her usual, critical stare. I suppose we'll be seeing what you're capable of soon enough, Naruto Uzumaki. Glancing over at the bottle Lavitz was holding, it was clear that the three of them had already collected something to carry the water in. All they had left to do was reach the pure spring in the Dragon's Nest, collect the water, and be on their way to the shrine mentioned in Dabas' notebook.

Moments Later – Hokage Tower

Bursting into the Hokage's office, Naruto waved as the Sandaime before offering him his usual grin. "Heya Jiji! What's up?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and offered a quiet chuckle before motioning for Naruto to take a seat. "I assume you have something important you wanted to talk to me about Naruto?"

The blonde grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, yeah. I'm sure Ero-sensei already told you about those people we escorted into the village, right? Well, Dart, Lavitz, Rose, and I, we found out what we need to cure that girl. We need something called a Dragoni Plant and we now know where to find one. I told them that I'm going to go with them and help. So, if it's okay with you, can you please let me leave with them so I can help save Shana's life? If Ero-sennin has a problem with it, I promise I'll train twice, heck, even three times as hard when I get back. Besides, depending on what happens while out with Dart's group, you could even consider this a training trip of sorts. So please, PLEASE let me go?!"

The Sandaime Hokage found himself chuckling as he nodded his head affirmatively. "Go ahead Naruto-kun. If they trust you enough to assist them, then go save young Shana's life. Just be careful and take care of yourself." Seeing how excited Naruto was, the Hokage stepped out from behind his desk and wrapped the boy up in a quick hug before ushering him out of the office.

"You sure it's okay to just let him go off on his own like that old man? They seem like good people, but we don't even know for sure if we can trust them just yet." Jiraiya stated as he reentered the room.

Hiruzen sighed and lit his pipe as he stared out the window. "You should show some trust in your godson Jiraiya-kun. I believe he'll be just fine. More than that, this is a good opportunity for us to test the waters and see what this new world holds in store for us. Wherever they go, Naruto's sure to experience some interesting new things. When he returns, and he will, it will be good to hear what he has to say. Don't you think so too?"

The Toad Sannin sighed and nodded his head after taking a moment to think about it. "He's a good kid. I'm sure he'll be fine. But he'd better take it easy and not do anything stupid while he's out there. We don't know what the heck is out there." Sighing, he sat down across from Hiruzen and leaned back. "I'm going to be working him each day until he drops once he gets back, that's a promise. Pulling a stunt like this when I'm trying to prepare him for his match against Neji? Seriously, what in the world is that gaki thinking?"

Konoha Village Gates

Naruto rushed up to his friends and grinned. "Good news! Jiji's given me permission to leave the village so long as I train extra hard when I get back. Sooo, let's get going! We have to get to this Dragon's Nest place right?"

Rose donned a smirk for just a brief second before nodding slowly and pushing herself off of a nearby wall. "That is correct. Not only does the corrupted plant rest there, but the pure spring resides there as well. I hope you can keep up."

Watching as Rose began to walk off, Naruto shrugged and looked to Dart and Lavitz. "So, any idea what this shrine's supposed to be like?" The young genin asked the two as the three of them hurried after Rose on their way to the Dragon's Nest.

A short time later – Dragon's Nest

"Huh. So this is what the Dragon's Nest looks like. A dark, gloomy forest that smells like crap and is teeming with monsters. Fun." Shrugging at that, Naruto glanced at the big hole before them and chuckled somewhat nervously to himself. "Lemme guess, we're supposed to jump down there?" Seeing the others nod in response to his question, the blonde shrugged again and donned his usual grin. "Well, guess I'll see you at the bottom then." Without a second thought, Naruto leaped into the hole before him, landing quietly at the bottom where the party had fought Greham and Feyrbrand not too long ago.

Joining him, Dart and the others looked down at him curiously a moment before the red-clad mercenary waved for the boy to follow him. "Come on Naruto, the spring is a little further in. We don't have far to go, but be ready for anything, got it?" Seeing him nod in response, the mercenary grinned and nodded his head. Without saying another word, the group of four journeyed inwards towards the spring water that would help them reach the shrine.

Shortly before they could descend the hole that led right down to the spring water, however, a rather grotesque plant-looking monster appeared before them, accompanied by two Lizard Men. Cocking his head curiously to the side, Naruto pointed at the plant and voiced is question. "Is that thing supposed to be some kind of monster too?" When his friends nodded, the boy sighed and shook his head. "Man, you guys had all kinds of weird crap in your world, didn't you?"

Before any of them could so much as say a word, Naruto performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. When five clones sprung forth, the real Naruto Uzumaki looked to Lavitz and extended his hand. "Give me the bottle. I'll go get the spring water while you guys handle things up here." When Lavitz handed over the bottle, Naruto grinned and dashed off past the nearest Lizard Man. When it tried to attack him, Naruto ducked under its first attack, kicked the thing as hard as he could in its chest, and flipped over the beast before hurrying down the hole to collect the spring water.

Dart and the others couldn't help but watch for a moment as Naruto's shadow clones fought the Man-Eating Bud. It swung violently in an attempt to 'kill' the clones, but they just kept jumping around and attacking it from different angles every time. Shrugging, Dart decided to focus his attention on one Lizard Man while Lavitz and Rose dealt with the one that had tried to attack the real Naruto just moments before.

Quickly dashing forward, Dart blocked an attack from the Lizard Man with his sword before kicking it as hard as he could, knocking the monster back a few steps. This was all the mercenary needed for him to have enough time to unleash his Addition. Swinging his sword down, Dart struck the beast in its chest before spinning around and slashing the creature again. Without giving the beast the time to react, Dart swung his sword upwards, creating yet another large gash in the beast's chest. When the attack was over, he shouted out: "Volcano!" and watched the beast collapsed dead to the ground.

Glancing over to the Man-Eating Bud, Dart watched as Naruto dealt the finishing blow to it with a strange, spiraling sphere of energy clutched tight in his right hand. With a shrug, the Dragoon looked to his other comrades to see that they had already finished their opponent off as well. It didn't take long after that for Naruto to reappear before them with spring water in hand and a grin on his face. Nodding in satisfaction at how things turned out, Dart turned back towards the dragon's lair and smiled. "Good job everyone. Let's get going. Shana's counting on us."

A short time later – Shirley's Shrine

It hadn't taken them much longer to reach the plant in question. Sure, they had to fight a few more monsters along the way, but it wasn't the four of them couldn't handle. Upon reaching the plant, Naruto couldn't help but comment on how freaky the damn thing looked as Dart splashed the spring water on it. When it finished wilting away, Naruto couldn't stop the grin that appeared on his face. "That was kind of awesome, dattebayo."

Naturally, the others still didn't know what the hell a 'dattebayo' was, but they weren't even going to bother trying to question him on it. The fact of the matter was that they were on important business and needed to hurry, for Shana's sake.

Now they stand at the entrance to the shrine. Glancing around him, Naruto couldn't help but admire how very beautiful the place was and how serene everything felt. However, he also couldn't help but sense that there was something off about this place. "As much as I'd like to say this is a safe place and we can take it easy, I'm sensing more monsters. But…there's something else too that I can't quite put my finger on. I wonder what it could be."

Frowning at that, Dart and the others nodded their heads as they proceeded further into the shrine. However, they soon stopped their trek as Rose found herself looking up at a sculpture of a dragon in the archway above them. Realizing that their companion was looking at something, Dart took a few steps back and peered up above at the sculpture, just as Lavitz and Naruto did the same.

"Is that…a sculpture of a dragon?" Dart questioned, a hint of concern finding its way into his voice.

Lavitz frowned and shook his head. "Dragon…. I do hope nothing bad will happen."

Rose took a step forward at this point and spoke, getting everyone's attention. "Dart, Lavitz, take out your Dragoon Spirits."

Before Naruto could even question what the hell a Dragoon Spirit was, the two men did as they were instructed and brilliant flashes of light erupted not only from the strange orbs they were carrying, but from the sculpture as well. Now I really want to know what the heck a Dragoon Spirit is!

Dart and Lavitz stayed focused on the Dragoon Spirits clutched firmly in their hands. "They are resonating together." Dart stated curiously.

Lavitz glanced towards the shrine and shook his head. "Does this mean there's a Dragoon in there!?"

Instead of giving him a direct answer, Rose put away her Dragoon Spirit and slipped past the three men. "Go see it with your own eyes."

Dart sighed and put his Spirit away as well. "Let's move on. We don't have the time to just stand around wondering what might happen anyways."

Naruto and Lavitz watched as Dart walked off to catch up to Rose before turning to each other. Shrugging their shoulders, Naruto shouted at the two of them to wait up before he and Lavitz chased after them into the next area.

As they entered the next area, Naruto couldn't help but notice all the signs scattered about saying a variety of different things. Kneeling down as the others regrouped, the ninja read aloud what was written on the first sign. "'Don't mess with Sir Drake! Get out!' Who the heck is 'Sir Drake'?" Scratching the top of his head in confusion, the genin decided to put that thought out of his head for the time being as he rejoined the others.

As they progressed throughout the shrine, the group couldn't help but notice that there were more and more signs scattered about. Some appeared to have complete gibberish written on them, such as the one that said: 'Status Facing Left.' while others came off as taunts from the same 'Sir Drake' mentioned in the first sign. However, the thing that really got to everybody was the fact that every damn treasure chest they came across didn't have any treasure in it; it just had more taunts from that same bastard! It was getting to the point where Naruto was ready to hunt down 'Sir' Drake and beat him to a bloody pulp for pulling this crap. I swear when I find you I'm going to make you cough up all the damn treasure we've earned you lousy bastard!

However, the biggest shock came when they opened a chest only to suddenly be shot along a mine cart ride that ended with the group splashing hard into the water in the first damn area! As soon as they were out of the water, Naruto didn't even bother trying to dry himself off. Instead, he glared up at the spot they had fallen from and began to chuckle darkly. "Oh I'm going to make sure I find you now 'Drake'. I'm going to kick your ass for all of this!"

Dart and Lavitz watched on with concern before turning to one another. "Is he going to be alright?" When Dart simply shrugged in response, Lavitz turned to Naruto and patted him on the shoulder. "Naruto, calm down. This 'Sir Drake' fellow probably isn't even here anymore. All of this could have been rigged up ages ago. There's really no way for us to know. Instead, we should stay focused on the task at hand: saving Shana." Seeing that he was calming down now, Lavitz gave the boy a hug and nodded as he waved towards the shrine. "Let's get going Naruto. We've got a girl to save."

Dart and Rose watched as Lavitz and Naruto walked off further into the shrine once more before glancing to one another. At Rose's slight glare, Dart simply shrugged and proceeded to follow after the others with the Darkness Dragoon following him moments later. First Naruto and now somebody calling himself 'Sir Drake'? Things just keep getting stranger. Rose thought to herself as she followed after them. Of course, she wasn't at all pleased about being drenched the way she was, and she was actually somewhat agreeing with Naruto's sentiments in that regard. If I get my hands on 'Drake', I'll kill him.

When they finally made it back to the weird turn dial mechanism they had passed by before, Naruto couldn't help but focus his attention on Rose. As Dart kneeled down to take care of inputting the correct pass code, Naruto looked the raven-haired beauty up and down carefully, his brow furrowing in thought. Whatever those Crystal Golems keep using on us, it hurts her a hell of a lot more than it does the rest of us. I wonder why. Frowning, the young ninja shook his head and turned away when Rose glanced his way, clearly aware of him looking her over. Oh well. I just hope she'll be alright.

Glancing upwards at the sound of a clicking noise of sorts, the group watched as a ladder sprung into view above them. With a shrug, the four ventured forth and were soon presented with another unique trap. As they came upon it, Naruto glanced at the statues and noticed something about them. "Hey, aren't these just like those statues we saw before?" Without waiting for confirmation, the young ninja walked up to the gold statue and turned it to face the front before looking to Dart. "Turn that one to the left. I think this ought to disable the trap so we can proceed further into the shrine."

Dart nodded in agreement, the three of them now understanding his idea perfectly. What had seemed simple gibberish at the time was actually a hint on how to bypass this very trap! Once everything was set in place, the group proceeded to the top of the shrine and began glancing around. "If the Dragoni Plant isn't up here, I'm not sure where it could be." Naruto stated softly, earning nods from the others moments later.

As the group began to proceed up the steps, Naruto threw out his arm and stopped everyone in their tracks. Glaring forward, the young genin took a few steps forward and began to shout. "I know you're there. I can sense you. Come out now if you know what's good for you."

It didn't take long for a peculiarly dressed man to come out from where he was hidden and stand before them. The weird guy looked at Naruto and cackled gleefully before looking around at the others in the group. "It's amazing you made it through all the traps! But I'm afraid your luck's about to run out!" Donning a sadistic grin, the man looked each one of them square in the eyes. "'Cuz I won't let you go any further! Now come on! Draw your weapons!"

Dart sighed and shook his hands before him in a placating gesture. "Wait! We are just here to look for the Dragoni Plant! We don't want to fight you!"

The mysterious bandit shook his head disbelievingly. "You want me to believe that!? You're after my treasure, aren't ya!?"

Dart took a step forward and glared at the man. "I'm telling you, that's not it!"

At this point Rose decided to voice her opinion. Drawing her rapier, she pointed it at the bandit and sighed. "It's quicker just to beat him."

Naturally, this upset the weird individual to the point he flew into a fit. "You thieves! Now you reveal your true selves! Prepare yourselves!"

However, before he could even attempt to attack them, Naruto took a step forward and raised his hand, getting everyone's attention. "You. Would your name happen to be Drake?" Seeing the man nod only confirmed Naruto's suspicions. Donning a grin, the Konoha genin drew a kunai and began to laugh. "Dart, Lavitz, Rose, let me handle this guy. I've got a bone to pick with this asshole."

"But…!" Lavitz tried to protest, only to receive a harsh look from Naruto. When the blonde shifted his eyes towards Rose, the knight of Bale turned to face her as well.

"Think for a moment guys. Firstly, whatever those golems have been using, it's really hurting Rose. She may look and act fine, but…well, it's hard to hide these kinds of things from a sensor ninja." With a shrug of his shoulders, the blonde genin turned back to Drake and grinned. "Besides, we don't know what else lies in wait for us. This guy could prove to be the very least of our problems, there's no way to know for sure yet. So sit back, relax, and let me handle this. I promise you guys that you can trust me here."

As Dart and Lavitz agreed to let Naruto deal with Drake, Rose eyed the young man once more. She was clearly having a hard time figuring young Naruto out, and the fact that he had now proven to be some kind of sensor only further piqued her curiosity. Just what are you Naruto? Truthfully?

Drake began to laugh as he took a battle stance. "A little kid thinks he can handle Drake the Great?! How cute! Then let me show you just how outclassed you are little kid!"

The Konoha shinobi chuckled darkly to himself as he prepared for the fight that was about to take place. "Oh you don't know how wrong you are about that Drakey. You see, you pissed me off. You've pissed me off so much I'm afraid I'm going to have to force you to beg for mercy before I'm through with you. We're here trying to get help for our friend, but nooo. You had to go and set up all those traps, steal all the treasure for yourself, and drench us with water! Oh, but then we get here, we find you holing up in this, what I would assume to be, sacred place, and you dare to call us thieves?! By the time I'm done with you, you're going to regret ever having come here, I guarantee it." And with that said, Naruto moved into action. The fight had begun!

A/N: Okay, here we go. This is the first of the new fics I had planned. Somehow I finished this chapter up pretty quickly, and I'm really glad with how it turned out. Hopefully you all enjoy this story as much as the others, but if not, that's perfectly okay. I'll say it now: The Legend of Dragoon is one of my absolute favorite games of all time and it's one of the best RPGs I've played. Regardless of that fact, I think this crossover just works well with how it's been set up. I do hope you look forward to seeing more chapters, because I plan to work on chapter 2 when I get the chance.

If you have any questions regarding the fic, feel free to ask in a PM or a review and I'll do what I can to get back to ya. This is just the first chapter, so there's still a heck of a lot to look forward to.