A/N: Hello all, I'm so happy for everyone who decided to read my story. :3 I read up on a previous Mercenary Naruto story, and I thought it had some potential, so I decided to give my own shot at it. Keep in mind, I'm not the best writer out there, so there is a good chance my story might not be the best out there. So, make sure you keep that mindset when going in, that way you're not surprised if my writing puts you off to the story.

I need to clear some things up. Yes, while this is a DBZ/Naruto Crossover, I want everyone to remember that this is still a Naruto focused kind of story, just with more Dragon Ball elements thrown in. There won't be blowing up entire cities with one magnificent blast (aside from certain Naruto Techniques that can do it) very little flying, no things like Saiyans, Namekians, Changelings, etc. I, personally, feel that the Dragon Ball Z stuff has no place in the Naruto setting, as the levels in power are utterly disproportionate, but I think that Naruto characters could, at least, hang with DB-Era fighters, like General Blue, or Mercenary Tao, or even King Piccolo, but there won't be Raditz-levels and beyond. You're free to disagree with my opinion on that, but that's just how I feel, and that's coming from a fan of both Naruto AND DBZ.

Power Scale: Since Naruto is gonna be a lot like Mercenary Tao, he's gonna be quite powerful, but since this is gonna be more like a DB-Era of power thing rather than a DBZ-Era of power, that doesn't mean he's going to dominate every fight he's in with no issue. He will possess some DB Techniques and the like, such as Tao's Dodonpa, and even Techniques like the Kikoho(Tri-Beam), but there won't be anything on the level of ridiculousness as that of DBZ-Era. There will be some times where there are limited forms of flight for Naruto, like hovering in the air and moving through the air in various directions, but it won't be for things like long-distance travel, to get an advantage on an enemy, or anything like that.

It'll be more for things like, say, setting up explosives in strategic spots, or to set up a Technique in a way he normally couldn't on the ground. The only time when actual, legitimate flying Naruto uses will come into play, will be for things like when his opponent is, for example, standing on water. The reason for this is, because Naruto doesn't have Chakra, he's incapable of fighting in such conditions, and I wanted to find a way to still keep the fights even when circumstances like those come up.

Now, before anyone says anything of the sort like 'But if he can fly, why doesn't he use it all the time?' the answer is because of the fact that, much like Water Walking, it drains energy to use, but at the same rate as Water Walking drains Chakra, and since Flying in DB and DBZ wasn't really super fast, it's going to be impractical for things like long-distance travel, and since it drains Energy, Naruto would only want to use it in circumstances where he can't fight his opponent on a level playing field. I know it may seem like a bit of a cop out, but I just feel this is best for the sake of story purposes.

In regards to opponents he fights and how easily he'll beat them, I think I'll have him face opponents that would normally stand no chance against him for the moment, and then gradually work his way up to opponents that will push him and leave him with a believable chance of dying. That doesn't mean there won't be moments where he showcases how much of a 'badass' he is, but like I said, I feel in the DB-Era, Naruto characters have a chance of hanging with anyone from there, and as such, Naruto won't be an unstoppable juggernaut all of the time.

Next, some basic background: This is going to be a Neglected Naruto fanfic, where his parents are alive, and he has a sibling who has the Kyuubi instead of him, and he's pretty much overlooked, albeit for a reason that I feel is needed for his parents to be neglectful, especially Kushina, considering the Uzumaki Clan were big on family. It doesn't make sense for them to just forget Naruto for no reason, and this is not an Abused! Naruto, either, because just like it doesn't make sense for his parents to be neglectful of him for no reason, they would never abuse him.

Naruto is going to be a lot like Mercenary Tao was in Canon, so he's not really gonna be a nice person. He won't be like some Narutos are, who are focused on getting revenge for their neglect, or wanting to prove something to their family. Considering he didn't really get to spend time with anyone in Konoha, at the most, he'll just feel apathy for them, at least at the start. He won't hate them or anything, but since he never really formed a bond with his family or anyone in Konoha, he won't necessarily be merciful towards them if they get in his way. He will help them, of course, but it won't be out of the kindness of his heart. He'll expect payment of some kind for helping them out, as he is under the personal belief that he shouldn't stick his neck out for someone without payment.

Pairings: Pairings-wise, I don't really have any ideas, especially in regards to Naruto. Considering Naruto will be a wandering Bounty Hunter/Assassin/Bodyguard/Mercenary, it'll be hard for him to have a stable relationship, and I'm not sure if I can imagine a Mercenary Tao-esque Naruto getting into a relationship. That being said, for those who may like this story and want to see it continue, I'd be open for ideas pairings-wise. I have a couple of conditions in regards to the whole 'Naruto being in a relationship' thing.

#1: No Harem. If Naruto gets into a relationship, he'll strictly be a one-woman man. Considering Naruto's wandering nature and such, he'll be very focused on his dealings and obtaining money, and if he obtains multiple women, I believe that he would be distracted too much on the women in his life to focus on his dealings. So, by having one woman, it allows me to ensure that he can focus both on his profession, as well as the significant other in his life, juggling them in his life in a perfectly balanced fashion without the story getting too derailed by all the different romances with all the women he'll be dealing with.

#2: No pairing Naruto with Female, or Genderbent Male, Tailed Beasts, Vampires, Demons, Werewolves, non-related OCs, or anything of the sort, and no pairing Naruto with Ootsutsuki, Kaguya either. It has to be a Human Female.

#3: Certain Genderbent Male Characters will be considered for the pairing, like a Female Sasuke or even Female Gaara, super popular Genderbent characters, but nothing like Fem!Itachi, or Fem!Pain, or Fem!Hidan, or Fem!Orochimaru.

#4: No pairing Naruto with women significantly older than him, like that of, say, Uchiha, Mikoto, or Mabui, or Konan, or Tsunade, or Terumi, Mei. Naruto will be around 17 in this fanfic, so anyone within, say, a 5-7 year age range older than him is the max I'll go. The same applies in reverse, no females significantly younger than him. No one like Hanabi or Moegi. Women like Hana Inazuka, Yugito Nii, and Kurotsuchi are acceptable choices. Hell, even his Jinchuuriki Sister is fine.

#6: No pairing him with Hinata, either. It's not that I dislike the pairing, I just think it's annoyingly popular, and that pairing pops up way too much for my taste. Naruto, being Mercenary Tao and all, wouldn't have any tolerance for the shy, nervous Hinata.

#7: Finally, just keep in mind that if the relationship is to last, the woman will have to leave their village and travel with him under some circumstances, so feel free to come up with scenarios that will make this happen in your Reviews.

That's all of them. Make sure to leave the name of the woman you want to have be involved with Naruto.

I think that's about all I really have to say. I'll just start the story off now.

Prologue

"W-What do you want from us?" asked a man who shook from head-to-toe in fear, standing protectively in front of his pregnant wife and child. The whole family held each other in fear as they stared upon the menacing figure in their midst, a man who's very appearance brought dread and apprehension to those who saw him. He was a man of around 5 foot 10, blonde hair pulled back into a tightly braided ponytail that just so happened to a pink hairbow on the end of it, a pencil-style mustache on his upper lip, and three whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks. He was dressed in a pink Cheongsam that had the symbol of the word Kill draped over the heart, the phrase KILL YOU! printed on the back of the pink outfit in a bright red, and strapped to his back, was a sword safely tucked away in a sheathe, waiting to be drawn. The assassin, who had his arms folded formally behind his back, smirked at them with a menacing, malicious gleam in his sapphire blue eyes, his eyes promising the family that untold tragedy was about to befall them.

"Your Brother has decided that he wishes to seize control over the company you head, and has even hired me full price to take you and your wretched little weakling family out. In fact, he's willing to pay full price three times over to ensure I get all three of you" he said to them with that small, but very menacing smirk still on his face. The unnamed family man, out of instinct, quickly pulled what appeared to be some kind of tomahawk off of his wall, and this only caused the blonde assassin to raise an eyebrow in amusement. With a determined gleam now in his eye, the man threw the tomahawk with all of his might at the unidentified assassin, hoping that he would wind up killing that had been sent after his family. Unfortunately for this businessman, the person he was facing was no ordinary assassin.

The assassin, upon seeing the tomahawk get flung at him, opened his mouth and caught the tomahawk with his teeth, clenching down hard on the blade. Upon seeing this, the man and his family paled and quickly backed away. What truly set the dread for them, however, was how the blonde assassin then bit down hard enough on the blade to reduce the metallic half of the throwing weapon to chunks of scrap metal. The assassin spat out the pieces of metal in his mouth, and proceeded to catch the handle of the tomahawk in his head before it could hit the floor. Placing the handle between his right index and middle fingers, he pulled his arm back, and then flung the handle with devastating force at the man. The result was the man being pierced so hard through the skull by the handle, that it actually continued it's path through his head, and into the skull of his pregnant wife, where it remained embedded.

As the two bodies fell, the little boy burst into tears over what just happened to his parents. Trembling in both fear, and rage, he glared up at the assassin, and with what the assassin assumed what was supposed to be a battle cry, the boy charged at him with his fist cocked back. After letting out a derisive scoff, the assassin proceeded to slam the ends of his toes into the boy's neck with a devastating front kick, resulting in the boy's neck being sheared through and ending in a decapitation. Quietly jumping backwards away from the gory bloodspray to avoid getting any of it on him, the assassin chuckled over his deed, and then exited the house, heading into a horse-drawn carriage where his client was waiting.

Once inside, the assassin sat down on the comfy leather seat, and looked his client in the eyes. "The deed is done, and it was pitifully easy, at that" came the slimy, skin-crawling voice of the assassin. The client smirked in appreciation and nodded his head over the job well done, glad to see that he was right to hire the man in front of him.

"Excellent job. I am glad I hired you, Tao. It's always nice to have somebody I can rely. So, that's 30 million, yes? 10 for my brother, 10 for his wife, and 10 for his little brat. You'll find the money transferred to your Earth Country account, as promised. If you're up for it, I have another job for you, involving the Daimyo of Tsuchi no Kumi himself, and he's willing to pay full price for this deed done as well" came the voice of his client. The assassin, who had been referred to by the name of Tao, focused his full attention on his client, and smirked as a gleam of greed appeared in his sapphire blue eyes.

"My my my, my deeds have become so infamous that I've obtained the notice of a Daimyo, have I? What's the job?" Tao asked his client with a devilish smirk on his face, twirling some of the hairs on his mustache with the fingers on his right hand.

"A while ago, one of the Daimyo's daughters had been kidnapped Gato, as in the Gato of Gato Kanpani, the Shipping Magnate. The woman was later found dead, and unfortunately for the Daimyo, she hadn't been saved because the Tsuchikage had some emergency crisis going on in his village, and as such, was unable to send anyone on the mission. Once I had become aware of this issue, I had offered your services to him, and he seemed most intrigued. He wants Gato dead as revenge for the death of his daughter. Last we heard, Gato was making some kind of stronghold in Nami no Kuni, and that's where he has been for the past several months. If you accept the job, the Daimyo will pay full price, and even more than that should you accept the job. What do you say, interested?" the client had asked the Assassin, which had caused the blonde murderer to smirk and nod his head.

"Tell him I accept, and that I'll head to Nami no Kumi as soon as I am able. I'll even personally kill the worthless little midget, and bring the head to the Daimyo himself as proof of my deeds. After all" here he paused for a moment to smirk in glee at the thought of having not only having more money, but also at the thought of having the Tsuchi no Kuni Daimyo's favor "Mercenary Tao is never one to turn down a job when I can benefit so much from it" he said to the man, who chuckled in amusement. With that said and done, the two them awaited silently for the horse-drawn carriage to take the two of them to their destination, so that Mercenary Tao could then begin his contract.

A/N: There we have it, the first out of, hopefully many, chapters is done with. Since it's only a prologue, I didn't consider it necessary to make it super long. Let me know what you all think, and if I get some positive feedback, I'll feel motivated to update this story.