The following characters and concepts belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.

I would like to thank Demonabyss for granting me permission to use his story as a base for my own, and the originator of the story Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus to which gave birth to this variation of the story.

I hope you enjoy the read!

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 1: Twist of fate and a gambit!

Konoha Woods, Eight-thirty-four pm

"There's nothing quite like night time," sighed a dirty blond haired child as he looked up at the stars.

"I prefer the sun myself, brat," mumbled a unseen figure.

"Yeah well nuts to you," mumbled the child right back.

If the figure could have been seen, it would have been seen with its tongue sticking out and raspberrying the boy. It was an act returned in kind without the benefit of being unseen. From there it quickly devolved into a two person war between the fake flatulence and pointless bickering between the boy and the unseen figure.

To a casual observer who happen upon this scene, it would appear that the boy was undoubtedly not right in the head as he carried on a argument with a nonexistent partner in the act. Had they been gifted with the power of telepathy, or were more accustomed to far stranger sights than this, they would've known that the boy was not so much as insane as he was 'possessed...' if one ran on bare minimum intelligence regarding sealing. The screeching like a primate at times did little to help the boy's case however during some points of passionate rebuttal or verbal attacks.

This cycle however ran the same course if they knew the boy. First comes a seemingly placid statement of opinion, then came an argument that required almost no provocation from either the boy or his burden, and then as it always ends came a round of training... in the use of lava.

This was Naruto Uzumaki, host of one of the nine tailed beasts of the Elemental Nations, and one of two that resided in Konoha's newfound number of two containers of the bijuu.

Years ago, wrapped in mystery by the general masses, not one but two of such creatures had appeared in the vicinity of Konoha. First and the most terrible was the Nine-Tailed Fox that ravaged the land and slain any who were either brave or foolish enough to stand against it, including the Fourth Hokage of Konoha as a price of self sacrifice to stop the rampaging gargantuan fox.

It was also a price to stop a second beast deserving as much fame and of terror, though not earned in the eyes of the shinobi village. It's name-

The boy spat out a globule of molten fire in a poor attempt to utilize it as a projectile. "Hey Son, what am I doing wrong?" he asked with a grain of annoyance, more directed at his own failure than anything else.

"You added too much of the earth element, brat," rumbled the bijuu.

Son Goku, the Four-Tailed Monkey. Bijuu of the presumed dead Stone shinobi Roshi Dy. As to why, and how, he, Son Goku, was present in the attack by the Nine-Tails remains a mystery to the skeptical. To the foolhardy the answer was readily available by a more false source: "Because he felt he had owed the great Senju for its generosity and kindness to him."

"Balderdash." The most commonly used rebuke to this claim from the bijuu on any given time.

As to what happened to Roshi, his former host, he knew not in detail. He only knew that the Sharingan was in play, and that he had fought against his 'brother' for only moments before he found himself sealed inside a new host. That was what Naruto learned from him at least.

Whatever the case is, he and Naruto now shared a more interesting life than he had expected. It was a life fraught with adventure, danger, plotting, and occasional thievery!

"Hey Son, do you remember where we stashed the crate of apples we made off with today?"

"Third branch to the farthest tree to your immediate right..." Son Goku grumbled.

"The bananas were too heavy in those large groups, it was that or starve," counter grumbled Naruto.

"You could've made off with one of them brat," grumbled the bijuu once more.

"The yellow would've drawn attention," counter Naruto as he made his way to the targeted tree and climbed to the branch he desired to find the apple crate propped against the more leafed covered outlying branches. A begrudging grunt came forth as Naruto pried the crate open and retrieved one of the edible prizes that was immediately beset by a ravenous maw.

"I still say you could've made the effort brat." His answer was a rather large bite of the victimized apple.

Looking up, he grinned at the moon and stars that and more than once greeted him with the setting of the sun. Though Son Goku had his complaints, night was far more preferable than day; the dark of night was freedom incarnate for him. Few people were ever out, and so few restrictions were given. He could run, he could jump, he can shout and train to his heart's content. He can walk out on a street and laugh without being glared at. He can eat a meal without looking over his shoulder to find someone sneaking up behind him or at least giving him the evil eye; so few ever gave him any other look, he could even count them with both hands.

He smiled as he went over the list once more: The pair that ran the only ramen stand that never ran him off, Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku. Then there was his fellow orphan Tenten Bell who also shared the same apartment complex as him as per the shinobi training program for orphans, unfortunately she was not as an avid night dweller like himself; he could swear he heard muffled chuckling from the massive ape-like monkey every time that fact came up. Hinata Hyuga, however strange it was that most definitely got the banana-whiner to snicker about it. Last but not least are Iruka Umino and old man Sarutobi, aka the Third Hokage.

Though good hearted, thinking about them did make him grimace in slight disgust for what thoughts that followed them, no matter how bright and cheery the memory or event is. Iruka had taken the time to help Naruto on many a occasion, yet he could only do so much as a teacher and as a person surrounded by the village in general. It was a likewise case for the Third Hokage, both, or rather all three of them, had a common denominator towards their limitations: one boy running amok as the alleged container of the Four-Tails as far as the villagers were concerned; the false host as it were.

A sneer encroached itself on him followed by a growl from Goku himself as the thought of the only other host entered his mind. "What is his problem?!" He too was an orphan yet he sat at the lap of luxury much like the last Uchiha of the village, the true difference between them is their attitude... a brooding Uchiha was far more preferable to the so called "Senju," so named for being 'host' of the bijuu that 'helped' in the village's defense where in truth it was he who held Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Needless to say, with enough people to believe in the farce it didn't matter regarding who held who; if he, Naruto, was to say he was the container of Son Goku he would only be met with obstinate denial by the masses.

Tossing the apple core away, Naruto soon found another apple in his clutch to which he devoured a bit more angrily. Almost immediately he spat out the partially chewed piece into his palm in revulsion, to which he looked onto the piece of apple in both hands with a critical eye. Sighing, he popped the original piece back into his mouth and ate away after finding no fault on the apple's part. He shook his head in exasperation in a small attempt to clear his mind and vent the frustration built up inside. It didn't do well to hold a grudge, and it always spoiled any food or drink he consumed.

A lone hand of his own stopped just short of rubbing the back of his neck in time for the wind to shift and blow against him, bringing forth a scent all too familiar to him and Son Goku amongst other things.

With every sanctuary came the threat of someone, something, in fact anything could and would eventually come along and threatened it if not destroy it.

The air was charged with malice, only detectable from years of being hunted by the skilled and the unskilled alike. "Damn it," Naruto growled as he leapt off the branch after abandoning his apple. Unceremoniously he dropped to the ground in a roll and dove into a bush and tore into it till he found what he was looking for, a satchel filled to the brim of what was deemed essential, and absconded into the depths of the surrounding woods.

XVX

Hokage Tower

"Neko, take a team with you to find and protect Naruto! Yamori, Kanaria, Hebi, go and alert every available and off duty Jonin you can gather and arrest this mob and turn them over to the Torture and Investigation department! Mausu, inform Ibiki that he is to cease his current activities immediately to perform a investigation as to who is a part of this mob, if this is a planned attack or not, and find any at all conspirators to this! Everyone else is with me!" ordered an irate elderly man as he donned battle garb reminiscent to an unprotected shinobi of old, only bearing a helmet bearing his village's forehead protector and only one gauntlet lashed to his right arm.

A snarl kept itself engraved to his features as he finished the last strap and bolted from his office, followed by a plethora of masked shinobi bearing animal masks. The elderly man's raced as he confronted, questioned, and half answered theories to this latest predicament that moved against Naruto without fear. His mind had drawn at least two hypotheses, though both would have to be looked into later.

Had he taken a moment to stop at his office and gaze into a crystal ball, at least one answer could've been found.

XVX

Senju compound

"Shut the hell up you beast." An amused chuckle rumbled out of nowhere despite the vehement snarl from a young boy in the darkness of the study.

"Are you afraid that you're cushy lifestyle will disappear in the event the monkey's host dies?" an unseen figure asks a lone boy without making one effort to hide its glee derived from the boy's fear.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" the boy bellowed as he ripped through a desk only to be perturbed by a greater bark of laughter.

"Do you think I'm afraid you mongrel?! That I can't survive under my own power if that bastard dies?!" challenged the boy. A smirk seen by no one adorns the youth's face as he reveled in victoriously quieting his greatest annoyance. It was short lived as a strange mix of a growl and laughter emerged once more.

"You always been afraid. Why else have you kept up this charade and lies about who you hold, boy? Why is it you now panic and seek an iota of security in a family line that isn't yours?"

Teeth gnashed and ground into each other in yet another snarl as the study was torn apart. "Even if you somehow pull off that you are indeed a Senju, how pray tell will you keep it a secret that you are the prison of me instead of the monkey?" the voice mocked. The boy stopped dead in his tracks and balled his hands into fists.

"What will it take to get you to be silent. Do I need to create a muzzle? A rope? Or perhaps spear you..." In the dark, a pair of eyes widened in a revelation.

"What are you doing boy?" The door to the study flew open as a the only resident in the compound rushed by. The moonlight peeking in through various windows of the hallway revealing the boy to be wearing a blue kosode on with a rich purple undershirt cropping out from the top due to the slight parting of the robe. If one were to take a careful look on him they would swear it was Naruto that walked before them... yet there were differences. His hair, though spiky like Naruto's, had a light orange gleam to it with red highlights and was permitted to grow in length where Naruto's was short let alone dirtied with accumulated filth. Whisker marks adorned his cheeks where Naruto's was flawless, sans whatever grime Naruto had between washes. Last were his eyes bearing a color of hazel as opposed to blue.

One of his eyes flicks to a passing window to take in these features and he remains passive in his pursuit of a more... grander purpose. A purpose that earned a growl from the bijuu that was kept inside the boy that promised eternal pain when the boy stopped and leered at a portrait of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage.

XVX

Forest

Being a container had benefits when it came to the human body. A certain rate of regeneration, what could be considered bloodline limits such as being host to Son Goku for example gave the ability to wield lava, a greater endurance, larger chakra pools, and a vast amount of stamina, though to be fair Naruto had long developed it in previous situations and secretive training. It the last that was certainly the chief factor between Naruto and a horde of civilians. Unfortunately shinobi were another problem all together.

At most he was only nicked once to date and it wasn't from poor aim. Between the trees, knowledge and experience, and being a child, a count of thirty kunai and shuriken have been wasted in a bid to harm him with the count continuing to rise.

"Turn left!"

Rounding around a tree, Naruto evaded yet another set of kunai and shuriken that embedded themselves in the bark. It mattered little to the boy who ran straight into a cave at his bijuu's behest. Immediately he knew it was a labyrinth, natural formed or not, that was illuminated by a strange glowing fungus growing in patches. What peace there was quickly was destroyed when Son Goku's urgency.

"Right! Left! Another left!"

The shouts of shinobi and the baying of hounds soon echoed off the walls in their own pursuit of the container while the actual trackers either got lost or found his trail... undoubtedly due to the dogs.

"Stupid sense of smell," uttered Naruto in a growl.

"Just keep running!"

In a turn with no choice, the monkey container found himself staring at a door bearing bright crimson runes of origins unknown. Lack of a proper education notwithstanding. A strange ringing sensation lingered in his ears, though it was oddly didn't bother him, and as he approached the door the ringing only grew louder while the ringing itself was joined and fused with other reverberations he couldn't name. All of it was drowned as the barks and shouts drew ever closer.

The door soon found itself opened and subsequently slammed shut long before the first shinobi arrived on the scene.

"Oi! He went this way!" The runes reacted in seconds of the first foot fall towards them.

A screech of pain engulfed the tunnel as a handful of shinobi came in due haste, only to find a burnt body crashing into a wall. All of them hugged the wall and crept along it till the furthermost could peek over the corner, and was met with a similar fate of his comrade with a side of his face. Amidst a cry of pain he was pulled out of the way by a more able shinobi as he formed one handed seals and puffed his cheeks.

Past the door, Naruto was at a frenzy as he ripped open boxes and pulled drawers of what was at least a storage room if not a study with Son only egging him on!

"It looks like a shiny kunai! Keep at it brat!"

"Not helping you old bastard!"

The frantic search was made worse with the pounding on the door and screams of the wounded and vengeful alike. Tearing off the lid, he found the object he was searching for. Identified more so from the happy screech of Son Goku rather than the fact it looked like a "shiny kunai." It looked to be made of crystal with a marble edge of black, with the same coloring on runes etched into the blade which were similar to what was found on the door behind him which was still under attack. There was a cloth of a more blood-like crimson that wrapped around the handle that felt smoother than silk as his fingers discovered upon picking it up.

Chakra surged forth and shot into the 'kunai' without heed of the brief cry of surprise from the container himself. The crystal weapon lapped it up hungrily and expelled a globule of a shimmering blue mass that stopped just short of a nearby wall and expanded into a portal to an unknown land with a silver lining around the gateway itself. Before a question was raised, Naruto's body moved against his will to the portal in a bum rush.

As soon as the body absconded into the portal, it immediately collapsed onto itself without a shred of evidence to prove its existence.

XVX

(The following excerpt is directly from Demonabyss' story Atum-Coma: City Hidden in the Nexus and is in no way mine.)

DARK TOME: Items

Keys of the Dark: A key of the dark is a rare and valuable item. These items allow the user to transport themselves from one realm or world to another. However, a key of the dark can only bridge two specific worlds just as a door can only connect two specific rooms. The location the user ends up in either world is usually random unless there is an anchor of some sort attuned to the key in that world. It is important to note that keys are difficult to make and require a decent amount of energy to activate. As a result normal humans and creatures unable to manipulate energy cannot use them. Humans trained to use their chakra, or any other energy source from their body, for example would be able to. Also, keys of the dark don't necessarily have to be keys. They can be any item of any size, usually small items like a ring, watch, knife, etc. for ease of use and transport. Some keys can also be attuned to a certain type of energy or even a certain blood line.

WARNING: Keys of the dark should be used with caution. Near constant use or using too much power may result in the key being damaged or destroyed. Damaged keys should NOT be used as they may result in landing the user in limbo rather than their destination of choice or possibly having the user killed while going through an unstable portal.

A/N: Monkey Tale is my imagining of Atum-Coma with certain events changed and even altered, such as the fact that Son Goku (Four-Tailed Monkey) is Naruto's tailed beast instead of Kurama (Nine-Tailed Fox).

As to Naruto's awareness of Son Goku, I hold a belief that said character would be too prideful to be ignored and would most likely made at least one or two attempts to be acknowledged by his new host if nothing else. From there the stone only rolls down hill, so to speak.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter but unfortunately this story will be held back in favor of my current stories Assassin and Path of a Monk. With that said, I do apologize especially to Demonabyss who has expressed interest in seeing my own incarnation of his hard work.