FicWad

Chapter 1: The Legend Returns

Night had fallen in the village of Konoha, the moon was shining above as it watched unblinkingly. A shadow could be seen running as fast as its small legs could carry it through the streets. Shouts of anger and hate followed it from shinobi and civilian alike "Get the Demon! Kill it and we'll be heroes!" A random Jounin shouted from the mob as they chased after the shadow.

'Damn. They never stop! Every year it's the same thing... Why do they always hurt me and treat me like some monster?' The shadow passed under a lamp post and a shock of blonde hair above a pair of brilliant cerulean eyes could be seen as the shadow is revealed to be a small boy.

He turned a corner only to find a dead end and cursed under his breath. Looking all over he tried to hide in a corner of the alley and huddled into the shadows.

The shouts drew closer as the mob appeared at the end of the alley and one of the people started knocking over all of the trash cans and smashing boxes trying to find the boy "Where did that vile brat get to?! Spread out and search everywhere!"

The boy leaned as far back against the wall as he could and without realizing it, fell right through into a dark cavern behind him.

After shaking the dust and pebbles from his hair and patting his pants to get rid of the dirt he looked around and saw a little light off in the distance. It was flickering as he watched it and so, with a shrug, he decides that anything is better than facing that mob out there.

As he walked slowly down the empty path he jumped when two dark holes in the walls above him blazed into light with a small burst of dull green flame. He shook himself and chuckled nervously as he continued on deeper into the cave.

"Where am I? This place is so big. How did they hide it from everyone without them knowing? I mean, someone must have been here before. This place is really clean for a hole in the ground..." He says out loud and an echo comes back making him grin "Echo!" And again 'Echo! Echo...! Echo....!'

As he walked he began to feel kind of funny. Not in a bad way; just more safe than anything. When he got to the end of the tunnel, he turned to see a large room with many of those funny fires lining the walls, giving the place an eerie glow. He walked toward the middle of the room and saw what looked to be a statue of a man sitting with one leg over the other in front of him. The hands were forming a hand-sign but it wasn't one he knew. Its eyes were closed and it had shoulder length hair that fell over its left eye. Its clothes were weird to the boy as he walked up and stared at it.

Suddenly, a mirthful chuckle echoed around the room and made the boy fall backwards onto his ass "Ouch... What was that? Who's there?!" He called out nervously into the gloom and looked all over the room only for his head to turn and he focused on the only other thing in the room; the statue.

He got up slowly and walked cautiously towards it. The boy reached out a hand and poked at the cheeks, chest, and even the nose of the thing and found them all to feel like they're alive. He stepped back in shock as the right eye opened slowly and fixed him with its gentle silver gaze before the statue cracked a wide, joyful grin "Hello there my young friend. Can I help you with something?"

He wanted to run but his legs wouldn't move and his heart was beating like a drum 'What is this thing? I thought it was just some random statue?!' He thought and as if reading his mind the man chuckled, nodding "Yes, I was a statue...until now that is. When you entered this room you broke my seal and woke me up. I bet you are wondering who I am huh?"

All the young boy could do was nod and gulp as his mouth became very dry at the thought of this man being alive and wondered how long he had been down here.

The man moved around and stood slowly before falling onto his own ass. He laughed at himself and got up again. He stretched out his stiff muscles and cracked his knuckles and neck before nodding and smiling warmly at the boy "What is your name, little one?"

The boy got a bit mad and shouted "Hey I am not little you jerk! And my name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto." The man grinned again as he studied the boy and then knelt down to his level, holding out his hand for Naruto to shake "I am pleased to meet you Naruto-kun. You can call me Moncris."

Naruto reached out slowly and shook hands with him before removing himself from the wall "What are you doing down here and where are we anyways? I was in the alley and the next thing I knew I was inside the tunnel back there..."

Moncris nodded as he looked around and then made a few motions with his hands. A low table appeared between them which he sat down at and motioned for Naruto to take the seat on the other side, which the blonde did after a few seconds "Well, to answer your questions, we are in a special sealed cavern I made so that I could hide and rest. Think of this as a personal base of mine that I use when I need some peace and quiet. So, what is it like up there now? Last I checked there was a massive battle going on between a powerful demon fox with nine tails and a blonde man. I believe he was called the Yondaime or something like that. Do you know how it ended?"

Naruto, being a huge fan of the Yondaime knew exactly what battle the man was talking about "Yeah! The Fourth kicked the Kyuubi's ass and killed it. He's a hero now but he died while fighting it. I want to be Hokage too." That made Moncris frown as sadness flickered in his eyes but Naruto didn't notice as he kept going "It's my dream to be the best Hokage ever so that everyone will finally accept me and stop treating me like a pest."

The man smiled sadly and shook his head "Naruto-kun, I have to be honest, that doesn't seem like a good reason. Do you know what it means to be Hokage? It is not easy and you would have to do a lot of hard things if you became Hokage..."

The blonde tilted his head to the side a bit as he listened to the man "Why would it be hard? The Hokage protects the village right?"

Moncris nodded but then held up a finger as he explained "Yes, but that is only one small part. A good Hokage not only protects the village but he fights for those who can't do it themselves. He also helps everyone under his care whenever he can. But even though he is a good person, he must be strong enough to make choices that could hurt others if it means that even more people can be saved because of it. If the Yondaime had chosen another course of action during his fight and it turned out to be the wrong choice a lot of people in the village could have died thanks to his choice."

Naruto scrunched up his face as he thought it over. Did he really want all of that responsibility? After a few minutes of thought, he lifted his head, his eyes burning with determination and resolve greater than his years "Then I will do that! I will do whatever I can to help everyone and make them feel safe. I will protect the village with everything I have!"

Moncris nodded with a wide grin and said "And if you need my help along the way then just use this." He made a silver necklace with a leaf symbol hung on a long chain etched with odd symbols appear on the table before Naruto. The boy picked it up and looked at it in awe "What does it do? And how does it let you help me?"

"That necklace is covered in hidden seals that have all kinds of powers. I will tell you about the other ones some other time but the most important one for now is that if you hold it tightly in your hand and even think my name, then I can teleport to you and help you out whenever you need me." Moncris said with a bit of pride to his voice.

"Another important one is that should you be attacked you can hold it and shout 'Reflect', making anything that an enemy throws at you; taijutsu, ninjutsu, or even a weapon will bounce off and hit them back with twice the force. Sadly, it must be re-filled after a number of uses so be careful, okay?" The man said with a bit of worry as he watched the blonde bow his head for a moment.

The blonde was speechless as he felt a few tears leaking out of his eyes. He screwed them shut as he shook gently. No one had ever been nice to him except the old man and the Ichiraku's. Well, them and his mysterious friend who left him gifts on his doorstep every year for his birthday. Yet this random guy he had just met had given him such an amazing gift and offered to help him even more should he need it.

The man almost fell over when the blonde jumped over the table and hugged him tightly around the stomach. He smiled kindly and held him as the boy cried into his cloak. After a few minutes, Naruto stopped shaking and he lifted his head to smile at Moncris; a true smile that made the man grin back.

"Okay. Now that we have that figured out, let's get going." Moncris said as he chuckled and stood up with Naruto. Though a little surprised that Moncris wanted to come with him, Naruto nodded and wondered how his new friend would get them out since he was sure the cave was blocked off from the inside.

The brown haired man made a few hand signs so fast that it almost made the blonde dizzy and looked down at the boy "Ready? Hang on tight, this can be a wild ride for first timers." And with that, they both vanished into thin air.

~~~~~ (Meanwhile) ~~~~~

Hiruzen Sarutobi was on the verge of having a heart attack. He had sent out his ANBU to stop the mob hours ago but his men had been unable to find Naruto so far. He hoped the boy was alright and just in hiding. Sometimes, that boy was more of a shinobi then any Jounin or Chunin under his command.

As he sat back in his chair and took a long puff on his pipe, said boy popped up right in front of his desk with a shout of "Hey Hokage-jiji!" The aged Hokage nearly fell out of his seat in shock. He rushed over to check on the young man but stopped immediately upon noticing the cloaked man next to Naruto.

As the Sandaime studied the man he noticed the crest holding the cloak closed and his eyes widened as he realized who he was 'But he was thought to be dead...' The man carefully got his attention using a few hand signals, telling the man to act normally with a small smile, glancing around the room quickly.

Sarutobi relaxed a bit, giving him an almost imperceptible nod as he knelt down in front of Naruto and hugged him warmly "I am glad you are safe Naruto-kun. When the ANBU couldn't find you I hoped you had just went into hiding again."

The young blonde cracked a wide grin as he pointed behind him and exclaimed "Yeah I was hiding in an alley but then I fell into a cave and found this really weird statue in a room down there. At first it was just a dumb rock but then it laughed and turned out to be Moncris-san. He told me he would help me out with becoming Hokage one day and that he wanted to be my friend. He also gave me this." He lifted his new pendant to show off to his Grandfather figure who smiled kindly and ruffled the boy's hair as he looked at Moncris.

"So, you are Moncris-san, is that right? And how do you plan to help him? I take it you get something out of it too since not many would help Naruto-kun without a reason." The Third said carefully. He didn't want Naruto to suspect anything. The boy yawned and went to lay down on one of the big couches, quickly falling asleep after such a stressful night.

Moncris suddenly got a serious look on his face and let loose a fraction of his killing intent which made even the famed 'God of Shinobi' sweat a bit "I remember you, Hiruzen-dono. I will only say this once...you should and could have done more to help him over the years."

Sarutobi sighed and his face seemed to age ten years as he looked sadly at the snoring youth on the couch next to him before he waved his hand and the ANBU, though hesitant to leave, finally left the room.

He activated the protection and silence seals and looked deep into his old friends burning moonlight hues "I know but I have done all I can for now. I have a law in place protecting him and the younger generation from finding out the truth about his status as a jinchuriki for the Kyuubi. I've already had to kill ten fools who did not obey it, but with you helping him perhaps he has a better chance. I take it you are going to be training him as you told him earlier?"

The cloaked man turned his head to look out the window at the village and nodded "I might have to do more than that but I hope it won't come to that. I will also be calling on my old apprentice for help. If the council starts to act like the vultures they are, then send an ANBU to come get me. I won't let you face those assholes without some back-up. For now, I am going to take the kid to his apartment and let him sleep. Tomorrow, we will figure things out completely."

Moncris picked up the snoozing blonde and vanished just as silently as they had appeared. The Third sat back behind his desk and turned his chair to regard the village outside his window with a slight smirk. 'After seven years of anger and abuse, I wonder if the villagers will be smart enough to leave him alone when they see his new friend. If not then I hope they learn quickly. Never mess with a Kurieitā.'

At that moment his secretary came in with a new stack of paperwork and set it on the small mountain already on one side of his desk making a tick mark appear on his head "Dammit... I swear I will find your weakness or my name is not the Professor." He swore while shaking his fist at the stack of papers.

This caused his ANBU and secretary to all sweat drop at the aged Hokage's antics.

~~~~~ (Elsewhere, Uchiha District) ~~~~~

A young man with sleek black hair and wearing a set of ANBU gear sat on the roof of the Uchiha estate, staring up at the moon. The man was none other than Uchiha Itachi, ANBU Black Ops squad leader under Hatake Kakashi. He was currently on leave after a recent mission with his squad and was enjoying the cool night air.

An oddly familiar feeling suddenly rose in him, making him shiver a bit 'What is this foreboding feeling I am having? It is almost as if a new, powerful force has arrived in the village tonight...' He narrowed his eyes as he tried to us his chakra sense what it might be.

As he finally realized what it was, his eyes widened in uncharacteristic surprise. A single word left his lips as he stood up quickly "Moncris-sama." He put on his raven mask and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

~~~~~ (Naruto's apartment) ~~~~~

As Moncris tucked the young boy in for the night, he felt a presence enter the room. He turned just enough to glance at a darkened corner, nodding at the shadows there. A shape flitted past the door and out into the other room, with him following behind after silently closing the door to Naruto's room and putting a silencing seal on it.

He stood calmly in the middle of the room as a raven masked ANBU stepped out to kneel in front of him. Moncris sighed as he looked at the young man and then gently lifted him to his feet before patting his shoulder.

"You know you don't have to do that every time we see one another, right, Itachi-kun?" The man spoke with a congenial smile making the youth nod and lift up his mask with a smirk "I do, Moncris-sama but you should know by now that I cannot simply ignore your previous station in this village as a clan head." The man waved away the comment with a smirk of his own.

As they moved to sit on the couch and chairs, Moncris unclasped his cloak to reveal a long set of seal like tattoos along both his arms and a short sleeve black shirt with an odd burning spiral design on the front. His pants were the same as Itachi's but had a swirling design along them as well which was made of gold and green thread, making his legs seem as though they were wrapped in vines as he walked. To finish the outfit he had on black steel toed boots.

He sighed as he took the same position that Naruto had found him sitting in and looked at his old protege “So, how has the life of an ANBU Black Ops been treating you? Not as much fun as it seemed at first now is it?”

The Uchiha simply chuckled and nodded “True but I knew it wouldn't be an easy role when I applied. After you left, it was either this or become a Jonin sensei and I prefer to work alone if I can.” The midnight haired young man shook his head as he sat on the couch and relaxed with his old teacher. It had been many years since they last got to talk to one another after all.

Moncris nodded and then made some tea appear with a wave of his hand. Only Itachi knew how that trick worked and it made him smile lightly every time he saw it. Taking one of the cups, he sipped it gently so as to not burn himself while he sat in comfortable silence for the moment.

After a few minutes, Itachi set down his cup and looked his master dead in the eyes “Why have you really returned, Moncris-sama? Surely this is not just a casual visit seeing as you simply vanished without a trace nine years ago.” The man stayed quiet as he sipped some more of his tea before answering his young student. He set the cup down and fixed the young Uchiha with a stare that seemed to pierce the youth to the core “I am here not only to protect that which the Yondaime protected but to help fix the cycle of darkness that this world is trapped in. You know that has always been my goal, Itachi.”

The young man gulped around a lump in his throat before nodding slightly and continuing “But you are not really from this world, Moncris-sensei. You yourself showed me the wonders of your world in the past so why have you not returned to it? Surely they need you there?”

The brown haired man sat back with a deep sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration at what he had to say next “Sadly, I can’t return there just yet. I do not have enough of my powers back to do so and to top it off I have this nasty feeling that things are going to get worse for this world before they get better. I must see this through to the end, Itachi-kun, and I would be more than happy to have you help me if you still want to work under an old fool like me?”

It took all of a second for Itachi to make up his mind before he was kneeling in front of Moncris like before “It would be an honor to work with you again, Moncris-sama. I would be more than happy to help you after everything you did for me in the past.” His old sensei nodded and lifted him up to stand before him once more.

“Good to hear. I want you to know I will also be taking Uzumaki Naruto under my wing while I am here so will you help me teach him and help him grow strong enough to fight the evils that are coming our way.” At seeing the resolute nod from his student he grinned and gave his shoulder a firm squeeze “Good. For now, continue being an ANBU and I will inform the Hokage of your return to your old status as my apprentice. I will see you tomorrow, Itachi-kun. Goodnight.”

With a soft nod of acceptance, the youth replaced his mask and vanished from the room.

With a soft chuckle Moncris looked out the window of Naruto’s tiny apartment and shook his head ‘Soon, things will be getting very interesting around here. I can only hope that I have enough time before the storm comes to get those two ready for it…’ He turned and went to curl up on the couch, using his cloak for a blanket and slowly dozed off into a serene sleep where he dreamed once more of his home, the world known as Magi.