Hello all and welcome to another side project. I found this one when looking through my older files, written over two years ago. Don't know why I never posted it. Aside from some spelling errors and minor revisions, it was ready to go. Rereading and revising this reminded me just how much I want Ready Player One-like VR to become a thing. Eh, maybe one day.

Also, forgive the crappy tittle, couldn't think of anything better.

More at the bottom.

Everyone had a story about where they were and what they were doing when they received news of James Halliday's passing.

Naruto's own just so happened to be mundane.

He was on planet Ludas, in math class, trying and failing to find anything interesting in his teacher's droning. He was just about to fall asleep in the real world when a breaking news bulletin flashed before his eyes, bypassing the school's block on anything but the current class, waking him up.

Aside from the early school day and the following week off to mourn, Naruto didn't much care. It wasn't as though he was uncaring of the loss of a life, and Halliday had contributed much to the world, but he could not feel grief for someone he never knew.

Even after the contest was announced.

James Halliday released a video announcing he was leaving behind his entire wealth and the complete control of Gregarious Games to anyone who could find each of the three Easter eggs he had hidden somewhere within the Oasis.

That was the short of it, anyway. Naruto had watched the video only a handful of times before deciding that it simply wasn't worth the effort.

While the prospect of being one of, if not the wealthiest person on earth was certainly an attractive one, Naruto couldn't pretend to care about eighties' pop culture, of which the contest was centered around. He never once believed he could win such a contest. Not when the entire world was after Halliday's fortune. That included both governments and private companies alike.

He had other, more pressing concerns. Like trying to make sense of the world he now inhabited.

Naruto was unsure of how he came to live in Tokyo, Japan. One moment he was fighting Sasuke after yet another of his betrayals, the next he was living in another orphanage at only three years of age. Beyond his memories from the Shinobi world, it was as far back as he could remember.

The irony of the situation was not lost on him. Even in his apparent second life, he was born without parents. When inquired, Naruto was told that he was found in the streets by a police officer, who decided to name him after the Naruto manga turned anime for his similar appearance to the titular character.

That was yet another aspect of his reality which thoroughly stumped Naruto when he discovered it. After being told of his origins, he entered his name in the Oasis' most popular search engine and what began as a boring afternoon, soon turned into a near mental breakdown when he visited his world on the virtual plane.

Naruto was only nine at the time but the experience was one that stayed to him to current day. The world of Naruto was one where the user could inhabit the place of any of the characters and experience the more notable events of his life through their eyes.

He had selected himself and then the day of his graduation. Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke. They behaved as though they knew him, but they were obviously speaking and responding according to what appeared to be a handful of scripted responses. He pleaded and cried for them to recognize him, but they never did. They never could have.

They weren't real.

Naruto was hard pressed to know what was real anymore. His life up to his final battle with Sasuke, and even after, was the apparent creation of a Japanese man. He stayed up for days on end watching as his life played out from birth in the form of an animated cartoon.

Not every aspect of his life appeared in the manga or anime, but the most important parts did and it was enough for him to question his very existence. Naruto was even able to experience the happenings of his friends, all of which was corroborated by his memories of their accounts.

He watched Jiraiya die fighting Pein.

Beyond his final confrontation with Sasuke, his story continued with him finally convincing the asshole that revenge wasn't the path. Irony struck again because all Naruto wanted to do was kill Sasuke.

But that wasn't entirely true. He wanted to beat him within an inch of his life. And he did just that within the simulation until he was ejected from the game for misconduct.

After the end of the war, life would have fallen into a sense of peace. He would even go on to marry Hinata and have two children. But his dream of lasting peace was just that, a dream. Naruto stopped watching his life play out after discovering just who he would become.

He could not claim to love Hinata, even though it was apparent he eventually would, or even his future children, Boruto and Himiwari. But he could never see himself ignoring them to the extent portrayed, not even for his lifelong dream of Hokage.

Growing up with no parents and no one to love, Naruto had once promised himself he would always be there for any children he may have. In his supposed future, his son was a brat as a result of his negligence.

Naruto was unsure of whether or not he should be grateful that the creator of the Naruto series decided to abandon his story shortly after. As much as he wanted to know how it all ended, he could not bear to know if anymore of his loved ones perished.

He had yet to return to the world of Naruto since then. In fact, Naruto had since dedicated to living his life as leisurely as he possibly could. There was little else he could think to do. His body was his own from what he now considered to be his previous life, but he could no longer harness chakra. Not Kurama's or his own.

Without chakra, he could not activate seals. Without seals, he could not conceive of a method to traverse dimensions in hopes of returning to his world. Not that he had the knowledge of how to do so, but the fact there was no going back robbed him of any real reason to live.

Naruto was admittedly many things but suicidal he was not. He dearly missed his loved one's and the world he knew, but there was little he could do to remedy that. It took nearly seventeen of the eighteen years of his second life before he finally came to terms with this.

Now all Naruto did was immerse himself in the Oasis, using his Shinobi skills to win a number of combative based competitions to maintain his real-world life. What little remained of it. Most of the money he earned in the Oasis, went right back into the virtual world.

There was little to look at in the dissolute and dying world he now lived in and if there was one thing Naruto had to attribute to Halliday, it would be his creation. It offered many, including himself, an out from his reality.

Naruto stepped out of the shower of his luxurious, one-bedroom hotel turned apartment, feeling refreshed after a warm shower. With only a towel around his waist, he made his way to his kitchen area for some tea.

"Sakura, who called me?" Naruto asked as he leaned back on the counter, taking a steaming sip. He heard his communications system ringing from an incoming call. Though he did not hasten his shower, he knew it must have been important. Not many had his personal number.

"I-Idiot! Shouldn't you get dressed before taking any calls?"

Naruto felt himself smiling fondly at the small holographic rendition of Sakura Hurano, glaring at him from his desk near his rig.

In another life he would have come to love Hinata, but his thoughts were still of his best friend. He no longer visited the virtual Shinobi world, but Naruto did opt to download a virtual intelligence program to assist him in his day to day. The personality he chose was that of Sakura.

A little taste of home.

He knew it was unhealthy to dwell on his past unresolved, but there was no one left to judge, and he no longer cared.

"Well, depending on who calls, I don't see the need to use video communications," Naruto said.

"And just who would be that close enough for you to appear like that?" Sakura asked with a huff.

Naruto didn't know much about how virtual intelligence worked beyond the sales pitch he skimmed through when he purchased it. He only knew that the program wasn't sentient, but they were constantly learning.

His Sakura program started off reserved, only manifesting herself in the image of the teenaged Sakura of his world in appearance and in voice; just as he remembered her. Lately, however, she was sounding more like the real person.

"Sassy," Naruto said with a pitched brow, a grin, and just a hint of nostalgia. "I was just joking, Sakura-chan. You know I don't video chat with anyone."

"You do with that F'Nale woman!" Sakura shouted, stomping her virtual foot on his desk.

"That's just work," Naruto dismissed before taking another sip of his tea. "I don't really get a choice there. Did she call?"

"She did," Sakura said, crossing her arms.

"Well, what did she say?" He asked after she didn't continue.

"She wanted to speak to you about a job but I told her you were busy. That's all she would tell me," Sakura said.

"See, work," Naruto said with a smile. "Though I do wonder what she wanted? Another tournament, maybe?"

"I don't know, she didn't tell me, remember?" Sakura said sarcastically.

He really did miss her at times.

"Alright, I'm going to get dressed. Get back into contact with her and have her meet me at my place," Naruto instructed before finishing off the last of his tea in a single swig.

"Sure thing," Sakura muttered.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, the hologram of the girl watched with curiosity as he changed into only a pair of boxers beneath his full body haptic suit. Once dressed, he strapped himself into his suspension rig, with fourteen total wires holding him up to allow him to perform all manner of maneuvers. Beneath him was a multi-directional gyroscopic treadmill for accurate foot tracking.

His state-of-the-art rig was supplied to him by his employers at Innovative Online Industries, or IOI for short. Naruto was well aware of the company's ill reputation, as well as their stake in the race for Halliday's inheritance.

For one to use the Oasis, they needed two things. A pair of haptic gloves and a visor, and a stable internet connection. There was only a one time fee of twenty five cents for permanent access. Gregarious Games, Halliday's company, made most of its money through completely optional purchasable content within the Oasis itself.

This ranged from anything like player skins, personal vehicles, and a variety of weapons, to advertising space and even virtual space. Among many other ventures.

IOI aimed to change that. They wanted to charge monthly subscription fees along with constant and more intrusive advertising. Then there was also the matter of their essential internment camps under the guise of collection centers.

Those whom burrowed from IOI, be it credits or gear, and were not able to pay them back were arrested and detained. Once this happened, they were forced to work for IOI until their debts were paid off. Such behavior was once outlawed, but money influenced government much easier in the calm before the apocalyptic storm.

Naruto was not fond of this behavior among IOI's other shady dealings, but those interned were fed and were responsible for their own fate. Or outcome, rather. He still abhorred the notion of a predetermined fate. Though he was unsure of what he did, aside from trusting Sasuke, to deserve what had happened to him.

Whatever the case; those who borrowed from IOI did so of their own volition. Naruto had made his own choice. He was done playing the hero. War, like people, never seemed to change. There was nothing he, nor anyone else, could do to change that.

Besides, IOI provided him a life of luxury in exchange for his skill. Naruto aided in securing relics for IOI, getting paid handsomely in both credits and tech.

Relics were special magical items that Halliday had littered across the world, with new ones making their appearance constantly. Some were locked behind riddles, and others behind immensely difficult challenges.

That was where Naruto shined. He was never the brightest of people, he would admit, even in his second run at life, academics were never his calling. The idea of studying the life of a dead-man, or of an era long since passed, was one far from ideal.

Instincts honed in war aided in his mastery of almost every genre of game. Be it shooters or brawlers, to real time strategy games, Naruto was amongst the best. He had even garnered himself something of a reputation. One of infamy for who he was employed under.

He had to make a living somehow and the idea of facing the dying world outside was far from ideal. Naruto was not proud of who he had become as of late but as previously established, he was finding it increasingly difficult to care.

Naruto smiled at his holographic companion once more before donning his special, helmet-like visor system. The helmet was white and in the shape of a biker's safety helmet. Within the helmet itself was a litany of features including advanced sound design for better quality hearing, as well as scent emitters for further immersion. He was sure there were other, more technical aspects he forgot.

"I.O.I," Naruto said aloud, confirming his voice along with the retinal scan his visor performed. Pressing the device to his face, his vision darkened for a moment before three words flashed before him in a green hue.

Ready Player One

He smelled the scent of forestry long since gone before the orange glow of a sunset illuminated his vision. His avatar materialized in the same place in which he had logged off. It was one of the few rules that the Oasis had in place to deter from quitting mid-challenge where not allowed.

His avatar shared his real-world appearance. Anonymity was important within the Oasis. Not many chose to use their true appearance in the virtual plane and even less, if anyone, used their true name. The only reason Naruto was comfortable using

his real appearance was due to the fact that many believed him to be Naruto, the fictional character.

Physical appearances aside, Naruto's avatar wore the same outfit he'd worn when he battled Pein, with only a slight variation. He wore the red Sage coat Jiraiya had gifted him proudly above a standard Konohagakure flack jacket and a plain pair of black pants and sandals.

While he retained a healthy appreciation for the color orange, it reminded him too much of a time of naivety.

"Hokage, how have you been?"

Naruto turned to see a beautiful woman with light brown skin, a curvaceous body, and a sharp face with glowing brown eyes. As she sauntered towards him with a grin, the coat of her black trench coat flowed in the wind. Beneath that she wore a dark brown suit, a matching pair of dress pants, and black boots.

"F'Nale, you're using your real appearance?" Naruto asked in mild surprise.

Naruto had only met the woman in person twice since knowing her. Once when he signed his contract with IOI, and then again when he was shown his new apartment.

"Surprised?" F'Nale asked, grinning at him and running a finger down his chest. "Since I'm the only one allowed here, I figured why not? You do it."

Naruto took a step back with a shade of skepticism coloring is expression. "What's up with the act? I already work for you guys."

F'Nale almost seemed to pout before offering him yet another grin. "It's hard to flirt with you when I use the basic IOI avatar."

"How hard is the next challenge? Or is it that I ask for too much money?" Naruto questioned impassively.

F'Nale seemed to lose all sense of amusement, her face falling stoic. "There's a relic rumored to be on a steam punk pirate planet called the Orb of Osuvox. It's top priority, orders straight from Sorrento."

"Isn't that a tongue twister?" Naruto muttered to himself. "Steam punk pirate planet. What the hell even is steampunk?"

"It'll all be in your briefing should you choose to accept it," F'Nale said.

"You say that like I have a choice," Naruto said.

"And you say that like I don't know that," F'Nale shot back.

"Fair enough. I'll do it but I do have to ask; what's so special about this orb of whatever?" Naruto asked.

"The Orb of Osuvox casts an impenetrable shield which lasts as long as one needs it to," F'Nale briefly explained.

"Sounds useful, but that doesn't explain the act," Naruto said.

F'Nale sighed and crossed her arms with a look of slight frustration. "Nothing gets by you, does it?"

Naruto wasn't much older than what he estimated the woman to be. At least mentally, he was thirty-six, though physically he was eighteen. He had experienced war first hand and then a second life. He was no longer the naïve and trusting child of his youth. He knew better than to trust the intentions of others. He expected only the worse from others.

"You were flirting with me, hard. I mean, we barely even know each other. You didn't really expect me to just let that go, did you?" Naruto questioned.

"No, but since I failed, I was kind of hoping you would," F'Nale muttered to herself, looking down before meeting his eyes again. "Sorrento wants you to join the hunt for Halliday's Easter egg. He's getting more insistent lately and wanted to offer you me before offering more money."

"Asshole," Naruto spat.

"He can be," F'Nale agreed. "But he's a very rich asshole who can offer you a lot of money for your help in finding the first egg. For whatever reason, he thinks your skills somehow might translate over to Oology."

Naruto scoffed at the idea of such a career. Originally, Oology was a branch of Ornithology; the study of birds. Oology's definition was altered but not fully changed from the study of bird eggs, nests, and breeding patterns to the study of James Halliday and his Easter egg hunt. He couldn't imagine devoting years to such a study, as many had.

That didn't mean he didn't understand it. Becoming a multi-billionaire was more than enough motivation. Just not for him.

"I'll take a look at Anorak's Almanac again and call if I have any questions, but only if I have the time," Naruto said.

He really meant he would look into the hunt if he found himself bored with nothing better to do. IOI kept him busy and he had hobbies all his own, but it was known to happen from time to time. One thing was for sure.

"But I won't promise anything," Naruto finished.

F'Nale smiled at him. "That's all I ask. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions."

"Didn't know that you were an Oologist," Naruto joked.

At least he meant it as a joke.

F'Nale once again lost her smile. "Putting Sorrento's attempts aside, I feel like we don't speak as often as I'd like. We are technically co-workers."

Naruto felt a striking moment of realization.

F'Nale seemed like she wanted a friend. At least that's what she was eluding to. She could, of course, be trying to deceive him. For what reason; that was unclear. He was already under their employ so it wasn't as if he needed to be convinced to do his job.

Then maybe she was simply just lonely. It wasn't as if Naruto couldn't sympathize. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't devote some time to the memories of his friends. Making new friends wasn't easy, either. At least not with Gunters because of who he worked for, and his fellow IOI weren't allowed friendships as it was a detriment to productivity.

That aside, the reputation he had received for competing in and winning various tournaments spanning different genres only provided to attract leeches. Naruto found most people who claimed to want to be his friend, only wanted to do so for the fame and perks it would entail. Others were blatant in their begging for credits, and though he never relented, he at least respected the honesty.

Even more disturbing yet, there were those who were romantically infatuated by him.

It really had been too long since Naruto had a meaningful conversation with another human. He liked speaking with his Sakura program. There were times in which he even managed to fool himself into believing he was really speaking to the girl he once loved. But she was only a ghost of his past; nothing more than a sad imitation.

A real friend sounded nice.

Whether or not he would ever achieve that with F'Nale remained to be seen. But it wouldn't hurt to try.

"I guess we are," Naruto said, offering the woman a smile. "Do you know why I chose this as my private room in the Oasis?" He asked, motioning to the surroundings.

His private room was atop the Hokage monuments, overlooking Konohagakure.

"Because you're a dork?" F'Nale asked, managing to return a small smile.

Naruto actually laughed out loud to that. "You could say that. But it does bring back memories, both good and bad."

F'Nale appeared both at a loss for words, as well as surprised by his admittance. "It does?"

"Yes, yes it does," Naruto said, staring out at the village. "Maybe one day I'll tell you why, but for today, I've got a job to do. Once I'm done getting the orb of whatever, we can go wherever you want. Do whatever you want."

All was quiet, except for the sounds of nature. When Naruto turned to F'Nale, he found she had turned away as well.

"You'd better hurry then, I know just the place," she said and with a quick hand gesture, she disappeared from his room leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts.

He wondered if it was really wise to make friends again.

Getting to the Planet Cross-Punk had not been as easy as Naruto had expected. The actual location of the planet was provided to him by IOI. With that also the knowledge of the mine riddled asteroid belt surrounding the planet.

The report vastly downplayed the sheer amount of mine covered asteroids there truly was. Blinking red rocks and loose loot filled the space surrounding the planet, eluding to the many attempts and failures of those before him. And though the extra coin was nice, the prospect of zeroing out was very possible.

Zeroing out was a nice and short way of saying that one died. The whole of the Oasis was littered with both PvE and non PvE areas. Within these PvE areas, or player versus everyone, one could get zeroed by either another user or the environment itself. If one was to get zeroed out in such an area, any and all loot acquired over the lifespan of that avatar would be lost. Depending on certain circumstances, said loot would become tangible for a short time, or a long time, for anyone to take as spoils of war.

There were, of course, non PvE modes in which combat was restricted and environmental death was impossible. Such places included all Oasis educational worlds and marketplaces. Private users and companies were also allowed to create such places so long as they purchased the virtual real-estate.

Naruto himself had purchased storage in an Oasis bank. This allowed him to store any infinite amount of loot into his world, to be retrieved upon his death. But only once. And he could only retrieve anything he'd not been carrying on his avatar.

There were restricting time limits in which one could not buy another bank account for a year's time, with the price and time both doubling with every zeroing. Then tripling, quadrupling, and so on. This was a countermeasure set in place by Halliday to keep corporations like the one Naruto worked for from cheating the system when it came to certain challenges.

Greed always seemed to find a way.

Despite having such a failsafe, Naruto came prepared to fight an entire planet's population of steam-punk pirates. As requested of the challenge. It would not be a short fight. With an estimated population of over two million, he truly had his work cut out for him.

If he was to die before he even made it planet side, which was a very real possibility given his mediocre piloting skills. He would still lose a substantial amount of his weaponry. Along with his level eighty ranking.

"Sakura-chan, is the ghost pilot protocol allowed here?" Naruto asked, jerking the white steering column at the last moment, barely missing an asteroid.

"You should be more focused on flying than asking stupid questions! Remember, if you die, I die too!"

Naruto glanced at the solid figure of his Sakura program seated beside him in the copilot seat of his ship. She adorned a white form-fitting bodysuit with black hexagonal patterns and a single Uzumaki swirl crest right above her right breast. Her face was scrunched up adorably in concentration, much like her real inspiration used to.

He wasn't ashamed to admit he found his Sakura program attractive. She was, after all, based on the real Sakura Hurano. And though Sakura wasn't as full bodied as Hinata, or even Ino, she was a woman.

"P-Pay attention, you dumb-ass!"

Naruto turned away just in time to see a massive asteroid hurdling towards them and he quickly pushed the controls forward, hard. He felt his body lurch forward with the motion as his ship dipped down into clear space.

"That was close," Naruto muttered following a sigh. He was actually sweating.

"You almost got us zeroed, you pervert!" Sakura continued to shout. She got to her feet to glare at him.

Naruto swiveled his chair to face her with a sigh at his moment of peace broken. He glanced up at his glaring program, sheepish. "What are you talking about, Sakura-chan? I think we did great!"

"No, we almost crashed because you made me wear this stupid outfit!" Sakura argued, turning and motioning to her rear. "I mean, this outfit makes absolutely no sense other than to show off my ass!"

Naruto's eyes slowly traced down her body to what she was angry about. She wasn't wrong.

"Y-You're doing it again!"

Naruto only managed to glance at her red face before she disappeared. "Sakura-chan?"

"I'm staying in your helmet from now on, Naruto!" Sakura sounded off in his right ear.

Naruto found that odd given that she never did anything without his first commanding her to do so. Within reason, of course. If he allowed her to free roam on his ship, she would do just that. Otherwise, his Sakura program required confirmation to act on her own.

"Now that we've cleared that, I want you to bring us into a steady orbit and launch a scouting drone. Let me know if you need help piloting or if you find anything interesting," Naruto instructed. "In the meantime, I need to contact our Oologist."

"Yeah mean anything besides steam-punk pirates?" Sakura asked with audible amusement.

"Yeah, anything besides steam-punk pirates," Naruto said with a chuckle.

Naruto reclined in his seat and began to dial the contact link F'Nale had given him. Within his field of vision his communications screen appeared in the form of a transparent box, light blue in color with a question mark at its center. The icon of unknown contacts.

"Hello?" The voice of a girl greeted him with a distinctively English accent.

Naruto found himself staring at the face of a teenaged girl with shoulder length auburn hair, a dark cloak with a large scarf around her neck, segmented into dark red and orange colors. On her cloak was what appeared to be a crest of sorts, with a simple depiction of a lion.

"This is Hokage. F'Nale said you'd guide us planet side when we cleared the debris field," Naruto said.

"Of course, agent Hokage. First, you need to position your ship to the coordinates I'm sending you now," the girl explained.

His inbox notification sounded off.

"Agent Hokage?" He muttered before shaking his head and banishing the video feed to the recesses of his peripherals. "Just call me Hokage. What's your name?" he asked as he inputted the coordinates.

"As you wish, Hokage. My IOI identification number is six, seven, four – "

"I didn't ask for your identification number, I asked you your name," Naruto interrupted.

There was a pause long enough for him to refocus his attention to the girl.

"L-Like my real name or something?" She finally asked, her voice wavering. "You know we can't just go sharing information like that. I don't even know you."

Naruto had to refrain from sighing and rolling his eyes. "No, I'm not asking you for your real name either. I'm asking what you'd like to be called."

There was yet another pause. "IOI does not allow for personalized names or avatars unless given the privilege. So far, I've only just gotten an avatar," the girl explained.

Naruto knew the rule. Most of the IOI's egg hunting division was comprised of people who were well versed in eighties pop culture, and video games both past and present. With Halliday being such a video game fanatic, it was almost guaranteed that the clue to the first challenge would be hidden within a video game.

As was the nature of most video games, zeroing out was highly likely. Many of the IOI employees in that branch were restricted from purchasing an avatar skin or creating their own. It would be a waste of resources for IOI. With no option for customization, there was no real reason to have a personalized user name.

That was the reasoning IOI offered.

The Oologists on the other hand, were given a little more leeway. Seeing as how most Oologists were needed for their knowledge rather than gaming skills, they were rarely, if ever, exposed to the dangers of zeroing out. And the more knowledgeable you were about Halliday and his interests, the more useful you were deemed, and the more rewards were offered.

Limited avatar and username customization, as well as a slightly better salary, were given to those most considered useful. Part of Naruto's negotiations were that he keep his name, which was still Hokage, only spelled with the number zero replacing the o, and a backwards three for the e, and a myriad of random numbers following it.

With enough persuasion, he was able to convince F'Nale to proposition IOI to get the proper spelling of his name. It was not cheap and had cost Naruto an entire three month's pay.

"Well, maybe officially you don't have a username yet, but for now why don't you tell me what you'd want to be called," Naruto said.

There was another pause, leaving Naruto staring at the vast blue of the planet he was orbiting.

"I don't think I have one yet. I honestly didn't think I'd ever be given this job until recently," the girl admitted.

"Get on with it!" Sakura shouted, imposing herself into their own communications square showing only a still of her angry face.

"Who's that?" The girl asked.

"We have more important things to worry about than this person's name, Hokage," Sakura said, ignoring the girl. "So quit wasting our time trying to be nice!"

This time, Naruto did roll his eyes and dismissed Sakura. "She's just my virtual assistant," he said, ignoring the red flashes around his display showing his Sakura program's attempt at rejoining the conversation. "But she is right, we should hurry along. What do you want me to call you?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, if I'm being honest. I have so many ideas that I don't think I could just choose one. At least, not yet," the girl said.

Naruto was beginning to reach the end of his patience and it wasn't as if he really cared in the first place. He simply hated labels such as Sixers and Gunters, and the idea of pronouncing six numbers every time he wanted to address her was too troublesome. None of his previous Oologists had given him this long a run around as most had a name in mind.

"Until you are, why don't you just go with the first name to come to mind? Or, use the name of whoever you based your avatar off of," Naruto stopped to really observe the beautiful avatar. "Unless that's how you really look?"

"I wish," the girl whispered before seemingly remembering she was still in a call. "Y-You can call me Hermione for now."

"Hermione?" Naruto muttered, feeling as though he'd heard the name somewhere, but he didn't care enough to try and recall from where.

"It's from Harry Potter," Hermione briefly explained.

"Ah, okay then," Naruto said. It still wasn't ringing any bells and he still didn't care. "Well then, Hermione, what next?"

After reaching the coordinates offered by Hermione, he was instructed to land on the small island on the surface of the planet. There he would have to build a signal fire and wait until he was rescued by a ship of murderous skeletal pirates.

"Sounds easy enough," Naruto said as he ran through a set of hand-seals and exhaled a small stream of fire from his mouth, igniting the bundle of wood. He then leaned back into his multicolored sunbathing chair beneath a palm-tree, enjoying the smell of the sea along with the cool breeze. At the moment his avatar was wearing only a pair of orange shorts.

Even after so many years in the Oasis he was still pleasantly surprised by just how real everything felt.

Lying beside him in a similar chair was Sakura, wearing a green two-piece swimsuit, a large sun hat, and a pair of sunglasses that were disproportionately large for her head. In her hands was a reflector used to soak in the sun.

"You should probably be more careful," Hermione warned. She was still but a small display in the corner of his eyes. "After the pirates show up, you won't be allowed to leave the planet until either you clear the challenge, or you're zeroed out."

"Then before we get started, I think a quick bathroom break is in order!" He said.

There were certain model of haptic suits that catered to such needs but Naruto didn't like the idea of going inside what would amount to a full body diaper. If unable to disengage from a battle, he was excellent in multitasking. All he had to do was enable hand gesture movement only and he could use the restroom as close to as nature intended, all without leaving the Oasis.

"Your gross," Sakura said simply.

"And kinda weird," Hermione added.

"First your shy and now this? And you Sakura-chan; words hurt too, ya'know." Naruto said.

"Oh shut up, ya big baby," Sakura said dismissively.

"No respect," Naruto muttered. "This is what the old pervert must have felt like. Though he kinda deserved it."

"So do you," Sakura continued without a care in the world.

"I don't need this abuse," Naruto said before his character fell stoic.

"There he goes," Sakura said to herself.

"Can he still hear us?" Hermione asked.

"He can, that is unless I don't want him to. And I don't think I want him to," Sakura said as she snapped her fingers.

Within Sakura's eyesight, the girl blinked rapidly. "Wait, are you real? I heard you were just a program."

"I am," she said as she continued sunbathing. "A program, that is. Naruto's given me limited administrative access to all of his accounts. As I am now, I'm as real as you are, and I have Minor control over the idiot's avatar when needed."

"I didn't know such a program existed! Does that mean you're real artificial intelligence?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't know and I honestly don't really care. All I know is that I have to keep the idiot alive," Sakura said, impassive as ever.

"Wow, you really do sound like the real Sakura," Hermione commented in wonder.

Sakura folded the reflector and pulled down her sunglasses to reveal questioning jade eyes. "Real Sakura? What are you talking about?"

Hermione appeared confused. "I guess she's not really real, if that's what you mean."

If anything, Sakura was even more confused. "What are you going on about?"

"Wait, do you really not know?" Hermione asked.

"Someone's coming!" Naruto's avatar came to life, his usual outfit materializing around him. "Sakura, hide yourself again!"

Without saying another word, Sakura disappeared and Naruto banished all of their furniture, leaving only himself and his ship on the small island.

He didn't recognize the make of the ship nor did it bare any real distinguishing characteristics. Nonetheless, Naruto equipped a single sword in anticipation for conflict. Though he did not drawl it yet.

The ship finally landed only a stone's throw away. The island wasn't very large to begin with. From within the center of the ship a ramp descended, digging into the sand. From out of it stepped the slender figure of a girl wearing a near skin tight black suit and gloves. Over her head she wore a black helmet with a dark full face visor, completely masking her appearance.

She approached him, slowly, methodically, and silently until she was mere feet before him, arms crossed. Naruto's eyes were on where hers should have been while his peripherals were now free to watch for any sign of attack. Unless she had a quick equip weapon, he didn't see anything that could harm him.

Magical spells were another matter.

The girl hummed suddenly as she glanced over his shoulder. "The SSV Normandy? Not bad. Didn't know you IOI dogs were allowed to be distinctive."

"Then you must be a Gunter," Naruto concluded. He had taken his own tone, deep, slow, and borderline mocking. "That means you know who I am. Do you really want to do this?"

The girl didn't say anything but he could see the slightest stiffening in her posture. They continued to stare one another down, neither wanting to be the relenting party. In the distance, the sound of a blowing horn garnered both their attention though again, neither broke their contest.

"I may hate you but even I know better than to challenge the Hokage," the girl finally spoke. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for the challenge but I can see that's not a good idea. If you don't attack me, I won't attack you."

Naruto studied the girl closely for any signs of deception. It was impossible to read her facial expressions with her helmet in place so he had to focus on her body language. Her previous actions were proof she was not using an emotion concealment program.

Most people were under the impression that emotion program would hide their intentions. And it did, to a point. A near motionless avatar alluded to the use of such software. That in itself, relayed there was something which needed to be masked in the first place.

Either the girl before him aimed to attack, or she really did mean to retreat and only activated the program to hide her trepidation. Whatever the case, Naruto didn't want to risk fighting a high-level Gunter.

There was little beside the fact she knew of the challenge and she had survived the mine riddled asteroid field to indicate skill or status. However, he always operated on paranoia and always expected the worse.

"I'll honor that as long as you do. If you don't, I will zero you out," Naruto threatened.

The girl nodded her head. "Then we're in agreement. Though I can't rightly call myself a Gunter without telling you to go fuck yourself."

"Don't test my patients, girl," Naruto warned, his eyes burning a sickly red.

The girl scoffed and began walking towards her own ship. "This isn't over, Sixer."

Naruto was in no mood to disassociate himself with any group. He only watched as she continued towards her ship.

"Erm, Hokage," Hermione began in a whisper. "I hate to interrupt but do you remember what I said about the challenge?"

Naruto did not respond nor did he switch his voice settings to private. He could hear what Hermione and Sakura said, but he could not speak without giving himself away.

"He can't talk right now. What are you trying to say?" Sakura asked.

"Well, once the challenge begins, and it has, no one can leave the planet until all the pirates are dead, or the player is. And unless you two party up before the ship arrives, you'll have to zero her out," Hermione explained, sounding reluctant.

"Well shit," Naruto muttered quietly. That would be a problem. "Hey Gunter!"

The girl came to a sudden stop and stiffened before quickly turning to face him. "What?"

"What do you know about this challenge?" Naruto asked.

"Like I'd tell you!" She said.

"I'm guessing that means you don't know about the challenge rules. We're both stuck here until the challenge is complete," Naruto explained with arms crossed. Depending on the girl's upcoming reaction, he would have to zero her out.

"You're so full of shit!" The girl barked before turning heel again. She didn't take but two steps before realizing her ship had disappeared. Behind him, his own ship was gone.

Naruto Uzumaki watched as she was frantically gestured for what had to be her menu. Within an instant, a rifle materialized in her hands and she opened fire on him.

He did not so much as flinch as she rained down fire on him. Before him a feint orange barrier protected him, lighting up with every impact. His shield's indicator showed minimal drops. It would take a lot more to break his guard.

"Look, it doesn't have to – " An explosion mere inches from his face momentarily blinded him and this greatly irritated him. She had fired a grenade from the launcher beneath her rifle. Aside from the temporary impairment, his shields scarcely dropped. "Okay, now you're starting to piss me off."

His vision returned to him just in time to avoid the glowing katana which passed mere inches from his head. His shields could protect him from attacks with high kinetic impacts, such as bullets and minor explosives. Direct physical attacks were more effective and judging by how his shields shattered immediately, the girl before him was powerful.

One interesting thing about his avatar was that it reacted to his real-life motions beyond what his haptic suit was made for. It was yet another mystery surrounding his circumstances which Naruto kept to himself. For one reason or another, his avatar had all the abilities he'd once possessed.

Now, certain avatars could produce the abilities of pre-established characters. Be it the superhuman strength of Superman, or the teleportation of a Jumper. All were allowed under certain circumstances. One could only inhabit the strength of the Man of Steel on the DC planet. It would not bode well for avatars to have such abilities during other competitive challenges.

Other lesser abilities, such as night vision or the ability to breathe fire, and even limited teleportation, were allowed upon purchase. And with certain restrictions such as level requirements. An avatar was also limited to about three such abilities. Otherwise, weapons were what usually gave one the edge over other players.

Naruto had no such restrictions. Without having to purchase a Naruto Avatar from the world of Naruto, he was able to use his abilities simply by doing so in the real world.

If he wanted to use Kurama's chakra, all he had to do was focus and draw forward from his inner being. Somehow his visor was able to recognize the action and relay it to his avatar. Or so Naruto hypothesized. Before working for IOI, before the high-end haptic suit; when he only owned the school issued Oasis visor, he was able to recreate all of his abilities on the virtual plane.

There were times in which he almost thought to have experienced them in reality. Ghost sensations of the warmth of chakra running through his being. And every time, just as his feelings were about to become tangible, they disappeared, leaving him frustrated and angry.

The girl attacked again, using her pre-existing momentum she swung her foot at his head. Naruto activated his single beast cloak and used his added speed to back step and swat her leg away. This sent the girl spinning faster than she had obviously intended. With her back to him, Naruto seized the back of her head and slammed her into the sand.

Hard.

He proceeded to twist her free arm behind her back and pinned the other with his knee. She cried in pain and involuntarily released her sword, sending it disappearing back into her inventory.

"Does that hurt? Maybe you shouldn't have the realism mode active during challenges," Naruto chided.

"Fuck you!" She growled out.

From his hold on her, Naruto could see a sharp chin with delicate pink skin and thin lips set in a snarl. He almost wished he hadn't seen that. Otherwise he would have completed the Rasengan he was starting on using the hand that was holding her helmet.

"Listen!" Naruto growled, further pushing her head into the sand and tightening his grip on her arm. He ignored her cries. "I wasn't going to zero you out. And I don't intend on it unless you continue to be difficult. So, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to let you go and if you attack me again, I will zero you out. Do you understand?"

When he did not answer, he dug his other knee into her lower back, eliciting more cries. "Do. You. Understand?"

"Y-Yes!" She grunted out painfully, nodding her head along.

"Good," Naruto said as he released her, taking more than a couple of precautionary steps back.

The girl quickly rolled onto her knees, glaring at him through a broken visor which reveal large auburn eyes.

"You attacked me first," Naruto said.

"Fuck you!"

"Yeah, you've already said that," Naruto muttered sarcastically. "Now, before you so rudely interrupted me, I was going to suggest a momentary truce."

The girl's glare didn't lessen as she stood. "Why?"

"Well, seeing as neither of us can leave until the challenge is complete, it'd only benefit us to work together. If we win, I'll give you half of the coin and first pick at whatever loot we find," Naruto said.

"And the prize?" The girl asked.

"That's mine," Naruto declared.

"Don't you mean IOI's?" She accused.

"Yes. Now, do we have an agreement?" Naruto asked.

"How do I know you just won't zero me out when we're close to the end?" The girl questioned.

Naruto sighed in annoyance. "You don't and as cliché as it sounds, I could have zeroed you out already if I really wanted to. This challenge isn't really even a threat to me; I don't need your help."

"Then why are you letting me live?" She asked.

Naruto didn't have an immediate answer to that because he honestly did not know. He'd zeroed out many a Gunter during his tenure at IOI. Mostly in self-defense. In fewer cases not. Though he had spared a handful, it was usually those who had not attacked.

"Should you really be questioning that? Or do you really want me to kill you?" Naruto asked, taking a step forward.

The girl took a cautious step back. "Fine, but why do we need to work together?"

"Because, if you'd researched the challenge, you'd know that once it begins, there's no leaving the planet until it's done or we lose. There's no backing out now," Naruto said.

"That still doesn't explain why we should work together," the girl said.

"You're acting as though you've never taken on a challenge with a partner," Naruto said.

"That's because I haven't. Gunters, true Gunters hunt alone," she huffed.

Naruto sighed and shook his heading. "You Gunters are all the same. You claim independence and yet you preach a pack mentality. Look, if we don't party up soon, like really soon, the challenge will eventually register as opposing contestants, or enemies. Meaning that even if we complete the challenge, it won't end until one of us is zeroed out. I'll leave it to you to decide who that may be."

The girl crossed her arms petulantly.

Naruto pointed at the approaching ship looming in the distance. "You see that pirate ship? The big one with the skull and crossbones? Yeah, once it reaches land the challenge will begin and I'll have to zero you out. That is unless you accept my terms."

He watched the girl glance between him and the shp multiple times. Her movements becoming more frantic as the ship neared land.

Naruto allowed his hand to fall to his side and formed a Rasengan, tapping his foot.

"Fine!" She quickly motioned her menu and threw a contact icon at him.

The party request popped up in his sights and his eyes widened at the name of the girl before him.

Accept party request from Art3mis?

Naruto accepted the request of one of the most famous Gunters in the Oasis. Though he was never one to put much stock in the Gunter culture, it was hard to miss mentions of Art3mis.

Be it during tournaments or even when he perused the local markets, there was almost always someone talking about the girl. Out of curiosity, Naruto had once looked into her and found nothing more than another person with an adopted appreciation of eighties pop culture. Her page; video streams and blogs, all filled with trivial facts pertaining either Halliday, or his favorite media.

A real up and coming celebrity amongst the Gunters.

His curiosity quickly waned and the matter was all but forgotten. That was until he found himself face to face with said girl. At some point, she removed her helmet to reveal a cute avatar with something of an elfish facial structure, with spiked up pink hair.

"The Art3mis?" Naruto hummed.

"Yeah, what of it?" Art3mis challenged.

"Nothing," Naruto said, shaking his head. "Just kind of surprised. You've got a lot of fans, ya'know."

"I won't if people know that I worked with IOI's number one lap dog," Art3mis said.

"Really, names? You can't just call me Hokage?" Naruto muttered.

"How about weeb then? I mean, Hokage? You must be a big fan of Naruto to go with the whole look and all. Oh, and the cloak, that's just lame," Art3mis said. "Besides, Bleach was better."

Naruto inhaled deeply. He'd been called such names before and it had been a long time since he had let it get to him. But there was something about her tone which irked him.

He liked his cloak. And though he thought Bleach was a great anime...

Naruto shook his head to dismiss the thought, and as not to rise to her provocations. "How about we put pleasantries aside for now. The first part of the challenge is about to begin."

Art3mis glanced in the direction of the now anchored ship, staring at the rowboats filled with skeletons approaching. "Fine, let's just get this over with."

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing? We have a population to wipe," Art3mis said.

"That's not how this challenge goes. Did you really not do your research before coming here?" Naruto asked.

"I did and according to what I've heard, all we have to do is wipe the planet and defeat the pirate king," Artemis said, taking on a condescending tone of voice.

"That's only half right. While yes, we do have to kill everything, there are a few sequenced we have to play through to assure the pirate king shows. Otherwise all we get is some loot and experience," Naruto explained.

Art3mis banished her sword and crossed her arms again. "Well we can't all have a multibillion-dollar company backing us. I'm guessing you got all of this information from an Oologist?"

"Yes," he admitted with all shrug. "IOI's bullshit aside, there's nothing wrong in working with others."

"That's just not how we Gunters operate," Art3mis said. "IOI's bullshit you say? That mean you aren't completely their bitch?"

Once again, Naruto didn't rise. "They're a paycheck. And now isn't the time for this discussion. The first challenge is about to begin."

"What is it?" She asked.

"We get captured by the pirates aboard that ship," Naruto said, inclining his head towards the looming ship.

"What?" Art3mis asked.

"From there we'll be taken to a port to be sold into slavery. Then we have to escape. And that's just the beginning I hope you don't have anything planned out there because this is going to be a long one," Naruto continued.

"How long?" Art3mis asked, almost sounding nervous.

"At least a day, two maybe. No one's lasted past that," Naruto said as they were surrounded by a crew of undead pirates. He offered her a smirk as a pirate pressed a sword to his neck. "Don't worry though, I'll protect you."

Artim3s' glare was already reward enough.

So like I said earlier, been going through my older files and I've actually been finding some semi-complete chapters on stories that at one point, I really wanted to do. Some are decent, while others are complete shit. I may or may not post some of the better one's soon, just depends on my already limited schedule. Though I do find writing for different chapters, on different stories, breaks the monotony of actually writing.

Now I'm actually surprised that no one ever did this crossover. At least not that I could find. Granted, getting Naruto into the modern world isn't always the easiest thing to do, and even I admit my own way of doing it in this story is kind of half-assed, but I do have somewhere I'm going with it. So stay tuned and find out.

Now as for pairings, I'm thinking Artemis and maybe F'Nale. Who knows.

With that said, until next time!