Hello everyone, how are you? We gather here to witness the birth of what will hopefully be another great story. This is my Naruto Batman crossover, something I've wanted to do for a long time. I was inspired by a great story called NU: The Killing Joke, that had Naruto and several other become various Batman heroes or villains. However, that story hasn't been updated in years, so I figured 'why not make my own'. And thus, this story was born. Now let's begin, shall we, with...

Chapter 1: Make'em laugh

-Make'em Laugh-

Laughter. It is a driving force in the universe. Whether they be good or bad, young or old; everyone, at one point or another, has experienced laughter, directly or not. For some it was a positive thing, or others, not so much. Laughter has the power to bring people together. Laughter has the power to drag people down into madness.

For one young Naruto Uzumaki, laughter in the positive sense was an alien concept. He knew what laughter was, and had seen other people partake in it. Yet he himself had never had anything to laugh at. That was not surprising though, given his situation. Forced from the orphanage onto the streets years before, he had recently moved into a shitty, rundown apartment; where the water hardly ever ran, and when it did; it was cold. He often didn't have much in the way of food, and vendors tended to charge him exorbitant amounts for the barest necessities.

The old man, who said Naruto could call him gramps if he wanted, tried his best to fix things for him, but he wasn't around much.

Children tended to avoid him, often on the advice of their parents. This meant that he didn't get much human contact, and when he did, it was generally not very pleasant. The older children who picked on him would often laugh at him, and even though they thought they couldn't see him, Naruto knew the adults were laughing at him too.

The first time Naruto could remember really, really laughing was when he was running from a particularly unpleasant bully. The act of running wasn't what he found funny, it was what happened while running. Naruto had the common sense to hop over the puddle on the road, knowing it would likely slow him down. The bully did not, and had slipped, tumbling head over heels, and landed in a pile of garbage. Naruto had laughed at the bully's misfortune until his sides had ached, and he had noticed in the corner of his eye that others had snickered at the boy's misfortune as well.

So did that mean… laughter was brought about by the suffering of others? People taking pleasure at discomfort that was not their own? Naruto had been shocked by this revelation; that something that sounded so wonderful could be brought about in such a manner. This would require further testing…

-Make'em Laugh-

The old man had not agreed with his theory when he had brought it too him. The old man told him that suffering was not something that was funny. When Naruto asked then, why the people had laughed at the boy in the garbage, or laughed when the older children beat him, the old man didn't seem to have an answer. After stumbling over his words for a while, he just sternly told him that the misfortune of others was not funny.

When Naruto asked him what was funny, the old man had scratched his beard and puffed his pipe for a while before answering. He said that everyone's sense of what was funny was different, but that most of the time jokes were a good way to get a good laugh. He had told Naruto some jokes he knew, and Naruto would admit, some of them were funny…

And yet he still felt his initial theory was correct. If the misfortune of others wasn't meant to be funny, then people wouldn't laugh at it. And yet they did! Maybe jokes were funny to, but for a different reason. But if that would mean there was a different type of humor out there. One type of humor devoid of suffering, the other exclusively made up of bad things happening to people. But that made no sense… why would it work that way? If another type of laughter existed, one not dependent on the sadness of others, then why would they still laugh when he fell, when he hurt…

He had to know…

-Make'em Laugh-

Naruto frowned as he peaked out from around the corner. It had been years since he had decided he would discover the truth behind laughter, and he had learned a lot.

Jokes. They came in many forms and were oddly subjective. Whenever he told a joke to an adult in the village, they would often scowl at him, yell at him, or chase him off. If he told the same joke to someone younger then him, often he would get a laugh… unless their parent was nearby, in which case he would be chased off again. He would have written this off as different tastes in humor, but he had seen the same joke told to people who had yelled at him by others, only to see it get a positive reaction.

So clearly, there was something about him. Something that drove people to anger, not laughter (unless he was in pain) when he was around. But what? He had tried asking the old man, but he never got a straight answer; only that he 'shouldn't hold it against them' and 'hopefully he could prove them wrong'. But frankly he had to disagree strongly! Why shouldn't he hold the fact that the people of the village seemed to actively hate him and desire his suffering against them? Why shouldn't he treat them as they treated him. Which is what lead him to practical jokes.

These had quickly become his favorite. Often, they had just the right amount of humiliation to be funny, but not enough to draw sympathy, which he discovered through trial and error. He also discovered, that if he didn't announce he had done it, people were more likely to laugh at it. Another odd thing to add to the list of odd things people did around him. Still… he liked it when lots of people were laughing. Even if it was at him, the sound of a multitude of laughter was better then any solo laugh. The years of study had made laughter a sweet music to his ears, and he longed for it, by any means necessary. Not to surprising, as laughter was often associated with happiness, and after all the things that had gone rotten in his life, a little happiness shouldn't be too much to ask.

-Make'em Laugh-

His progress had slowed down somewhat after he joined the Ninja Academy at the old man's request, but it worked to his benefit regardless. If he became a ninja, he could travel the world and study laughter abroad, and see if what was true of Konoha was true elsewhere. He had gotten to meet many new interesting people, most of whom were oddly ambivalent to him. That was just the students though, the teachers were all adults, and as such hated him immediately before meeting him.

That question still plagued Naruto: Why was he so hated? It was like everyone knew the secret except for him! Like there was a great big magnificent joke out there, and he wasn't apart of it! How was that possible? How could such a secret be kept? It must have taken amazing planning to cook up such a scheme… but who could make such a plan… why make that plan? Why plan on his suffering exclusively? Or was it exclusive? Maybe he wasn't seeing the whole picture yet! Maybe the plan, if there was one, didn't just extend to him, but to others as well...

His training as a ninja did open up new exciting avenues for creating laughter! The skills taught made pranking the villagers all the easier. Sadly, he had gained a bit of a reputation as a prankster, so most people knew right away it was him. This meant that he had had to learn the value of laughing by himself, as the villagers laughed less and less at his pranks. That was fine though, he had just had to go bigger! He would make them laugh, if it was the last thing he did!

The old man had expressed disapproval of his pranks on the people and the village. He said it wasn't right to do what he did. Naruto mostly just ignored him now. After all, if there was a secret revolving around him (and he was quite sure there was), then the old man must know about it and was simply not telling him! Well fine, be that way old man! See if he cared!

That was another useful skill he had learned at the Academy. He had learned to mask his true feelings at the world around him. He refused to let the rest of them see him unhappy! He had learned to smile constantly, quietly remembering past jokes to keep up the smile. He knew the people would see him as a fool for always smiling, but he didn't care. People would let 'the fool' see everything, and never once worry about the repercussions…

-Make'em Laugh-

Naruto sat on his apartment floor, shaking. He had finally gotten it. The answer he had been looking for all these years… and now that he'd gotten it, he didn't know what to do.

A demon… an honest to god demon? That was the reason he was so despised? Because the fourth had stuck a demon in him all those years ago, and none of villagers had gotten over it in the following fourteen years? Seriously? What kind of ridiculously bad joke was that?

And the worst part was they all knew about it! Even the old man, and the family at the Ramen Shack… who always claimed to be his friend knew, and never once told him! It was like they had planned it!

Of course! A plan! It all made sense! There was a plan, just like he had thought so long ago… it connected everything in the village after all! What else was it responsible for? How deep did it go? How far? This would require further examination… looks like he wasn't done playing the goofball just yet!

Tomorrow he was meeting his teammates and sensei, and then they would go on missions to the outside world. Naruto had to wonder, even if somewhat fearfully, what the outside world was like. Was it just like Konoha? Was it better? Worse? He had to know!

-Make'em Laugh-

Naruto was almost positive now; that his life was nothing but a bizarre plot written by a semi-talented hack! What were the odds that in a class of nearly thirty people, he would get the two people that hated his guts the most?

Sasuke Uchiha… what a dick. He had never once smiled at any of the pranks Naruto had pulled over the years, and that made him the only one! But what really chafed Naruto was the fact that the guy had people falling over themselves to please him, and he didn't care! He obviously didn't realize how fortunate he was, to fit into the plan the way he did. His role in the plan: to be beloved by the commoners of the village, to allow them to cling to the legacy of the mighty Uchiha… the least he could do is be grateful for it.

Sakura Haruno… was pathetic. Her only redeeming quality was that she made Naruto laugh. Not because of her talent or skills (lord knows she had none). And it wasn't her personality (HahahHahaHa! What personality?). No, like a tiny yipping dog, barking at a dog three times its size, Sakura got points for sheer ballsy attitude despite being a complete and utter waste of a human being.

Despite his annoyance, Naruto couldn't help but smile (come to think of it… he was having a lot of trouble not smiling recently… maybe those rumors about faces freezing were true!) whenever he was around those two. The privileged youth who was mad at the world, and the pink haired lass with attitude despite being weaker then wet cardboard. It was like some sort of really, really, bad joke! And when mixed with himself, the most hated boy in the Leaf Village, they were perhaps the worst joke of all time! And that wasn't even getting into their weird, one-eyed sensei who apparently didn't own a watch!

And yet the more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed! He knew he was angry at the situation, but he couldn't stop smiling. In fact, the whole thing; Sakura, Sasuke, and the upcoming test with sensei tomorrow… why couldn't he stop laughing!

-Make'em Laugh-

Naruto heaved a sigh as the gates came into view. The trip to wave had been… nice. Really nice actually. It wasn't like Konoha at all! The people there were nice, if somewhat depressed given their economic state, and they treated him with respect and even admiration!

Sadly, it all ended to soon, and now as he approached the gates of the Leaf, he was filled with even more confusing thoughts. Clearly the rest of the world was not like Konoha, so why bother to stay? What was the point in living in a place that was so unhappy?

"Because I can bring the laughter" replied the voice in the back of his mind. It had been getting louder ever since he had seen Haku on the bridge. Ever since, it spouted off a stream of terrible ideas and ridiculous puns, making focusing on the rest of the world very difficult. He had been able to keep the voice somewhat quiet, by documenting his thought in a secret journal. It was there that he wrote the full extent of his thoughts. Everything from his belief on the connection between suffering and laughter, to his belief in the cosmic plan that sought to make him hurt for a higher purpose. Naruto wondered what would happen if someone ever read this… would they be frightened? Would they think him insane (though really, wasn't he)? Or would they too see the funny side as he did, and revel in the bad joke that was the world? He didn't know… perhaps he never would.

Of course, his team was as silent as ever. Sasuke had suffered a near death experience, making the boy-prince contemplate what he had done with his life. Naruto thought it would have been hilarious had Sasuke defied all the villagers expectations of him… and died a nobody on some god forsaken bridge.

Sakura was quiet because she had apparently come to the shocking (to no one but her) realization that she was completely useless in all situations.

Sensei was as quiet as always. For someone who was supposed to teach them about being a ninja, he didn't do much besides spout pseudo-wisdom and read porn.

And now he was back home, oh how he missed the glares of his people. What would they do without him around? Where would they deflect their hatred and self-loathing? Who would make them smile?

How odd that in two different villages he could be the freaking messiah, yet get such completely opposite reactions! Oh if the people of Konoha saw how the Wave villagers treated him, the looks on their faces would be priceless!

The rest of team seven and some of the surrounding villagers looked on as Naruto threw back his head and laughed long and loud and clear. But the laugher was not normal. It was too loud, too strong, and… very freaky.

"Naruto!" Sakura growled, not liking the looks the passing villagers were giving them "What the hell is so funny?" she demanded.

Naruto whipped around to look at her, his normal smile stretched across his face, looking for a moment rather painful "Why wouldn't I be laughing Sakura? It's great to be home!" he declared, throwing his arms out wide "Don't you see how much all the lovely people have missed me?" he spun around on his heel looking at the villagers with a smile even as they looked at him with disgust.

Oh, this town…. what a joke.

Kakashi and Sasuke raised an eyebrow simultaneously. Something told them they should really keep an eye on Naruto in the future.

-Make'em Laugh-

Naruto lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, just thinking. He had to get up soon, he knew, to go take the first part of the Chunin exams; but for now he was just content. He had met a boy the other day, who looked like a raccoon… something was off about him in a way that was hard to describe. The way his siblings feared him, was not unlike the way people in the village felt about him (though they tended to stick with hate, not fear). It made him wonder, was the boy like him? Could it be that someone had pulled the same sick joke on that boy that had been done to him? If so, then it gave credence to his idea that somehow the sealing of the tailed beasts was part of some plan. After all, what were the odds that two containers would be partaking in the same test? No, something big was gonna go down, but what? He was usually so good at reading the plan; at figuring out the punchline to the joke, but this time it eluded him.

And sadly, it always would.

With a crash, Naruto heard the door to shitty apartment get kicked in, just before a ball was tossed into his room. Before he could so much as yell, the ball exploded into a sickly yellow gas, which he ended up inhaling. Immediately the world started going fuzzy, and he saw two blurry shapes make their way into his room. He tried to use his chakra to form clones, but even with the Kyubi burning the knock out gas from his system, he was still too slow. A haymaker to the side of his head sent him slamming into his wall, and a follow up punch knocked him right out.

-Make'em Laugh-

Sakura stomped towards her destination, the aura of anger pouring off her scaring away any civilians that might have wished her good day. That was fine, she was a girl on a mission. Today was supposed to be an important day! Today was the day she and her team were supposed to take the chunin exams! It had taken her forever to work up the courage to enter the exams, and yet, if one were to look, they would notice a distinct LACK of her TAKING the EXAMS!

All because her stupid, blonde headed, orange jumpsuit wearing IDIOT of a teammate hadn't show up! And according to Kakashi-sensei, if they weren't all together, they couldn't take the test!

So why wasn't Naruto there today?

That was the million ryo question, and one she planned to get an answer to. Sasuke and Kakashi were just as confused as she was. They had all figured if anyone would show up for the exam, it would be Naruto. The fact that he didn't was cause for concern. Don't get her wrong, Sakura was worried too, but she was still a little cheesed off. So Naruto had better have a damn good reason for not being at the exams!

Thankfully Kakashi had known where Naruto lived. Sakura felt kind of… well, let's just say the place where Naruto lived didn't seem like a pleasant place to live. Walking up the creaky steps to his apartment, Sakura felt that she had made a mistake. She had the floor right, and she saw the number on the wall. But… Sakura felt her heartbeat speed up as she saw the kicked down door and the torn up room. Peaking inside, her heart froze up when she saw the picture on the mantel (one of only two, she noticed): It was a picture of Team Seven. No doubt, this was Naruto's apartment, and judging by the state of things, something serious had gone down.

Immediately fleeing the scene, Sakura ran as fast as she could for Kakashi-sensei. If anyone would know what to do, it would be him.

Finally, she spotted her teacher and Sasuke talking to the owners of the Ramen stand Naruto was partial too. Frantically she called out to them "Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke! Something's happened to Naruto!"

That got their attention. She quickly explained the situation, how she had found Naruto's apartment in disarray, with clear signs of a struggle. She also noted that while the ramen girl seemed to get more and more distressed by the tale, passing civilians would only seem to smirk to themselves and go about their day.

One person did take notice though. Konahamaru had only heard by chance, but he sure as hell listened. Turning, he ran as fast as his little legs would carry him; not only to look for his boss and rival, but to also tell anyone he thought would listen to help him.

The first person he could really get to listen to him was his teacher, Ebisu. While the closet pervert may have held no great love for the Kyubi vessel in the past, the inspiration he had given his student had more then warranted his support, especially in such a dire circumstance.

Ebisu of course went and told the other genin sensei that were nearby, waiting while their own students prepared to take the chunin exams. All of them knew Naruto of course, (Kurenai knew of Hinata's crush, and Asuma knew that Shikamaru and Choji had been his friends) and so they were quick to help. Gai sensei would never allow something so unyouthful to happen on his watch, so he was in as well.

The other person to take Konohamaru seriously was his grandfather the Third Hokage. When he heard what had happened he was positively livid and quickly dashed out of the room, as did a big white haired guy with red lines under his eyes. Naruto's old teacher Iruka Umino was there too, and was just as eager to help his 'little brother'.

And so it went, even as this rag tag group searched for Naruto, Kakashi summoned Pakkun to locate his wayward student. The little dog immediately got to work, using the scent from the Ramen stand to start looking for the boy. Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 could only hope that they found him before something bad happened.

Elsewhere:

Naruto didn't know where he was, but he could make a very good case for it being hell. Every since he'd woken up here, the pain hadn't stopped coming. He'd been beaten, burned, stabbed, and choked until he nearly blacked out.

Wherever he was, it stank of chemicals and rust. It was dark, but that may have just been his eyes which kept swelling shut from the blows rained down on him, and again when his healing factor kicked in and fixed them.

What Naruto didn't know was that he was on a platform overlooking several vats of highly toxic chemicals. This place had once been used by Konoha to create new weaponry, but had been shut down due to unsafe working conditions. Most of the equipment had been removed, but the chemicals remained until the Hokage and the council could agree on what to do with it (which essentially meant forever).

Inside, about a dozen disgruntled chunin and one jounin took turns torturing the boy. The leader of this group, Imochi, was a genjutsu specialist, and was now subjecting Naruto to a borderline forbidden technique that was only meant to be used on prisoners of war to interrogate them. The technique worked by interacting with the pain receptors in the brain, and causing all the nerves of the body to experience pain at once, for as long as the user held the technique. The reason for its status as a semi-kinjutsu was due to the fact that the brain can only take so much pain before the victim's mind broke under the strain and went mad.

Imochi smirked as he looked down at the boy, his eyes pinpricks as his face twitched and spasmed. Even if the kid lived, which he wouldn't, Imochi didn't think he'd ever be able to function again. But that wasn't going to be a problem for the kid soon.

They'd already had him for too long. Even if no one came looking for the kid (and really, who would look for this monster), he and his gang all had a celebration to get too. Imochi reached into his pocket, a motion that caught the eye of everyone else in the room (even the demon, strangely enough, the boy shouldn't be able to focus on anything now… ), and brought out a long, sharp, dagger.

Naruto struggled at the sight of the knife, but the chains binding him to the platform were too strong. Imochi stepped on Naruto's chest, pushing down on it as his buddies came close. "You had a lot of nerve, you know? Strutting around the village, after what you did. Always laughing at us, making us miserable… always Smilin'!" he took the sharpened blade, which glistened oddly in the strange light of the chemical plant and placed it close to Naruto's face. "You smiled… we suffered. Doesn't seem fair now does it?" he asked rhetorically "But you ain't smilin' now are you, freak?" he grinned, and his buddies grinned around him. This was it, it was almost time to kill the demon, and become famous heros of the Leaf!

Naruto squirmed as the blade was placed in his mouth. Imochi looked in the demons eye… it looked so frightened, almost like it was human. Imochi smirked, he would not be fooled.

"Lighten up kid" he said, giving a dark chuckle

"Why so serious?" he gripped Naruto's throat, so he couldn't turn his head to escape what was coming.

"Let's put a smile on that face!"

-Make'em Laugh-

Outside the plant, the ragtag team that was searching for Naruto finally arrived, lead by Pakkun. The Hokage hadn't arrived yet, as he had stopped to assemble an ANBU team to help. Before they could come up with a plan of attack like the Jounin wanted, a horrible scream ripped through the air.

That was all Sasuke and Sakura needed to bolt before their sensei could stop them. Not like he would, he was right behind them.

-Make'em Laugh-

Imochi looked up from his work as the window shattered and Sharingan Kakashi, along with two kids crashed through. He saw his boys move to handle it, which left him to finish up.

Just as he finished making the left side of the face match the right, the rest of the Jounin had come in, and Imochi started to get a feeling that things weren't going as well as he had thought.

"You're lucky, little demon." he said to Naruto, hauling him to his feet. "I'm afraid we have to cut our play time short." he hefted Naruto up, intending to dispose of the body by hurling it into the vat of toxic chemicals below.

Sasuke saw him, immediately zoning in on Naruto's torn and bloody orange jumpsuit. Seeing what Imochi was planning to do, he exhaled a stream of fire that struck the man in the back. Imochi screamed and flailed, trying to put out the flames. However, he did managed to push Naruto over the safety rail before he did.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke & Sakura screamed as they watched their teammate fall towards the vat of chemicals. Surprisingly, he landed on his feet, managing to stay balanced on the chemical by subconsciously channeling chakra to his feet. Unfortunately, his inexperience meant that if he took a single step in any direction, he was likely to sink like a stone.

"Hold on Naruto, we're coming!" Sakura said, looking for someway to get to them. Their efforts were interrupted though, by a strange coughing sound. The source of the sound was quickly revealed to be coming from Naruto himself. From the way he was shaking though, it became clear he wasn't coughing; he was laughing.

"Come on guys!" he laughed, ignoring their horrified faces "Why so serious?" he asked, before he burst out laughing again. He was shaking so badly from laughter that he was starting to slowly sink into the chemical bath beneath him.

In Naruto's Mindscape:

The Kyubi looked around worriedly in its cage. The walls around its cell had cracked terribly, and a strange, foul green liquid was filling the room. He was doing his best to heal the damage to his container, but healing the mind was much tricker then healing the flesh. It was all he could do to hold the fools brain together…

Real world:

Naruto was up to his knees in toxic chemicals. He was laughing so hard he was practically doubled over. It was very disturbing to everyone watching, even the ones who'd done it to him.

"Naruto… please." Sakura said, her eyes watering. She looked over at Kakashi sensei, but he was still engaged with one of the struggling kidnappers. She was scared by the how pleased the kidnapper looked with what he'd done. How could anyone be so cruel? "Please…" she focused her attention on Naruto, who was now wobbling back and forth in the center of a huge vat of unknown chemicals "We're gonna help you… you're not well…"

"HA!" Naruto laughed and snorted "That's where you're wrong!" Naruto said, his eyes widening, the veins in his eyes threatening to pop "I've never felt better in my entire life!" he shouted, and for a moment all was still "I've always wondered…. but now I know! The plan makes sense now!" he rambled, no longer making sense himself "Now I see the funny side…" he looked up, his eyes scanning the room, but seeming so vacant "Now I'll always be smiling." he looked at his teammates, and for a moment, his vision seemed to clear…

"So why aren't you?"

And just like that, he lost focus and plunged through the liquid, disappearing beneath the green waves.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, Sakura right behind him. At that moment, a dozen ANBU burst in, weapons drawn and ordering everyone down on the ground. They took the man Kakashi was holding and their sensei immediately moved to their side to prevent them from throwing themselves in after their teammate and friend. He held them, crying, to his chest, letting them beat their frustration against him, even as tears leaked down his own face.

"I did it again…" he thought "I've failed my team"

-Make'em Laugh-

From there, things happened very fast. The men were dragged out by the ANBU, and forced to kneel before the Hokage. Standing beside him, was the giant Jiraiya, his eyes burning with intense hate that made the criminals wonder how quickly there deaths would come. Still, some weren't as smart as others…

"This is bullshit! You should be rewarding us for killing that demon! He deserved it! He was a monster! He-" He stopped as Jiraiya stepped forward and wrapped his hand around the man's throat.

Turning to Kakashi he asked in a low voice "Is is true… is he really dead." Kakashi didn't answer, but the way he lowered his head was answer enough for the Toad Sage. Nodding gravely to himself, he twisted his wrist and killed the man right there. Sure, it wouldn't bring Naruto back, and maybe it was technically a violation of the man's rights… but frankly Jiraiya just couldn't bring himself to care. His godson, the boy Minato had charged him with looking after… was dead. He had never been there for the boy, he'd always been out maintaing his spy network for the greater good of the village. Greater Good. Those thoughts sickened him now.

Slowly, the large group moved away from the building, none desiring to be near the spot where Konoha's sunshine was snuffed a minute longer. Soon they would all have to deal with what had happened that day, and the ramifications that came with it. Everyone's life had and would be changed because of this… even if they didn't know it yet.

-Make'em Laugh-

Back inside, where all was now quiet, a bubble floated to the surface of the chemicals. Then another, and another. Soon the whole vat was alive with bubbles, and sparks red chakra flickered across the surface, before exploding outwards as a figure burst from the green soup. The figure gasped, taking in a deep breath, wide insane eyes spinning around the barren room before he started to pull himself out of the chemical bath. Unseen to even himself, reddish-orange lightning danced around his body, the hellish chakra being the only thing that had kept the boy's body from melting into slag, thanks to one demon fox. However, even the Kyubi knew something was not right. He had saved the body… but there was nothing he could do for the mind.

As he landed on the ground with a hard thud, something on his head fell off, landing with a clang besides him. It was a strip of metal with a strange design on it. He felt he should know what this was, but his head hurt so much he couldn't think straight. Picking it up, he was treated to a shocking reflection:

His hair was a dark green, darker then the chemicals that had dyed it. His face was white as fresh snow, but on a human looked frighteningly unhealthy. But it was his lips that drew his attention. They were the color of freshly spilt blood… but from the corners of his lips, scars curved upwards towards his ears, covering what seemed to be faded whisker marks. The scars were sore to the touch, and didn't look like they'd healed properly.

The man opens his mouth, and lets out only a throaty cough. A cough that extends and becomes a laugh. But not the laughter of the joyful; but instead the laughter of the mad and the damned. And that laughter continued, long and hard, unheard by any of the nearby village. And to that village, this laughter was the first death knell.

End Chapter1

And lo, it came to pass that Naruto Uzumaki would be.. The JOKER!

I'm happy that I finally got this story out. The only thing I'm not to terribly happy with is that I had to resort to the old 'Naruto is majorly mistreated by the village' cliche. I know it's a great way to get stories like these off the ground, and many authors use them to great effect, so I guess I won't beat myself up over it.

So what did you think? If you liked it, please say so in a review. If you didn't please feel free to offer some constructive criticism, but please don't flame.

Next Time:

Time passes. We see the results of a tragedy affect the lives of many. Someone will grow up, and ponder the meaning of their life. And another will find that when life holds out on you... sometimes you have to take what you want!

Chapter 2: The Cat and the Claw

Until Next Time...