A/N: This is my first fanfiction story! Please, don't flame…and leave reviews that will help me write a better story. Constructive criticism is always welcome! And of course, this is a crossover between Naruto and Sword Art Online.

Naruto will be the main character and he will have the ability of chakra. I'll try not to make him too overpowered, but he is not going to be stupid like in canon. Kirito was overpowered with his dual blades. Seriously? Can handle the Gleam Eyes boss by himself?

Oh yea! Why were there only 10,000 players? Cost? I don't know if that's the reason but on all Final Fantasy games, the majority of every game's sells were within the first week of release. So, 10,000 only seems kind of small, or to me, ridiculously small. So throughout this story, I'm going to be tweaking a few facts to make the story seem more realistic. Anyways, I'm ranting now.

*Edited*

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online.

Naruto, the Dark Flash

Prologue:

Blue cerulean eyes flicked from left to right across a page on a magazine. The first VRMMO game was being released within a few weeks, and some tips and guides were given on the pages. The player used an avatar in the virtual world. He or she can choose what kind of sword one wants to use, although a variety of other weapons were also a choice. With this chosen weapon, the player can use a set of skills that diverges based on the weapon. If further help is needed, a guidebook can be consulted or information can be looked up online. If inside information is requested in game, look for informants. The final message explained sword skills, leveling up, EXP, and quests.

Putting the magazine down and leaning back on his swiveling chair, he closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment, imagining himself fighting monsters and bosses, completing quests and slaying demons, and maybe even becoming the best in the game. After all, if he can apply real world skills into the game, and even if they were not all sword related skills, he should be fine. His mother, Kushina, was an expert at swordplay and kendo, so Naruto was learning from the best at a young age. However, unlike his mother, who used a single kendo blade, Naruto used two, although one was extremely short with a hilt, almost the size of a dagger. His grandfather, Hiruzen, was called the Professor for his knowledge and expertise in multiple styles of martial arts. In fact, in his prime, he was called the God of Fighting. His grandfather was also a serious slave driver in training. Naruto shuddered for a moment remembering when he was forced to train "lightly", not to mention the difficult sets and routines. And finally, his father, Minato, was also a sword fighter, only slightly better than his wife, although much faster. Naruto's mother had the skill in swordplay, but his father had absurdly fast reactions and ridiculous speed, which his son inherited.

Naruto opened his eyes and scratched the back of his spiky blond hair, chuckling sheepishly for a moment.

'There's no way I can become the best. There are a thousand beta players that are going to be there. They probably know all the other grinding spots and places to farm up EXP, while I'm still trying to figure out how to use a sword skill. Gah, I'm thinking too much. Homework it is, then.'

Leaning forwards, he flicked on the desk lamp and opened a random page in his novel and began to read.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 6 weeks later)

'Let's go over this one more time. I got the gear, all the information I probably need for the game, how to log in, EXP…whatever let's just get on. Who needs to think? It's a game, for Kami's sake!' Naruto placed the NerveGear on his head and flopped himself onto his bed.

"Ahh…let's see. Just a few more seconds. Ok…" He breathed out slowly.

'Let's do this!'

"Link…START!" Suddenly, the world in front of Naruto became completely white. Then, color came into view as all the updates and translators were placed in plain sight.

"Please choose a name." It was a woman's voice; It was not quite monotone, but it didn't have any real emotion either.

'Well, that's not hard. Not like my name is common. In fact, I always thought I was the only one with that name.'

"Naruto. Yes, I accept."

"You have no previous data as a beta player. Please make configurations to your avatar."

'Gahhh! Let me just play the game!' The blond thought impatiently.

And so, Naruto rushed through the character configurations, making the avatar an orange hair teen that was decently tall. The avatar had average looks with green eyes. Not that he really cared, proven when he thought, 'Who cares, just go!'

"Welcome to Sword Art Online!"

'Hell yeah!'

"This disk has a special configuration. Please wait a moment."

'What…the hell? Special configuration?' That was something Naruto wasn't expecting. He had gone through all of the magazines and online guidebooks that were available, and none of them said anything about some kind of special configuration. So, his confusion was reasonable.

"Only one of the ten thousand disks sold received this configuration. I will explain to you while the updates take place. You, the player, will use a different kind of energy called chakra. Instead of mana, which every other player will use, chakra is the life force mixed with physical energies." An identical replica of Naruto's avatar appeared. He blew fire out of his mouth, switched places with another object, and multiple other insane actions that were simply impossible. Naruto's reason for excitement was quite obvious. After ten minutes, the patches were complete and Naruto was thrust into the world of Sword Art Online.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Two hours)

Quickly rushing through the NPC's and guidebook offered to him, Naruto ran out of the Town of Beginnings and began farming immediately in the Field of Beginnings. Even though he was rushing, however, he did manage to give some time to appreciate the attention put to the details in the world.

Plenty of weak hog-looking things later, he was already halfway to Level 2 and had gained a basic understanding of how to use his sword skills. In the town, Naruto bought a short dagger with a hilt on both sides to block possible blows, and a long sword to use on the other hand. The game mechanics didn't let him use two sword skills at once, and there were no dual wield abilities, so Naruto made due with basic swordplay techniques.

"OK, that's enough practice. Let's experiment." Scouting out the area, our blond protagonist spotted a slightly large boar, nearly twice the size of the average boar. The bar above its head stated Level 2, but who cares? Naruto certainly didn't.

Giving the boar an analytical gaze, he thought, 'Let's see. During the introduction to the use of chakra, I believe the avatar switched places with an object?'

He gripped his dagger and aimed it at the head of the boar while preparing the sword skill Vertical. The sword began to glow a bright red, indicating the skill was ready for use. Quickly throwing the dagger at the head of the boar, Naruto jumped and began slashing down. By the time the boar saw the dagger, it was too late. The small dagger was suddenly replaced with a blond haired teen already in mid swing, his sword coming down in a viscous arc.

"Hell yeah! That was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed in exhilaration. After the boar disappeared in a multitude of blue pixels accompanied with the sound of breaking glass, the blond opened up his menu to see what he had gained.

'Holy crap, that boar gave me almost 100 EXP. Haha, I guess only another four hundred exp to go. Now…where are some of these boars?' A slightly sadistic grin plastered itself onto Naruto's face.

"This is gonna be fuuuun."

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 5 Hours)

Already a quarter way to Level 3, Naruto stopped farming in favoring of resting by sitting down. His leveling up slowed down drastically when he reached Level 2, so he assumed that EXP gain was relative to the monster level. It didn't help that the amount of EXP required to level up increased every level.

Naruto began thinking about his special energy called chakra. It had drawbacks, but it was definitely better than the energy that the other players used. However, it required a portion of Naruto's health every time chakra was used. Naruto quickly deduced that he would die if he used too much chakra. Wondering if he could increase his chakra capacity, multiple other questions engaged his mind. These thoughts plagued the blond's mind for a few minutes. Realizing he can find more information elsewhere, he searched through his menu and looked through his stats.

Character: Naruto

Stats:

Strength: 5(+3)

Defense: 5(+3)

Agility: 10(+2)

Intelligence: 11(+2)

Luck: 30(+0)

Chakra Pool: 2/?

Chakra Control: 32/1000

'What the hell is with my luck? Well, I guess that explains why I always beat my parents at Poker even without knowing the game. Whatever gets me free money.' Naruto smiled agreeably, but immediately dropped it when he saw his chakra pool. 'Damn, that's tiny. Well, at least it'll get larger. Let's see, what else is there?'

Abilities:

Horizontal: 7/1000

Vertical: 13/1000

Kawamiri no Jutsu: 30/1000

Henge no Jutsu: 0/1000

Bunshin no Jutsu: 0/1000

?: 0/1000

?: 0/1000

?: 0/1000

Naruto looked at his abilities with both of his eyebrows raised in interest.

'And what the hell is a henge? Or a bunshin? Henge…sounds like a…Neolithic standing stone. What the hell am I supposed to use a Neolithic standing stone for? Bunshin? Well, at least I know what that means…I think.'

Naruto stood up, patting off imaginary dust off his black pants. I wish they had orange ones.

"Henge no Jutsu!" A cloud of smoke appeared, preventing Naruto from being seen. Slowly, the wind blew the smoke away, and Naruto was no longer seen. Instead…

"WHY THE HELL DO I LOOK LIKE MY DAD! GET IT OFF ME. GET IT OFFA MAH BODY! HENGE NO JUTSU!" Another cloud of smoke appeared, and Naruto was once again in his avatar body.

'That was…scary. But that's actually a really useful technique in a way…is what my godfather would say. He would probably use it to become a girl and check them out in the dressing rooms or something.' A cold shiver tingled through Naruto.

"Do I have to say the technique, or can I mentally say it? Test time!"

'Bunshin no Jutsu!'

Another Naruto appeared, although quite hazy and sickly looking. The original stared at it for a moment. Then, he punched the copy's face. The fist went straight through, and the copy dispersed into the air. If perfected, Naruto realized it was a perfect jutsu, or technique, to distract monsters. They would go after the illusions while the real Naruto could throw his dagger at the back of the monster, replace himself with the dagger, and strike down with Vertical.

During Naruto's inquiry and ponderings of his new abilities, his body began to glow and, without warning, was teleported back to the Town of Beginnings.

XShuyaX

(Location: Town of Beginnings: Plaza)

About 10,000 people crowded together into a plaza, despite being a large plaza, was not Naruto's idea of fun. He was not claustrophobic, but he did appreciate his space, thank you very much. A continuous stream of players flashed into the already cramped plaza, leaving Naruto with only a few feet of private space surrounded by thousands of people.

People were speaking nervously and confusedly.

"What's going on?"

"What's happening? How did we teleport back here?"

"Why are we back at the Town of Beginning?"

These questions circulated and were asked quietly, but no doubt with a heightened measure of fear and worry. Naruto stayed silent, assuming something would answer these questions and others that were in his head. So he waited with his arms crossed. Suddenly, the crowd's voices got louder as the sky became darker and hexagonal shapes appeared on the walls and ceiling of the 1st floor. A blood-like liquid seeped through the edges, covering the ceiling and walls. Now every person was worried.

"Welcome to my world." A booming voice resounded throughout the whole plaza, silencing the rest of the crowd. A large, hooded figure appeared, his face unseen by the darkness. His arms were spread out, as if to show everyone the world.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. I am the only person who can control this world."

And why should Naruto care about that? He was Naruto!

"I think most of you have discovered the fact that the [Log Out] button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is a feature of Sword Art Online."

OK, maybe Naruto didn't know that the Log Out feature disappeared. He smiled sheepishly and began scratching the back of his head.

"Until you get to the top of this castle, you will not be able to log out. So, I have added a small gift to your inventory."

'What! What about my mom and dad! Old man! Pervy godfather? Everyone!?' Naruto screamed internally as his face paled from worry.

But everyone still opened their inventory, Naruto included.

'A mirror? That's a strange gift,' Naruto mused. Suddenly, his body – no, every player's body began to glow. When the glow subsided, every person had a differently shape and face…even hair color and gender. Only a few seconds later, Naruto realized this was his own body when he saw himself on the mirror that he was holding on his hand. Three whisker marks on each cheek. Blue cerulean orbs. Blond, spiky hair. This was his body.

Naruto looked around himself, and to his disgust, plenty of males were dressed in female clothing. Ugh…that's just such a wrong image.

The cross gendered guys were horrendous to look at. Naruto may not have his grandfather's perverted nature, but he had a healthy respect for the female body…healthy in his perspective, at least. However, the girls in guys clothing that was too large for them, he found somewhat cute.

'Kawaii…'

"Also, the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted…the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions."

Naruto's face went from pale to ghost white and his blood went cold at the last statement. How lucky was he that his mom didn't take off the Nerve Gear yet? She almost always forced him off games, even if during the summer, telling him to play sports, or if worse, forcing him to have a sword fight against her.

Naruto looked around, studying every face around him.

Everyone person was showing signs of a nervous breakdown of sorts. Not a single person seemed calm. Fright. Worry. Scared. Despair. Defeat.

"You will all most probably wondering, 'Why?' Why would I – the developer of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko – do all this? My goals has already been realized.

Naruto was shaking his head as he realized something. 'This guy's head has a couple screws missing in his head.'

"None of these is the reason I am doing this. Not only that, but now for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. The reason is because…this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized. Now…I have finished the official tutorial for SAO. Players- I wish you luck."

"…"

'Wish us luck? Are you kidding me? You're killing innocent lives that just wanted to play a game.'

Suddenly, like a balloon that couldn't handle any more air, the pressure reached its breaking point and burst. Everyone tried to make their voices heard, as if someone outside the game could hear them.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

"GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"SOMEONE SAVE ME!"

These truly desperate calls for help struck something deep inside of Naruto. If Kayaba had done this as a joke, or even if he was serious, Naruto probably would've continued on his way and done his best to survive by himself. But when he heard everyone crying out as loud as possible, desperate for aid, help, assistance, anything…he wanted to do something…anything

'If he really allowed the deaths of at least 200 people…'

At this moment, a spark started a small fire that began to burn inside of Naruto's heart. His compassionate and passionate side…his protective side. And when the fire begins to burn, it only gets larger until it warms all others.

'…then I'll-'

"-become the best and save everyone," finishing his statement with such passion and finality, that if anyone had heard him, their worries and sadness would have been washed away. At this moment, Naruto decided that he would become the best. He would become the pillar of hope for the others. Nothing would stop him. No person. No monster. Nothing would stand in his way to end this death trap that 10,000 people were jailed in.

*Will of Fire Achieved! Obtained: Special Ability: Hear My Roar: 0/9

Without hesitation, Naruto used both upgrades on Hear My Roar without looking at the description. Taking on final glance at where the creator of Sword Art Online had been with a determined glare, Naruto unfurled his clenched fist and relaxed his body. Then, he turned around and walked away from the pitiful creator of the game. This game suddenly wasn't a game anymore.

"I'll save everyone…no matter what, 'ttebayo."

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 4 Hours)

Naruto rushed past the fields, slashing and hacking through boars, regardless of level. After about an hour of constant running and farming, he reached a large forest. Without a single thought of hesitation, he ran into the eerie and dark mass of foliage and thickets as he continued to hack his way through monsters and forced a path, regardless of the fact they were at Level 3, which only increased the speed at which he leveled up. Within another hour, he reached Level 3, but didn't stop to upgrade any of his stats. Another two hours later, he reached a small village of sorts deep within the forest.

"That's…strange. A village deep inside of forest filled with monsters. It's probably a safe zone." He walked into the village, and small feeling of content entered his body. He sheathed his blade. Sitting down on a bench somewhere in the middle of the village, Naruto finally took the time to open in menu and go through his stats.

Character: Naruto

Stats:

Strength: 7(+3)

Defense: 7(+3)

Agility: 14(+2)

Intelligence: 13(+2)

Luck: 40(+0)

Chakra Pool: 300/?

Chakra Control: 14/1000

Sword: 85/1000

Dagger: 72/1000

*Congratulations. Player has unlocked new ability: 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'*

Naruto's eye began to twitch. 'Why would my control go down, and why did my chakra capacity just shoot through the roof? It's obvious the two are interrelated negatively, but why would my chakra just shoot through the roof? Also, the Sword and Dagger stats weren't there the last time I checked. Why are they so high? Are these based on real world assessments?'

'Also, is Hear My Roar the reason for my chakra boost? But, what is it?'

Naruto went through each of his abilities and read each description for their respective abilities. For abilities like Vertical and Horizontal, they were quite self-explanatory. However, the abilities Henge, Bunshin, and Kawamiri had a bit more detail.

Finally, when Naruto reached Hear my Roar, he was surprised when he read the description.

"This player has the burden of chakra, which requires both life force and physical energy. However, with an absurd amount of determination to protect and defend, limits can be broken. These chakra limits were broken at the moment when the player's determination to protect was assessed and accepted.
Can only be unlocked by: Will of Fire."

Abilities:

Horizontal: 27/1000

Vertical: 52/1000

Kawamiri no Jutsu: 39/1000

Henge: 1/1000

Bunshin no Jutsu: 1/1000

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: 0/1000

?: 0/1000

?: 0/1000

Naruto pressed his new ability 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu' to see the description.

"Shadow Clone Technique. Unlike its predecessor, the Clone Technique (Bunshin no Jutsu), the Shadow Clone are actual copies of the original. However, because of this, the cost of chakra is absurdly high, due to original splitting his or her chakra with the clone. According to the history of the Elemental Nations, only the elite ninjas were able to use this ability without suffering chakra exhaustion. The secret to this technique is not only coordinating attacks, but that all memories of the clones return to the original.
Can only be unlocked by: Hear my Roar 1/9."

"Well, that's nice. So…I can make my clones read books and study things for me? And they can train my sword skills, too. I wonder if my clone could practice the sword skills and send its experience to me?" With this thought in mind, Naruto got off the bench and walked around the village, enjoying the oriental setting of the houses. He sold his sword and bought a slight stronger one with the Col he looted from monsters. None of his other equipment and gear were showing signs of wearing out, so he didn't buy any other gear items. However, he bought plenty of potions. According to Naruto: "Better safe than sorry, 'ttebayo."

After a few minutes of mindless wandering in the village, Naruto heard crying. Quickly rushing to the sound, he opened a door to a house and saw a woman crying with a small, delicate girl on her lap, which he quickly assumed was her daughter. The girl was plainly sick. Ridiculously pale, extremely red cheeks, and excessive sweat on her face. She wouldn't have much time without help.

"Please…someone help my baby…"

"What can I do?" Naruto quickly asked. The mother's eyes shot up and glanced at Naruto. Suddenly, a golden question mark appeared on her head. A quest. Well, this is certainly a dramatic way of doing it, Kayaba Akihiko.

"My daughter is ill,"

'Well, no shit, Sherlock.' The sarcasm was not meant to be subtle.

"-and I need medicine, but it can only be found in the forest full of monsters. In fact, only type one of the monsters have it on its head, and it is extremely rare."

"What is it?" The blond asked without a moment's hesitation. The women seemed taken aback for a moment before continuing.

"The Little Nepents are sentient plant creatures that stalk around the forest. Their name belies their actual size and strength. Beware of getting caught and being eaten. but their head is a dead giveaway. The monster with a red flower on its head has the medicine, Little Nepent's Ovule. Please, retrieve the medicine so I can save my daughter!" Naruto nodded and walked away from the woman and her daughter.

'I will save her, regardless of whether she is truly alive or not. Because-'

"That's my way, 'ttebayo!"