I refuse to be Fate's Bitch.

UPDATE – I've decided to rewrite this chapter seeing as a lot of the reviews were stating that the dialogue was a bit forced, and now looking back at it, I'm inclined to agree with you guys. Thank you for the honest reviews and for telling me which bits to improve on so I hope you enjoy this rewritten first chapter of Intertwined Paths. If you don't want to re-read all of it, just skip to the part Geralt was explaining his dream to Vesemir, that's where the edited version comes in.

This is a Non-Yaoi Fic.

A/N: So… I know I made a Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Naruto crossover roughly three months back, but now I'm back and with another crossover! Maddening I know but hear me out. I've been playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for the last two months ever since I got it on sale back in 2016 and I never really got around to playing it because I knew how large and expansive the game and its lore was, so I kept pushing it back, trying to find excuses to play it another day. I finally decided to take a day off, sit down and try it out and immediately get to playing the game, and boy oh boy, I have never regretted holding back on a game as much as I did The Witcher 3.

Simply put, it's incredible. The connection between the characters, the story that's hidden behind the words that they say to each other, the lore, the world, it's genuinely one of the most satisfying things in the whole world to go out and explore the world of The Witcher. One thing that kind of put me off though, is how Geralt couldn't decide between Yennefer or Triss (For whoever picked Yennefer, you better have a damn good reason otherwise I'm going to introduce your private parts to my good old friend the rusty spoon).

Anyways, I'm not going to hold back on the story for any longer, this is a crossover between Naruto and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Sit down, kick back, relax, and enjoy the chapter. Pairings are undecided for Naruto for now, but if you know me and my tastes, I'm probably going for a harem.

Intertwined Paths

Breathless.

One blonde shinobi felt that feeling encompass his entire being, his necklace suspended between his chest and the surrounding darkness, his outfit, in tatters.

He couldn't feel a single thing that was going on in and outside of his body. He couldn't feel the powerful thrum of his life energy pounding against his frame, the blood flowing through his veins, nor the tell-tale signs that he was even alive.

Thump thump.

Slowly, he could feel his heart to beat against his chest.

Glug.

He could feel the saliva travel from his mouth down his throat.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Strange… He could hear a monastery bell ringing in his ears. Why was that?

Wa-

Was that a voice he just heard? Was it his own? Or was it belonging to another character? Someone familiar?

Wake-

Wake? Wake up? But how? Surely, he was dead? Was this not Heaven? Hell? Wherever the gods permitted him to be sent in the afterlife?

Wake up…

Ah, so the voice was telling him to wake up. But to what? His friends and family, looking at him, smiles on their faces and relief in their eyes? A desolate and barren wasteland, wreaked havoc upon after the events that shaped his life, maybe even his whole world? The perpetual darkness that he could feel emanate from his surroundings? Or would it be something new? A new place, a new time, a new life, maybe even a new world? Although, if it were a new world, then all previous points would be made null and void since all of those feelings encompassed his new destination.

It's time to go now. Your old destiny has now been laid bare on a new board, the pieces, already in movement. It's time to move along now.

Remember where you come from Naruto Uzumaki, for your memories and skills will greatly help you in the fight to come.

Deciding to heed the voices call out for him, he opened his eyes...

And all he saw… Was blue.

Kaer Morhen

A white-haired man could be seen lounging in a tub full of warm water, letting the temperature of said water soothe and relax the tensions in his muscles.

He took a deep breath, and leaned his head back, soaking in the feeling of his environment, the peace, the gentle breeze passing through from his open balcony door, the slight shift of his water moving ever-so-slightly.

Wait, what?

The man grunted, and quickly brought a hand down to the intruder who dare disturb his peace, pulling out a crustacean from the bath. Knowing who the culprit was that summoned the blasted thing in the first place, he took a glance over to his beloved.

He grunted, "You know I don't find that amusing."

The offending comment in question was directed towards a woman, whose shapely posterior was facing him, a bath towel wrapped around her head, and her fingers delicately holding a piece of literature.

"It wasn't meant to amuse, but to prod you to hurry. It's midday, already."

The man groaned, but the woman was having none of it.

"You promised Ciri you'd train with her. Now go and find her, before Vesemir bores her to death with those etchings of his."

The man clicked his teeth in annoyance, but decided to comply, pulling himself out of the bathtub, letting the large number of scars that littered his entire frame be shown.

He got himself dressed in his boxer shorts, and donned a loose pair of dark brown trousers. He then walked up to the lady.

"So… Later, then?" He asked her.

The woman simply hummed in agreement, "Yes, see you later."

The man nodded and proceeded to walk off, but didn't make it very far before his arm was pulled in for a rather passionate kiss with the woman, until she had enough, and with a simple push of her arm, stopped the rather heated kiss before it could escalate any further.

Shaking his head, he moved to grab a white tunic, but not before sneaking a glance at her, seeing her take a rather appraising view of herself in the mirror. With a simple tug of her hand, the bath towel that held her hair up, now fell to the ground, revealing luscious black locks that fell to her shoulders, with a slight curl to it, not too curly to be noticeable from a distance, but curly enough to accentuate her features even further.

With a snap of her fingers, a rather, alluring set of lingerie appeared on her, as she donned a neck-bracelet, with a jewel set squarely in the centre. She took an appreciative look of herself in the mirror, enjoying her set of amethyst eyes. She then proceeded to take a seat in front of said mirror and begin brushing her hair.

The man walked towards her, admiring the beauty of her eloquence in something as menial as hair brushing, he was right behind her when he began speaking.

"See, I thought Ciri could stand to wait just a little longer." Leaving the word longer just a little bit drawn out.

Not batting an eyelash at his attempt of wanting to spend time with her, she replied smoothly, "It's uninstructive, not to mention unreasonable."

He replied huskily, "If you couldn't tell, I don't want to be reasonable."

"Aha! So that's the way the wind blows, hm Geralt?" She sighed, "Go and train with her, then come back. It'll give me a chance to put my face on."

"Of all the women I've known," the white-haired man now identified as Geralt began, "You're the only one who does that before…"

The woman looked at Geralt questioningly, "You've known many?"

"What's it matter? Only really ever thought of you Yen."

Yen, fully known as Yennefer of Vengerberg, smiled at him, pleased. She then motioned for him to get a move on to find Ciri and Vesemir.

Geralt headed down the stairs, and took a right, only to find a wizened, weather-beaten old man, napping, his head leant backwards, and rhythmic snoring being heard. One could only assume this was Vesemir, seeing as the location in which they were residing at, there were known to only house a few residents, Geralt and Vesemir being some of them.

Geralt snorted, "Old Witcher's fast asleep. Ciri, as always, has disappeared off somewhere, of course."

He proceeded to take slow steps to not wake the old Witcher up and picked up one of the books.

"Ghouls and Alghouls, written by John of Brugge… Huh, interesting." Geralt murmured to himself, and decided to step out into the fresh air, already having an inkling of an idea as to where Ciri could possibly be.

Stepping outside into the large balcony, he was met with the sight of a young ashen-haired girl with a wooden practice sword, swinging it at a pendulating log, hitting it with rapid succession, while also managing to keep her balance on the several wooden stumps that were lined up in a neat row.

"Why am I not surprised? She always has been the sort of girl to prefer practice over theory."

He smiled at that. What a fiery lass she was.

He then heard the signs of a wooden chair being shifted around and turned around to see Vesemir finally rising.

"Hm? What?" Were the first words to come out of the old Witcher's mouth.

Geralt decided to tease him a little bit, "Time to wake up, master," he smirked at that, "These lessons so boring that they put you to sleep, too?"

Vesemir groaned "Damnit… I had the little she-devil taking notes on 'Ghouls and Alghouls', and the next thing you know, I ended up resting my eyes momentarily."

"Huh, making her slog through that drivel? No wonder she took off when she had the chance."

Vesemir stood up, and stretched his worn muscles, "John of Brugge may lack flair, but he's a reliable one. Not like the hogwash these so called 'authors' are printing nowadays."

He took steps and ended up right next to Geralt, whose back was turned to Ciri.

"Tackling the pendulums again, is she? How many times has it been since we've told her? Never practice alone, it'll only embed your errors even further."

Geralt sighed, "You've got to admit… We've spoiled her."

Vesemir looked at him pointedly, "We? I've been saying it from the start, Ciri needs a firm hand."

"You've been saying that, true, but you let her walk all over you just like all the rest of us do."

Vesemir nearly visibly deflated at that, and sighed resignedly, "I suppose that's true, also suppose that I'm partly to blame as well… But this must end. Now."

The white-haired Witcher nodded and proceeded to head down to Ciri's whereabouts, nearly missing the comment that came out of Vesemir.

"Killing monster isn't something to be taken lightly. If she is to become one of us, she must understand this. Whether through us or through sheer experience."

Line break

Geralt headed down to the foot of Kaer Morhen, to assess Ciri's current level of skill, before she undergoes the mutations to become a fully-fledged Witcher.

He assessed her with a critical eye only attainable through years of experience.

"Hm. Wrong!" With those sharp words, Ciri took a miscalculated step and almost toppled over the edge, catching herself by mere instinct. She proceeded to attack the pendulating log with renewed vigour, now that her mentor was watching her.

Watching her take too long with her next swing, he barked out, "What are you? Some sort of circus animal? You're not meant to entertain, you're meant to go in and land decisive strikes that could either spell the end of you or them. Now… pirouette!"

She spun with one foot, her raised one touching the knee of the supporting leg, and struck out again, hitting a non-vital spot on the marked log.

"Wrong! Where's all the lessons I've been drilling through your head? If you're going to strike, strike with purpose, precision, and the intent to kill! Now, that's enough! Get down here."

Ciri perked up at those words, and with a grin, "With a flip?"

Geralt stated blankly, "No." Causing her to pout, but obey nonetheless, and got off with a graceful landing.

"So… How'd I do?"

Geralt pinched the bridge of his nose, "Where to start… First of all, you've still got a lot of work to do, your reflexes are still too slow. Laughably so. And secondly, you need to get your footwork down, wouldn't want your demise to be met all because you had a misstep."

"To answer that first remark, my reflexes may be slow for a Witcher, but any other bloke? I can ace them, no problem! And for that second remark… I've got nothing to rebuke that honestly."

"You think drowners or strigas will go easy on you just because you haven't undergone the mutations? Or a wraith will spare you because you tripped over your own two feet? Simple answer? No, they won't."

Geralt hummed thoughtfully, "Though, in your shoes, I'd fear Vesemir more than any monster out there, disobeying his instructions? Very unwise."

With a huff, Ciri replied, "Well yes… But that book was horribly dull."

Geralt knelt down to meet her at eye level, "You think you're the first to go through books like those? I know what it feels like, but you know it still isn't an excuse to go wandering off."

"Ugh, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She acquiesced with defeat.

"Better not. Vesemir said that if it does, he'll make you eat a bowl full of slugs covered in tar and salt." Causing Ciri to giggle and mutter out a disgusted 'ewwww!' which earned a chuckle out of Geralt, "Exactly. So, you'd best be on your greatest behaviour. Now come on, let's go train with the others below."

With an excited nod, Ciri bounced off, with a skip in her step, while Geralt watched on, a small smile etched on his face.

Suddenly, he felt a chill pass through him.

'Strange… It's midsummer, there's no way it could get this cold… Unless… Shit!' Geralt, in a show of pure instinct and experience, made the motion of grabbing his silver sword, only to realize that he was barely equipped for combat and he left his swords with Yennefer.

'Out of all the times for the Wild Hunt to appear, it has to be now?!' Geralt cursed his state of weakness, there were the practice swords, but a wood practice sword against a set of armour made with the highest quality steel? A highly unfair, and in all honesty, ridiculous matchup. He could feel the cold creeping in, slowly taking away his movement.

The last thing he saw before his vision was frozen over was the sight of a skull-shaped mask look at him, dead in the eye, and a menacing figure to point towards him.

Line break

Geralt awoke to the sound of his own laboured breathing and the cawing of several birds off in the distance. He looked around, unsurprised to see that Vesemir was alright, and was eyeing him with a look of concern.

"You alright?" The older of the two asked. Geralt nodded back shakily.

"Mm. Had a nightmare."

"About?"

He looked at the horizon, and saw that dawn was quite a way off, so decided to explain with a tired sigh.

"It started with me being in the guest room at Kaer Morhen. I was relaxing in the tub, and next to me…" He choked with his next few words, "Yennefer. Funny, isn't it? I always thought it'd be Triss. Seeing as Yen has never been there," ignoring the mutter of 'And neither has Triss' coming from Vesemir, "But it seemed so real in my dream though…"

However, before he could continue retelling the dream he had, both him and Vesemir heard a peculiar sound, a slight rustling of the flora around them, the rustling getting progressively more violent with each passing second, looking towards his master in an attempt to gain his attention, he realized that Vesemir already locked eyes with him, and in a silent conversation and agreement, they withdrew their silver swords and stood back to back, slowly moving in a tight circle enabling them to react instantly to any threat should it come in front of either of them or between them.

All the while, the winds were picking up, the slight rustle turning into violent gusts, uprooting some of the plants and causing the leaves of the tree they were resting beneath before to shake and sway violently, protesting the powerful winds.

"Vesemir!" Geralt shouted over the howling winds, as it became too violent and loud for them to converse in their normal tone of voices, he shielded his eyes with his left arm, his right still on his silver sword in a tight grip, while the winds were a bother, it didn't mean he was any less prepared.

"What the hell is going on? Where's this wind coming from?!" Geralt shouted.

"I'm not sure, but this isn't natural! I think something, or someone might be causing this!" Vesemir shouted back, shielding his eyes as well to not kick up any dust or dirt into them, much like Geralt was.

However, before the two of them could ponder even further about these winds, a sudden BOOM sounded off close by, nearly causing the two men to jump in fright, instead causing them to whip their heads towards the sound of the explosion and a tensing of their shoulders.

Eerily enough, the moment the explosion occurred, the winds immediately started to die down, as if the source of the explosion was the reason there was such powerful winds in the first place.

"You reckon we should check it out Geralt?" Vesemir nudged his former student.

All Vesemir got was a frustrated grunt and a sideward glance towards the location that the large sound came from, telling Vesemir all he needed to know about Geralt's answer.

"I understand that you want to find Yennefer as quick as possible my boy, but what if this is something important?"

"I understand but you don't really expect Yennefer to stay put in one place while we try and find her, right?"

Vesemir only sighed, "I understand your worries, but the event that just took place just screams unnatural. What do you say about quickly checking the site? If it was nothing, then we go about to White Orchid as our original plans were, however, if there are obvious signs of the source of that explosion, then what say we do our jobs aye?"

Geralt only grunted in defeated acceptance, "Fine, but let's make this quick."

With the haste only professionals could muster, both men packed their belongings away and quickly spurred their horses to the scene of the explosion, hoping, nay… praying that they'd be the first ones to reach it, and if they didn't…

They could only hope whoever, or whatever was the source of the explosion was friendly.

With a kick and a yell, the two set off on their respective mounts, speeding through the beaten paths and dense foliage, the only sound being made was the collective sound of both horses galloping furiously towards their destination.

Inside the Mind of the Source prior to their arrival

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Those were the only sounds that Uzumaki Naruto could hear, the collective sound of dripping water – a telltale sign that he was in his mindscape. Didn't he change the look of it when he let the fuzzy butt fluff out of his cage to give him some much-deserved freedom after the shitshow that was the ensuing fight with the goddamn mother that be progenitor of all chakra.

That's right, he was talking about the fight between Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and the recently reformed Team 7 (got to love those last-minute bonding sessions, right?).

It wasn't so much of a fight in the beginning, but an outright no-holds barred slaughter that nearly had the woman kill him and Sasuke multiple times (not counting the attempts of killing them individually) throughout the entire scuffle.

If he was being real with himself, it wasn't that bad when the fight first started. Sure, him and Sasuke were getting their asses handed to them, and she teleported all of Team 7 (Obito included) into a mass cesspool of lava to try and eliminate them from the get-go.

It was when she started teleporting all over the place while putting them in different dimensions as she did so that had Naruto calling some mad bullshit about the unfair use of it all.

Seriously, it was bad enough when she ended up ripping open her third eye (who the FUCK has a third eye between their forehead anyways?!) and throwing around some stupid I'm-a-goddess-so-bow-before-me moves while handing their asses to them. All at the same freaking time! Like come on! What the fresh manner of bullshit was that?!

Clearing his head of the mental (heh) cobwebs, Naruto stood up, dusting off any imaginary dust he had gathered during that monologue.

Looking around, he decided to touch up his mindscape again. While he didn't mind the memories that came (as fond as meeting a 350-foot, 4 ton 9-tailed demon fox for the first time could be), he knew his ol' fuzzbutt would seriously complain about the lack of proper ventilation.

Naruto couldn't help but snort at that ridiculous thought. Of course, Kurama would be the only one to complain about how all the damp sewer water would get into his fur and ruin the perfected softness and texture of it.

Breathing softly, he closed his eyes and willed his mindscape to set forth the changes he was thinking of. To create some dense forests for his companion to carelessly stomp and crush with nary a worry in the world, to have large, thick and expansive open fields for him to run around in, to rest and relax under the cooling winds and warm sun.

Another exhale out, and the blonde teenager opened his eyes to see that the mindscape did indeed bend to his will and changed into what he wanted.

He had expected his long-time companion and friend be there to greet him, and sure enough, he was! All teeth and claws, the fluffy bastard.

Naruto grinned so wide he was afraid he'd break his face or something but seeing his friend alive and well brought a surge of emotions he couldn't really put or formulate into words. So, he did the next best thing, and greeted his old friend.

"Kurama! Buddy, I'm so glad you're alive!"

"Heh, of course I am! Who do you think I am? Wait, don't answer that, I'll answer for you. I… AM THE MIGHTY KYUUBI NO KITSUNE and it'll be a cold day in Hell before I rot and die like you walking bags of putrid flesh." Kurama roared his introduction, causing the blonde shinobi's clothes to be blown back by the sheer power of his voice.

"Jeez, have you been eating rotten eggs and fish or something? Goddamn fluffbutt, your breath smells worse than Kiba and the guys half-dog!" He pinched his nose and wrinkled his eyes in mock disgust, causing his 9-tailed friend to grumble and growl.

"Shut your mouth you mongrel. I'll have you know; the vixens love my musk."

"Oookay… That's just a wee bit too much info there." Naruto shivered in disgust, wishing he never had his tenant tell him those sorts of details.

"By the way kid… You alright? That sealing got you beat up badly? Or are you feeling like yourself now?" Kurama's voice changed from his deep growl to a much softer, almost worried tone.

"What sealing furball? Last thing I can remember is the fight with Kaguya and it's just blank for me." The blonde was confused, last he recalled, he and the reunited Team 7 were duking it out with Kaguya, with Kakashi and Obito; who was an enemy turned friend.

And then…

Wait, what? Why couldn't he remember afterwards? Was his memory really this bad or did something occur during the fight that caused him to lose a massive part of his memory? Did Kaguya really hit him that hard (although, he'll admit (never to her face however) she was as beautiful as all the legends portrayed her to be and strong too)?

As Naruto tried racking his brain to dig up any recent memories post-Kaguya fight, Kurama looked on in silence, and well… worry. His own memories were a bit foggy, but they weren't as fragmented as his containers. He sighed internally, deciding that the truth was better than hiding it. That was the least he could do for his long-time jailor turned companion.

"Kid, I won't lie to you. The fight was messy. As in real fucking messy. You, that Uchiha brat and pink banshee along with scarecrow and the other accursed Uchiha nearly died. Scratch that, all of you were about to die. However, you pulled something out of your ass at that moment which caused a massive explosion and then everyone was gone. Gone. As in disappeared, never to be seen again. Not just you and your team, but everyone. As in the entire shinobi nation, kid. I wouldn't be surprised if you wiped out everyone from the past and future too."

Naruto's eyes widened, and his body grew rigid and tense with fear and despair. He knew Kurama, knew that as much as the Biju hated him back in his Genin days, he outgrew that phase and the both of them formed a steadfast bond built from years of close proximity and effort. As much as he wanted to laugh that off as a joke, who was to say it wasn't? His memory being shot to hell wouldn't really help him in the endeavour to figure out the truth.

He wanted to scream, cry, rage, wail in frustration, desperation, guilt and grief. Most of all…

He wanted to scream in loss.

Falling to his knees and letting the tears pour out in waves, he let all his grief out into the tears that fell from his eyes.

Everyone was gone. He wouldn't see any of them ever again.

Kurama could only look on in sadness and mild grief. He never liked seeing his container sad, damn the kid, but if he didn't do a damn good job at breaking through his emotional barriers and making him feel human. Blegh.

"Naruto, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. However, my memory is still foggy. While I may remember more than you do, I don't know all the details pertaining to the explosion, the cause of it, or the aftermath. Looks like whatever you did wiped out both our memories, just as distinctly different points. For all you and I know, they may be physically gone, but spiritually and mentally, they live within you. Perhaps they even bonded with you through that explosion, causing their faiths, beliefs, support to lie within you. To complete what they were all fighting for."

Naruto let the tears flow some more, before standing up slowly and wiping his face with his arm. He chuckled grimly but in quiet acceptance, "Heh. Thanks buddy, glad I can always count on you to be there to cheer me up."

Kurama could only grin in response to his attitude and diehard fortitude, the kid just didn't give up, did he? "Who do you think you're talking to brat? It'll be a cold day in Hell before I let you mope like a certain emo."

Naruto could only snort and flip him the bird in response. While the realization still stung like a bitch and hurt more than he'd care to admit, he knew that it would all end up alright so long as the occupant living in his stomach stuck by him.

"Oh, by the way kid…" Kurama started, causing Naruto to look at his buddy and raise a brow.

"Yeah fuzzbutt, what?"

"Two things, one – make sure you look in the mirror as soon as you're able to, and two – brace yourself."

"Wait what? What do you mean brace- "Without being able to even fully complete his sentence, Naruto was forcibly ejected from his mind with the force of a freight train, causing Kurama to chuckle in mirth. That'll teach him to insult his intoxicating aroma.

With Naruto, moments after he was ejected

"SON OF A BITCH!" The blonde could only scream in fright before slamming into the dirt, gravel and cobble flipping and turning like a thrown ragdoll (which he technically was) before landing face first into the dirt.

Groaning in pain and large discomfort, the whiskered teen could only gripe about the unfairness of it all to his companion.

'Hey, fuzzy? First, go fuck yourself. Secondly, you're an asshole. Thirdly, have I said go fuck yourself yet?' Naruto groaned to Kurama, his body still reeling from the pain of landing -more like crashing- into an incredibly uncomfortable position. The only signs he knew his tenant was listening was the deep rumble of the Biju's voice, in mirth and amusement.

Slowly getting up, all the while groaning and moaning, Naruto dusted himself off and went through a routine check of his equipment and provisions before proceeding to do anything else (something about proper Shinobi conduct as Granny Tsunade would say). Ensuring to himself that his equipment was still in top-notch, or at the very least; usable, Naruto went on to make sure he still had his weapons on him. Patting his sides, he felt the smooth brush of wood and leather signifying while he may have had a terrible landing, at least it wasn't enough to wreck his equipment. Doing a onceover, he made sure nothing else was broken or mishandled. Nodding to himself after fully checking through all his bodily possessions twice, he attempted to get a lay of the land and there was one thing that shone on him that signified he was nowhere near Konoha.

It was the feel of the forest and Mother Nature's subsequent life-energy. Back home, it would feel welcome amidst the blood and corpses of his warring people. Tapping into Sage mode would immediately allow him to be embraced my Mother Nature herself, its inhabitants and life forms flocking towards him as a source of warmth. Of comfort.

The energy he felt here? It felt twisted, but oddly welcoming enough. Almost as if Mother Nature was trying to show him that even though she holds darkness and evil within her life-forms and denizens, she still welcomed anyone who would tap into her life-energy, her very soul. For that, he was grateful, and as a sage of Mt. Myobokuzan, he promised her that he would not sully her energy with the cruel acts of humanity that seemed present everywhere he went. That was a promise of a lifetime.

Before he could do anything else however, the sounds of raucous laughs and snivelling snorts greeted his ears. Curious, he attempted to locate the source of sound and surely enough, he spotted a camp inhabited by what seemed to be the locals. Preparing himself for his first encounter, he resolved to head towards them to garner some more information about the land and to see what sort of people inhabited it.

Before he could step further, the tenant within his mind sounded, "Naruto, be careful. Those guys up ahead reek of negativity and hatred. I don't think they're very receptive of unwelcome strangers treading upon their camp. I suggest you put your skills to use and see their intentions before attempting to make contact."

Naruto agreed to his request as he nearly forgot the handy ability that came with synchronizing his body, mind and spirit with Kurama's. Breathing in deeply, he focused his mind on the surrounding aura that these people put out. Sure enough, his tenant's observation was spot-on (Ignoring the mutter of 'when is it not?') and he had decided to be cautious. Hopping onto a large, formidable tree branch, he silently leapt over the camp and landed on one of the branches that overlooked the entire camp. Peering down and seeing their rambunctious nature, and well… rather awful mannerisms, he could only conclude that these individuals were un-educated. Taking a closer look, he noticed the sharp glint of steel and iron adorning their hips and the hardened leather and chainmail that wrapped around their vital areas.

'Look like bandits to me, or at the very least, armed militia. No way are they part of any military group as they aren't uniformed nor trained enough to be recognized as one. Not to mention, no military would make a camp this deep in the woods and with such small numbers. Not unless it was a scouting party and even then, I'm pretty sure no scouting party would smell, act or look like they do.' Pushing some chakra to his ears, he tried picking out bits and pieces of their conversation but instead of getting something he could understand, all he heard was a strange and foreign tongue that he simply could not translate.

'Kurama, any idea what they're saying?' Naruto reached out to his tenant, only to get a grunt of displeasure.

"No kid, I don't. I'm in the dark as you are, we're definitely not in Konoha anymore."

Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Naruto opted to do it the old-fashioned way and approach them and hopefully try to strike up a legible conversation with them. Hopping down with the grace of a trained warrior, he softly landed on the balls of his feet, making nary a sound but the slight movement of grass. Moving towards them, he noticed some of them stopped talking in order to get a better look at him. One even stood up and started saying something, but because of the distinct language barrier, Naruto couldn't understand any of their words.

Apparently, his silence was not appreciated, and all the camps' inhabitants drew their weapons. Some had short, double edged swords while others held a small mace and leather shield in the other hand. He could see in the back there was an archer amongst their ranks too, if the quiver and bow were any obvious indication.

'Huh, guess they aren't as dumb as they look.' Naruto thought to himself.

With the bandits, moments before their encounter with Naruto

"An' I told the wench, if she want'd to live, she'd better start suckin' on me cock!" A portly man, strapped with a leather jerkin, cotton breeches and rugged boots made from hardened leather and fur with a short sword strapped to his side recalled to his comrades, causing laughter and obscene snorts to sound within their group.

"Oi boys, look, over there! Someone's coming." The man next to him suddenly cried out, causing his companions to look towards his general direction to see a young lad, who seemed to have just hit his 21st annual cycle. His hair was bizarre, a phantasmal white that reached his shoulders, defying the force that held them down to this very earth, and two bangs framing his face. His eyes were a strange shade of a stormy grey and shining amethyst. If they looked closer, they could've sworn there were overarching streaks of blue within their depths. His face was framed by odd indentations along his cheeks, making them out to be whiskers.

His outfit was perhaps even more outlandish than the man's face itself, a black headband covered his head with a long maroon red scarf covering the entire portion of his neck. He was dressed in an odd armour-set, with a hardened-leather chest that seemed to have been dipped in a burnt-orange dye while another piece of armour went over the chest-piece and was a midnight black. To finish it off, he seemed to be adorning a long white shirt covering the bottom half of his chest, completing his top half. The mans forearms were covered in sturdy, grey bracers while black gloves with red streaks adorned his hands.

To top off his entire look, he wore strangely baggy trousers, with the ends tapered off at the end and shoved into ocean-blue boots? The bandits didn't know what the hell this man was wearing for shoes, but it looked too heavy and cumbersome to be used as anything but a statement piece. Completing that, he wore a belt that crossed his hips in an X-shaped fashion, with two swords strapped to them.

With a startling realization, the bandits realized they may have bitten off more than they could chew. One of them even stepped back and hesitantly addressed his companions, "Oi, boys… I think we may have come across one of 'em Witcher blokes."

The others looked towards him and looked back towards the figure who was slowly approaching them in a non-threatening manner, causing the leader of the group to suddenly gain a mountain of courage and addressed his subordinates.

"So fuckin' what if it's a Witcher aye? It's 6 against 1 lads, even a bloody Witcher can't do nuthin'! Come on, let's rough him up!" With their leader egging them forwards, all 5 of the bandits suddenly gained a surge of confidence, causing them to cheer and draw their weapons, pointing it towards the man walking up to them.

The shielded bandit stepped up to call out to him, "Little bit lost are ye' lad?! How 'bout this ey? You strip down to your garments, leave any of your valuables with us, and maybe we just won't kill you." Cackling towards the end causing his compatriots to cackle alongside him. They didn't expect the reaction the man would give, but it surely wasn't one of confusion or boredom. He simply raised a brow and tilted his head, not deigning them with a response. The bandits were angered at the lack of response, and threateningly stepped towards him, however not even their show of force seemed to have affected him.

The man simply stood there without a care in the world. The leader of the bandits wasn't happy that he wasn't causing the man to scurry off in a hurry or cower in fear, they may not have been the most armoured, or the most numbered group of bandits, but they survived for years in White Orchard, robbing merchants and peasants crossing their roads alike. They avoided the swarm of Black Ones attempting to find them, they even managed to trick a hunter that was hired to scout them and find out their base of operations. For this, this thing to not show a sign of fear? That was the greatest insult he could think of.

Without even thinking, he gestured towards his men to spread out and surround him. 'That'll teach this sodding cunt who the real men are.' He thought angrily, grinding his teeth in increasing frustration not seeing any reaction from the man once again.

"Fuck it boys! Take him down, we'll strip his fucking dead body afterwards!" With a roar, they charged him all at once, his archer standing back looking for an opportunity to shoot him down.

If only they knew who they were going up against, then maybe they would've walked away when they had the chance.

With Naruto, moments after the Bandits attacked him

'Huh, who would've thought Bandits of all things would attack me?!' Naruto mentally raged to his tenant, causing Kurama to chuckle as he sidestepped another swing and using the mans momentum against him, swiped his own sword and tripped him directly over it causing the blade to go straight through the mans throat, eliciting gurgles and spasms of pain and death.

While he did expect these bandits to be, well… less than savoury, he didn't really expect them to outright surround him and attempt to bisect him from all sides. It was a good plan, all things considered, box the enemy in if they're alone and attack from every angle so that he has no chance of recovery. While not the most fool proof plan, it would've caught any lesser man by surprise.

However, he was no lesser man. He was a warrior. A shinobi. And if there's one thing he's always succeeded and went beyond even his own peers, was his unpredictability and tenacity of overcoming any and every obstacle laid before his path. As he reminisced about the older days, where everyone was still alive, he would've missed a sword headed towards the back of his neck if not for the timely warning by his tenant, causing him to quickly duck and spin around, catching his assailant flat-footed. Capitalizing on his surprise, Naruto struck with the force of lightning, executing a perfect knife jab to the throat, causing his attacker to drop his weapons and grab his throat in an attempt to soothe the pain and get his breathing back into order but Naruto was having none of it, and before the man could even figure out what happened, in one smooth motion, Naruto grabbed the mans head and twisted violently, snapping his neck and ending his life once and for all.

"Naruto, I want you to try something." Kurama suddenly called out to him, gaining some curiosity from him and causing him to nearly lose sight of the last bandit, whose arms were shaking from fear but his steadfast fanatical belief towards his leader shaking away and all hesitations before charging at him.

Naruto had to give it to the guy, even after seeing all his comrades die without getting a single scratch on him, he still decided to charge forward. Their leader must've been one charismatic bastard. Just for that, he would grant them a quick death. While he wish he could've prolonged their suffering (if only to show them how their victims felt) he knew he wouldn't and didn't ever have the heart for that sort of torture. That was crazy snake lady's forte more than it was his. Quickly slipping under the bandits over-extending swing, he jabbed a quick palm up to his elbow, dislocating it and with a quick tug, completely dislocated his arm and a kunai to the neck ended his life without preamble.

After dispatching of the 5-man squad that were out for his blood, he looked towards the leader, who was now drenched in sweat and his eyes were wide in fear. He slowly stalked towards his final enemy, intent on finishing this without any fanfare.

As he continued to walk towards his final enemy, he didn't forget to answer Kurama's inquiry, 'Yeah what is it fuzzbutt?'

"I want you to channel Chakra to your eyes and hand, specifically your right hand. I want to confirm something." Kurama told him, garnering even more curiosity on Naruto's end. Shrugging and deciding to do what his tenant asked, he channelled Chakra to his eyes first, causing a flare of blinding hot pain to appear before quickly receding into a more numbing pinprick.

'Gah fuck! Damnit furball, could you tell me what exactly I'll be in for before making me do it?' He raged towards his partner, causing Kurama to chortle and respond with a 'Well should've known something would happen idiot!' making Naruto concede that point to him but with a grumble.

He opened his eyes, and he didn't realize his hand (funnily enough his right one too, and it looked oddly demonic) was on the bandit leaders head, a vice-grip on it causing the man to grip his hand in an attempt to lessen the pain.

"Okay, now I want you to focus on the information you want to find out. If you're too lazy to do so, just focus on everything you need to know concerning this world and I believe the rest should do it."

'Huh, alright? But this sounds oddly like Nagato's Human Path… Furball, what exactly are you trying to make me do?' Naruto asked him, only to gain silence in response causing him to huff in indignation. Damn, after 21 years together, you'd think the bastard would deign him with a reply at least. Ungrateful asshole.

Shrugging and instead doing what his tenant asked of him, Naruto focused deep and long on what he wanted to know. What world he was in, where he was situated currently, the history, everything. He needed to know the language and its history before he could do anything else as it was a definite that he was nowhere near the Elemental Nations anymore. Hell, he was pretty sure he wasn't even in the same universe as his own. With a quick application of Chakra and an iron focus, he didn't see that his right arm was encased in a sickly purple shroud and the man in his vice grip suddenly slackened and went rigid.

Naruto was suddenly assaulted by an onslaught of memories that was definitely not his own, he learned of the world, its inhabitants, its history, everything that the man knew, he now knew. Struggling to keep his mind-numbing headache from ripping apart his head, he finally realized just what exactly he did.

'Hey, Kurama. Did I just… did I just use the Human Path?' Naruto asked, slowly as his headache was still bringing him some mild level of discomfort. Kurama only grunted in acknowledgement causing Naruto to snort. He could deal with these details later, he needed to sort himself out first before figuring out all this new information.

"Kid watch it. Two people are approaching you now, and they're coming in fast. Prepare yourself for a fight if they prove to be hostile." Kurama sounded off to him, causing Naruto to flick his head towards the tell-tale sounds of horses (if the trotting of hooves and neighs were any indication), and before he could fully face towards them, he realized they were already in front of him and dismounting. It was a duo, and they seemed to be of the same group, if their armour was any indication.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, was that a medallion shaped like a wolf? Holy shit, it was! Never mind the fact that they were equipped with two swords (much like he was) but that was an awesome ornamental piece he resolved in getting. While not as cool or classy as the necklace Granny Tsunade gave him, he didn't hesitate to admit that the Wolf medallion was a close second. Before he could fully complete his train of thought, the two men drew their swords and faced him, regarding him as a threat.

Naruto would've shouted indignantly and asked them to put it down, but then he realized the situation he was in. Surrounded by 6 dead bodies, and a demonic looking limb, he wasn't surprised that they'd react the way they would. He counted his blessings though, at least they weren't outright attacking him. Raising his arms in the universal sign of surrender, he decided to be diplomatic before any misunderstandings could occur.

"Before you attack me, just know that I was not the one to start this fight. These guys came onto me first and as an upstanding citizen of the law, I could only attack back in an act of self-defence. If anything, they were to blame for being so unnecessarily aggressive." He explained to them, and to lighten the mood, ended his statement with a humorous tone. The older of the two gave him a strange look and he could see the fragments of a small smirk trying to break through but the mans professionalism won the battle and all he could see was a grimace.

With Geralt and Vesemir, after Naruto's explanation

When Geralt and Vesemir came to the source of the explosion, they expected many things but a young man who had hair similar to Geralts with a very noticeable difference was definitely not one of them. Not to mention the state they found him in, surrounded by a bunch of dead bodies – bandits from the looks of it – and an arm that looked otherworldly, they were prepared to fight him if it came down to it.

However, the young man seemed to have understood their intentions and raised his arms in surrender, obligating them with an explanation as to why he was around a pile of bodies and that he did not make the first move. He even added in a small joke, the bugger. Geralt and Vesemir shared a significant look at each other and seemed to have a silent conversation. Ultimately Geralt gave his surrender by looking away and Vesemir nodded to himself.

Geralt only grunted, "What's your name kid? And what are you doing so far out here?"

The young blonde responded, "Name's Uzumaki Naruto! As to what I'm doing here, well honestly? I don't know. I was minding my own business before I suddenly crash landed here. I don't know if I came through a portal or something, but I can tell you this, the landing was uncomfortable as fuck."

While Geralt didn't really believe a majority of what he said, he could understand the blondes distaste towards portals. The man himself hated them with a passion, it brought feelings of discomfort and overall nausea whenever he used one. Damn finnicky magic. He didn't really want to waste time, as each wasted moment was each moment that he could be closer to finding Yennefer. Turning towards his mentor, he whispered.

"Look, I'd rather not deal with this right now. Finding Yennefer is more important, and I'd rather not take care of this kid if I had the choice to. He looks capable enough and he knows our language. Let him do his own thing yea?" Vesemir could only look at him with a strange stare.

"Geralt, my boy, surely you don't mean to tell me we should leave this young man to his devices? You've seen the circumstances he was brought here by. Just imagine what could happen if the Nilfgaardians ran into him. What would the emperor do to a man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere hm?"

Geralt grunted and knew he couldn't refute that point. As much as he hated the situation that was currently happening, he knew what might happen to the kid if Nilfgaardians came across him and if they were to capture him, god only knows what Emhyr of all people might do to him considering his circumstances.

"Fine, we'll ask if he wants to come with us. But he's your responsibility, I didn't want this. So that means you need to tell him anything he needs to know that concerns this place, but I don't need to tell you what should be kept from him understand?"

Vesemir could only sigh but nod, and turned towards Naruto, "Young… Naruto was it? How would you like to ride with us? We don't have an extra horse, but you can saddle in the back on mine and we'll take you to White Orchard and see to it that you're settled in."

They both saw the man raise a hand to his chin in thought, and as quick as that he replied, "Sure old man. However, do you mind if I asked you to do something first?"

Vesemir raised a brow in curiosity and nodded, "And what may that be?"

Naruto simply raised his fist, "I want you to bump fists with me. Nothing strange, nothing suspicious. It's just a way of transferring information between me and you. I have this feeling that you guys are much more important than you're letting on and I'm not the type of guy to keep secrets towards the people who are willing to exchange pleasantries with a man they never met but are willing to take under their wing."

Both Witchers looked at the strange gesture, and Vesemir looked perplexed at his wording. However, he decided to take the leap of faith if this young man was willing to do the same. Besides, if the man even so much as twitched towards his two swords hanging off his hips, a quick Aard or Quen would prevent him from getting too hurt. Stepping forward, he lightly tapped the end of his knuckles with Naruto's and before he could prepare himself, an onslaught of memories rushed into his head, filling him with information and knowledge he understood was Naruto's while Naruto was also facing the same predicament.

After a short while, the two separated and Vesemir could only look at Naruto tiredly, "My boy… You've gone through a lot, haven't you?"

Naruto could only grimly chuckle, "Yeah old man. The same could be said to you however. Mutations to become what you guys are now? Ostracization because these people don't understand you? An unnatural longevity in life? You guys got it just as rough, perhaps even rougher than I do."

Vesemir only grimaced in agreement, "That I can't disagree with lad. Now come, I'll explain to Geralt your origins, or if you wish, you may do what you did with me. I warn you though lad, we've done many things we wish we would've changed. Many awful things, many stupid things indeed. All I ask is that you do not judge us for who we were, but who we are now."

Naruto waved his concerns, "I've done my fair share of stupid things, and as you can tell, the dumbest thing I've done is what made me end up here Vesemir-Jiji. So, don't stress it, I understand. Both literally and figuratively."

Geralt only looked at the two of them in confusion, and as Vesemir headed towards him with the young blonde named Naruto, he didn't hesitate to ask, "What was that about?"

Vesemir gave him a look that told him he'll explain everything later. Geralt only nodded and went to strap himself onto his horse and head into the nearby village past the Ford signpost and into the Woesong bridge.

"Come on Naruto, we've got a long journey ahead of us. Hop on if you wish." Vesemir hopped onto his horse, and held a hand out towards Naruto, causing the blonde to shake his head and tell him that he was fine on foot.

"Don't worry about it Jiji. I'll be right behind you guys. Let's just get to the village and do what you guys were here for."

Vesemir only nodded and steered his horse towards the main road causing Geralt and Naruto to follow suit. And with a kick and snap on his reins, his horse kicked into a full gallop, with Geralt striding close behind and Naruto following in pursuit.

Geralt could only look back in surprise, 'Vesemirs got a whole lot of explaining to do. Damnit, I'm getting too old for this shit.'

With the sun setting behind them, and their objectives clear, they set out towards the village of White Orchard.

A/N: There we have it guys. The first chapter of my new crossover. Tell me what you think of it. I'll be sure to upload a chapter tomorrow. This will probably be my main story until I finish it and then I'll continue with my other ones, most likely Pandora's Shinobi and then Shinobi of the Elements.

UPDATE – There you have it ladies and gentlemen. Nearly 9000 words of original (mostly original content) written by me. I'm so sorry it took so long but I wanted to make sure that I fixed the dialogue and made clear where I wanted this story to go. I had to rewrite this a couple of times because I wasn't happy with the way I was proceeding with the prologue and sometimes I'd have to wipe out a few thousand words because I felt that the pacing or development of the story wasn't going the way I wanted it to.

With this however, I hope that I did a good enough job. Please don't hesitate to leave a review, as I sorely need them to improve on my writing. I hope you guys like this. As a side note, who knew that replaying the Witcher would sorely get me back into gear again? I know I said I'd update my GoT and Naruto crossover until it hit 5 chapters, but after replaying the Witcher, I couldn't help but get these fingers typing away because its such an amazing game. Please, if you guys liked this story, don't hesitate to leave your feedback. I'll also be changing the title and summary since it essentially is an entirely new story of its own.

As for pairings, I'm really leaning towards Harem. I'm trying not to get into that whole trope, but honestly the women in the world of the Witcher are beautiful and I can't help it. However, if I am going to stick with a solid pairing, it will either have to be Shani, Triss, even Francesca Findabair or Ciri. I was going to have Yennefer and Naruto but then I realized I don't think they would match well as a couple seeing as their personalities would clash too often.

Other than that, I can't say for sure when I'll be able to update the next chapter as I tend to write small paragraphs on a day-to-day basis and most of it happens when I get the motivation to do so. However, seeing as I'm replaying through the entire Witcher game once again (mods and Blood and Broken Bones difficulty) I don't think I'll have any difficulty in writing consistently. Hopefully these near 10K chapter will help soothe your guys impatience and a form of apology. Of course, I will always stride to go beyond the word count of previous chapters, but I can't promise anything.

Also, Naruto's outfit is based on a piece I saw on DeviantArt, an artist who goes by the name xCluBearx (lovely artist, I recommend you guys check her work out).

Enough of that. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys on the next one. I love you all.

Not much else to say. Private message me if you ever want to talk about things, or just ask about the status of any of my pieces of fiction.

Take care and stay safe all of you.