A/N: And now, a new cross for a new year.

Happy New Year y'all!

Anyway, I decided to try a new Naruto cross to see if anyone had a sense of nostalgia…or if they really just liked my work.

In any case, this pilot episode will be short as usual, but it'll pick up at later chapters when I get more reviews.

So do please read and review, would you kindly?

And keep it classy!

…

[Unknown Location, towards the end of the Sengoku Basara]

The air was filled with the quiet murmur from the congregation of shinobi gathered together. Standing in the center of the gathering were two men; one wore a high-collared charcoal-gray overcoat tied up with a beige sash over a pair of pants that ballooned around his ankles. The long, black mane behind his head was tamed in such a manner as to be presentable, as his onyx-colored eyes surveyed the entire area. The banner he stood in front of was a red and white gunbai against an indigo background.

His counterpart wore an off-white haori and hakama over a greenish-gray kimono. His skin was slightly darker from spending more time outdoors, which contrasted with the white hachimaki that held up his long, well-groomed hair. He had a stylized vajra emblazoned upon his hachimaki, and on the back of his haori; even the purple banner he stood by flew the vajra.

"What are we waiting for, Hashirama?" asked the man in black.

"Ashina said that he'd sent for someone to oversee these proceedings, Madara," answered the man in white, "Someone he knew and trusted above all others and was neutral to both our clans. We're waiting for him to show up, before we can legitimately begin the ceremony…otherwise, anything we do now could be null and void if we don't have a third, impartial party."

Whatever Madara had to say was cut short when he heard a terrified gasp coming from the crowd, which had earned his attention as well as that of Hashirama and his own; upon seeing who it was that had just arrived, both men found themselves trembling in their sandals. The newcomer was a man with shoulder-length hair in his mid- to late-thirties that was dressed in a solid black kimono and formal haori, and a dark blue hakama. The balloon flower kamon that was embroidered twice on the shoulders and chest of his haori, and once on the back were an indication that he came from a clan, and the fact that he wore a katana at all marked him as a samurai. The man carried himself with an air of nobility as he walked past the parting crowd, but both of them could see the grace of a trained and experienced fighter in his step.

"It's Samanosuke," whispered one shinobi, unable to contain his terror.

"That's Akechi Samanosuke?" asked another shinobi under his breath.

"What's he doing here?"

The fear that everyone felt at the samurai was understandable. In the chaos of the Sengoku Basara, a phrase was coined in honor of the three names that stood above all others in the conflict: "among shinobi, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama; among samurai, Akechi Samanosuke." Akechi Hidemitsu, better known by his courtesy name Samanosuke, was born to the now-defunct Akechi samurai clan and raised and mentored by his uncle Mitsuhide. Throughout his time in the war, he'd made a name for himself as quite possibly the single deadliest samurai in the world, a reputation earned by surviving many different brushes with death and cutting down many enemies. Tales of his deeds and battles had traveled throughout the continent, earning him the fear of even the most ruthless and bloodthirsty of shinobi. After his triumphant battle against both Madara and Hashirama, nobody ever dared to try their luck against him, as his rampages often ended with a trail of bodies as he chased down the offender.

As the samurai named Samanosuke came to a stop in front of the two men before bowing from the waist. "I apologize for the intrusion, but I've been asked to come these proceedings," he said, standing back up.

Hashirama looked at the samurai with disbelief in his eyes. "You're the one that Ashina called for?"

"Ashina and I have known each other for quite some time," Samanosuke answered, as he sat in seiza, "Knowing you two, I think he called for me specifically to make sure everything goes off without a hitch."

"And he chose the right man for the job," Madara snarked, "I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill us on the spot."

At this, Samanosuke turned to glare at Madara. "There has been more than enough blood spilt in this senseless conflict already, Uchiha. Hasn't your clan earned itself a respite after Nobunaga?"

Every shinobi present shivered at the name that was mentioned. Oda Nobunaga was an extremely ruthless samurai warlord who killed anyone that got in the way of his ambitions, including women and children (doubly so if they were chakra-wielders). Such was his influence and power that the daimyō of every country rallied their forces to bring him down, only to fail at every end━on top of being a very charismatic leader, Nobunaga was also a strong and skilled swordsman. In the end, Samanosuke would defeat the ambitious tyrant in single combat while Honnoji Temple burned around them during Mitsuhide's rebellion, cementing his reputation as one of the deadliest fighters in the continent.

"I'm not here to open old wounds," said Samanosuke, "I'm here to help ensure this peace treaty goes through so that we can all begin to heal."

Hashirama nodded in agreement as he regarded his Uchiha counterpart. "Indeed, this violence between our clans has gone on long enough; it must come to an end if there is to be a future for all of us. If I can set aside past grudges for the sake of peace, then perhaps you can too."

"I agree, Hashirama," Madara answered, "It's time we end this senseless violence."

Both men reached for each others' hands to shake. "Then as of today, let there be peace between our clans!" Hashirama announced, earning a round of applause from the gathering of shinobi.

…

[Konohagakure no Sato, generations later]

The hustle and bustle of village life had filled the air as a monk walked the streets of Konohagakure no Sato, taking in the sights. He wore the white kimono and black haori of the clergy, a pair of off-white gray hakama tied around his calves, a wreath of teal-colored prayer beads, and a sandogasa with slits for his eyes. In his hand, he carried a shakujo with a small, brass head and rings atop a slender, octagonal shaft as long as he was tall.

As he walked, the monk took in the sights of the Konohagakure no Sato. It had been many years since he'd last set foot in this village, back when he was still samurai; it was still a fledgling then, but held much promise. "Madara, you already had everything you needed to start anew," he lamented with a sigh, "Why throw it all away?"

While the peace treaty between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara ended the violence between the clans, war still raged between countries. Given human nature, it was to be expected that conflict was inevitable; there had already been two Shinobi World Wars and a good number of small skirmishes in between, but at least the situation was better than the losses incurred in the Sengoku Basara.

So lost was he in his thoughts that he'd barely noticed someone calling out to him. "What out!"

The monk had paused mid-step to watch as someone had bumped into him. The person that bumped into him was a lad with a mess of spiky, sun-kissed hair atop his head and three whisker-marks on each cheek. He wore an orange tracksuit jacket with three stripes running along the sleeves, and the hitai-ate that tamed his hair flew the Konoha crest on the metal plate, making him a genin.

"Sorry about that, dattebayo," said the boy, as the monk studied him, "I'm on a mission, and…"

"There she is!" cried out a girl, "Get her, Naruto-baka!"

No sooner than she said that as a brown, striped cat with a red bowtie ran across his field of vision, the blond boy pouncing and missing by a hair's length. Before the boy could stop his quarry from fleeing, the desperate cat climbed up the monk's haori, hoping to use him as a springboard to facilitate her escape only to be caught with his free arm and hugged against his chest. As the cat struggled in his grip, he held his shakujo in his elbow before petting the cat on the head, gently hushing her with every stroke until she started purring.

Not too long after he'd placated the cat, two more children had arrived: an Uchiha girl with shoulder-length hair, and a pinkette with her long hair held up with her hitai-ate. The three of them seemed to be rippling with a certain energy he'd not seen in a long time. Though the boy of the group seemed somewhat familiar to the monk.

"Y-you caught her," the pinkette stammered, "And she's behaving?"

The monk smirked in amusement as he stroked the cat's fur. "A genin team to catch a cat? Is there something I'm missing here?"

"That's no ordinary cat, dattebayo!" the blond fired back, "That little devil is Madam Shijimi's cat Tora; she's so smart and sneaky that no less than three teams are needed to catch her!"

"I take it this is your first mission?" asked the monk.

"No, this is the tenth time we've been given this mission!" answered the pinkette.

The monk laughed. "I suppose you'll need my help taking her back then."

The Uchiha girl let out a nonchalant 'hn.' "Yeah, whatever."

The four of them walked down the street, with the monk holding the cat in his arm while stroking her fur as they came up to a broom-haired shinobi with a single eye covered up with his hitai-ate. Looking at the way the man carried himself, the monk was not fooled by the way he was giggling like an idiot to what was obviously a smut novel. "We're back, Kakashi-sensei!"

The shinobi looked back at the four of them. "Was it so bad that you got a monk to read you your last rites?"

"Hey, we tried, dattebayo!" Naruto fired back, "Besides, we ran into him, and he happened to be there help us!"

Kakashi looked back at the monk, sizing him up with his single eye. "Thanks for helping my students."

"It's no problem," admitted the monk, "I'm always happy to help."

"Uchiha Setsuka."

"Haruno Sakura."

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato!"

The monk quirked an eyebrow upon hearing the boy's name before bowing from the waist. "A pleasure to meet you all."

…

[Hokage's office, twenty minutes later]

"You've done better than I'd expected," said the Hokage, pressing a button on a metal stopwatch, "And you've gotten faster, too."

"Well, they got help," Kakashi said, indicating towards the monk in the room as he kept his eye on his smut.

The Hokage looked at the monk with an appraising eye, while Iruka did the same. Judging by well-muscled form under his kimono, he couldn't be older than his early thirties, and yet the tail of white hair that trailed behind his head under his sandogasa suggested otherwise. Still, there was something familiar about this monk that he couldn't place. He heaved a sigh before turning towards Iruka sitting at the desk next to him. "Send her in, Iruka."

"Right away, Hokage-sama."

As quickly as he'd been ordered, Iruka pressed a button on his desk, allowing a portly woman into the room. She had a joyous expression on her face as she rushed the monk, quickly grabbing the cat from his arms, "TORA!" screeched a portly woman, tightening her arms around the cat's body, "Mama was so worried!"

The shinobi team and the monk watched as the woman (apparently Madam Shijimi) strangled the poor cat in her arms. The Hokage and Kakashi appeared unconcerned by the whole ordeal, though his genin team had smug grins on their faces at the cat's fate…though the monk had a more sympathetic expression on his face for poor Tora.

"Forgive my intrusion, madame, but you are hurting your cat," began the monk, getting everyone's attention, "I'm sure that Tora knows you love her, but you are squeezing her too hard. Please consider her feelings when showing your affections."

The noblewoman looked at her cat, and noticed her desire to escape from her master's grip. The woman sighed in resignation before regarding the monk with a grateful expression. "I thank you for your advice, Sir Monk," she finally said, "I'll be gentle with my cat from now on."

As Madam Shijimi left the room, the gathered shinobi in the room looked at the monk with no small amount of shock. "Well, that's one guaranteed source of income denied," the Iruka noted, before turning his attention back to Kakashi's genin team, "Anyway, what do you guys want to do? I've got weeding the Yamanaka's flower garden, walking the Inuzuka dogs…"

"No way, dattebayo!" Naruto declared, "I've had enough of these glorified chores!"

"Naruto, watch yourself!" Iruka fired back, "These missions are set at a level for a reason…!"

"He's actually right, Iruka," interrupted the Hokage, "He needs to get to that higher-ranked mission eventually…may as well let him have that chance. The only question is, do you think they're ready, Kakashi?"

"I suppose they are," Kakashi answered, turning a page in his book.

"Excellent," replied the elder, turning his attention back to Iruka, "Send him in."

Iruka nodded, and pressed the button on his desk, allowing an old man to enter. He wore a tall, conical straw hat on his head, and he appeared to be putting on some weight. "Tazuna, this is Team Seven," began the Hokage, "They'll be escorting you back to Nami no Kuni."

The old man snorted. "Great, all that money I spent and I get a bunch of kids."

"The mission is simple," explained the Hokage, "You are to escort Tazuna back to Nami no Kuni, and you will be serving as his bodyguard while he completes his bridge. You have the rest of the day to prepare for a mission outside the village. Don't disappoint me."

"We won't Hokage-jiji!" Naruto chirped, as Team Seven left the office with Tazuna in tow, leaving the monk alone with the Hokage and Iruka.

"If I may interject, Hokage-sama," said the monk, "I would like to tag along."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow at the monk. "And why would I do that?"

"For my own curiosity," answered the monk, lifting the brim of his sandogasa, "I'd like to see how a shinobi team performs. You don't have to pay me, and I'll be responsible for my own safety."

Thinking on the monk's offer, the Hokage heaved a sigh. "Very well. But do know that we're not responsible for anything that happens to you on this mission…"

"Tenkai," answered the monk, "Nankōbō Tenkai."

…

A/N: Let's hope that those of you who have a sense of nostalgia knows the identity of the monk…though the way I see it, if Samanosuke were ever to exist in Naruto-verse, I'd say he'd be their equivalent to John Wick. If John Wick were a nobleman (yes, Samurai are technically nobility) that can absorb and gain power from souls of the dead.

In any case, your reviews will tell me if this is a tale worth pursuing.