An Arrow Among the Flame

Chapter 1

Two hooded figures were seen walking down the road leading to great ninja village known as Konohagakure. Both seemed to be simple travelers wearing nothing more than their clothes and traveling cloaks. The shorter of the two turned to his companion. "Oi Nasu, when are we getting back home?" His companian stopped for a second and resumed walking. "It'll be coming up in about thirty minutes, Naru-chan. Stop whining so much."

The shorter of the figures pulled his hood off of his head to reveal a young boy around the age of twelve with shining blond hair and deep blue eyes. He looked at his partner with an indignant expression etched onto his face. "I told you to stop calling me that, jerk. I'm going to be a genin by the end of the week. How about a little respect for once?" The man known as Nasu removed his hood and looked over at the boy and said, "Naruto, I'll show you some respect when you get to my level. For now, you're still that little five year old brat I took with me to train." Looking over the child again, he continued, "Besides, it's not like you're hokage yet. You've only just started practicing the hard part of kyuujutsu. Now for a change of pace, let's start thinking of ways to prank those two lazy ass chunin up at the gate. They should know better than to be sleeping on the job."

Naruto turned back to the road and squinted. He still had no idea how his sensei could see that far ahead of them. Turning back to the matter at hand, he began thinking of ways to prank the people his sensei pointed out. It was a great way to pass the time and made the trip seem bearable. 'I've got it.' Tilting his head to his teacher, Naruto asked, "Hey sensei, do you have any of those paint bombs left?" The elder of two replied, " Maybe, are you going for manuver forty-two or seventy?" "Neither sensei, I was thinking of using sixty-one." Naruto replied with a smile only a fox could match. Nasu broke into a grin as well. "Well then, I might have a couple handy. What colors do you need?"

At the gates of Konoha, the two chunin guards shivered. It was as though the air itself had become oppressive. What happened next would go down in history as the guards screams ripped through the night.

Sarutobi was no fool when it came to protecting his village. For god's sakes he had both fought and led in two of the greatest wars in the history of the world. Now, in the days where he should be able to live out his life peacefully, these two idiots were back to raise hell. "I really do wish we could have met under better circumstances, but I believe you know why you're here," he told the two grinning buffoons in front of him. Naruto and Nasu were currently seated in front of the most powerful man in the shinobi world. It was like looking at a fox and a cheshire cat wearing matching grins. Sarutobi continued, "You two have not only caused two of my chunin to require mental health treatments, vandalized the wall around their gate, and dyed their hair permanently orange, but you've caused my paperwork to nearly double in under two hours of being here!" Raising his voice to a thundering roar, the hokage screamed out, "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Naruto spoke up first, " They shouldn't have been half asleep at their posts. What if an enemy ninja decided to slip past into the village?" Nasu continued in perfect synch with his student, "Besides, we gave them plenty of opportunities to wake up and dodge." The Hokage was impressed, both by how easy they took to the situation, and the logic they used. He coughed and then looked to Naruto. "Before you leave, there is a package with both the address to your new home and the keys to it. Inside you will also find a scroll containing the rules and regulations of our acadamy, as well as your schedule. Ask my secretary to get it for you. You're dismissed."

Naruto bowed low and exited the room with a grin on his face. Next the Hokage glanced over to Nasu. Looking him over, he saw that he had grown as well. Nasu looked as though he was in his twentys, standing at six foot two with light brown hair kept as a low pony tail and deep blue eyes. It was uncanny how closely he resembeled one of the teachers at the acadamy. If only the man would put his hair in a higher pony tail. "Well now Nasu," Sarutobi spoke, "It's high time you told me how the trip went. Besides, you still haven't given me an answer to our last discussion."

Nasu crossed the room to view out of the window. He admitted that while wandering around the world had much excitement, it still couldn't compare to the view before him. In the night, the city istelf looked like many of the festivals he had come across. "You know old man, it might just be time for me to finally settle down. I've seen many things in my life that even those triple my age would be jealous of. Provided that I get some bonuses to sweeten the deal." Looking over his shoulder at the kage, he continued, " Jounin rank, exclusive rights to Naruto if I take a team, and one other item. Now if you don't mind I'm a bit tired and need to catch up to my student." Pulling out a folder from his cloak, Nasu tossed it on the desk and walked toward the door. "Good luck with the paperwork," he called over his shoulder as he exited the room.

The hokage walked over to his desk and froze as he was about to pick up the folder Nasu had put on his desk. He had to read it's title twice to make sure that it was right.

'Intent of Adoption of Naruto Uzumaki Signed By Nasu Soreya'

AN: Well here's the first chapter. Leave any thoughts or criticisms in a review.

Terms:
Kyuujutsu: Archery

About Nasu:
Nasu was based off of a famous samurai by the name of Nasu no Yoichi. A good way to picture him would be to take Iruka, remove his facial scar, have his hair reach to his upper back, and change his eye color to a dark sapphire blue color. I'll probably use the similarity to comedic effect later. More about Nasu's personality and past (including how Naruto came to travel with him) will be revealed next chapter.