“No you must not!” a nurse loudly said her concern on her patient who was forcibly doing pushups once again. She just left to get his breakfast when she returned and found her patient pushing his badly injured body beside his bed.

“Please be quiet for a bit!” Lee screamed in frustration as his body refused to even lift his body once. Something that never even happened once, no matter how sick he got in the past.

“Lee-kun! Please stop this! Your body isn’t-”

“I-I will never give up!” extreme pain and joint weakness was already forcing him to stop. The last ditch effort by his body to stop hurting itself. He gritted his teeth, trying to endure the pain. “I will… haaa… never… never….give up!”

Even just one…

Just one lift!

To prove that there’s still a chance!

He was told three days ago that his body would have no chance of regaining his former health. The damage on his bones and flesh were at critical level that any surgery done on him could result on his death. His only choice is to give up from being a shinobi. The days after that have become his most desperate and helpless days of his life. His friends would visit daily including his teachers, wishing him well. Providing him with morale support that he needed to pass such trial in his life.

So he would not allow himself to disappoint their good will!

Come on! My body!

We can do this!

…

Don’t… fail me now!

…

“Guuuhh…” But his arms have no strength at all.

Is this it… for me?

Tears suddenly poured from his eyes.

However, that all stopped when something heavy fell on his back and caused him to shriek in pain. The nurse herself screamed in shock and extreme concern on what happened.

“LEE!!!! I HAVE SOMETHING THAT CAN-” a blond boy wearing some orange colored overall, appeared from his window and unknowingly stepped on his lying back.

“Sorry?” the boy only scratched his head while smiling like he just made a prank.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

“Months?” Beta whined.

Conrad sighed. After the boy had left with his potions and Jiraiya had departed for a mission or whatever, he had decided to go give the news to his students. It was going about as well as he thought it would.

“Yes, Beta. We’ll be here for quite a while.”

“But Master… why?” Sven asked. “We can escape here if we wanted to, if they will not allow us to return.”

“Yes, Master!” Beta said. “Can’t we just go home?”

Conrad raised an eyebrow.

“Might I remind you I wasn’t the one who smuggled all three of you onto that ship?”

Beta and Sven flushed and Ta’Sava’s ears flicked as he looked away.

“Months without seeing the moons…” the Khajiit whispered to himself.

“Is your Shinobi friend alright with the idea of having us live in his house for months?” Sven asked, ignoring Ta’Sava’s distress. It took Conrad a moment to realize he meant Inoichi.

“I’m going to speak with him about it later,” he said curtly. Inoichi wasn’t a friend. He was an acquaintance at best, one that had allowed them to crash at his house. And occasionally, a drinking buddy. “I wanted to get you used to the idea that we’ll have to stay here for a while.”

“What about the ship? What would Captain Edyval say?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine, probably better than us.” Conrad would bet that the old smuggler was putting those formerly-gold coins he had been left with to good use.

“Still, what are we supposed to do here until we can leave?” Sven asked. “We’ll have been absent from the Winterhold College for nearly two semesters by then.”

"We're the first people from Tamriel to reach Akavir in centuries, and you worry about some lost lessons?"

"Actually, Master Conrad... your brother was the first person to get here from Tamriel in centuries," Beta pointed out.

“He doesn’t count. He was raised as an Akaviri,” Conrad quickly replied, because that was the way things worked and Minato wasn’t going to one-up him from the grave on this.

“As fascinating as this is, our lack of academic exposure is taking its toll,” Sven cut in. “I understand that you wanted to show the locals alchemy, but we need to learn something else.”

“Ta’Sava doesn’t want to help with another alchemy lecture,” the Khajiit declared, crossing his arms. At that, the three students voiced their agreement, doing their best to be respectful but at the same time not hiding the fact that Conrad had been slacking.

He had been very busy between being captured by shinobi, killing other shinobi and teaching the shinobi that had captured him how people on Tamriel survived from being stabbed to death.

Oh, and there was the fact that he had found out about the boy. Which was a big deal.

So he had all the excuses in the world to counter any expectations of a trio of stowaways that had thought that following the freaking Dovahkiin for an adventure would be a great learning experience.

He had done his best to keep them safe anyway. And failed at it.

“You’re right,” he admitted.

“But Master, we—” Sven wound himself up, ready to argue for the sake of his fellow students, before blinking. “What?”

“You’re right,” Conrad repeated. Teaching them could always be good practice for dealing with the boy in the long run. “There hasn't been much time to spend on giving you actual lessons, but that stops today.”

“For real?” Beta asked, in a tone that expressed her and her fellow students’ incredulity.

“You’re my responsibility,” he said, even if he had never asked to be responsible for anyone. “I believe that includes teaching you. Let’s start with some theory... By tomorrow I expect a detailed list of all the spells you’re able to cast, along with a summary of your knowledge and a list of classes you took at the Winterhold College before you joined mine.”

There was a brief moment of silence as the trio registered this. “Are you giving us homework?” Sven finally asked for all of them.

“You’re the ones asking me to teach you,” Conrad replied with a thin smile. Besides, it gave him time to figure out what to actually teach them, how and where.

He was wondering if he could ask Inoichi where he could have a small class when the door to the room exploded inward. Conrad only saw a green blur before he was hit by a figure that latched onto him. Instead of being grappled to the ground as he was expecting, Conrad found himself in the most bone-crushing hug he had ever experienced.

"YOU’VE RESTORED MY STUDENT'S SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!" the man crushing him shouted, almost deafening Conrad. It was the crazy Shinobi that had attacked him in the hospital, covering his shirt with tears and babbling something about youth and friends helping each other. It was too fast for Conrad to really understand.

Unsure what to do, the Nord patted the shinobi's back. He seemed to need it.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

There had been much celebration, at least from the man and his apprentice, who had apparently been hurt badly during that tournament Konoha had hosted. Conrad had mostly witnessed said celebration and boasting, a lot of it actually, that had ensued after he was half-guided, half-dragged by the green-clad Shinobi to the hospital.

There were talks about training, thankful hugs to Naruto, swearing to do what sounded like impractical feats of strength or skill and a lot of emphasis on someone’s young age for some reason.

Said boisterous celebrations were put to a halt when they were all gently kicked out by the healers: kicked out because they didn’t seem to like the noise but gently because they seemed to be happy that the injured lad wasn’t hurt anymore.

As soon as they were all out of the main door, though, the enthusiasm was back stronger than before. After expressing their infinite gratitude once again, the duo declared that they had a lot of time to make up for and sprinted into a full-speed run.

Conrad and the boy remained there for a bit, the Nord still a bit confused by the man’s antics while Naruto looked like someone had gifted him a bunch of puppies and kittens. Only after the two running Shinobi disappeared at the end of the street Conrad slowly started to walk back towards Inoichi’s place.

"Boy?" he asked while glancing down.

"Yes, Uncle?"

"It's good that you wanted to help your friend."

"Yeah, I'm glad it worked out, too!"

"The next time, though, ask before just getting some potions and forcing someone to drink them," Conrad reprimanded him. Sure, it had been one of his most powerful healing potions, but what if it hadn’t been?

"I didn't force Lee to drink them..." Naruto mumbled while turning down the wrong street.

"Boy, where are you going?" Conrad asked, stopping.

Naruto turned around to look at him, then took a look at the street. "I'm, uh... my house is that way."

Conrad stared for a moment, before speaking up. “I thought we were going to have dinner at Inoichi’s place.”

“Yeah, uh… about that… I have to wake up early for a mission.”

“A mission?” Conrad wondered.

“Nothing fancy, just a D-Rank… but we have to be there very early. I’ll just eat some ramen and then go to sleep.”

“I see.”

“Hey, what if we go eat ramen at Ichiraku’s after my mission?” Naruto asked, his mood brightening at the idea.

“Sure,” Conrad said softly. He didn’t care much for that soup, but the boy seemed to like the idea of spending time together.

“Awesome! See you tomorrow!” Naruto told him, waving farewell.

Conrad watched him go before walking down the way to the Yamanaka house again. He felt relief that the boy didn’t have to take any risks, at least for now, but he couldn’t help to feel disappointed.

What was the point of having a family if you couldn’t have dinner together?

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

“You want a what?!” Inoichi asked after he had finished choking on his rice.

“I said that I want a place to stay,” Conrad repeated after checking his ever-expanding inner dictionary. “For me, for them… and the boy.”

“But the security concerns! This is a terrible—”

“I think that’s a lovely idea!” the Yamanaka lady said enthusiastically. Conrad smiled at the unexpected ally. Even if it was just to not have him squatting in her living room anymore.

“But honey—” Inoichi objected, only to be interrupted by a glare from his wife. The Shinobi groaned. “... I’ll speak to the Hokage about it.”

“Good,” Conrad nodded before turning his attention back to his meal.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

“Well, here we are,” Inoichi said, holding the door open. Conrad stood by the entrance while Naruto went exploring.

Not that there was much to explore. The place was… not small, but smaller than Breezehome back in Whiterun. Definitely dustier for sure, and almost bare of furniture from what he could see.

It was also underground, with an entrance on the side of the mountain. It was a bit out of the city proper, but not as isolated as the shack on the top had been. The clearing that served as a yard out front was nice, though. Plenty of space to let the magelings throw spells around. No fireballs though, that would be bad with all those trees.

And a nice, sturdy door that could be closed from the inside, Conrad noted.

“There’s a little bathroom in the back, and a study over there,” Inoichi helpfully told them. “With Tenzo’s help we could add a couple extra rooms.”

Ah, yes. The woodmancer. Conrad was pretty sure he and some of his masked friends were hiding in the trees outside.

“How come nobody lives here?” he asked.

“Because it belonged to Minato.”

“What?!” Naruto cried out, running back into the room. “My parents lived here?!”

“No, this place was just a safehouse he used. We found it and a few others thanks to that jutsu—”

“Spell,” Conrad corrected. Or at least he hoped he did. He and the only other three wizards in the immediate area were mostly guessing that was the right translation.

“Thanks to that spell your uncle used to find his way here,” Inoichi finished, nonplussed by the correction. “Your parents had a place back in the village—”

“City,” Conrad said automatically.

“Village,” the Shinobi said with a glare, before turning to the boy once again, his eyes softening. “I’m afraid that their house was destroyed by the Kyuubi.”

Naruto looked down and nodded. Conrad could tell it hurt, but it was an old hurt. He knew the feeling.

“You said that there are other safehouses?” he asked.

“Yes, but this is the only one we could move you into.”

“Why?”

“It’s the only one with a bathroom.”

“Fair,” Conrad admitted. Those paper rolls were lifechangers, he didn’t know how he could survive without it once he was back in Tamriel. He’d bring back a lifetime’s supply with him if he had to.

He went to check the studio. It was a little room, almost bare. Only a desk, a chair, some empty shelves and a small bed in a corner. All he needed for himself. The idea of sleeping in the same room his brother had used was strange, though.

“The place is cool,” said Naruto, appearing at his side. “I mean, there are no windows and it’s underground, but it’s cool.”

“I’m used to staying underground.”

“Really? Are cities in Skyrim underground?”

“Not exactly, I just don’t mind it,” Conrad said without elaborating. Years and years of spelunking into tombs and lost cities had pretty much killed any trace of claustrophobia he may have ever had. “Did you find a room you like?”

“A room I like?”

“You’re moving here, boy.”

“Moving—you mean with you?!” Naruto asked, mouth agape.

“If you want to. I know that there are no windows, but if you need some fresh air you can just go outside—”

“No! I mean, yes—I don’t need windows!” the boy quickly said in rapid succession, before calming down for a second. “Yes, sure. I’d like to.”

“Then go call the Shinobi carpenter. After he’s done, pick a room for yourself.”

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

The woodmancer had, in the end, added four rooms in total and had thrown in a few chairs and tables to furnish the place. It had taken just a few moments. Honestly, that man was wasted as a Shinobi. He had missed his calling.

Some of the other masked shinobi had installed those lights the Akaviri used and the safe house had been deemed ready for them to move in.

Not that there were many things that needed moving in. The boy honestly owned more than Conrad and his apprentices combined.

Which was why Conrad had no idea why he had even agreed to put up with this.

"Where should we put these, Harissen-san?" one of Naruto's little friends asked way too cheerfully for someone carrying his alchemy equipment.

Conrad pointed towards the study with a grunt, watching her go on her merry way. He turned around to make sure nothing was being mishandled only to be nearly smacked in the face by a mattress his nephew and the other boy were carrying.

"Sorry Uncle," Naruto said without missing a beat, still moving to one of the bedrooms. "Watch where you're turning, Sasuke!"

"You're the one that has to turn, idiot," the other genin grumbled as the mattress slammed against a chair, making it fall over.

Clearly the smartest among the three was dealing with the fragile things. That was reassuring.

"I can't believe that I have to pay the boy to help to move his own things," he grumbled as he went to check the rest of the stuff outside.

"You're paying all of us, Harissen-san. But don’t worry, we gave you a family discount," the girl told him as she came back to the common room. “You could’ve asked your genin, you know.”

“They’re not genin,” he muttered. “And they’re busy buying a few things back in town—”

“Wait, on their own?”

“Inoichi’s daughter offered to take them,” Conrad shrugged, going outside to pick more things from the boxes the boy had brought from his old apartment.

Many of which, at a close examination, seemed to contain ramen cups.

“Where’s Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto asked as he came out of the entrance along with his friend.

“Maybe he got lost on the road of life again,” the girl, Sakura, muttered. “I swear he was just behind us.”

Were all the teachers in Konoha this absent? Sometimes Conrad wondered how Naruto learned anything at all.

He grabbed the boxes that didn't have pre-packaged food and looked at the sun, squinting his eyes. Almost noon. As soon as his apprentices returned they would all have lunch together.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

Sasuke was trying to enjoy a lunch break during the most useless D-Rank mission Team 7 had ever been assigned.

The rest of the foreigners had come back from their shopping trip, bringing with them a armfuls of purchases that they'd have to move in later. Strangely enough, there were several barrels of honey among the things they had bought. Which their teacher, Naruto’s uncle, seemed to be very happy with. Sasuke didn’t even know that honey was sold in barrels too.

He probably liked sweet things, Sasuke decided.

It wasn't as strange as what had happened when they had come back, Ino in tow for who knows why. Sasuke had been sure he would have to spend lunch being bothered by both Sakura and Ino, but for some reason, the Yamanaka girl had marched straight up to his teammate, babbling something about the foreigner girl knowing nothing about... something. Sasuke wasn't sure. Which seemed to confuse and shock Sakura, who asked if it was true.

It apparently was true, and this had prompted Sakura and Ino to join forces and all but kidnap the slightly-older girl to do some "emergency shopping" and saying something about needing Hinata and Tenten's help too.

Girls, Sasuke decided, were weird.

He had hoped that with their departure he would've been able to eat in peace, but his other teammate had decided otherwise.

"But why not? I like orange!” Naruto protested.

“You can have all the orange you want, in your room,” Naruto's uncle said with a frown. Sasuke understood. Orange wouldn't look good in an underground room anyway.

“Maybe I will!”

“Fine, but you’ll have to paint it yourself,” the older blond declared with a final tone.

Naruto said something about having plenty of experience when it came to painting things, but Sasuke wasn't listening anymore. He found he was no longer hungry for some reason.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

When the boy had left their new home in the morning, Conrad had been digging a hole in the ground right by the door. He had things to do that required a dark place to reach full maturation.

Naruto had asked why they even needed to dig a basement when they could ask that AN—something that held power over wood. He had briefly lectured the boy about the necessity of doing the important things yourself, or making your apprentices do them with supervision. He had even allowed them to use magic. Wizards should be able to be creative with the spells at their disposal.

The boy must have thought that he was about to ask for his help too because he suddenly remembered that he had to do something back in the city. Too bad, a dozen or two of those clones of his would've helped a lot.

By the middle of the afternoon they were finished, the foundations were stable enough. It just needed a better entrance but he could work on it later.

He prepared a fire in the clearing out front and began making calculations in his mind. They had all the clean water they needed (Akaviri bathrooms were truly a marvel of engineering), large pots, empty or soon to be empty jars and barrels, and plenty of alchemical tools that could be temporarily repurposed for the cause. Not to mention a multitude of fruit and spices if he decided to be creative and experiment a little.

Maybe he would even share some. Maybe. Only time and his mood would tell.

"Bring me all the honey," he ordered his apprentices. It was time to brew some mead.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

Jiraiya had been disappointed by Naruto’s decision to remain in Konoha instead of following him on his important mission that may or may not have had a bit of sightseeing mixed in.

It had been a week since he’d left Konoha and he still couldn’t believe it.

He had planned to take the genin on a trip, teach him a jutsu or two, maybe help him control the Kyuubi when he was a bit older. Jiraiya still planned to make him his apprentice, just like Minato had been!

Conrad’s presence might make it difficult, though. Naruto had gotten attached to him like a freshly hatched duckling, and the older man had grown fiercely protective of him just as quickly. Thankfully, when Jiraiya had departed, the Nord had at least seemed to be willing to give Jiraiya a chance. The Toad Sage wasn’t going to let it go to waste if he had anything to say about it.

Still, as dismayed as he was at having to search for Tsunade-hime on his own, he had to admit that it allowed him to move faster. That, and to check on shadier sources than he had planned to, some of which he’d not have taken a kid into.

“So, where were we?” he asked the terrified loan shark as he tossed the last goon onto the pile of groaning bodies. “I think you were saying just how much money Senju Tsunade borrowed from you before skipping town…”

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

After a whole day of D-ranks and other overly-glorified chores, Naruto had walked half the way to his apartment, only to remember too late that he lived on the other side of the village now.

Mortified, he had quickly doubled back, but he couldn’t help but stop to look at his old apartment from the end of the street. Sure, it had been small and it was lonely and kinda crappy, but it had been his. It felt weird not living there anymore.

Shaking his head, he kept going. The road to his dad's safehouse was a bit longer and he had wasted so much time by going the wrong direction that he was sure to be late for dinner.

He opened the door, only to be overwhelmed by an onslaught of smells. Naruto froze on the threshold. For some reason, his legs refused to move. The table was set, his uncle was standing in the middle of the kitchen by the entrance, stirring something in a pan while mumbling what sounded like a song. The scene just looked so… foreign, to him.

He forced himself to step inside, his uncle’s humming stopped as he heard Naruto closing the door.

"Welcome back," Conrad greeted him.

Naruto felt a lump in his throat when he heard that. He had honestly forgotten for how long he had daydreamed about someone saying those words to him. Day after day, he had come home to an empty apartment. But now...

He must have been staring for a while because his uncle turned towards him with a concerned expression. "Boy, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Naruto forced himself to speak. "You didn't eat yet?"

"We were waiting for you," his uncle answered. Naruto felt the lump turn into warmth, and a smile formed on his face.

They had waited for him! The only person who had waited for him for dinner in his life had been Iruka-sensei, and almost always at the Ichiraku ramen stand.

How could he have missed his old, empty apartment?

"Don't just stand there, go wash your hands and come help me," Conrad told him, interrupting his thoughts. Nothing could ruin Naruto's mood now, though. Not even his uncle's grumpiness!

"Where are the others?" Naruto asked, taking off his sandals and noticing that the three apprentices' shoes were not by the door.

"I sent them to buy something for dessert."

Dessert?! Naruto wouldn't say no to that.

He didn’t know how long this living situation would last, but he was definitely going to make the most of it.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

It had been a few days since Naruto had moved in with his uncle and it had been odd at first, living with other people, but he was slowly adjusting. To the new bedroom, to waking up hearing other people in the house, being woken up by the other people in the house... he also had to admit that he missed his window.

Naruto still wasn’t sure how he felt about living with his uncle’s students under the same roof. He enjoyed the constant company and the stories about the place they were from, but they took a lot of his uncle’s attention and time.

Not that he was jealous! He knew that his uncle had to train them, being their teacher… he didn’t really get how their team really worked, though. They didn’t seem to have ranks, but he had been told, multiple times, that there were no shinobi in Tamriel.

They seemed to train differently, too. For example, today his uncle made them sit outside and they seem to mostly be… talking and listening. Mostly listening. As if it were a class. There was even a blackboard.

That was just odd. He knew that things worked differently where they were from, but why would they need classes? They were older than him.

He couldn’t help but watch them though. It was the language, mostly. It sounded completely different from what he was used to… not that he could understand anything except their names, of course. But it had a different… flow. A strange mixture of musical-like sounds with the occasional grunting or harsh one, although Naruto couldn’t tell if that was normal or if it was his uncle speaking like that because he was a huge grump. It explained their accents though, he had spent a few days thinking that they were mispronouncing his name on purpose.

He wondered if he could learn it, but his uncle didn’t sound like a patient teacher. At least, based on all the arguing—or at least what sounded like arguing—he was doing with his students.

With that thought in mind, Naruto turned and headed towards his training. He was late, of course, but no later than Kakashi-sensei would be.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

After one hour of theory—he didn’t care if they already knew it, he was going to explain it again until he was sure they wouldn’t blow off their hands—Conrad had allowed the three novice wizards to practice using large rocks as targets.

Lighting bolt after lighting bolt was shot from the teenagers’ hands while he supervised. Every once in a while one of them would stop, clearly out of magicka. Then, after recuperating, they would start again. If one of them made any mistakes Conrad would correct them, but they learned quickly.

“Master, we’ve been at this for hours… do we have to keep going?”

“It has only been two hours, Beta. If you feel tired, there are some magicka potions in the basket,” he said, gesturing to the vials full of blue liquid.

“Yes, but... can’t you teach us something more advanced?” she asked after blasting the rock at the end of the clearing one more time.

“More advanced?” Conrad wondered. He was teaching them how to throw lightning bolts, wasn’t that advanced enough?

“I mean, yes, we didn’t know this spell but it’s not exactly more difficult than what a beginner would learn and… we want to get better,” she said, fidgeting a little. Her two friends were listening, having stopped their own casting.

Get better, Conrad wondered. They were throwing more magic around than what he would’ve dreamed of doing back when he was their age, and they wanted more. Sure, maybe they could even handle more complex spells, but he didn’t like the idea of teaching those to someone that hadn’t proved they could handle it safely. It was probably another sign that he was getting older.

He needed to figure out a way to hammer that particular lesson into their heads. Still, he needed to give them a goal to strive for.

Another lightning bolt struck the rocks, this time starting from Conrad’s own hand. Instead of leaving a faint burn trace on the stone, though, there was a crackling noise for a couple of seconds before it detonated in a massive ball of electricity.

When the magelings stopped covering their eyes, he spoke. “You want to learn spells like that one? Then you have to improve. A lot. Keep casting the one I taught you at the rocks.”

“... there are no rocks left,” Ta’sava pointed out.

Conrad turned. It was true. There was a smoking, still sizzling crater at the end of the clearing. He groaned. That was the reason why he didn’t cast those spells lightly.

“You know what?” he spoke, clapping his hands. “Let’s take a break so I can explain to you the concept of collateral damage and how to avoid it.” And how to use it when necessary, but maybe they weren’t ready for that.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

Naruto felt his chakra spinning, faster and faster. Gaining momentum while more and more chakra was added.

Was it working?! Was he actually—

The balloon blew up with a loud pop, the chakra quickly dissipating into the air. Naruto let out a groan. That was one more balloon he had to pick up all the pieces of later after the training was over.

He was about to pick up another one when he heard his uncle's mutterings from inside the house. Well, the safehouse turned into a house. It sounded like angry noises in his mother tongue.

Curious, he went to take a look inside. His uncle was hitting a blender while grunting what Naruto believed, based only on the tone, were a series of unkind words against the domestic appliance.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" he asked, which made Conrad stop to look at him.

"It's not working!" the Nord said, his frustration summed up in just a few words.

Naruto walked closer to the kitchen counter and looked around, quickly finding the problem. He plugged the blender in before looking up at his uncle.

"Try it now!"

His uncle looked at the blender with suspicion, before turning it on. The machine whirred and it was quickly turned off.

Naruto looked as his uncle started putting a few things—-ingredients for his potions, Naruto recognized—in the blender, while muttering something about not getting how half of these things worked. Naruto knew that Nords didn't have a lot of the things he took for granted, but still... what kind of life did they live, compared to the people of Konoha? How did his uncle live?

"Uncle, what’s your home like?" he asked, which made his uncle turn off the blender.

"You mean Skyrim?"

"Well... sure, but I meant your home. Where do you live in Skyrim?"

"A city called Whiterun… well, I can’t call it a home really because I travel a lot," his uncle answered as he carefully poured the now pulverized herbs in a small glass jar.

"And where is it?" Naruto asked, hoping that the answer wouldn't be 'in Skyrim'.

"In the middle of... wait, I can show you," Conrad said, putting the jar by the blender and walking into his dad—now uncle's, he supposed—study. Naruto waited, hearing his uncle rummage among his things and making noises in Nordic. Finally, the man reemerged with a large, yellowed parchment in his hands.

He placed it on the table, inviting Naruto to come closer. It was a map, but it didn't look like any map Naruto had ever seen at the Academy. It looked like it had been drawn by hand instead of being printed. There seemed to be lots of notes on it, added with different colors. The paper itself looked like it had been folded and unfolded so many times that it was a wonder it hadn’t fallen to pieces yet.

"This is Whiterun," the Nord told him, pointing at a symbol that looked like a horse's head, with some strange symbols Naruto didn't know written beside it. The city's name, he realized. "Ruled by Jarl Balgruuf the Great, an honorable warrior. I have a house there, Breezehome."

"Breezehome?" Naruto asked, confused.

"It's the name of the house."

"... you guys give names to your houses?"

"Only some of them."

"Well... why was yours given a name?" Naruto asked, still thinking it was an odd thing. He had heard of castles and temples being given names but that didn't mean he had ever thought of giving a name to his apartment. But then again, a lot of things about his uncle were odd.

"Because it's the house usually given to the Thane of Whiterun," his uncle said with a tone that made it sound like Naruto was supposed to be impressed.

"Oh, I see," Naruto said. "What's a Thane?" he asked, after a few seconds of silence.

Uncle Conrad looked at him surprised for a moment before he seemed to realize that he was the first Nord he had spoken to.

"Right. Let's see... how to explain this. Maybe I should talk to you about the various, er... regions? I think the right translation is regions..."

Oh no. Naruto had come to recognize that tone. It was Uncle's teaching voice.

:x:x:x:x:x:x:x:

It had taken days, but Danzo's agents had managed to find a way inside of the creature's cell.

Danzo had located the being with much more difficulty than he had expected. Sarutobi had been very careful in hiding it, even to the point of sealing the entrance with the Mokuton.

At first, he had just wondered why Sarutobi had not just eliminated the huge security risk when his people had reported that the being imprisoned in there had somehow influenced the mind of the leader of the Yamanaka clan, he had ordered to keep that household under observation. There was no saying what kind of threat Yamanaka Inoichi could be to the village now that his mind had been tampered with, and he seemed to have become associated with the foreigner that had caused all of this.

Danzo wouldn't have dared to get anywhere close to something that could pose a threat to his mind, but the claims of both Inoichi and Harissen-san... they were outlandishly ridiculous.

Still, Danzo knew better than to deny them outright. They were surely exaggerated, but he knew one thing for certain: there was a threat to the village and it was laying on the other side of the passage his ROOT had created to let him inside the cell. Many shinobi had died being too arrogant to investigate their enemies, and Danzo intended to investigate personally.

He entered the dark cell holding a lantern high while his agents remained outside, ready to intervene. Slowly, he moved around the form almost completely encased in stone. The being those foreigners had brought to Konoha with their magic.

Such an odd creature. Had he not read the report, Danzo would've been prone to believe that it was just a man with an odd bloodline that manifested physically. He had heard about such things before, it wouldn't have been an odd assumption.

Until he saw its eyes.

Inhuman eyes, like embers in a black sea, with an alien sentience behind them. It made Danzo remember the bedtime stories with oni and kappa that he had forgotten half a lifetime ago.

The creature seemed to size Danzo up before dismissing his presence. The leader of ROOT wasn't going to let it take him lightly. He made a seal with his hand, taking off the binding around its mouth. It revealed a scowling expression full of contempt.

“So the little fleshbag wants to chat, does he?” the creature sneered, somehow acting like it wasn’t locked tight in solid stone.

Wait… how did he know how to speak their language? As far as he heard from the reports, they needed Minato’s brother to interrogate the creature just because it only spoke on some foreign language.

Does it not follow same rules as humans on knowing things?

But he can ask that later. In any case, Danzo is thankful that this interrogation doesn’t need some mind reading. It will speed things up.

"I will be doing the questioning here," Danzo said. "Are you some kind of summon? What is your allegiance?"

The creature just laughed in his face. “Oh, the mortal doesn't even know what he’s dealing with. What I am. You doubt.”

And with that the atmosphere abruptly changed. The air grew heavy and cold. Danzo felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck as the creature’s eyes seemed to glow. It was probably just the reflection from the lantern.

"I never have doubts," Danzo claimed. "You are simply an unknown entity, and as such, a threat to my home. What. Are. You?"

"Ask the Dovahkiin," it said, chuckling like he had said something funny. "But you don't trust him, right?"

"Who is the... Dovahkiin?" he couldn't help but ask, saying the unknown word slowly.

"The man that captured me. The man that forced me to submit to... this," the creature spat.

So, Harissen-san was this Dovahkiin. It sounded like some kind of title. What kind of meaning could it have?

“He is important to you,” Danzo noted.

“He is a Dovahkiin. The Dovahkiin. All of them are ‘important’. But in the end it matters not.”

“And how is that?”

“Because I am but a pawn. It is my Prince you contend with, mortal.”

"Prince?" he asked. Finally, a way to make it tell about its master. "Not a king or queen? Who is he?"

Another laugh.

"You truly are a fool."

Danzo felt his irritation rising. The creature was dodging his questions, surely as a way to gain time. But to what end, imprisoned as it was? What worried him though was how easily it could read him. Of course he didn't trust Harissen-san. He was a foreigner, with no ties of loyalty to Konoha, and worse, he was gaining influence over their jinchuuriki.

"Your prince is not here," he said slowly. "He can't help you. You're out of his reach."

The creature just snorted at the threat, closing his yes for a moment. When it opened them again, they had changed. Both darker and yet brighter. Worried that it could be some kind of doujutsu, Danzo's hand went for the cane, ready to unsheathe the sword hidden in it.

"Out of my reach?" it said, but its voice sounded like a chorus of multiple speakers. Danzo couldn't help but take a step back. "Never."

A genjutsu, it had to be. A trick to make him believeー

"This is no trick, Shimura Danzo," it said. Danzo felt his eye go wide. How did it know his name? "You wished to ask questions, did you? Then ask them to me, not my servant."

Is this why it got to know how to talk to their language? Or someone else taught them? Are the foreigners actually a spy for an invasion?

“How do you know of our lan-”

“Mortals, their minds were always restricted, chained to their own limited understanding. That doesn’t apply to me Danzo.”

"Who... what are you?" Danzo asked, using as much control he had to keep his voice even.

"My name is Boethiah," the voice proclaimed. "The Dark Warrior, Deceiver of Nations, Queen of Shadows, and many, many other titles. And you, Shimura Danzo, are the first of your people to hear my voice in over a millennia."

As the thing finished speaking, one of the seals covering the stone pillar caught fire, fizzling as its power collapsed. That, Danzo had to admit, was worrying. The others kept holding, though.

"I care not for these titles. I asked what you are," he said. He was almost convinced this was just a bizarre summon, but there was something. Something uneasy that crept into his heart, just by looking at it.

"I will indulge you, for you speak out of ignorance," the being said, keeping a stoic face. "Myself and my fellow Princes... we are beyond your comprehension, akin to gods."

Akin to gods, Danzo wondered. Did that mean they weren't gods?

"Our powers rival the Aedra's, and many of you mortals worship us. After all, our influence touches everyone in this world."

A chill crept up Danzo's spine. Was this creature reading his mind?

No, he couldn't think like that. The thing was trapped. It was probably just playing games with him.

Danzo glared at the creature. Was it toying with him?

"If you're as powerful as you claim, why haven’t you spoken with anyone from this country for over a thousand years?"

The smile turned into a snarl, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. It was obvious to Danzo that whatever was talking to him right now, it wanted to keep the appearance of being in control.

"Yes, it's true. A mortal, a very powerful one, had shrouded these lands from our sights. Only through my servant am I able to talk with you now. But do not be mistaken, Shimura Danzo: our eyes may be clouded, but what you mortals do still falls under a Prince's domain."

"And what may those be, Boethiah?" Danzo asked. "You attempt to sound formidable, and maybe you are. But what you're doing could be explained by a jutsu or seal that lets you puppet your servant."

Yes, everything else had to be just smoke and mirrors. A shinobi would know.

"You'd know about putting magical seals on your slaves, wouldn't you, Danzo?"

Only decades of practice allowed him to keep his composure, but inside Danzo was recoiling in shock. Nobody should know about the seals on the tongues of his ROOT shinobi.

How was this possible?

"Deceit, treason, conspiracies, and many other things I believe are dear to you shinobi fall under my domain. I know you committed many of those," Boethiah said with a small smirk. "I compliment you."

"You know nothing," Danzo seethed. "You don't know what I’ve done for my village!!"

"Conspiring with a tyrant to squash a group of rebels. Keeping an army loyal to yourself, and only yourself, behind your friend and leader's back. Ensuring that one of the founding families of your home was isolated and seen with suspicion. Coercing their heir into killing them all. And what you did with their eyes..." the being kept talking, and with each pause, one more seal started to burn. Cracks started to show in the stone pillar, like Danzo's resolution. "You amuse me, mortal."

Danzo had gone into this meeting filled with skepticism. Surely the foreigner's claims were just outlandish fantasies, and Inoichi's mind must have just been tampered with by the prisoner. But as the creature, no... the being behind the creature spoke, a hole dropped in his stomach. No one should know all of those things. It was as though it was reaching into his soul and plucking out his darkest secrets.

“That is why I'd like to make a proposition for you," Boethiah continued. “You are a man with many enemies, with fingers in many plots. You could accomplish much, much more, though...”

Danzo didn’t like where this was going, but he remained in silence as the creature continued.

“You desire to be Hokage, do you not? With my patronage, you could easily obtain that, and so much more. Your enemies would tremble. Your rule would be the highest peak this little 'village' of yours has ever seen. Many would respect Konoha, and everyone would fear it.”

Danzo had always dreamed of being Hokage. He still remembered the disappointment when the Nidaime had declared Sarutobi his successor, but it wasn’t just that. He knew that he could lead Konoha to a prosperous age where they would be respected and feared.

Sarutobi would have to step down soon, and Konoha needed a new leader.

He could already see it, his own face beside Sarutobi’s on the monument, but everyone would know that it was under him, and not his predecessor that Konoha had obtained what was its right. ROOT absorbing the rest of ANBU into its ranks, his agents being able to strike everywhere throughout the Elemental Nations. The Daimyo himself wouldn't dare to oppose him.

All of this, if he accepted Boethiah's offer.

“So, do you accept?” Boethiah asked.

Danzo’s fingers clenched around his cane.

…

“No,” he said, barely able to hear his own voice.

“What… did you say?” Boethiah asked.

For the first time, the creature and its vessel seemed confused.

“NO,” Danzo repeated, a bit louder.

“If you truly are what you claim to be… then agreeing would only mean that I’d become your servant, or worse, a puppet. It would mean putting the whole village in your hands, it would mean betraying Konoha.”

Boethiah sounded almost amused.

“Are you not a traitor already?” it asked mockingly.

“You have misread me, Boethiah. Everything I’ve done, everything, was for the village’s sake. And I would do it again, because I’ve always been loyal to the Hidden Leaf.”

"You... dare? You’ve made a grave mistake, mortal," Boethiah hissed. There was a sudden change in the room, and Danzo's lantern flickered as if struck by a strong current. "You wasted a prime opportunity, but if it won't be you, someone else will accept my patronage."

The stone pillar started trembling, cracks quickly forming on its surface. Danzo shifted his stance to be able to fight or flee.

"Maybe it will be one of your enemies. Maybe it will be a nobody that will rise to power thanks to me. Maybe it will be a tormented soul that will lead a revolution against the status-quo so dear to you shinobi and your masters," Boethiah continued, its voice like an outraged chorus. More of the seals burst to flames. "Don’t worry, you will be there to see it! To see how your beloved village will burn and fall!"

For a moment, Danzo saw a tall, caped figure instead of the dremora, wearing a dark armor of foreign design. He couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Then every single remaining seal flashed white-hot before disintegrating in a shower of embers and ashes. One of the figure's limbs broke out of the pillar aiming for his throat.

Before the creature’s clutches could close on him, Danzo’s sword was in his normally concealed arm. One single strike to the neck and the enraged screams ceased, replaced by a surprised look. A savage smile formed on the being’s face, then its body was engulfed by dark, purple flames.

When they dissolved, Danzo was briefly the only one in the cell. His ROOT shinobi entered barely a second later, weapons raised and searching for a threat.

“Danzo-sama, are you alright?!” the youngest of the two asked. Danzo looked at the half-destroyed pillar, empty and covered by what remained of the seals.

Sooner or later Sarutobi would find out about this intrusion, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Konoha had new enemies, ones they had not suspected could even exist. He didn’t know how much time they had, but Boethiah and its kind would try to gain influence over the Elemental Nations. Someone, sooner or later, would agree to make a deal with them, or even to worship them.

ROOT and Konoha would have to be ready to fight them, no matter the cost.

“Come then Boethiah.” Danzo glared at the empty space where the former dremora was seated. “I will teach you myself that you should never underestimate a Shinobi.”