Disclaimer: I certainly don't own Naruto, Disney or any of its affiliated properties. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this now would I?
"The connection of our hearts…" : Speech (Bold for yelling ,Bijuu, or massive creatures)
'The connection of our hearts…' : Thought
In the dimensional void…
"Well, looks like things haven't changed too much huh? The way Maleficent was going on about those Grimm Lords, you'd think that this place would have more changes like some extra obstacles or something…" Naruto mused as he floated through the void, its nebulous purple and blue hues (with a massive golden mass rapidly approaching him) striking a nostalgic chord in him (to be fair, it had been a decade since he saw this place).
"At least my chakra is still here – I know Maleficent said that those phony gods couldn't do anything to it but it's still a relief knowing that I can still absorb it all, even if I can't use it like before!" Naruto said , pumping his fist as he could feel his chakra reservoirs fill up, the sensation of his coils stretching out again a welcome change(their cavernous emptiness really bummed Naruto out in mundane India, not that he told anyone about it – it was like trying to explain how having an allowance really put one off the concept of spending any money and then suddenly getting a blank check).
Naruto's chakra rushed back into its master with great speed, the energy condensing into thick golden ropes of power with Naruto at the center of it all. This took around four to five minutes of recharging before the man could neither see nor feel any chakra in the dimension. It took less time than Naruto expected and not even a few seconds after Naruto reclaimed his power, he felt the now familiar sensation of a new world tugging at him.
"Well, here we go again – I wonder where I'll pop out this time? Without Ella and her magic as a compass, these journeys are complete shots in the dark!" He murmured, giving a cursory flex o =f his chakra, the energy becoming more sluggish with every passing second.
All of a sudden, a swirling portal opened before Naruto, the sound of swirling and chaotic magic ringing in his ears. Sensing its master's surprise, Naruto's chakra burst around him, quickly coalescing on his body, fortifying it with extra durability – however, unlike ordinary chakra enforcement, the new restricted nature of the chakra led to some unexpected developments…
A forest somewhere, an undetermined amount of time after Naruto was expelled out of Maleficent's portal…
It was a quiet morning in the forest – the birds had just begun chirping and off in the distance, a medieval settlement was visible, its inhabitants having yet to rise and meet the day. In a secluded grove within the forest though, an errant spark of magic came into existence, quickly being followed by a rapidly expanding portal, whose gaping depths revealed themselves with a sharp boom, shattering the tranquil atmosphere of the forest. Within the portal itself however, an tawny golden mass was seen being blasted out of it, its momentum being absorbed by a few hapless trees turned into wood chippings and a whole lot of splinters(yeah-our man got blasted out of that portal like a cannonball).
The forest was now completely quiet, but for a completely different reason – not even the town nearby was spared that fate as every living thing held its breath, quietly waiting to see just what warranted such a spectacular disturbance of an otherwise unremarkable morning. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait for long as a long roar split the air once again, the deep timbre of it hiding the fact that it was a vocalization of pain, not conquest.
"Aarrgh! Goddamn it all! Man, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that my dear auntie was trying to kill me with that portal fiasco! Sheesh…if I didn't use my chakra to boost my defenses, I would be scraping myself off the ground right about now…" Naruto grumbled as he got to his feet, slowly placing his hands on the grassy forest floor before looking around, his eyes closed in exasperation as he did so.
"Alright…looks like I am in a forest again – looks like the more things change, the more others don't huh? Let me go climb a nearby tree to get my bearings…what is this?!" Naruto said, his voice trailing off in a shocked squawk as he reached out for the trunk of a nearby tree, only to see that his 'hands' were now paws! Upon closer inspection, he saw that his paws looked more like human hands, except that they had bright yellow fur and some wicked looking claws, their deep obsidian hue looking like they were sucking the ambient light around them.
Naruto then reached up to his face, feeling his cheeks and head. He fluffed his now furry jowls and also found that he had some super long ears on the top of his head (quite sensitive ones too as he soon found out when he felt a pleasant trill run through him when he stroked one of them). Now completely aware of what happened to him (basically a yellow Kurama, with slightly shorter ears and a better build), Naruto simply deadpanned as he looked up into the blue skies above, imagining his mischievous aunt having a good laugh at his predicament.
"Damn it Maleficent! How can I do my job in this world if I have been turned into a freakin' fox?! I can't even let anyone see me lest they try and hunt me down like a monster…well, I can at least look around and make a base around here right? Perks of being a man fox – I get the opposable thumbs and the bestial vigor!" Naruto said, trying to pep himself up as he went through the motions of making a camp out in the crash site (he figured that he could at least use all the fallen lumber for something…he was already feeling bad about the fact that he tore up the innocent vegetation). He made himself a little improvised shelter and when looking for water, quickly learned that he had been de-aged (he estimated that he was a teenager in fox years and form…he wasn't about to think too hard about what that entailed though) but as a tradeoff, he discovered that he was a big fox – about the size of a bear. His tail was also very long and thick (having nine tails would be too much for this world it seemed…).
Meanwhile, back at King Richard's castle…
The town of Nottingham was in a tizzy – what with the explosive bang followed by the scary roar echoing down from the forested mountains, the peasant folk (mostly prey animals like rabbits and pigs) were too scared to even leave their homes and go about their days. So, as one might expect, the local authorities (basically, the Sheriff) were at a loss at how to proceed. And so, the corpulent wolf was forced to lumber his way to the royal castle to ask for counsel, which is where our story continues, with King Richard quietly stroking his chin as he listened to the babbling of the Sheriff.
"Y-your Majesty, those cowardly peasants are too scared to even leave their homes! Surely this is against the law – royal revenue from taxes will decrease by several shillings, if not pounds!" The Sheriff said, passionately pointing over to the town before turning back to the king.
King Richard on the other hand, was busy thinking of something else entirely. The loud noises didn't bother him so much as the roar coming from the forest. As a lion, he was all too aware of what a roar meant to a predator animal – it was equal parts a boast of strength as well as a declaration of an open challenge for territory. Since he was the ruling monarch, he was duty bound to respond to any challenges to his domain – both to protect his own and his vassals. This was of particular importance because he was hosting his niece and while his son was also a lion, he wasn't going to be able to fight anyone soon (he was but a cub).
"Quiet Sheriff – compose yourself. Acting like this is unbecoming of an agent of the law – this matter is easily solved with a singular action anyway…" Richard said, looking out of a window with a view of the forest, missing his niece and her friend secretly eavesdropping on the meeting.
"What do you mean sire?" The Sheriff said, nervously tugging at his doublet – he had an inkling about where the king was going with this and he wasn't all too excited to tangle with whatever made that roar (he was a wolf amongst sheep and not a true fighter, if his build wasn't a big enough clue).
"I shall go and investigate the matter myself – gather a regiment of men for an expedition to the forest. It is the duty of a king to protect his dominion and that includes his subjects. Now go – we leave at high noon!" Richard said as the Sheriff nodded shakily, rushing off to call his wolves and the king's men while he was at it.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the room, two children had been peeking in on the proceedings and were already making plans of their own.
"Did you hear that Marian? Looks like the king's going out to fight someone – we have to go and see!" Robin said as his fellow fox sighed at her companion's obvious excitement.
"Oh Robin, how can you think of something like that when even my lord uncle is assembling the royal army to combat the threat? How will we even sneak past the guards?" She said, face palming when Robin grinned impishly before dragging her off.
"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head Marian – I have John in the forest already so all we have to do is follow his lead since he's already gotten the lay of the land!"
And that was chapter 52! Naruto is in the world of Robin Hood and as an anthropomorphic fox! Kurama would be so proud – now stay tuned if you want to know what hell he'll raise next…
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