Chapter 24

A/N: As per some requests, here's some insight to Konoha's view of the story, so here it is, me caving!

Now, onto the story!

Last Time:

Naruto had vanished.

Now:

~ Konohagakure No Sato ~

Minato Namikaze sighed as he looked at Team Kakashi standing before him. "And after Idate crossed the finish line, we were given payment and we left." Kakashi finished. "Well done, Kakashi-san. You and your team will be compensated for your services once the payment is equally distributed. Everyone except for Hiruzen is dismissed." Minato finished. Sakura and Sasuke left with Kakashi, leaving father and son to their own devices.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen asked through gritted teeth. "Would you please drop the formalities? Your mother and I are worried about you." Minato said. "Oh, now you're worried about your son?" Hiruzen shot back. "You know what I mean." Minato replied. "Oh, enlighten me, will you father dearest? How is this different than what happened to my older brother?" Hiruzen asked. "You haven't been sleeping in the clan estate for more than two months now. Ever since you got back from Wave. We don't know whether you eat, sleep, how you live." Minato pleaded.

"Did you ever think about that when my brother was gone? He's been gone since I was six, but never once did I see you lift a finger to find him!" Hiruzen replied. "My mother didn't once worry whether he ate or how he live." Hiruzen demanded. "Because she was busy training you! Are you implying that was time wasted!" Minato screamed back. "If this is the cost, then yes." Hiruzen said. "By your leave, Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen asked. He quickly shunshinned away, leaving a fuming Minato in his office.

Minato sat back down at his desk and looked at the open window. "Alright, you can come out, Jiraiya-sensei." He said. The wall besides the window shimmered and Jiraiya stepped out. "I'm guessing he's still pissed off at the whole "Naruto" thing." Jiraiya said. "That's sugar coating it. But, I'm sure you didn't come here to reminisce. Any word on this Naruto Romanov character?" Minato asked. "As far as my spy network can tell, he was last seen in Managashi mansion.." Jiraiya replied.

"The thunder Daimyo's home?" Minato asked surprised. "Yea, far as I can tell, Kumo may have recruited him." Jiraiya replied. "This isn't good. If he knows where my son is, we won't be able to get to him without inciting war!" Minato said as he slammed his fist on his desk. Jiraiya's face grew grim at that. "Minato, he may be your biological son, but that's as far as you and him are family." "Jiraiya, I didn't know the repercussions.." Minato began, only to be cut off by an angry Jiraiya.

"You knew the repercussions, damn it! You and Kushina, but you know what you two did? You sent that kid out in the cold with a smile on your faces!" Jiraiya yelled at Minato. "You're no better! You and Tsunade are just as guilty as we are. When he left that night, you guys didn't search either!" Minato yelled back. Jiraiya simmered down and took a seat. "I'm not ignoring my mistakes, I acknowledge them. You're ignoring the ones you made." Jiraiya said, then looked to Minato.

"Hey, the Chunnin exams are going to be held here in a month or two, right?" Jiraiya asked. Minato silently nodded. "How about I try to train your son? He hasn't summoned the toads in a while or the slugs. Maybe I can help him out or at least get him ready for the fights." Jiraiya said. "You're free to try, but he won't accept. I've already tried to teach him the Hiraishin and Kushina tried to get him interested in Kenjutsu and sealing, but he's refused." Minato replied.

Jiraiya sighed as he looked at his student. "Well, we can try.." Jiraiya said. "Yea, all we can do is try." Minato said as he looked over the village.

~ Meantime – With Naruto ~

Naruto coughed as the smoke surrounding him dispelled. He opened his eyes and looked around to see..nothing? 'Why is everything so dark?' Naruto wondered as he put on his night vision goggles. He turned them on to see a dark chasm before him and what seemed to be a large dark abyss. He took a step back and looked up to see various figures clinging to the ceiling top. Naruto got up. "Anyone there?" He asked as he carefully took his steps. 'Bat guano…' Naruto thought.

A dark blur flashed before him and he turned to see a relatively tall 3-foot bat standing before him. 'What the..' Naruto thought. "Hey, I'm Naruto Romanov. And you are?" Naruto asked the bat. The bat inspected him with a close eye. "My name is Xiomy. Who are you and what are you doing here?" The bat asked with an annoyed tone. "Like I said, MY name is Naruto Romanov. I am a human and I signed the Bat summoning Contract and ende.." Naruto was quickly cut off by Xiomy's wings smacking him in the face.

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled, only to be once again smacked by Xiomy. "Shut up you idiot. It's dangerous here." Xiomy said as she jumped up to Naruto's shoulder and gripped with her legs. "Come on." She whispered as she carefully inspected the area. A few of the Bat summons had begun to gather where Naruto appeared, but other than that nothing major had happened. 'Good, it would have been a blood bath if any of the other officers had found him..' Xiomy thought as she took off to the chief's Cave atop of the mountain.

~ Mountain Top – Chief's Cave ~

Naruto groaned as Xiomy finally let go of his shoulders and dropped him to the ground. 'Damn, that hurt like hell!' Naruto thought as he rubbed his left shoulder. He looked up to see a large imposing creature hanging upside down. Naruto got up as a loud voice shook the cave. "Who dares stand before me!" The voice demanded. Naruto steeled himself and spoke. " My name is Naruto Romanov, Last and First of the Avengers, Chunnin of Kumo, Adoptive Son of the Black Widow, and The new holder of the Bat Summoning Contract!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.

"Well, Naruto Romanov, I am Orfeo, the darkness and the boss of the Bat Clan!" Orfeo exclaimed as a loud rumbling resounded throughout the cave and a large red eye opened in front of him. Naruto looked up to see as the large bat hanging before him spread his giant wings and looked him dead in the eye. The bat then shook and looked dead at Naruto. "So you're the new holder of the bat summoning contract. We haven't had a summoner in over 20 years. What makes you think we want you?" The boss demanded in a loud voice.

"Because I'm willing to fight for it, I don't expect it to be freely given to me." Naruto replied. The Bat boss laughed loudly as he shook his head and fell to the ground, landing on all fours and crawling towards the entrance to his cave. "So you're willing to fight for it, huh Naruto-san. Hop on and we'll see if you're worthy." The boss said, making Xiomy gasp. "Orfeo-sama, you don't mean.." Xiomy said as she was cut off. "Yes, Xiomy. We will begin the summoner's test!" Orfeo said as Naruto climbed onto his back.

With a powerful jump, Orfeo jumped from the entrance to his cave and glided towards the base of the mountain. Naruto watched the levels of the large mountain-like chasm ascend all around him as he used chakra to stick to Orfeo's back. "This place is amazing! Where are we?" Naruto asked Orfeo. "That information will be disclosed to you if you manage to pass the summoner's exam." Orfeo said as he flew towards the wall near the bottom of the chasm. Before he impacted on the wall, he folded his wings and positioned his legs and claws in front of him.

He landed on the wall and crawled towards a large hole on the wall. Naruto covered his night vision goggles and gripped the mane around Orfeo's neck to stay on his back as Orfeo crawled through the hole. Naruto mentally yelled as the stalagmites hanging from the ceiling of the tunnel dug into his back, but voiced nothing aloud. "Good…" Orfeo said as he emerged in a large circular room that looked to be shaped like a volcano. "You have passed the crawl of endurance. Now we must assemble the other Bat officers."

With that said, Orfeo cocked his head back and let loose an ear piercing screech, which resounded all around the arena. Within moments, several bats ranging from 9 to 15 feet in size arrived. "Why have we been summoned, Orfeo-sama?" One of the officers asked as he landed on the floor right besides them on all fours. "We have a newcomer who wishes to become the Bat Summoner." Orfeo replied, making the Bat officer hiss. "Then the trial is to take place, I assume.." The officer said, getting a nod in response from Orfeo.

"Trial, what trial?" Naruto asked as he stared at the exchange between the two summons. "A trial by which we will determine whether you are fit to become the new summoner of the Bats.." A feminine voice spoke from above him. He looked up to see another bat officer hanging upside down above his head, but this one had a red mane of shaggy hair on her chest instead of the usual gray. "What do these trials entail?" Naruto curiously asked. Before the large bat in front of him could answer, Orfeo responded him.

"The trial is simple. You are to stay on my back for either 8 consecutive hours in flight or you are to force me to land. However, during those eight hours, I may do anything to throw you off. Whether it's slamming my back full force into a wall or a simple barrel roll." Orfeo replied, making Naruto a bit nervous. "We will be at the highest point of this Arena, so if you fall, you will fall to your death. Should one of my officers come to your aid, you will become that officer's personal slave. Any questions?" Orfeo asked Naruto.

Naruto shook his head and stared defiantly at Orfeo. "When do we begin?" HE asked with a little cockiness in his voice. "Oh, I like him.." the large bat hanging over him commented. "By the power I hold as head of the Bat clan, I hereby call the Summoner Trial to begin!" Orfeo shouted, gaining a massive uproar from all of the Bat officers present. Orfeo spread out one of his wings and motioned for Naruto to climb on. Naruto quickly jumped onto Orfeo's back and began channeling Chakra to his feet. Orfeo used his powerful hind legs to jump and began flapping his wings, rising farther and farther.

~ Naruto~

Naruto was inwardly freaking out as he saw the ground getting further and further away. 'Shit, shit, shit! All right, if I pass this, I get to be the Bat summoner, if not it's either death or slavery. Really optimistic choices..' Naruto mused as Orfeo climbed higher and higher, almost reaching the ceiling. 'Alright, what do I know about bats?' Naruto asked himself as he tried to remember what Hawkeye and Tony had taught him about wild animals.

'Bats, bats.. All right, prefer darkness, most vampire bats only feed off livestock, most bats mainly feed on fruit, not necessarily poor eyesight, but they use Sonar to Navigate. Sonar…sonar, of course! It's just sending out a wave of sound and waiting to get feedback on it to map out the room. Now how can I use it to my advantage?' Naruto thought as he used his night vision goggles to scope the Arena for anything useful 'Dammit, there's nothing but rocks and stalagmites!' Naruto thought as the boss started doing barrel rolls to mess up his concentration.

'Mess up his concentration, of course! I need a distraction that not only messes him up, but also causes sand waves to interfere with his sonar!' Naruto thought as he unsealed his collapsible bow. With a flick of his wrist, it armed and he began to take aim, only for Orfeo to slam his back against the wall, crushing him. the pressure was unbearable, but after a second Orfeo hopped off and continued his flight. Naruto watched as the arrow he had been aiming fell to the floor at incredible speeds and buried itself into the ground. 'Note to self: Do not Fall.'

Naruto thought as he grabbed another arrow and aimed it to the ceiling. As soon as it had buried itself , Naruto took another one and aimed it at a different part of the ceiling. Before he could shoot it, he saw Orfeo was flying back towards the wall with intent to slam his back into it. 'Not again!' Naruto yelled as he aimed the arrow at the wall and fired. As soon as it got near the wall, it exploded, discombobulating Orfeo.

Naruto watched as Orfeo faltered and crashed head first into the wall. He then took aim at an overgrown stalagmite and fired the arrow at it. It quickly sunk itself into the stalagmite and Naruto looked defiantly at the head of Orfeo.

~ With Xiomy and the Officers ~

"There's no way this one is going to be able to make it. We've had stronger try and they all have failed." An arrogant voice stated. " I have a feeling this one is going to be different." A feminine voice rebutted. "Oh yea, what kind of surprises could this little human have in store?" A gruff voice added, only worsening the argument. Before anyone else could add his or her two cents, a large explosion shook the Arena. The Officers looked up to see Orfeo falter and crash head first into the wall.

"What the hell was that!" Xiomy demanded. "Maybe the brat does have a trick or two up his sleeve.." The gruff voice said in a mirthful tone. Before anyone could berate him, a loud resounding explosion echoed through the Arena.

~With Naruto ~

Naruto walked down towards Orfeo's mane and laid down, using chakra to stick his whole body. He took out another arrow and aimed it to whiz right past Orfeo's ear. "Easy…easy…" Naruto whispered as he calculated the right time. Orfeo suddenly shot off into three loops in an attempt to shake Naruto off. In a split second, Naruto charged chakra into his bow and fired it off. As soon as it got near Orfeo's ear, it went off with a huge bang. The sudden bomb going off in Orfeo's ear made him dizzy and had his head ringing.

Orfeo tried to send out another sound wave so he could locate himself, but the waves from the explosion kept messing up his hearing. Orfeo was irritated as he screeched loudly, sending off waves that overpowered the ringing and let him locate himself. 'Not quite old man!' Naruto thought as he put his fingers into a sign and detonated the arrows on the ceiling. The loud explosion shook the Arena and began sending off waves of sound everywhere, once again confusing Orfeo.

Orfeo tried to fight through the confusion, only to howl as a large rock dislodged from the ceiling by the explosion slammed against his face. He howled in a desperate attempt to use his sonar to get back in control, but was shocked by the fact that there seemed to be rocks falling everywhere. He tried to maneuver past them, but Naruto had a different plan. He quickly detonated the arrow buried in the stalagmite. Orfeo saw this and quickly folded his wings, going into a nosedive directly to the ground. 'Easy…easy…now!' Orfeo internally yelled as he expanded his wings to stop his descent and glide.

Naruto quickly remembered about the two arrows he dropped and detonated them right underneath Orfeo, making the Boss summon fall to the floor in a smoking mess. The officers and Xiomy quickly made their way to where the Boss had crashed and waited to see if there was any sign of life.