"Of course not ! If it's really the prophecy thou are needed here.", the old man cried out. Naruto didn't understand a single thing he was told, what had he to do with this prophecy ? He didn't even know where he was and who he was talking to. Sure, the man said he was called Rikudou Sennin, but that didn't exactly told him anything. That was a fact he needed to change, Naruto was young, but far from stupid. So he knew that he shouldn't be talking to this stranger, even more so because this man radiated raw power.

"Where do you come from ? I don't think I've seen you ever before.", he asked, though the last part of the sentence was a bit mumbled. "And why do you speak so weird ?" He didn't mean to say this out loud, it was accidentally. In fear of being screamed at Naruto's head hung low, if he said something like this to his parents (when they talked to him for once), they would surely punish him, maybe he would get even less food then he already got and sometimes they'd lock him in his room.

In contrast to his thoughts the old man just laughed, clearly feeling not insulted. An invisible weight lifted from Naruto's shoulders, he could finally be himself without getting judged. "What thou are asking is truly interesting. I am not from your time, my life is deeply interwoven with the beginning. The beginning of chakra and the Ninja world.", the old man chuckled, while his eyes were glazy as if he was swelling in memories. "The world as thou know it now, wouldn't exist if it wasn't for me." Naruto's mouth was already wide open. Was this man, Rikudou Sennin, the creator ?

"Are you a god ?" If so, then Naruto was really blessed, maybe if he told his parents, that he met someone as important as Rikudou Sennin, they would finally start paying attention to him. But the man just laughed again. "Not a god, more like a crusader." That was not an answer he had expected. "What's a crusader ?" Whatever it was, it was not a god, so he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. "That is not of thy concern.", was the only reply he got.

"But since thou are the child of the prophecy I came to thou to propose a contract." Naruto's head shot up again. "Even though thou can see the sun slowly going down, thou still get frightened when it becomes dark." He had no idea what that meant, so he just nodded his head to make it seem like he understood.

"Naruto, I can feel the darkness rising, it's breathing down on my neck. My time is over, but as soon as I'm gone, the world will find it's darkened end. Thou were meant to be."

"Receive my powers and become my successor."

Suddenly Naruto's throat felt dry, he blinked. Was that really happening now ? Rikudou Sennin wanted to give him, a nobody, all of his powers and speaking from his overflowing aura those weren't just simple elemental jutsus. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. The old man took this as an agreement: a staff appeared in his hand. It was as long as himself, maybe even longer. The upper end was a golden semicircle, the opposite end was a complete circle, on which six oval pendants hung. With the appearance of the stuff, nine black spheres started rotating around him.

"Come to me, child." His body didn't obey him anymore, as if he was a marionette he started walking towards Rikudou Sennin until they were less than one metre apart. It was just then, that Naruto realised that the man was hovering above the ground. His attention was directed to the crusader again, when he lifted his staff and touched his forehead with it.

As soon as the cold metal met his skin, Naruto fell to the ground screaming in pain. The staff's upper end started glowing in a bright light, that descended down to the trembling form of Naruto. Clutching his head he looked up to the man, betrayal reflecting in his eyes. For the first time over years he had trusted someone again and it ended bad, like it always did. He thought he could trust Rikudou Sennin, but when he thought back it was quite obvious: he woke up in a sewer with an old man talking about some sort of prophecy, that was just obvious fishy. Tears started welling up in his eyes, not just from the unbearable pain that he felt after the stuff had touched his forehead. It was the cold pain of betrayal, that he was all to familiar with. And when he lowered his head again, tears started to drop down into the water of the sewer. First he didn't notice it, but when he lifted his hands to rub his eyes, he froze in shock. His tears were red, bloodred. Why was he crying blood ?

Another wave of pain hit him and he doubled over. Everything seemed to hurt, his eyes were burning and it felt like his veins were filled with lava. He could make out a few words before he slipped into sweet oblivion. "Become strong for who thou hold dear. Save the world from it's own darkness." Then unconsciousness took over his mind.

___________________

Rikudou Sennin watched as the boy fell unconscious. When he was sure, that he wouldn't wake up, he lowered himself to the ground. He had found a fitting successor, but he knew that this were his final moments. He could feel it. The pull of the darkness. It's hands were on his lifestring, he was at mercy right now. But it wouldn't last long enough to train the child his ways, so he needed compensations.

For a brief moment he closed his eyes, then three persons came into his mind. With a slight smirk he pounded his staff three times to the ground. And by the time the echo of the thuds had came to a stop, three tall man were standing on the spot, where Rikudou Sennin had been.