Whomsoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

When he was little, Naruto had a gift. Whenever he was upset, or angry, storm clouds would form around Konoha and it would rain for a week. When he was three, there was an incident with another village that resulted in two enemy nin being almost electrocuted to death because they tried to kill the only witness to a crime they were committing.

Thanks to his actions, a good shinobi was spared as was the girl they were trying to kidnap. However, it alerted the aging Hokage that his gift needed to be curtailed before it got any stronger. At least until he was old enough to handle the responsibility.

And so a second seal was placed on him, in conjunction to the original one he had been given mere hours upon birth.

When he was eight, that seal almost shattered under the strain of trying to protect him. And so it was strengthened and a watch placed on him.

Then everything changed the day of the Academy exams.

He had failed. Miserably at that, all because they didn't allow two out of three jutsu to pass.

And so he jumped at the chance to pass, if only so he could fulfill his dream of being Hokage and gain the respect he deserved. People didn't harass the old man as much as they did him.

He was still carrying the Forbidden Scroll when he damn near crashed into it.

Naruto, having slammed into a tree from tripping over something in a minor crater, shook off the collision with practiced ease. Then he went to find out what the heck caused him to have a date with a tree.

It was old. At least old enough to have gotten a lot of growth around it. Clearing away the plants with his old kunai, he stared.

He could feel in his very bones that it was not something that most shinobi could simply order and use at will. There was a sort of aura about it that practically screamed it was a legendary weapon. Possibly enough to earn the title of a super cool shinobi if he learned how to use it.

The moment his hands closed around the hilt, he felt something strange. Like it was testing him. Seeing if he was worthy to wield it. Which was silly. How could a weapon test someone?

He was able to partially lift the hammer, but the shifting of the scroll reminded him he didn't have much time. So he left it on the ground near it, under all the cut away plants so he could come back and get it later.

His life was ruined, all because of that damn Mizuki.

Sure, he got some super cool jutsu out of it, but it wasn't worth being banned from taking the exams and being put under watch for the rest of his life.

Those old crones that 'advised' the old man had made it clear that Naruto would never be a shinobi if they had any say in it, not after he was caught by a hiding ANBU with the scroll. Even if Mizuki was caught and arrested, the fact remained he had stolen an important document.

Because he hadn't graduated, he was still under the watch of the civilian council. That meant they had almost complete control over his life.

He was sick of it. He was sick of Konoha and sick of being jerked around like a puppet.

After eating his ramen, he came to a decision. He'd leave Konoha. He knew that other villages would be interested in a kid who could steal an S-class document and take out a Kage with a single jutsu! It wasn't like he had anything left to lose anymore.

Sure he'd miss Ayame and Teuchi, and their delicious ramen. And Iruka, to an extent, if only because he wasn't a total dick like Mizuki.

The old man had been rather harsh with him, so he had no real opinions on the one person who had kept him alive for the demon he contained.

Oh yes, Mizuki had been positively gleeful about dropping that little bomb on him before he tried to steal the scroll from him.

He gathered up what little he could call his own. Namely his plants and the few clothes that weren't basically scraps at this point. He finished off the food in the fridge, as he had always been quite good at foraging compared to the other students.

He could live out in the wild, so long as he avoided people.

And he could pick up that weapon he tripped over. He highly doubted anyone would actually miss the thing, considering how overgrown it had been.

Heimdall had felt the tremors in the stars long before Thor went missing. He was alive, but no longer in the physical form. A fact that devastated his mother, and to some extent Loki as well.

So when he felt the song of Mjolnir once more, he barely dared to hope.

The first song was faint, barely able to reach Asgard. The second time was much stronger, and he knew someone had claimed the Hammer.

Using his powers, he was able to find a single blond boy who bore remarkable resemblance to Thor, only he most certainly wasn't him.

A son, perhaps?

Heimdall sent a summons to Odin. If this was Thor's heir, then they needed to be ready for him.

"What is it Heimdall? What do you see?" asked Odin, when he arrived less than half an hour later. He had come as soon as he could, hoping the gatekeeper had found Thor.

"Sire, someone has claimed Thor's hammer."

Odin felt a surge of hope. Perhaps Thor had found his weapon after so long?

"It is a child."

It took a few moments to process this declaration, before Odin carefully asked "Do you believe it to be Thor's?"

"There is some resemblance to the mortal form he was banished in. More than enough to warrant a test of his blood to see if there is indeed a legacy."

"Where is he?"

"I shall summon him momentarily. He is too deep in territory that could draw undue attention to us, and might bring the mortals to Asgard. They have techniques that span the realm of time and space," explained Heimdall.

It took far too long for Odin's liking, but once the child was far enough from the mortal's "hidden village" he acted.

The moments it took for the Bifrost to bring it's surprised passenger were almost unbearable. The entire kingdom had mourned when it heard Thor was unreachable and possibly lost.

Odin examined the boy, who had ran until he was so tired he couldn't possibly stay awake. He looked like a peasant at best, and an orphan at worst.

"Bring him to Eir. We shall test the bloodline while she examines him," said Odin. He could see Mjolnir was clearly visible in the child's rough bag, nestled safely next to some plants that were well cared for.

"As you wish sire," agreed Heimdall.

It had been far too long since they had any hope to find Thor. If not for the hammer, Heimdall never would have been able to find where he landed, for he had somehow been thrown horribly off course.

Frigga was quick to pounce on her husband when she heard of the child now safely in the infirmary.

"Is it true? Has he returned?" she asked, not daring to hope.

"Patience, wife. Thor has not returned, but there is a possibility he left a child behind. A boy has claimed Thor's hammer, and Heimdall has retrieved him from one of the mortal worlds," said Odin.

Frigga sagged. She wanted her son back, but the idea of a grandson to spoil and train was enough to lift her spirits.

"I have Eir testing his blood now to see if he is indeed Thor's son. Even if he is not, he will be welcomed as one of our family."

Eir walked up to the king and his wife. Her face spoke volumes.

"My lord Odin, I have tested the blood. He does bear the prince's bloodline. The child is indeed Thor's son. However... while we were examining him we found something strange. Prince Loki is examining the boy as we speak."

Frigga didn't hesitate. This child was the last link to her first born, and anything that required Loki's help generally meant magical interference.

Naruto didn't open his eyes immediately. He knew something weird had happened because he had most definitely fallen asleep on the cold unforgiving ground, and now he was on the softest bed he had ever been on in his life. Plus the smell was all wrong, as were the sounds.

Some of the lessons at the Academy stuck, much as he hated that place and everything to do with it.

He woke up slowly, and took stock of his surroundings.

He definitely wasn't in Konoha anymore. He noticed his plants were safely on the table next to him, as was that weird hammer he found. Though it was on the floor and on it's side. He also found his goggles on the table, next to the plants. His clothes were nowhere to be found.

He also found a glass of water, which was great because he was really thirsty.

"It looks like you're finally awake," said a pleasant voice.

He settled on a woman with a motherly feel about her. Something about her seemed to tell him he could trust her, and it didn't feel fake like it did with shinobi. Try as they might, he could always tell when they were just putting on a show.

That was because they could never put down their assassin's instinct.

She didn't have that.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Frigga. I'm your grandmother."

…

"EH?!"

"So my nephew has finally woken up?" asked Loki.

"Yes. Aside from some malnutrition which we can remedy rather easily and the strange markings on him, there seems to be no damage. He's unusually well developed for his age however. Queen Frigga is with him now."

"Likely explaining why it took so long for us to find him, and where he is," snorted Loki.

A minor punishment spiraled completely out of hand, and now they were finally cleaning up the last of the mess left behind. The boy was Thor's heir, and it was clear he would need to be trained.

The moment Loki removed that odd magical seal on the boy's neck, storm clouds had filled the room. It had taken an hour for him to disperse them, and the child wasn't even trying to cause trouble. But what worried him the most was the fact he sensed a great beast lurking in the boy's mind. One that was unusually intelligent, for the brief time he had spoke with it.

This "Kyuubi" was more than happy to fill in some of the blanks, like why the boy had abandoned the mortal's village and had been sleeping in the woods with the bare minimum to survive.

Frigga had been absolutely livid.

Finally Loki went in, and found the boy animatedly chatting about plants of all things.

"Naruto, this is your Uncle Loki."

Blue eyes like a wild sea looked into his emerald green. Something about them seemed familiar, and then he recalled what the massive fox spirit had told him.

This was someone who understood very well the same pain Loki had gone through years ago. It had taken Thor being essentially declared dead for him to reconcile with his parents, even if finding out he had been adopted had come as a nasty shock.

"Hi," he said shyly.

Right, the boy wasn't used to having family, much less people who genuinely cared about him. Perhaps a good shock might loosen his tongue.

"That massive fox you have sealed inside of you was quite vocal about his approval of you leaving. Something about red eyes not being able to find him on another world," said Loki dryly.

The boy's eyes went wide, and he almost thought for a moment they would pop out in shock.

"You... You talked with the Kyuubi?" he said in shock.

"You'll find that most things with that level of power are generally intelligent enough to converse. The trick is convincing them it's worth their time to do so. He's not a mindless beast," said Loki.

Naruto looked pensive, until he suddenly realized there was yet another storm cloud hovering over him. He tried to swat it away, only to be shocked by a tiny lightning bolt for his trouble. His already spiky hair was now standing on end.

"Stupid clouds. Why do they keep coming back?" he complained.

Loki smirked.

"I found a magical seal on your neck that was used to repress your natural powers. Someone went to a lot of trouble making sure you were unable to learn how to control them naturally."

The moment he heard that, Naruto scowled at the reminder. It was remarkably like Loki's own angry scowl when someone went out of their way to cause him trouble. Though most generally didn't anymore because he could be twice as nasty.

"Stupid old man. I bet he had something to do with it."

"Ah yes... your fire shadow. I believe mother and Odin would be delighted to speak to him," said Loki. Though his tone of voice practically said volumes of how that meeting would end up going.

The fox had also been paying more attention than the one who was unlucky enough to be his prison. He knew that the old man had only done the bare minimum of providing for him, and despite his wishes, Naruto had almost no connections to the village at all. At this point he could care less if it burned so long as one or two people were allowed to escape the disaster.

Which mostly consisted of the ramen chef and his daughter.

"Not my problem. If you want to light a fire under the old man's ass, I could provide you all the blackmail material you'd need," said Naruto.

"Oh?"

"He's a total pervert. He has this secret safe behind the bookshelf that has all these orange books written by some sage that are full of adult-only material. If you stole them all, he'd panic more than if you stole the Forbidden Scroll. Though if you did, I wouldn't recommend opening them since I trapped most of them," said Naruto vindictively.

Frigga hid a smile.

"I think you and your uncle are going to get along just fine. But I better not hear that you've been corrupting your nephew," said Frigga.

"How could I ever corrupt him?" asked Loki innocently. Naruto snorted from the bed.

"You need to work on your innocent face more. I barely know you and even I can tell it's completely fake," said Naruto flatly.

Loki smirked at him.

"I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun together."