Lord of Gifts

Despite all the efforts of the Valars, no one succeeded in finding Sauron.

Several Ages passed without anyone hearing about the Lord of the Rings.

As in its defeat during the Second Age, Middle-earth forgot its existence. Sauron's name was no more than a name from the history books.

Without the intervention of the Valars and Sauron, Middle-earth is undergoing many changes.

Continents have appeared, others have been submerged. New races have appeared, others have disappeared. Forgetting its past, Middle-earth changed its name many times, its peoples called it by various names: Tamriel, Thédas, etc ...

With these changes, Evil resurfaced in various forms, sometimes the Valars themselves had to intervene to stem it. But to everyone's fear, Sauron never reappeared. They knew he was alive, hiding, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He had become their shadow.

...

Eighth Age, Elementary Nations,

A person dressed in noble clothes of pure white, approached the doors of the most powerful Ninja village. He stopped when the guards ordered him.

Guard: Stop! Declare the reason for your coming to Konoha.

The traveler, made a kind and friendly smile, while removing his hood. He was an attractive young man, with long white hair going to his back, judging by his face and his clothes, he was muscular but thin.

Annatar: Hi, my name is Annatar and I'm here to give your Hokage a present.

The guards seemed shocked when they heard the name of this person and immediately displayed kind behavior towards the guest. It had already been several months since the name of this person was widespread, in the Shinobi world.

Guard: Welcome, Lord of gifts, we are honored to welcome you to our village. Follow me and I will take you to Lady Tsunade.

Annatar replied with a nod and followed him with a sly smile. Observing Konoha, he noticed that the locals lived a much more luxurious life than in other countries. This was to be expected, since Konoha was the most financially comfortable village.

It didn't take long for them to reach a large building with the Fire kanji. He was taken directly to the Hokage's office.

Upon entering the room, he immediately detected about ten ANBUs, even if his face showed no sign of it.

Behind the desk was a beautiful woman with blond hair. It was the fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju. Although she seemed to be just a beautiful woman, you should not trust appearances, she is the Kage with the greatest physical strength in history. Bowing slightly, the traveler introduced himself to his host.

Annatar: I am honored to meet you, Lady Tsunade, you are a very busy person and you cannot imagine the joy I feel in your welcome.

His presentation made a good impression on the Sannin.

Tsunade: It's okay, you disparage yourself too much. we have heard of the Lord of the gifts, giving special gifts to all the Kages in each hidden village, it is an honor to have you in our presence,

Annatar: You flatter me madam. I am only a person who likes to offer to those who need it or who are worthy of it.

Tsunade: So you have a good heart indeed. But could I ask, what kind of person would be considered worthy or in need?

The young man's smile softened at his question.

Annatar: Worthy of their strength and their value, and of those who need protection or comfort, I offer these things as a sign of friendship. Therefore, after years of tireless work, I created this ...

The traveler unveiled two objects. A ring made for a woman and another for a man. The one for the woman was made of a silver band which was carved in the shape of a leaf. That of the man was made of a gold band resembling fur with a fox head with obsidian eyes.

Shizune: They are beautiful!

Annatar: You flatter me milady, but it's not only their appearances that should seduce you, but also their power.

Tsunade: What kind of power?

Annatar: The first is for you Lady Hokage, it will increase your chakra, your intelligence and your strength. As for the other ...

His smile became slightly arrogant

Annatar: He can help a Jinchuriki to stay alive ... even after his tailed beast has been extracted.

This sentence made everyone's eyes go wide.

Tsunade: What !? It's impossible, everyone knows that once a jinchuriki loses its tailed beast, it dies in an hour. How could these rings do that !?

The Hokage was shocked, but if it could save the one she considers a little brother, if something bad happened to her because of the akatsuki... she would accept this offer.

Annatar: These rings will allow your jinchuriki to store the demon chakra in the ring and slowly adjust their chakra coils so that if their beast is removed, they will not only survive the extraction but will keep enough replenishment chakra to be a pseudo jinchuriki.

Tsunade: "What is the catch?"

Annatar: No catch, just, a request that the Shinobi may either accept or decline of their own free will. Should he be willing, and at moments of their availability, I would like to be able to summon them only in times of great need, other than that he are free to do whatever he wish.

Tsunade thought about this for a while, it certainly had its positives, and the negatives were tiny, the problem was more emotional than logical, the jinchuriki was her family and she didn't want he to be in danger.

Tsunade: I accept it ... but the final decision is up to Naruto.

The Lord of gifts declared, smiling politely.

Annatar: Don't worry, Lord Hokage, I have no intention of forcing anything against his will because I said he was free to receive the gift and did not have to accept the request , oh and if he was in a difficult situation, he can use his ring to reverse the invocation to my position wherever it is, or even summon me, I will be more than happy to help protect him.

Tsunade: Okay, I'll send someone to lead you to him. Right now, he's in the hospital, he's coming back from a mission that seriously exhausted her, but I think he's in good shape to receive you.

Annatar: You have my gratitude, Lady Hokage.

...

Annatar briefly met the young blond, it didn't take much effort to convince him to accept his gift. The young man seemed determined to get more power to find one of his friends.

Whatever his reasons, the important thing was that he should now be linked to the Lord of gifts.

The latter wasted no time in leaving the village. He made sure no one followed him and created a dark portal under his feet.

As the portal engulfed him, he whispered a sentence.

Annatar: End of phase 2 ...