Chapter 1: A New Start
Peace in the ninja word reigned, since a year and a half ago that the fourth war ends.
Obito had died in peace, knowing that it was the right thing. Madara and Kaguya had been killed in their attempts to dominate the world by its purposes.
Everything was calm and happiness, but for Naruto, everything had become a word. Boring.
Don't get him wrong. He loved that everyone had finally found the peace dreamed between clans and nations. He had brought Sasuke back to the Leaf; now he was on an indefinite journey around the world for a personal goal. Kakashi was the sixth Hokage; Tsunade has withdrawn by the age that was real and not what her body told.
The problem was that the missions were too dull, simple and without emotion. The worst thing was that it happened to be on a mission where could fight or at least, have fun, all the bandits, even the rogue ninjas in the bingo book, surrendered immediately. They did this in full knowledge that he was Naruto Uzumaki, the war hero who saved the world. Once, one bandit had near soiled himself at Naruto's bad look.
Naruto was still young and had further potential. However, the position of Hokage would have taken far too much time. It would be empty. He had to gain more experience, but with the current conditions saw it very difficult.
The other problem was his fame. When he was a solitary child, he always wanted to be the favorite guy that the world admired. Now that he lived it, he knew why it was so annoying. He thanked people for their gifts and showed his gratitude, but to go to the market for food and return with bags as well a pile of presents was too much.
Naruto walked to his home that night. Iruka had asked him to attend the Academy to show the shadow clone Jutsu that he had perfected. Girls harassed him all day, and some courageous ones had challenged him to a duel. He defeated them all with one punch.
"Naruto, the lack of emotion affects you this much?" came Kurama's voice inside his head.
"Yes, I feel like I'm rushing. All my friends are engaged in long missions. Only eating ramen entertains me, and I can only help Konohamaru when the pervert four-eyes is out of the village. I just wish I could have one more adventure." Naruto arrived outside the door of his apartment.
He was about to open it when he received a response that was not expected.
"And if I say that we can take you to another unknown dimension, what would you say?"
His bandaged hand did not touch the doorknob as he processed what had just said. He did not respond and entered the apartment to lie on his bed. He closed his eyes to see it in his mental space. Not only he visually saw Kurama, but the soul of the other tailed beasts.
"As you know," explained Matatabi. "We have a nearly unlimited amount of chakra. If we all join, the colossal amount of energy can open a portal to another universe, different from that you know. As a form of gratitude, we can bring you the adventure you want."
Naruto thought this through. It would help to draw him out of the monotony of his days, but it would mean leaving behind the people he cared about, all for a wish. It was a difficult decision.
"Personally, I recommend that you do it, Naruto," said the voice of a vital person in history, once which helped him to fight against Madara and even his mother.
"Granpa Hagoromo?"
Floating in the position of the Lotus, with his cane, Hagoromo regarded him with that look of seriousness.
"I have a place in mind. At one time, it entered a war between continents. With your skills, you can make a difference, get the experience you need. You will not hesitate to say that there are powerful people with powers you cannot imagine."
"Consider the first part of the mission finding the ten mystical races slayers, Kurama will give you the information there".
"But can I get back again after so long?" That was the question that would decide if Naruto wished to accept or not.
"Be calm, Naruto boy. The flows of time and space are different between dimensions. A few years there will be a few days here. You will be able to invent an excuse for your absence. I offer you this because you can help with problems. Not to mention that you start from zero."
Naruto smiled. No matter the age in a faraway place, if he could avoid war and help other people, he would do it.
"In this case, count me in. So how do I get there?"
"Just close your eyes and enjoy the travel."
Naruto closed his eyes, and the dark was gradually covered with a white light. He felt it light his body. A few minutes passed before Naruto felt a slight breeze on his face. It was nice, but nothing felt nice when the wind hit him all over his body. He opened his eyes and cursed to all. He was falling rapidly toward a forest. In the distance, he could see a small village. However, it was important he avoided death by the fall.
He summoned some shadow clones. Although he knew that it was going to hurt, everything turned black from the impact.
Before he lost consciousness, he knew this was not a place where he lived.
He opened his eyes with a slight pain in the head. His sight improved and he realized he was in a room small. By the materials knew he that it was an agricultural village.
"The young man already woke up, Grandpa. Here, have a little bit of water." A young girl of fifteen years old, with black hair, blue eyes, white clothes, and skin, passed him a glass of water. Naruto took a drink because his throat was dry.
The door opened. An old, short man entered. He had a white beard, no hair and only had a blue coat on.
"I am glad you are well. You should have passed something terrible to be in a large crater. Fortunately, you did not have a serious wound. Could you tell me the place where a family member lives so we may call him with our lacrima phone?"
Did he say magic? That existed is in this world? Interesting, thought Naruto. It was his chance to get necessary information about this place.
He put one hand on his head and pretended to try to remember. In the end, he gave them a look of pity.
"Sorry, but I do not remember anything except my name. This will sound somewhat weird, but could you explain to me where I am, and most important, explain to me what is magic?"
They looked surprised that Naruto could not remember anything.
"What bad luck you have, young man," said the short man. "It will not be a problem to respond to your question, but it may take a while. If you only remember your name, I would like to know it."
"Naruto Uzumaki. Thank you for helping me. I will try to give thanks back as I can." Naruto inclined his head in the form of respect.
The senior man touched his shoulder, so he lifted his head.
"Naruto? That is an unusual name. You must be in some remote part of Fiore. Anyway, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jaku, and this beautiful young lady is my granddaughter, Ebina." The young woman smiled before leaving the room to make the food, while both talked of doubts that he had.
It took the old man three hours to clarify everything. It was an open and peaceful magical world, the inside power instead of the chakra. He also knew of a group of mages working in guilds.
Ebina called them for food, but a scream that came from outside. They followed the noise to the center of the village and found the source, a group of men in coats. It appeared they had stabbed the shoulder of a woman. A few feet away lay an unconscious man; he was next to a small child, who was crying for the man to wake up.
"It is not acceptable to give me something that is below the established quota," said one of the men in coats. "We don't care if there is no money. You pay it back, or your family dies."
The stabbed woman was shaking with fear.
"Who are they?" asked Naruto.
"They are a dark guild," Jaku explained. "They take things out of law for bad purposes. They arrived making a quota for the floor to live. As you see, this village lives off the agriculture, and we cannot pay such a ridiculous quota without working as slaves." Jaku gave the men in coats a look. Never had they been treated in this way in all the life that had stepped into this village.
"We have sent a request for assistance to several guilds, but none had replied. Apparently, the remote location of our town makes things complicated," added Ebina. She watched what was happening.
It worsened when the child kicked the leg of one mage.
"Get away from mom and dad, garbage!"
The mage kicked the child in the stomach, ignoring pleas from the mother.
"It seems that you need a punishment for trying to be a hero." The mage went to stab the child when a hand that came out of nowhere stopped him.
"Attacking a child. You're despicable!" Naruto squeezed so that his arm broke. Jaku and Ebina looked to where Naruto had been a second ago. That speed was inhumane.
"How dare you!" The mage turned to him angrily.
"Looks like you're new here. Let's make this guy aware what happens next."
About twenty people surrounded Naruto in a circle, each holding a strange kind of weapon. Naruto smiled happily. It had been a while. Despite the men not appearing strong, the feeling of seeing them wanting to fight was a gift.
"This is a little unfair," Naruto replied. "We will tip the balance. Shadow –" Without making the characteristic jutsu symbol, five clones appeared.
Both Naruto and Kurama were amazed by this fact. They did not have time to think of this. They were nothing more than sacks with weapons. They had no problems in beating them, but Naruto wanted to make it more fun. He gave them a kick in the same direction in the air, joining them in a spot where the original Naruto was waiting for them with a Rasengan, but with a broader color than usual. The direct hit took the subject that caused the problem. He screamed he would have revenge while being fired throughout the forest; it was almost from sight when there came the shrill of impact.
All the villagers were happy but did not remove the look of surprise to see such strength of the young blond.
"Oops. That was too much. I hope the broken harvests do not make you. Are all you alright?" There was silence, and then everyone came to congratulate Naruto and bombarded him with questions, something that he was used to because of their status in their world. The clones helped the couple to go to the house of Jaku, who was the medic of the village. The child followed them but turned to hug the leg of Naruto.
"Thank you, Sir. I would like to be as strong as you to protect my parents."
Naruto put his hand on the child's head, stirring his white hair.
"Only train a little, but remember this. The more important power comes from your heart, to protect the people important to you. This is there where the real force comes, believe it." Naruto smiled before as he watched the child go to his parents.
"Naruto-san, that was awesome. Didn't you use two different types of spells?" asked the granddaughter, Ebina.
The jinchūriki meditated it a little. There was nothing wrong with telling the truth.
"I don't use magical energy. I use an internal energy that I call chakra. Regarding my skills, I dominated the air and created solids clones."
Even though he refused, the town made Naruto a party in his honor.
It was very modest, but he preferred the other way, without exaggeration or luxuries, just people passing well.
"You are truly strong. Why don't you join a guild? With your skills, you can enter one of the most important ones," an old woman told him. Naruto stopped eating the homemade ramen. He had to survive during his stay here. Where better to do it in a place similar to the mission of Konoha, only with more members and a world free?
"Could you give me some guild names?"
"Of course. The best now is Sabertooth. They are good but sometimes arrogant. There is also Lamie Scale and Blue Pegasus."
They sounded interesting. In some, they would be amongst the best. Kurama smiled, knowing what his teammate thought. Naruto didn't want to start with a good position. He tried to work hard, start from the bottom, as would be the case of someone with skills in a small guild. Naruto had already made his decision.
"I understand. But I do not care to enter there. Would you tell me the least great guilds in Fiore?"
The old woman thought about this before looking at the ground. "It is a tragic story. This guild used to be the best years ago. It had a reputation for destroying any village where a member carried out a mission. Unfortunately, seven years ago, their best members, including the master, died in an incident on an island. We never realized what happened. After that, the guild went down by debts. It had a few members who were faithful to withstand the taunts."
The story sounded interesting enough. It seemed a special place.
"What is the name?"
The elder looked at him, smiling at the memories. This guild had helped her when she was younger. "Fairy Tail."
"Fairy Tail?" The name sounded great. Naruto never thought if the fairies had tails. It was the right place.
"It's decided. Tomorrow morning, I will go there. I hope that it is not far."
"The city is called Magnolia, a full day by train from the village station, nearest south of here. But for now, enjoy the party."
The night passed; the sailing between meals, simple jokes and laughs to pull themselves into the soil by typical nonsense. With the help of the clones, Naruto helped to clean the place. He did not like to see inside while the people are working.
At sunrise, everyone had gathered to see him off. They gave Naruto a backpack with some money for the trip and food. A curious currency called jewels.
"Just follow the first road, turn left at the sign of the old wood and go forward. It is a four hours walk. The train station is at the entrance. We regret that we cannot carry you in a vehicle," explained Jaku.
Naruto could use the forest to jump by branches, saving a little time. He had not been on a train since he was with Team Seven when they went to the land of snow to make the movie with the princess. He wanted to see more around this place.
"Are you going to return, Onii-san?" asked the child, holding the hands of his parents who were already healthy. It didn't bother Naruto that he was called this way. He liked being an example. He raised a thumb while giving his usual smile.
"Of course. I give you my word, and I have never broken my word."
Wiping the tears and smiles, Ebina came to the front with a collar. She took his hand without the band.
"This is a special necklace that the founder of this town uses. He was a wizard who controlled the air, similar to you. It is a treasure, and it would be an honor for us if you carried it. After all, you are the hero of the village."
The collar was similar to that used by the first Hokage, only that it was a darker blue and Naruto felt an intense energy inside the crystal. Naruto put it around his neck. It brought several memories, of when he won the bet to dominate the Rasengan with Grandma Tsunade.
"Thanks, Ebina-chan, thank you all for your hospitality. I promise to care for this treasure with my life. Goodbye! See you soon!" He started walking, raising his hand as a sign of dismissal. People hoping to see Naruto again, the mysterious guy who had saved them from these criminals.
Once he was lost to their sight, on the edge of the forest, Naruto started to jump between trees.
"Naruto. I have an explanation of what happened yesterday with your clones." Naruto stayed silent so Kurama would explain. "The natural energy of this world is more abundant in the Shinobi world. You do not need seals for molding your chakra. You can use them to make the strongest attack, like the Rasengan. Also, entering safe mode will be easier for you. To increase ease and damage to your attackers, try to activate it."
It didn't take Naruto three seconds to switch to Sage mode. He was astonished by the ridiculous amount of natural energy as he tried to use a simple Rasengan and think up an Odama Rasengan with one hand. He would have to practice this extra power control. He turned it off and continued his way.
He came to the village to buy the ticket train. It was a relaxing day, enjoying a ride with a green view, full of life without any trace of any war or hatred between people.
Arriving at Magnolia the next day, he was amazed by the picturesque village. There was a road by the place with tourists, seeing the Cathedral. This type of infrastructure could not found in the Elemental Nations. Naruto wanted to have a panoramic view, so regardless of the people he ran into a light pole and climbed up to his feet, reaching a kind height where he felt the wind. Far away he saw what looked like a castle, but it seemed closed. Facing the view, he saw the fuzzy name of Fairy Tail. As they told him they had economic problems, he wasn't sure how they could afford the property of this massive building. He would have to ask.
"Hey, the blonde with the rare clothes," shouted a man. "Could you please return to the ground. The city owns the light pole." Naruto looked down and saw many people. He thought it was an excellent opportunity to ask, so he leaped from the height as though it was nothing, calling, even more, attention to himself.
"My apologies. I'm new in town and wanted to see a better view" he explained, scratching his head.
"With that you did, climbing with your feet, you must be a magician. Are you searching for the guild to join as a member?" asked someone who looked like a guard.
"Yes, I come with that purpose."
"I see. A few blocks away is Twilight Ogre. It is the building with the gloomy aspect and an ogre statue."
Naruto shook his head. "No. I'm looking for the one called Fairy Tail. I can't find it."
People began to laugh loudly now, including the guard. It was the worst, and Naruto did not deserve to be ridicule as he had been in the past. People were always often cruel and ignorant.
"Why would you want to join a seedy guild that makes ridiculous magical games? You seriously should reconsider. Someone as cute as you are should not die of hunger," a girl told him, trying to flirt, only to receive a cold look from Naruto that silenced the laughter.
He spoke with a dry voice. "Do you know where it is, yes or no? I don't like to waste my time."
The guard, who was trying to hide his fear, replied, "At the outskirts, within the forest to the east, there is a path that takes you there."
"Thanks for your help." He moved through the people, regardless of the whispers about him. He was already accustomed to it.
He came to a building of old wood. It looked like a small farm, with abandoned crops and a windmill. What attracted attention was a problem in the door. About five people were pushing a child with an orange scarf and black hair.
"Do not disturb in adults business. We have given them time to pay its debts, and our master has had enough patience with your poor guild," screamed one of the group. He tried to intimidate them with an ugly look and with a sword.
"Just a little more time. We don't have many orders and have problems with the maintenance of the place. I assured him that in a month I would repay them half of the debt," explained Macao. He was desperate and impotent for not defending his son. He felt the cold iron rubbing his neck. He did not rival them and did not want to endanger his family by a silly reaction.
"It is always the same excuse. It is time to teach them a lesson… guys?"
Everyone looked at the young blond, as Naruto stood around the inert bodies of members of Twilight Ogre. He had beaten them without making any noise in such a short time.
With hands in his pockets, Naruto began to walk, listening to their steps. His eyes were covered by his bangs as he came next to the man. He placed the kunai against his neck, taking some blood so that he understood that he was not playing.
"Get out and take your rubbish with you." Naruto's irises were red to intimidate; only the leader could see his eyes, threatening death. He took his friends, shouting that he would return. Seeing them run like hens was great.
"Who are you?" asked a woman with green hair, with a little girl.
Naruto's eyes changed to normal to look at them, while he presented a small smile as he scratched his nose.
"I am Naruto Uzumaki, and I've come to join Fairy Tail."