Naruto was sad. Kakashi had ditched him to teach Sasuke for the finals. Apparently, Kakashi couldn't keep to his own motto. Naruto left the hospital downtrodden, moving the training grounds to at least attempt to improve himself. He trained until he passed out, sometime late in the evening.
While he was asleep though, he had a dream. Or what he thought was a dream. It felt like when he walked within the seal, to see the Kyuubi. But, instead of sewers, there was nothing. He could feel a voice, guiding him. It was strange, because he could not hear this voice. He followed it all the same. After walking for what seemed like hours, he arrived at three pedestals.
These pedestals were interesting. On the left one, there was a card. It was blank, but seemed to be made of metal. The pedestal it was on seemed to have no color or form, it simply was. Naruto would almost say the card was floating, but it wasn't.
The middle one held a sword. It also had a note, which Naruto decided to read.
'He who wields this blade need to fear death. He who wields this sword need not hesitate. None may stop the eternal tempest, and none can kill that which exists within multiple worlds.'
This confused Naruto very much, but he decided not to dwell on it. He decided the sword would look awesome, and went to reach for it. He was assaulted by images though. Images of him slicing through thousands of people, filling the sky and the ground with blood and fear. He stepped away from the sword, rather terrified of what else he would see.
He moved to the last item, a shard of some plastic item. It was a deep blue, and seemed to radiate cold. Naruto reached to touch it, and was assaulted by images again. These images merely showed him controlling water without even a stray thought. He saw himself raising the ocean and launching it at the land, drowning all of his enemies, but ruining the land and killing many who were not enemies.
He moved to the card, interested in seeing what images would assault him there. Instead of images however, he felt something. He felt whole, as if there was a part of himself that was missing, and this card returned it. He grabbed the card, hoping to try and get actual images instead of feelings, but to no avail. The voice that led him here returned, and this time Naruto could hear it well.
'Do you accept the power of Idelis, the Kinslayer? Do you accept the Forbidden power that not even gods have mastered? Do you accept the power of the Ghost Method?'
Naruto was puzzled. The Ghost Method? And Idelis, who was that? NAruto didn't let it bother him though. The card felt right, so he held it tighter.
"Yes, I do."
'Then so be it. Accept the power that was sealed away, and barred forever from all worlds. Accept it, and master it as Idelis the Equalizer did. Show the world the power it has long forgotten.'
With that, Naruto awoke. Suddenly, he knew. He knew what the Ghost Method was, what it could do, what it was for. He understood. The Ghost Method was no mere control exercise, nor was it a technique. It simply was. He saw Idelis' Memories on the subject, came to understand it. He felt his chakra growing, and he smiled. He knew he had perfect control now.
A month later, the final exam came. Many people were excited. Daimyo's and Lords of all kinds came to watch, looking for the best shinobi to hire. The Sandaime however, was worried. No one could find hide nor hair of his favorite genin, one Naruto Uzumaki. Not that anyone tried all that hard. However, Sarutobi could see young Naruto down there, in the arena. His attire was new, being a dark blue of everything but his boots. Overall, he looked far more dangerous, and far different than before.
NAruto wore deep blue cargo pants. Though no one knew it, these pants were covered in seals that many had never heard of. The Ghost Method had helped to process the memories of the one who last used the Ghost Method, Idelis. And Idelis was a Seideiri. A species that was highly adept at seals. Seals had little differences, being a highly strict art. Naruto inherited his amstery of seals and the Ghost Method, as well as numerous other things, from Idelis.
Naruto also had a combat vest on, with the same seals as his pants. His hands were covered by fingerless gloves which also had seals for hidden surprises. His feet were covered by Combat Boots that also had numerous seals. And of course, the most noticable feature was his deep blue trench coat. It had no unique features, like the Yondaime Hokage's did. It was simply a deep blue trench coat. His hair had also been dyed a deep brown.
The seals were all basically the same, with a few variances. Common across all of his attire was his camouflage seals, which allowed his clothing to blend into any environment with naught but a thought. There were also weight seals, which increased the weight of everything he wore. And there were storage seals hiding various weaponry which he had managed to pilfer over his time being hidden from the world.
If one looked closely enough, they could see his focus, his intelligence. One of the few in the audience that now knew the true him couldn't help but smirk at seeing him. The Fire Daimyo had been rather surprised to see NAruto show up in his palace near the start of the month. He had heard of the Uzumaki being alive, and had tried to get an audience with him years ago, to explain the truth. But alas, it seemed Konoha simply did not respect any authority that was not itself. It made what the Daimyo had to order easier.
The Daimyo's counterparts mirrored his smirk. When they had originally been contacted by the Uzumaki Lord, they were rather surprised. The pact that Uzu no Kuni made with every country was still strong, though no one could act on it. It was assumed that Konoha would cleverly bar every attempt to speak to the boy that the Daimyo's made. For the boy to slip from Konoha's grasp so easily, just to speak to the Daimyo was something amazing in and of itself.
The Month until the exams was spent on training. Naruto found he learned at prodigal rate. He had contacted the Daimyo the day he received his Ghost, that card from the dream. He had suddenly simply gained the information of the pact of Uzu, and moved to act on it.
He learned many things from the Daimyos. He learned Politics, Law, and Manners. He learned swordplay and strategy from their generals. He learned anatomy and alchemy from their assassins. And he learned to be at peace, and how to remain focused, from their monks. He mastered these skills within a month, showing merely a glimpse of what he could do using his ghost.
However, he did find that he could not use the Kage Bunshin while he was actively using the ghost, as his chakra could not be divided correctly for the technique to work. As he looked across the audience, he saw the Sandaime stand, and knew that the tournament would start now. He couldn't help but smirk in anticipation. It was time to show Konoha why betraying their allies was a BAD thing to do. It was time to show the world why the Uzumaki were feared.
End Chapter Notes;
The Ghost Method is an ancient method for controlling the energy that makes up any one world. It comes with a high price, though Naruto will not be suffering that price due to Idelis. Idelis' full history will be explained later. For now, know that Idelis was the most feared being in his world. He was responsible for the end of that world, and the permanent sealing of the Ghost Method. However, not even the gods knew the depths of his power, and just how many burdens he held upon himself.
NAruto will be gaining some of his abilities, but not all. The ones he does gain will be severely stunted as well, as Idelis did leave behind limiters and restrictions within that card. Speaking of, that card will also be explained later, as it does have bearing on the Ghost Method.
Naruto learned at an impossible rate, I know this. However, you either underestimate the power of the world, or don't know just what the Ghost Method is yet. Knowledge is something that exists. The human mind stores knowledge within it, and when the human dies, they convert into energy. This energy is the very energy that makes up the world, and it is often recycled to bring more life. Irregardless of the fact that it can stretch infinitely. I guess it's jsut lazy though. Can't blame it there.
Read of Review. I'm not a person who writes normally, and this struck me as a fancy and random thing. However, I'm a little unstable right now, and hope writing can help me mentally. Going insane is fun and all, but I'd rather not go so insane that I start killing people for fun. Believe me, I'm pushing to it.
Review any mistakes you find, but please do be respectful about it. There is a difference between flaming and criticizing. Being rude or offensive will not improve my writing, horrible as it is. It will only cause me to shut down and dissuade me from continuing the story!
I believe this is enough for now though. Don't worry about me losing the idea though. I've known of Idelis and his little history for a while, and find myself fascinated by it. Truly, he was a man to respect and fear.