Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I doing this for profitable gain, all rights go to their respective owners.

From Lore to Reality: The Forgotten Ones Return

Arc One: A New Era Begins

Chapter One

The prank had gone off without a hitch. The Konoha academy walls of Iruka's classroom, as well as its occupants, were splattered with copious amounts of orange colored paint. There was only one person who loved this color with such passion, a person whom was currently under a desk holding his sides as he laughed. This person, was Naruto Uzumaki.

"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled in obvious anger with Mizuki and the students giving equal stares of malice.

The stares didn't effect Naruto in the slightest for that is all he could remember in his six years of life. The stares of hate from some of the villagers confused him greatly, but his childlike innocence shrugged it off for the most part. At first, Naruto thought the pranks he pulled were the cause of these stares, but after seeing a civilian being taken by ANBU for muttering something, he began to have other thoughts. So much so, that he went to his Ji-Ji, better known to all as the Sandaime Hokage, and asked the simple question of why. Hiruzen, the Sandaime, response was that he'd find out when he was older. Although being only six years old, Naruto's mind was quite sharp. Add the childlike innocence, and you have one VERY curious child. This curiosity led him to the library, a place which he would soon find himself at again but for an entirely different reason.

After being pulled from his cover by one of his ears, of which was very painful to the young blonde haired shinobi hopeful, Iruka gave Naruto a stern lecture about his pranking before assigning him a task he had to complete before returning to class. The task was a hard one for the six-year-old, but to Iruka he hoped that the difficulty would keep the delinquent out of class, and the shinobi corps, for good. For he knew what Naruto contained as well as the Sandaime's law concerning the events of October 10th. That day was the day Iruka lost his father to the Nine-tailed fox. A day which many lost loved ones all of which harbored hate for the boy whom contained it; Naruto Uzumaki. The law, however, forbade any harm to befall the child as well as any mention of its name. The punishment? Public execution via the Sandaime, and a very gruesome one at that as those to witness such events can attest.

"Stupid Iruka giving me stupid research!" Naruto grumbled to himself as he trudged to the library to complete his task. "Pick your favorite topic he says…I don't even have…." The lightbulb in his head suddenly brightened. "The Hokage!"

With a smile on his face, Iruka's lecture out of his mind for now, Naruto rushed into the library and instantly went toward the section which detailed the history of Konoha, Hokage included. As he looked around, the librarian, an elder by the name of Megumi, just so happened to be stocking that section. Megumi's black eyes caught sight of the blonde and couldn't help but smile which seemed to accentuate the wrinkles on her paling, liver spotted face. Unknown to Naruto, Hiruzen had come to her with the task of helping Naruto to read, write, among other basics. On top of that, she was to give monthly reports on Naruto's progress of which both her and Hiruzen were impressed with so far.

Above average intelligence, ambidextrous, a photographic memory, a good handle on stealth and infiltration capabilities, aka pranking, among other tasks which would help him become a great shinobi if trained properly. However, that childlike innocence still remained which worried Hiruzen as Naruto didn't take no or don't do that for an answer. Instead, Naruto saw it as a challenge. A challenge to do what others could not, a challenge to become the best Hokage there was. Sadly, this mentality would soon lead to Naruto's best, and worst, day of his life thus far.

"Why the glum face, Naruto?" Megumi's grandmotherly tone brought Naruto out of his slump…somewhat.

"Stupid Iruka-Sensei gave me research after I paint-bombed his classroom." Naruto replied with a slight grin forming at the mention of paint-bomb.

Megumi sighed and shook her head with amusement as she looked around the bookshelf before pulling out two books which Naruto was able to read.

"These should help with your research, future Hokage." Megumi handed the books, one on the history of Konoha, the other on the Hokage, to Naruto whom took it with a smile.

"Thanks, Megumi-san."

"Anytime, but please choose carefully on who to prank next time." Naruto gave the librarian a confused look which made her smile sadly at past memories, of why she was a librarian in the first place.

"But you said pranking was good for infil…infil…."

"Infiltration, Naruto. Stealth as well, but the cost of choosing the wrong target can be high." Megumi sighed as Naruto still gave her that confused look. "My left leg is false, youngin'. A replacement that Tsunade and Jiraiya both helped make after an enemy shinobi used my explosive trap against me in the Second Shinobi War."

Naruto looked at the leg and all seemed normal which confused him even more. Apparently his facial expressions portrayed this a little too well which made Megumi let out a soft chuckle before patting Naruto on the head.

"It's a genjutsu mixed with a henge, Naruto, something you will learn much later in life. Now go on, take a seat and get to studying."

Naruto nodded and ran to find a seat to begin hours of research though what Megumi said made the Uzumaki think of apologizing to Iruka. His mind, however, soon gravitated towards the cooler things a shinobi could do, things he hoped to find in one of these books. Two hours had passed, and Naruto was ready to fall asleep as he hadn't found anything that interested him. Luckily for him, that was all about to change as he got to the pages which discussed the Sandaime and the Yondaime Hokage being the only Hokages with summoning contracts.

"Summoning?" Naruto read onwards and found that summoning was what that Inu ANBU could do, but instead of monkeys or toads, his was a dog. "Sugoi! I wonder if I could get a contract like them?" Another thought came to mind shortly after this, and it all dealt with what type of pranks he could pull.

Naruto quickly closed the book and went back to the section where Megumi was at and tried to look for a book on how to summon, but no such luck. This irked Naruto to the point where he saw learning how to do this awesome technique as a challenge. Luckily for him, he remembered Inu summoning one of the puppies a couple days ago so that they could play fetch. There was but one problem with this, and that dealt with the hand signs needed. Inu completed these in a fast succession, much too fast for Naruto's eyes to see. Again, Naruto grumbled to himself and decided to call it a day. He checked out the books that Megumi gave him and headed home to see if his academy textbook would be of any help.

It was a book he never opened as he thought the teachers would help him progress like any other student. Although a young child, he picked up on the teacher's glares and had a feeling in his gut that he was being taught wrong. Naruto sighed at this. Here he was, but a six-year-old child with only five people he considered friends and no parents to be found. Those five were his Ji-Ji, Megumi, Inu, and the Ichiraku's, Teuchi and Ayame. And although they were a great substitute for parental figures, Naruto wished he had actual parents like everyone around him. He shook those thoughts from his head as he got to the studio sized apartment the Sandaime gave him.

Once inside, he made his way into the kitchen to make some instant ramen. The kettle of water now on the stove, Naruto proceeded into his small bedroom and picked up the academy book by his bedside. After leafing through and finding the section on hand signs, he went to the kitchen table, sat down, and began to read. The only interruption being the kettle whistling and Naruto having to get up to make his ramen from a stash he has in his upper cupboard by the fridge. Hours passed, most being meticulous practice on the 12 hand signs, but in those hours a certain beast had woken up and peered into his containers memories and soon came up with a plan to break out.

With a toothy grin and an evil glint in his eye, the Kyuubi pushed a minuscule amount of his chakra past the seal to jump-start Naruto's chakra network. That done, Kyuubi pushed the memory of the Yondaime summoning a giant toad to crush him just as Naruto was starting to nod off in the chair he was sitting in. Naruto instantly snapped awake and shook the cobwebs out of his head. As much as he wanted to dismiss this as a daydream, everything seemed too real. Even though it was the dead of night, Naruto rushed out of his apartment and went towards a nearby training ground to test the dream he had. Once there he first attempted to bring out his chakra like the academy book had shown. This of course was a success, but it also caught the attention of a couple ANBU whom was guarding Naruto; Inu being one of them.

"Should we intervene, taicho?" Boar said to Inu whom was next to him.

Inu was about to say no, but his eyes widened on what hand signs Naruto was starting to perform. Just as he was about to use shunshin to halt Naruto in his tracks, a massive surge of Kyuubi's chakra exploded from Naruto just as he slammed his hands to the ground. While the boy went up in a puff of smoke, the whole village was now wide awake and afraid for their lives. Boar and Inu had no choice but to help calm the villagers, but before that they had to deliver the terrible news to the Sandaime Hokage.

The news that Naruto attempted a summon without a contract with the possibility of the Kyuubi influencing him to do so.

In a distant realm, the air was filled with acrid smoke from the many active volcanoes on its mountainous and sparsely forested terrain. Lava pools dotted the land as the volcanoes spewed out its molten interior, with any forest caught in it lit ablaze. One would think that life couldn't possibly be able to function here, but along these mountains were carved out caves. Caves which were large enough to house the giant, scaled creatures that made this place their home. Creatures which were only spoken about in lore. This realm was the home of those lost to time.

The dragons.

"Lord Bahamut, doth thou sense that?" An onyx scaled dragon exclaimed in Old English as it flew into his Lord's cavern.

"Aye, that I do my son." Bahamut let out a grin as he stood which showed the great size difference between the two. While the Lord's son had room to move around the large cavern, Bahamut barely had any for he was almost twice the size. "Been many a day since we last had a summoner."

The son, even though he didn't look it, was nervous. It was something that Bahamut caught, his glowing ember eyes now boring into his son's own. The head dragon didn't have to say anything for the son knew he had to speak up lest be punished.

"The new summoner hath landed in…in…" The son looked at the scar on his right side, a large gash where Bahamut struck him for speaking The Traitorous One's name.

The Dragon Lord caught it and roared out for all the realm to hear. The cavern shook which made rock crumble off the walls, and the dragons under his command to shake with fear. For it was an angry roar, one they heard before. One they heard on that night Alduin, The Traitorous One, had helped destroy humanity with that Ten-Tailed beast. Unlike what lore stated, the Dragons were relatively peaceful and good natured. They had a temper though, one they all learned to control for the loss of control meant utter devastation to both friend and foe alike. It was for this reason that Alduin was cast away to the farthest edge of their realm and sealed within with the help of the one they call the Enlightened One; the Sage of Six Paths.

The roar ended just as Bahamut got out of his cave, his son behind him. With but a nod, both took off with the other dragons not far behind. This was a new era for the dragons, an era which they hoped they would see the world they once inhabited again. However, this era would all be for naught if the one that came to them were to die.

Naruto began to cough as the decreased oxygen in this realm had started to affect his overall health. Not only that, he was instantly sweating from the intense heat this world had. From what Naruto could see, as the smoke stung his eyes, this place was hell; the Shinigami's domain. A distant roar sealed that fact which made his heart pump faster and his breathing to quicken. As Naruto started to shake in fear, the beast which set all of this up hoping for escape was doing the same.

The Kyuubi knew this realm well, for it was one that he helped create with his father and the other Tailed-Beasts. A creation they made so that the future inhabitants of the world they lived in would never abuse the power of the Dragons, and to seal away the one to help destroy humanity in the first place. The Kyuubi was now shaking not only in fear, but also due to the loneliness that had built up from years of being sealed up. Never to see his fellow tailed-beasts again. The tears started to flow, and with it the Kyuubi shrunk into an average sized adult woman. A dark red kimono covered her modesty, the nine-tails now wrapped around her as she assumed the fetal position in her cage. As she sobbed, which echoed about the room she was in, Kyuubi never saw five figures approach her, each with disappointment etched on their face.

Back in the Dragon realm, Naruto coughed and fell to his knees as the acrid air burned his lungs. He never felt the sharp lava rock puncture and gouge his knees and legs.

"I…I want to go home!" Naruto hoarsely said, now afraid for his life.

The Uzumaki tried to stand, but the lack of oxygen had started to cause brain fog which made him stumble and fall down again. This time, he screamed in pain as the lava rock scraped and cut up his skin. This scream, however, was cut short as something large landed in front of him. Naruto dared to look at what had found him, and he soon wished he hadn't for the beast in front of him was that of nightmares.

Deep red eyes, like that of glowing rubies, stared deep into Naruto's soul while the onyx scaled snout had started to smoke. A bright orange glow, of what Naruto could only think as fire, was between the beast's massive jaws. With a roar, the dragon let out its wings to show its massive wingspan and spewed a massive fireball into the air. Oddly, it seemed to hit a barrier once it reached a certain height. It was here that Naruto tried to run, but soon cried in pain as the dragon caught him by one of his talons and brought him up close and personal. Alduin growled as he sniffed the boy…a human, the race he despised the most. Many times had he tried to erase humanity but many times he was defeated and cast away. His latest attempt was the closest due to help, but again he was defeated. This time, it seemed for good. Until Naruto showed up, that is.

"Hmm, as much as I loathe those two-legged snacks, I smell great potential in this child and…" Alduin sniffed again as he smelled something else within the boy, something familiar. "Ah…so the Juubi does still live after all."

Alduin smirked as a plan came to mind, one where he could use this child as his instrument of destruction. This was quashed as Naruto twitched and let out a roar as Kyuubi's chakra covered his body. In an instant, Naruto broke free from Alduin's grasp and used the power he had to punch the dragon in the snout. However, being only six years old, Naruto couldn't handle too much of the Kyuubi's chakra and passed out as he fell to the sharp rocks below.

As Alduin reeled from the inhuman punch, some of his teeth broken in the process, he could only roar in anger as he saw his plan come to an end as Naruto was impaled upon the stones below. So angry was he, in fact, that the Traitorous One let his anger control him once again. Naruto didn't feel the pain of the claws raking across his body from his right eye to his left hip, of which almost cut him in half. The only thing that Naruto felt was pure bliss as his soul left this world. Pure happiness that he wouldn't have to endure the stares of hate anymore. And pure joy that he would finally get to see the parents he longed to meet.

"Wake up, my son." A motherly voice whispered which prompted Naruto to open his eyes.

After blinking a few times, he looked to see a red headed female next to him with five other people in a vast white space. Naruto was confused at first, but he soon remembered everything that led up to this. The smile on his face made everyone frown as they knew that Naruto's life should've been much different. However, certain actions by certain people had forced this timeline to occur.

"I'm finally free." Naruto whispered before looking at the red head beside him again, and the blond spiky haired man behind her.

Although Naruto was shocked that the Yondaime was his father, having felt this at an instinctual level, and angry at those who didn't tell him, Naruto didn't care anymore as he had finally found peace. Parents and child reunited in a hug with tears being shed, behind them the other four figures looked on in sadness; the one in the red kimono hurting the most.

A hand was felt on her shoulder which made Kyuubi look into her father's eyes.

"Sad you are, Kurama, my child, but in those eyes I can sense a longing to forgive what you've caused." Kurama, the Kyuubi, couldn't bear to look at anyone, so she looked at the ground which made the elder man sigh. "You are but a part of this path which has led to this child's untimely demise. Do not dwell in the shadows of sorrow for this, Kurama, for he will grow to accept you in time."

"Hagoromo is correct." One of the other figures, a woman in a pure white kimono with long flowing golden hair and emerald green eyes, replied. Her face was that of perfection, like a goddess. "I have foreseen a great future with this child, though that future will come at a cost which my heart cannot bear."

The other figure, whom was dressed in a black-blue kimono and had pale, ashen, skin along with dark soulless eyes, could only nod with a grin. A grin which was wiped out as the woman in the white kimono smacked him across the head.

"Mou, why do you do such things Kami?" The man whined as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You know why…keep it in your pants, Shin!" The now revealed Kami replied back which made Shin, the Shinigami, let out a perverted chuckle.

"So I really am dead." Naruto exclaimed which made the four figures turn towards him.

"Oh, what makes you think that, child?" Kami asked inquisitively, her angelic voice soothing those around her.

Naruto didn't say anything but motioned around him, ending with a point at Kami and Shinigami. The latter of which chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. Here was a kid who actually believed in the higher powers, and believed that they were standing here so that they could judge his soul.

"Dead is a loose term, child." The Shinigami spoke in a gruff, raspy voice; like that of death. "This is limbo, the realm between the living and dead." Naruto blinked his eyes in confusion, he could've sworn being impaled meant death. "And we aren't here to judge your soul."

"Instead," Kami interrupted, "All of us are here to help you cope with the next chapter in your life, one which has two paths for you to choose from, one which…" Kami paused to look at Naruto whom was looking off into the distance. "…and you're not listening are you?"

Naruto blinked and turned to Kami, "Hmm, you say something?"

Even though the mood was very somber, everyone couldn't help but to laugh while Naruto looked at them with a smile on his face. Inu had taught him well.

AN: I'm back everyone, with a new story and new writing style. Hopefully this one is much better for I hope to use it when rewriting my older works. I used to give out hints in AN's but no longer will I do so. Please review and/or give me any advice via PM on how to improve this new writing style. Flamers, however, will be ignored. I will start tri-monthly updates after this (12 chapters/year), a schedule I hope to keep. However, my future career path will determine if this stays. Lastly, I hope this is different than other types of these stories on this site, and NO this will NOT be a crossover. Some elements, however, might be added in later.

Best regards,

Random