Awakening: Rise of the Architect

by Bardock92

Ordered by her father to assist Zhao's invasion of the Northern Water Trive, Azula comes across a hidden underground passage that holds the Fire Nation's greatest secret. A man bound in chains who possesses frightening powers, his origins unknown. Upon release, what does this youth plan to accomplish? Where do his loyalties lie? Dark Powerful Naruto, NaruHarem. More details inside.

2. Chapter II: Awakened

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in you see in this crossover, I'm just a fan of the works you see here.

Author's Note: Hope all of you eager viewers out there enjoy Chapter II; I'm sticking with this story until its finished; one way or another!

First off, I'd like to apologize for holding future Chapter's "hostage" as I've heard the time been used multiple times thus far. From now on I will post the Chapters periodically when I am done with each one, for example I will only post Chapter 5 when I am done with Chapter 6; in order to give viewers enough time to read one Chapter (give or take I'll wait about four/five days) then I'll post the next Chapter afterwards.I've actually had to split Chapter 3 into two Seperate Parts; Chapter's 3 & 4, because I felt it was way too long.

I'm almost done with Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 is already in progress.*Key*
"Talking"
Thinking
"Kyuubi Talking"
Kyuubi Thinking

*Japanese Key*
Baa-chan=Grandma. (This refers to Tsunade.)
Oji-chan=Grandpa. (This refers to Jiraiya.)
Oji-san=Old Man. (This usually refers to Hiruzen Sarutobi, unless Naruto uses the term to piss someone old off *cough cough Pakku cough cough*.)
Teme=Bastard.
Chan=An affectionate term used by boys to be said to girls they like, a term of familiarity amongst the Japanese. The opposite of Chan is the word Kun, a suffix used by girls to address boys they admire.
Hime=Princess. (This will usually refer to Azula, but Naruto will use this term to Yue when he meets her as well; he will also playfully use this suffix to antagonize Azula once in a while.)
Gaki=A degrading term in the Japanese language, usually means 'Brat.'
Shinra Tensei=Almighty Push.
Katon: Fureasutomu no Jutsu=Fire Style: Flare Storm Jutsu.
Raiton: Borutotorunedo-jutsu o sekken=Lightning Style: Sweeping Bolt Tornado Jutsu.
Doton: Rakka sekijun no Jutsu=Earth Release: Freefall Stalagmite Jutsu.
Gedo: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu=Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
Jikukan Ido=Space Time Migration.
Hi no Kuni=Land of Fire.
Konohagakure=Village Hidden by the Leaves.
Sunagakure=Village Hidden by Sand.
Iwagakure=Hidden Stone Village.
Amegakure=Village Hidden by Rain.
Kirigakure=Village Hidden by Mist.
Kumogakure=Village Hidden by Clouds.
Otogakure=Village Hidden by Sound.
Hoshigakure=Village Hidden among Stars.
Nadeshiko no Sato=Nadeshiko Village.
Konoha no Kirroi Senko=Konoha's Yellow Flash.
Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu=Seven Swordsman of the Mist.

Allow me to alleviate some fears some of the viewers (you guys) listed for the reviews of Chapter I.

1) Twenty-two members of the harem? Really? I know Naruto is considered a Stamina God, but even that seems a bit much. I mean, Temari and Shikamaru seemed to work well. Karin May work out, based on how Sasuke betrayed her, but why would Katara, Toph and Yue join up. Katara hates all things Fire Nation, Toph likes Sokka for some reason, and Yue died after Admiral Zhao tried to kill the Moon Spirit.-Tanequin.

Response: Please remember that I noted pairings would be added slowly throughout the story and note happen immediately; I have read other fanfics where Naruto gets literally every girl imaginable in one Chapter, it's absolutely ridiculous. Plus, Naruto (in this story anyway) is a very charismatic person; capable of providing good arguements that shows the logic of each side's purpose without truly taking a side. And since this is a fanfic, characters canon opinions of certain things/people can change; not immediately to be granted realism, but they can change over time.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The girls of the Avatar World (not Naruto's world) aren't exactly going to fall in love with him immediately like other Harem Stories, granted while there's a lot of fanservice in those stories it isn't exactly realistic. Since there's going to be alot of Chapters each of which is very long length expect romances to paced out and not immediate. Lemons may come in due time, but if you're just here for smut this isn't your story.

2) I was hoping for something a bit more... on the evil side. I'll admit I was a bit put off by the whole 'redemption' issue... though, thinking about it, an apocalypse is bad on both sides, isn't it?-Grytr.Response: Granted, I can see your point of view. But as you yourself stated, wouldn't an apocalypse be bad on both sides?

Madara wanted to rule the world, not destroy it; devastating the world really wasn't his agenda, so if Earth was ruined it would be an enormous travesty for him as well. As for the 'redemption' issue when it comes to Naruto, look at it this way; if you were the only one who could save the world and you failed in the worst possible way (the near complete destruction of Earth itself) wouldn't you feel ungodly horrible about failing to save everyone you came to love and everything you swore to protect? Such is Naruto's issue, he feels guilty about the world he couldn't save and wants to 'redeem' himself here. Plus, there's also the fact that being 'Evil' and 'Dark' are two completely different things; Dark may border on the edge of Evil but it remains true to Good nontheless, albeit with making harsher decisions for the greater Good, despite what moral dillema's such situations could represent.

3) On a side note I wanted to apologize for some the grammitcal errors in Chapter I; whenever I transfer a story to it does it bests to fuck up my grammar; I went back and changed things I new got messed up through but I knew I was going to miss a few of my mistakes despite my efforts. Again, I apologize for any quirky errors you might encounter but rest assured I'll keep trying to fix anything I can find; there's nothing worse than sloppy writing.

4) Aww, and I was hoping that Anko would be in the Harem too (I rather like adding Anko to any Naru-Harem)...Tsunade was a bit iffy a choice seeing as she's related to Naruto and all. But other than that, I rather liked that you added Mei and Hinata as well...-Kurogane7

Response: With all due honesty I felt a bit guilty about leaving Anko out of the Harem; she's one of my favorite female characters of Naruto and one of the best damn characters in the show period. The reason I didn't add her is because I acknowledge the Harem is already excessive and I wanted to make it at least seem vaguely reasonable; I didn't wanted like fifty girls from Naruto's time ending up in this story with him, WAAAY to much to account for. And yes I know Tsunade is related to Naruto but keep in mind both his sister (Naruko) and his own mother (Kushina) were put in the Harem in the very first Chapter. Yes, I know it's incest and I know that subject is often taboo; but I specifically warned any viewers of its presence in this story if they were easily offended by such topics. The relationship between Naruto and his sister as well as his mother did NOT occur in his past life, it has yet to happen; meaning it will happen in the Avatar World, the "future" persay.

5) To anyone who questions that Naruto got all the tail in his time, NO, he didn't get ALL of it. Let me state that in this Chapter you'll find just because Naruto had alot of women to deal with doesn't mean he literally had ALL the women to deal with; other people had relationships too! That's also one of my pet peeves of Harem Stories; that not only does Naruto get anything with female parts but no other male gets to have any relationship due to the fact Naruto has literally every female in the Manga/Anime in his little collection. Just because it's a Harem Story doesn't mean that the one character designated with the Harem should have every female to the point where no one else has a shot, it's unfair and incredibly unrealistic.

Also, to ANYONE who questions/asks why Smellerbee is in the Harem and that I should replace her with Suki...

...It's not happening. Sokka is going to be with Suki, that relationship will stay the for why I put Smellerbee and not Suki and why I don't plan on reversing the two is simple, Smellerbee is WAAAY underrated. She's hardly ever used in stories that don't deal with her being paired up with either Longshot or Jet; unlike Katara and Sokka who get paired up with everybody, even one another (Watercest exists, you don't have to search too hard to find it.)

Plus, she always reminded me alot of Toph, just with the key difference of being able to see.

6) On a side note I'm honestly OK with the harem the only things i can say in regards to it though is, to make it better, write a story that takes place before this one to detail how everything happened. I mean i could see writing a chapter or two but I honestly feel that wouldn't do this story justice. Second, I don't understand how Kya could be added to the harem I mean unless mind control is used I don't see it working.-PuricKnight.

Response: I can understand your concerns amigo, with some tales it's never really said how Naruto's world "ended" its just implied. As for how Naruto gained such an immense amount of power and skills, that too will be revealed as will what exactly occurred in the past. As for Kya, yes, I know she's dead at this point but since *Spoiler* Naruto has the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique it doesn't mean she's going to specifically stay dead. Though when she does eventually return she won't exactly be the "same" Kya that Katara remembers; it won't be because of any mind control, but of a fault brought on upon by the Samsara Technique on Naruto's part.

*SPOILER* I initially didn't want to reveal this to keep it a surprise but Naruto's past isn't exactly going to "stay dead" persay. Something (or rather someone) from his past was reawakened as a result from when he he (Naruto) was; and that person (once he confronts Naruto) will often talk of the past as well. I'm not saying who this person is though, that's a I state beforehand, how Naruto attained such power and strengths will be eventually be uncovered for how they came to be, some material will be brought to the surface Chapter by Chapter; this also goes for how Naruto's world ended. And yes, it will be eventually be revealed who sealed Naruto away and for what purpose; that issue won't exactly be left hung to dry.

All I'll confirm for now is that it WASN'T Faust; if anything Faust SAVED him from the one who sealed him away in the first place, and I shouldn't even be saying that much to begin it comes to Main Villains, here's what's in store for the future.

Villain Line Up:
Avatar The Last Airbender Villain-Fire Lord Ozai
Naruto Villain-To Be Revealed (Not Madara)
Original OC Villain-The One Who Sealed Naruto Away. (Will be revealed in time, to be a Major Villain alongside Ozai and Naruto's old enemy.)

Side Villains:
Admiral Zhao
Long Feng
Combustion Man

I'm very grateful to you all for the attention this story has been getting thanks to your reviews. Criticism and questioning is accepted, I will do my best to make the story better, answer people's questions indirectly through the story and directly through Author's Notes, and keep in mind my faults to improve upon a side note, I know this is story isn't gonna please everyone; so if you're gonna do nothing but flame than I suggest you troll elsewhere. Constructive criticism is welcomed, calling the story bullshit just because you don't like it's principals is not helpful.

7) Pretty good first chapter. Looking forward to seeing where it goes. I do hope you slim the harem down maybe two or three members just to not make it such a clustered mesh of people, especially with all the vastly differing personalities. Also a change in general to the harem is drop Hinata, who is vastly overused as a pairing at this point, and replace her with her sister Hanabi. Though to point out the rinnegan can only revive the recently deceased, and given it was the Sage of the Six Paths that created the Kyuubi there is no reason it's power could change something that came before it to allow more paths.-Celestia GF of the Void

Response: Funny how I was originally considering about adding Hanabi, but I cut her due to the fact that I thought literally twenty two women (over a long distance of time/Chapters mind you) would be enough for Naruto. I cannot state enough that the pairings won't happen immediately, women from the world of Avatar aren't just gonna see Naruto and say "screw me"; that's not how relationships work, lol. And as for the Rinnegan only being able to revive the recently dead and not being able to change something before it to allow more Paths, keep in mind this is fanfiction and not Canon; certain Canonical events/matters don't apply much as I would've liked to add women like Hanabi or Anko, I decided against it due to the fact there's enough women in Naruto's Harem already.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT NARUTO'S HAREM

Some people may be asking why I didn't include Kushina Uzumaki or Naruko Uzumaki in Naruto's remembrance of who he hooked up with through the CRA, nor have I listed them in the Couplings from the Past Naruto Universe; the answer is simple, they haven't been incorporated into the harem and Naruko will be incorporated into the harem in time, but not immediately so. As I said before when all of Naruto's girls are introduced they won't specifically all be introduced at the same time, because they all have to be brought back to life and my version of Naruto said that bringing just a few people back from the grave could knock him out cold for quite awhile.

He can only bring about seven to ten people back at a time without passing out from chakra exhaustion, anymore and he's out cold. Yes, I KNOW it's incest but I did specifically warn any easily offended viewers within the first Chapter of its existence in this story, so in my own opinion no one has anything to complain about if they were warned beforehand.

Without further adue, the finger breaking Chapter II...rhyme not intended.
_

Cracking his neck impatiently, the youth groaned as his bones cracked from the ache of time. Even if his body has been taken care of by a Spirit, it didn't help the matter that it still felt like he hadn't moved in a few thousand years; probably because he hadn't. His muscles were sore and wanted to employ there functions again; something he was only too glad to fulfill again. But first, it looked like he'd have to introduce himself to his 'rescuers.'

He looked up them for a few moments, pausing on what exactly he should say to the people who freed him. It's not every day a man is freed from a slumber lasting more than two thousand years, and a 'thank you' would seem like quite a tame gift to offer them.

He'd answer their questions of course, and, if there was a better way to repay them; why not? It's not like he didn't have anything better to do anyway; besides, strolling around a changed countryside that used to be his home would most likely be an interesting experience anyway.

"So…after so long, I have been awakened at long last, freed from the chains that bound me. You…the one in red...you are the one been the instrument of my revival, are you not? I can sense that you are the one who has freed me, I need not guess if one of your companions did; you have that look upon you that demands respect." The blonde spoke firmly, knowing full well of where he was and how he got there; much to the mystery of Azula and her friends.

"I can only assume Faust informed you of whom and what I am before you decided to tempt fate and release me; I can't sense his presence in this realm anymore, he must've returned to the Spirit World. I truly can't blame him for doing so; I have no doubt at least two centuries have past and it must've been very dull for him to be the source of my constant revitalization." Taking a deep breath of what little air could be found, the man ran his finger through his long hair and chuckled a bit.

"Would it be wrong of me to assume Faust never actually gave my name away in his little tirade? He was always so cryptic, but what can you expect from Spirits? They exist in an entirely different realm from us humans, and as such can't be expected to give a direct answer to us 'lowly' creatures. Though, I am far more Beast than human anymore…the will of a Spirit like him playing Guardian for so long proves that I am just a very important animal that in need of supervision." The man chuckled grimly, arching an eyebrow of Azula's in apparent curiosity.

"The manner in which you address yourself seems a little bit unbecoming of a person who was made out to be so powerful by a Spirit of all things. If you are truly as described, you'd think someone so powerful would've had a more royal view of himself." Azula commented dryly, earning a rough chuckle from the blonde.

"Oh, and what tales has Faust wove to you and your friends I wonder? That I was the Messiah of my time? That I was the Devil Incarnate? Or perhaps some kind of tragic hero of Demigod status? Such things are so cliché! I prefer to deviate from such tales! If anything, I am only a stranger to this world and the next…nothing more, nothing less." The blonde stated, more than a bit of a cryptic sense evident in his tone. "I see being around a Spirit for so long has effected you more than you realize; you talk in the same manner as well." The Princess inquired, in which the youth merely smirked.

"If anything, I gained that little quirk from traveling the world so long after Madara damned it. When you're the only person of a free mind in the entire world, there is so much you can learn; especially when considering that everyone else is literally unable to voice their own opinions." The youth stated rather darkly, earning a curious stare from all three ladies before him.

"Madara? Is that a person of any relevance I should know about?" Azula commented curiously, earning a much more intensified stare from the cryptic blonde.

"A name that belonged to a man who lived in a world which is long since gone; and much like that world his name has lost all significance it once held. Do not fret, you'll eventually hear that tale in due time…my Hime." The man smiled, earning an even more interested look from the Fire Princess.

He began cracking all of his stiff joints and bones, earning flinching glances from Ty Lee and Mai. At one point it looked the man was going to bend his skull frame in a complete three-sixty, but he stopped right before reaching that point and let his neck zip sickeningly back into place with a disturbing crunching sound accommodating it.

"You never actually did tell me your name, stranger. My party and I have deviated from locating the Avatar for this little misadventure, so you damned well better be worth all the things the Spirit claimed you to be; and what the hell does Hime mean? Is that another word from your Dead Language?" Azula gruffly stated, her patience starting to wear thin of all the riddles and constant avoidance of question she had endured from entering such a dank cave. Sighing heavily, the blonde shut his eyes for a moment and then opened them; accompanied by a rather cocky smirk at the same time.

"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, but you can just call me Naruto if you prefer; it's much easier to remember I'm sure. I see so much time has passed that a mere suffix from my time is considered to be a mystery to you people? Hime means 'Princess', in either admiration or as a title…you are a Princess, aren't you? And if memory serves correct, the country that I once called my home was Hi no Kuni, the Land of Fire…has that changed as well?" Naruto solemnly asked, fearing that so much time had passed that none of the world he knew even existed anymore. Azula's eyes widened at the blonde's statement, that he was a resident of her land from the times of old.

"You…your homeland was somewhere in the Fire Nation? This certainly changes things, considering if what the Spirit said was true, this could change every textbook in history! If such an ancient time were to have existed that is so far lost to my people that our oldest records have no mention it's existence, than you are quite literally a living monument dedicated to Fire Nation history beyond the time of my great-grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin." Azula proclaimed, obviously enthralled with the idea of unknown knowledge and power being brought to the foot of her father and to her Nation itself. Ty Lee and Mai looked at each other in something short of bewilderment, surprised at Azula's newfound burst of enthusiasm regarding history of all things.

This is nothing short of a monumental discovery…and even that in itself is an understatement. If this man really did manage to save the world from complete damnation from the man known as Madara he may as well be a precursor to the Avatars; who didn't even EXIST in his time! I only pray that he does not suffer the simple-minded foolishness like the Avatars, otherwise this venture may as well be a complete waste.All this power emanating from him…how many secrets does he hold? He could teach us the ancient fighting styles of the Fire Nation…and even beyond that I'm willing to bet. If he truly is what the Spirit made him out to be, he could improve our chances of winning the war against the other Nations…perhaps even against the Avatar.But there is the matter if he's even willing to help the Fire Nation at all…he may not feel the same loyalty to this Nation as he once did.

And if he decides to side with the Avatar and the other Nations, it would be a considerable loss to lose such a powerful ally; and it would be an even further setback to gain such a powerful enemy.I only wish the Spirit was more direct in his meanings to the titles he gave this man, in one version he makes him out to be an ancient Messiah of the Fire Nation and in another tale he's the one who brought upon an Apcocalypse that very well near damned the world as a whole. But this man, Naruto, claims that this other man named Madara was the Harbinger behind the supposed end of the world so long ago...so which is it?

Is Naruto a Messiah preceeding the Order of the Avatars or is he some kind of catastrophic monster who ended up destroying the entire world? Or does the former title belong to this Madara person, who Naruto seems to view with spite?It's all a matter of conversing with him about it...if I can get him to ally himself with us first of course.

"I have so many questions for you, but first you must answer this one in the least. How did you know I'm a Princess? Did the Royal Seal of the Fire Nation exist even back then?" Azula questioned, pointing to her headpiece as evidence of her claim. The blonde enigma looked puzzled for a moment, trying to rattle his brain to retrieve the faded memories he still possessed.

For a moment or two, he didn't react to Azula's question at all; earning an arched eyebrow from the impatient Princess. It took only a few more seconds for Naruto to recall what was the Hi No Kuni of the past; and the contents and characters of its people. To him it didn't matter how much time had passed, whatever the land that he now shifted his feet through was presently called; it was still as much his homeland as it was so many years ago.

"That is the Royal Seal of Hi No Kuni royalty, only those direct to the throne of this land have the right to possess it. It appears my memories are not as faded as they should be; I may owe more credit to Faust then I may have first thought, given the fact he has been constantly rejuvenating my body with his own spiritual powers."

"This may have kept my memory much more stable than it could've been had I not had a Spirit watching over me; a pleasant convenience if I may say so myself." Naruto smiled brightly, thanking whatever Fate for the chance it had given him. Azula on the other hand, was now reveling in "her" discovery of finding the ancient golden-haired warrior.

So then it's true…my Nation has existed from times so ancient that we can't even remember it. I don't know whether to feel thrilled or disappointed. While this is a grand discovery for our peoples heritage and perhaps gaining a very powerful ally to the Fire Nation itself as well, I can't help but lament at all the knowledge my homeland has lost over time's cruel passage.If Naruto is truly as powerful as the Spirit says, which I doubt to a degree of sensibility; than the ancient styles he possess are most likely incredibly complex. Perhaps the abilities and attributes needed to attain the skills he knows are not even hereditary in the genes of our people anymore.

And if there is any possible chance he could teach me any of the powers he possesses…those skills, if there is any truth to them, could make me even more of a force to be reckoned with. I already know I'm more than a match for this Avatar, but having a few unexpected tricks up my sleeves could come in quite handy on this journey.

Clearing her throat, Azula gathered her composure and stared intently at the ancient being before her. "So…the Spirit really was telling the truth…when it comes to how long you've existed anyway." Azula calmly stated, earning a smirk and an arched eyebrow from Naruto.

"And what's that supposed to imply your Highness? Let me take a wild guess…Faust told you some wild tales of how strong I am, didn't he? Spirits really like to brag when a mortal manages to accomplish feats even they deem as impossible, no idea why though. Perhaps it knocks them down a peg to know that a 'mere' mortal can accomplish what any spiritual being would deem as impossible." Naruto chuckled in an honest tone, earning the raised eyebrows of Ty Lee and Mai. Rubbing her temple softly, Azula narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at the cryptic youth.

"Wild tales huh? With words like those you cast doubt upon me whether or not the Spirit was telling the truth…and then you make the comment that you've done things Spirits find impossible for mortals to accomplish. Which is it then? Are you as powerful as or even stronger than the Avatar himself, or are you simply a foolish prisoner a Spirit guarded on a whim?" Azula quipped, her patience beginning to reach its peak at so many cryptic statements that had been used against her today.

Cracking his neck slightly, a devilish smirk seemed to crawl across Naruto's face. "I don't mean to brag, but I do happen to consider myself one of the strongest people I know; and that was before my world fell into darkness...which in turn, probably hosted a majority of people that would probably seem 'Avatar'-like to your world today. Plainly speaking, I'm guessing the people of my world are, or were, a whole lot stronger than anyone from the world that currently exists, that world being the one I'm in now. And pardon my curiosity, but what exactly is an 'Avatar'? I've never heard of such a person or persons if that is the case." Naruto asked curiously, gaining a small smile from Azula in the process; which made the blonde arch an eyebrow in confusion.

"An Avatar is a being, either male or female; that has appeared many times throughout the history of this world. For centuries they were looked at as living Messiah's by the common people, to a degree, some have even seen them as living Gods. The Avatars of the past, and apparently the present, all have had the recurring trait of being a self-entitled altruistic savior who constantly help people too weak or slow-minded to save themselves." Azula spitefully added, earning a raised eyebrow from Naruto in the process; who was obviously reminded of past events from his own life.

"Avatars would only rise up when the world as we know it was in supposed peril, and then they would 'save' it as they were 'destined' to; usually with an incredible amount of finesse due to the fact that an Avatar is able to bend all four elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air without the least bit of trouble. However, more than a hundred years ago when my people were finally beginning to seize power the Avatar of that time vanished when he was needed most, and the Fire Nation conquered the world without his interference as a result. " Azula smirked proudly, having reminded herself about the cowardice of the supposed almighty being she was being sent to chase down. If her failure of a brother couldn't do it, than she would succeed where he and Zhao had failed.

"Due to the sudden disappearance of the last Avatar, the tales of these legendary monks have fallen into depravity and doubt has been instilled within the eyes of the people everywhere; hardly anyone sees the Avatar as a savior anymore, since he ran like a coward when he was needed most. Some people still hold faith in the legend, but those people are rare and are more than often self-entitled fools themselves. I even have it on good authority that the Avatar I'm chasing is the same one that fled from his responsibility so long ago; now wouldn't that be the most delicious irony? The cowardly Messiah trying to have a second go at his so-called 'destiny'?" Azula practically chuckled, reveling in the feeling that such a coward would even dare show his face to a world he abandoned out of fear.

Much to her companions surprise and to Azula herself, the mysterious elder youth did not seem impressed with the news that had been delivered to him. If anything, one would dare say he looked to be disappointed of all things.

Tilting his head while heavily sighing, Naruto could only feel the true loss of inheritance of what the present world offered him. "Really? Only four elements? Heh, back in my day while being able to perfectly control four elements would no doubt be impressive, but I'm pretty sure that didn't exactly make a person Messiah worthy of all things." Naruto practically chuckled, earning raised eyebrows from Mai and Ty Lee and a confused look from Azula.

"If you mean to infer there are more elements than the ones I've named I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. The Sacred Four have always existed, no more, and no less. That is what is taught to all of a common mind…but if you mean to imply that there were indeed elements from your time that no longer exist today, for some reason I'm inclined to believe you." Azula stated somewhat haughtily, earning a bit of a challenged look from Naruto. He could only stifle his laughter on what he was about to tell and show to the Fire Princess.

"Heh heh…indeed your 'Sacred Four' have always existed, but in truth, anyone from my time would hardly call them 'sacred'; but perhaps that title has only been granted from the loss of knowledge the people of this world have about the elements as a whole. I suspect that an advanced Fire Bender is capable of creating lightning; since lightning within itself is a Sub-Element of fire and cause it…am I correct?" The youthful sage quipped, earning a raised eyebrow from Azula in the process.

"Lightning can only be mastered by the most advanced of Fire Benders yes, I've come close to perfecting my stance on it as well; but what did you mean that lightning is a 'Sub-Element'?" Azula said calmly, wanting to know more of the knowledge this mysterious blonde was keeping from her.

Naruto smirked, barely silencing an audible chuckle. "If only the most powerful of Fire Benders can even begin to harness the Element of Lightning, than this world has indeed fallen from grace considerably. In my time Lighting was considered an Element of its own, while possessing the qualities to be deemed a 'Sub-Element as well."

"And to answer your incoming question, a Sub-Element is an Element that can be linked to a 'true' Element by sharing its likeness; in my time people had mastered Lightning to such a degree that your people would consider truly godlike…or, 'Avatar'-like, if I may humor you, Hime." Naruto laughed casually, still consistently amused that the Messiah of the common world seemed to be little more than a particularly experienced Jonin; nothing to shake a stick at, but hardly worth the title of being crowned a God of all things.

"After all, besides your Sacred Four, with Lightning I've already mentioned being a completely separate Element of its own; there are the Elements of Sky, Darkness and Light. And yes, Sky does count as a completely separate element from Air; though they are similar, Sky is specifically harder to master, but much more powerful."

"Not to mention all the other Sub-Elements that can be created by combining the 'true' Elements themselves; there's Boil, Lava, Magma, Scorching Heat, Inferno, Explosion, Sand, Dust, Metal, Ice, Wood, Crystal, Hurricane, Storm, Gravity, Anti-Gravity, Chaos, Order, Purity and Corruption…"

"Just thinking about all the endless knowledge that this world has lost of its past is making my head hurt; that, and it's even more troubling to know that a person who can only master four out of the eight Elements is to be held in regard as a Messiah is just plain depressing."

"If your world is the future of my world, than I shall do my best to educate it and reform it the way it should've been after the Fourth Shinobi World War; something I wish I'd have been able to do originally." Naruto determinedly stated a flare of pride evident within his eyes. Mai, who had been silent along with Ty Lee as Azula questioned the boy, decided to finally question the boy herself.

"The world isn't something a person can 'correct', even if you have the power of ten Avatars or more. From the way you put it, it sounds like you'd want to remake the world in your image; which in itself seems rather haughty if you ask me. Since when does a person, no matter how strong, get to shape the world as he or she sees fit?" Mai commented in a monotone manner, earning a raised eyebrow and smirk from the golden haired mystery youth.

"Ah, so my Hime's followers do have tongues of their own after all; I was beginning to wonder if you were both mute since you haven't spoken to me at all so far. And, before I respectfully rebuttal to your frequently asked question; may I at least know your names first?" The Sage grinningly questioned, earning a somewhat annoyed glance from Mai in the process. She wasn't use to such witty yet powerful behavior; this boy was clearly nothing like the boring politicians and petty royals she was to used to being around at her estate.

"If you must know, my name is Mai, and this is-"

"Hi there! My name's Ty Lee! I've got to say so far you're a really interesting person! You know so much that none of the people of my time do, and you know some combat styles that are practically extinct since I've never heard of them before, and neither has Azula of all people! The only thing that has disturbed me so far is when these red glowing tendrils came out from that tattoo on your stomach, and it's like they twisted and absorbed Azula's men until they were nothing but dust." Ty Lee energetically intervened, only to end her long winded introduction on a much darker, somber note onto what had happened before Naruto's awakening. The circus girl's comment did seem to affect the blonde though; he looked visually troubled from what he had just heard.

Sighing loudly in disappointment, Naruto could only shake his head in frustration. "So, Kurama needed to literally drain the rest of your men of their life essence in order to revitalize me fully? I thought the constant rejuvenation from a holy Spirit like Faust would've been enough to keep my body at its prime condition for however long I've been asleep; but it seems that Kyuubi still needed step in regardless of Faust's actions …odd though, that he spared anyone in the room to begin with."

"Maybe he likes you three…but depending on the situation, that could be good or bad; regardless, you should be lucky to not count yourselves amongst the dead." The radiant teen shrugged in a frustrated manner, recalling all the times his personal demon had commonly fucked him over on both simple and already complicated situations just for the fun of it.

"So glad to see you remembered that we still share the same body gaki, when were you planning to bring me up in this conversation any way? I've been sitting here idly waiting for you to remember I exist, it isn't exactly easy to get a foothold in this wretched form unless the Jinchuriki actually remembers that the Demon exists to begin with. How dare you mention my bloodname to a flock of primitive mortals, they're even less capable than the ones from your time; I bet they don't even know the legacy of the Biju… " The fox Demon finally growled, making its presence well known in Naruto's mind. The blonde only snorted in discomfort, physically unhappy that the monster within him had awakened so soon. It had been less than fifteen minutes since his release from his catatonic state, and already what had been a thorn in his side for the majority of his past life had come to haunt his present.

"You again? I guess it was too much to wish for that when Faust constantly rejuvenated my body over all these years, that you wouldn't reap the same benefits as I; couldn't you just die already? Or would that have been making things easy for me?" Naruto practically spat, earning a confused look from the three girls in front of him; and a resounding chuckle from a certain fox in the process.

"As much as I'd love to banter with you once more for the eight-thousandth time, we have matters to attend to. We've finally awoken after Kami knows how long, and the first thing you see when you wake up is three human wenches asking who you are…and you're complaining about a matter as trivial as our bond still remaining? They are nothing but feeble meatbags to me, but I know how strongly you mortals crave to taste the flesh of your counterparts…I swear, you humans can be just as bad as Shukaku was in his youth, and that's saying a lot considering how many little demonic Tanuki children roamed around during that time."

The Kyuubi boomed within Naruto's mind, causing the blonde to shake his head in disbelief and frustration until Azula stepped forward to address the situation. "Excuse me, but whom in the name of the Spirits are you talking to? Is it this Kyuubi being you mentioned just a few moments ago? If so, where is he? I certainly don't see him like I did the other Spirit." Azula stated patiently, looking around the giant room in a three sixty to see if the Spirit was hidden from her vision of range. Naruto sighed heavily, shaking his head at how many times had to explain to people what the Kyuubi was and what the bound between him and the demon exactly was; well, time to add explanation nine thousand and one to the board.

"The Kyuubi no Kitsune, or Kurama, which is his true name that he doesn't appreciate being given away to humans, is one of the nine Biju, a Tailed Beast in your terms. The Tailed Beasts have no place in the Spirit World, because they're not Spirits, they're all Demons, as you would call them." Naruto commented casually like he was talking about any other subject, while the eyes of the trio of women in front of him considerably widened. Rolling his eyes from this expected reaction; Naruto sighed once more and held up his arms as a gesture to stay calm.

"And before all of you freak out, no, not all Demons are evil Spirits like you've been brought up to believe; but I will admit, there indeed have been Demons who have been malicious in nature and have sought to do nothing but try to destroy humans. Though not all Demons are like that, some of them just want to be left alone, some want nothing to do with humans do to our violent nature, and others could care less about humans to begin with."

Azula shook her in disbelief and looked at the boy questioningly for a moment, with Naruto in response lifting an eyebrow himself. "Are you sure you're of sound mind Naruto? Any normal person usually doesn't consort with demons; speaking of which, where is the Kyuubi now? As I stated earlier, none of us can see him." Azula stated once more, still wanting to know where the Demon exactly was. Shrugging once more, Naruto calmly placed a hand over the tattoo on his stomach. Azula's eyes widened once more, and before she could mutter a word, Naruto nodded once in confirmation.

To say that Azula's group was flabbergasted was an understatement. Azula herself had never been put in a place of shock before, but there was a first time for everything. Ty Lee was slack jawed and Mai's eyes were widened as far as they could go. "You…you and a Demon share the same body! How is that even possible!" Azula practically yelled, wanting to know how a mortal and an otherworldly being could possibly inhabit the same personal space.

Naruto practically chuckled at her reaction, he knew that when a person heard about a Jinchuriki in the area back in his day there would certainly be an upstart, and to say Azula's reaction wasn't normal to what he was used to was an understatement.

"For starters, we share the same body through the use of a Sealing Ritual conducted on me by my father when I was an infant; while I have often wondered what would've occurred had he performed the ritual on another child, it is pointless to wish things to be different now. Considering the events I went through in my past life, without the Kyuubi around I would've most likely died much sooner than I would've without him." Naruto calmly spoke, having fully come to terms with being the Kyuubi's vessel more than a millennia ago.

"I am what my people called a Jinchuriki; a container of one of the nine Biju. The Biju were, or are, Demons whose power far surpasses that of their lesser Oni brethren. My Biju, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, is the strongest amongst all the Tailed Demons. Before my time however, the Biju were originally all one primordial being called the Jubi, the Ten-Tailed Demon. That monster destroyed nearly the entire world at one point, it was only stopped by the original Rikudo Sennin; the Sage of the Six Paths. He even created a massive stone prison that held the physical remains of the Jubi in place, and he threw it into the Heavens themselves; that stone is now what we call the Moon." Naruto finished explaining; calmly stating what was more than a massive revelation to Azula and her friends.

Azula could hardly believe what she was hearing, this boy, this thousands of years old teenager, was single-handedly redefining for her and her friends every common perspective of the modern world to date. If such a claim was indeed true, which Azula was starting to slowly believe due to the fact that not even the most inane madman could come up with such tales, did this mean that by default what gave the Water Benders their strength were the ancient remains of a once godlike Demon?

Oh the heresy and out roar there would be if such a claim were made, she could almost physically see the reactions of the common world. The Water Benders might violently react to such a claim, others might believe it, and others would condemn such knowledge. The ones who believed the tale might cast the Water Benders as children and servants of a Demon, and publically ostracize from society itself. Of course there would need to be proof of such an accusation, but Azula was getting a sinking feeling that this youth could indeed prove his story was indeed true.

"Don't you hate your father for sealing such a monstrosity into you? You weren't even given a choice in the matter; not only that, but I can only guess that you faced prejudice for carrying this Kyuubi inside of you. Not many people I know would willingly want to be around a man who literally harbors a Demon inside him." Azula stated in a matter of fact tone, earning a shared stare from both her companions as well as Naruto. The blond youth sighed heavily, and shook his head in a solitary moment of despair, and then gazed at the Fire Nation Princess with a determined look; slightly off putting Azula's mood.

"In truth, I originally hated whoever was responsible for sealing Kurama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, inside my very being. Many if not all of us Jinchuriki suffered prejudice, isolation and even exile in the world that used to exist…the people of my time were not hospitable to us; they did not care about the burdens we suffered, they only saw as the Demons we carried. In truth, even thousands of years later I didn't expect the world to ever come to terms with who and what we are; humans will always find a way to hate and discriminate with that they fear and do not understand, or perhaps they merely wish to not understand it at all."

"Such ignorance I tried to change at an earlier time in my life, I tried to change the world as a whole; to get everyone to see that we are as truly as human as they were. I learned the hard way that such things in the end are truly not possible; you can only change the minds of a few people within the world, no one can change the world as a whole and no one can or should be allowed to shape it his or her will. Depicting such actions, it is Godlike, and it is not within the realms of us mortals to decide."

"And before you ask, there is a reason why I am so comfortable sharing my secret with you three; simply because I am not afraid of it anymore. I will not hate you if you despise me for what I hold inside me, but I won't try to change your minds about it if you do indeed hate me. I have seen enough bigotry and malice to know that human beings can't entirely change; only some of us can push past the barriers that bind are understandings of reality and what we perceive as acceptable." There was a large momentary silence after Naruto's speech; the eyes of the three women seemed to be directly focused on the blond youth. They seemed to be studying him, reading him, each of them equally intrigued by his words. Such boldness and honesty was little seen in the world they knew of and existed in presently; Naruto's words seemed to radiate determination and respect to a past they unfamiliar of.

It was quite clear that the person had awakened was clearly no ordinary person after all; his words alone had made that much perfectly clear. Mai was the first to banish the silence from his speech, clearing her voice adamantly and taking a deep breath afterwards. Naruto's eyes as such concentrated on her, intent to know the first of the three opinions of the new world.

"Perhaps I've judged you too early, your confidence seems to have more respect in it than the desire to change everyone as you see fit it would seem. I apologize that I labeled you as such so early on when we've barely even known each other; I have gotten used to labeling people at my old residence due to their predictability and idiocy, you clearly have more intelligence embedded within you than I let myself believe. And as for your Demon and the Demons you have spoken of, quite frankly I couldn't care less." Mai calmly explained, earning questioning looks from Azula, Ty Lee and Naruto respectively in the process. Before Naruto went to open his mouth, Mai held out one hand to let him know she wasn't done explaining.

"You're already at peace with the Demon inside you, so by that logic, who am I to judge you any further? From the way you've made it sound you've already been through hell due to people's judgment from your past life; I won't make things any harder for you than they have been already." The dark haired girl calmly quipped, earning a smile Naruto and a full on glomp from Ty Lee for a such a sweet statement coming from Mai; to which Mai responded by nonchalantly dropping the jubilant acrobat into the rough soil, earning a small chuckle from Azula.

Calmly brushing off dust and grime that had tarnished his skin for so long, Naruto took a heavy sigh and looked amongst the group before him. Perhaps this World wouldn't be so bad after all, a little rough around the edges sure and certainly a quite a bit of effort to return it to its former glory; but it didn't seem nearly as troublesome as the events he had faced in a prior life.

"If my memory serves me correctly, I'm assuming you'll want to help 'rebuild' this world to its former 'glory'? Kind of pointless if you ask me Kit, you already fucked up once with already with teme son of a whore, Madara; though in retrospect you were kind of screwed from certain events set in motion that weren't exactly predictable, but still."

"Is it really worth it to live up to that damn Child of Prophecy nonsense that the Rikudo Sennin set forth so long ago? I mean the man wasn't even that smart figuratively speaking, by separating the Jubi into nine pieces he created the Jubi, and half us either hated humanity or wanted nothing more to do with it; look at me, prime example; I hated humans even before I became who I was through the Jubi being sliced apart, I think it's safe to say my mind was, and is, still quite the prime piece of memory from our former life."

You won't be able to dissuade me Kurama, I failed this world once, and I won't fail again. Besides, even I lose a thousand times I haven't really failed; I just found a thousand ways that don't work, that's all.

"Anata ga zestubo-tekina, shonen yo." (You're hopeless, boy.)

Osoroku, watashitachi ga okonau koto ga deki, sukunakutomo, migi mite wa? (Perhaps, but the least we can do is try, right?)

Besides, weren't you the one who sided with me against Madara at the end, Fox? Which you yourself said was a hopeless effort at the time, yet you tried anyway?

"You got me there Kit."

"So…we gonna revive your Clan the old fashioned way, Kit? Hur hur hur."

Why in the name of the Spirits did I know whatever our conversation was about, it would somehow lead to this? You're the one who was complaining about human 'urges' before.

"Hey, our bodies are connected, you get laid, I get laid. I'd literally be able to FEEL it. Besides, the last time I got some action was with Matatabi, the Nibi, and that was thousands of years ago."

Great, so my first, and for that matter, every intimate experience is going to be connected to you? That's just frigging perfect; can't I do anything without it having to be linked to you? And did you ever have any kids after that incident with the Matatabi?

"No, I'm sterile."

Wait what? You're sterile? Really?

"Yeah, since I hold the greatest amount of Chakra out all of the Jubi it cancels my body's ability to procreate."

Does that mean I'm sterile!

"No, our bodies aren't connected in that way Kit. Though you have near unlimited access to my Chakra, we aren't the same being though we're so closely connected; your body is still your body. Besides, Kushina had me within her and she still gave birth to you; fusing with a Biju doesn't make the Jinchuriki sterile, no matter whether it's male or female."

Well that makes for any interesting Deus Ex Machina; it woulda sucked if I couldn't have kids…

"So you DO wanna procreate! I'm so proud!"

I didn't' say now, dumbass! And besides, I don't exactly wanna flood the Earth with little Naruto's…

"You might have to if you want to restore the Namikaze-Uzumaki Clan, Kit."

I don't even know if the Clan Restoration Act is still in affect anymore, we don't how much this world has changed; polygamy on that level might be taboo in this world.

"I'm sure a few strings can be pulled here and there, considering what resources we left behind and everything we did to prepare for an incidental future like this if our current situation ever occurred, remember Kit?"

How could I not remember all of our misadventures I had to undertake to prepare for a dystopian future under your advisement? The shit you made me do nearly got me killed!

"Oh you know it was worth it, like when you and the Mizukage nearly-"

La la la la la la la! Not listening! La la la la la la! That never happened!

"Oh you know it almost totally did, you were so close to! If only her guards didn't hear you two everything would've went on so much…smoother."

That's enough innuendo for one day okay? My brain can't take so much imagery!

"-Aruto, Naruto! Are you there?" Azula practically yelled, making the golden haired teen jump out his thoughts and nearly trip over his own two feet. Rubbing the back of his head nervously in front of the three girls, the Fire Princess could only shake her head in irritation. "You drifted off for like three minutes, you really just staring off into space." Mai matter-a-factly stated, earning an embarrassed, flustered look from Naruto in the process, who shrugged at having daydreamed away from his present company.

"Sorry about that ladies, I was talking with Kurama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. We were just…catching up, I guess." Naruto blushed significantly, remembering a near euphoric instant with the beautiful Mizukage, Terumi Mei. Azula arched and eyebrow at this, while Mai and Ty Lee's eyes widened.

Sighing briefly, Azula placed her hands on her hips and accessed what had just happened before her. "Wait, you can talk to your Demon? And it's not even that big of a deal to you? That all this happens in your head and only you can hear it?" The passionate princess quipped, earning a nod from Naruto to affirm her suspicions. Azula just shook her head in disbelief, still not being exactly used to the concept of Demons existing within a person's body.

Naruto cracked his knuckles in anticipation, wanting to get out of the cave that imprisoned him for so long. "So, Azula-hime, would you and your friends like to get out of this hole? We can either walk back the way you came, or we can just instantly get out of here via one of my many talents." Naruto chirped enthusiastically, wanting to test out his abilities and see if he was just as powerful as he was so long ago.

"I'd prefer the quickest way out of this cave if you please, it was quite a trek down here and I don't exactly want to go through that Genjutsu again." Azula said somewhat annoyed, remembering how much time she had used freeing Naruto from his prison instead of looking for the Avatar; not that "her" discovery was any less phenomenal, but it certainly used quite a bit of time in the process. Naruto chuckled in response, not at her, but the fact that he was about to show the first people from the new world he had yet to enter things they had never seen before.

Stroking a few of the crimson streaks of hair out of his vision, Naruto offered his hand out to Azula as a proposition, earning the eye of the princess as a result. "Alright Azula-hime, take my hand. As for Ty-chan, take Azula's free hand, and Mai-chan, do the same for Ty-chan." Naruto instructed casually, earning a look of curiosity from the three lovely ladies. "Just what exactly are you planning to get us out here so fast?" Ty Lee asked gingerly, earning a small smirk from Naruto that unknowingly made the acrobat blush.

"That's easy Ty-chan, with the Jikukan Ido Art, the Space-Time Migration Technique. This technique was developed by that Madara guy I mentioned, who by now is nothing more than a distant fragment of a past no one remembers. Normally I would use the Hiraishin no Jutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique, which was invented by my father for immediate transportation, but that move is more suited to transporting just one person, and the Jikukan Ido is more suitable for a large number transfer." Naruto explained, with Mai and Azula grasping some of the concepts of what Naruto was saying, with Ty Lee just having a very confused look upon her face.

"Before we take off, I just want to say that due to the fact that literally none of the people of this time are familiar with these kinds of powers, this may feel a tad strange to all of you. Given that no one has traveled this way in literally thousands of years, you'll probably all feel a bit queasy after this." Naruto warned casually with a smirk evident across his fox-like face. Ty Lee gulped in nervousness, while Mai and Azula just braced themselves for whatever was about to happen.

Contemplating in fear for a slight moment, Ty Lee opened her mouth to speak her mind; but it was already too late as Naruto extended one of his hands forward and muttered a single phrase.

"Jikukan Ido."

A sudden visage of the distortion of space had appeared, momentarily shocking the three girls who were joined hand in hand connected to the blond Sage. They didn't have time to be truly surprised, it only lasted a mere second before the transportation occurred. After a total of three seconds, the group of four was back to the royal carriage, shocking all guards present and causing a few to fall over in surprise and fear.

The affects of the technique were as Naruto described much to his enjoyment the three girls were indeed truly bewildered by what happened. Mai was on her knees with her palms against the ground, Ty Lee was struggling to maintain despite her acrobatic training, and Azula hung against the carriage in an attempt to regain her stature.

Within moments of when they had arrived, several armed guards surrounded Naruto with spears and swords, much to irritation of Azula and the dismay of her friends.

"Enough! Do not harm him; he is our reward for risking our lives in that ruin. The others are dead, don't ask how, just follow my orders and treat him as our special guest. If any of you attempt to injure I will personally promise the one who does a lifetime of pain." Azula practically snarled, earning shivers of fear down the spines of the guards and that of her friends, especially Ty Lee.

As the guards backed away from Naruto and lowered their weapons, the Shinobi couldn't help but smirk in Azula's general direction, earning a cemented glance from the Fire Princess. "Your reward, eh? I don't recall myself ever being up for grabs as a prize, nor do I ever remember asking to follow you." Naruto casually commented, earning an increased stare from Azula as Ty Lee and Mai regained their balance. "It doesn't matter what you feel about your stature, you were an ally to the Fire Nation in ancient times, you will do so again, your servitude to your homeland demands it when it is threatened by war. And I just freed you from a cycle of being bound and chained for at least two thousand years, you owe me a favor for a favor." Azula commented in a somewhat confrontational tone, having Naruto's smirk disappear and for a look of respect to wash over it.

"I indeed must protect my country from any threats that seek to harm it, I will not fail my homeland a second time. And I will admit, I am grateful to you and your friends for freeing me; I knew upon my imprisonment it would be some time before I was discovered and it would take a special person to even reach me to free me; but I didn't expect thousands of years to pass in waiting." Naruto said calmly, taking a deep breath to absorb all that he had to be faced with.

"You freed me from my prison, so I will repay a favor for a favor, but I will accomplish in this life what I failed to do in the last as a result. I will restore my Clan, I shall bring knowledge to this world of a past they don't remember, and I shall not fail in my duty to protect this land like I did before. However, after this favor has been repaid, what is to stop me from setting off on my own to accomplish my ambitions?" Naruto adamantly stated, earning a smile from Azula while Mai and Ty Lee talked to each other through their eyes.

"Nothing, that's what. If you wished to leave after your debt has been repaid, I won't force you to stay within my company. However, consider the benefits of what could happen if you could; given your stature and your unusual powers, I would assume you were royalty in your past life, with my connections in the Fire Nation I could help you accomplish some of your ambitions. The Fire Nation is still your home, and since you helped defend it so long ago, you're practically a walking monument to ancient heroism."

"The nation could provide with you financial banking to help build a new Province for you, we could try to locate the deeds to what land your families owned; we could even attempt to pull a few string within my government to allow you to have a seat of power in my government; perhaps even amongst current royalty. I'm sure my father would love to meet someone with your kind of power upon our return to the Capital if you would continue to accompany us; perhaps he would recognize your royal blood and grant you back your titles, maybe he'd even want you to have some seat of power within our family if you're lucky." Azula finished exclaiming, earning a concentrated stare from Naruto and peculiar looks from her two best friends.

I've never seen Azula be this nice before, maybe she just really wants this guy to follow us? I mean he does seem a bit weird, but weird is good in its own way. Though whatever he did to get us back here made my stomach feel woozy, it sure was a lot faster than trekking through that cave again. And besides, if he's as strong as he says he is then he'll probably be a great guy to have on our side. Ty Lee casually thought, not really thinking any ill will of either Naruto or Azula.

Never seen Azula be kind to anyone other than Ty Lee and I, and her 'kindness' can only stretch so far. She's being a little too nice to this guy, sure, he seems alright and that one thing he did a moment ago was a bit strange; but she's practically rolling out the red carpet for him. Given how strong he says he is, which I wouldn't be surprised at this point is that's the truth considering all that's been said and done; Azula probably just wants to cover her bases and make sure this guy isn't an enemy in the future, I don't imagine wanting to fight him as an enemy. Mai smirked on the inside, knowing how degrading it must've been for the Fire Princess to be so kind to someone who was still an absolute stranger.

I can't lose this chance, the Fire Nation can't afford a threat like this in such a pivotal revolution with the Avatar's uprising. His powers are apparently phenomenal, and from what we just witnessed; that instant transportation, was just one of his abilities amongst a possible thousand others. We can't afford to have such an enemy filled with secrets and unknown knowledge as the enemy to our Nation; it would be a great loss and an even greater failure to have someone who's possibly stronger than the Avatar siding against us. Even if I have to act…"nicer", in order to get him on our side then so be it; it's a petty sacrifice when it comes to the long run; such a turn of strength on our side could be invaluable with Zhao's recent surge of failures trying to catch him, the same can be said for Zuzu and that bumbling stooge Iroh. Azula thought to herself, hating to treat anyone with so much respect other than her friends, her father and the custom royalty.

Scratching his chin for a long moment, Naruto closed his eyes and casually shrugged at the situation he was presented with. "I would greatly appreciate your help as with our homeland in helping me achieve my goals, but that is not why I shall help you, nor is my freedom the reason. I'm going to help you for the reason that if the Avatar truly is like you describe, a self-proclaimed Messiah coming to rid the world of all 'evil', I'm going to prove him that he's wrong."

"No one person can change the world, and no one can person can unite every person across it as each as a separate mindset. Peace can't come with people sitting on their asses while someone else does all the fighting for them, such sloth and uselessness could eventually once more lead to the downfall of society. The world needs to be shown that it can and must fend for itself; and that they can't place all the fate of everyone alive on one person, no matter how powerful he or she is."

"I'm one of the strongest people I know, and even I can't do everything alone; I've accepted that. I know that some people can't be changed and sometimes you're forced to do things that seem wrong, but it's doing these things that will guarantee the safety of the future. It's these sacrifices that determine who a person is and that what they're fighting for is worth such a struggle. If I had to sacrifice a hundred people to save a thousand I would; and if the Avatar is sorely concentrated on human life and how to preserve it at all costs he leaves the world open to danger as a result."

"He actually acts a lot like I did in my past life; I used to think I could save everyone, that everything rested itself on my shoulders and that I could change everyone's minds…but I was wrong. No one can change the world by themselves, change comes through unity and alliance; not through sheer power of individuality. It's kind of ironic for me now, that it took an entire lifetime for me to learn these lessons; and now some fool is following the same pattern and making the same mistakes, and that an entire order dedicated to that endless cycle has existed for the past thousand years."

"I fight not to return a favor, not to prove myself worthy, not to restore my Clan, not even to prove myself worthy in my owns to redeem myself for my failure; I fight for the future and all those who inhabit it, and I shall show them the meaning of power through sacrifice and wisdon. And perhaps someday, the world will be allied in unity and no one will have to place all their hopes and dreams on one person…they'll be able to accomplish their ambitions through their own strength, not through another's." Naruto finished his speech adamantly, earning respectful glances from Mai and Ty Lee, with a look of victory from Azula that this boy would fight by his Nation once more.

Azula walked towards Naruto calmly and stuck out her hand, earning a perplexed look from her friends; and a smile from Naruto. The two members of royal blood shook each other's hands as a new alliance was cemented in stone, a victory for the Fire Nation. "Let us not fail our Nation, and let us show the world that it doesn't need to put all of its hopes on one person." Naruto calmly stated, earning an agreeing nod from Azula in the process.

As the four teens climbed into the carriage to resume a journey three hours delayed, each sat comfortably within her, or in Naruto's case his, corner of the carriage and settled in nicely. The motion of the vehicle resumed again, being led by the remaining guardsman.

All four shared smiles at one another as the resumption of the trip continued, with each member concentrating on their separate task. Ty Lee meditated in one of her acrobat poses, Mai sat calmly once more as boredom overtook her, and Azula seemed to concentrate on Naruto for the past five minutes until she closed her eyes and waited for the arrival that would lead them to the fleet.

Naruto calmly closed his eyes and drifted off into meditation, contemplating his inner thoughts to himself.

Well this certainly has been an interesting day within the past few thousand years; I honestly didn't think my 'rescuers' would take to me in such a friendly manner.

I still gotta wonder if all of my 'relations' in all those villages are still in affect; I mean I know I did everything the Kyuubi said, and prepared for a future like this and all that; but I wonder how much of it really mattered?I mean I know I agreed to have enact the CRA and Kami knows how many people lined up at my door when they find out that I'm the last remaining member of the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans, but man that was nuts!

Having all those royal clans trying to set me up with their daughter's and such, wanting me to get on an early road making heirs; I guess Sasuke really didn't have it easy after all, might've been why he went nuts, heh ha.But seriously, I can't believe I went through all that political bullshit just because Kurama said it would prove "useful in a future where everyone we know might be dead."How exactly does it prove useful? How many girls did I have to get with in order to "secure seats of power in the future"?

And what does it even matter now? All of them are dead, sure, but I can bring them back with the Gedo: Rinne Tensei technique; though that itself would be a massive pain considering such a use of Chakra bringing back so many people I care for and love would drain an immense supply of chakra from my body.I mean Nagato-san died from using that technique to bring back everyone who died during Akatsuki's assault on Konoha, and that alone ended up killing him due to how much chakra he had to exert; even with all my Chakra I have now as well as Kurama's performing such a grand scale technique would probably knock me out cold for at least a day or so, which may or not be a bit of a setback at the specific time when I perform it.

I'm not even sure if the current Hi no Kuni would even recognize the lands I was supposed to jointly rule over anymore; given the fact that none of them probably even exist anymore, and then there's also the facts of getting them to recognize my own royal bloodline, seeing if they recognize the Clan Restoration Act, and getting them all to recognize each royal bloodline of each individual 'partner' of mine.I knew Kurama said this was going to be difficult and I agreed to it, but damn does it look impossible now, especially when I'm face to face with a situation I honestly thought I'd never see; especially when all of the ladies are brought back and getting them to all agree with one another again, recognize the situation we're in and having them all manage to coexist with one another and the Nations of today.I mean goddamn, how many wives did I get before I died anyway?

Not like I was able to enjoy much time with them individually or at all considering that the entire world got destroyed and everyone I knew died, in which in the end I was ultimately powerless to do anything; not like I am now. Which is strange, despite how many of them there were, I got to know them all in such a short amount of time; and honestly, I think I still love them all too.

Hinata was the first of them all, and of course, was the first one to confess her love to me. She put herself in between the Deva Path of Pain for me; she risked it all to save me and nearly got killed as a result. All that time she had been watching me, admiring me, and just waiting for me to notice her; and I was too stupid and dense to see it. After everything she's gone through, with having to put up with Neji and Hanabi's abuse in the early years as well as Hiashi being a complete prick before I managed to make him see the light; she's gone through a lot.

As for Temari, she didn't just volunteer herself to be at my side, it was also encouraged by my local friend, the Godaime Kazekage and fellow Jinchuriki, Sabaku no Gaara. Ever since when Gaara and I fought during Orochimaru's invasion of Konohagakure, a bond was formed in the process and the next time we met, it would be as friends and equals. Gaara, like me, had a pretty terrible life growing up. Everyone hated him and called him a monster, and from what I understand his version of Iruka-sensei, a man named Yashamaru, ended up trying to kill him because he blamed him for the death of sister who was incidentally Gaara's mother, Karura. After his uncle and only 'true' friend tried to kill him, Gaara lost it for quite awhile and became obsessed with killing people through his powers in joint combination with the Biju Shukaku, he devoted his life to destroying them all and living only for himself.

He was a reflection of what I could've been if I had been consumed by hatred, incidentally, he was also similar to how Sasuke went down a path of betrayal as well; but Gaara saw the light when I tried to convince him how things weren't all bad, Sasuke refused to see that side of things.Even when he had won over the affection of Sunagakure, he still wanted someone he truly trusted to be Temari's husband; I mean, she was his only sister, it would make sense he wanted someone he thought as a brother to take care of her. Temari actually put her name forward on a list of candidates to be another wife of mine; I guess it was because of how she felt that I changed Gaara's perspective on life, and I saved her brother from becoming another Sasuke early on.

That, and after so many years passed after the incident at the Valley of the End, I had changed drastically in character and in figure; so I guess that helped push her in my direction as well. When Temari requested permission to marry me from her brother, I heard Gaara was only too happy to oblige. I was someone he trusted to be Temari's husband, I think the other one might've been Shikamaru; but that guy wasn't really the type to be married to a Hokage's sister and to have so many responsibilities to be tied to royalty and having to go through the political system of two separate countries.

That also would've given me quite a seat of power in Suna as well, if everything hadn't gone to shit shortly after.Two women, one nearly twice my age and the other still significantly older, approached me at the same time to discuss marriage plans with me…Terumi Mei the Godaime Mizukage and Baa-chan Tsunade herself, the Godaime Hokage of my own Village.At that point I only had one thought in my mind…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! According to Tsunade-chan, as I started to know her by shortly afterwards, a decision she had come to when deciding who I would marry when it came to royal Clans eventually narrowed down to the Senju Clan and the Terumi Clan. Adding such strong blood to my own blood would create children who'd be capable of near miracles, and help revive the Namikaze-Uzumaki Clans that much faster.

Tsunade said the reason she wanted to marry me was that I was the one who showed her the light that she had only previously seen in her old partner Dan; and that I rescued her from drowning in a pit of darkness that could've led to the restoration of the Hebi-teme's arms, the same arms responsible for killing Oji-san. According to her, I was the person who taught her what it meant to be a Hokage; what it meant to believe in a cause that could protect people precious to her. Apparently, she also owed a favor to Kaa-san; they were good friends once apparently, and she promised that if anything happened to her (Kaa-san), that she would take care of her son when he was born…she lost sight after that promise after Dan's death, and apparently, was one of the many regrets she carried on her back.

Tsunade-chan apparently felt awful that she wasn't there to be my foster mom throughout my life, so she decided to be the next best thing in her own thoughts, my wife, or in this case, one of my many wives. She told me that she'd help me bring back the Uzumaki-Namikaze bloodlines, and that her Senju blood would run deep within the veins of the future I'd be providing the world.Mei-chan was interested in the Namikaze-Uzumaki Restoration Program for a number of…reasons, to put it lightly. I remember that she briefly knew tou-san, and considered him quite attractive; and that she was actually going to make a move on him before he and Kaa-san got together. She already considered me…extraordinarily handsome in her own terms, telling me I was definitely my father's son and that definitely received all of the 'beneficial' genes of the Namikaze bloodline.

And since I had already defeated Pain, who was supposed to be invincible, months prior, she was also adamantly attracted to me because of my strength. And upon hearing the CRA imposed on me, she didn't quite leap at me like others did, but she was greatly interested in the prospect of it; as she had been looking for a husband for quite some time, I'm actually surprised she didn't have one sooner.

And according to some rumors I heard shortly after Mei got involved with my CRA, I may have broken the heart of one of her bodyguards, Chojuro, one of the current members of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu; which actually kind of frightened me at the time when the prospect of a big angry man wielding a huge sword would try to come for my head. Turns out though when I actually got to meet Chojuro he seemed kind of shy and kind and not really the hot-headed guy I pictured; I blame Zabuza-san for that earlier image. He actually wished me luck on restoring my Clan/Clans, and specifically asked me to take care of Mei-chan for him; a good guy that Chojuro. I at first questioned to Tsunade-chan that her appearance was sorely based on Genjutsu, and that she was much older than she made herself out to be; normally under any other circumstance, I would've been punched through the wall halfway across Konoha for a comment like that, but given what the incidents that were soon to transpire she held back from clobbering me.

She said that after certain…act, was performed, other words, her Genjutsu appearance would become her actual appearance, and a great amount of her youth could be restored in the process; give or take twenty years, putting her in her fifties while her actual appearance would reassemble a woman in her mid thirties. That act was…was…was…

"Hammerin' her like bent nail?"

Oh for fucks sake, why on Kami's green Earth do you have to put the most delicate of situations in such a vulgar namesake?

"Because I don't like to beat around the bush and sugarcoat things like you do a lot, Kit."

I don't sugarcoat anything, it's called having tact.

"It's called being a PUSSY."

Ugh.

"Hey, I remember that little 'experience', quite well, and you guys weren't even officially married yet, you little rabble-rouser. Then again, not like you officially got to have any weddings anyway, considering how everything went to Kingdom-come in the end anyway. Still, gotta live in the moment, man was that woman smooth; I mean like newborn foal smooth…gotta hand it to her even in her age, she was damn vibrant…"

Can you please stop talking about that way about Tsunade, I mean I knew for a long time as a Baa-chan who suddenly was to become my wife, and then in order for her that grand scheme of her to restore her youth would be to…

"Have your seminal fluids mix with hers while being coated with of my Chakra, allowing it to literally revitalize her body, restoring much of her youth in the process so she would actually look like her fake appearance rather than just having it be an illusion? Sounds like a lame Deus Ex Machina to me, but hey, it got results, now didn't it?"

Yeah…I'll agree with you there. Knowing that I was actually looking at Tsunade-chan for what she really was an not a reflection of what she wanted, she was quite beautiful…

"And you do realize we'll probably have to do that exact situation again since she died, right?"

Untrue, she said once that ritual was preformed that it only needed to be done once, and that if she was ever brought back from the grave, her appearance from the ritual would remain.

"Wow, you really are a fun-sucker, you know that Kit."

Hey, I'm just tellin' you what she told me Kurama.

"How did she even LEARN about something like that anyway?"

She read from an old tome, no idea where she got it by the way, that if a male Jinchuriki engaged in intercourse with an older woman and coated his seminal fluids with the Chakra of his Biju, it could restore the youth of his older mate considerably.

"You do realize though she could've gotten pregnant, right? And that that little part of the ritual won't exactly be intact when she comes back? Meaning you'd still have to knock her up once or thrice in order to get some heirs?"

…Fuck.

"Heh, I win."

Teme…anyway, moving on…I believe after that little ritual, Mei-chan got all worked up over…watching, us. Some exotic voyeur fetish of hers, she'd get along brilliantly with you Kurama. Then she wanted to get involved…and then…

"Oh right! I remember that! Ha! That little teme Omoi burst in after he heard all the ruckus you caused with the Senju Woman and found you and the Godaime Hokage of Konoha completely naked, with the Godaime Mizukage literally trying to crawl up onto you."

"And then you ran for your life."

And then I ran for my life.

"Nothing better than seeing you run nude down Kirigakure with an angry black man chasing you…fucking priceless."

It WASN'T funny, Kurama; it was downright terrifying.

"Oh if only your tou-san could've seen it…"

I bet he DID, ya know, from the afterlife. He was probably laughing his ass off, Kaa-san was probably doing the same thing…

"Can you blame them?"

You're an asshole Kurama.

"I love you too Kit."

That would've been a big step up for me too…I'd be the husband of both the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure and of the Godaime Hokage of Kirigakure…I pretty much would've been a pseudo-Hokage in two renowned Villages!

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda, Kit."

Too true…too true. Next came both Hotaru and Shizuka, two girls of equal passion who I came to love and respect as much as the rest of my lovers and wives.Hotaru was a renowned member of the Tsuchigumo Clan who saw herself as the devoted servant to Utakata-san; one of my fellow Jinchuriki who held Saiken, the Rokubi, the Six-Tailed Slug, inside him. Utakata-san was one of the few fellow Jinchuriki I actually had the honor of meeting other than Gaara and Kirabi-san; a shame that our time together was originally that of cat and mouse. Utakata had the false delusion that the bond between a Master and a Student was nothing more than false pretense and trickery to be used to suit the Master; this kind of thinking was imprinted on him when thought his former Sensei, Harusame, had betrayed him and tried to take his life.

This was in fact, the other way around; Harusame had apparently tried to extract the Rokubi from Utakata without killing him, wanting him to lead a normal life without having to bear the burden of being a Jinchuriki. However despite his noble intent, Harusame's mission failed; and he was killed in the process. Multiple Hunter-Nin and ANBU Squads from Kirigakure had attempted to forcefully retrieve Utakata-san or try to truly convince him their Village was not what it once was; I can't say I blame Uta-san for not believing them, and consistently told them he would live his life as he saw fit and never be anyone's prisoner.

It's strange really, he wasn't quite what I expected him to be, but I'd rather have not known him any other way. He wasn't like me and he wasn't quite like how Gaara-san originally was, he was just himself; a wanderer, a loner, a bit misled, but still a good man it heart. It pained me to hear that he was eventually captured by Akatsuki and had Saiken forcefully extracted from him; killing him in the process while breaking Hotaru's heart who heard of the vile deed four months later. Her beloved 'Master' never did return to her, and I lost a person who could've been a friend, and more importantly, a brother.When I initially went to talk to Hotaru-chan after she had learned what had become of Utakata, things didn't exactly go smoothly at first.

She had fallen into a deep depression, and even contemplated committing Hari Kiri for 'failing' her Master; something I immediately jumped and told her was not worth it in a million years. I told her that she had never once failed Utakata-san, and that he chose his path regardless of its consequences. He specifically chose to venture alone because he knew if anyone stronger than him were to try to harm him, he didn't want anyone else caught in the crossfire; which is exactly why he left her behind in the first place. It's not that he didn't want her there; he didn't want her to get hurt.Hotaru more or less broke down after I apparently gave her a revelation and I swear to Kami that my old uniform never did get dry after she practically cried a literal river onto me.

I stayed in Kiri for a bit afterwards, telling her of how the CRA had been thrust upon me in all of its glorious detail. She seemed very intent on listening when I told her of the details, restoring the legacy of my mother and father's Clans, building a future I saw fit for my heirs, the multiple wives/brides scenario, the whole damn thing.

After five days in Kiri I was ready to get back to Konoha, only to have Hotaru run up to me as I headed for the gates; asking if not pleading to me to be one of wives and lovers, and to help me build the future I aspired to let my children roam. I at first highly questioned her intent at pledging herself to me, as I knew that she had loved Utakata-san dearly; and why she would want to be with mere months after his death seemed a little bit unseemly.

I remember Hotaru saying that she wanted to devote herself to my cause because it was the best way to 'remember and honor Utakata-sama' in her own words. She saw in her own mind that since I was a friend and a brother to Utakata, even if briefly, that was worth following my path since her beloved Master had come to trust me on his terms; something he hardly ever done with anyone while he was alive. And thus the Tsuchigumo Clan was to introduce itself within my blood as well, if only things had been that easy.As for Utakata-san, he eventually became one of my Nine Paths of Truth after being freed from the Kabuto's Impure World Resurrection Technique near the peak of the Fourth Ninja World War; the same fate eventually befell all of my fellow Jinchuriki, even Gaara and Kirabi-san, who hadn't even passed on yet like the others did.

And by then Hotaru had already devoted herself to me despite her former feelings to Utakata, though she still cared deeply for him and wished to free him from Madara's grasp.

"Ah yes, I had almost forgotten about that little trump card of ours."

Not like I enjoyed getting that so-called 'power.'

"The benefits to it are enormous; it increased your Chakra Level almost twenty times what it already was; and that' saying a lot, given that you already had a near Kage Level of Chakra even without my help."

But was it worth it Kurama? Did it even matter in the end?

"Perhaps, perhaps not, but it was Nagato's gift he gave you when we met him again after he was revived by Orochimaru the Second. He imprinted or rather unlocked within you the ability of the Rinnegan, which in turn allowed you to use Paths like he originally did; but instead of Six you could use Nine, most likely relating to me due how many tails I have. The whole reason you had the ability to use that Kekkei Genkai within the first place was because of how it traced back to the first Rikudo Sannin, and how he was actually related to the Namikaze Bloodline; being your great grandfather times twenty times, which we weren't informed of until being visited by a vision of him right before we encountered Madara for the last time."

Having the Rinnegan awakened within me hurt like a bitch…

"It hurt me too ya know, it felt like someone stuck my eyes in lava."

Must've been even worse from the others, having a bloodline instilled within them that wasn't even theirs…

"They knew of the consequences when the Rikudo Sannin connected all of our minds together and asked if they wanted to be joined to you in our final battle against Madara. He told them an alliance of the Biju under the keepsake of the Paths would be indomitable, but it could only occur if we all agreed to be forever bound by it; none of us would ever be the same again, and that having the Rinnegan installed in anyone else but you would hurt them even more than it did you previously; and that WE would share their combined pain equally."

Don't remind me, experiencing their combined pain as each one bore the anguish of having the Rinnegan established within their bodies was enough torment to make me think I was going to die before even facing Madara. I have never once in my life felt that much pain and I hope to never experience something like that ever again.

"You'd think it Utakata, Roshi, Han, Yugito, Fu and Yagura wouldn't have felt as much pain due to the fact they were already dead from the neck up after being summoned by Orochimaru Number Two; I guess it goes to show ya the dead can feel anguish too."

I still remember being a bit creeped out by the fact that six out of my nine fellow Jinchuriki were still technically deceased when our minds and bodies were joined together. I was overjoyed by the fact I could finally talk to all of my fellow brothers and sisters for once in my life, that we could all share each other's experiences and finally fight as one; but that didn't change the facts that six of us had already died and were still clinically dead.

"The Sage did say that once the Rinnegan had spread to the six deceased Jinchuriki that the awakening of that specific Kekkei Genkai would revitalize their bodies and allow them to be 'reborn'; factually speaking that the release of the bloodline limit of the original Rikudo Sannin would restore all the dead cell tissue within the body of a deceased person, thus, allowing them to be 'alive' again."

You think that my brothers and sisters, the new Paths, are still active? After my fight with Madara reached its climax I couldn't find them nor could I talk to them through our now connected minds, I still don't know if any of them are alive. They were never sealed with me inside that cave by that Specter I ran across so long ago.

"If they were dead by now we would've 'felt' their absence in this world; and since you haven't made any remarks about not being able to feel their life-force currently I'd assume their alive. Perhaps the reason you, or rather we, couldn't sense them before was due to the destruction unleashed by Madara; which was enough to cloud the world in darkness for at least a thousand years apparently."

"It is more than likely that due to the near invulnerability of our Paths that they were sent into a comatose state, and they have yet to be revitalized by you due to the fact that you haven't activated your Rinnegan nor summoned within thousands of years; not that it was your fault that you couldn't, but you get what I'm driving at."

That's surprisingly positive thinking coming from you, Kurama.

"In this new day and age, we've got to be positive, Kit. We cannot let ourselves be absorbed the feelings of failure or despair as we were before; we must press onward, regardless of any pain we might endure."

I wholeheartedly agree, we must press on no matter the cost.

"Good to see you finally learned gaki."

I then came to the long end road of being set up with royals and renowned clanswomen who wanted to help me rebuild my clan…surprisingly, all that madness didn't stop me. I thought of a few people who I personally wanted by my side, important Clan be damned or not. The CRA said I could pick whoever I wanted as well, so I did; but the first 'normal' one actually ended coming to me.Strangely, I actually understood Karin's motives for wanting to get involved with me. According to her, she practically hung over Sasuke like a shadow when his Team Hebi was still in affect; apparently even more so than Sakura during our early Genin days…and that's just frightening. But I guess after a few too many times of being used, abused and manipulated; Karin was starting to doubt whether or not Sasuke was really worth all the devotion she was giving him in order to realize his dreams.

Apparently, she decided to finally abandon all loyalties to him when Danzo tried to use her as a human shield during his fight with Sasuke, and that Uchiha-teme used his Chidori Sharp Spear Technique to just drill through Karin to get to Danzo; not at all concerned with killing a teammate to get what he wanted. Then again, at that point I shouldn't have been surprised, Sasuke tried to kill me to get what he wanted years prior, why would now have been so different? Karin and I originally joked that our soon to be marriage was only possible because both of us nearly took a Chidori Technique to the heart; which we both had a good laugh about. According to her, as I was a much 'warmer' version of Sasuke; to her, I was what she wanted him to have been, a strong but kind warrior with a lot of sex appeal…her words, not mine.While I originally just thought Karin was using me as a replacement Sasuke of sorts, she quickly denied such an idea when I approached her about it.

Sasuke nearly killed through cold-hearted manipulation and abuse, she wanted someone she felt was 'pure' enough to be with her; to protect her from people like Sasuke, and most importantly, to love her. I agreed to her proposal and then was yet another wife to be had, the first one who didn't have any royal blood relating to an esteemed Clan.Then there was Hokuto and Isaribi, two girls I had actually met before who actually friggin' liked me and I was too much of a dumbass to notice! Just like with Hinata.

"And finally you admit it."

Shut it.

"Can't, freedom of speech."

Ugh. ANYWAY…Hokuto and I met her when I traveled with Team Guy in a joint mission after I bribed Tsunade-chan with chestnut cake…good times that. Our relationship began a bit rough though, when she tried to attack me not realizing I was a Konoha Nin; we had a good laugh about, sat down to eat, got to know each other, the good stuff.Soon after that we learned that a teme named Akahoshi, who was the self-proclaimed Yondaime Hoshikage of the Village, was a complete manipulative asshole. He and his followers Shiso and Yotaka had killed the Sandaime Hoshikage in secret, and planned to use the power of a fallen star, which Hoshigakure was named after, to imbue themselves with its power as well as all of Hoshigakure; planning to take over the Five Nations with their combined strength. That teme even killed Natsuhi-chan, Sumaru-san's mother with that infernal power of his. Honestly, even if such a plan were to fully commence, with all of the Hoshigakure Nin being empowered by the Star, I don't think it would've worked to Akahoshi's desire.

I mean, I killed Akahoshi when he was at the peak of his power whilst imbued with the Star with my Rasengan; and I was only a Genin then; I'm pretty sure any Jonin capable enough would've been able to defeat him, like Guy-sensei or Kakashi-sensei for example. And to take on the Five Countries? Hoshigakure was a little known village within Kuma no Kuni itself, and barely had enough power to be a Shinobi military standpoint…Akahoshi really didn't think such things through, he was just some fool with an overinflated ego.

"And that's why he ended up with a big gaping hole in his chest."

Indeed.

Unfortunately, I recall that one I blew a hole through Akahoshi's chest, it destroy the Star in the process; causing a massive shockwave that leveled the area we fought in. His followers Shiso and Yotaka, who were at the heart of the explosion since they were aiding Akahoshi during his fight with me, were apparently killed by the last. Sumaru, who was helping me fight that self-proclaimed teme, was apparently rescued mere seconds before the explosion by Guy-sensei's swift intervention.Due to my healing powers, I didn't die from the shockwave; but I was knocked out for approximately three days and was transported back to Konoha in the process. I didn't learn of what had transpired with Akahoshi until I woke up of course, greeted by Shizune-chan and Kakashi-sensei. They told me of what had occurred, the death of Akahoshi and his followers at my hands, Sumaru's near death experience, Hoshigakure's liberation and my three day coma.Much to my displeasure, apparently I had greatly worried Hokuto-chan ever since I launched that seemingly suicidal attack against Akahoshi-teme, and she had been contacting Konoha every day since before I woke up to hear of my condition. When I sent a letter back to her myself stating that I had woken up and was recovering quickly, apparently she was greatly relieved to the point of tears.

When I thought of Hokuto, I thought of someone I could trust. She was a strong, loyal yet independent girl who stayed as true to her heart as I ever did; the only she reason she attacked me was because she thought as I with Akahoshi. I traveled to Hoshigakure myself to ask Hokuto if she wanted to be one of brides/wives through the Namikaze-Uzumaki CRA, and more importantly, if she wanted me to help build the future I thought to achieve. My response was her shedding many tears of overwhelming joy, and being straddled with a rib crushing embrace. Apparently, much to my surprise at the current time; Hoshigakure had now looked up to Konohagakure as a village of great heroism and selfless sacrifice following the dethroning of their self-proclaimed, backstabbing Yondaime Hoshikage Akahoshi.And more notably, just like with the incident with Gato-teme at Nami no Kuni; Hoshigakure regarded as me some type of hero following Akahoshi's defeat. Which kinda makes sense, seeing as how I, albeit unintentionally, killed him. I shoulda thought that strategy through though; attacking an unknown energy source with a source of possibly even greater energy obviously equals BOOM.

I still think that the bridge Tazuna-san built in Nami no Kuni called the 'Great Naruto Bridge' still should've been named the 'Great Zabuza Bridge'; Zabuza-san may have been a criminal and a murderer for such a long time, but he died with the honor of a true Nin, he sacrificed himself to kill Gato-teme. He should've been the one honored that day, not me.Plus, Zabuza made the 'true' sacrifice anyway; he died as a true warrior; I just got knocked out following Akahoshi's death. I guess beggars can't be choosers though, I still technically defeated a tyrant, and a traitorous Kage at that; something which the Konoha Council stupidly tried to punish me for when I was unconscious for three days.

According to Shizune-chan the Konoha Council saw what I did at Hoshigakure as more of a crime than a heroic act, claiming that even if Akahoshi, the 'official' Yondaime Hoshikage was corrupt, I STILL killed a Kage without the permission to do so, thus, why I should be jailed/executed or some bullshit like that.Tsunade-chan would have none of this though, and like the people of Hoshigakure, sided with me and claimed and praised me for liberating them from Akahoshi's tyranny.

Plus, she also made the point that an official assassination order for Akahoshi would've undoubtedly been permitted within time anyway, like when Yagura-san was manipulated by Madara-teme's Sharingan to become a tyrant over his own people.Ever since my departure, Hoshigakure saw me as the Hero and Liberator of their Village; and my strength was there was said to be of 'legend' since I had both killed their Kage AND destroy the very Star that there village was named after; which was supposed to grant unlimited power, just like the Stone of Gelel Haido-teme was after following months prior.

The people of Hoshigakure were actually a bit enthralled with the idea that their 'savior' would pay a part in their lives, marrying a growing woman of their village and watching over them as a protector in the future once more. That, and when they found out that I was the son of Namikaze Minato like so many others did, they practically had a seizure in the process.Heh, I even heard a rumor that the Council of Hoshigakure was thinking that after the war with Madara-teme was over, they were thinking of offering me the position of Godaime Hoshikage; as if I didn't have enough growing power already.Didn't I end up going to Nadeshiko Village to propose to Shizuka? I think I did, I hope I did.

"You did Kit; which kinda works out anyway since that old fool Jiraiya promised that one day his student would fight the to be leader of that Village and take her hand in marriage."

Yeah, I remember…

"A shame you didn't have common sense when you first met her before the CRA was enacted upon you; you probably should've taken the offer."

Maybe, but we don't know how that would've worked out.

"True."

After our battle that I didn't even want to participate in to begin with anyway, we were confronted by an idiot named Kokuyo who Shizuka had beat before our initial conflict. He apparently wanted to forcefully marry Shizuka to gain power of Nadeshiko Village, despite how she spurned his vulgar advances. During his second attack I sent him and his puppet flying with an Odama Rasengan; which most likely killed him in the process. I told Shizuka that someone with the power to lead a whole Village had the right to change laws that they didn't see as prominent, and I told her that I already loved someone else anyway; before coming to an epiphany at that said person much later…

"Ah yes, the bubblegum-haired bitch."

Can you please not refer to Sakura that way? I haven't loved her in quite some time but I still respect her.

"Can't see why Kit; she beat you senseless nearly every day over stupid shit, she was practically more abusive than how Shukaku used to be to his mates."

But-

"Not only that the only reasons you realized that a relationship between the two of you probably was because of the undeniable facts in front of you that had constantly put out of your head for years. One, she always beat the living shit out of you at every moment. Two, she always found fault with nearly everything you did; regardless if you were successful or not. And most importantly three, she could never get over that whole Sasuke leaving the village scenario; even when it became imperative and unavoidable that he had to be stopped no matter the cost, she never had the guts or drive to actually kill him."

"Didn't she have the gall to tell you she was in love with you only so you'd stop chasing Sasuke because she didn't want either of you to die when your final confrontation with one another took place? That she didn't want you to bear the burden of bringing him back which she indirectly placed on you, which nearly got you killed at the Valley of the End to begin with?"

Must you concentrate on the negative Kurama?

"You damn well know I'm not being negative, only factual; you came to truth with these terms a long time ago anyway.""And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she eventually hold some kind of romantic feelings for you, but at that point it was far too late? You had no further interest in her, and you only wished for her to find happiness in her own way without you by her side."

Yes, I did.

"Sounds like you pussied out to me; I would've wanted that bitch to rot in Hell if I were you."

I guess that makes me a better person than you then, Kurama.

"A better person maybe, but not a better DEMON, Kit."

Whatever, I don't want to get into a philosophical debate with you at the moment; the important part is that I think I've properly remembered all the women who would've become my wives through the Clan Restoration Act, am I right Kurama? Did I remember everyone or did I leave someone important out? My memory is still foggy.

"I don't know, did you?"

Come on Fox, don't screw with me; we both know you have a better memory than I do.

"No, you didn't forget anyone; personally I still think we shoulda gone for more."

You're incorrigble.

"Hey, I just like to get tail that's all."

I heard rumors that Gaara had found love in two girls who happened to both admire, respect and love him; I think their names were Matsuri and Sari, with Matsuri being his first apprentice. Whether or not these rumors were true or not, I never got to find out due to the imminence of the War; I hope they were, Gaara-san deserved to have someone or rather someone's to truly love him. He had nothing but hatred and fear directed at him nearly his entire life, he deserved his happiness.Sakura eventually came to terms that a relationship between the two of us just wasn't meant to be, I think she actually ended up hooking up with Rock Lee near what was to be the end of the war. I was actually pretty glad for Lee at the time; I knew he liked her for a long time like I always did; so I was happy when I learned that at least one of us finally got with her. The both needed comfort at the time anyway, Sakura for what was happening with my life and Lee-san for the upcoming responsibilities and possible casualties of war. I just hope Lee was ready to have a relationship with Sakura, Kami knows he'll have needed luck and skill for it.

Apparently Tenten and Neji finally hooked up a coupling and stopped denying the obvious tension in between them, which I could literally cut through like thick fog at the time. Everyone knew they were just trying to be professional as teammates and the good shit like that, but you can't deny your emotions forever; at one point or another somehow someone's gotta give. Tenten had always admired Neji as the self-proclaimed genius and prodigy of the Hyuga Clan back when he was still an arrogant twit before I knocked some sense into him, and then she eventually grew to love the part of him that I installed within him; the kinder, compassionate, understanding side of him that realized people aren't bound by fate and can do anything once they set their mind to it.

Some gossip started to spread around the village that during what began as argument between the two Neji and Tenten had a little 'premarital incident'; which I guess was true since the two started to spend more time together than ever before after said incident.

"What you really mean to say is they got an argument, somehow they resolved their tensions through some sloppy sex, and then they decided that they were perfect for each other afterwards."

Shut up, I'm ignoring you.Kakashi-sensei apparently hooked up with both Ayame-chan and Mitarashi Anko; I don't even want to know how he pulled that off. I mean for Gaara it was understandable how he got both Sari and Matsuri, he was a Hokage and that meant more leniency for multiple relationships even without the CRA being enacted upon him; but Kakashi-sensei hadn't had a Hatake CRA placed on him, he had to act as an ordinary guy would to balance his love interests. That must've been an absolute nightmare given how Ayame was usually so sweet and innocent and Anko was…well, not so sweet and innocent. I just hope he treated Ayame-chan was the respect and love she deserved, she was practically like my sister throughout all the years I spent at Ichiraku.

One couple that bloomed out the compassion of their love for one another that through me through a loop was Sai-san and Ino-chan. When Sai and I originally met, I have to admit, I kinda despised him. I only saw him as a would-be replacement for Sasuke, who I thought at the time, should never have been replaced to begin with. We eventually came to have a mutual respect and understanding for each other, as we learned more about each other's background, goals and lives in general. Sai led a pretty tragic life actually, his adoptive brother was killed by an unknown disease and he was forcefully used as a tool for Danzo-teme's Root ANBU operations. Sai had actually complimented Ino-chan a few times accidentally after I told him to tell people the opposite of what he actually thought of them, due to the fact that when he addressed Sakura and Choji of what he really thought of them he nearly got us killed twice. Eventually Sai finally found someone he could share his true feelings with, hanging out with Ino in her flower shop eventually brought out the better side of him.

He wanted to have someone to hold for a while, but the curse placed on him by Danzo wouldn't allow him to have such 'trivial' attachments. When Danzo finally died that curse was broken, and he could finally express his emotions to the fullest. Sai found someone special in his life before he died like everyone else in the War, and for that alone, I'm happy for him.

Iruka-Sensei ended up getting with Mizuki's ex-fiancée Tsubaki; apparently they managed to become really good friends after I drilled a hole through that teme's stomach in our little rematch. The Council, for once in their abysmally stupid lives made a good decision and decided that Tsubaki was innocent of any accusations made to relate her with Mizuki's second attempt at treason against Konoha. I'm actually kinda surprised they didn't try to sentence me like they attempted to when I killed Akahoshi when even though he was rampant, he was still considered to be the current Hoshikage at the time. Maybe's it because I killed someone who had already proven himself a traitor to my Village before, and that revoked any knowledge of him being an instructor and teacher in Konoha's eyes.

I guess what began as friends eventually clumsily stumbled its way into something more, which I'm kinda glad happened to Iruka-san anyway. He took a giant shuriken to the back for me for Kami's sake, he deserves to have someone to love and someone to love him back. Tsubaki was always a nice woman from what I can remember, so I'm glad Iruka found a good match for himself. I remember Anko-chan wouldn't stop teasing him about it though with her comments of who was 'on top' during the relationship; good thing Kakashi-Sensei managed to 'talk' her out of it.

Probably the most innocent love that I can think of that occurred during those times was with Konohamaru and Moegi. I actually thought that those two might've gotten together over time due to their similar personalities, I guess I was right. They both loved Konoha, they both loved pranks, they both lived being a Ninja, and eventually they found some type of common ground they could both rest on. From what I heard though poor Udon got his heart broken, I guess he liked Moegi too but he was too nervous to tell her; I guess that's what happens when you don't make the first move. Then again, I'm not sure if Moegi would've even gone for it to begin with due to that huge nostril dangler of his…that kid really needed to wipe his nose.

Kiba ended up hooking up with that girl who beat the fucking life out of me, Karui, I think her name was. They apparently had met some time after I was given some internal injuries by Karui, and their relationship first started off as that was better than whom. Their competitive and aggressive personalities got the better of each other, they both seemed to hate one another from what I heard because they were both bragging about who was better; their rivalry eventually turned into an angry sex relationship from what I heard…sheesh.

I heard some rumors that the Raikage, A, apparently got into a bit of a controversial stance when some tales spread that he had a little 'under the desk' action with his assistant, Mabui. No idea on whether or not was true, but despite how cold A was most of the time, I hope he found someone to keep him happy. One of the more shocking relationships I heard was that lazy baka Shikamaru actually hooked up with his SENSEI of all people, the lovely Yuhi Kurenai. A

fter the death of Shikamaru's former Sensei at the hands of one Akatsuki's members named Hidan, Asuma-san left more than his legacy behind to his team; he left behind his daughter implanted with Kurenai's womb as well. During the time while Kurenai was pregnant with Asuma's kid Shika-san told me he promised to his teacher he'd take good care of Kurenai for him, and I guess over time that promise of his evolved into something more than strictly a sensei-student bond and turned into a student-student relationship.

I never would of guessed Kurenai as the kind of woman who would go for that sort of thing or even be into younger guys in the first place, but to each his or her own I guess. After all the bullshit he went through Shika eventually ended up scoring, and with one hell of a smoking sensei I might add.Well, I think that's just about all the relationships I had in my past life, and all the other bonds everyone had, is that about right Kurama? I didn't leave anyone out did I?

"Nah, you're good Kit; I'm actually surprised you managed to remember all of that due to how long we were out. Now let's try to get some sleep shall we? We probably still have a few hours before we reach Azula's destination; wherever that is."

Fair enough, pleasant dreams Kurama.

"Yeah…you too Kit."

"…Hey Kit?"

Yeah?

"It's good to be back."

I couldn't agree more.

*Six Hours Later*

An abundant time had passed since Azula's group had departed from the ruins where they found Naruto imprisoned, and they continued to near their destination with each passing minute. Azula's golden eyes scouted the room of the carriage for any signs of activity, but she found little movement between either of her companions or Naruto himself.

Ty Lee had fallen asleep near the edge of her corner and Mai who had earlier drifted off had been awake for the past few hours with a bored expression on her face. Glancing over in Naruto's direction, the long golden haired boy had been cross-legged in a meditation stance for well over four hours now. Both of his eyes, his azure blue one and his pale green blind one had been closed for quite some time; and it was now difficult to tell whether he was still meditating or he had drifted off himself.

Boredom had made itself apparent in her mind as well, she had been awake for at least half the journey, but it seemed as if reaching the shoreline which would serve as the entrance way to the fleet seemed to be getting farther and farther away no matter how long the carriage pulled them. Azula had actually brought up the possibility in her mind that they could be under another of the illusions called Genjutsu Naruto had mentioned earlier, but they seemed highly unlikely given how concealed the last one had been; and she only managed to pass through that because of the requirement the caster had set for it so long ago.

*Sigh*…I hope that we reach the fleet soon, too much time has already passed as it is. Father made it clear to me that Admiral Zhao while powerful in his own right cannot be truly trusted to lead this invasion on his own. He has already fumbled and failed capturing the Avatar almost as many times as Zuzu has, and that's saying quite a lot considering how pathetic my wretch of a brother is. I'll also probably have to inform Zhao personally that Naruto is not a threat so he can relay that message to the fleet; I don't want an entire Armada thinking that what could possibly be our greatest weapon to be further cannon fodder for their own amusement.

I'm not sure how he'll even take to my presence in the first place, I know he was informed of my coming and he know to treat the family with utmost respect but I know that he doesn't exactly like being upstaged; he's a powerful man, but a bit vain at the same time.That being said, I can only hope he doesn't try to cause problems for Naruto, given how much of an asset he could be to this invasion. Zhao will most likely not trust him specifically due to his background and how he's supposed to be thousands of years older than the already old Avatar, but I will assure Naruto that the Admiral will NOT be a problem to him. I swear if Zhao tries anything stupid to try to get Naruto injured I swear by my ancestors that he'll pay for such impudence.

As soon as Azula finished her thoughts, a small rumble shook the carriage, to which no one conscious within the cart including herself thought little of it; most likely they had just hit a bump in the road like they had done so many times before. However, such a castoff notion was soon eliminated when a full throttle crash sent the carriage reeling off onto its side, the cries of the guards being heard as a sign of their imminent pain; as well the surprised yells of Azula and her friends being thrown asunder in their method of transport.

After the event had ended and the carriage lay on its side, everyone tried to regain their balance from the abrupt incident. Azula kicked herself up as Mai groaned while she clumsily regained her balance, and Ty Lee had found what she had landed on that cushioned her fall so. The pink acrobat had landed on top of the golden haired boy that she had found interesting and likeable in such a short amount of time, the catch being that her breasts had implanted themselves right into his face; to which only a short bit of his face was visible, clearly shocked and too embarrassed to move.

Ty Lee nearly kicked herself off of Naruto upon such a realization, her face as bright and vibrant as a tomato, with Naruto still a bit stunned at what had just occurred. The flexible girl's friends who had witnessed said event were a bit flabbergasted, with Mai facepalming in embarrassment and Azula rolling her eyes at the hi-jinks that unfolded for the group. Regaining her composure and running her fingers through her hair, Azula stood up with a prepared a ball of flame coursing in her palm. A slight explosion occurred with what was the top of the carriage from the four's perspective blowing wide open, pieces of wood and furnishings scattering everywhere.

The four climbed out of the now ruined transport carefully, each of their feet hitting the ground with as much grace as either one of them could provide. Regaining all of their awareness, they each looked around to survey the damage and the possible attacker at bay. Large boulders and rocks had littered the road ahead of them, each cracking and destroying pieces of the highway ahead of them. Naruto looked back in the direction where they had came from and had observed that the left side of the carriage had nearly been torn apart, a large boulder a few feet behind them had evidence of what appeared to be wood and furnishings tarnishing its side.

Azula's eyes narrowed in obvious annoyance, her delicate hands balled up into fists.

"Earthbenders." The Fire Princess practically spat, earning the eyes of her companions. The blond sage was familiar with such a tactic, and knew that this attack was meant to either delay them or with the hope of their assailants, kill them. It had become increasingly obvious that their attackers were quite possibly aware of their destination, and sought to stop them from reaching it through a violent means.

Ty Lee and Mai's eyes darted back and forth, looking for any signs of enemy activity and trying to prepare themselves if they were to be attacked again; which was more than likely a possibility. The three girls knew that Earthbender freedom fighters were quite usually prideful, aggressive warriors; and while guerilla warfare tactics were abundantly used by them in small raids against Fire Nation transports but usually continued to drive their attack further in most occasions.

Naruto's right eye traced the landscape for any sign of his assailants, and more importantly for any strategic points where an enemy could possibly strike from. His enemy, or rather enemies seemed to be quite stealthy; hidden by whatever camouflage they could find. However, Naruto noticed there was little place for the enemy to hide in such an open area, except for the trees facing either the left or right sides; but such an attack would be predictable and forthcoming, something he had not been used to since his earlier Shinobi days of complex battle formations.

They couldn't be hiding in the forest, it's too predictable, and much too cramped for people who throw giant rocks to possibly maneuver and aim carefully. The only other places they could have attacked from would be from either in front of us or behind us, and since none of us witnessed the attack it could be either one.Unless…they're a bit more crafty than I give them credit for…Not from the sides…not from the front or bottom….Below!

Activating his Rinnegan, the one good eye of the Sage turned into swirling fixture of violet, adamantly concentrated to the inevitable battle before. Violently extending one hand to the ground, he motioned for Azula and her friends to stand back from the surrounding area.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A massive controlled force of sheer power exploded from the youth's open palm, exploding the very ground before him and nearly decimating the road ahead of them. Several bodies exploded from under the ground, they're shocked visages flying through the air at uncontrolled speeds. Many crashed into the rubble of what was once a road violently, while others did their best to land without suffering too much damage.

Once their assailants groggily stood before them, the eyes of Azula sharpened into daggers, while Naruto's now functioning eye concentrated on the foes before him. Most of them were rugged muscular men, but there were at least four females in the group who retained a certain aspect of masculinity and power, but not nearly as much as their male counterparts. Counting the numbers before him, there seemed to be about twenty one of them; however the unleashed Shinra Tensei had caught about six of them off guard, and their bodies now littered the road, reducing their numbers to approximately fifteen.

Naruto looked back at his companions, giving them the look that told them he'd take care of it. The trio of ladies looked quite surprised at the power he had displayed, and were now distracted by the fact that both of his eyes were now a context of purple swirls. Looking back at his opponents, Naruto's violet eyes intensified at his first battle in his newfound life.

"I assume you're the louts that attacked us? You didn't do a very good job, we're all alive, and now six of your friends are dead because of your combined failure. I suggest all of you turn back now, I do not wish to further bloody my hands with the bile of the unworthy." Naruto calmly and coldly stated, earning a few of the Earthbenders to step back in fear or preparation at the unknown power they had witnessed. The tallest and most muscular of the lot pointed at Naruto in anger, and his nostrils flaring and his eyes practically shaking in anger.

"I don't know what the hell kind of power you used against us, but you're clearly allied with the Fire Nation! We intercepted and interrogated a Fire Nation spy and he spilled his guts to us that the Princess of the Fire Nation was going to rendezvous with the fleet led by that disgusting Admiral Zhao! That same spy also informed me that fleet is heading way due North, most likely to the North Water Tribe to launch a full frontal assault against it; this cannot be allowed to occur!" The man practically screamed, earning a further glare from Azula in the process. The Fire Princess hated people like these, and hated even more that a spy of her Nation had spilled such pivotal Intel regarding the invasion operation; to Azula, the spy deserved whatever fate these pigs had planned for him after he had betrayed his own Nation out of cowardice.

"We've come to stop you four from supporting Zhao's fleet, no matter the cost. And I don't care what kind of strength the one with the golden hair has, even though the information we gathered said nothing about such a person accompanying the Princess of the Fire Nation. It matters not, you'll all die here and your deaths will cripple that accursed Nation!" The leader bellowed once again, earning a shrug and a headshake from Naruto in the process. Naruto's violet eye looked to Azula once more, giving her the sign that he'd take care of the interlopers.

Pressing both of his hands together, the golden haired Sage made multiple hand signs and slammed his palms down into the earth. A large sword with two large holes in it seemed to appear from the air directly above the youth, falling into his right hand which he grasped with adamant determination.

Kubikiribocho…it's been a long time since I used you last, let's see if you still hold up as well as you did so long ago.The remaining Earthbenders as well as Azula and her companions had their eyes widen at the sheer sight of a sword so large, and even more shocking was how the youth could balance its weight so on his shoulders. Regardless, that did not stop Naruto's aggressors from charging furiously at him, which the blonde returned with equal passion at charging full speed as well.

As the large group of freedom fighters and Naruto came to a close in physical distance in between one another, Naruto opened up his first attack with a massive running three sixty swing of Zabuza's sword cleaving three out of the fifteen fighters in two; their separated heaps hitting the ground with a squishy thud. All of the Earthbenders entered defensive stances soon after, amazed that what looked to be a nineteen year old in front of them could swing the sword like it was light as a feather; nevertheless their eyes burned with a newfound hated at the boy for dispensing of their friends so easily.

With a rallying cry from their leader, the Earthbenders charged once again; hoping to outnumber and outperform the mysterious yet powerful youth before them. Four of them charged directly against Naruto, kicking up large heaps of rubble on their direct path to the sun haired youth.

While Naruto found it more than easy to carve through the chunks of rock thrown at him, the four charging benders, three men and one woman, were soon upon him delivering blow after blow to the Kubikiribocho in attempt to break his defense. Protecting himself with the flat side of the large sword, Naruto withstood the front of the brutish assault, his violet eyes gazing as more of his foes approached from the same direction; with others incoming from the left and right in an attempt to flank him.

Swinging Zabuza's sword in a wide turn to retaliate against his attackers, the four benders quickly back flipped out of the sword's reach and began trying to pelt Naruto with more slabs of rock as their friends made their way to his sides. Once more cleaving through the airborne pieces of earth, Naruto gathered a bright red coursing energy into his free hand as he protected himself from being pelted with rocks as well trying to keep his flankers at bay. Jumping high into the air, Naruto eyes surveyed the battlefield as he prepared his next move.

"Katon! Fureasutomu no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted loudly, and not a moment late several elongated waves of flame burst from his hands, forcing the flanking Earthbenders to dodge as the several torrents of fire disintegrated the forward aggressors to ash. Not giving his opponents a moment to think, Naruto raised the Kubikiribocho at a high diagonal point above him, as swirling visuals of lightning appeared around the large sword.

"Raiton: Borutotorunedo-jutsu o sekken!"

Tossing the large blade with all his might at his assailants, it began to spin in a complete three sixty notion soon after it was airborne. It swirled faster and faster until an evident trace of lightning had imbued itself within its steel; and the speed and suction of the air gathering around it had formed a miniaturized tornado, which picked six of the unlucky eleven Earthbenders who weren't fast enough to dodge the technique or escape its pull. Those trapped within the attack were electrified with enough volts of electricity that it literally made their skin sizzle and fry; and winds caused by the Kubikiribocho were so powerful and sharp they were literally apart the flesh of those unlucky enough to be in its path.

The sword quickly swerved high into the air like a boomerang and dislodged all those trapped within the tornado like an empty bag amongst the wind; their bodies already broken beyond repair landed with sickening cracks as they plummeted to the ground below them, at which at the same time the large blade returned to its owner. Smiling at how easy the fight was going for him, Naruto raised his sword up in the air and it evaporated in a shimmer of light. Cracking his knuckles in anticipation, Naruto ran towards the remaining Earth Benders at an extraordinarily high speed, with his foes about ready to retreat with their tail between their legs due to this boy's strange powers.

Concentrating his strength into his fists, Naruto ended his run with a powerful leaping punch straight into the face of the last remaining female Earth Bender; shattering her skull in five different places in the process as she slammed across the grounds like a cannonball had hit her. The remaining four Earthbenders including the leader charged at Naruto in a desperate gamble to defeat him, with the first offender imbuing his fist with the earth to create a gauntlet made of rock as he swerved to punch the blonde's face in. Front flipping over the Earth bender and delivering a spinning heel kick to the cranium of the next bender who was jumping at him, Naruto landed eloquently as the foe he had just hit crashed to the ground lifeless at the monument impact.

The man he had jumped over previously leapt at him once more in a fury, while Naruto extended his hand once more and uttered the phrase that started the battle.

"Shinra Tensei."

The force of the blast literally crushed many of the bones of the solo target, sending him flying in the opposite direction and landing unceremoniously in a crumpled heap near the side of what was once the road.

The leader of the strike team and his remaining teammate clenched their teeth in anger and in fear, and then the subordinate ran towards his death despite the protest of his friend. Throwing a powerful punch at Naruto which the Sage surprisingly made no attempt dodge, much to the confusion of Azula and her friends. The blow landed decisively against his face with a shattering impact, much to the pleasure of his attacker; but that pleasure soon turned to horror when he saw his opponent looking directly into his eyes, unflinching and unphased by the direct hit.

An azure ball of energy spiraled in Naruto's right hand, crackling to life amidst the hosts' near endless chakra flow. Ramming the Rasengan violently into the gut of the last of the two Earthbenders, it quickly started to tears its way into the man's stomach; to which he could not even express his pain due to his obvious shock. Naruto lifted his arm in a sudden motion, sending the man flying like a pinwheel at least thirty yards into the air; to which he crashed far in the distance, where he would be most assuredly dead or near its embrace in the least.

The leader of the now nonexistent force, his cheeks puffed in anger and in concentration grabbed the Earth below him as his muscles strained themselves for a mighty feat. Naruto decided to watch rather than intercept his attack, knowing the outcome would be the same no matter what he did. The ground shook and split apart as the man uprooted a boulder at least five times his size, though he struggled to hold it properly lest its very weight crush him. Using whatever remaining strength he had left, the man hurled the large slab of earth at the golden haired youth, until the huge piece of stone landed on top of Naruto and his form disappeared into the ground.

Azula's eyes widened in both anger and possible fear that Naruto had been crushed to death amidst his overconfidence, while Mai had a look of discomfort upon her face as Ty Lee bore a look of extreme worry. The last remaining assailant of the carriage weakly laughed as his muscles threatened to fall apart, but his joy faded immediately when the rock literally split into hundreds of pieces as his foe reappeared from under it, undamaged.

Stepping back in fear at the boy's feet, Naruto couldn't help but smirk. He was as powerful as he remembered himself to be in his past life, and that would surely come in handy for what was to come. This had been a pleasing warm up to confirm if he was still himself, but all good things had to come to an end sooner or later.

Extending his left hand at the quivering man, several slabs of earth rose of the ground around him, only to momentarily explode and shape themselves into a multitude of sharpened spears made of rock. The man gazed at Naruto with a look of disbelief and fear, almost begging him with eyes to spare him; but he would find no mercy here. Naruto opened his mouth slowly and then adamantly yelled the words to finish the one-sided battle.

"Doton! Rakka sekijun no Jutsu!"

And then all at once, all the of the slabs of rocks shaped into stalagmite-like foundations impaled the man from all angles; a single moment of unbelievable pain and a lifetime of endless silence. What was once the form of the lead attacker now was nothing more than a bloody husk that now barely reassembled a person and instead looked like some sort of macabre voodoo doll; his body, if one could call it that anymore, was threatening to fall to pieces out of how many large holes had pierced through it, but the corpse couldn't descend to nothing from all spears that held it in place.

Turning to the trio of his newfound companions behind him with a victorious smile adorning his face, Naruto wasn't surprised to see what their reactions were. Mai and Ty Lee looked both dumbfounded and a tad shocked at the violence Naruto had unleashed, while Azula stood in the middle of the gaping two with an almost sadistic smirk on her face. Raising her hands ever so calmly, Azula began a slow clap for the victorious boy, to which Naruto himself to a playful customary bow.

"Well done Naruto, your abilities are indeed quite unusual, but most efficient in times of battle. I must say, I've never seen anyone fight like you do, nor have I ever seen any such techniques in any of my personal accounts of battle. Truly you do possess the skill the Spirit spoke of, but I wonder if it is truly to the lengths that Faust described; after all, while your brutality and power is commendable, I could've just as easily kill those fools as well." Azula practically chuckled amidst the chaos that had unfolded, earning a sly almost devilish smile from Naruto as a response.

"Well my Hime, I guess you'll just have to wait and see what kind of power I truly have, now won't you?" Naruto almost hauntingly implied, earning a shiver from all the three girls in the process. Before Naruto could casually rejoin the group, Mai dusted herself off from some of the debris that had spread from the battle; she opened her mouth to address the young Sage's actions.

"As much as I appreciate your talents in getting rid of our attackers; I think it goes without saying that you were a tad brutal in the way you dealt with them. I know you come from a time long since passed, but are you so indifferent about who you kill?" Mai stoically stated, earning a small stare from Ty Lee and an almost glare from Azula.

Naruto merely shrugged and sighed at Mai's comment, knowing full well of how he dealt with his foes and how he took their lives. He knew he'd have to address his methods of combat sometime with them, he had just hoped it didn't have to be so soon.

"They chose their paths Mai-chan; I just happened to cross it." Naruto almost replied in an almost monotone fashion, earning an eye raise from the dark girl in the process. In truth Naruto himself wasn't all too fond of the act of taking a life, but at most times in his past life it was nearly always unavoidable; it would seem that that same scenario hadn't changed for this world at all. He recalled an earlier conversation he had with the Spirit called Faust mere weeks before he was sealed away, and how they discussed that humans would always have reasons to kill one another; it would appear that situation would never change, no matter how many centuries would pass.

"That's a little cold of you Naruto…I mean, they were our enemies, but I usually don't like to kill people." Ty Lee commented on the side, kicking up dirt almost solemnly with her bright sandals. Naruto smiled at the bright girl and put his right hand on her shoulder, she looked up at his now normal eyes in surprise, captivated by both a pale green and azure blue eye amidst a long set of golden hair.

"I usually don't like to kill either Ty Lee, regardless of what my prowess in battle ever will be. However, some people can't be turned from what path they take; I failed to learn that lesson a long time ago, and even more people got hurt as a result of my foolishness. I'll try to give mercy to those who truly want peace, but I will not forgive those who attack me or my friends." Naruto peacefully said, earning a small smile from both Ty Lee and Mai; as well as a very miniscule look of question from Azula. The Sage wasn't done there though, as he cupped the acrobat's chin with his bandaged right hand, and brought her face to meet his eye to eye; a blush slowly creeping across her face.

"Besides, we wouldn't want that pretty face getting hurt now, would we Ty-chan?" Naruto said as he grinned from ear to ear, earning an eye roll from Mai and a small laugh from Azula. Ty Lee, a tad flustered at the intimacy the ancient man had presented nearly tripped over her feet despite her balance; huffing in embarrassment through crossed arms.

Naruto tossed off his now ruined battle jacket, revealing his bare, muscular frontal torso only briefly before he extended his arms to the side; a bright light momentarily engulfing him, after it had faded it revealed the same cloak he had worn in his fight against the Paths of Pain.

"By the way Naruto, what was up with your eyes during the fight? They turned purple and had multiple swirls in them; a most unusual eye color, even for someone like you. And if you don't mind me saying, it seemed to affect both your eyes, even the one you're blind in." Azula asked inquisitively, wanting to know any possible ace Naruto carried about his nonexistent sleeves. Naruto cracked his knuckles again and rested his arms against the back of his head with a smile on his face, and opened his mouth to explain what was most likely to be the first of many explanations.

"When my eyes changed color they utilized a Kekkei Genkai, a bloodline limit that mainly royal families from my time had that they utilized in battle. A bloodline limit is within itself a very thing, I only saw such things only a few times when in my past; the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans were both very famous for their Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan and the Sharingan respectively."

"My Kekkei Genkai is utilized from the blood within my veins that carries connections to the first Rikudo Sannin; the man who I told created what we call the Moon. Somehow or another, I'm related to him; he's many times my great grandfather, which would make sense, considering how I was the called the new Rikudo Sannin near the end of my time."

"The actual name of my bloodline limit is known as the Rinnegan, literally meaning the Samsara Eye. It was said to be the greatest the Three Great Dojutsu, more potent than the Byakugan and more powerful than the Sharingan. A man I knew in my past life once possessed this technique, though when we first met, we were enemies. And then another…man, if you could call him that; had the Rinnegan as well, though he only gained it from stealing one of the eyes of the first man I previously mentioned."

"The Rinnegan allows me to everything for what it is completely, in a way it overrides the blindness in my left eye and grants me temporary sight in it as long as it is active. I could've beaten those would be assassins of ours without using my Rinnegan or any other of my enhancement abilities, but I just wanted to test if it still functioned within my body or not." Naruto said as he finished his longwinded explanation, earning puzzled looks from the Fire Nation girls three. Ty Lee looked the most interested in Naruto's words, staring adamantly at his pale green eye with a look of intrigue. Raising her hand in a somewhat childish notion to ask a question, Naruto perked up and gave her the go ahead to ask away.

Scratching the back of her head for a moment in uncomfortable sense, the acrobat paused for a moment before asking her question. "Um…Naruto? If I may be so bold, what caused you to go blind in your left eye anyway?" Ty Lee attempted to innocently state, but still succeeded in gaining a look of chagrin from both Mai and Azula; much to her initial fears. Grabbing her friend lightly by the arm, Mai sighed in a sense of disappointment. "Ty Lee, those aren't the things you ask a person; no matter how curious you are about the topic. Didn't you consider that might be a bit of a sensitive topic for him?" Mai concluded in an almost secretive manner, Ty Lee's head dropping in a bit of shame as Azula chuckled on the side.

Naruto shook his head while bearing a bit of a chuckle himself, waving his left arm casually at the question. "Girls relax, I knew the question would come up eventually; I have no problem with answering it. It's not really a personal topic for me as it is with other people, who share this similar handicap, just know that I earned this scar a long time ago from a man who put his own ambitions in front of the world. And if it's worth mentioning at all, I'm not blind Ty Lee; I just can't see." The blonde quizzically stated, earning an amused look from both Mai and Azula.

"You sound much like the scholars I've heard about from my home that live in Ba Sing Se; I heard they're a rather petty bunch though, very uptight and not exactly the most cheerful folk." Mai casually commented on the surprisingly spiritual side of her mysterious new ally, Naruto chuckled calmly and retorted the best he could. "Well when you're around a Spirit for so long you tend to get a bit philosophical yourself, though I was unconscious Faust and I could still communicate with one another through our minds; I must say though that I much prefer the company of my fellow humans as opposed to an unearthly presence."

"Anyway, since our cart is totaled and I'm guessing we have about three miles to go in that direction, so how about I just my Jikukan Ido Technique to get us directly to where we're going?" Naruto casually suggested, as Ty Lee held her stomach in what would be preparation for another instant travel experience. Azula sighed and ran her fingers through her hair and joined hands with Naruto once again, as her free hand was taken by Ty Lee and her free hand was taken by Mai just like before.

"The sooner we get to the Fleet the better, Zhao needs to be informed of you; I'm sure our combined abilities will make little work of the Northern Water Tribe." Azula grimly smiled, visualizing the destruction that would take place upon their arrival to the Water peasants' village. She knew that Zhao's fleet was already massive and he could probably take down the Northern Water Tribe on his own, but nevertheless her father had ordered her and her companions to assist in the invasion; and now with such devastating powers found in this mystery youth the battle was almost an assured victory.

"Jikukan Ido."

And with those words, the group of four materialized away into nothing into a far away area in which they found themselves instantly surrounded by dozens of Fire Nations soldiers; to their right lay a great ocean that stood an even greater fleet ready for battle. Many of the soldiers doubled over in shock or in fear at the ghost-like appearance of the four, and many more were humbled that one of the would-be phantoms was none other than Azula herself, the Princess prodigy child of the Fire Nation; daughter to Fire Lord Ozai himself, one of his greatest treasures and proof that his legacy would rule on high.

While many of the soldiers found it customary to bow to the Princess of their Nation, they couldn't help be distracted from such a duty at the sight of a strange looking teenager with thick, long hair whose color matched that of the sun. Many of them entered fighting stances at the mere sight of him, and at least four held spears to the edges of Naruto's neck lest attempt to move.

Before he could retort properly, a rising blue flame from Azula's hand warded of Naruto's would-be attackers. Her eyes and her stance gave an instantly recognizable order to the guards, no words needed to be said to relay her message. They knew full well of Azula's capacity for violence amongst the tales of her bending prowess from a young age, it was obvious the peculiar youth in front of them was obviously of great importance, otherwise Azula would not have defended him so. Even the most rugged of guards firmly backed off and gave a customary bow to Azula and her companions, challenging the Fire Nation's most powerful prodigy was suicide enough, but attempting to deny the will of the Fire Lord's very daughter was comparable to downright insanity.

Making their way past the crowds that quickly parted for them, the Fire Nation Princess found herself at the entry point of a long bridge connected to the ground that led to the flagship of the military leader of the fleet. Two of the guards standing side by side near the ship quickly kowtowed at her presence, one of which Azula looked at directly in the eyes through his thick armor.

"Inform Admiral Zhao of our arrival, and tell him there is a private matter we must discuss about the coming invasion of the Northern Water Tribe; I'm sure he'll want to know that we've just gained the edge in every possible way, and I'm not just talking about myself."

The nervous soldier bowed once more and took off like lightning up the bridge, to which Naruto had to stifle a chuckle at how frightened everyone was of Azula's very presence. Less than a minute later a large humming sound came from the ship; the sound of the Royal Horn, which was a customary tradition that let everyone onboard the ship know that members of the Fire Lord's royal family were coming aboard. All the soldiers outside of the ship who stood and gaped in fear and respect at Azula stood at attention, each drawing a customary salute to Ozai's daughter.

As Azula led her party up the railway to Zhao's ship, she couldn't help but smirk almost evilly. She knew of what the outcome to this battle would've been the same without her presence, but now victory was practically a one hundred percent guarantee.

Now she had an ally whose strength was unlike anything she had ever seen; a man who had lived in an ancient world that far proceeded the Order of the Avatars. A man whose strength and knowledge predated any known historical records, and more importantly, a man whose powers were as unknown as they were destructive; and he would use these powers at a whim and willingly so, a being who possessed near unlimited potential, and wasn't afraid to use it at a moment's notice.

Naruto was no Avatar…he could possibly be something much, much greater.

The Avatars had always been afraid to use their powers to their fullest extent under the notion that power in itself was dangerous and had to be respectfully contained…while Naruto carried no such Code that prohibited him from using his full strength in its entire entirety.

A being whose sheer indomitable might was on their side now, and to make things even better, it was of his choosing to do so.

He had been born in the Fire Nation in a past so ancient that time itself lost history of it, and now he had come to lay waste to his homelands enemies once again; regardless or not if they were the supposed Messiah of the world.

Azula almost bore a glint of sheer malevolent intent in front of those who she crossed within the halls of the ship, filled with emotions of pride and want at the new power she would display to the world; the new strength that would give a further rise to the glory of the Fire Nation, and spell certain doom for all who opposed it, Avatar or not.

The crew finally stopped at the door that led to the bridge of Admiral Zhao, the Princess paused for a moment before clutching its handle.

I can't until those pathetic Water peasants see what TRUE power is, they have never before seen strength on this magnitude; neither has the entire world witnessed such might for thousands of years.With my own power and Naruto's ancient strength combined, we can end this pathetic example for a war with one decisive stroke; we can destroy the Avatar here and now.I can't wait till new of this battle reaches every end of the Four Nations, everyone's perceptions of reality are about to change in every possible way.

With Zhao and his forces here, this would've been a victory.With my presence added to this assault, this battle would've been a simple decisive stroke of triumph.And now, with someone like Naruto here on top of my own abilities….No…this won't be a battle…This will be a massacre.
_

*Changes from Naruto Anime/Manga Canon*

1) Past Naruto is/was a bit more brutal and fearsome than Anime/Manga Naruto is. Akahoshi and Mizuki, the filler villains of their respective Arcs, weren't killed by Naruto in reality; they were just defeated by him. In this Universe, Naruto killed all three and had no regrets about doing so, seeing them both as sick twisted men who would never change their ways, he killed them instead.

2) SPOILER ALERT for anyone for out there who hasn't heard, but one of the latest Manga Chapters says that out of all the people in the world, ONLY Uzumaki's have red hair; Karin is shown during the background during this speech, implying she is indeed an Uzumaki, this has been confirmed by Kishi himself.

And if I may say so Kishi…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? Just because someone has red hair doesn't mean they automatically are related and belong in the same Clan, to me saying that only one type of people in the entire have red hair and that makes them related is pretty frigging stupid. I mean Gaara has red hair and he's not an Uzumaki, and Tayuya technically had red hair since pink is a lighter tone of red; I guess that makes them Uzumaki's too right Kishi?

Couplings from the Past Naruto Universe
-NaruMei
-NaruTsu
-NaruHina
-NaruTema
-NaruShizuka
-NaruHotaru
-NaruHokuto
-NaruKarin
-GaaSuri
-GaaSari
-LeeSaku
-NejiTen
-KakaAyame
-KakaAnko
-SaIno
-ShikaKure
-KibaKarui
-IruTsubaki
-KonoMoe
-AMabui

If it's not already completely obvious, Naruto wishes to side himself with Azula and the Fire Nation SPECIFICALLY due to the fact that Fire Nation was Hi no Kuni in his past, which was his homeland. He both succeeded and failed in protecting it in his past, and now he wants a chance to make up for his semi-failure; that's not too hard to believe is it? Though Naruto is much darker in character to compare with his past self, he still is a "Good" guy; he just does this things that he as his past self would never even consider to get the job done. "Dark" doesn't mean "Evil"; it just means going on a much stricter, colder path to achieve path than a "Good" person would; sacrificing what needs to let go for the greater good but not always looking for the easiest way out in order to solve everyone's problems.

Tensions between Naruto and how the Fire Nation keeps order will arise in Chapter 7.

Use of the Gedo: Rinne Tensei Jutsu will begin in Chapter 8.

Something to be noted is that Naruto isn't always going to rely on his Paths to do things for him, he'll summon them only when he feels that he needs back up; though he can still use his Rinnegan without utilizing the "Forms" or "Modes" are as follows:
-Tailed Forms ("Zero" Tailed Mode to Nine Tailed Mode)
-Sage Mode
-Rinnegan Kekkei Genkai
-Nine Tails Chakra Mode
-Enhanced Nine Tails Chakra Mode
-Tailed Beast Mode

The use of the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique will begin in Chapter 8, that's when you'll start seeing people and lovers from Naruto's past. Though not specifically mentioned, I can inform all of you that Naruto's limit when it comes to ressurecting the dead is that he can only bring back ten people at a time with the Gedo: Rinne Tensei Technique, it drains such a massive amount of Chakra (even with his own near limitless quantity of it) that it knocks him out could for at least a , he does NOT need to perform this Jutsu to bring back his Paths, they aren't dead persay, they're just "out of commission" and need to be reactivated through Summoning them.

Places/Clans Where Naruto WOULD Have Had Power In Before Everything Went To Shit (None of the marriages ever actually happened due to the destruction of the world, any pairings that aren't related to a royal family are not shown here but they are no less important.)
-Joint power in Sunagakure due to marrying the sister of the Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara, Temari.
-Joint rule over Konohagakure following the marriage to the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju. Naruto at the time was considered to be a "Pseudo-Hokage" by Konoha's civilians due to his relationship with Tsunade.
-Joint rule over Kirigakure following the marriage to the Godaime Mizukage, Mei Terumi. Considered to be a "Pseudo-Mizukage" by Kirigakure's civilian population due to his relationship with Mei.
-Future Ruler of the Hyuga Clan following the engagement to Hinata Hyuga. Naruto would only become official 'Ruler' of the Clan following the death of Hiashi Hyuga, until that point he would be only known as a strong political power within the Hyuga Clan.
-Ruler over the Tsuchigumo Clan following the marriage to Utakata's 'servant', Hotaru Tsuchigumo.
-King over Nadeshiko no Sato following the union to Shizuka, future Queen of Nadeshiko Village.
-Considered by the Council of Hoshigakure to be elected as the Godaime Hoshikage of their Village following the defeat of their traitorous Yondaime Hoshikage, Akahoshi. The marriage with Hokuto would've most likely cemented Naruto's place of power in Hoshigakure in stone.
(Karin isn't of a Noble Clan in this fanfic, so she's not included in this section.) And that's about it for Chapter II, what a monster this one was to get through.I'll post Chapter III after enough people have seen this Chapter and commented on what they thought about it; give or take four days and Chapter III will be up. So until then, Adios!
-TheArkOfAwesome