"Master, Master! Wake up!" It was a beautiful day, in the middle of August; seven years after Naruto fell through the mirror. A small grey creature flew through the open window and landed on the desk, in front of a sleeping Naruto. "MASTER!" It yelled in his ear.
"Gah!" Naruto woke up with a start. "Oh, Kaji. It's just you."
"Just me?" The little creature sounded offended. Naruto chuckled at it and straightened up in his chair, stretching his arms a little.
"So, what is it?" He looked at the little imp he had conjured all those years ago. He was a very loyal follower, although not the brightest.
"It's the last pree-lim-o-nary ro-port." The imps dropped a scroll with a name on the side of it. Naruto grinned a little and put it with the other seven.
"Excellent, then it's time to start with the second phase." He stood up and walked in front of the table.
Naruto had grown during the last seven years, from a measly height of 3 ft. 2 to an impressive 4 ft. 5. He also ditched the old orange shirt and black shorts combo for an interesting choice in attire. He had pointy black leather boots on his feet and black dress pants. A blue shirt covered his torso, with the top two buttons open and the collar pointing upward. The sleeves were rolled to the elbows, showing a silver bracelet on his left hand with an emerald stone in it and two rings, on made of black metal and a ruby and the other of platinum and a sapphire on the ring and index fingers of his right hand, respectively. Over that there was a black vest. Around his neck was a pentagram pendant. His blond hair was slicked back and upward, from the years of running his hands through it. His eyes were as blue as always, but now, from time to time, and especially when he accessed his magic, they would take on an eerie glow.
He took the scrolls and put them in his vest pocket, shrinking them so they could fit without trouble, and walked to the same mirror he had inadvertently used to arrive all those years ago. He snapped his fingers and the glass rippled. With a grin, Naruto walked through.
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After Naruto had disappeared seven years ago, and the search for him fell through, Sarutobi moved the big mirror, which he was convinced had something to do with the boy's disappearance, to his office. Since then he would occasionally glance at it, hoping that it would somehow reveal where Naruto was hiding. No such luck was to be had, though. And, over the years, even those glances were getting fewer and far in-between.
So it came as a huge surprise when the glass of the mirror rippled and showed some kind of library with a desk for a moment, before a blond teen stepped through the mirror. The teen was wearing a confident grin on his face and, though he was dressed strangely, the old man recognized him instantly.
"Naruto!" Before the teen could blink he was enveloped in a tight hug.
"Ugh… Hey, nice to see you too, old man. How about letting me go now, huh? I still need oxygen to breathe."
"Sorry." Sarutobi rubbed the back of his hand sheepishly, but a moment after his face hardened. "Now where the hell were you?"
Naruto sighed and motioned to the Hokage's chair. "You should probably sit down; it's rather a long story."
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"Magic? You're telling me there's actually such a thing as magic."
"Yes, there is." Naruto sighed once again. The story really was quite long, and it was made even longer with the Hokage's incessant questioning, but this particular question he had already answered three time in a row.
"Magic…"
"Yes, magic!" Naruto's patience finally snapped. "Actual magic. Or did you not see me come through a blasted mirror."
"Sorry. It's just… a lot to take in. … Magic." He muttered again, gaining another sigh from Naruto.
"Now on to more immediate subjects. What shall you do with the knowledge I've given you?" Naruto leaned back in the chair he was sitting, crossed his legs and clasped his hands in front of his face, studying the Hokage.
Sarutobi had to give the boy credit, that was an important question. He leaned his chin on his hands and looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. "Is it dangerous?" He finally said.
"Everything is dangerous, some things more so than others. But magic? In the wrong, or inexperienced, hands it could be disastrous."
"How.. disastrous are we talking here?"
"Destruction of the whole of reality, for instance." Sarutobi nodded, wide-eyed at the mere thought.
"Then why did you come back? I could understand staying there to protect those secrets."
"Smart man." Naruto chuckled. "And thus we come to the point of the matter. These," He threw the eight scrolls from his pocket on the old man's desk, enlarging them on the way. "Are what I am here for, really."
"These are reports." The Hokage skimmed over them with practiced ease.
"They are. On several Ninja of your village. Well, technically speaking, only three of them are actually Ninja." He shifted in his chair, leaning forward. "I've told you of the glamour and wonder of magic, how respected it was centuries ago, when wizards were more… commonplace." The old man nodded. "That is what I want to recreate. I want to bring back magic." Naruto's grin grew. "And not just for this village. For the world. In a few years' time there will be a special summon I will be having with leaders of all the Hidden Villages in the Elemental Nations, as well as all the Daimyos. You will, of course, get an invitation." He added as an afterthought. "But I cannot do it alone. I need help. I need students, people who I will teach magic and, when they are ready, they shall in turn teach the next generation. So, in short, I would very much like to talk to these eight people, and, if they are underage, their guardians. As quickly as possible." He leaned back into his chair.
The atmosphere thickened for a while, as Sarutobi was staring right into Naruto's eyes, trying to read his intentions. Naruto's face was set in the confident smirk he had when he came, but his eyes held only seriousness in them. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the old Hokage nodded and sent Anbu for the people Naruto requested.
"You realize, of course, that, should they accept, they can no longer be Ninja."
"Of course. And you realize I will be here when you talk to them."
"Of course."
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Half an hour later the office of the Hokage was packed. Eight people stood in a semi-circle in front of the desk. Behind, the Hokage was sitting on his chair and Naruto was standing next to him, hands crossed in front of him.
"Chōji Akimichi. Anko Mitarashi. Kurenai Yūhi. Hanabi Hyūga. Shikamaru Nara. Ino Yamanaka. Hana Inuzuka. And Shino Aburame. Welcome."
"How do you know our names?" Shino asked the blond.
"BECAUSE I CAN READ MINDS!" Naruto cried out dramatically, throwing out his hands. "It's in your files." He chuckled a moment later, motioning to the pile on the desk. Everybody sweat-dropped at him.
"So why are we here, huh brat?" Anko asked, a sadistic grin on her face.
"Now that wasn't very nice, was it?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I am here to extend you an offer. I asked to talk with you and your guardians about a… special class I have chosen the eight of you for."
"What would they be learning?" Shikamaru's dad, Shikaku, asked.
"Now that I cannot tell. All I can, is that it will be more than anything any of you are capable of imagining."
"I don't know, I've got a pretty big imagination." Ino's father remarked.
"Trust me, Inoichi." Naruto chuckled. "All you Ninja tricks are but a party favor in comparison."
"Really?" The Hyūga head mumbled in thought.
"Oh yes. But, and I do hate do dampen your excitement, they will only be allowed to teach those I have approved of."
"And why is it that you have such control over these… secrets?" The Hyūga asked with a slight snear.
"Because I am their keeper, Hyūga." Naruto's surroundings seemed to darken as he spat out. "You would do well to respect that. But I have heard enough of you. Your incessant interruptions are preventing you daughter from speaking. The person I've chosen." He turned to Hanabi. "What say you, my dear?"
The ten-year-old girl looked at her father for a moment. "Why have you chosen me? Why not my sister? Or my cousin?"
"Ah. I'm afraid your sister, although in possession of a large heart, hasn't the… temperament to embrace my teachings. As for your cousin, as he is now, he would only misuse them in his own gain, and at the harm of one-half of your family. No, although I foresee a change for him in the future, he is nowhere near yet. I do have to point out, though." He turned to all of them at that. "That, should you choose to accept, you will never be able to return to being Ninja again. In fact, I am not sure you would be able to access your chakra at all."
"Then why should we accept?" Kurenai spoke up for the first time. "Why should we sacrifice our dreams for something we have no idea about?"
"My dear, what I am offering is the most wondrous thing you could imagine, and, in a few years' time, the whole world will know it. You have a chance to become some of the most powerful individuals in existence. But it is your choice, of course. Do keep in mind that you eight were my first pick. I would not have chosen you if I did not think you had great potential."
"They have power?" Hiashi butted in.
"No, Hyūga. Not yet, at least. Potential." He turned to the Akimichi pair. "Have you decided, Chōji Akimichi." The plump teen looked at his father.
"I'm sorry dad, but I've never thought I'd be a good Ninja. To hear that someone has so much faith in me…"
"It's alright, son." The big man smiled and patted the boy on the head. "You can go." Chōji hugged his father and went to stand behind Naruto.
"Anko Mitarashi?" The woman had a thoughtful look for a moment.
"Will this power you're offering be enough for me to take my revenge on… someone." Her hand grasped her shoulder. Naruto made a note of that.
"Yes. But I must warn you, revenge is a hard path to take. If you do not temper it, it could lead you astray." She nodded and went beside Chōji. "Kurenai Yūhi?" The woman looked at her friend and, without a word, stood next to her, grasping her hand gently.
"You'd better not try something."
"Not to worry." Naruto chuckled. "Hanabi Hyūga."
"She will not be…" Hiashi started, but was interrupted by his daughter.
"I can speak for myself, father. And if I go, then Hinata can become Clan Head, and fix our family. Give her my love, father." She went to the others.
"Shikamaru Nara?"
"Troublesome. Sorry, pop, but I have to go with my best friend."
"Yeah, yeah. Your mother is going to kill me." The older Nara muttered. "Troublesome."
"Ino Yamanaka?"
"Are you sure I can't tell anyone." She pouted at him.
"Quite sure. For the foreseeable future, at least." He chuckled at her.
"But there's this boy here, and…"
"Ah, yes… Sasuke, was it?" She nodded. "I am afraid, my dear, that he is quite unworthy of attention from such a rare… flower." She blushed a little at his words, but fixed him with a glare.
"Look here, buster, Sasuke is-" He cut her off with a wave.
"If you are so set on him, why not take my offer and show off to him when you are done with training." Naruto sighed.
"Fine. But you better deliver on your promise."
"Princess-" Her father started.
"Sorry, daddy." She kissed his cheek and ran to the others. "But I gotta go."
"Hana Inuzuka?" The feral woman, who was completely silent during the conversation, looked at him.
"Are there dogs allowed?"
"Indeed." Naruto chuckled. "They will, of course, be your responsibility, but I do not forbid pets or companions. In fact, it is customary for a…." He trailed off, stopping himself mid-sentence. "Ah, almost spoiled the surprise." He chided himself with a small smile. "And, finally, Shino Aburame." The bespectacled boy looked at his father, who only gave a small nod. Shino quietly stood with the rest. "Excellent. That's everybody, then. I shall take the liberty of informing your mother." He nodded to Hana, who gave him a grateful smile. "Old man, I shall leave the mirror as a way for you to communicate with me. When I am available, the gem at the top will glow, and you only need approach the mirror and speak into it. It will be as if we are in the same room."
"Thanks, Naruto." The Hokage smiled at him. "Don't be a stranger, huh?"
"Of course not. But now you must excuse me, I have to show my students the Academy." He snapped his fingers and a purple circle appeared beneath the group, filled with runes and symbols. A moment later, in front of gawking parents and a very interested Hokage, they vanished.
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This is quickly becoming one of my favorite stories. I'll probably write at least three chapters today. For some reason, I can't stop.
Next chapter there will be some explanations of schools and magic, a tour of the Academy, but after that will be a 3-year Timeskip. All further lessons will be done via flashback, which will allow me to answer any questions you have about magic and whatnot.