Naruto: Rise of the Ultimate Ninja
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Ultimate 10.5: Welcome Home
Chapter Cover: Naruto stood in front of two gravestones, looking down at them with leaves flying around him. His father, Minato Namikaze, stood next to him as a transparent figure with his hand on his shoulder while his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, appeared on the other side of him.
In the Hidden Leaf Village, the Third Hokage stood on the roof of the mansion, looking up at the Hokage Mountain. He looks at each of the stone faces of his two predecessors, himself, and then his successor. He stopped and stared at the face of Minato.
It has been weeks since Naruto's disappearance and they still haven't heard word from him yet, and it's starting to worry him. He's been hearing rumors going around about Naruto's disappearance. One rumor say that he ran away from home and got killed, another said he abandoned the village and went somewhere else.
Hiruzen scoffed at the rumors. Not a single one of those rumors are true. Naruto would never run away from home nor would he abandoned. Despite his sad childhood, he still loved the village very much and would do anything in his power to protect it. Plus his dream is to become Hokage someday just like how it was his parents dream.
If he knows Naruto by now, and he does, there's no doubt in his mind that Naruto is trying to find his home right now as we speak. Who knows? Wherever Naruto went, he probably found Blaze and is bringing her home right now.
He turns to walk away but stopped as he heard something.
"Hm?" Hiruzen blinked from the strange sound. It sounded like...like it came from the sky. He looks up at the sky and saw...something flying. It sounded like a machine running on engine.
"...man!"
"What?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes as he saw the flying object dive downwards to where he was. He also saw a figure waving his hands at him. "Is that…?"
"HEY!" The figure yelled happily. "OLD MAN!"
"Naruto?" Hiruzen asked as the flying object got lower. His eyes lit up happily as he saw Naruto standing on what appears to be wings of the machine. He was also still waving his hands. "Naruto!"
Music: Invincible Theme [Sonic Runners]
"Old man! I'm home!" Naruto yelled happily. He jumps in the pilot seat of the Tornado and steered upwards, flying past the roof of the Hokage Mansion, making the Third Hokage smile happily as he gave off a chuckle.
Naruto laughed happily as he stared down at everyone in the village as they looked up at him in shock, surprise and confusion. "I'M HOME EVERYONE! NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS RETURNED TO THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE!"
At Ichiraku Ramen, Iruka sat by himself eating some ramen. He looks next to him at the empty seat where Naruto would sit. He sighs sadly as he finished his food. It's been weeks. Long agonizing weeks since Naruto disappeared and there's still no word from him. What in the world could he be doing right?
"I'M HOME EVERYONE! NARUTO UZUMAKI HAS RETURNED TO THE HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE!"
The sudden shout made Iruka spit his ramen out in comical shock. He quickly ran outside and looked around, seeing everyone look up in surprise. He looked up and his eyes widen in shock and happiness. "NARUTO!?"
"HEY! IRUKA!" Naruto yelled back as he waved at his former instructor.
Iruka couldn't believe it. He just couldn't contain the joy and relief that appeared on his face. Naruto finally came back home! He laughed in joy with tears of relief falling from his eyes as he watched the strange machine Naruto was controlling fly past him. He quickly ran after him.
Sasuke is seen on the roof of his home, eating a tomato while tossing a Gold Ring in his hand. He couldn't stop thinking about Naruto. It's been weeks since he disappeared and they still haven't heard word from him. What the heck was that idiot loser doing right now?
"HEY SASUKE!"
"Hm?" Sasuke blinked at the sudden shout of his name. Wait a sec...that voice….that oddly familiar voice. He turns his head once he heard the sound of engine and fans heading his way. His eyes widened as he saw flying machine flew past him. He looks up and saw Naruto waving at him before he stuck his tongue out.
"Naruto…?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes before he chased after the strange machine Naruto was flying.
Sakura was in her bedroom playing with a Gold Ring. She sighed to herself as she sat up from her bed.
"It's been weeks since you vanished Naruto. Where are you?" She asked. If she were honest, she actually missed that Knuckleheaded Idiot. She miss how he would often tease her about her crush on Sasuke and miss his constant yelling.
She sighed once again as she stood up. She was about to leave but stopped when a sound reached her ears. "Huh? What's that noise?" She walks up to the window and opened it.
Sakura screamed as she fell backwards when something flew past her window. She immediately got up and went to her window, looking at the flying machine. "What in the world?!"
'Hey Sakura!" Naruto stood up and waved at her from the flying machine before going back to control it, shocking Sakura.
"Naruto…? She asked in a whisper before a happy smile appeared on her face. "NARUTO!"
"CHA! I'm gonna clobber that idiot for worrying me!" Inner Sakura yelled.
Sakura saw Sasuke jumping from roof to roof, apparently following Naruto. She looks down and saw many people watching Naruto. She even saw Iruka-sensei running after Naruto.
"Hey! Wait up!" Sakura jumped out her window and joined the chase.
Naruto shouted happily as he spun the Tornado around and did some tricks. He glance behind him, seeing Tails in the backseat but in his fox form.
"Hey Tails! You okay?"
"I'm feeling good!" Tails said, giving his big brother a thumbs up while holding onto a big brown backpack.
"Great! Remember the plan right?" Naruto asked.
"Of course!'' Tails nodded. Since he was in his fox form, the plan was for Tails to act like a plush doll in case anyone was nearby.
"Good." Naruto said
"Well, welcome back home Naruto."
Hearing the voice, made Tails jump before he quickly acted like a doll. Naruto looked at the wing of his plane, a happy smile present on his face. "Hey! Long time no see, Kakashi-sensei!"
There on his plane, stood his sensei Kakashi Hatake, an eye smile present on his face. "Yo."
"How've you been?" Naruto asked.
"Worried sick about you of course." Kakashi admitted. "Where have you been? What exactly is this thing?" He looks at Tails and blink in confusion. "And...is that a doll?"
Naruto gave a big grin. "First question, long story. I'll tell ya later. Second, this is the Tornado, my pride and joy. Thirdly...yes. Yes it is." He looks down and saw he was heading to the Village Gates, the spot of course being empty and clear. "Hold on tight sensei, we're about to land."
The Tornado dived down to the clear path. Once he was close to the ground, Naruto pulled the Tornado up as its wheels touched the ground. It then slowed down to a stop.
Music End
"Safe!" Naruto cheered. He took off his seatbelt and reached behind him, unstrapping Tails' seatbelt. He put him in the backpack, winking at him as he winked back. He put the backpack on and jumped out of the Tornado, stretching his limbs out while Kakashi landed next to his student. "Man it's good to be back!"
"Naruto!"
Naruto turns his head and saw Iruka running towards him. "Hiya Iruka! What's-"
"YOU MORON!"
BONK!
"OW! WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto kneeled down and held his head as a large bump appeared on his head. "The hell was that for?!"
"What do you mean "the hell was that for"!?" Iruka asked, a small vein on his head. "Do you have any idea how worried everyone was about you?! You haven't wrote a letter to anyone in weeks and we started to think something bad happened to you!"
"Yeah well nothing happened to me! See? I'm fine!" Naruto said. "And the reason why I haven't wrote a letter yet is because I was busy doing something important!"
"With what?! What was so important that you haven't wrote to anyone!?"
"Like I told Kakashi, I'll tell you later!" Naruto said.
"Tell me!
"Later!"
"Now!"
"Later!"
Naruto and Iruka glared at each other before tears welled up in their eyes. "I miss you!" They both cried out as they hugged each other.
Kakashi meanwhile watched the whole exchange with a sweat drop running down his head.
"Naruto! It's really you!"
Naruto and Iruka stopped hugging each other as they turned around and saw Sasuke and Sakura running to them. Naruto smiled happily as he instantly ran at them and brought them in a group hug, surprising them.
"Sasuke! Sakura! I missed you guys too!" Naruto exclaimed happily. He stopped when he realized he was hugging Sasuke. He let them go and rubbed his shirt. "Okay, dumb idea to hug Sasuke. I hope you didn't catch something while I was away."
"Tch. Shut up, you loser." Sasuke turned his head away while Naruto did the same thing. They both glanced at each other with small smirks present on their faces. "Welcome back." He held his fist out.
"Good to be back, jerkface." Naruto brought his fist together with Sasuke, doing a fist bump.
Sakura had tears well up in her eyes as she watched the interaction between. "You idiot! You had us all scared and worried to death about you!"
Naruto rubbed her head softly, a soft grin present. "Aw, relax. Iruka already explained it to me."
"It's still nice to remind you that people here have missed you." An old voice said. "Nonetheless, it's good to have you back safe and sound, Naruto."
"Old Man!" Naruto quickly ran to him, giving him a hug which Hiruzen returned as well.
"Welcome home Naruto." Hiruzen smiled softly as they released each other.
"Hm." Naruto nodded as he quickly wiped the tears that began to gather in his eyes.
"So where have you been this whole time Naruto?" Sakura asked. She then turns to the Tornado. "And what is that thing?"
"Again, I'll tell everyone the whole story later." Naruto said before a sheepish smile was present on his face. "But first, can you tell me a safe place where I can put my Tornado? It's very important to me."
That made everyone look at him then to the plane.
Later
After taking the plane to Training Ground 7, everyone gathered up in the Hokage's office. The Hokage sat behind his desk, staring at Naruto with everyone else staring at him as well.
"So...where to start at?" Naruto asked.
"From the very beginning when you disappeared. Don't leave anything out." Hiruzen said in a serious tone fit for a Kage.
"Right…"
Naruto took a deep breath and told everyone in the room, everything that happened. From when the Masked Boy attacked him and send him off to South Island, all the way to his adventures.
As he told them his journey, he also explained to them about the Chaos Emeralds, the Time Stones on Little Planet, the Master Emerald and the Badniks. He also explained to them about his Chaos Powers, along with his Super and Hyper forms.
For the story about West Side Island, he told them that he had a friend to help him out during his journey across there and on Angel Island. He even transformed into Dr. Eggman Nega to show everyone what he looked like.
He also told them about the evil robot twins that Eggman had created based on his image, going even further as he transformed into each and every one of them.
"After my final battle with Dr. Nega out in space as Hyper Naruto and giving the Master Emerald back to Knuckles, I took the Tornado and flew all the way here." Naruto finished his story as he took a deep breath and let it out. He looks around and sweat dropped as everyone stared wide eyed at him.
"Hm…" Hiruzen hummed as he closed his eyes, processing everything that Naruto told them. He opens his eyes and stared. "Now, let me see if I got this right Naruto. You say that Masked Boy sent you to an island, that's not even located on our map, and you met a mad scientist, who not only tried to kidnap animals to place them inside these Badniks as you call them, but to also search for the Chaos Emeralds, yes?"
"Yes. Though I call the animals little Critters to differentiate them from regular animals." Naruto replied as the Old Kage nods.
"The Chaos Emeralds, from what you told us, are seven magical emeralds that has the ability to transform our thoughts into power. When all seven are together, they also give you the power to access a super form."
"Yeah."
"This Dr. Eggman Nega wanted to use the power of those emeralds so he can power up this space station called the Death Egg, and use it to take over our world. So you traveled across the South Island to locate the emeralds first before he could, but there were only six of them there correct?"
"Correct."
"Your second journey then took you to the West Side Island, where you met your friend Miles Prower, who joined you on your quest to locate the emeralds, with the seventh emerald being there. Once you two gathered them all, you traveled out to space and went inside the Death Egg, where you fought a robotic clone of yourself called Robo Naruto and Dr. Eggman in his...Death Egg Robot. Using the power of the Chaos Emeralds you transformed into Super Naruto, beat Dr. Eggman and blew up the Death Egg."
"Oh yeah!" Naruto said with a smug grin. "Eggman was definitely not expecting that."
Hiruzen smirked a little before he continued. "Your third journey took you to Little Planet, a satellite as you said, that appears above our planet."
"Yeah. It appears over Never Lake one month out of every year and vanish for the remaining eleven months." Naruto reminded everyone.
"Of course." Hiruzen nodded. "But when you got there, Dr. Eggman chained it to a mountain and took over it. When you got there, you found Eggman and saw him searching for the Time Stones, seven stones that allows someone to control time itself and let their wielder move through the passage of time."
"..." Naruto remained silent as he looked down, though he did nod his head. "That's right…"
Hiruzen, Kakashi and Iruka noted the dead tone in Naruto's voice as well as seeing the expression on his face, which concerned Iruka, though Hiruzen and Kakashi already knew what that meant but didn't say anything.
Sasuke raised a brow at Naruto's behavior, which was unlike Naruto, and Sakura looked worried.
"Naruto?" She asked. "Are you...okay?"
"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Fine. Just fine." Naruto said as he rubbed his head sheepishly. "Just thought about something, that's all."
Hiruzen stared at Naruto, watching as he glanced at the picture of his father on the wall before turning back to him. "I see now…" He'll have to talk to Naruto about that later. "Anyway, after learning about the Time Stones and figured out Eggman's goal with them, you traveled back and forth through time using these Time Warp Plates to destroy any of Eggman's factory that were in the past to create a Good Future for them."
"Uh huh."
"However, you met a girl name Amy Rose who followed you to Little Planet and got kidnapped by another robot twin that Dr. Eggman created. I believe this one was called...Metal Naruto, am I right?"
"Right."
"Once you collected the Time Stones, you beat Metal Naruto in a race, saving your friend in the process and went to battle with Eggman. But in the middle of your fight, the Masked Boy appeared again, got rid of Eggman, and challenged you to fight."
"Which is put on hold." Naruto said as he clenched his fists. He will most definitely pay that bastard back when he see him again.
"Right. After you and Amy left Little Planet, the chain that held it got destroyed and the Time Stones went back to their home, with Little Planet vanishing once again as the legend said."
"Big time."
"Now we come down to your final journey, which took place on Angel Island. As you and your friend Miles got there by your Tornado, you saw the Death Egg, which crashed landed there after your previous battle with Eggman. You two then met a boy name Knuckles, who took the Chaos Emeralds from you and hid them inside the Secret Zones. From what I can understand, Eggman appeared on the island first and tricked the poor boy into thinking you were after the Master Emerald."
"Yup."
"Now this Master Emerald...you say that this thing is a parent to the Chaos Emeralds?" Hiruzen asked curiously
Naruto nodded. "The Master Emerald, in a short version, basically controls the power of the Chaos Emeralds. It also what makes Angel Island float in the sky."
"Yes, with Knuckles being the guardian of said emerald, which Eggman took advantage of so he can take the emerald to power up the Death Egg." Hiruzen said.
To think that there's a boy, around the same age as Naruto, guardian such an extremely powerful relic by himself. It made him sad that the lad was forced to carry such a heavy burden and not experience life as a child.
"After you collected the Chaos Emerald, you found Knuckles leaving a hidden a chamber, which led to where the Master Emerald was at."
"Yeah, when me and Miles got there, the Master Emerald took the Chaos Emeralds away and transformed them into Super Emeralds." Naruto replied.
"Giving you further access to a form more powerful than your super form." Hiruzen finished. "Once you and Knuckles met each other again, the both of you fought to a stand still only for Eggman to take the Master Emerald and went to the Death Egg, powering it up with the emerald's power. Before you could make there, Eggman created another robot clone to keep you from heading to the Death Egg."
"Please. If Metal Naruto couldn't beat me, what made him think Mecha Naruto would?" Naruto said, crossing his arms and turning his head to the side, a cocky smirk present.
Iruka sweat dropped from Naruto's attitude. "Either he became more arrogant during his journey or that might be his ego talking."
"So after defeating this Mecha Naruto, you and Miles boarded the Death Egg before it could reach space. After going through the Death Egg's many traps, you both found Eggman and fought him out in space. While fighting his battle mech, he used the Master Emerald as a power source for this weapon." Hiruzen stated.
"After we destroyed it, Eggman tried to escape with the Master Emerald again but we stopped him." Naruto continued, crossing his arms. "Without its power, the Death Egg was about to blow up so I sent Miles back to earth." Here Naruto rolled his eyes. "But of course, Eggman showed up and snatched the Master Emerald again, so I transformed into Hyper Naruto this time and fought him once again."
"And when you won the battle, you took the Master Emerald and brought it back to Angel Island where it began to float once again." Hiruzen continued from there.
"And here I am now talking to you and telling you this wild crazy story." Naruto finished
"More than that." Kakashi said with a wide eyed expression. "That has gotta be the craziest and wildest story I've ever heard." He placed a hand under his chin. "Three mysterious unknown islands that's not on the map and a small planet that appears above a lake?"
"That's...that's just too crazy to be true!" Sakura agreed. "So wait, you mean you actually went through all that?"
"Of course I did!" Naruto said, looking offended in a comical way. "Ain't no way I would make this up, besides I got the Tornado as prove!"
"But still Naruto…" Iruka spoke up an excited smile appearing on his face. "You've been to places and found objects that we didn't even know existed! Matter of fact, I don't think anyone throughout the Shinobi World knows about them."
"That's right." Hiruzen spoke getting everyone's attention. "Remember what I told you Iruka, our world is a big mysterious place." He stood up from his seat and looked out the window. "South Island. West Side Island. Angel Island. Little Planet. Chaos Emeralds. Time Stones. The Master Emerald. These are places and objects no one in this world knows about, let alone know that they exist. It's almost as if they appeared out of thin air. If someone with evil intentions, like Dr. Eggman, were to discover these emeralds, then this world would be in grave danger."
Sasuke looked at the Hokage before looking down in thought. Honestly, this was all too much for his brain to handle. Seven emeralds that grants you unlimited power, seven stones that makes someone travel through time and a giant Chaos Emerald that controls the power of the Chaos Emeralds, meaning it's the most powerful relic that exists!
He grit his teeth in jealousy. To think that Naruto would actually discover them and learn of their power, add to the fact that the Chaos Emeralds also allowed someone to transform into a super form. Then there was that kid Knuckles who's the guardian of this Master Emerald that can control the Chaos Emeralds and allow them to transform into Super Emeralds, giving the user a form more powerful than the super form the regular emeralds grants.
Adding to the fact that Naruto is the first and only person to experience that type of power. Not only that, they also helped him unlock a new type of power as Naruto called Chaos Powers, which allows him to manipulate chaos energy in various ways. It sounded like chakra, except way more powerful.
Sasuke turns to Naruto. "Do you still have them?" He spoke for the first time, which caught everyone's attention.
"Have what?" Naruto asked.
"The Chaos Emeralds. Do you have them now?" Sasuke repeated the question.
Naruto shook his head. "Nope. Like I said, when all Chaos Emeralds come together in one place, they scatter and disappear all over again. After I changed back to my regular form, I felt the Super Emeralds change back into Chaos Emeralds and vanish."
"I get it. So that means the emeralds are out there somewhere." Sakura said as she nodded her head.
"Yup. You got it." Naruto said. "Either that or they went back into the Secret Zone and the only to get there is through the Warp Rings."
Sasuke wasn't all that happy with the answer but still accepted it. He will definitely have to be on the lookout for those Warp Rings.
"But no worries." Naruto grinned as he put his hands behind his head. "Even though I already beat Egghead, I know that he might come back someday with some other scheme that involves the Chaos Emeralds." He smirks in confidence as he gives the old kage a thumbs up. "When he does, I'll be ready for him along with any other bad guy out there! And I won't be alone. Me, Miles, Knuckles, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi-sensei will be there to stop them. With all of us together, the sky's the limit!"
That made everyone look surprise. Hiruzen however smiled proudly at Naruto with Kakashi eye-smiling as well as he nodded too. Iruka looked somewhat worried but he did have a smile. Sakura actually smiled but it was nervous. Sasuke just closed his eyes, wearing a small smirk.
"You know, I guess this makes you a hero Naruto." Kakashi said.
"Huh?" Naruto asked.
"Well, you risked your life to stop a madman from taking over the world and even saved a small planet." Kakashi explained, staring proudly at his student as he rubbed his head. "To me, that would make you a hero. Just like the Fourth Hokage."
"He's right." Iruka agreed as he chuckled. "I guess that make me your biggest fan."
Naruto chuckled as he blushed in embarrassment. "Oh come on. You're making me blush. But then again, I am the world's ultimate ninja after all."
Sakura smiled and shook her head before she noticed Naruto's backpack move slightly. She also saw something white sticking out. She walks up to it, a curious look on her face. "Hey Naruto. I saw something move in your bag. What's that in there?"
Naruto did a comical spit take before his eyes widened as he felt Sakura open his bag. "Sakura wait!"
Sakura gasp as her widen eyes were replaced by hearts. "OH MY GOSH!" She reached into the bag and took out Tails, who had a smile frozen on his face. "It's so adorable!" She hugged Tails, rubbing her cheek against his.
"What the?" Iruka's eyes widen in astonishment as he stared at the strange...fox Sakura seems to be hugging. But what made him surprise was that the fox had two tails! The fox also seems to be wearing gloves and shoes.
Iruka has to admit, this fox looked incredibly different from the foxes he's seen, even more different than the Nine-Tails Fox.
"...is that a toy?" Sasuke raised a brow at the doll.
"Yes! Toy! Toy! Definitely a toy!" Naruto quickly answered, his eyes turned comical as he moved his arms up and down.
"Oh?" Hiruzen asked, rising a brow at the supposed "toy" that Sakura seems to be hugging.
Sasuke wore a deadpan expression on his face. "Why do you have a toy with you?"
"Oh! Well um...Tails is…" Naruto tried to explain.
"Tails? You actually named it?" Sasuke asked, a small teasing smirk on his face. "You're such a dork."
"No...you see...he's…!"
"The name fits perfectly!" Sakura exclaimed as she hugged Tails close to her chest, which also hid the increasing blush on his cheeks. "He looks so real and fluffy! Where did you find him Naruto?"
That made Naruto sweat nervously but he still had a smile on his face. "Oh right! Well...I found him on West Side Island! It didn't feel right for me to throw him away, so I kept him along for the ride! He's been really helpful to me!"
"You mean you and Miles, right?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto flinched at the mistake he made. "Yeah! That's what I meant!"
Hiruzen shook his head as he released a chuckle. "Well anyway...I believe that's enough for one day. Now that Naruto has returned to us, I am proud to say that Squad 7 is back together again."
"You got that right!" Naruto grinned.
"Also, thanks to Naruto, we are the only known village to know about the Chaos Emeralds and the man who's searching for them." Hiruzen spoke in his serious voice, which made everyone go serious as well. "Squad 7, while you continue to do your regular missions, I'm going to give you a secret mission. This mission is to find the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman or anyone else does. It's very important that no one else in the Shinobi World knows about the emeralds for we already know what they might do with them."
That made everyone nod their heads.
"For now, take this time to celebrate Naruto's return. Sasuke and Sakura, you are dismissed for the day, Naruto and Kakashi please remain here for a little bit. There's still some stuff we must discuss" Hiruzen said, taking a quick glance at the "doll".
Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other in confusion before shrugging their shoulders. Sakura handed Naruto his doll back with a slight pout on her face. She still wanted to play with him. The two then left, leaving the room quiet.
"Now I believe it's time we talk about the elephant in the room." Hiruzen said with a knowing smirk. "Wouldn't you agree Naruto?"
Naruto sweats nervously as his eyes darted around the room. "Elephant? What elephant? There's no elephant. I don't see an elephant, do you see one Kakashi? Iruka?"
Kakashi looked away but he had a knowing smile on his face. Iruka just sighed and shook his head.
"Naruto, I may be old but I'm still Hokage first and foremost." Hiruzen said in amusement. "So I know for a fact that toy in your arms is not a toy."
"..." Naruto's face went comically blank before he sighed as he looked down at Tails. "Tails, the jig's up. You can stop acting."
"Aw...did I mess up?" Tails asked as Naruto put him down.
"Nah, they're shinobi. We're just that sharp." Naruto replied. He and Tails turn to everyone in the room and saw their reactions.
Iruka's eyes widened in utter amazement and in somewhat alarm, Kakashi's lone eye widen in surprise, and Hiruzen had an awe look on his face. They were all staring at Tails which made him nervous and shy.
"Um...hello everyone." Tails waved to them. "I'm Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails. It's nice to meet you."
"Amazing…" Hiruzen whispered in amazement as he stared at the twintail fox cub. He's met and seen a lot of animals before but definitely not one like this. "So you're the famous Miles in Naruto's story."
"That's right!" Naruto laughed, rubbing Tails' head affectionately. "This little guy has been helping me throughout my adventures. Heck there were times when he even saved me. He's the best partner in crime I could ever ask for and I'm proud to have him by my side!"
"N...Naruto…" Tails blushed at the compliment as he waved his arms up and down comically. "C-Come on. Don't say stuff like that!"
"Why? It's the truth. After all, you're the world's smartest and greatest master engineer I know!" Naruto smiles happily which made Tails rub his head sheepishly, a trait he's seem to have gained from Naruto.
Hiruzen, Kakashi and Iruka smiled at the scene before them. It would seem that during their time together, the two have formed a special brotherly bond.
Kakashi coughed into his fist, bringing attention to himself. "In any case…I want to thank you for keeping an eye on one of my precious students Tails. He can be quite a handful at times."
That made Tails giggle. "You have no idea."
"Hey! I'm right here!" Naruto said with a pout as he turns away, which made Tails laugh.
"Anyway, I'm Kakashi Hatake, Naruto's teacher." Kakashi introduced himself.
"Ah! Naruto told me about you! About all of you!" Tails said happily as he used his twintails to fly in front of him, which surprised the Jonin at the unique ability. "You're Kakashi Hatake. The man who has a special eye that lets you copy a ninja's jutsu!" He grabbed Kakashi's hand, shaking it up and down. "It's so awesome to meet you!"
"Um...likewise." Kakashi said, amazed at the cub's sudden enthusiasm and the unique ability of using his tails to fly.
Tails then flew towards Iruka, surprising him. "You're Iruka Umino, Naruto's childhood teacher. Nice to meet you very much sir!"
"S-Sure Tails." Iruka smiles at the fox cub. He reminded him so much of Naruto from when he was young. "Nice to meet you as well."
Tails then flew in front of Hiruzen's smiling face. "And you're Hiruzen Sarutobi! The Hoka-A-A-ACHOO!" He covered his mouth using his hands as he sneezed, causing a poof of smoke to appear around him.
The Hokage, Jonin and Chunin eyes widened comically. The reason for this is because as the smoke cleared, they saw Tails in his human form. He looked around the same age as Konohamaru and his friends except younger. But what shocked them the most was the fox ears and twintails he had on his being.
"...Hokage." Tails said looking like a deer that's been caught by headlights.
"Miles? Is that...really you?" Hiruzen asked as he helped the child up.
"Yes, it's me." Tails replied. "Guess you're surprised, huh?"
"More than you could think." Kakashi said. "This is something you don't see everyday."
Iruka still had the same expression but he did nod his head.
"I take it that this form you're in is your true form?" Hiruzen asked curiously.
"Well yeah." Tails answered, looking down. "See...when I was a baby, a nice old lady named Anna was the one who took care of me. She told me she found me in this form on her front doorstep along with a letter, which she assumed was from my mom. But when I got older I noticed I was smarter than any ordinary kids as I love to invent and fix stuff. Miss Anna knew this but she kept supporting me, telling me there's nothing wrong with doing something that you love, despite what the other children or grown ups might say."
Tails smiled at the happy memories he had with Miss Anna but then a sad look appeared. "But one night after I went to the bathroom, I suddenly sneezed. I found out about my fox form. I...I didn't want Miss Anna to know about it, but believe it or not, she told me she already knew about it. And despite that, she still took care of me and loved me as if I was her own grandson." He smiled sadly. "But everyone else...they treated me like I was a monster."
Iruka's eyes widened before they narrowed into a glare. His story reminded him too much of Naruto's own childhood. Hiruzen and Kakashi thought the same thing as their eyes turned into a glare.
Naruto, however, had his hair cover his eyes. But if one were to take a closer look, they would see him, gripping his jacket.
"After Miss Anna died and I was all alone, that's when everyone showed their true colors." Tails said sadly as memories of his life among humans flashed through his mind. "Everyone would call me names like "monster", "freak", among many others. They would also throw things at me and vandalize our home. There were also times when I worked on an invention, the kids would destroy it and make me watch. They...they even tried to kill me one night when I was asleep."
That made Hiruzen's eyes widen in anger while Iruka gasped in absolute horror. Kakashi's lone eye narrowed further before he glanced at Naruto, hearing a growl coming from him.
"So I was chased out of town. I found myself drifting off into sea before finding an island. I called it Cocoa Island and I lived there for a while." Tails continued his story. "I left Cocoa Island and began to explore the ocean, I found West Side Island along the way and lived there ever since. Of course, the Critters didn't like me because of my forms, so they would often pick on me from time to time." He smiles happily as he turns to Naruto.
"That's when Naruto showed up on the island! Despite me being different, he still accepted me for who I am and let me come with him on his adventure! Since then, the two of us have always been together! He's the bestest best friend I could ever ask for." Tails said happily
Naruto gave a big grin. "Aw, I love ya too little buddy."
That made the grown ups in the room smile warmly. Despite Tails' horrible past, he still remained a gentle and sweet nurtured little soul. Naruto must've saw himself in Tails' place and took him along because he didn't want him to feel lonely anymore. And from they were told, they could tell that Naruto is very protective of Tails.
Like a big brother acts towards his younger brother.
"Well then Tails. It's very nice to have you with us and I would like to welcome you to your new home." Hiruzen said. "But since you're different from everyone else, we'll have to cover some rules."
"O-Okay!" Tails nodded.
"Rule 1: If you ever turn back into your fox form, you must and always remain a doll to fool everyone else. Though my more experienced shinobi wouldn't fall for it, I will still remind them to act natural. And Naruto, since I know that you will be taking Tails with you wherever you go, you will have to hide him inside your backpack."
"Yes sir!" Naruto and Tails saluted to him.
"Rule 2: Tails, if you're ever in your human form, you must have your... extra features remain hidden. After all, the village isn't ready to meet someone such as yourself, mainly due to a tragedy that happened a long time ago."
"Tragedy?" Tails asked curiously, tilting his head slightly.
Hiruzen saw Naruto moving, making him glance at him, only to see him shake his head and mouthing "He doesn't know." He nodded slightly, turning back to Tails.
"Don't worry. It happened long before you were born." Hiruzen said. "Now for hiding your features…"
"Way ahead of ya!" Naruto said pulling out a cap and puts it on Tails' head, making his ears fold back. He then took out a white cloth and wrapped it around Tails' waist. It was long enough to cover his twintails. "Huh? Huuuh?"
Kakashi and Iruka sweat dropped at Naruto's…disguise for Tails, if that's what he would call it.
"Naruto that's a horrible disguise." Iruka deadpans.
"But it would work for now." Hiruzen sighed at Naruto's antics. "Lastly rule 3, and this is for you personally Naruto: Since you will be taking Tails with you on your missions with your Squad, he must and never come out of your bag unless something has happened to all of you and you find yourselves in a pickle."
"Yes. I understand." Naruto nodded as he spoke in his serious voice.
"That is all for today. You two may leave and join your friends." Hiruzen smiled softly. "And Naruto…" Naruto blinks before the Hokage threw something at Naruto, making him catch it out of reflex. "It's great to have you back home."
Naruto looked down at his hand and his eyes widen happily and in relief. It was his lucky charm. He hugged it close to his chest, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. He looks up at Hiruzen smiling softly as he nods his head. "Good to be back." He looks down at Tails, wiping the tears away. "Come on buddy! I'm gonna give ya the best grand tour of your life!"
"Okay!" Tails said happily as the two left the office.
"Naruto...he sure made some great friends while he left." Iruka said, smiling softly.
"He sure did." Kakashi said before he looked down thoughtfully. "But Tails though...he certainly is quite different from the rest us. A human form with fox like features and a unique fox form I've never seen before. Add to the fact that he has twintails."
That made Hiruzen narrow his eyes while Iruka's eyes widen
"What exactly are you trying to Kakashi?" The Chunin asked, a disbelief expression written on his face as he realized what Kakashi was implying. "Are you saying what I think you're saying…?"
"Depends. What do you think I'm saying?" Kakashi asked, even though it was clear to Iruka what he was trying to say.
"But that's impossible!" Iruka exclaimed. "There's no way Tails could be...do you even know how crazy or impossible that sounds?!"
"Believe me, after listening to Naruto's story, I can't think of anything else that's crazier." Kakashi answered honestly with a shrug of his shoulders.
Iruka looked down, a shocked look present on his face. "How could that even be possible? Tails is around my students age! And the Nine-Tails has been sealed inside of Naruto this whole time! There's no way he could be…!"
"But the possibility still stand to reason." A new voice interrupted from within the shadows, getting everyone's attention.
"Somehow, I knew you would be here as well...Danzo Shimura." Hiruzen spoke to the shadows in a deadly tone as he glared at the shadows.
Out from the shadows appeared a frail, old man, who walked with a cane. He had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged. He has an x-shaped scar on his chin. He wore a white shirt, with a black or dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. The robe conceals his right arm.
Hiruzen and Kakashi narrowed their eyes slightly at seeing the Shinobi of Darkness.
"L-Lord Danzo." Iruka said in a surprise. "I had no idea you were in here."
"I assume you heard everything?" Hiruzen asked.
"Every word. I've already sent word to the Clan Heads and the rest of the council for a meeting to discuss this matter." Danzo said as he turns to Iruka. "That child is someone the likes of which this world has never seen before. The fox features his human form has and the fox form itself. No matter how much you deny it, the prove is there Iruka. Miles Prower...is the Nine-Tailed Fox's child."
Later
"Hey old man! Another bowl over here!"
"Hahaha! Comin' right up kid!"
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, who was holding Tails were at Ichiraku eating a bowl of ramen together with Naruto being at his seventh bowl.
While they left the mansion, Tails suddenly sneezed again, turning back into his fox form again. Naruto quickly snatched Tails up and put him in his backpack, before anyone could come out and see him. When he left, he immediately ran around the village at supersonic speed, giving Tails a quick tour around the village.
However, before he could finish, he ran into Sasuke and Sakura, which made him skid to a stop, startling Sakura slightly and making Sasuke loom surprise for a moment
Instead of clobbering him, Sakura immediately ran to him, taking Tails out of the backpack and hugged the life out him. She just couldn't help it To her, Tails is the most adorable doll she as ever seen. She was also jealous that he basically belonged to Naruto and that he wouldn't let her have him.
The three of them (four counting Tails) left, with Naruto taking the lead. They stopped by Ichiraku's ramen joint. The moment Naruto entered, Ayame jumped over the counter and hugged the life out of him while Teuchi laughed in joy and hugged him as well.
After eating final bowl, Naruto cried comical tears of joy. "Oh old man! How I miss you and your ramen!"
"Are you kidding me? I missed you the most kid!" Teuchi laughed. "Thanks to your spicy chili ramen recipe, business has been PACKED since you left! By the way, where have you been the whole time?"
"Oh just out saving the world from an evil scientist who wants to take over it." Naruto answered with a shrug.
"Is that so?" Teuchi asked with a laugh as he walked back to the kitchen. "Well I hoped you kick that scientist's butt for us."
"Believe me, I did." Naruto said. He turns to his teammates. "So what's been going on with you guys since I left?"
"Well all we did was just the usual. Missions, training and wondering where you were." Sakura said, turning to Naruto and not seeing Tails blink his eyes. "So about this Secret Zone you told us about earlier. What are they like?"
"It's weird to be honest." Naruto answered. "The Secret Zone are like these pocket dimensions with many shapes and colors in the sky, it's crazy."
Sakura's eyes sparkled in awe. "And you said the Chaos Emeralds are in that place? How did you even get them?"
Sasuke glanced at them, listening in on the conversation. He too wanted to know more about this Secret Zone.
"The Secret Zone makes you do all these challenges." Naruto replied. "Once you beat them, you'll get a Chaos Emerald. But each Secret Zone has a different challenge."
Sakura looked confused while Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Different how?" The Uchiha asked, wanting to know more.
Naruto looked up thoughtfully. "Back on South Island, the Secret Zones there had me go through a rotating diamond maze and destroy these barriers that covered the Chaos Emeralds. I had to watch out for the flashing red balls there, otherwise I would get kicked out. West Side Island's Secret Zone had me and Miles run through a half pipe tube while collecting the right amount of rings. We just had to watch out for the bombs. Little Planet's Zone had me run around a track to destroy these UFOs within a time limit. Angel Islands' Zone had me and Miles run around this planet-like sphere to collect these blue spheres, if we touched the red ones we get kicked out."
"Whoa, those challenges sound tough." Sakura said with a wide eye expression as she imagined what they would look like.
"Believe me, you have no idea." Naruto said, remembering the close calls he had in the Secret Zones.
"Hn." Sasuke grunted as he looked down in thought. So not only do you have to find a Warp Ring to get into the Secret Zone you also had to do whatever challenge it makes you have to do in order to get a Chaos Emerald? But each challenge might be different from the last.
"If we're going to find these Warp Rings that leads to the Secret Zones, we need to be ready for whatever challenge they might have for us. We know what the challenges Naruto went through are like...but there's still a possibility that we might get something different...or at least similar."
Sasuke's thought were interrupted at the sound of rings hitting the counter. He turns to see Naruto had just dropped a bunch of Gold Rings.
"Hey old man! Keep the change!" Naruto called out. He walks outside and noted the sun turned orange. "Wow, the sun is starting to set already? Hehe, days really do move fast when you have the most fun."
"No, it's because your story was just that long." Sakura deadpans at him. She smiles softly. "Well anyway, I better head on home." She handed Tails back to Naruto. "See you tomorrow guys." She grabbed Tails' cheek and rubbed her nose against his. "And I'll see you tomorrow Tails." She walked away just in time to not see Tails' blushing face as his eyes turned into comical swirls.
"Hey Sasuke-" Naruto turns to him, only to see him jumping from roof to roof, apparently heading. "Oh whatever you jackass!" He huffed and turns to walk away before he stops. He did a hand sign and summoned a clone next. He handed him Tails. "Take Tails home and watch over him for a little."
"Got it." Clone Naruto said.
Naruto turns to the still dazed Tails. "There's someplace I need to go. I'll be back Tails."
"Ah...ah…" Tails' brain was still on fire after Sakura's surprising stunt which made the two Naruto to sweat drop.
"Well...later."
Naruto turns and walks away, hands behind his head. He looks back and saw the clone had already left. He looks ahead and runs off, turning into a yellow blur. He ran for a couple of seconds before stopping at his first destination: The Hidden Leaf Cemetery.
Naruto never thought he would admit this, but he was nervous. This will be the first time he will ever visit his parents grave after finding out who they are. He swallowed his spit and enters the cemetery, looking at off the gravestones that were there. He was reading the names of the stones as he tried to find his parents.
His eyes widened slightly in delight as he found their names, and just as he suspected, they were next to each other. He walks up to their graves and got on his knees, placing a bunch of yellow flowers and red roses on his dad and mom's graves respectively.
"Hey there. Mom...dad. I'm...I'm back home." Naruto whispered softly to the gravestones that had his parents names on them. He sat down in front of them. "Sorry it took me a while to come visit. Though at the time, I didn't know who you two were, well except for dad since he's...y'know the Fourth Hokage and all that, and mom, well I learned about you from these three hedgehogs I know."
Naruto looks down, a soft smile present on his face. "A lot of things have happened to me. Back from when I was just kid to today. I made my very first friend, only to end up losing her one day. I...haven't found her yet but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I'll find her and bring her here to come meet you. I have a feeling you guys would've love to meet her."
Memories of his childhood flashed through his mind, causing him to take out his lucky charm as he hugged it close to him.
"When she disappeared that day...it felt like...like my whole world was ripped to shreds. The Old Man sent some of his ninja out to look for her throughout the Land of Fire, only to find nothing. I...was broken. I wasn't eating, sleeping, paying attention in class...nothing. I was just thinking about Blaze. I wanted my best friend back. And everybody in the village? They just didn't care. And if they would ever talk bad about her or take my lucky charm…"
Memories of him fighting, scratching and biting everyone, be it a citizen, shinobi or even children flashed through his head.
"Anyway...let's just say the Old Man set me straight back then." Naruto chuckled. "After that, I just kept training. I trained, trained, trained and trained each and every day. That way I'll be strong enough to leave the village and find Blaze again. Then there was that day."
The day he learned the truth about the Nine-Tails from Mizuki.
"I was shocked as hell to find out about that. But what took my shock further...was when I met them. Sonic, Shadow and Silver." Naruto smiled happily as he recalls meeting them. "Those three have been inside of me even before I was born. They also told me that they came from another world." He laughed. "Yeah, I was shocked too. They told me some things about you guys. Told me how you risked your life to protect me when the Nine-Tails tried to kill. Dad, I wanted to punch the living shit out of you for making go through all that…" He looks down, blushing slightly. "But they told me that you believed in me. You believed that I would be the one to control the Nine-Tails' power and make it my own. You trusted me with this responsibility and...I guess I'm happy to know that."
Naruto looks down sadly. "I wanted to talk to them some more. To learn more about them. But they...they had to go away. Before they left, they gave me something, said it was a late birthday present." He chuckled at that before he placed his hand on his heart. "They left me...their legacy. Pretty cool right?"
Naruto grins happily. "After I kicked Mizuki's butt, Iruka let me graduate! I joined a team with Sakura and her boyfriend Sasuke and we have Kakashi as our instructor! We did a ton of missions before doing a C-Rank mission to Wave. But it got turned into A-Rank cause the client lied to us but I didn't care. He was in danger and I couldn't ignore that so I decided to finish it alone, but Kakashi and the others joined me. We learned that Wave was being taken over by some bastard name Gato and he hired some goons to kill our client because he was trying to build a bridge."
Memories of the Wave Incident flashed through his mind. Zabuza and Haku then appeared, making Naruto smile sadly.
"But you know what? Those guys...Zabuza and Haku, they were okay. After Haku sacrificed himself to save Zabuza, Gato and his thugs suddenly came to the bridge and Zabuza took them all down, even Gato, despite the injuries he sustained because of that. He really was one way past cool demon. After Gato died, the people of Wave came together and drove them away. All in all, it was an awesome mission."
Naruto then told his parents the adventures he had when the Masked Boy separated him from his squad.
"All in all, those were the greatest adventures I've ever been on in my life! I've made friends, enemies and I keep getting stronger and stronger!" Naruto chuckles. "I can already tell my next adventure is going to start soon." He remained silent for a couple seconds as he looked up and stared at the bright orange sun, not paying to someone standing behind him.
"You know...back on Little Planet when I had the Time Stones...I was...I was going to use them. I was going to travel back to that day, so that I could save you both."
"Ah, I see." Naruto jumped and gave a startled yell. He looks behind him and Hiruzen standing behind him. "So that's why you had that look when I mentioned them."
"Old Man?! Uh...how long were you standing there and how much did you hear?" Naruto asked nervously.
"Long enough and I heard much." Hiruzen took a seat next to Naruto, staring at the gravestones of Minato and Kushina. "Now about what you said…"
Naruto stared at him before looking at his parents grave. "Yeah. When I heard about what the Time Stones were capable of, I thought to myself 'This is it! With the Time Stones, I'll be able to travel to the day I was born! I'll save mom and dad!'."
"..." Hiruzen didn't say anything. He just continued to listen intently.
"When I gathered them all, I haven't been so happy and excited all my life. After I saved Amy and beat Eggman, I was going to use them to go back." Naruto continued. "But I...I didn't. It's like...something in my heart kept me from doing it. Like it was telling me not to use them for something as selfish as that. In my head, I wanted to do it but my heart kept telling me no. So...I listened to my heart."
"...I see." Hiruzen smiles softly. "I'm very proud of you for listening to your heart Naruto."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked in surprise as he turns to Hiruzen.
"Listen Naruto...time travel, it's a very dangerous thing. When I was your age, Tobirama-sensei, the Second Hokage, told us much about this forbidden ninjutsu art. Of course, the most important is that if one were to change the past, they would also change our future, which is why such a thing is forbidden. If you were to go back and save your parents, you would alter the course of history."
"But wait...isn't that supposed to be good? I mean mom and dad will still be alive!" Naruto said in confusion and in slight anger. Why would it be bad if his parents were alive?
"True, you mother and father would be alive if you were successful, which is good, but think about the cons." Hiruzen said seriously.
"The...cons?" Naruto asked as Hiruzen nodded.
"Think about your squad. Your mission to the Land of Waves. The adventure you had and the friends you've made. All of these events happened because your parents died. If you had gone back and saved your parents and alter history, everything that happened here in our timeline, won't happen there in the new timeline."
That made Naruto's eyes widen.
"Do you know of the Uchiha Massacre and about Sasuke being the only survivor?" Hiruzen asked.
"Y-Yes..?"
"Well, imagine a world where the Uchiha Clan are extinct, meaning that Sasuke also died during that terrifying event, all of this happened while your parents were alive?"
Being reminded of Sasuke's corpse during his battle with Haku made Naruto tremble slightly.
"Or worse…" Hiruzen said. "You and Blaze...you two would have probably never met. Either she may have never been born...or she died."
That was the final straw for Naruto as he stood up and glared at Hiruzen in pure fury, a vein pulsing out his forehead.
"NO!" Naruto yells angrily as he grit his teeth. "You're wrong! You...You don't know that!"
What the hell was this old man talking about?! Him not being on Squad 7? Not going to Wave to save everyone and meet Haku and Zabuza? Not meeting Tails and the others? Sasuke dying along with his clan!? Him and Blaze not meeting cause she may not have been born or because she died!?
And of all this might happen because his parents would be alive!?
"Exactly." Hiruzen said calmly. "I don't know and you don't know either. Which is exactly why time travel is forbidden and has no place in our world. If we were to change a certain event in our lives, like you going back to prevent your parents fate, then we wouldn't know about the consequences our actions would cause, despite our intentions being good. But it's also to prevent those like Dr. Eggman from doing serious harm to our world."
Naruto grit his teeth. "That's…!" He wanted to deny it. Refuse to believe it! To believe that the old man didn't know what he was talking about. But no matter how much he wanted to, he knew he was right, and that made Naruto sit back down, his head down in sadness. He thought about Iruka, Konohamaru, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Tails, Amy, Knuckles...and Blaze.
Naruto sat down, a sad look on his face. "We can save people from their terrible fate...give them a chance to start over...but at a cost? That's not fair."
Hiruzen nodded his head sadly, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Life is never fair. There's always gonna be a price to pay for one's own happiness."
The two remained silent after that as they just looked at the gravestones.
"There's...there's something I want to ask you." Naruto said, getting the Hokage's attention. "Say I did went back and saved them…would..." He looks at him. "Would they have been happy?"
Hiruzen stared at the expression on Naruto's face. He looked desperate. Desperate to know the answer would be good or not. The old Hokage smiles softly at Naruto before rubbing his head.
"Naruto, I don't think you understand just how much your parents loves you." Hiruzen said with a hearty laugh. "When they found out they were gonna have you, I have never seen Minato nor Kushina so excited in their lives, especially Kushina since she always wanted to have a big family. They wanted to do so many things with you as they watch you grow up to be an amazing shinobi like them. To hold you in their arms when your scared or sad, encourage you whenever you fail at something, train you, celebrate your birthday...everything."
Hiruzen smiles fondly as he remembers the times when Minato and Kushina were alive.
"All of that...proves that your parents wanted to be in your life just as you wanted them to be in yours. But remember this...it's also a parents' job to protect their children from the dangers of the world. Would they be happy if you travel back in time to save them? Well...I don't know the answer to that."
That made Naruto sighed. "Of course…"
"But I do know this…" Naruto perks up as he looked at the happy smile Hiruzen showed. "Your parents would be very happy and extremely proud to know how amazing you turned out to be without them being there for you, even if you traveled back to save them."
Naruto's eyes widened. Hearing the honesty and the sincerity of the old man's tone made his heart swell up in joy. He felt the wind hit him in the back of his head while also sensing a presence behind him, making him slowly look back. A silent gasp escaped his lips.
His father...Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage stood behind him. Next to him, stood a woman with long red hair and violet eyes. She wore a high-collared, sleeveless blouse under a long, loose-fitting dress with a wristband on her left wrist and standard shinobi sandals.
Naruto noticed the both of them were transparent nd wore smiles on their faces as they stared at him.
"Dad…" Naruto whispered so low, the Third couldn't hear him. Minato's smile widened which made Naruto's eyes move to the red haired woman. "M...Mom…?" Kushina's smile widened as well.
They looked at each other with smiles before turning back to their son only for their smile to vanish when they saw he had stood up and was looking at them with widen eyes...that also had tears falling from them.
They had sad looks on their faces as they watched the tears fall from his eyes. Kushina suddenly hugs him while Minato hugs them both, shocking Naruto slightly but then closed his eyes softly. Despite them being transparent...the Ultimate Ninja could feel their warmth. It felt...nice.
He suddenly began to have visions of his parents being in his life. From teaching him how to walk as a baby, celebrating his birthdays, coming to his graduation. And most of all, all of them sitting at the table enjoying a nice dinner as they hugged each other.
"Naruto…" He heard them whisper his name. They then vanished causing Naruto to open his eyes with more tears falling.
"Mom...d-dad…" Naruto sobs as he fell to his knees. "Don't go…" He felt the Old Man wrap his arm around him, making him lean to him as he cries.
Nearby, Kakashi and Iruka watched the interaction. Both wore sad looks on their faces as they stared at the crying Naruto.
"Sensei…Kushina…" Kakashi thought as he looked down. "I promise...to keep a close watch on him."
"Naruto…" Iruka thought sadly as he looks down. It's been ages since he's seen Naruto cry. And yet...despite his cocky, idiotic, egotistical nature, Iruka keeps forgetting one simple fact about Naruto...he still longs to have his parents with him.
Nearby, Hinata Hyuga hid behind the entrance of the cemetery and watched as her crush broke down in tears. Seeing him like that broke her heart as she felt tears of her own swelling up in her eyes
"Naruto…" When she heard Naruto's yell echo throughout the village earlier, she was so happy and relief that he finally came back home. Like everyone else, she was also shocked when she saw him flying that strange machine which made her folllw after him, hidden from his view.
Just now, she saw him picking up flowers and wondered where he was going till she saw he entered the cemetery.
Hinata so desperately wanted to go over there and comfort Naruto. To hug and let him know that he wasn't alone anymore. But it looks like Lord Third beat her to it. She then left, but not before giving one last longing look to Naruto.
"Someday...I'll stand by you Naruto."
Meanwhile
With Blaze
Insert Song: The Shining Road [English Version]
*Instruments*
Blaze was walking through a forest as she headed for the next town. She suddenly stops as she felt something wet slide down her cheek. "Huh?" She touched her cheek and saw it was a teardrop. "W-Why am…" She didn't know why but her heart suddenly felt sad.
Her heart haven't felt like this in a while. In fact, the only time her heart would hurt like this is because…
"Naruto…" The Fire Princess muttered. Whenever Naruto was sad, she would be sad with him but would also cheer him up with a hug. Which also explains why she has the sudden urge to want to hug Naruto. He was calling out to her.
The world around us is so magical
But now it's been placed under a spell
Blaze wiped the tear away. Whatever was wrong with Naruto, he needed her. She has to hurry to the Leaf Village.
"Please wait a little more. I'm almost there." She looks down the road to see a town just ahead of her. She walks the path to the town.
Hidden Leaf Village
My love, come with me and together we shall search to find a charm
We'll travel to the land of our dreams where forbidden dreams just may come true
"Haven't been here in awhile." Naruto spoke in a soft tone, he reached into his pocket and took out his lucky charm. "This place hasn't changed one bit...Blaze."
Right now, he was at his and Blaze's secret spot. The Hill of Friendship. The hill was covered in grass and had a lone tree sitting up top. There was also a log there which he was sitting on.
After he calmed down, he left the cemetery and made one last stop. That stop was his and Blaze's childhood spot. Their precious Hill of Friendship.
Naruto looks at the setting sun with a smile. That's another thing about this spot, it had the best view of the sunset.
When we're alone tomorrow, we will sneak away and secretly meet
Up on top of a hill, where there are birds everywhere and we can be all alone
"I wonder what you're doing now Blaze." Naruto reached his hand out towards the sun, seeing young Blaze's smiling face appearing on it before she vanished. "Are you looking up at the sunset too?"
Blaze was now in town as she watched many people walk past her. She was sitting on the roof of a building she was staying at. She saw so much smiling faces as she watched families going out together and children chasing each other.
She then looks up at the sunset, seeing young Naruto's smiling face, making a soft smile appear as she reached her hand out to him before he vanished.
I know someday, I'll hold your hand. While we sit alone in the morning mist
And the seal in our way, of our shining road will be broken
"Are you looking at this sunset as well Naruto? From our favorite spot?" Blaze asked before setting her hand down. "It truly is beautiful isn't it?" She slowly closed her eyes.
She didn't know why but she felt her hand suddenly get warm. And it wasn't her powers that was doing it. It was a special kind of warmth, one that's familiar to her.
It was almost as if someone was holding the top of her hand in theirs and she immediately knew who it was. She opens her eyes and looks next to her, seeing a glowing transparent young Naruto with his eyes closed and a smile present. He opens them and looked her way, giving her a big happy smile.
"Naruto…"
"Blaze…" Naruto said with his eyes closed. He could feel he was holding her hand. "No matter how far away we are...the bond that we share...it lets me know that you're okay. That you're right next to me."
He opens his eyes and looked right next to him, to see a glowing transparent young Blaze as she looks at him with a smile.
"Am I right?" Naruto asked the transparent young Blaze causing her to smile wider as she nodded her head.
''Yes, you are…" Naruto heard her say but in an older voice, which made him smile a toothy grin.
They turn back and looks at the sunset.
Till the end of time
At the same time on both ends, the transparents disappear and neither of them didn't notice their lucky charms were glowing.
Later
"Tails! I'm back!" Naruto said with a yawn as he entered his apartment. It was now dark outside with the moon rising and shining down on the village. "Man I didn't think I would fall...asleep?
He trailed his sentence off as he saw Tails was sleeping on the table with many tools and such around him. He also noticed a small bed that was next to his. The bed itself was in the shape of airplane. Naruto smiles softly as he picked Tails and laid him on the blow up bed.
"Good night Tails. And welcome to your new home." He whispered. He instantly changed into his pajamas, turnt off the lights and fell asleep.
Hours passed as both snored softly. However, red bubbly chakra suddenly came out from Naruto's stomach which made him groan slightly. The red chakra moved across from Naruto and traveled from his bed to the smaller bed, heading for it's target.
The chakra touched Tails' hand, making him groan in confusion, as it soon began to travel across his whole body, leaving only his head exposed. The malicious chakra soon travel began to cover his face, just as Tails' eyes snapped open and he released a gasp.
?
Tails gasped out in shock. He took steady breaths before he calmed down. He then looks up and blinked in confusion.
"Huh? Where am I?" He asked. He looks around and saw he was in a hallway. The hallway itself looks like an old sewerage place. "Is this...a dream?" Why would he be dreaming of being in a sewer of all places?
"...Come..."
Tails jumped from the deep male voice that echoed throughout the hall he was in. "Huh?! W-Who said that!?" He asked fearfully as he looked around.
"Come..." Tails trembled as the voice spoke again. "Come to me…"
"A...Are you d-down there?" Tails asked in whispered as he stared at the dark hall.
…no response.
Tails was nervous. He had no idea where he was at and a deep scary voice just told him to come meet him. With no other choice, he let out a moan of displeasure as he walks to the hall, holding one of his taila for comfort. After going through some passageways, he found himself in a large open area.
"Huh? What's this?" Tails asked curiously as he looks around the open space, walking out to the middle of it before stopping. "Is that a cage?"
In front of him was largest cage he has ever seen before. The bars of the cage are far enough apart for him to walk between them. The cage's doors are secured by a sheet of parchment with a japanese letter on it.
"What's this cage for?" Tails asked scratching his head in confusion. He walks up to the cage, looking up at it in awe. "Whoa...I wonder what's in here." He looks inside the darkness of the cage. He didn't know why but something in his gut was telling him to run away and fast. Still, he wanted to know what was in there.
So with a new resolve, Tails slowly enters the cage, going past the bars. "Hello? Is anyone in here?" He bump into something making step back. "Ah!" He raised his hands in front of him to try and feel what he bumped into and what he felt was- "Is this...fur and a...a mouth?"
A deep breath of air was suddenly released, which blew Tails' hair back and also made him go stiff, his eyes widen in fear. He could feel and hear his heart beating his chest at an alarming rate. He slowly looks up, trembling all the way with a look of fear on his face. He let out a startled yell as he saw large glowing red eyes, with a slit pupil, staring at him.
"Well, well...you've found me boy."
Tails couldn't scream. No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't scream. He couldn't even feel his legs, thereby he couldn't run away. He just continued to stare at the eyes with scared eyes as it looked at him.
"How nice to meet finally meet you face-to-face...Tails." The being said, shocking Tails that it knew his name. "Yes. I can feel it. My chakra, my essence, my very blood flows through you. However, it is only half of it, which means the other must've come from a human female, one that you were born from."
The being let out a growl of anger, making Tails tremble fearfully as the being seems to glare at him. "Humans. They always find new ways for me to hate them even more than I already do. First, they forcibly sealed me inside of them multiple times. Now, somehow, someway, they stole a piece of me and experimented on it! Using it to create you!"
"H-huh?" Tails' eyes widen in confusion. What's this being talking about?
"You have no idea how special you are boy." The being said. "You are the first of your very own species. A hybrid of something that's impossible to exist, yet here you are right in front of me. However…"
In a poof of smoke, Tails' human form was replaced by his fox form, shocking him.
"Eh? Wha-?!" The fox boy looked at himself before looking up at the giant being. "How did you do that!?"
"This form irritates me." The being said ignoring Tails' question. "It reminds me too much of those annoying rats!"
The being's entire body was then surrounded by a red sinister looking aura. The sight of it made Tails step back as he could see the being's outline along with a row of razor sharp teeth.
"I can also sense it. The power you inherited from me hasn't truly awaken yet. Well, we'll just have to fix both these problems, won't we?" The being asked.
Tails looked confused by that before he felt something touch his feet. He looks down and saw something red and bubbly, scaring him slightly. The red bubbles lifted Tails upward as the being watched it's bring him closer to it. The being then stood in full height, making the transformed fox cub look up at it fearfully
The being chuckled as it watched its chakra consume Tails. "Oh yes. I don't know nor do I care about what happened to your human mother. She may as well be dead. But you don't have to worry about that." It showed a grin as it saw Tails' eyes turn red with slit pupils and his teeth turned into fangs, just as the chakra covered him fully and his form begins to alter itself. "Because I am here. And you boy…"
Tails had his eyes closed tightly as he was in a whole lot of pain even though he didn't let out a scream or yell. He could feel something happening to his body as he heard bones cracking and his form stretching. He felt his gloves were ripped to shreds as his hands turns to claws and his shoes melted off with his feet turned into claws as well.
He also felt himself getting a little taller and his twintails stretching out. If he were to look at himself in a mirror, he would see black fur around his eyes and small fangs coming out his mouth.
He weakly opened his newly colored eyes before they suddenly went wide as he got a clear view of what was behind the cage and who was talking to him.
It was a giant fox! It has red-orange fur with black fur around its eyes that stretches to its ears, red irises with black slits for pupils and the upper-body structure of a human, complete with opposable thumbs on its clawed hands.
He also noticed the nine long swiping tails that it had.
"Wha…?" Tails asked in a whisper as the giant fox brought its hands near him as though he was shielding him.
"You are my first legacy." The fox said as it brought its clawed hands together, smashing Tails between them, while also making a bright light appear.
Reality
Tails woke up with a startled gasp. He looks around frantically, hoping everything was a dream. He sighed heavily in relieve as he saw he was in Naruto's apartment. His eyes widen as he looked at his arms before sighing in relief, seeing he's human.
He also noticed he was on his bed before looking next to him to see Naruto sleeping on his bed. He fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling.
"What a scary dream." Tails said. He still remembered what the giant fox with nine tails said to him. He sat up, looking a little worried. "It was a dream...right?"
Just as he was about to fall back to sleep, his eyes suddenly felt itchy. He rubs them for a bit before he opened them back up. But unknown to him, his irises has turned red with his pupil becoming a slit. He fell back to his bed, just as his eyes returned to normal, before closing his eyes letting sleep consume him.
Author's Note: Okay, I know I said the chapter was going to be short, but I had a crazy ton of ideas for this and just let it all out here. I didn't even realize how many words I had till after I finished it.
But anyway, how do you guys like Tails' new background and his relationship with the Nine-Tails? Since he's been reborn into this world, his background has to be similar yet very different from before in Sonic's World. I mean, a human with animal features isn't exactly common in most worlds except for fantasy worlds and worlds like RWBY.
As for the Nine-Tails and Tails' relationship...yes they are father and son in this universe, though Tails doesn't realize it...yet.
Also, how do you guys like the drama bit of this chapter? Bet you weren't expecting that huh? Hope you guys enjoyed it. Remember to R&R!