Previously:
Naruto approached the castle that had been haunting his dreams for weeks now and finally he was here. The wooden bridge slammed down from the gaping 'jaw' of the skull face of the castle, only feet in front of where Naruto stood before it. Idly he noted that a sudden thunderstorm had sprung up over the peninsula, lightning and thunder crashing overhead as he slowly stepped across the jawbridge.
Just as he crossed the threshold of the castle, stepping from inside to outside, there was another flash of lightning and he felt a shock course through his entire body. It only lasted moments for Naruto, but for another sharing his body, it was quite different.
"Hello, Kitsune-sama," an ethereal feminine voice spoke in the space between moments, transcending the physical and reaching into Naruto's body and mind and reached the cage within a sewer that held the strongest demon beast known.
"I'm honored," the demon fox chuckled behind its bars, letting it's red chakra show.
Before the fox a golden light appeared, shaping itself like the silhouette of a falcon before coalescing into the translucent form of a human woman, bearing wings on her back and a ceremonial dress of some kind while wielding a golden staff, capped with a falcon's image.
"It's not every day that the Sorceress herself pays a visit to one of her demon beasts. To what do I owe this... unexpected pleasure?" the Kyuubi mocked the woman.
"Quite simply," she said, getting right to the point, "I am offering you a choice. I did not know you would be here, but I must abide by the Will of Grayskull, and the Castle will not allow entrance to one of your ilk. However, the one that both I and Grayskull have been waiting for is also the one that you call your prison, so we are in a very unique situation at the moment."
"Do tell," the demon fox laughed behind its cage.
"Go to hell," she said with a very hard look in her eyes, "or accept parole and become the battle companion for Naruto, on the condition that all of your remaining power remains within his body where it will continue to be purified, without your interference. Those are your only two choices."
The Kyuubi got to its feet and growled threateningly. "You DARE...!!"
She glared and the golden light with the silhouette of a falcon appeared once more and arcs of raw power reached through the bars of its cage, causing pain to the demon, and all it could do was howl in rage.
"You are the one that is daring much at the moment, Kitsune," she warned. "If you choose the former, be aware that the Power of Grayskull will instantly remove your spirit from this boy's body and immediately cast you into hell without any of your great and hard-earned power with you. Either choice, the bulk of your power remains inside Naruto, being purified into natural energy from the corrupted form you've transformed it into. There is a very limited amount of time, Kitsune, so make your choice quickly."
"And what if I do choose to become the boy's battle companion? What would I get out of it?" it asked.
"You would once more have a real body, created from a combination of your spirit, a third of your remaining power, and the Power of Grayskull," she stated. "You would also be both honor, and magically bound to assisting Naruto in his future adventures and unable to hurt him in any way. Though whether you choose to help still remains your choice."
"A THIRD!!" the Kyuubi roared. "That is entirely unacceptable! HALF! No less! I'm not stupid enough to barter to have all my remaining power with me, even though it's already been halved by the Fourth Hokage... So I will take half of my remaining power with me into the new body, the other half, which is a quarter of my true power, can remain in the boy to be purified, PAH!"
"A third, no more," the Sorceress stated.
The Kyuubi narrowed its eyes at the winged woman before it, growling dangerously. "I will not bargain on my own power, Sorceress! Give the boy half and let me keep the remainder, or I will raise my price to TWO-thirds! You said it yourself, there is limited time, and I have made my choice. I will be the boys battle companion, but only on the condition that I keep HALF my remaining power! Do we have a deal?"
The Sorceress crossed her arms, glaring up at the giant fox with an annoyed expression. Finally, she said, "Half the remaining demonic power that resides in this boy's body will remain exactly where it is. The rest will be split in half once more, one part going to your new body, the other half going into Grayskull itself for payment."
"WHAT?!!" the Kyuubi roared.
"Originally the remainder would have been split into equal thirds," she explained. "One third staying in Naruto, one third going with you into the new body, the other third going into Grayskull for instant purification. Grayskull gets less power this way, but it was you who suggested a full half remain with Naruto."
"I WANT MY HALF!!" Kyuubi thrashed against the seal's cage bars.
"You know how this works," the Sorceress coolly reminded the demon beast, causing it to suddenly freeze in realization. "Decision has been made. Do we have a deal? Time is up."
The Nine-Tailed Fox let out a rumbling sigh and lowered its massive head. "Deal," it agreed, right before vanishing in a flash of golden light, along with the Sorceress. Soon enough, the sewer cage mindscape vanished as well as it no longer was needed.
Naruto paused after the shock had passed from his system and looked around and briefly glancing back to see another bolt of lightning coming down behind him. Shrugging, he continued on into the castle. He explored for a little while before making his way to the central chamber where he found a massive pyramid dais, a golden throne set upon the pinnacle.
Naruto jumped suddenly when there was a falcon's cry from the shadows. Watching wide-eyed, he saw a beautiful blue, orange and white falcon swoop down and fly over to the throne at the top of the pyramid. Instead of landing or even perching itself on the throne, the bird hovered for only a few seconds before it was covered with a blinding golden light. The light reshaped itself and when Naruto finally blinked away the spots from the light, he saw a beautiful woman standing there, a pair of wings matching the falcon's coming out of her back, while she was dressed in an ornate gold and white ceremonial dress and headdress. In her hands she held a seven-foot golden staff, capped with an image of a falcon with its wings spread majestically.
"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto," the woman greeted him warmly, "I have been expecting you."
Now:
"Uh, you have?" Naruto blurted out, overwhelmed and surprised by recent events.
She nodded and sat down regally upon the throne, keeping one hand around her staff.
"I am the Sorceress," she introduced herself, "the Guardian of the Secrets of Castle Grayskull. I have been the one sending you the dreams that lead you here. Calling you to your destiny."
"Uh, my destiny?" he questioned, startled at this sudden turn of conversation.
She stared, and then after a couple moments, held out her staff. Green energy began to glow around the tip until it expanded into a wide window, a window which was soon filled with images.
"Eons ago, more time than you can easily imagine, this world was a very different place," she began her story. "Our world was once called Eternia, though it is not called such anymore due to the numerous factions and nations present today, as a whole it is still known by that name." In the window, various images were flying by, some pictures of jungles, cities, mountains, oceans, islands, even glaciers and valleys.
"The Elemental Nations of today did not exist as little as a thousand years ago," she told him, as the window showed what Naruto recognized as a world map, briefly flashing with the borders and insignias of the various nations before just showing the land as it was. "Before that time, the world was divided into regions, identified more by landmarks, or standard features, or even the animals that inhabited the place. Once, there was a time when our world was split into four. The Light and the Dark, and the land and the sea." As she said this, the world map took on different colors, the Endless Ocean lighting in blue, all the land and islands turning green, while everything East of Demon Country turned white and the rest black.
"Then, only two thousand five hundred years ago, a great hero changed this," she continued, and a new image appeared, one that Naruto recognized from his dreams. "He-Man, Guardian of the Secret of Grayskull and Defender of Eternia. He was a great hero who enforced justice and loved kindness, and who protected Eternia from evil. By his hand, with the help of his friends and allies, he defeated the forces of evil and saved the world. Then he changed the face of the planet by vanquishing the darkness forever from the surface of our world, but at a great cost." Naruto saw the giant blond man riding a green saber tooth tiger in red armor, battling many foes, and then images from a scene that happened over two thousand years ago. He-Man stood before Castle Grayskull, his sword lifted to the heavens and then there was a blazing burst of power and energy that quickly engulfed the whole planet in a blinding light. Wherever the light touched, darkness fled and evil was burned away until everything had changed.
The final image settled on the prone form of the once great hero before shifting to a grave surrounded by all the man's friends and family. Then the window reverted back to green energy and the Sorceress was suddenly by Naruto's side before the pyramid dais.
"He-Man gave his life to give a lasting peace to Eternia," she told him. "And there was, for a time. But the hearts of men are not as pure as the heroes who defend them, and eventually groups of dissidents turned into factions, which turned into nations and such has become the world you see today."
"Wow," Naruto gasped as the scope of all that had changed in the past two thousand years became real. "So, uh, why did you summon me? I mean, how come you were sending me those dreams?"
The Sorceress smiled and nodded her head approvingly down at him.
"I'm glad you know to ask that question," she said. "As I said, He-Man's sacrifice rid the planet of the darkness from the surface of our world, but such power as the forces of evil command cannot be truly destroyed. It was merely driven underground and has since evolved in the two thousand years of inactivity. At first it was only a mere sliver of dark energy, keeping to the shadows and only in the smallest of numbers. But now... I fear that something much worse is about to be unleashed."
"What?" Naruto asked.
"In the land known to you as Demon Country, archaeologists have uncovered a relic of the time before He-Man's sacrifice, before the era of peace two thousand years ago. It is known as Snake Mountain. It was the primary base for the forces of evil and is a focal point for the powers of darkness. It has already been uncovered, and there is nothing that can be done to stop that which lay dormant inside from awakening, if it were ever possible to do so in the first place."
"Well, there's got to be something we can do! I'll fight whatever that stupid mountain's got to offer!" Naruto boldly stated.
"I am glad to hear that, because that is exactly what I must ask you to do," the Sorceress told him with a hint of sadness. "In truth, I knew this day was coming long ago. As such, I took precautions and made preparations for what needed to be done."
"What's that?" he asked.
She smiled warmly at him and cupped his face, rubbing her thumb along his whisker birthmarks.
"I am a direct descendant of He-Man, Naruto," she told him. "As well as the first Sorceress, who guided and helped He-Man in protecting the Secret of Grayskull. In order to understand what I must ask of you, I must tell you more about about my family. Come, walk with me." He nodded and followed along.
Castle Grayskull
Some Time Later
She lead him to a hall just off from the throne room. This hallway was filled, on both sides, with paintings, statues, and portraits, mostly of redheaded women, but also of blond men here and there. The statues were all of men, and more often than not, the portraits were of women dressed identically to the Sorceress.
"He-Man was also known as Prince Adam, and then later King Adam of Eternia," she said as they walked along. "He married as his queen a woman named Teela, adopted daughter of the King's Man-At-Arms. His Captain of the Guard, so to speak," she added after seeing Naruto's confusion.
They stopped before one portrait in particular of a slightly less tan, but no less muscular man that looked exactly like He-Man. It was also the only painting that held more than one person that Naruto could see from where he stood in the hall. A fiery redhead in a battledress that looked no less regal than King Adam's robes stood beside the once great hero known as He-Man.
"Teela was also the daughter of the Sorceress herself. Unfortunately, the first Sorceress was committed to her mission and that would not allow her to raise her daughter here, and so she gave the baby to Man-At-Arms to raise as his own. There was strife, but they eventually reconciled, long before Teela and Adam married, and had twin children; Randall and Sheila." They stopped before another pair of paintings, depicting a red haired prince in one and a blond warrior woman in the next.
"Randall ruled as king after his father gave his life. He ruled with fairness, wisdom and there was peace," she said as they moved on.
"Sheila disappeared to parts unknown, but it was said that she explored and protected people where her brother's influence could not reach. We have since learned that she went on to become the mother of what is now known as the Elemental Nations. The power to manipulate the elements and control your internal energies come from her and her children. It was said that she married a powerful sage, a man known as the Sage of the Six Paths, who showed her how to control her chakra and what all it could do for her. He lived with her and taught her and her daughters all that he could. She did have one son though, who we lost track of and who was said to be extraordinarily powerful.
"From Randall, the line of the Sorceress and Sorcerers continued throughout the ages. It was never forced, and thankfully there has never been any such strife as between Teela and her mother. For each generation, one of us is simply called to the post and is trained by the previous Guardian to wait until the next is called. As it was believed that all the Power of Grayskull vanished with the Sacrifice of He-Man, no one has tried to take Grayskull for themselves, though many know that the line of the Sorceress still guards this place."
"So," Naruto hesitantly asked, "does that mean that I'm supposed to be the next Guardian of Grayskull? I'm supposed to be some kind of... Sorcerer Supreme?"
The Sorceress laughed out loud and again cupped his cheek fondly.
"No, not quite, Naruto," she told him.
"A few decades ago, I had just taken up my post as the Sorceress, and the Whirlpool Country was as active and fruitful as any. Then I received my first vision of Snake Mountain being uncovered. I was frightened by this of course, but after some time meditating, I knew what I had to do."
"What?" he couldn't help asking.
She smiled and told him, "I chose a husband and we had a child. As I was already the Sorceress, though I could see my child, I could not raise her, but he was happy to do so and came to visit with her quite often. Then came the day that the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked and laid waste to most of our country. The castle was spared, and thankfully my daughter had survived with many other people. I had always suspected that there was more to the Kyuubi's attack on my country than what most claimed it for. Despite their titles as demon beasts, the Bijuu are not known for randomly attacking one place leaving everything around it be."
Naruto frowned, a darkness filling his eyes as guilt plagued his heart.
"Do not worry yourself, Naruto," she said to him after noticing his sudden depression. "I know what was done with the Kyuubi after it attacked Konoha as it attacked my homeland. You are already a great hero, for helping in keeping the beast away, where it can no longer be used as an engine of destruction."
"I know this next part only from my visions and letters I received from her," the Sorceress continued her story. "My daughter fled the country and went to Konoha, where she enlisted as a ninja and quickly rose through the ranks. While there, she met someone very special and fell in love with him."
"Huh? Who was he?" Naruto asked, curious.
"I found it hard to believe myself at first, but once I knew his name, I tracked it down and confirmed it with my visions. My daughter met and married the only living direct descendant of Sheila, daughter of King Adam and Queen Teela. Removed by two thousand years of independent breeding, it was a one in a million, million chance! The descendants of the twin children of He-Man found each other and fell in love."
"Wow!" Naruto gasped, awed. "That's so cool! So, who was he? What are their names?"
She smiled at him and lead him to the last two portraits in the hall. Raising her arm to present them, the Sorceress said their names as Naruto recognized their faces. "Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina. You see, Naruto, you are their only child. You are the direct descendant of He-Man. And, my grandson."
Naruto's eyes began to tear up as he realized all he'd been told was the truth, as hanging before him on the wall was a single portrait of the only other painting with more than one person in it. The Fourth Hokage, standing with his arms around a pregnant red haired woman that Naruto could only vaguely remember the face of, but it was etched forever into his brain as the first memory he'd ever had; the face of his mother.
"Gr-gr-gran-grandma?" he stuttered, tears pooling in his eyes.
She immediately dropped her staff and was on her knees before her own flesh and blood and hugging the life out of him as he did the same to her. They said no more words, just feeling and expressing their emotions to one another as two lifetimes of pain and hurt were healed in a few moments.
Castle Grayskull
Later That Day
It was some time before either one of them were composed enough to continue their conversation, and the Sorceress was not in any particular hurry about this. There was no attack going on, Skeletor, King Hiss, even Hordak were all long dead, over two thousand years dead in fact!
She decided to take her time and get to know her grandson and let him know her and understand what was happening here first before telling him of his destiny. His true destiny.
Finally, much later in the afternoon, only an hour or two before sunset in fact, they both had calmed down some and were ready to resume their conversation. Walking alongside her grandson, her staff lighting the way through the dark and twisting passages through the Castle, she spoke with him and answered his questions, most of them about his mother and if she knew his father.
"I only met him once, on their wedding day," she answered. "He seemed a kind man to me, but very serious and scarred by his past, both for the accomplishments, and the losses. I could tell though, above all else, he loved Kushina, and she him. When I heard they were expecting you, and I began to have visions of the man you would become. Know that they both loved you dearly, Naruto. I don't know all that happened that day, the day of your birth, but I am quite sure that it was the hardest thing either one of them had to do. Everything that they did, whether the choice was planned or made in the heat of the moment, please understand that it was done with love for you, my grandson."
Tears in his eyes, Naruto nodded his head and wiped the droplets of saltwater away.
"I... I kind of do understand," he finally said. "It's not easy being a ninja, or doing what's right for the village, or even just saving people's lives. I know there are hard decisions that have to be made, decisions that affect everyone and everything under the Hokage's protection. But I'm still going to become Hokage and protect my precious people!"
The Sorceress smiled down at the hyperactive blond and couldn't help cupping his cheek one more time.
"I'm glad to hear that," she said.
"Where are we going anyway?" he finally asked after they walked past a few more winding corridors.
"To a very special place. Only the Sorceress herself may know all the secrets of Castle Grayskull, but I want you to understand Naruto, what I'm about to show you can not be told to anyone else. I also want you to understand that you are not the next Sorcerer of Castle Grayskull either."
"I'm not?" Naruto question, kind of surprised, after everything she'd told him already. "So who is going to be the next one?"
The Sorceress smiled as she led him inside a room that most would consider a dead end. She stood in the exact center and had him stand right before her. "Your daughter will be the next Sorceress," she told him plainly. She could barely contain her laughter at the look upon his face.
"Wha... But... I... Huh?!" he blathered. "But I don't have any kids! I'm still a kid myself! How can I have a daughter? There must be some kind of mistake!"
"Naruto," she calmed him despite her laughter, "Calm down. It's all right. I thought you might understand, given what I've already told you. Part of my powers, in protecting Castle Grayskull, is the power to see into the future. True, you do not have a daughter, or any children at all. Yet."
"Yet?" he repeated, doe-eyed.
"Correct. Yet," she said. "Like He-Man himself, one day you will have children of your own. Twins in fact, a boy and a girl. I'm not so old myself yet that I can't wait for the next generation to be born. Understand Naruto, what I see are merely visions, not prewritten history. They are subject to change, and what I have foreseen may never come to pass. Unless you make the right decisions that is."
Naruto stared up at his grandmother for a moment before looking down and taking some time to think. His gut clenched and his hand unconsciously reached up to grab it, ironically the same place where the seal was. Finally, he looked up at her and asked only one question, "What do I have to do?"
She smiled and then lifted her staff before slamming it down on the floor at their feet. Moments later, they felt some shaking and then the floor that they stood upon fell away. Naruto almost panicked, but seeing the Sorceress standing there calmly, still smiling, he calmed down and enjoyed the ride as the segmented stone platform they now rode, fell into the abyss below the castle.
Before too long, the eerie blackness of the abyss gave way to a starlight glow. A glow that Naruto soon discovered originated from several crystal towers that seemed to stretch away into infinity. They were beautiful, he thought. They were also probably the reason for why the Castle still stood after several thousand years.
Once their flying platform reached a specified level, they went from going down to traveling horizontally. Before too long, much to Naruto's surprise, they came to the largest of the crystal towers, one that even had a platform of it's own, grown right from the crystal itself. Their own platform slid up alongside the crystal one and the Sorceress gestured for Naruto to follow her as she stepped onto the tower's platform.
After they'd stepped off, the stones they had traveled on broke apart and flew back up into the darkness. Naruto watched them disappear, and when he turned back around, the Sorceress was standing next to the center of the pillar upon which they stood. Held suspended inside the crystal pillar, Naruto saw a brightly glowing orb. He could feel the power of it from where he stood, and he was still near the edge of the platform.
"This crystal orb is the heart of Castle Grayskull," she told him, "and the source for all it's, and my own power. It is a conduit for the mighty power that He-Man himself once wielded. And shall again."
Naruto blinked and did a double-take between the orb and the Sorceress, not fully comprehending.
"Something that few ever understood about He-Man, Naruto," she told him. "The source of his power did not come from Castle Grayskull. Instead, you might say it came from his own heart. This orb does not contain that which made He-Man powerful. It merely channeled the mystical powers into a young boy in order to make him a mighty hero. The power, was He-Man's alone."
"Wow," Naruto gasped, barely able to grasp the concept of a person being that powerful.
"But as ninja of today require hand seals and weapons to be their tools, He-Man had his own tool," she grinned and held up her staff. Moments later, a bolt of pure power shot out from the orb and briefly impacted the falcon staff, before being focused and shooting down into the darkness below them.
After this display, Naruto half expected a Boss Summon to show up, or something equally impressive. Instead, as he stared down over the edge, a wood and metal box floated up from the depths. Almost disappointed by this lack of flare, he froze when he saw a certain symbol carved onto the top of the box. A chill ran up and down his spine as that symbol appeared before his mind's eye.
He'd seen that symbol before. In his dreams. It was the symbol that the strong man from his dreams had worn on his chest. He-Man, he realized with wide-eyed shock. He'd been listening, he knew he was the hero's direct descendant, and he definitely believed his grandmother with everything she'd told him, but there was still something profound about seeing that symbol on that box.
Shortly, it had reached them on the platform and hovered in the air before the Sorceress, between them, with the latch facing him. He was practically terrified of that latch and what opening that box would mean for him, but... something was calling to him. He could feel it in his bones, and there was little doubt that whatever was in that box was going to change his life, forever.
"Open it," she said.
After seeing his reaction, she forewent opening it herself. The future heir of the Power could have no fear. Well, not about his own power at least. He needed to see it for himself if he was to believe, and accept what had to be.
Hesitating for only a moment, Naruto reached for the latch and then pushed the lid open and stepped back. His jaw nearly dropped in shock as he saw the very sword he'd been dreaming of. It was literally the sword of his dreams, exactly the same in every detail!
Slowly, he pulled the massive double-edged blade from the box. It weighed more than he thought and once he had it out of the box, it almost immediately dropped to the ground. He was barely able to keep his grip on it as the vibration shook him. It even cut into the crystal by a couple inches!
"Whoa! Heavy," he commented, struggling to raise the sword from the platform.
"Soon to be much lighter in the hands of He-Man," the Sorceress told him. "Merely raise the sword above your head and say 'By the Power of Grayskull' and you shall be transformed into He-Man, reborn."
"Don't ask for much, do ya?" he wryly retorted. Taking a deep breath, he heaved and lifted the Sword above his head, holding it with both hands.
"By the Power of Grayskull!" he shouted.
Instantly, with no hesitation, the Sword itself shifted, the symbol at the hilt changing to a cross guard before the orb they were standing next to lit up like lightning! All of the crystal towers flashed and resonated with the orb of power, power which soon arched overhead and then pooled down into a single bolt of energy, striking the Sword first and channeling down into Naruto, changing him as it struck. There was another flash of power and energy and in the next moment, the small blond 13-year-old had disappeared and in his place was a six foot blond muscleman with blue eyes and the same tanned skin Naruto had!
"I HAVE THE POWER!" He-Man screamed, the transformation completed.
The Sorceress took a moment to take in the changes to her grandson, as well as the differences between the man standing before her and the original He-Man from ages past. Prince Adam, and thus He-Man had let his hair grow out a bit so it was around neck-length. Naruto's hair was spiky and cropped short, and so was this new He-Man's hair. In fact, the only real difference between He-Man and an 'adult Naruto' would be the size of him, his musculature, the fact that he no longer had whisker marks on his cheeks, and also his sense of dress.
He-Man of the old had worn a simple chest plate with his symbol imprinted upon it and red leather pants and boots. Naruto, surprisingly, did not have the chest plate at all. Instead, it might be better to call it an armored vest. It was a silver and gold-lined coloring, and covered his entire chest and shoulders, but left his arms and abdomen completely bare. At his waist, he wore a belt very similar to the original He-Man, only it was a bright golden yellow in color. The pants were the same form-fitting armored variety, except they were gray and black, more similar to what a ninja might wear, same with the footwear, with the boots leaving the toes and heals open to the air.
Overall, quite an impressive change, if the Sorceress did say so herself.
"Of course, no hero is complete without a trusty mount to carry him into battle. Prince Adam had with him a tame tiger as his loyal companion. Unfortunately, you brought no such animal with you, and it would be remiss to have you summon a toad just for that. But Grayskull has found a way to rectify this error. Simply look within and allow the Power to guide you," she advised.
He-Man nodded, and did as bid. Only a few moments later, he held up his sword and pointed it straight out across the crystal platform from him. There was another bolt of power, though this time there was a red-tinge to it, and it seemed to originate more from He-Man's abdomen than the orb of power this time. The reason for this was soon discovered as He-Man's new mount appeared in a burst of energy.
A red-furred, green-armored nine-tailed fox stood crouched in front of He-Man and the Sorceress.
He-Man startled, taking a step back and holding the Sword of Power before him defensively.
"The Kyuubi?!!" he exclaimed. "How?!" That was another of the changes, as He-Man's voice was much deeper and more mature-sounding than Naruto's normal speech.
"The Bijuu are never allowed to set foot near Grayskull," the Sorceress answered. "Let alone inside it's sacred halls. As close as it came when it destroyed Whirlpool Country was as near as it dared, and even then, it wouldn't have if it had not been compelled by another. Nevertheless, Naruto, you are destined to be He-Man, so the fact that you contained the Kyuubi no Kitsune within you needed to be rectified. You probably felt a shock as you first entered the Castle?"
He-Man slowly nodded his head, rubbing his stone-hard six pack.
"That was myself, and Castle Grayskull itself communing with the great beast to make a contract. In exchange for serving He-Man for the remainder of its existence, it would be released from the seal and given a small portion of it's power," she explained.
"Hardly anything worth mentioning at all," the nine-tailed fox before them growled, it's voice rough and animalistic, but still understandable. "Barely a sixth of my overall power. But still... worth it." It stretched each of it's nine tails to their limits as well as all its limbs like Naruto had seen ordinary foxes do in the wild.
"Ohhhh...kay..." He-Man scratched the back of his neck in a very Naruto-like way. "What do I call you then, since quite obviously you're no longer the Kyuubi?"
"Hm, good question," the fox mused. "I've only ever been called Fox, or Kitsune before. Until I received my ninth tail and earned the title of Kyuubi. What was the brute's first mount called?"
The Sorceress glared and crossed her arms warningly. "He-Man's first battle companion was known as Battlecat. Given that he did travel on the back of a rather large tiger."
"Very well," the nine-tailed fox responded, "Call me Devilfox! Rather appropriate don't you think?"
"Very," He-Man said in monotone.
"Of course, neither of you can remain in these forms indefinitely," the Sorceress told them both. "Not that the Power of Grayskull is not infinite, but it is also for a purpose. And that purpose is to fight evil. Not merely imbue a boy and his pet with the power of the universe."
"Right, gotcha," He-Man nodded, and then held up his sword, and in a reverse of the earlier sequences, the bolts of power left both Devilfox and He-Man, the energy channeling itself back into the orb with a flash of blinding light. Leaving behind only Uzumaki Naruto, carrying a much slimmer and altered version of the Sword of Power... and a small red-furred one-tailed fox with matching red slit eyes.
"Whoa, what the...?!" Naruto shouted upon seeing the fox that was left behind.
"Well what did you expect, bozu?" the fox said in a less growly voice identical to what he'd heard whenever he'd visited it inside the Seal. "The deal was I get my freedom from the Seal so long as I remain your battle companion. Not exactly fair if I only get that freedom whenever you need me for battle though, is it?"
"Uh... you can talk?"
The little fox rolled its eyes and shared a look of contempt with the Sorceress. "Regular genius this one is. Any wonder why I took my first opportunity on getting out of him?"
"Hey!"
"That's enough!" the Sorceress commanded.
"He started it!" they both shouted, pointing at one another.
"I don't care who started it, I'm finishing it!" she snapped at them.
"Sorry," they both hung their heads in apology.
"That's better," the Sorceress acceded.
"I can see that you two will manage to get along well enough," she said after a moment of silence. "Which is good, seeing how that you are both now bound to each other, as battle partners at the least, if nothing else. Though would it be too much to expect for the two of you to eventually become friends?"
"No way!" Naruto immediately denied.
"Like hell!" the fox exclaimed.
The Sorceress sighed and shrugged to herself.
"Very well then," she said, then turned to the little one-tailed fox before them, "You need a name, a standard name, and Kyuubi no longer applies, considering that you only have one tail and Ichibi has been taken. Devilfox is your battle form's name, and it would give Naruto's true identity away if you were to have the same name as He-Man's battle companion. So, what shall it be?"
"Anything but the obvious," the former demon stated, settling itself into a sitting posture. "Fox, Kitsune, Kit, Kitsu, Foxy – all that just plain forget it! I once heard about this dragon that teamed up with a dragon-hunting knight and got named Draco of all things! So if you don't want me leaving... presents in all his gear and making this partnership as difficult as possible, no names like that all right?"
"All right already!" Naruto said, exasperated. He put on his thinking pose and thought for a minute.
"How about Shippo then?" the young hero offered, much to the Sorceress' amusement and the little fox's dismay. Demonstrated by it's stunned expression and lack of rapid response.
"Are you insane?! Calling me tail is almost WORSE than calling me 'fox' anything!" he whined.
"Yet rather appropriate, don't you think?" the Sorceress turned the former demon's words back on itself.
The fox scowled up at her, but had little argument as there was no way it was telling this boy it's true name. The Sorceress by right of her position already knew it, but names held power and the fox would much rather Naruto not know its. At least not until they'd learned to trust one another enough. Perhaps not ever.
"Fine," the red fox let out a hefty sigh, "You may call me Shippo. And don't be adding any suffixes! The name itself is bad enough, thank you very much!"
"You're welcome!" Naruto chirped, smiling broadly.
Shippo cursed at him.
"Now that wasn't nice," the blond chastised his new companion. He had a feeling if he ever called the foul-mouthed fox his pet he'd experience worse than the threat of little surprises left in his sleeping roll.
Shippo suggested he perform a physical impossibility with a three syllable word or two.
"I think that's quite enough," the Sorceress intervened. "Thank the gods that there is no crisis, though I understand Naruto does have an appointment to meet a man named Jiraiya in a few days. We can use those days to train the both of you in your new roles. Then I will send the both of you to the rendezvous point via magical portal. Don't rely on it, as I cannot open a portal from anywhere but here at the heart of Castle Grayskull, and it would not be wise to do so often."
"No shit," Shippo agreed. Sort of.
"OK Obaachan!" Naruto enthusiastically agreed.
"Let's return to the castle proper for now. Then we can begin to discuss your training," the Sorceress suggested with a soft sigh. The response to this offer almost blew out the eardrums of fox and sorceress together. It was going to be a long week.
End...?