I'm With you, Forever, The End

by Katsuki-1x

In the world of quirks 90% of the population has a quirk. Scientists believe that soulmates and quirks are somehow linked. Izuku and Katsuki are training at the beach when Izuku finds a fruit. Izuku eats the fruit and gains a power. On the beach the boys save a group of strangers that have washed up on shore. Izuku finds out what is power is and what it is called when the stranger

43. Chapter 43: The Leaf Village

Chapter 43: The Leaf Village

Summary: Izuku is interrogated by the Leaf, Inochi, and Shikaku meet Fuji. Gaara wakes up and looks over the suggested seal with Jiraiya and Izuku. Shanks finds out his heritage.

Outside the Village gates, Kakashi sensei tells the strangers to land as to not cause mass panic. Fuji lands without complaint and shifts back into human form. Izuku takes Gaara from Naruto to place on his back giving the blonde teen a reassuring smile. Kakashi tells Team Gai to keep an eye on the strangers and leaves to fetch the Hokage.

Kakashi leaps into the open window straight into the Hokage's office he dodges the thrown paperweight. Lady Tsunade has long since given up yelling at the aloof Jounin about using the door, she sighs, "Kakashi report."

Kakashi stands at attention, a serious poster to his frame that would go unnoticed by anyone other than the most observant. Tsunade may appear oblivious but the way she steeples her fingers is anything but. She activates the privacy seals. Kakashi sighs, "The mission was a success."

"Where is Naruto?" Lady Tsunade asks with barely hidden over-protectiveness.

"Waiting for you at the gates, an unexpected development occurred that helped us complete the mission. I will write out a report, but it is best if you come to see for yourself. Bring Inochi and Shikaku." Kakashi informs.

"What development?" She asks eyes narrowed.

"I can't really explain it, and you wouldn't believe me if I did." Kakashi hums, pulling out his book to hide his conflicted expression. With or without masks Tsunade is one of the only people who could still read him like a book.

She stands up and sighs, "You'll owe me a drink after this."

"Yes Ma'am, the very best." Kakashi agrees, he could use a drink himself.

They walk out of the office, Iruka Sensei just about to knock. Kakashi thinks the chunin sensed Naruto was back and came to invite him out for Ramen. He smiles at the teacher thankful that someone had his students back.

"Iruka, go find Inochi, Shikaku, and Jiraiya, tell them to meet me at the gates." Tsunade orders.

Iruka looks confused, by bows in the face of orders, "On it Ma'am"

Tsunade nods and walks to the gates with Kakashi. Approaching the gates Tsunade looks around puzzled. Kakashi sensing her rising angry closes his book, "I made them wait in a clearing over there," he points off to the side. "Didn't want to cause mass Hysteria or have Anbu after them."

Tsunade lifts an eyebrow in question, by the look on Kakashi's face she is not going to get any more information out of him yet. She decides she will wait for the other 3 shinobi before she gets her answers. She doesn't have to wait long as the three Shinobi come into view. She watches as Kakashi stiffens, sighs and signs to follow him.

Tsunade did not know what she was expecting, but she blinks a few times because there is absolutely no way that what she is seeing is real. She along with Inochi, Jiraiya, and Shikaku all make the hand signs to dispel whatever Genjutsu she is seeing. When the image doesn't expel, she studies the group. The first thing she notices is a Massive multiple-tailed wolf laying in the grass. The second thing she notices is the number of unknown, and unmarked people appearing to be cuddling with the said wolf. The third and perhaps the most shocking is Team Gai, Naruto, The Kazekage, and Temari are all close enough to the wolf to be almost cuddling. Gai talks animatedly with the two unknown adults. Neji, Lee, TenTen, and Naruto are engaged in talking with the other teens. Lee excitedly asks questions about the wolf while Neji listens attentively while absent-mindedly stroking the wolf's fur. Gaara looks to be asleep curled into the wolf's side, upon further inspection, she notices fire coming off the wolf licking at the teens and Shinobi around it.

The wolf spots the newcomers and studies them slowly, deliberately. The wolf makes eye contact with Kakashi as the man moves closer to the massive creature. He bows his head and makes a rumbling-like noise. An unknown ash blond male hurriedly tells them cuddle time is over. The teens and Shinobi move their conversations away from the wolf. Under the watchful and protective eyes of the wolf, Kakashi moves Gaara and places him by his sister. The wolf rumbles happily at the care the aloof man used to carry his charge. The wolf stands up revealing his multiple tails and fire wings. He studies the others again cautiously. Tsunade thinks something like recognition perhaps acceptance flits through his gaze.

The newly arrived Shinobi stand stiff as a bright green glow takes over the clearing. When their vision clears standing in the spot of the massive wolf is a teen no older than Naruto, with green hair, the brightest green eyes, wolf ears, and tails, a fluffy looking wings adorning the boys back. Tsunade narrows her eyes, Kakashi's report (If one could call it that) said an unexpended development helped them complete the mission successfully. The question is Why?

The green-haired teen clears his throat, "Hi I'm Izuku Midoriya."

Tsunade narrows her eyes slightly, "Hello Izuku-kun, I have been told you help in the retrieval mission to save Gaara." The teen nods, "My first question is Why?"

The teen smiles, "Gaara is pack, there was never a choice not to save him."

"Pack?" Shikaku asks.

"Yes, Pack." The teen states like it are obvious.

Shikaku shares a look with Kakashi, the other man shrugs, "Ok, Izuku right?" The teen nods, "I am going to ask you a few questions, I would appreciate it if you would answer truthfully."

The boy looks to be thinking it over, he hums, "Yes that is the reason why we came here. But I have information that cannot be public knowledge yet." He sniffs the air around him, "The trees have eyes"

Tsunade's eyes widen, she knew Anbu was close to make sure nothing happened to her, but she didn't think they would have been scented out by a teen. She puts out a hand and signals her Anbu to retreat. They hesitate, she watches as the teen's ears twitch and a soft smile spreads on his face, "They worry about you. If it makes you feel better, you can restrain me. I didn't come here to fight."

The Anbu linger for a few moments more before they heed their Hokage's retreat order. Shikaku sighs, "That won't be necessary, as long as answer our questions." The teen nods, Shikaku starts asking his questions, "What village are you from?"

"None, we are not from this world," Izuku states truthfully, he rubs the back of his neck, "I know it might not seem believable, but Neji can tell you what he sees."

Shikaku looks at the mentioned Shinobi, he receives a nod. "He does not have chakra or pathways. But they have something else like an aura."

Kakashi speaks up, "I can confirm this with my Sharingan, I also saw them fighting they did not use Jutsu or hand signs, but they were able to use powers."

"They are called Quirks," the teen interrupts, "My world uses Quirks, we are born with them."

Shikaku files that information away, "Ok if you are not from here what is your business here?"

The teen smiles again, "forgive me if I get terms or names wrong," He points at the pale blonde man, "You are a mind walker, yes?"

The man nods.

"I give you my consent to look through my memories to give you a better understanding of the questions you need to ask." The teen suggests.

The man looks to Tsunade, Tsunade nods, "I will allow this." The man nods.

"Can I bring my partner with me; it will make this faster with the two of us. I must warn you though my Jutsu is very invasive I cannot pick what memories I see. Once I am in, I will know everything from your birth until now, including thoughts, dreams, and visions." The man states giving the teen the chance to back out. "This will also create a scroll of memories"

The teen nods, "I accept. I have one condition though."

"What is it?"

The teen smiles fondly at the Ash-haired teen, "I bring Kacchan with me."

"I can not teleport his mind into your mind." The man regretfully informs.

The teen's smile is beaming, "I can bring him myself" he senses their confusion, "It's an ability unique to me and Kacchan, it will be explained in my memories." He looks over his pack, "Ace, Shoto" Two teens perk up hearing their names, "Kacchan and I need to meditate can you watch over us."

The two nod and move to sit behind the two teens. Inochi watches as the two boys close their eyes, grasping hands. Their breathing slows and matches the other. The two boys slump over into the hold of the other two teens. The two unknown adults watch the four like hawks. The other teens hover protectively near the meditating duo. The black-Haired male gives a nod to Inochi letting him know that he can approach. He kneels in front of the two teens he puts one hand on the Green-Haired teen and the other hand on Shikaku's shoulder. He closes his eyes and links his mind with the two.

***Memories***

Inochi walks around in the darkness for a few moments, suddenly two teens pop up. The teen looks at Inochi, "I have two other secrets, if they do not appear in my memories, I will take you straight to them. They are not memories they are my quirks. I am not sure of the details of your Jutsu."

Inochi nods, "Let's begin"

For several moments the memories are distorted, likely from infancy. The images start to clear when they are in a doctor's office the kid is being told he is quirkless. There is sadness, pain, and a sense of loss that follows that diagnosis. Next, they are on a beach, they watch as the younger versions of the two, run around onshore. They watch the tiny sparkling explosions coming from the blonde and the awe coming from the greenett. They watch as something shimmers in the distance and are overcome with a sense of curiosity. They see a strange fruit and watch as the child eats it. Then watch shocked as the child erupts into green fire. They see the worry on the blond's face morph into confusion then intrigue when he notices his friend has power too. They watch as the two stumble upon a group of washed-up strangers and the need to save flares up in them. They watch amazed as the child hovers near the red-haired man and uses his new fire to heal the man's injuries and take the water out of his lungs. They watch as the child repeats this to two children. They wait and witness a life-changing promise between the two that is sure to shake the very world. When the strangers wake up, they head to a new location. They witness the children searching for ways to send the stranger home only to find they are stranded because they are not from this world.

The next memories show the four boys in a bath watching as marks appear on the children's backs. Soulmate marks Inochi deduces. They learn about the bonds and what happens when a bond is rejected. And they watch as the little Izuku breaks down thinking his Kacchan would reject him now that he is stuck with him. They witness the Blonde comfort the smaller child and tell him it didn't matter that they were soulmates they would be together forever.

They watch the start of a new promise being made and the training they put their young bodies through to obtain that dream. The memories fast forward a bit as they watch the first time Izuku was bullied for being different, and they are reminded of Naruto. They watch as a seven-year-old Izuku watches his Kacchan being on the brink of death from the child's own mother. This is the first time they see Izuku transform. And the scene is sad, they learn exactly what pack means to the child and the lengths he would go to save them. They watch the boys grow stronger and train together, they see the boy healing gruesome injuries to save the lives of his important people.

They witness Izuku receiving another quirk from one of the men he saved. They watch as he trains this new quirk, they feel the broken bones healing rapidly until he can use it properly. They watch as Izuku learns to use his feathers to fight and deliver healing to people he can't reach. More memories of training hard and playing harder, studying hard, and tutoring the other two. They watch as they go through school with each other little Izuku seeking comfort from the vile words that are sneered at him. They watch horrified as older kids try to fix Izuku by cutting off his ears and tails, only to watch as they would grow back in a burst of flames. Thoughts and whispers of Monster, beast, animal, unwanted swirl through the little child's mind. Then phrases "no one is going to want a pet for a soulmate", "you're a monster" and so many more follow the child.

But then when the thoughts get too loud, Kacchan's voice rings through the hateful thoughts, "you're a hero", "you're my soulmate", "you're not a monster" and words whispered in the night to comfort the smaller teen. They witness the nightmares of the blonde dying while Izuku can do nothing but scream, waking up in terror, then training until the emptiness and pain are replaced by fatigue. They watch as Izuku puts his all into developing strategies and training plans to make his group as strong as possible. Mutterings too fast to be really understood about identifying their weaknesses and overcoming them. They watch as the little genius puts his incredible mind to designing support items to help them be better Heroes. They watch as a slightly older Izuku saves a kid from being pushed off the roof, and in a flash, he disables the bully and heals the kid. The friendship that blooms between the quirkless kid and the pack. They watch cuddle piles and teasing with fondness.

As the memories fast forward again, they are hit with such a powerful urge to protect. As they watch a lanky raven tell Izuku there was a villain attack and Katsuki is caught up in. They watch controlled power radiating from Izuku as he leaps into the air to get a birds-eye view. Fear takes over as they see the blonde being suffocated as a sludge tries to take over his body. It's not quite killing intent but something else bursts out of him and people start foaming at the mouths and collapsing. They watch as the boys are safe, and the verbal beat down Izuku receives for saving his friend. Katsuki comes to defend him telling him, thank you and he would have died if not for Izuku. Katsuki tells him he was more of a hero than anyone else and Izuku cries.

More training, more studying, more cuddle piles. Then they are in an auditorium that looks like an entrance exam of some kind. They watch the rules for the exam with open curiosity. They watch as Izuku can hardly contain his excitement and a sense of accomplishment that the 4 of them have come so far; only to plummet when another student tells him to leave because he doesn't believe Izuku is serious enough. They watch as the students break off into sections, and the same teen from before tries to Syke Izuku out. They watch as a controlled fear and domination radiates from Izuku to make the teen feel like a rabbit in the eyes of a predator.

The exam is spectacular to Inochi and Shikaku, there was nothing in the rules that implied saving people would help you pass. But they watched as Izuku not only takes out the robots with deadly ease, but he also flings himself around the map healing and helping where he can. Then he would launch in another direction to take out some more robots. A shaking sensation breaks through the memory. Izuku investigates, he saves a group of kids from being stuck to the road, not able to run away from the massive robot. Izuku sniffs the air, ears twitching as he listens for anyone else that needs help. He sees someone, a girl with her leg trapped under rubble and the giant robot looming over her a few feet away. A plan and a backup plan formed in milliseconds and executed in moments. He tries to save the girl first but with the weight of the robot on the rubble, he can't get her free. They watch as he leaps into the air and Punches the robot with an extremely powerful punch. He lands gently as the robot explodes, he moves the rubble off of the girl and heals her injuries with a smile.

A week of anxiousness, doubts, hope, and fear consume them. Until one day a letter comes with a projection telling the boys they got into the school. Happiness, accomplishment, and determination flare in the boy as he doubles down on his training.

They watch their school events and training, they watch as another teen is roped into the group, being the soulmate to the lanky raven, they watch as Izuku is made president of the class and how he calms the school down during a break-in. They listen to Izuku's reasons for not wanting to be a healer in a hospital and they agree with him. If fewer people need to go to the hospital to heal injuries, then the doctors can focus on the sick.

They watch as their teacher fights a horde of attackers to keep the students safe and watch as the group gets separated to deal with their own groups of attackers. They watch Izuku's plan work as they defeat their attackers and try to head to safety. They watch as a monster crushes their teacher's head, and a feral feeling washes over them. The snarl that rips out and the urge to protect rises. They watch as just before the monster can get to the kids another teacher shows up. Izuku transforms into his wolf and shields his teacher's body. A portal opens and a hand reaches out to grab the wolf only to be blasted back and held down by a raging blonde. They watch with horror as the leader of the attackers' orders the monster to kill the kid. With only one teacher and two possible targets, the teacher makes a call. There is shock and a million plans that flow through a string of muttering before Izuku uses his tails to knock everyone away while he shields the teacher's body with his own. White-hot pain erupts through the memory as it turns black.

The next memory they experience they are floating in something like darkness. They can't move and every breath and heartbeat feels like agony. Then jumbled thoughts of what happened and where is he. The most prominent thoughts 'is Kacchan safe?' Then a voice echoes in the darkness calling for him, crying for him. And they can feel him trying to struggle, trying to get back to his Kacchan. Trying everything in his power to wake up. They can hear the Blonde firecracker begging, pleading, breaking for his nerd to come back to him. The confession that sounds more like the last words ringing out and the struggle to wake up renews.

And then he is being hugged tightly and cried on. And they want to giggle because that is the feeling rising in their throats. The two boys share their first kiss and the feeling of love, belonging, and hope; spark into something like fireworks. The memories keep going, the teacher returns to school bandaged but living. The teacher tells them the sports festival is coming up and they need to train. They need to impress the different agencies so they can get internships. They watch as the group already makes plans if they have to fight each other.

More training.

The day of the exam comes, and they are filled with excitement. In the first event, they are having a blast making sure Izuku and Katsuki win first place without fail. The second event in their opinion is awesome. Watching the 4 boys use Izuku's strategy, protecting their points and their friends back it's no wonder the group comes out on top. The conversation with the red- and white-haired teen causes fury and rage to fill them. Not at the other teen, but for him. The third-round fights are interesting. The first fight is between Izuku and someone else. They feel him freeze as he answers a question, but there is a smirk there. Then the feeling of a broken finger followed by clear thoughts. Izuku wins. They witness Katsuki's fight with a girl and they can't help but agree with Katsuki's reasons for fighting. Katsuki is taking his opponent seriously because he knows he can't afford to hold back. Anger, Pride, Rage fill them as the crowd boos and calls Katsuki a villain. The rage simmers as they spend a small moment together in a waiting room.

Izuku goes up for his next fight against the red-and-white-haired teen. The fight reminds them of Naruto's and Neji's fight. Izuku tries to get through to the other teen to use his power because it is his not his fathers. Izuku tells the teen you chose what type of hero you want to be. And finally, he gets through to the other and their final clash is of destruction. The teen is seen on the ground a few feet away from the stage. Izuku heals the other boy and lifts him to the stands. He collapses for a few moments on Katsuki.

The next fight is Izuku against the Lanky raven. They watch as this fight is different, nothing is held back but they are not trying to pummel each other. They end in massive amounts of power and tails against a giant fist. The fight ends with Izuku being the winner.

The other fights happen, mutterings of quirk analysis and fight breakdowns fill their heads. The final fight happens and something changes. The blonde is breaking, and it hurts them deep inside. Their fight is one of feeling and the need to be finally understood. Katsuki lays his fears, his heart, and his desperation for Izuku hoping he would understand and not leave the other boy behind, and understanding, guilt, and remorse fills the memory. They witness another promise being born and acceptance of that promise from the other teen.

The closing ceremony happens, and they are filled with rage and helplessness as Katsuki is bound and chained in the other room. They want to go to him, save him but they can't move as their feet sink into the ground and they are lifted up to the world. They watch Izuku panic and try to hold back tears as he tells the teachers what is happening down there. The wolf's voice is louder than ever before 'Save mate, help mate', 'protect mate', and Izuku struggles to hold him back as he frees the other boy from his chains. Another cuddle pile happens as their teacher tells them to go home. As they enter the room Izuku is already shifting. Sniffing Katsuki for any injuries and whimpering and whining until the teen tells the giant puppy to lay down and cuddle with him. The wolf is happy cuddling with his pack, the lanky raven's soulmate enters the room, and Izuku trills in happiness at the other pack member. Ace leaves for a few but comes back with another teen. The red-and-white-haired teen approaches the wolf following Katsuki's guidelines. He apologies to the wolf trills in acceptance, 'cuddle', 'new packmate', 'fire-pups mate'.

They are flying in a city now, going on patrols while Izuku smells smoke. They follow the smoke to the train tracks and check for survivors and heal the injured. A tremble shakes the memory and then they are freefalling while shifting in midair. They watch as the Wolf hovers near the opening of the train and load up the passengers to bring them to safety. They fly to another battlefield, upon landing Izuku unleashes his flames to heal everyone. Panic consumes them as they watch Izuku's packmates about to be knocked out of the sky by another monster. Pain radiates in their shoulder as Izuku leaps toward them. Everything turns out ok and Izuku and pack are headed to look for someone.

The thick scent of iron grabs their attention and they watch as Izuku, Katsuki, and Luffy launch into an alley, one of their classmates is bleeding out on the ground, and a man is slumped against the wall. Izuku tells the other two to bring them to safety he will hold the villain back. Katsuki looks at him, and Izuku smiles "I promised if there was another way, I would take it. Now go the faster you get them out of here the faster I can go all out."

Izuku watches and protects their retreat holding the villain back with a feather as the man tries to pursue his targets. Izuku pushes him back and powers up his other quirk, there is green lightning sparking around him as he crouches and evades the sword strikes. In a moment of distraction as the other two return, he gets a shallow cut and crumples in on himself. They watch as Izuku walks through his analysis with Katsuki and tells the other teen to inject him with one of his own feathers. Katsuki does as told then moves to help Luffy keep the villain from going after the 2 they saved. That same power from before ripples through them when Izuku sees his soulmate and packmate about to be cut down. He blocks the sword strike with his feathers again. Katsuki and Luffy both get sliced and collapse. Izuku goes to move them out of the way when Ice forms at his back. Izuku feels relief flood through him at the sight of his other two packmates. They work together to push the villain away. The villain points out that Izuku is wanted by the league, Izuku tells the villain he has no intention of being caught or killed. Another monster screech from above and Izuku goes to take care of it. Swiftly, precisely, and deadly until he crashes into the building. Green fire erupts around them and pain flares. Izuku pushes the pain away as he observes and notices the fight below him. With speed, unimaginable Izuku is blocking and pushing the man back with his feather. The other two are ready to fight again and they defeat the villain and immobilize him.

Next memory the group is fighting against three of their teachers they last about 4 hours. Their teamwork is impressive, their skills well beyond their ages, but Inochi and Shikaku know they lack experience. So ultimately, they fail in bringing down all three teachers. But they are impressed at the boys being able to defeat two of them. Izuku and Katsuki end their fight in an all-or-nothing type move that requires them to share blood. They listen intently to the battle discussion and the areas they need to work on. They learn the secrets of One for All and Devil Fruits. They figure out that because Izuku and Katsuki are soulmates and their bond is so strong that they are able to share One for All.

The next few moments are more training and studying to prepare for the finals.

Finals come and Inochi and Shikaku witness the true capabilities of Izuku's and Katsuki's teamwork. They are pit against three of their teachers and they win. Almost no communication happens between them as they dance and work around their opponents. Even with the odds stacked against them, they come out as the first students to finish the exam.

They watch the Mall incident and the conviction Izuku has to be a hero. They listen as he is kept hostage and forced to talk to the main villain. And they watch understandably as the teen lets the villain go not wanting to endanger anyone. The impressive thinking it took to call the blonde to let him hear the exchange was well thought out.

The memories fast forward for a few seconds and stop when they are on a bus going to a training ground. And they watch as the students train harder than ever before. On the third day, something ominous is in the air, something foreboding. And that night while doing a training exercise they find out why. Izuku rushes to the top of a cliff to find a boy being attacked by 2 villains and a monster. Izuku smiles at the boy, "It's ok, I'll save you." And the taunting Izuku has to go through, Izuku is pushed into a wall and is asked if he knows where Katsuki Bakugo is. Rage, and protection flare inside him. There is no way in hell he is going to let these villains get his Kacchan. So he fights, he meticulously disables one of the villains. And he focuses on the other. He breaks his arm as he uses too much power, but the damage heals right away. The force of the punch threatens to send the kid off the side of the cliff. Izuku saves him, he is shot in the shoulder and they can feel a sense of emptiness. Like he doesn't have his wolf anymore and that confuses him. Still, he can't retreat the villains will follow. He won't be able to move away fast enough. So he continues fighting, using all his power, but it is not enough the memory is starting to fade around the edges, "Sorry Kacchan, it looks like I might break our promise." The memory is almost black when a voice rings out, "Nerd! You promised. Don't leave me behind." Power surges in the boy his eyes glowing green. He is able to get back onto his feet, 'One for All 1000000% Delaware, Detroit, Smash!'. The pain that erupts in his arm and shoulder is indescribable and excruciating. But he pushes it aside with Bull-headed determination he leaps and takes off with a run with the crying boy on his back. He runs into two of his teachers and drops him off. He continues running to deliver a message ignoring the resulting order to go to the facilities. He runs into the forest planning where Katsuki should be when he is knocked into a tree by a shadow. Another student comes up and they plan to save the student whose quirk is out of control. They run to where Izuku thinks Katsuki and Shoto are. The other two boys use their quirks to cause the darkness to shrink allowing the student to take control of it again.

They watch as Izuku reasons with the group to remove the bullet from him, he begs Katsuki to remove it. He tells them he is not going to last long because the bullet is poisoning him. Katsuki caves and digs out the bullet with a small hunting knife he keeps around his ankle. The memory is blurring and it's hard for the spectators to follow what is happening. Suddenly pain, agony, and raw screaming flood through Izuku's system, and the world goes black. All they can see is a small orange glowing flame, that fills them with comfort. After a few moments the flame vanishes and panic, rage, fear, and protectiveness erupt out of the darkness in an eruption of green fire and lightning. The memory clears and something that reminds Inochi and Shikaku of a werewolf in the place of Izuku. Izuku is barely controlling himself as he launches after the villain and tackles him. In a clearing there are multiple villains, a fight breaks out when suddenly a portal opens up. The students try to get back their captured classmates but can only save one of them. Izuku's screams are distorted by the howls of his wolf as his mind finally snaps.

This next memory takes over they are floating again. But unlike last time they are being pulled somewhere. A light silver in color, that fills them with ancient wisdom draws closer. Eventually, they are standing in a temple-like room, people milling about. A woman approaches and talks to him about something they don't quite understand. She leads him to an orange flame she tells Izuku that this is Katsuki. They witness how Izuku was able to communicate with Katsuki and find out where he was. He relays that information with a statue of a man that looks like one of their teachers. Next, they are drawn into a forest-like zone, similar to the forest of fire. They walk to a den and a massive wolf comes out they notice this is Izuku's wolf. The wolf talks sense into Izuku not to run off into battle, the wolf wants to hear Izuku's plan before he allows him to wake up. The wolf approves of this plan and allows Izuku to wake up. He explains the plan to the others, and they all agree to enact the plan the next night.

The rescue mission goes off without a hitch, they rescue Ace and Izuku heals him. They wait for the most opportune moment to save Katsuki and they fly to a safe distance where they can still watch the battle happening. Even though the battle has been won there is a sense of loss that radiates through the teen. His hero needs to retire. They recover, Izuku heals the heroes that were injured in battle. They are on house arrest for some time, until they move into the barracks.

Training as a class speed through and discussing support gear upgrades. Izuku notices something that is different about his soulmate and they discover wolf ears on the other teen. Confusion is felt and they go to talk to their teachers. Izuku meditates and talks to his wolf about it. The wolf wants to see Mate. Izuku relays that information to the teachers and meditates again to pull Katsuki's consciousness into Izuku's mind. All they know is it is only possible because of that temple-like room. The wolf warns them about a threat coming, how it destroyed his world. He talks about the Biju as if they are kin. Calling them Gods and not Demons as Inochi and Shikaku believe they are. They learn that it is because they are sealed that their souls have been tainted by the people who have abused their powers. They learn that the red-haired man is an Uzumaki. And they learn the history of a world separate from this one. They learn that this evil is already destroying their world and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. The Grandline is already on the brink of destruction.

They watch the visions this teen has of people he shouldn't know. The details are unmistakable as he sees himself and Shikaku in another world, along with most of their village. There are very detailed memories of Kakashi telling them about his past. They are shocked to even recognize the 4 Hokage and Madara. They find out how this is possible, Izuku's wolf is the God of Souls. So as long as the soul remains the wolf can pull it back into a body. Inochi and Shikaku are reminded of the second Hokage's Zombie Jutsu. But this isn't creating undead soldiers, this is giving those resurrected a chance to live and fight again.

And they witness multiple visions, missing people, or other circumstances that lead to complete destruction. But there is a couple of visions that have everyone, and more and they win and survive, and they build a new home in peace where three worlds survivors live equally, they are filled with a sense of wonder and hope.

Then they are packing to go somewhere new, plans to start their mission to rescue and ask for help. They end up in a war, in another world filled with water and dotted with land. They fight to protect the ones they came to save. They talk with the people and ask for their help they receive it. They fight more battles and saving more people to help them save at least one of the worlds. All the memories and training and fighting lead them to another exam where teamwork and understanding prevailed.

Then there is a Medallion, screaming, wailing, yelling, and pain fills Izuku, he cries and feels betrayed by his teacher telling him to Calm down while his pack is in Danger. He whimpers and whines to save Gaara not for the war, not for Shukaku, but only because Gaara is pack and Gaara is hurting. They watch as they leave Japan again and land in a very familiar clearing. Recognition as they realize they landed in front of Kakashi and his team. They fly the rest of the way to Suna to drop of Sakura and Temari so they can help Kankuro. The wolf takes off again for a few miles, he starts his descent into a ravine whines, and whimpers escaping the wolf's throat. He shifts tears in his eye's pain carved into his features. A protective rage fills their hearts as Izuku stockpiles power still crying for Gaara. They can see the seal but pay it no mind as Izuku and Katsuki power through and shatter the barrier with willpower and determination. Izuku plans to destroy the Gedo Statue that is Currently sucking Shukaku, Gaara's chakra, and Gaara's soul out of the young Kazekage. With a cold logic that rivals Shikaku's own Izuku plans how to take down their foe, Izuku and Katsuki fight Sasori and win while the others follow an enraged Naruto or protect the fallen form of the Kazekage. It takes a while but eventually they come out victorious. Izuku's energy is fading by the end and he takes a catnap in his Soulmates lap. Unknown, but familiar power builds up on the edge of Izuku's mind and he snaps his eyes open, and leaps without a word to the other off into another direction.

Izuku pushes what appears to be Kakashi out of the way from an Attacking Naruto who is starting to lose control of Kyuubi. Izuku engulfs the distressed Naruto in a hug feeding his flames into the boy to heal the Kyuubi's tormented soul, he talks him down, tells him he won't let Gaara die. His friend is alive, and he will bet his life on it. Naruto still argues, but Izuku makes a foolish deal, 'if Gaara is dead you can have my head, if Gaara is alive you become my pack.' Izuku makes Naruto accept the deal by telling the teen there is no way he would bet his life on something he didn't already know was true.

Just as the boys are going to confirm the results of their bet a large amount of chakra is building up. Izuku reacts immediately not caring what the threat is only caring about saving the others. He shields Team Gai's retreat and Catches the explosion. He uses his tails to break the explosion and send it into the ground. No harm was done, no slight twinges of pain. Just dirt and minor scrapes that heal in moments.

Izuku shows Naruto how his healing works, talks through accusations of being insane with logic. He notices Naruto's rising panic as the teen can't wake Gaara. Izuku smiles at him with fondness and leads Naruto's hand to Gaara's pulse allowing the teen to feel the blood running in his veins. Izuku flares his flames to engulf all 4 of them, Inochi and Shikaku are curious as to why. But they can feel the life force going into Gaara, the tears in the teen's soul healing. The torment in Shukaku healing as well. Turning the frantic buzzing to a gentle hum. And he recedes his flames, Gaara looks healthier but he is still asleep.

Izuku tells Naruto there is still something he needs to do before he can wake him up. At Naruto's curiosity, Izuku tells him Gaara's seal needs to be fixed. Izuku senses the panic rising from the ninja around them so he explains from a medical point of view. He shows the shinobi Gaara's seal, laying over the boy's heart. That the seal will kill both of them in about a year if left untouched. Izuku shows Kakashi the seal on the medallion. And Kakashi studies it, Kakashi tells them they won't touch Gaara's seal without Tsunade's approval and Jirayia's approval and supervision of the seal. Izuku concedes with easy acceptance and tells Kakashi that was the plan, they don't have Chakra. The memories trickle out until eventually, they are recording their own mind walk.

Inochi and Shikaku gasp for breath as they open their eyes. Their eyes are filled with awe, and a touch of sadness. Tsunade gives them a moment to collect themselves as they roll up the scroll of memories.

Inochi stands up and hands the scroll to Tsunade. "Here, Tsunade-Sama."

"What have you learned," Tsunade asks impatiently and curious.

"Too much to be brief, but all the answers are in that scroll." Inochi states, "They have no ill intent. And everything so far has been true."

Izuku and Katsuki's eyes open as they come out of their meditation, Izuku observes his surroundings a little guarded still. As his eyes land on the unharmed members of his pack, his shoulders slump in relief. He observes the older Ninja, "I don't mind answering your questions, but right now there is something more important I need to discuss with you."

Inochi and Shikaku nod knowingly. Tsunade narrows her eyes, "What is more important than a group of unknowns and figuring out why they are here."

"I need to talk to your seal master about Gaara's seal," Izuku states firmly.

The ninja (except Inochi, Shikaku, Kakashi, and Team Gai) stiffen and prepare to fight. Izuku holds up his hands in surrender and pleads, "Please listen before you attempt to kill me. I hear Shukaku's soul, and because of where the seal is located, I hear Gaara's soul. They are screaming in pain and agony and I can do something about it. But I need help I don't have Chakra like you guys, all I have is the seal and my fire. I already told Kakashi I will do whatever I need to heal them. If the seal is untouched both Gaara and Shukaku will die." He pleads with a bow, tears wetting the pavement, whimpers coming from his chest. "Please, help me save my pack," he finishes with a whimper.

Jiraiya makes himself known, "Kid, let me look at this seal. If I deem it safe, I will help you apply it."

Izuku snaps his eyes to the white-haired sage, "Thank you Jiraiya," his smile is wide and thankful. He turns his head, "Shanks, please give him the Medallion."

Shanks steps up and Tsunade and Jiraiya both gasp, "Uzumaki?" Tsunade looks like she is seeing a ghost, "You… you... I can't believe you are alive… but how?"

Shanks looks confused, he is not sure why they are staring at him. He doesn't have anything more than vague memories of destruction before he ended up on the Grandline. But the name Uzumaki is eerily familiar and fills him with a deep ache of grief. "I don't remember much before I ended up stranded on the Grandline. But there is a name I remember, Kushina?"

"That would be your sister." Jiraiya solemnly states.

"Oh, I take it from the sad faces she is no longer with us?" Shanks asks.

"She died, 15 years ago giving birth to her son," Tsunade tells.

"Naruto?" Izuku blurts. All eyes focus on him and he blushes, "uh I'm sure it is in the scroll, but I have memories of things in the future and the fourth and Kushina are both there, they are the parents of Naruto Uzumaki"

"How do you know that?!" Tsunade shrieks.

Izuku blushes, "I can't really explain it, but I'll try. I met them and gave them a second chance at life. It's one of the abilities of my wolf. I will also bring the other Hokage back as well as long as these visions for the future are accurate."

Tsunade sighs completely done with today she rubs her forehead, "look kid, that information is a secret that is punishable by death. If word got out that Naruto is the Son of the fourth, he will be hunted by all of his father's enemies. Please do not bring it up again."

"Okay," something flares in his eyes, "I won't let pack die."

Tsunade looks confused, "huh?"

"Oh, Naruto, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, Gaara, Kakashi, and Sasuke are all claimed by my wolf. They don't know it yet but when I hear that one of them is in trouble I will not stop until they are safe, or I am dead." Izuku states with conviction.

Jiraiya laughs heartily, "That's rich, what do you just go around and claim people? Kid."

Izuku contemplates how to explain it, "everyone in my pack needs family. Kacchan, Ace, Luffy, Shoto, Kirishima, Denki, Ashido is either missing family, have been abandoned or abused or weren't being supported by their family. I need Pack I need people to care about. My wolf demands people to claim and cuddle and support. Fuji allows me to sense people suffering, loneliness, and Grief and he claims them. I claim them. Naruto and Gaara are like me, bullied, hated, and mistreated by something out of control, something people don't understand. They are called demons, monsters, and beasts; I know this because I was also called all that. Neji's soul cries in pain because he feels betrayed by his own family forcing his father to die for the clan. Lee is lonely because no one really ever truly understood him. They see a powerless no one who is a failure because he can't use chakra like everyone else. I see a strong and capable fighter who can adapt and win in every situation."

"What about my Son?" Shikaku asks, "How does he fit into your pack?"

Izuku cracks a small lazy smile, "Because he's Shikamaru the lazy genius. Never wants to do more than cloud watch, nap, or play 'go'; but when there are people, he cares about in danger he becomes fierce, protective. His strategies and quick thinking are on par with my own. No one understands his mind as I do, you saw my memories, heard my thoughts, and I can bet you were thinking how I make sense of any of that. Shikamaru's brain is the same, I use writing and muttering to organize my thoughts. Shikamaru uses cloud watching and 'go' to do the same."

Shikaku seems to understand and he nods. Kakashi narrows his eyes, "How am I pack?"

"Because I claimed you and there is nothing you can do to fight it," Izuku smirks.

"That is not an answer," Kakashi snarls.

"I am not going to divulge information you gave me in confidence around people you don't want to know." Izuku challenges. He tilts his head towards Naruto who is still fluttering around Gaara.

Kakashi nods, "In private then."

Izuku smiles, "yeah."

A pink-haired girl glares at the group, "Why Sasuke? Why is he pack?"

This time it is the blonde who speaks up, "because he is lost, he seeks revenge because he doesn't know how to deal with his entire world changing overnight. He doesn't know who to blame and he doesn't know how to seek help. Everyone always called him strong he had great potential, but no one reached out to the grieving child under the strength. He left with Orochimaru because no matter how twisted the snake's view is, he understood Sasuke's pain. He gave him a way to deal with it. It's the wrong way and is only going to hurt the kid later, but Sasuke is hurting and doesn't know a better way. We help him heal instead of putting a band-aid on a missing limb."

Izuku flits through his backpack and pulls out his notebook, "Here, this will explain some things and what I know of some people." He hands the book to Inochi and Shikaku. He turns back to Jiraiya, "and thoughts on the seal, is it doable? Will it save them?"

Jiraiya looks up at Izuku in astonishment, "This is the most impressive seal I have ever laid eyes on. Not even Naruto's seal is this effective. But there is something I don't understand, I see there is a section in the seal that will heal them, but the seal is not compatible with Healing Chakra."

"That is because you need my fire to complete the seal. Chakra won't work because chakra can't heal the soul." Izuku explains. "The seal is designed to feed off my flames to heal both the Spirit God's soul and the Hosts. The Spirit God's energy should not hurt the host, they essentially should be one like me and Fuji. The Spirit God and Container should be one soul. Having two souls in the host's body eventually will lead to the death of the host. The God's soul will consume the other soul. The seal is designed to use my flames to heal that damage and slowly merge the two souls safely. This is also why the Host dies after the God is Extracted, the host's soul becomes dependent on the other one. When the God is removed, the God's soul takes what it has already devoured with it."

"So what are the non-life saving benefits this seal will give them," Jiraiya asks.

"For one, once the seal takes and starts healing them, they will be able to do a full non-feral transformation, Like my wolf Form. Though if they are enraged enough like when Naruto was going after Gaara the God can come out. You will see in the scroll about the couple of times Fuji had to come out, once was when Kacchan was dying, we were seven so Fuji came out to shield me from it. The other time was when Kacchan got taken by Villains and I was too injured to get to him. And the Last time was when Ace and Luffy were targeted by the Marines when we went to the Grandline. Typically when I transform into Fuji, I still have full control, the only time Fuji took over was to protect my pack and not annihilate everything. I have a lot of power in my body, even without Fuji, but when I am distressed, I can lose control of that power and if that happens, I'm like a bomb. Fuji protects me from that while taking care of the threat. With more training the better their bond would be. Another benefit, at least in my world is the soulmate bond. When Fuji was fully merged with me, he manipulated the Soulmate bond to give my soulmate access to his spirit animal. I don't know if that rings true here because I don't know if soulmates are a thing here. They didn't exist in the Grandline. Because of Fuji and how strong my soulmate bond is, Kacchan can transform into Fenrir. That is why there were two wolves earlier. They will have increased senses, Fuji gives me an enhanced sense of smile, sight, and hearing. I also have some of a wolf's instincts like the need for pack. The overwhelming sense to protect what I claim. I can sense when someone is lying and can tell what they are feeling by scent and hearing their heart rate. While it may be extremely hard to get my trust when they get it that person has my trust and loyalty. The only people that can change my mind on loyalties is my pack." Izuku tries to explain and give examples.

Jiraiya contemplates this, "What about the risks? Something this advanced has got to have risks."

Izuku ponders, "I don't know if you would consider it a risk, but with my experience, it hasn't been all that fun. When the two Souls merge the extra power needs to go somewhere."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asks.

"My Wings and Tails, that is Fuji's extra power. Naruto has the whiskers already, but he would start getting Kurama's tails his eyes could change to look more fox-like. Gaara has Shukaku he is a Tanuki, again he already has the darkened eyes, but he too would sprout Shukaku's tail. Their soulmates, depending on their own spirit animal would start to get features of that animal. If Naruto's soulmate's spirit animal is a cat, then he or she will start to get the features of a cat. Kacchan is my Soulmate and our bond is strong enough to use the soulmate ability, he has the markings of Fenrir and Fenrir's ears and Tail. The same would happen to their soulmates once it is strong enough."

Tsunade looks like she ate something sour, "the Jinchruiki are treated badly, everyone believes they are the demons they hold inside them. They are going to be even more hated by the people if they walked around with the extra features."

Izuku growls, "They are not demons! They are not Monsters! It is people like that; that torment the Gods' souls. Tell Me something, before the Spirit Gods were sealed did they ever go out of their ways to harm people? Or did they protect what was theirs?"

"We don't know, the first Biju that was put into a host was the Nine-tails. He was under control to attack the First Hokage. The First Hokage broke the control and the Kyuubi wanted to flee, but he was sealed into Uzumaki Mito. After that, the First Hokage sealed the others and gifted them to the other villages in a show of good faith. He did it to balance the powers of the Five Villages. Ever since the villages have been in multiple wars and the Jinchruiki are trained as weapons." Jiraiya hisses.

"So it's the people's fault that the Spirits are hurting. I won't allow my pack to die. And I won't allow my pack to be hated for something someone else forced on them. I don't give a shit what Kurama did while under the control of someone else. I don't give a fuck that Shukaku rages whenever Gaara is asleep because someone put Shukaku in Gaara hastily and sloppily. I have a seal that will heal Shukaku and stop him from destroying Gaara as he tries to be free. I have a seal that will allow Gaara to sleep peacefully, without fear that Shukaku will kill everyone. The only reason Shukaku is like that is that you made him that way! Kurama didn't attack the leaf of his own free will. He was forced to do it because a pissed-off man child with too much power had a vendetta! I don't care if a bunch of no-bodies hates them, because I love them, and if I have to tell them and show them every day for the rest of my life that they are loved and deserve to live in a world full of it; I fucking will. And if I have to take them away from here to show them that world; nothing you can do will stop me. I am giving you a chance to help me make things right. To help the people you have forced this upon. TO HELP ME SAVE MY PACK!" there are tears and lightning sparking off him in waves. Izuku breathes heavily trying to hold back his emotions.

"The nerd isn't the only one here that would put their life on the line, for Pack," Katsuki states seriously with tears in his eyes. "They might not know us, and really only the Nerd has memories of them. But they are pack. I'd kill my own mother if she ever threatened my pack. I promise you, if they don't get enough love here, we will take them and anyone else that doesn't have their heads clouded by useless hatred and show them what love is. Do you all even care about the other Jinchruiki that have gone missing? Do you ever wonder what happened to them? Did you know that no one from the Sand even tried to save Gaara except his brother and he almost died for it? If Naruto wasn't friends with Gaara would you have risked your Shinobi to save him? Do you think if that was Naruto who was taken that the people of the village would miss him? How long did it take for Naruto to get some recognition? Was it when he was a child begging for someone to care? Was it when he was struggling to try to do a Jutsu he would have never been able to do because he had Jounin level chakra before he was ten? Did anyone ever wonder why he was able to create his own Jutsu to not only change his appearance to a girl but his entire body into one as well, with working female organs? But he didn't know how to do a simple clone until he was almost killed by a teacher and forced to steal something just to learn. Have you ever tried to figure out if he was being sabotaged during his schooling so he would fail? When was it that Anyone saw him as Naruto and not Kyuubi? Was it when he finally graduated after taking down a jounin level threat with an S-ranked Jutsu he learned a handful of minutes before then. He met all the requirements to be promoted, fought off a rouge Sage, protect his teammates, and made it to the final exam just to be told he wasn't getting promoted. He protected your village single-handedly against a fully transformed Shukaku, did anyone even thank him? Then when his friend was hurting and running from that hurt, he tried to get him back, Sasuke put a hole through his chest. Did anyone care? Does anyone even care that Naruto is hurting because his friend, his brother is hurting, and no one is helping him save him? Was there any other reason for him to be held back other than he's a dangerous Jinchruiki? What about his support system, does he have anyone to talk to when the loneliness kicks in? Did he even have someone to help him through his nightmares? Or cook for him as an orphan? Did anyone realize he could escape the Anbu while wearing bright Neon Orange after pulling a prank? Did anyone take the time to actually teach him to read and write before he was sent off to school where he needed to already know how to? Because that is something the parents teach the kids before they are school age. Did you know he was kicked out of the orphanage at 3 years old to live by himself? Not only did he need to learn how to cook, clean, and care for himself, but he also needed to teach himself how to read and write. Can you honestly tell me he has had a good life here?"

"He had the Hokage looking after him." Kakashi told them, "The counsel barred me from adopting him and put me in Anbu. They told me it was because his father was my teacher, that if I were to take him in would put his life in danger. I believed them because I was young and scared. I thought the Hokage was with him."

Katsuki looks at Tsunade, "I don't know anything about running a village, but would it have been possible for the Hokage to spend as much time with a three-year-old Naruto as a toddler needs?"

"No, not while running the village." Tsunade hangs her head in shame.

"Did he have anyone else? Anyone at all?" Katsuki's tears are falling.

"No." Kakashi states, "everyone who was friends with Naruto's parents was barred from contacting him. We would sometimes leave food for him, but we weren't allowed to be seen. Everyone else thought he was the Kyuubi."

"The Hokage would give him monthly allowances to buy food and pay rent," Jiraiya states sadly.

"A three-year-old to pay rent, and not be taken advantage of by people that held a grudge against a toddler. A three-year-old to try and buy healthy foods at a fair price by those same people." Katsuki scoffs he turns to Naruto, "I'm sorry to air out your laundry in this way, but they need to see the damage your village is doing to you. Let me ask you a question, how much did you spend on a loaf of bread?"

Naruto thinks, "um about 40 Ryo."

Tsunade shrieks, "You pay 40 Ryo for bread?! Why didn't you say something?"

Naruto shrinks in on himself, "no one ever asked, and I didn't know. Thought that is what everyone was paying for bread."

Katsuki nods, "What about the quality of the food, was it good?"

Naruto puts his finger to his chin, "The bread was hard, the fruits were mushy and sometimes tasted funny. The Meat smelled, and the milk was chunky after I would bring them home." He shrugged.

Sakura sneers, "You didn't know you were eating rotten food?"

Katsuki snarls, "how was he supposed to know? Naruto did anyone ever cook for you, or show you how to shop for fresh foods?"

Naruto brightens, "The Hokage used to bring me to Ichiraku Ramen when he had the time. And sometimes there was food outside my apartment, it looked different from the stuff I was getting at the store. It tasted different too."

"How often did you get gifts of food?" Katsuki asks.

"On average once a week." Naruto states.

Luffy can't take it anymore and tackles Naruto to the ground crying, "I'm sorry Naruto!" He wraps his limbs around the shocked ninja and holds him tightly. Sobbing into his neck. Shanks and Aizawa are holding back some of the other teens who look ready to take the boy and wrap him up in protection. Izuku is shaking no doubt trying to keep himself from doing something stupid. Katsuki goes to Izuku and puts his hand on his back, Izuku steadies his emotions. He takes a deep breath, "I didn't mean to make you all upset, but you need to realize that everything Kacchan asked is true. It's not just for Naruto, Gaara went through the same thing. All that you call 'Jinchruiki' have gone through this treatment. And there is no one who cares, and now they are all being targeted by the Akatsuki. They are being hunted and have no one to protect them. I'm going to change that because no one deserves to go through that. You guys care about Naruto now, but most of the damage has already been done." He looks at Jiraiya, "help me save them, please."

Jiraiya sighs, "Since Gaara is the Kazekage of another village I can't authorize you to change it. But their Seal master would deny the seal since they wouldn't understand it."

Temari clears her throat, "I overheard something I shouldn't of while we were in Suna healing Kankuro."

"What was it?" Izuku levels his eyes on her.

"The council really don't want Gaara back, even though he is the Kazekage. They only elected him into power so he would be easy to control. He has been trying so hard to gain the trust of the village, but they still see him like a bomb. What if we let Kankuro become Kazekage, or Baki? We can say he didn't make it." Temari shakes. "I mean, I'm his sister and I didn't know half the things that were happening to him. When we were younger, I watched as Shukaku took over and slaughtered a bunch of people. The next morning Gaara didn't even know what happened. Kankuro and I both treated him like he was an unstable monster. It wasn't until Naruto fought him that he told us our own father tried to have him killed. Shukaku took over because Gaara was beaten into unconsciousness."

Katsuki regresses to a growling, snarling teen. Izuku holds him back and looks at Temari to continue. "Can you really show him the love and care he has missed out on? Do you really think he would be happier with you and people who care? Can you really save my brother?"

"Yes." Izuku states as fact. "He's pack"

"Then take him away from here, I'll deal with the fallout. I just want to know that he will be safe, happy, and loved." Temari cries.

"I will do my best, but it is his decision. If he wants to leave, I will take him no questions asked. I eventually need to go back to my home probably in a couple of days or so, so I won't be able to stay with him. But I will give him a way to reach out to us, and I come back whenever I can." Izuku promises.

Temari nods, "I'll convince him to go with you. His life is in danger, his village is in danger. I give you permission to fix his seal."

Jiraiya nods and approaches the Kazekage, Izuku and Katsuki follow. Izuku opens Gaara's cloak and makes the seal visible. Jiraiya gasps, "This is a truly horrendous seal. I can't believe Gaara is still alive with the seal."

Izuku nods, there is nothing he can add to that, so he watches. He watches as Jiraiya draws the seal perfectly over Gaara's belly button. He watches as sand starts to whip around as Shukaku is moved into the new seal. Izuku adds his flames into the seal mixing it with Jiraiya's chakra. He keeps one hand over Gaara's heart to heal the boy and Shukaku as the mass of chakra moves under his fingers. The Sand thrashes around them and Izuku flares his healing around them and Gaara protecting them and answering Shukaku's rage with a calm presence. Izuku and Jiraiya are sweating and breathing harshly with the amount of power, concentration, and control this seal takes. Moving and healing Shukaku until the sand settles. Once the seal is set there is one more thing Izuku needs to do. He gently pushes the sage out of the way, "I need space, Fuji needs to finish the binding." Katsuki grips the sage's arm and pulls him quite a distance away.

Izuku glows a misty green as a giant wolf starts to take his place. The wolf lays down next to Gaara and puts his nose right on the seal. There is a green mist that travels into the seal causing Gaara to glow the same misty green for a few moments. The wolf watches intelligently as he lays there and feeds a portion of his power into the seal. He closes his eyes looking to the rest of the world that he has fallen asleep.

*** Gaara's mind***

Izuku's consciousness is pulled into Gaara's mind. There is nothing but desert as far as the eye could see. There is a child sitting in the sand weeping. Izuku runs, "Gaara…" He stumbles down the hill tears making his vision blurry, "GAARA!"

'…who… is it….?' The thoughts run rampant,

"…. who… are you calling?"

"Whose hand… is this?"

"Oh… it's just my hand again…"

"… my hand… me?"

"Me…"

"…Who … am I…?"

"I'm…"

A hand touches his shoulder, the crying child looks up into the brightest green eyes he has ever seen. He is confused and shocked, he doesn't know this person, but the kid is smiling at him with a wide blinding smile. The green-eyed boy is crying tears for him, and he doesn't know him. He can't put a name to his face. But the kid looks at him radiating happiness as he breathes out "Gaara" like he is something precious. Someone to be cared for, someone to be loved. But that's impossible no one cares, no one loves Gaara. Just sand, his mark even shows him no one cares, just sand… the mark has no color just black sand with a grey sky. Yashamaru once told him he was supposed to be alone, that no one would ever bear the mark he has. That his mark is one of a demon, forever bonded to a demon. But this person, who is this person?

"Who are you?" Gaara asks the stranger.

"I'm Izuku," the kid tells him.

"Izuku?"

"Yea, you looked like you need saving." The kid holds out his hand still smiling at Gaara.

"Did I?" Gaara questions, "Did I need saving?" and that is shocking he has never needed saving before. "No one has saved me before." And that is true, no one has ever cared to save him before.

"Yea, you were in danger, I saved you with my friends." The kid tells him.

"Why? Why did you save me?" Gaara asks.

"Because you are my pack. You are important to me Gaara. You are important to my pack. And you deserve to be loved." The kid explains.

"Loved?" Gaara asks like the world is foreign.

"Here let me show you." The kid waits for his nod. The scenery changes but Gaara is still in his younger body. He is now standing in a forest so different but similar to the forests of Fire Country. "I have someone for you to meet, he needs to talk to you. It will be confusing, but everything else will be explained later when you wake up. Can you trust me Gaara?"

Gaara is too confused and too intrigued to protest as the boy grabs his hand. His hand is warm, full of life. He looks around the forest looking at the trees feeling the life and the spiritual energy wrapping around him. "Am I dead?"

The kid stops, "I won't let me pack Die!"

Gaara nods, he is not dead then. So, where is he? He doesn't have time to think as he is lead to a cave. The boy next to him cheers, "FUJI I brought Gaara"

"Who's Fuji?" Gaara asks.

The kid doesn't answer his question, he doesn't have to. A massive wolf comes out of the den and lays in the Sun. Soaking the warmth, "Sand-pup" the wolf rumbles. Gaara tenses in fear, the last time he saw something like this was when he met Shukaku.

"Gaara, It's ok. I promise. Fuji is nice." The kid tells him.

"Sand-pup before you wake up there are a few things you need to know."

Gaara nods, not sure what to say.

"You were taken by the Akatsuki, they were trying to Extract Shukaku. My pup and his pack saved you. I am sorry you were tormented and hated for my brother being sealed in you. But you need to know it was not his doing it was his seal. We fixed your seal; you will be able to sleep. Shukaku's madness was the result of the seal the new seal is going to heal the both of you. Spirit God and the host should share the same soul, resonate if you would. The host's body can not survive with two Souls, so they need to merge. Shukaku's madness is being healed and his soul is being soothed. I can understand if you don't want anything to do with Shukaku after all the torment he has caused you, but you need to at least know it wasn't his fault. The seal you had on your heart before was causing both of you pain."

"So this new seal is supposed to fix it?" Gaara asks, "Why can't Shukaku be removed from me?"

"Because you would die."

"But everyone would be happy if I died. Isn't that better?" Gaara shouts.

The kid hugs Gaara, "I would be upset if you died. I told you, you are pack. I have no intentions of letting Pack die."

The image changes again, this time he feels like he is floating above the ground looking down on the people gathered. The first thing he sees is the same wolf that is behind him is curled around something on the ground, a green mist flowing into it. The wolf shifts a bit, Gaara can see the wolf is curled around him. The next thing he notices is the people around him cuddling into the wolf and playing with the wolf's fur. The adults keep a watchful eye on the teens as they seek comfort from the wolf. Even Naruto is next to the wolf looking at Gaara with hopeful eyes. "Who are they?"

Izuku smiles and introduces the unknown teens, "That is pack. I have claimed them. I have claimed you. And Naruto, Neji, Lee and Shikamaru."

"Why are they crying?" Gaara asks.

"They are crying for you, you almost died." Izuku smiles sadly, "they are crying because I made it abundantly clear that I was going to save you, from the hatred of the people in your village to the pain of loneliness."

Gaara looks at them wide-eyed, "They care? About me?"

Izuku smiles and snaps his fingers suddenly a memory plays for just a few moments ago.

"So it's the people's fault that the Spirits are hurting. I won't allow my pack to die. And I won't allow my pack to be hated for something someone else forced on them. I don't give a shit what Kurama did while under the control of someone else. I don't give a fuck that Shukaku rages whenever Gaara is asleep because someone put Shukaku in Gaara hastily and sloppily. I have a seal that will heal Shukaku and stop him from destroying Gaara as he tries to be free. I have a seal that will allow Gaara to sleep peacefully, without fear that Shukaku will kill everyone. The only reason Shukaku is like that is that you made him that way! Kurama didn't attack the leaf of his own free will. He was forced to do it because a pissed-off man child with too much power had a vendetta! I don't care if a bunch of no-bodies hates them, because I love them, and if I have to tell them and show them every day for the rest of my life that they are loved and deserve to live in a world full of it; I fucking will. And if I have to take them away from here to show them that world; nothing you can do will stop me. I am giving you a chance to help me make things right. To help the people you have forced this upon. TO HELP ME SAVE MY PACK!" there are tears and lightning sparking off him in waves. Izuku breathes heavily trying to hold back his emotions.

Gaara watches the memory in shock as an older version of the kid in front of him; bellows and cries for him. Sheds tears for Gaara and his treatment. And something in Gaara's chest aches but not unpleasantly.

"The nerd isn't the only one here that would put their life on the line, for Pack," Katsuki states seriously with tears in his eyes. "They might not know us, and really only the Nerd has memories of them. But they are pack. I'd kill my own mother if she ever threatened my pack. I promise you, if they don't get enough love here, we will take them and anyone else that doesn't have their heads clouded by useless hatred and show them what love is. Do you all even care about the other Jinchruiki that have gone missing? Do you ever wonder what happened to them? Did you know that no one from the Sand even tried to save Gaara except his brother and he almost died for it? If Naruto wasn't friends with Gaara would you have risked your Shinobi to save him? Do you think if that was Naruto who was taken that the people of the village would miss him? How long did it take for Naruto to get some recognition? Was it when he was a child begging for someone to care? Was it when he was struggling to try to do a Jutsu he would have never been able to do because he had Jounin level chakra before he was ten? Did anyone ever wonder why he was able to create his own Jutsu to not only change his appearance to a girl but his entire body into as well, with working female organs? But he didn't know how to do a simple clone until he was almost killed by a teacher and forced to steal something just to learn. Have you ever tried to figure out if he was being sabotaged during his schooling so he would fail? When was it that Anyone saw him as Naruto and not Kyuubi? Was it when he finally graduated after taking down a jounin level threat with an S-ranked Jutsu he learned a handful of minutes before then. He met all the requirements to be promoted, fought off a rouge Sage, protect his teammates, and made it to the final exam just to be told he wasn't getting promoted. He protected your village single-handedly against a fully transformed Shukaku, did anyone even thank him? Then when his friend was hurting and running from that hurt, he tried to get him back, Sasuke put a hole through his chest. Did anyone care? Does anyone even care that Naruto is hurting because his friend, his brother is hurting, and no one is helping him save him? Was there any other reason for him to be held back other than he's a dangerous Jinchruiki? What about his support system, does he have anyone to talk to when the loneliness kicks in? Did he ever have someone to help him through his nightmares? Or cook for him as an orphan? Did anyone realize he could escape the Anbu while wearing bright Neon Orange after pulling a prank? Did anyone take the time to actually teach him to read and write before he was sent off to school where he needed to already know how to? Because that is something the parents teach the kids before they are school age. Did you know he was kicked out of the orphanage at 3 years old to live by himself? Not only did he need to learn how to cook, clean, and care for himself, but he also needed to teach himself how to read and write. Can you honestly tell me he has had a good life here?"

How do these teens know what Gaara and Naruto have been through? Why does the ash blonde look angry on his behalf. On Naruto's behalf. The teen is scolding the Hokage for the sake of them. It is incredible and touching, brings happy tears to his face.

Jiraiya sighs, "Since Gaara is the Kazekage of another village I can't authorize you to change it. But their Seal master would deny the seal since they wouldn't understand it."

Temari clears her throat, "I overheard something I shouldn't of while we were in Suna healing Kankuro."

"What was it?" Izuku levels his eyes on her.

"The council really don't want Gaara back, even though he is the Kazekage. They only elected him into power so he would be easy to control. He has been trying so hard to gain the trust of the village, but they still see him as a bomb. What if we let Kankuro become Kazekage, or Baki? We can say he didn't make it." Temari shakes. "I mean, I'm his sister and I didn't know half the things that were happening to him. When we were younger, I watched as Shukaku took over a slaughtered a bunch of people. The next morning Gaara didn't even know what happened. Me and Kankuro both treated him like he was an unstable monster. It wasn't until Naruto fought him that he told us our own father tried to have him killed. Shukaku took over because Gaara was beaten into unconsciousness."

Katsuki regresses to a growling, snarling teen. Izuku holds him back and looks at Temari to continue. "Can you really show him the love and care he has missed out on? Do you really think he would be happier with you and people who care? Can you really save my brother?"

"Yes." Izuku states as fact. "He's pack."

"Then take him away from here, I'll deal with the fallout. I just want to know that he will be safe, happy, and loved." Temari cries.

"I will do my best, but it is his decision. If he wants to leave, I will take him no questions asked. I eventually need to go back to my home probably in a couple of days or so, so I won't be able to stay with him. But I will give him a way to reach out to us, and I come back whenever I can." Izuku promises.

Temari nods, "I'll convince him to go with you. His life is in danger, his village is in danger. I give you permission to fix his seal."

Temari wants him to go? Is this for his own good, or for her own comfort? But Temari seems so sad, regretful, and distressed. She's not doing this to make herself happy she is doing the for Gaara's own happiness and Safety. And Izuku seems so confident and sure that he can save Gaara. And Gaara really wants to experience having friends, support, and love. He only wanted to be Kazekage to be someone that is needed. But what about being wanted. He might be needed but has he ever been wanted? Has he ever been cared for like this? He can't remember.

"If you need to think about it, or if you can't trust us yet. I understand, I will stay as long as I can to convince you." Izuku smiles.

"I'll talk to my sister, if she really thinks I should go then I'll consider it." Gaara decides.

"Ok, are you ready to wake up and meet everyone?" Izuku asks.

"Yeah," Gaara nods. He is engulfed in green flames and they are so warm and soothing and nice. And Gaara really never wants to leave this warmth.

The next time Gaara opens his eyes he can feel a weight on his chest. He looks down slightly dazed, the wolf yips at him and pops out of sight. In the wolf place, hugging him tightly is the green-eyed teen. The teen sobs, "Gaara!" into his chest. And Gaara is still a bit stiff but he feels light, he doesn't hear Shukaku calling for blood, instead, he hears an almost purring sound; but he is not sure. Gaara looks around well as much as he can while his arms are full of a sobbing teen. There is an ash blond hovering closely observing Gaara a fond look in his eyes. There are two other ravens and a blonde hovering close too with a Red-haired, Bright- blonde, pink-haired girl, and a Red-and White-haired teen hovering just behind them. They all smile warm relieved smiles at the newly awoken Gaara. Even the two unknown adults have a relieved air around them as they smile warmly. Naruto touches his other shoulder, looking at him full of fond relief, his eyes are a bright sky blue, and happy to see Gaara, a soft, "Gaara," escapes the other's lips.

Eventually, the Ash-blonde removes the green-eyed clingy, crying teen. He bops the sobbing boy over the head. The teen looks at his attacker with wide tear-filled eyes, "Ow, Kacchan." He dramatically rubs the spot on the top of his head. But there is a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

The newly named Kacchan smirks, "Nerd, you were drowning Gaara in your tears, we just saved him, and you're trying to kill him with tears."

Izuku's eyes widen in panic and he starts to mutter his apologies with a pouting, "but Kacchan, he needs hugs." The teen whines.

Kacchan smirks wider, "yea hugs, not being drowned by tears."

"But I'm so happy." Izuku bursts into tears again. Gaara wants to question it but none of the others seem concerned.

Kacchan pulls the crying teen into a hug, he rubs his back, "such a cry baby."

Izuku sniffles finally seeming to get his tears under control, "I'm sorry." He wipes his cheeks dry. "I suppose I should introduce you to everyone huh?"

Gaara nods dumbly because he doesn't know what to do right now. But Izuku smiles at him fondly.

Izuku puts his arm around the Ash blondes Shoulders, "This meanie is Kacchan."

A pout forms on his face, "Nerd! How many times do I need to tell you not to introduce me as Kacchan!"

"What else am I supposed to call you, I call you Kacchan, so you are Kacchan," Izuku shouts back.

Katsuki smirks in challenge, "What if everyone wanted to call me Kacchan?"

"I'll kill them" something dangerous and possessive flashes in Izuku's eyes.

"Right" Katsuki sighs like this is the millionth time having the conversation, "then stop introducing me like that to pack."

Izuku's eyes widen with regret, "OH no, Kacchan. What do I do?"

"Idiot, Nerd" Katsuki huffs and turns his piercing red eyes on Gaara, "I'm Katsuki, don't call me Kacchan only this nerd can call me that."

Gaara nods. "Katsuki"

Izuku chuckles, "These two ravens are Ace and Luffy." The two introduced teens raise their hands as they are introduced. "This one is Shoto, he is Ace's match, and Kirishima is Luffy's match. Next is Denki and the female is Ashido. Last but not least is Sabo"

Gaara's heart clenches as he makes eye contact with the teen. The teen's eyes widen, and he hisses as he closes his eyes. He pulls the attention of the rest of the group. Izuku hovers, "Oh no Sabo, did you get injured earlier? Did I not heal you enough? I'm sorry I was trying to make sure I had enough healing left for Gaara."

Sabo shakes his head, "My back is on fire," he hisses again, "Can you take a look at it?"

Izuku's eyes change to calculating, "yea, I'll take a look. Remove your shirt."

Sabo turns around, the other packmates surround him, all curious. He removes his shirt, Izuku gasps as right before his eyes a black desert appears. He pulls his phone out and snaps a picture of it. There are several gasps behind them and Izuku turns around a protectiveness in his eyes. He notices Gaara has a scared and confused look on his face as he clutches his chest over his heart. He looks small hunched on himself. There is a slight look of recognition in the wide-blown eyes, Izuku can already piece together what is happening. He will talk to Gaara later about it in private. He thinks he will have to repair the mental damage Gaara had to go through before he is ready to interact with his soulmate. He also needs to make sure Gaara and Sabo know what happens when the bond is rejected. He needs to talk to someone here to know the Soulmate laws here. Are the consequences the same for rejecting the bond?

He watches as Katsuki sits with Gaara, engaging the boy in Conversation, Kacchan is so smart he probably already figured it out. He is going to offer his brand of comfort. Usually in the form of a challenge. He smiles as he walks over to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, can I ask you a question?" Izuku asks.

Kakashi looks up from his book, "go for it."

"Well, it's a few things really, um do soulmates exist here?" Izuku asks.

"Yes, Chakra is connected to the soul, and that soul resonates better with their match," Kakashi explains.

"Ok, what happens to a rejected soulmate?" Izuku's eyes flash protectively.

"Not really sure, there was only one instance in the leaf that had a rejected soulmate. In the record, it caused extreme pain and suffering. The pair died in battle young, so we are unsure if that was a result of rejection or war." Kakashi tries to explain.

"Ahh, ok. Soulmate bonds in my world are similar, when the bond is rejected it causes the rejected to get depressed, usually the rejected will kill themselves after about a month of Agony." Izuku states solemnly.

"Why do you ask?" Kakashi side-eyes him.

"I have a hunch that a packmates Soulmate is in this world, if worst comes to worst, I need to know what will happen. I can't leave a packmate here in this world, and there is no guarantee that his soulmate will come to my world. So I need to make sure they know what else is at stake here." Izuku tells.

Kakashi falls silent, "It's Gaara, isn't it?"

"Yea," Izuku states, "Gaara is terrified I sense it in him, he has been taught that no one loves him, that no one will care about him. If his mark is a match to my packmates then he was probably convinced that he was meant to be alone." Izuku pulls out his phone and shows Kakashi the picture. "A black Desert with a grey sky on a child that was called Gaara of the Desert. He is scared and when people are scared they lash out. He probably didn't have anyone tell him that his soulmate would want him, they probably told him he didn't have one, or that his soulmate was the desert itself."

"I see," Kakashi hums. "The concept is the same for Naruto. His mark is a fox in the forest. He could see it as his soulmate is the village. I have only glimpsed at it once or twice on missions. He usually tries to hide it. Soulmate marks are supposed to lead you to your match. Some are hard to interpret, some people never meet their soulmates. Now that we know our soulmates could be on another world makes it harder to understand it."

"Have you ever found your soulmate Kakashi?" Izuku questions.

He shakes his head, "I'm not sure, I thought I knew once because my mark is my Sharingan with a red glow and a red pupil. But all the Uchiha except 2 are dead and my mark didn't turn gray. I have seen Itachi's mark, his is angel wings on blue fire with his Sharingan in the middle. And I have seen Sasuke's mark it's not a match. My best friend gave me his Sharingan before he died in battle. I've seen his mark as well it wasn't a match either. So either there is another Uchiha somewhere or I'm wrong."

Izuku has seen Kakashi's mark before, after a pretty gruesome mission Shota needed to be healed. His clothes were mostly torn to shreds hanging on by threads. On his shoulder is the Sharingan with a red glow. "Do you want to find them?" because that is the real question here. If someone never actively looks for their soulmate, you won't reject the bond, and no one would die. Some people never want to be with their fated, but also don't want to live with the guilt of driving their mate to Suicide. Most heroes never look for their matches because they are scared, they could be a villain or a civilian.

Kakashi has a thoughtful furrow to his brow, "I guess, it would be nice to be around someone who understands me. I guess I wouldn't reject the bond if I found it."

"That's good, can't have pack rejecting pack," Izuku states knowingly.

"Pack rejecting pack?" Kakashi repeats, there is hope shining in his visible eye, "You know who it is?"

"Yea, I've seen the mark you described to me. It's your Mangekyo Sharingan right?" Izuku smiles looking at his teachers, "I won't do anything with the knowledge if you aren't ready to know it would do more harm than good."

Kakashi nods, "Tell me, is he here?"

Izuku nods but doesn't offer anything else, "Soulmate or not pack comes first, I have already claimed you but that is a future version of you. He is my older brother figure so, please be gentle with him."

Kakashi nods.

"Good," Izuku smiles, "I'm gonna check on Gaara, Kacchan is not good with emotions." It is said completely fond.

"Wait," Kakashi reaches, Izuku turns back to him, "How long have you known your soulmate?"

"Over a decade, I'm sixteen. I met Kacchan when I was too young to form proper memories. We have known we're a match since we were 5." Izuku states. "But even before our marks showed up, we already promised to be together forever. At the time it was as Hero partners, but still, that promise has not changed." Izuku walks off, leaving Kakashi in thought. He walks over to Naruto and Gaara, "how much do you know about Soulmate bonds?"

Naruto scrunches his face in shock, "Not much, no one really told me anything."

The pink-haired girl scoffs, "Idiot, we went over the soulmate marks in class. Some of us even shown our marks."

Naruto's face falls, "I was banned from that class." It's almost a whisper but Izuku and Katsuki hear it.

Izuku growls, "Come here Naruto."

Naruto gulps and Izuku pushes him to sit with Gaara, Izuku seethes for a moment. "Ok, I am going to give you both a rundown on Soulmate rules and norms."

Both the boys nod their heads, "okay."

"Great, Sabo come here." Izuku smiles ferally, "First thing if you have a mark, it matches someone else. Secondly, Soulmate bonds do not mean romantic bonds, a soulmate is someone who supports you, trusts you, communicates with you. They comfort you when you are upset, and they seek you out when they are upset. You can trust your soulmate with all your secrets, and they can trust you. Some bonds are romantic from the beginning, sometimes they start as friends and eventually they become romantic. Sometimes they are completely platonic or like really close friends." Izuku pauses, "Thirdly, you can be matched to a guy or a girl, or you can have multiple soulmates the most I have ever seen is two soulmates for one person. If your soulmate's a guy that doesn't mean you are Gay, it just means that guy will understand you better than anyone else. If you are gay and your soulmate is a girl, the same thing applies. Also, only the soulmate can touch the mark, or extreme pain will radiate through your body. Lastly, a rejected bond will eventually kill the rejected soulmate, the pain and agony are too much to bear and the rejected soulmate will more often than not kill themselves." He sees panic on both Naruto's and Gaara's faces. Izuku softens his face, "The mark is supposed to give you clues to who your soulmates are. I'd show you mine, but my wings cover it."

"I'll do it, Nerd" Katsuki huffs next to him.

Izuku nods at him gratefully, "Thanks Kacchan."

Katsuki takes his shirt off, he turns around to show his back to the three sitting there. Izuku skims his fingers along the edges of the mark humming, Katsuki shivers. Izuku points out what part represents him. Obviously the giant ten-tailed wolf. Then he points out the parts that represent Kacchan. The explosive star. "Sometimes the marks are pretty straightforward. Ours is obvious because my wolf is surrounded by his explosions." He removes his fingers from Katsuki's back. "Sometimes the marks are not very clear. Ace?"

Ace shares a look with Shoto receiving a small smile and nod. Shoto is so sweet, always looking to help potential packmates. "Yea, I'm coming." He walks to the other side of Izuku and takes his tank top off.

Izuku points to the Sun shape of the mark, "This part that looks like a sun represents Ace. The inside the yin and yang part represents his soulmate has an ice and fire ability. The circles are another clue, they are the colors of his soulmate's eyes. Once you know who the soulmate is the marks seem obvious. We couldn't figure it out before because not many people in our world have multiple powers. The point is every detail needs to be studied, sometimes you can find your representation and can't see anything else but color. I've seen red mountains before or a blue Sun. Sometimes your soulmate has similar powers to you. You and your match could both be fire users, but you use orange flames and your mate uses blue flames. Your soulmate mark would appear to be a blue Sun. Or a bunny in a field could have a different animal as a shadow. Sometimes you need an unbiased eye to look at it and point out details that you may have missed." Izuku rambles.

Naruto looks shaky, "So you could look at my mark and give me another clue?"

Gaara looks wide-eyed, "just because my mark is black and gray, it doesn't mean I'm alone?"

Izuku smiles at the two, "Naruto, show your mark to someone you trust. And Gaara is your entire mark solid black or does it have flecks of grey and silver?"

Naruto nods, and Gaara looks thoughtful, "I haven't looked at it in a while, but the desert is black with a gray sky."

Izuku smiles fondly at Gaara, "Have you ever heard of black sands?" Izuku pulls out his phone and types something in the search bar. He shows the phone to Gaara, "This is a beach in my world that has natural black sand. It is caused by Volcanic minerals because of their dark colors."

"The third Kazekage used Iron sand, but he has been dead for a long time." Gaara stated seriously, "There is no one else in this world that uses Iron sand."

Izuku smirks, "Not here, but have you thought that maybe your mark might match someone from my world."

"That's Insane!" The pink female screeches, "A soulmate is someone you are destined to meet in your life. If they are in another world then they were not meant to meet in the first place."

Izuku ignores the banshee in favor of giving Gaara a knowing look, "What if your soulmate is in my world, a world that isn't blinded by hatred for something you didn't do? What if I was supposed to come here and save you from this hatred? What if I could bet my life that your soulmate wouldn't reject you because of what is sealed in you? Would you take that bet? I am not saying your Soulmate, or you would want anything romantic, but what is the harm in making a new friend? What if your soulmate is closer than you think?" Izuku watches Gaara intently, he see's the teen's eyes flit toward Sabo but looks away just as fast. "Gaara, I can promise you; your soulmate would not reject you. Will you let me help you find him?"

Gaara looks down, unsure, "can I think about it?"

Izuku smiles softly, "of course, there is no pressure."

Naruto fidgets in excitement, "Can you help me?"

Izuku looks at Naruto, "are you sure you want my help? Not someone you know better?"

Naruto hums, "you told me unbiased eyes. The others in the Academy all got help identifying their marks. But for some reason, the village doesn't want me to know who my match is."

Izuku flashes a dangerous look to the adults, they look guilty. He turns back to Naruto, "sure I'll take a look at it for you."

Naruto smiles widely, "Ok, thank you. Izuku" he stands up and brushes the dirt off his pants. He takes his jacket off and turns around. He lifts the bottom of his shirt to his neck and presents his mark to Izuku. He feels nervous and anxious and excited he feels a buzzing under his skin.

Izuku studies the mark with a keen eye and enhanced by wolf vision. He takes in the trees, nothing out of the ordinary there, he moves on skimming the ground for anything that doesn't grow in the forest. He looks at the small fox carefully. The fox is definitely Kurama, he looks at the fox's eyes to see if they are different from Kurama's. They are not. Finally, he studies the long distorted Shadow the fox casts. "interesting" Izuku mutters. He studies the shadow a bit longer, finally, it clicks, "it's not a fox." He snaps a picture. "Ok, Naruto I have a few things to point out."

Naruto lets his shirt fall, "Really, did you find something?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, because I could be nothing." Izuku starts, "Let's go somewhere else." He pulls Naruto toward the adults. He doesn't know why they won't let him find his soulmate, but they are going to help him figure it out. Whatever twisted views the leaf village people have about Naruto having a soulmate can jump off a cliff for all he cares. "Now the first thing I noticed is the shadow is distorted, stretched. The second thing I noticed is the Shadow is not a fox."

"It's a deer." Shikaku grumbles, "Right?"

Izuku studies him, "Yea, it's a deer"

"Can I see it?" Shikaku asks.

Naruto nods, he goes to lift his shirt but is stopped by Izuku, "I took a picture of it." He holds out his phone to the older man.

"Naruto," the man sighs, "This forest is the Nara forest. Not the Forest that grows around the village. Where your fox is standing is actually the location of the Nara Shrine. This means your soulmate is in the direct line of the clan head. The stretched Shadow is our Shadow manipulation ability. And the Deer is our summons. There is only one person it can be." He sighs, "So troublesome."

"But I don't get it, isn't he matched to Temari?" Naruto asks flustered.

"No, Shika is not my match." Temari comes up beside them. "My mark is a fan made of kunai."

"So he could really? But… he is barely my friend… I mean we used to hang out all the time in the academy. And I was the first person he came to on his first Chunin mission. We sometimes get ramen together. But he thinks I'm troublesome." Naruto rants because he doesn't understand.

Shikaku drops to a knee, "I'm gonna tell you something Shikamaru told me in confidence. After you left with Jiraiya to train Shikamaru actually asked me for training. The Laziest Person in the village asked me for training. I asked him 'why?' Do you want to know his response?"

Naruto nods, he doesn't trust his voice.

Shikaku smiles, "He told me, you wouldn't like it if you found out he was being lazy. He also said that If you are going to be someone great, you need a smarter mind as your right hand. He said he was going to be that right hand. Sure he finds you troublesome but waking up is troublesome to him."

Naruto looks like he is about to cry, "He really said all that? But does he know about it?" he touches his stomach. "When he finds out? What will happen?" Fear floods in his eyes.

Shikaku looks at his son's soulmate in sympathy, "He already knows, during the Chunin exams he found out. He asked me for a confirmation shortly after that. He already knew you are the host to Kurama before he asked me to train him. I'm sure he already knows you're his Match."

Naruto gapes, "Then why didn't he tell me?"

Shikaku laughs, "probably laziness is what he would say. But I would see him staring out into the forest for long periods of time so he must have been thinking a lot about it. He knows your main focus is finding Sasuke, he doesn't want to put pressure on you while your mind is on a mission. Tell me Naruto would you have believed him if he said he's your match? Or would you have thought it was a joke? And then how would you feel if you accidentally brushed off a soulmate bond that would lead to rejection?"

Naruto's eyes widen in panic, "I know myself well enough to know that it is exactly what I would have done. And, and I would never forgive myself if I did that. All my life people have told me my mark was to the village, or it's the mark of a demon "the Fox belongs in the leaf" is what people would say. Jiji said it could mean I needed to be loyal to the village and become its Hokage. But everyone has lied to me about everything! I'm the Son of the fourth and people told me I was a clanless, unwanted orphan. The village would call me a murderer and beat me behind the pubs. They would call me a demon and monster and expect me to know why. I didn't find out until I graduated, I had no idea why people hated me, why people beat me, or why I had spent an entire month's wages on a week of rotten food. Why would I have believed anyone who would tell me they were my soulmate? And now I know the truth about things, and it changes nothing, I'm still a clanless, unwanted orphan. I'm still the holder of Kurama. The village still hates me. The only thing that might change is I might be able to have my soulmate. But I'm scared because no matter what I do he is in Danger. The Akatsuki is after me, the village hates me, fuck I'm still a Genin even though I'm stronger than most people in the village. And I can't not be with him because that would kill him too. So what the fuck am I supposed to do?" he breaks his rant with a choked sob.

Shikaku thinks about everything, "Kakashi, Send Pakun to get Shikamaru." Kakashi performs the hand seals to summon the pug. The pug looks incredibly bored.

"Pakun, can you grab Shikamaru and bring him here" Kakashi orders, "Make sure you bring him here alone."

Shikaku adds, "Tell him I found the golden fox in the forest."

"Anything else?" The pug asks.

"No, thank you Pakun." Kakashi smiles at his pug.

The dog runs off. Shikaku sighs, "troublesome" he focuses on the simmering rage he can feel building among the others, mostly coming from Izuku and Katsuki. "There is something else I need to tell you, Naruto."

Naruto looks at him in curiosity, "What is it?"

"This is information I just learned today, but your Mother Kushina Uzumaki had a brother. We believed her brother was killed during the fall of Whirlpool village. But it has come to my attention that you have a living uncle." Shikaku informs.

"Really? Who?" Naruto stammers.

"Me." The red-haired man states, "I don't have many memories from my time here, I hid in a barrel and then ended up stranded on an unknown Island. I don't even remember my own name; I go by Shanks now. I was taken in by a pirate named Roger and Sailed the Grandline for over a decade, after that I ended up in Japan. I didn't know you existed until today."

Naruto looks at the Adults, "Why are you telling me this?"

Tsunade looks over at Naruto and the other teens hovering, "I am putting you on an extended mission."

Naruto's eyes light up "Really Baa-Chan?"

Tsunade sighs, "While you were on this mission, I had a meeting with the Elders of the Leaf. They advised me to put high ranking Shinobi on your team, decrease the number of missions you can take, and restrict your movements."

Izuku growls, "By making him a prisoner!"

Tsunade nods, "I'm not finished brat… if I follow their advice, they will choose who will be on your guard. They have already informed me that Danzo will choose your guard. Danzo has been trying to get you into the root program before you went into the Academy. The Third denied him from taking you, and then when you graduated you were placed on Kakashi's team to protect you from Danzo. Now, with the Third Dead, and the Akatsuki after you, the counsel is siding with Danzo to put you in the root. I am afraid; even my power as the Fifth Hokage won't be enough to stop them."

"I…" Naruto tries to interrupt.

Tsunade flashes him a hopeless look, "so it leaves me with 3 options, the first option is to follow their advice." Izuku growls but doesn't say anything. "The second is to banish you to protect the leaf" again Izuku growls. "Or my choice is sending you on a long-term mission."

"What would this mission be Lady Tsunade?" Shikaku asks.

"A diplomatic mission, the council will be in a Tizzy about it, but it will keep you out of Akatsuki's hands. You will have trusted protection in the forms of Team Gai, Kakashi, and Shikamaru. Also, it will keep you far out of Danzo's hands." Tsunade tells.

"For how long?" Shikaku asks.

"Indefinitely" Tsunade sighs, "While Izuku and Jiraiya were working on Gaara's seal I have had the opportunity to review your scroll." She looks at Izuku, "How much of your visions have come true so far?"

"All of them" Izuku states sadly.

"And the destruction of this world, that will happen? There is nothing we can do to stop it?" Tsunade questions.

"From my vision, my understanding is it has already begun. The Calamity has been pulling the strings on this world since before the Warring Clans Era. The Calamity was the reason for the Senju and Uchiha wars. It was responsible for Izuna's death that led Madara to madness. The fall of the Uchiha, the fall of the Uzumaki. They have been sucking the Chakra out of the world since the sages time. In my vision there is a war, Naruto, Kakashi, Gaara, and Sasuke head the war by banding all of the world's shinobi into one massive army. Madara the Gedo Statue, and the residual spirit energies of the Spirit Gods combine to resurrect the moon goddess. Within an hour she manages to drain the world of its Chakra, killing everyone. Even if there was a way to stop her, the damage is already done. Her hour here will drain thousands of years of chakra out of the planet. 2 years after the war, shinobi with average reserves will not be able to form simple Jutsu without dying. 4 years later there will be no more live births. And 10 years after the war even the Spirit Gods will not be able to form chakra. The trees will die, the soil won't grow crops anymore. Animals will die, and eventually everyone else." Izuku explains sadly.

"So what do we do? What can we do?" Gai questions.

"I have visions of you all being able to thrive in my world, there is a war coming, the Grandline falls first, then the elemental nations. It hasn't started yet in my world, and in my visions, I need people from the Grandline, and people from the Elemental Nations to stand a chance. I'm trying to save everyone I can, trying to give everyone a chance for a world at peace. And I know I won't be able to save everyone, not by myself. And even with everyone's help, people are still going to die. And I don't know what to do, I'm a hero; a hero who saves people. A hero who is supposed to make people feel safe, and make sure they get home to their families. I've been training to be a hero since I was five and a hero is not someone who chooses who to save, but I'm only one person and I have three worlds on my shoulders. I just don't know what to do. Every strategy, every plan I have to save the other worlds nothing changes. I try to save the Grandline, most of us die. Then we try to save the Elemental Nations, even more of us die. By the time the calamities attack my world, there are not enough people left to save it. If we were in the Grandline 900 years ago we could have stopped them. If we were here during Sage's era, we could have stopped them. The calamities have taken too much power out of the Grandline and here that with the power we have now, doesn't matter." Izuku trails off sadly with a touch of guilt.

Shikaku and Inochi have witnessed this and they can't help but agree from a strategist standpoint. "The logical choice is to save who you can and pick the battlefield with the most advantage." Shikaku states. He turns to Tsunade, "if there is a chance to save even a fraction of us, then we should take it."

"Save us from what?" A new voice sighs.

Shikaku eyes his son, "A few things Shikamaru. First I need you to look at this scroll and tell me what you think we should do."

Shikamaru eyes the scroll, then eyes the strangers, "I take it this scroll is going to explain why there are a bunch of people here?" Shikamaru sighs, "Troublesome" he takes the scroll and cracks it open. As he reads Naruto hovers close by, he knows better than to distract the lazy genius. But he wants to be close to his soulmate. It takes several minutes before Shikamaru sighs again. He crouches and puts his hands in his thinking pose. He runs through all the information he got from the scroll, plus the notebooks of power breakdowns, he sighs again, "It's troublesome but I think strategically we follow the scroll. It makes no sense to save a dying world when we have a chance to thrive and start over. A chance where there are no past grudges to lead to future wars. If we do nothing we die, if we stay and fight, we die. Our only chance for survival is to leave and pick the battlefield." He looks at his father, "but you have already decided that, haven't you? So why don't you tell me the real reason why you called me out here."

"I am sending you on a long-term mission, possibly indefinitely," Tsunade informs.

"Diplomatic?" Shikamaru questions.

She looks at Izuku, "Who else do you need?"

Izuku ponders, "for now, the other holders I need to fix their seals and make sure they are safe. So I'll need Jiraiya for that. I need Sasuke and Itachi."

"Itachi? As in Itachi Uchiha? The Clan murderer?" Shikamaru gasps.

"HE is not a clan murderer!" Izuku growls, "First, Danzo staged the entire Coup so the third would sign off on an extermination order. Secondly, he did this so he could get the Sharingan and Sasuke. If you don't believe me or need proof check his bandaged eye, he has Shisui's Sharingan and he has about 10 implanted in his right arm. Thirdly, Itachi was forced to do it because Danzo was going to send root to exterminate every Uchiha including Sasuke. The third then told Itachi he was to be a plant in the Akatsuki. So no Itachi is not a murder, that is all a lie the only way he could have gotten into the Akatsuki was to take the blame and make it seem like he snapped and killed his clan. Think about this, if Itachi really did want to test his strength why didn't he attack the Hokage or the Hyuga Clan who would have been a decent match for a rouge Uchiha. Why did he spare his own brother but killed his girlfriend and parents? He was a pacifist who was backed into a corner and ordered to kill his own family at the age of 11. He did it to make sure Sasuke lived."

"Then how do we stop Sasuke from trying to kill him?" Kakashi asks.

"I am going to tell him the truth, Itachi is going to tell him the truth. I am going to heal Itachi's eyes. Itachi wants Sasuke to kill him to give Sasuke his eyes. I think I know a way to help both of them. The Mangekyo Sharingan will eventually lead to blindness unless traded with another Mangekyo Sharingan. I am going to help Sasuke get his Mangekyo Sharingan in a controlled way." Izuku explains.

"Then you're going to have them trade eyes?" Shikamaru asks.

"Yes exactly." Izuku nods. "I can also heal the part of Sasuke's soul that is plagued by revenge. Also, his curse mark plays a huge role in it, I am going to purge it."

"You can do that?" Jiraiya asks.

"Yes, the curse mark is just a piece of Orochimaru's soul. Fuji is the God of Souls; I can simply isolate the part that is not Sasuke's and destroy it." Izuku states simply.

"How are we going to find him?" Naruto asks.

"Does anyone have anything that might still have Sasuke's scent on it?" Izuku asks.

Naruto pulls out a headband that has the leaf symbol scratched out, "will this work?"

Izuku takes it he sniffs the headband; Naruto's scent is all over it. But there is a hint of something underneath that, "it's faint but I smell campfire in a thunderstorm." He looks at Kakashi, "Is that Sasuke's scent?" Kakashi nods amazed, after a week Kakashi couldn't smell any trace of Sasuke on the headband. "Where was he last seen? We should start there that is where the trail would be the strongest."

"The Hidden Grass Village" Kakashi states, "he was seen near the Village about two months ago."

"Then we should head there, I can fly most of the distance, then once I pick up his trail, we can follow him on the ground. We will need to get him away from Orochimaru, long enough for me to destroy the curse mark. Then I am going to talk to him." Izuku starts to plan.

"It's hard to believe you are not from here when you know so much." Kakashi sighs.

Izuku smiles innocently, he turns to Gaara and Temari, "So Gaara, are you coming with me?"

Gaara hesitates, "My sister believes I should leave the Sand since the council doesn't want me back. I think I should listen to her advice and be with people who care about me." Gaara pauses, "So I will join you and see for myself what it means to be cared for."

Izuku smiles warmly, "Of course Gaara."

Tsunade clears her throat, "from now on Team Kakashi is Kakashi, Naruto, and Shikamaru."

"What about Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asks.

Izuku growls in his chest going mostly unheard. Kakashi looks over as Tsunade basically having a silent conversation. Tsunade nods, "She is going to continue her medic training for this. I am going to tell the council that you are on another training mission in a remote location with Jiraiya and Kakashi to help you tame the fox."

"They would be satisfied knowing Kakashi's Sharingan can keep the fox at bay, Jiraiya is the seal master. And Team Gai would be the protection from the Akatsuki. Shikamaru will be there to write detailed progress reports to send back." Shikaku finishes.

"Makes sense," Izuku sighs. "Now that we have a plan we should head out."

Kakashi nods, "yea we can get an inn outside of Grass"

Izuku nods and starts to shift again. Katsuki hops on and the others follow. Naruto gives Tsunade a hug. A lot has happened today, and Naruto has a lot of questions he needs to be answered. Does his uncle actually want anything to do with him? What is the pack going to be like? Are they really going to save Sasuke? What is this other world going to be like? Are they going to hate him? Does Shikamaru actually want to be soulmates with him? Is he going to be rejected? What is going to happen to his precious people in the Leaf? Should he ask Kakashi about his dad? Would his dad be proud of him? Can he really work with Kurama and be partners like Izuku and Fuji? If this world is going to end does that mean his dream to be Hokage ends too? Does he still want to be Hokage?

All these thoughts are in his head, he is not too sure how to process any of this. But Izuku looked at him like he was something precious. Katsuki knew so much about his life, he was angry for Naruto not because of Naruto, and that is not something he experienced before. The people in the other world won't know he is the Kyuubi's Jinchruiki so he shouldn't be hated for that. And if Shikaku was right and Shikamaru already knows they match maybe during this mission they can find out what they want from it. The other members of the pack seem friendly enough, the red-and-white-haired teen reminds Naruto of Gaara. In the way of quiet power and shyness. Luffy and the bright blond seem to be like him in personality so he is sure they would get along. Izuku reminds him of a not so lazy Shikamaru. The Ash blond sort of reminds him of a mix between Neji, and Sasuke. In the way, he is confident in his power but not too arrogant like Sasuke is. Naruto thinks at least the Ash blond isn't a Teme. And the others seem to be friendly enough, could they really be people who care about him. He really hopes so. So with a bravado he hops onto the wolf's back and sits near Shikamaru and Gaara, he listens to the chatter happening around him in a sort of happy daze mixed with a touch of disbelief and possibly shock. He holds on as Fuji takes to the sky, Kakashi sits with the Black-haired adult and giving directions to Katsuki to get them to the Hidden Grass Village. Jiraiya is sitting with his uncle and Gai. And the rest of the pack mingle with the rest of Team Gai, sometimes a "Troublesome" will leave Shikamaru's mouth as he lays back and watches the sky pass him. So he looks at Gaara, the other boy looks like he feels, so Naruto smiles and puts a hand on Gaara's shoulder. A quiet "you're not alone" is understood but not said.