(With Kakashi)
A month had passed since he had been given 'birth' from Naruto and he was now roaming the lands as per his creator's wish.
The task that he had been given was a simple one, travel the world to find out more about it, possible threats and dangers such as dragons, demons and dark mages among other things.
His 'brothers' had all taken similar tasks, with some of them being more fitted for their skill set than it would to others.
All of them shared the same set of skills, all of them had an equal portion of the original's power, though how they used it varied from clone to clone, which memory had been implanted in them.
Right now he was currently walking down one of the many dirt roads of Fiore that lead towards the Capital, Crocus where the King lives in, though he was still far and had at least a few weeks to reach it in the slow, civilian pace that he had adopted.
At first he was paired up with Guy, all of the other clones were paired up in tag teams based on how well they could balance each other out and what the mission was. The reason that the two were separated was because the last city was holding a martial arts contest and Guy felt the need to see the world's fighters, not that he would complain, now he could finally read his icha-icha in peace. Which reminded him, he should probably get in contact with the Jiraiya clone later on for the two to work something out about the newest books.
Time was on his side and there wasn't anything specific in Crocus that he wanted, the place was just a spot in an imaginary line that he had crossed of cities that he wanted to visit and eventually find a track on anything interesting worth his time.
In the horizon he could see a city coming into his sight, a rather beautiful sight to see. Earthland in general was a beautiful place, even the atmosphere had a rather calming sensation in it.
From where he was he couldn't see much of the city, but from what he could make out was that it wasn't militaristic due to the lack of vigilance in the entrance.
One thing that he noticed was a small rain cloud hovering above it, a single rain cloud in the middle of the city, and from what his eyes could make out from it, it was made out of Ethernano.
A peculiar thing, probably worth looking into later on.
With that thought in his mind, he continued his walk towards the city, which like he had predicted, didn't have any type of military vigilance on the entrance, a large contrast to the hidden villages that he was used to.
His attire also didn't seem to bring much attention, his clothing being that of his jounin attire, and while his mask did call attention people just attributed it to him being a mage and as one of their strange quirks.
The city wasn't very large, being more of a small village other than a city, giving a rough estimate guess the population should not be more than half a dozen thousand people.
From the entrance he could see various small one or two story houses, some stores with clothing displayed in the front, food stalls and others.
Stopping by a small food stall, he made his way towards the store clerk, a young brown haired girl that had yet to reach her twenties who was crouching and sorting out some of the vegetables that had fallen out.
''Excuse me ms, do you know where I can find the Town Hall?'' He asked politely, from what he had learned, missions went to the Town Hall for mages without guilds.
After hearing his voice, the clerk looked up from her position and blushed at being caught by surprise, ''Um... F-follow the road and take the third left, a pink building. Impossible to miss''
Kakashi blinked, pink? An unusual color, giving a slight bow he flashed her a smile and thanked her before leaving towards where she had said.
And as instructed, the Hall was indeed pink. Completely pink. A very extravagant, almost neon colored pink with a few red hearts on its surface, not seeing it was nigh impossible. The more he looked at the strange structure, the more his gut told him that going was not going to be one of his brightest ideas, and that perhaps he should skip it.
Sometimes he wondered why he was the one that was always getting into strange situations.
But now that he was here then he might as well go through with it, for a second he idly wondered how his 'brothers' were doing, if he concentrated then it was possible for each of them to share the same line of sight and see through each others eyes, though it was a strange sensation to do so at that distance and it was rather pointless.
(With Nagato and Gaara)
Unlike his brothers, the Nagato clone was perhaps the one of which the original less had any knowledge about, apart from what he had learned from the documents of Amegakure, a special book that his mentor Jiraiya had kept to himself about the three Ame orphans. Thus he was a peculiar one among the batch of special 'Path clones', due to the lack of information that the original had on Nagato, the voids created in his personality were all to be filled with the original's, thus making him the closest one to Naruto among them.
Right now he is currently in an uncharted deserted area close to Fiore along with his fellow red-headed 'brother', Gaara. The two of them had received one of the most important of the tasks: Find out more about the uncharted parts of the world while scouting out any possible dangers such as monsters and evil mage groups, eliminating any of them if possible.
The month had been quite an eventful one for the tag-team, learning many things about the creatures of the world such as lizardmen, wyverns, vulcans and a certain type of flying fish that they learned the hard way that by any chance they were NOT edible. Not that they actually needed to eat much, but one would like to find out what a flying fish would taste, apparently not that good.
They had also made quite the name for themselves after defeating(read:crushing) a few evil guilds that they found along the way through the cities and collecting their bounties, a decent way of collecting money and information despite not using the human path yet, the world was very strict when it came to killing and making enemies with the council so soon would prove to be troublesome.
One other thing that they had learned was that for Gaara to transform the sand from Earthland into something that he could use, was a complicated process. As almost everything in the world had Ethernano in them, including inanimate objects, to actually manipulate the sand he must first either convert the Ethernano in chakra, overpower the Ethernano with his own chakra or link his chakra with the Ethernano, all of which took a relative amount of time to do and prepare if not wasting too much chakra.
''How far are you into the conversion?'' Nagato asked his 'brother'. As a way to counter the time needed to make sand usable due to the difference of the native Ethernano and chakra, and his own body being made purely of chakra as a bijuu, he started to permanently fuse his chakra with the Ethernano of the atmosphere in a attempt to strengthen himself and facilitate the use of the native sand and minerals in battle.
''Around thirty percent, my body feels both lighter and stronger.'' He replied in his usual monotone voice while reaching to his back and pulling the lid of the gourd off and then willing a small speck of sand from inside of it to his hands, once on his palm it started to float in a circular motion, gaining more and more speed by each passing second until it was a mini buzz-saw, after it started spinning, the color of the sand started to morph from the usual into a golden metallic color and then dark iron before returning.
''Response from chakra-made sand hasn't suffered any drawbacks.'' He analyzed while returning the sand to the guard and firmly placing the lid back on, then extending his hand towards the ground and willing the sand to his hands, making a simple spear of sand form on it.
''This world's native sand is responding better to my will, the resistance of the Ethernano present in it is lessening by the farther I am into the conversion...'' Just like with the sand from his gourd, it also started to change in color from the usual to a sparkling gold one followed by a metallic dark.
Shifting the sand back to its usual form, he allowed it to fade away and re-join the desert that it came from, ''I will continue to do experiments to see how it affects our other abilities, if no drawback appears then the rest will also undergo the same process. Later I will test to see if I am capable of creating sand in the same way that this world's mages do, should it prove to be a success, then I will have no more need for this gourd.''
Nagato nodded, the original had already confirmed that chakra could link and affect Ethernano, but for creatures made of pure chakra such as themselves, the effect could be dangerous if done as there is no telling what the results could be besides strengthening themselves. His brother couldn't notice it much, but the density and power of his chakra had skyrocketed since he started mixing the two. It would also be of a large benefit if all of them could use Ethernano to their advantage in the way that mages used.
From what they could observe, both from the memories of Ur and the dark mages that they had encountered, Ethernano was much more simpler and versatile than chakra, though not as deadly.
From observing the proportions of Ethernano particles per attacks that the mages used against them, he concluded that using their magic to make it into an element of nature was easier for them than for ninjas, an example of that would be that a rock found in nature had just as much Ethernano as one of the same size created by a mage, not having any difference between them, while in his own world, a rock made from chakra was different than a rock found in nature due to the nature's constructs of his home not being made of the exact same thing as of what a ninja used.
With Ethernano, mages could make fundamental things of nature appear from nothing but their spell circles and imagination, while the ninjas that used chakra needed to undergo a more complicated process of transformation of chakra that required actual knowledge about how it worked and how the chakra acted, instead of simply just transforming the Ethernano particles.
However, for chakra being more condensed and having a more complex structure, a fireball of chakra would overcome a fireball of Ethernano of the same size. So while magic was more versatile, chakra packed a stronger punch...
And now they all were one step closer to mixing both the versatility of Ethernano along with chakra to create the perfect energy.
But for now they were still far, thanks to the current drawback of creating and converting sand, his brother was forced to resort to using the good old fashion, large version of the gourd to increase the amount that he had at his disposal, complex storage seals had also been placed inside of the gourd to further maximize the amount he could carry and how much it weighed him down.
They also came to the conclusion that none of them could use any type of nature manipulation that left long-lasting effects such as using the Wood Release or other elemental abilities that based themselves on structures that would remain, due to the probable imbalance that it could bring to nature.
Being brought out of his thoughts as the sand underneath them started to shake, both red-heads immediately leaped out into the air, and not a second late as the moment that they jumped, the ground where they were previously standing was engulfed by a large, circular mouth.
Landing a good, safe distance from the mouth, Nagato turned his head towards Gaara and grinned, ''Hmm... From what the client described, I expected more...''
As if mocking him, before Gaara could reply, another larger mouth rose from underneath the previous and swallowed it whole, followed by several more, each one several time larger than the previous, forcing the two to do several chakra enhanced back-flips to avoid being swallowed whole by the titanic beast worm-like beast that emerged from the sand.
''Does it look like what the mission described now?'' Mocked Gaara in a 'You had to say it' voice as the creature continued to rise, presumably with intent on pulling enough to dive back into the sand.
''Let's just get it over with before it escapes. Remember that we must bring proof that we did it.'' Nagato groaned while slipping two black rods from the sleeve of his Akatsuki robe and coating them with wind chakra.
Gaara nodded in agreement, the creature had an extremely high price on it and was listed in a worldwide bounty, killing it was considered a SS-rank mission bordering SSS that had been hanging for roughly 25 years. If not for the money, the acknowledgement of completing the mission could benefit them in the long run.
Then again it is easier said than done, just by looking at it they could tell how solid those scales are. SS-rank creatures were extremely rare beasts, killing a single one of them was considered a task for an entire army of skilled mages, and by looking at it now they could say without a doubt that it certainly filled in the profile of an army killer.
(With Jiraiya and Neji)
Wham.
''Itai! What did I do now?!'' Whined a certain perverted sage to his white eyed partner after the latter had smacked him on the back of his head with a very hard chakra powered slap. Something that had been happening a lot ever since they had partnered up, much to Jiraiya's dismay.
''Turn it off.''
''But it wasn't even on!' Protested Jiraiya while nursing the lump that had formed above his head.
''Oh,'' Neji paused, ''Then may it serve as a warning.''
Jiraiya cried mock tears at his partner. His partner being very much conservative about what their eyes should or should not be used for, thus with him then he couldn't use the Byakugan's abilities to its fullest.
He could still use them to a lesser extent without being hit by his partner, simple things like taking advantage of the naturally wide view and telescopic abilities were of much help to his quest of filling the world with 'joy'.
As soon as they had been created, the duo immediately took off towards Era and have since then been investigating the Council. Unlike the other clones which had been given pretty vague missions, they were on a much more objective one.
Find out everything about the Council, weapons and enemies of the nation, infiltrate and if possible register themselves as mages without bringing suspicion, gathering information about Ur's ex-husband, information about the Bureau, settling a base in Era, starting up a spy network and lastly... getting a stable money income, something of which Jiraiya was more than happy to do, much to Neji's annoyance.
Infiltrating the Magic Council proved to be easier than they first thought to be, their security never stood a chance against them,even with the council getting a sever increase in the security after he had pulled a Madara on the Bureau and stacked two meteors on top of it. The combination of the connected sight of two Byakugan plus multiple henge made it all seem as if it were child's play.
Among the things that they had come to learn, the Council members didn't bother themselves much with the Bureau, instead dumping it into 'Brain', something that he had already suspected since the day he had gone into that one scientist's mind.
Creating identities for all of them also wasn't that much of a task once they had managed to get inside of the central.
Regarding the books, he had yet to gain perfect understanding of the native writing, and thus was writing in his own way as to not lose time and start translating as soon as possible. His only frustration was that the original had blocked his memories of his more personal time with Ur, and continued to deny further access to them.
Those memories were gold!
Yet unfortunately the original didn't buy his reasoning, a shame. Not that it was enough to stop him!
Wham.
''There's blood is dripping from your nose.'' Neji stated after smacking his partner once more.
''Itai! Damn it! Can't a man dream anymore?!'' He whined, rubbing the back of his head.
''You can't... And if you complain then I will make it so you stop being a man. You are attracting too much attention.'' Neji stated calmly, making Jiraiya take a look at his surroundings.
In the street that they were passing, people looked at the two strangely while women nudged their children behind them, whispering things along the line of 'Stay away from perverts like that.'
Giving a 'huff', Jiraiya crossed his arms childishly and turned away, opting to stay silent and focus on the path, ignoring the people around them as they would never understand the way of the pervert.
(Somewhere in another dimension, a brown haired devil sneezed.)
''Isn't that your informant?'' Neji asked, nudging his partner and discretely pointing to an orange haired man wearing white robes that was standing in front of a bar with his arms crossed.
Jiraiya shifted his attention to where Neji pointed and grinned, ''Yeah, that's our man. Let's see what he has for us.''
Neji sighed and nodded, for as much of a headache that his partner gave him, he had to concede that he knew his way around people.
(With Ur and the kids)
''Mommy, mommy, you think daddy will like this?'' Ultear questioned her mom, showing her a white scarf with a red outline.
''I think he will, sweetheart. We will take it then.'' Ur replied, taking the scarf and getting a look at it before placing it in a hand-basket.
The month had been a time for much contemplation for her.
During the month she had came to realize and understand why it was that he left the way he did. It wasn't because of the twins, their parents or anything to do with the outside world... It was her... She was the reason.
Being so overwhelmed with the new things that had happened one after the other, she never really placed much thought into her current position as his woman.
She had yet to come to terms with what her own part in their relationship was, she couldn't tell him what to do when she didn't know an answer herself, oh how she wished things were more simple in which white was white and black was simply black. Dating Naruto Uzumaki wasn't as simple as it sounded, he wasn't a normal man, heck he wasn't even human, thus he couldn't be treated as if he were a simple human because he simply ain't one.
Relationships were normally based on one supporting the other and each of the counterparts filling in what was missing in the other. Being self-conscious on where she stood in comparison to him in terms of power, it became clear that it wouldn't be the area in which she would be supporting him.
The answer that she had found throughout the month was that she didn't have to, if he had the power of a God, then she simply shouldn't worry about the difference in power, there were other ways that she could support him, if not physically, then emotionally and spiritually, she knew for a fact that deep-down he was still a man, prone to make mistakes and still vulnerable. He needed somebody or something to support him and help him stay on the right path.
That was why he had left, to give her time to think and adjust to all the changes in her life.
Right now she along with Ultear and Lyon were currently shopping at a store in one of the nearby villages, their supplies were running low and it was about time that she had bought some new clothes for Ultear and Lyon. She also had to prepare for Ultear's birthday, birthdays were important to celebrate the completion of a year, and this year her daughter was back, bringing all the more reasons to cherish the date.
The party in itself would be small and she would only invite a selected amount of close friends, being dangerous if the wrong people learned that Ultear had returned to her.
Naruto had explained to her about the consequences of him taking Ultear and how he had done it. The notion that he had massacred the entire institute wasn't one of the best things to hear about your boyfriend/lover, yet what happened had to happen and she couldn't condemn him for it.
What could she say?
That there was a better way?
Perhaps there actually was a better way... But did they deserve it? Those were the same people that lied to her and countless other parents, deceiving families and torturing children for the sake of their own selfish goals, those were the same people that took her baby girl from her to be experimented on like a lab rat.
Ultear and the siblings were all test subjects, and would call too much unwanted attention if they were to simply disappear and appear with her. With him destroying the place entirely, whoever was responsible for the project, if not caught in the impact, would know what type of fate awaited them if they were to act.
The news about how two meteors drifted from their route and stacked atop of the institute, some blaming a supernatural occurrence, the return of Zeref, apocalypse among other more absurd things...
Oh if only they knew...
According to the newspaper the meteors stacked directly atop of the moon-like structure of the Bureau and completely obliterated it. The shockwaves created from the impact sent tremors of such magnitude that nearly brought down a city many miles away from the collision zone.
Even though she was surprised when she saw the newspaper, he had told her what had happened to the people and the consequences of it, but he had failed to mention that one, very, very small detail.
Just another detail that she would have to question him about when he came back, right now she had other things to do.
Pushing aside the thoughts about her current relationship with Naruto and the consequences of it, Ur shifted her attention to the two children accompanying her, her student and her daughter.
A smile etched it's way to her face as she recalled the good moments that they had shared during the month. Ultear marked the days on the calendar religiously, after every breakfast she would mark an 'X' on the current day, the little girl was completely sure that Naruto would come back.
On the first day Ultear tried sleeping twice thinking that she could have breakfast and that it would count to the days to her birthday, oh childish innocence, she spent the better part of almost two hours explaining how time really worked.
Enough said that the little girl was left very much disappointed by the fact that she couldn't cheat time, but dare she say that Ultear had gained a bit more interest in time of what expected from somebody her age, though she just attributed it to her need of wanting Naruto back.
Not that she didn't feel the same, time passed agonizingly slow.
Lyon and Ultear had become quite close during the course of the month. It was a good thing for him to have someone of his age to interact with, over the time he had thought less about surpassing her, playing more with Ultear and actually acting his age.
''I think this is everything we need, let's go.'' Ur said softly to the two, patting both on top of their heads and while going to the balcony.