"Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka lifted his gaze from the clipboard for a moment.
He gave the classroom a quick scan and had quickly spotted his target.
The blond child fumbled with something in the air before raising his hand with an audible "Here!".
Iruka ignored the strange action and chalked it off as one of Naruto's quirks before proceeding to the other students.
"[Observe]," Naruto muttered, casting his skill on his teacher.
Name: Umino Iruka
Level: ???
HP: 20575/20575
Cp: 15370/15370
Description: Umino Iruka is a young and kind man. A firm believer of the 'Will of Fire' and a teacher of Konohagakure's Ninja Academy. He is one of the first to treat Naruto like an ordinary person.
"Strange... Why can't I check any of his stats or level?" Naruto muttered under his breath.
Naruto pressed the glowing question on the top right, and began reading the new screen in front of him.
Limitations noted!
Certain skills have limits on how they can be used.
These limits are placed mostly because of your current power, the Skills' level or something restricting you.
These limitations can be overcome with time or when you get stronger.
Check the Skill [Observe] to see its limitations.
"Huh, okay..." He crossed his eyes in concentration. Limitations on my skills? That's new...
He was then cut off from his musings when he heard someone calling him.
Quickly closing the windows, he lifted his hand and shouted, "Here!"
He grinned sheepishly at the man, hoping that Iruka hadn't seen what he was doing.
When Iruka shrugged and ignored him, he let out a sigh of relief.
He was glad that he had chosen to sit at the back today. Otherwise, his previous actions might've attracted some unwanted attention.
Anyway, he figured that right now would be a good time to see how he'd fare up against his classmates.
His eyes darted across the room, checking the little boxes that floated above their heads.
A frown crept onto his face when he saw that most of the students here, were on average, five levels, or more, higher than him.
He cast several [Observe]s on his classmates, noticing that most of the higher level students came from shinobi clans, and the lower ones were from civilians'.
Name: Aburame Shino
Title: The Quiet Insect
Race: Human
Level: 20
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 8250/8250
Cp: 6300/6300
STR: 50
STA: 50
DEX: 60
INT: 60
WIS: 70
LUK: 20
Description: Being the heir of the Aburame clan, Shino is able to communicate with insects and use them in battle. He is a stoic and rational person, preferring to deal with problems with a calm and logical mindset.
----
Name: Hyūga Hinata
Title: The Insecure Princess
Race: Human
Level: 18
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 6050/6050
Cp: 6950/6950
STR: 25
STA: 40
DEX: 50
INT: 70
WIS: 60
LUK: 20
Description: This shy and sweet girl is the heir of the Hyūga clan, and bears the fabled Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan. Despite the reputation and power of her clan, Hinata is insecure and doubtful of her ability. It's only thanks to a certain 'someone' that she wishes to continue her dream of bringing unity and equality to her clan.
----
Name: Haruno Sakura
Title: The Hot-tempered Braniac
Race: Human
Level: 15
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 2375/2375
Cp: 2965/2965
STR: 10 (-5)
STA: 5 (-5)
DEX: 10 (-5)
INT: 115
WIS: 50
LUK: 10
Description: A bookworm and someone with a lot of potential to boot... too bad it's been squandered by her obsession with dieting and Sasuke. She's a kind but hot-tempered girl, and is prone to violence towards a certain Uzumaki. Her frenemy, Yamanaka Ino, was once her best friend before their rivalry tore them apart.
--
Name: Inuzuka Kiba
Title: The Arrogant Pup
Race: Human
Level: 20
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 12750/12750
Cp: 4700/4700
STR: 125
STA: 60
DEX: 80
INT: 40
WIS: 20
LUK: 10
Description: A brash and hot-headed boy, heiring from the Inuzuka clan. He is never seen without his ninken, Akamaru, and the two are practically inseparable. He likes to think of himself as the alpha dog of the class, and would take any chance to beat down on Sasuke.
--
Name: Yamanaka Ino
Title: The Athletic Flower Girl
Race: Human
Level: 16
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 2825/2825
Cp: 3600/3600
STR: 11 (-5)
STA: 9 (-5)
DEX: 80 (10, - 5)
INT: 60
WIS: 40
LUK: 10
Description: Born in a clan of mind-walkers, and being the daughter of the infamous Yamanaka Inoichi, she possesses the potential to be one of the greatest ninja of the modern world... such a waste for said potential to be blown away by a silly crush. Despite all of these distractions, she still manage to make time for some training, albeit the bare minimum.
--
Name: Akamichi Chouji
Title: The Gentle Bear
Race: Human
Level: 20
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 11375/11375
Cp: 5900/5900
STR: 105
STA: 55
DEX: 40
INT: 55
WIS: 45
LUK: 20
Description: Chouji is a kind and sweet child, and gentle to a fault. In spite of his size and kind-hearted nartue, he is not someone you should mess with.
--
Name: Nara Shikamaru
Title: The Brilliant Sloth
Race: Human
Level: 20
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 5375/5375
Cp: 5900/5900
STR: 30
STA: 25
DEX: 45
INT: 110
WIS: 90
LUK: 10
Description: A slacker and a lazy bum, most people would call him... and you'd be right by calling him that. But behind this lazy and dull facade lies the mind of a brilliant tactician and strategist.
--
Name: Uchiha Sasuke
Title: The Lone Avenger
Race: Human
Level: 25
Rank: Academy Student [25% increase in EXP gain till Level 30]
Hp: 13750/13750
Cp: 7200/7200
STR: 105
STA: 80
DEX: 90
INT: 90
WIS: 70
LUK: 15
Description: Being the sole survivor of his clan's massacre, Sasuke has devoted himself into the role of an avenger. Each day, he trains himself to the limit, wanting to one day, avenge his fallen clan.
Naruto could only stared as he processed the last few windows he had read.
Normally, his first reaction would be to gawk at how strong everyone was compared to him but something told him that gaping like a fish in front of everyone would be a terrible idea.
His face took on a dull expression, one that was similar to how he'd treated Iruka-sensei's lectures, but with a slight twitch on his eye.
Everybody is stronger than you... no big deal, Naruto... they've probably been through way harsher training befor- His left eye twitched more violently at another window. Aw come on, even Akamaru is stronger than me!
His head dropped onto the table, hands clutching his goldilocks as he cried about the unfairness of it all.
Was he always this weak?
Naruto asked himself, rechecking his stats and the others once more.
Then, he noticed something strange about his power.
If he had remembered correctly... back then, he had usually tied up with Kiba, there was no way Naruto was weaker than his dog.
But then, it hit him.
The introduction had informed him that his power could change reality itself, so didn't that mean it could change the strength of others?
Naruto gave Sasuke a glance, grimacing as he realised the implications of what this meant.
He had to worked over twice as hard to reach Sasuke now.
(Yesterday Night)
Dr. Ken was perplexed, no he was beyond that.
The man he had his staff tending to, was a peculiar one. It wasn't that the man had displayed some weird behavior, heck, he wasn't even conscious yet.
No, the strange thing was about the man himself. The injury he had taken wasn't just a simple slash or a gash, it was deep and wide, and he was shocked at how this man could still live after all the blood that had dripped out.
After he and his staff had taken measures cleaning out the wound, he was once again caught off guard by the sudden action of the wound.
Before any of them could react, the wound began to heal itself, tissues and muscles reattaching themselves, and skin regrowing at an alarming rate.
He had never seen anything like it, even the best self-healing jutsu could never heal that quickly.
Then, there was also the strange equipment and clothing the man had wore.
The clothes were made of a strange material that was resistant to even the sharpest of their tools, he doubted that even the sharpest of swords could cut through them.
He also had a strange watch, one that would periodically beep and glow a dim white.
There were many things that they had extracted from him, and each of them were puzzling on their own.
Sighing, he filed away the report for the day. It had been a long time since he was this tired.
Maybe it was time for him to turn in for the day.
He stifled a yawn before standing from his chair.
Stretching his body, he left his office and locked the door.
The hallways of the hospital were empty and silent, only with the occasional coughing or snoring breaking through the, otherwise peaceful night.
"Dr. Ken." A man with a lazy look, nodded to him, acknowledging the passing doctor.
"Kakashi-san." He nodded back in greeting as the man took out a small, orange book.
As much as Ken had wanted to scold Kakashi for bringing out such an inappropriate book out in public, he was much too tired to even give the man a glare.
"I'm assuming you're here for the report?" Dr. Ken said, watching as the white-haired man nodded.
"Yes, Hokage-sama wants to know if the man could potentially pose a threat and whether he should be left alone or not."
The seriousness in the normally dull-sounding shinobi had sparked some residue energy in the medic-nin.
"Well, there were some things from the man that had been confiscated, the items were quite puzzling and none of us could quite make out what they were meant to do,"
"Well, there were some things we were able to determine the meaning and uses, most notably, the strange gun-like weapon and the watch which seems to serve as a commincator of sort, but much more advanced than, let's say, our radios."
Kakashi nodded, urging him to go on.
"The man also had some kind of healing factor, similar to Naruto's but slightly weaker, there was also something we had found about him, but I can't quite explain as well as the official report so it's probably best if you take this to Hokage-sama."
Ken handed him a scroll, to which Kakashi accepted.
Nodding back to the doctor, Kakashi left with an eye-smile.
Ken sighed, glancing back to his office one last time before making his way home.
He couldn't bother to change himself out of his uniform before heading to sleep.
But just before he dripped into his dreams, he had one last thought before fading away.
Naruto better not do something reckless tomorrow.
(Present Day)
"All right, class. That's it for the day," Iruka said. "Now, make sure you guys all study and get prepared for the test next week as this will determine twenty percent of your final marks."
"Yes, sensei," the class said in unison, the majority being in a tone of despair.
Iruka sweat dropped at the rather unenthusiastic responses but shrugged it off.
Packing his books away, Iruka walked out of the door and slowly made his way to his office.
Halfway during his trip, he was made aware of the presence of a certain demon container.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei! Hey! Wait up!"
He paused in his steps, looking behind him to see the blond running towards him.
"What is it, Naruto?" Iruka said, raising his left brow at him. "You know I got things to do."
"Right, um..." Naruto scratched the side of his cheek, sheepishly. "I was just wondering if you could give me some advice about my techniques."
Iruka blinked, a bit taken back by his sudden request.
For all the years Naruto had been in the academy, he had never once seen him directly ask for help.
It was usually either himself telling Naruto what to do, or Naruto going to him after a beating with Sasuke.
So, for him to come out of the blue and ask for help, was quite surprising for Iruka.
"Well, Naruto. As much as I'd love to, unfortunately, I'm a bit busy at the moment, these papers aren't going to grade themselves, you know," Iruka said, with an apologetic smile.
"Oh, well, um," Naruto said with a sheepish grin. "You don't have to do it now if you're busy, maybe later, like tomorrow or something."
Iruka smiled at him. "Sure, I'll see what I can do."
"Awesome! Thanks, Iruka-sensei! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, beaming as he gave the man a thumbs up.
Iruka shook his head at the excited blond, a small smile forming on his face. "Right, now don't slack off, Naruto. A true shinobi must keep his body and mind trained so as to prepare for whatever dangers that may occurred to the village."
"You got it, Iruka-sensei," Naruto exclaimed, giving the man a thumbs up.
Iruka gave the child a small smile before deciding to give him another piece of advice. "A shinobi can't afford to slack off from his training, Naruto. So I expect to see some improvements in next week's test."
Naruto chuckled nervously. "Heh heh, we-we'll see, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka shook his head. "I mean it, Naruto. You're lowest grading students in the whole class, and that's not even counting your previous years. You have two years of experience and yet, you're still not using that to improve yourself, not to mention you still can't produce a single convincing clone yet..."
Naruto's face dropped each time Iruka listed his various fails. He shook his head, he couldn't let that deter him.
"Dont worry, Iruka-sensei. You're looking at the future Hokage, dattebayo! I'm sure I can get it done in two tries!"
Naruto went through the hand signs for the jutsu, shouting, "[Bunshin no Jutsu]!"
Skill Error!
Requirements for [Bunshin no Jutsu] not met.
95% chance of failure...
Calculating...
Calculating...
Jutsu Failed.
A puff of smoke appeared beside the blond jinchūriki which dissipated in a few seconds, revealing a pale and dead-looking version of Naruto.
"Ooh, not again!" Naruto growled.
"Wait, let me try again," Naruto said, not allowing the adult to say anything before he went through the series of hand signs again.
Iruka raised a brow at him, seeing another dead-looking clone appearing beside him.
The previos clone had disappeared in a huge puff of smoke, much larger than the average clone.
It was something that Iruka had always noticed but he'd usually chalked it to Naruto just using too much chakra for the technique.
But he noticed something different about Naruto's chakra.
And after sensing it again when Naruto tried creating another clone, he was still puzzled about what that may've implied.
Was it the reason why Naruto couldn't do the Clone Technique?
No, it couldn't be. The anomaly in his chakra wasn't there when Naruto learned the jutsu.
Maybe it had something to do with the Kyuubi?
Hm... he should probably consult the Hokage about it.
Preferably, after he was done grading the papers as it didn't seem to be doing anything bad to Naruto.
In the meantime, he could probably give Naruto a little gift if he did manage to pass the test, and maybe the Hokage would agree to it if he reasoned with the elder.
With that in mind, he talked to the blond, who was currently in a fetal position, with dozens of dead clones surrounding him and mumbling about how unfair it was.
Iruka sweat dropped at the overly dramatic scene before shaking his head. "Listen, Naruto..."
Naruto beamed at the retreating figure.
Once he was sure no one was in sight, he looked back at the window that had appeared.
[Quest Alert!]
Prove Your Worth: Iruka has tasked you to pass next week's test. In doing so, Iruka will teach you a replacement Jutsu for the final exams.
Objective: - Score a 50% in the writing section
-Score a 50% in the physical section
-Score a 50% in the Shurikenjutsu section
(Two out of three objectives needed to finish the quest)
Objective Completion Rewards: 2500 Exp, 4950 Ryo, A Jutsu Scroll, 500 Reputation with Umino Iruka
Quest Failure: 200 Exp, 400 Ryo, -150 Reputation with Umino Iruka, Possible chance of failing the final exam
Accept?
[Y/N]
Well of course he was gonna accept, it didn't made any sense for him not to.
He was excited to see what kind of Jutsu, Iruka would teach him...
Maybe it would be that cool fire dragon technique he'd seen someone used before, or maybe an awesome water Jutsu that could keep his enemies at bay.
Naruto shook his head, snapping himself out of his daydream.
There were no use for those kinds of thoughts if he couldn't even pass the test.
Luckily, he had only needed to pass two out of three sections for him to complete the quest. (As there was no way he could pass the written portion).
He gave his 'Skills' a one over, noticing a particular 'Skill' that he had skimmed over before.
[Basic Shurikenjutsu] Lv - 5 (Passive)
The art of weapon throwing. A technique discovered back in the Stone Age. Having long since improved from rocks to sharpened metal, it is a staple to a ninja's basic training.
Most weapons can be used as Throwing Weapons, but certain weapons that were designed for it will have [Throwing Weapon] etched on it.
{Rank:Adept} - Increases the accuracy of [Thrown Weapon] attacks by 10%
-Increases damage of [Throwing Weapon] by 2%
-Increases DEX by 5%
"[Basic Shurikenjutsu]..."
So he needed to level up this 'Skill' in order to improve his accuracy, he briefly wondered if there was another way he could improve his techniques.
Naruto shook his head.
There was no way the librarian would let him in so that was already ruled out.
He could try training himself to increase his DEX Stat, but he didn't know exactly how he'd be able to do that.
Eh, he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.
It was time for him to train.
After all, he couldn't afford to slack off now when everybody had gotten significantly stronger than him.
...
Y'know, when Naruto had thought of training twice as hard as before.
He wasn't... exactly expecting something like this to happen.
There was something... something similar to what happened yesterday, except it was... smaller and more contained.
A small hole in the fabric reality floated just slightly above the field, the size of the anomaly being slightly bigger than his pinky finger.
[Anomaly Detected!]
The threads of reality are being warped and sliced through an unknown method.
Through this anomaly, creatures of another world may pop up in this reality, be it animals, sapient beings or artificial creatures.
The state of this reality could be in danger if the anomaly is left unchecked.
What? Naruto glanced at the miniature rift in reality. Things can come out of that?
A drop of sweat dripped down his forehead as he thought of the possibility of having to fight something similar to that rabbit.
He shook his head, ridding himself of that silly fear.
He set his eyes on the anomaly, pondering on what he could do.
Maybe he should tell Oji-san about it- No wait, that'd be stupid. There was no way he could convince the old man to come here, and even if he did believe him, Naruto highly doubted that he could even understand what this was.
... so what could he do exactly? It wasn't as if there was anyone in Konoha would know about this thing...
That's it!
That man could have the answer! He can't believe he hadn't thought of it, after all, that guy did come out of one.
[Quest Alert!]
Closing the Hole: A potentially dangerous anomaly had appeared in this realm. Find out what you can about it and if possible, stop it.
Objective: Find the man and get him to answer your questions
Objective Completion Rewards: 2000 Exp, 3600 Ryo, [?]
Quest Failure: 500 Exp, 200 Ryo
Accept?
[Y/N]
Another quest with another mystery reward?
How peculiar it was, for him to receive two quests that held mystery rewards.
And both of them had something to do with that stranger.
This anomaly and that man were connected, he was sure of it.
There was nothing else that could possibly explain... well, this.
Then, he remembered something about the man.
He was injured and had a nasty wound, Naruto doubted that something like that could heal completely overnight.
No, he would probably have to wait.
If his own healing was any indication, that man would be fine in a couple of days, maybe a week at most.
There was also a possibility that the man could've awaken already, Naruto had always been able to bounce back from any serious injury after a good night's sleep.
Hm... there was no way for him to be certain if he didn't try.
Making up his mind, he turned around and made his way to the hospital.
On his way there, he made a habit to take note of the stats of everyone around him.
So far, he had created an average placeholder for everyone he could see.
The average civilian had a level between ten with the highest being twenty and the lowest being five.
The few ninja he could see had around forty to fifty, and the rest were all question marks.
He assumed that it meant that those shinobi were Chunin-level or above, if Iruka-sensei was any example.
After half an hour of walking, he had finally made it to the entrance of the hospital.
He was a bit nervous this time around, as he wasn't sure whether there would be another person that'd kick him out.
The first time around, had been a lucky break for him as Naruto wasn't sure if that man could've lasted any longer with that wound.
He shuffled his feet to the reception table, praying that the person behind the counter wouldn't repeat what had happened yesterday.
"H-hey, nurse-san," Naruto said, getting the attention of the man.
"Hm?" he lifted his head, looking to whom had called him. "Oh, good morning, Naruto-san."
The nurse held a neutral expression on his face, his brown locks poking out from beneath his hat.
He wore a standard medical uniform, a white coat with the Kanji '医' on the left, and a pair of white khakis.
"What are you doing here, Naruto-san?" asked the nurse, giving Naruto an overview. "You don't look like you need any medical care."
This person was a shinobi, Naruto was sure of it. Not only did he gave him that neutral look that every shinobi had given him, his level was way too high for him to even see.
That information gave Naruto the courage to be a bit more outspoken. "Oh, that's because I'm not. I'm here to see if I could check on the guy I'd brought in yesterday."
"The person you'd brought in? Let me see," he looked down at his table, rushing to find something, Naruto wasn't sure what.
After a few seconds of searching, it had seem like he had found what he needed.
"All right, let's see here..." He glanced at the boy for a moment. "Now, when did you bring him in, Naruto-san?"
"It was around four, I think."
The medic-nin nodded before resuming his task.
He took out a sheet of paper, analysing it before speaking to Naruto. "Hm... it says here that I'm not allowed to bring anyone to him, the possibility of him being a threat to the village is still high, and bringing anyone near him wouldn't be a... favourable situation."
Naruto grimaced. There was that look again, a look that he had gotten from nearly every single adult he had ever laid eyes on.
Something about that look had always unnerved him, maybe it was because it was telling him that they know something that he didn't.
Whatever it was, he couldn't let it derail him from his mission.
"Aw come on, nurse-jii. Can't you just let me in, I've promised to help the man get better, and I've already promised to take responsibility for him."
"No means no, Naruto," said the man in a serious tone.
Naruto grumbled, seemingly relenting.
"Fine." Naruto crossed his arm, poutingbefore turning his back to the medic.
Naruto left with a dull facade.
He sighed before putting his hands behind his head.
Plan B it is, then.
He monitored his surroundings carefully to make sure no one was around, all the while whistling a seemingly innocent tune.
(A Few Hours Ago)
The Hokage Tower
The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stood behind the window as he looked down at the streets below him.
Having yesterday's event fresh on his mind, he couldn't exactly fault Naruto for bringing a foreigner into the village as it'd seemed like the type of thing that Naruto would do.
But there was something that had irked him.
The report given to him last night had some intriguing information locked on it, one that he wasn't sure should be brought up to the elders, or to be more specific, Danzo.
The foreigner had machinery and technology far beyond anything he had ever seen in his life, not to mention his strange healing factor, nearing the one Naruto had.
But there was also something that had puzzled him, the man held no chakra, not a single trace, Dr Ken had said.
It was strange as even the weakest of civilians held a tiny bit of chakra, so to say a man with no chakra was a surprising one.
There was also something to note, the man held something inside of him, something not unlike a Bijuu, a strange slither of energy inside of him.
Dr Ken had requested a Hyuga to help, but there weren't any that were available at that moment.
Kakashi had given his own two cents as well, stating that the man had a very ghost-like presence as every time he'd face away from the man, it was as if something was trying to make him forget about the foreigner.
It had felt like a genjutsu, but it was much stronger than any genjutsu Kakashi had ever dealt with.
With any luck, the foreigner would be awake in a few hours top, if his healing factor was any indicator.
Sighing, the Sandaime spoke. "Mayu-chan, clear my schedule for the afternoon."
(Now)
Konoha Hospital
Pain...
Numbness...
That was all he could feel at the moment.
The numbness of his right arm, coupled with the burning aches raging across his forehead and muscles.
He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten this injured... but then again, it had been a long time since he'd gotten some action.
He sat up, albeit slowly as he was still aching from the last mission.
... mission...
Shit, he was supposed to be looking for what that newly appeared signal was...
Fuck, he was so gonna hear it from Sarah again. There was no way he'd escape from her wrath now that he was injured.
... actually now that he mentioned it.
How the hell was he in a hospital? He sure wasn't near one when he had fallen into the portal.
Whatever, it meant that he probably had to deal with this world's leaders now if his cover was already blown.
He sighed. What a drag.
Then there was that hidden presence inside the room, hiding beside the cabinet on the right.
He had to give it the person, whoever they were, they were extraordinary good at remaining undetected.
He made sure not to alert the person that he was aware of them as he wouldn't want them to think he's anything more than your typical civilian.
"Hm?" He turned to his right, looking through the window as he had heard something.
He heard a rustle outside, with a soft voice accompanying it. "Three two one..."
He raised an eyebrow, his curiosity being peaked, he stood up and walked to the window before opening it.
He let out a surprised cry when he saw an orange blur flying towards him.
Instinctually, he leapt back onto the bed, dodging the flying projectile.
The orange projectile crashed onto the hospital floor as it cried out in pain. "Ow, that didn't go as planned."
A kid? The man gave Naruto an amused grin.
His left hand, subconsciously touched his right wrist before he sighed. Right, my equipment has probably been taken by them.
He thought as the kid slowly recovered and got onto his feet.
Naruto rubbed the side of his head, wondering what had gone wrong.
He then noticed a presence looming over him before glancing to his left.
The face of a bemused man wasn't quite what he had expected.
Not knowing to respond, Naruto let out a simple "Uh... Hi?"
"...hello," the man said slowly, looking like he hadn't spoken in a while.
Naruto took this time to observe the man.
The man was now wearing a green robe, and had his right shoulder covered in bandages. His hair was brown and shaggy, and had a bit of a wild twitch to it.
The scar beneath his right eye completely contrast with his cheery visage but Naruto could see the look a warrior behind that happy-go-lucky face.
His brown eyes held a look that spoke of wisdom and experience.
And as tempting as it was for Naruto to [Observe] the man, he was already staring at him for far too long.
So, instead he settled for a much shorter alternative.
Name: Briggs Sted
(The Mechanical Champion)
Lvl: ???
Hp: ???
Mp: ???
Mp? The hell's that?
Before Naruto could even blink, a new window popped up in front of him.
Energy Guide 101:
You've recently been exposed to a new type of energy that is unlike your own.
And you must be awfully curious about such a thing.
Well, for starters. The Multiverse is a vast space, inhabited by many types of creatures and materials, each of which follows their own individual laws of physics.
And as such, there are multiple universes that house their own type of energy, be it Chakra, Ki, Aura, Magic or etc.
Down below lies more detailed information about each type of energy and their uses.
Magic? Magic's real?
Naruto was speechless at the thought of magic being real, and not to mention that the person in front of him had the ability to do magic.
"... Hey, kid... Hey, Earth to blondy. Are you in there?" The man, Briggs, snapped his fingers at him.
"Huh?" Naruto said before shaking his head. "Yeah, sorry. I was thinking about something."
"Eh, don't worry about it, kid. Happens to anyone." Briggs grinned at him.
"So, mind if I ask you where I am?"
"Oh, you're at Konoha's Hospital. I brought you here after you, uh, fell from that space hole."
Space hole? Briggs then nodded in realisation. Right, that portal. He grimaced.
My body must've been injured somewhat by the portal, and the kid must have been nearby.
Briggs frowned.
There was no way the village's leader hadn't been informed about him, as there was literally a hidden guard in this very room.
Probably to make sure I'm not a threat.
He looked at the blonde child, giving him a sincere smile. "Well, thanks for patching me up, buddy."
Naruto blinked.
Another person had said they'd appreciated his help...
Naruto smiled at him. "Well, it wasn't really that big a deal, anyone could've done it, dattebayo."
"Maybe... but in the end, it was you, wasn't it?" He chuckled as he saw the young blond hesitantly, nodded back.
"So, kid. Do you know who the leader of this place is?"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen's the Hokage of Konoha, but I usually call him Jii-san."
He's close to the leader, eh? He smirked inwardly, glad that something was going his way this time around.
"Well, would you mind bringing me to him? I need to settle this matter with him before anything goes out of hand. My equipment's not something your civilization should get their hands on."
"Equipment?"
"Yes, plasma pistols, electromagnetic pulse bombs, energy trackers and just a few more to list. You probably don't understand what I'm saying, so it's best if I get them back before anything happens."
Naruto's head was in swirls, he had picked up some similar terms, like pistols and bombs, but he had no idea what in the world plasma was, nor what electromagnetic meant.
Briggs couldn't imagine what kind of consequences his equipment could do to this world's natural growth.
He sighed inwardly. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.
His mission had been simple; observe what that new burst of life was and examine what Xethop had-
Xethop? Thernz?
The bloody hell? Why the fuck couldn't he say their name? Were they doin-
No way, no fucking way. Meklo was behind this!
Took ya long enough... a voice rang in his head.
The voice was neither masculine nor feminine, nor was it loud or soft. But despite its neutral tone, Briggs could hear the laziness behind the voice.
The hospital room around him faded away, turning into an equally white void with a humanoid figure floating in front of him.
What do you want, Ytha? Briggs growled.
Oh, not much. Just taking on a new project. Y'know, experimenting some new twists on old clichés.
Clichés? I thought the new champion had already gone through enough lately?
The Celestial Being shrugged. Eh, depends on who you're asking.
Briggs sighed. What the hell do you want?
A small rain cloud appeared above the being's head.
Oh my! How dare you think I require something from you... The being placed a hand on their chest, mocking a hurt expression on their feature-less face. Can't I just pay a visit to a dear old friend?
He raised an eyebrow at them. The last time you've came to us, you'd told us to let that shapeshifter's clone go and who knows what sort of disaster that had brought onto that universe.
Oh, hush now. None of the time lines created from that would have any lasting effects on this omniverse.
Right... So why exactly did you bring me here for?
Well, as you've probably seen the child already, I've decided to experiment on this universe for a little while.
Appearing on their hands were an oval-shaped container filled with clusters of galaxies and other celestial bodies.
Taking some of Universe G's Gaia's abilities and putting it into this world, more specifically that child you've met.
Abilities?
You'll find out in time.
Briggs shook his head, sighing. I'm guessing you want me to see how this 'experiment' of yours go, huh?
Precisely, they nodded. Plus, adding you into the fray would make this even more interesting.
Right... Can you just leave now?
The sound of a snap reverberated through the void as Briggs now find himself back in the hospital room.
Blinking, he gave the blond in front of him an analytic gaze.
However, before he could give himself time to think, he heard the door clicked open.
He shifted his attention to the door, noticing an old man in a red robe coming in.
"Hokage-Jii!" Briggs heard the child exclaimed in shock.
So this is their leader? He scanned the old man with an curious gaze.
At a simple glance, the old man looked just like any other elder, meek and gentle.
But on closer inspection, he could see the hidden fire behind the elder's eyes, one that spoke of wisdom and strength.
Color him impressed. This feeble-looking old man could probably give some of his machines a run for their money.
He smirked before bowing to the old man. "It's nice to meet you, Lord Hokage."
And that's a wrap folk.
Sorry about the long wait, I was a bit busy for the past months, having to adjust my schedule as I was back to school.
Anyway, I've decided that this little A/N would be a good place for some post-chapter QnA.
To jh831: Naruto is still a jinchuriki, you can find his 'perk' in the special status section, it's the second one to be exact.
And to Aries: Don't worry, I won't. A Naruto story without deaths wouldn't quite be a Naruto story, so no need to worry about that.
Well that's all for now, see you all in the next chapter.