Hey all!

I bet you've been waiting forever for me to update this story.

So, I must say it now. Gomenasai! Sorry! I got a bit distracted by other things. I also had to do some brainstorming for some good ideas to give a twist to my story. I hope that you will enjoy it.

Thanks to all my reviewers! Hooray!

(Starts handing out cookies and pizza)

You were all great! Say, if any of you read Fei-sama's stories, help me find out if he/she is still reading my fics.

Sorry Narutofan22,for the long wait,you're a great reviewer! But so is everyone else! (Cringes slightly at the glares)

Oh yes, help me! Does anyone know how to get the little skip thingy on the bottom of every chapter to appear? I don't have it! IF you know how to get it please tell me!

This chapter features the entrance of the OC. Hooray! There will be a lot happening in this chapter, so pay attention!

Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Naruto or Starwars! Or anything else in this fic for that matter. So go away! (Glares at the lawyers)

Chapter 7: The paths we choose

Darkness...

Pain...

Then suddenly...light...

Brilliance...

Warmth...

Naruto was floating along a well area. Light was everywhere. He was confused. After all, who wouldn't be, if you were floating with no means of support?

'Where am I?' thought Naruto. He tried to move his arms and legs. His arms and legs moved sluggishly, like it was trying to move through syrup. He groaned.

'This does not look good.' he thought to himself. He soon found that he could move slightly in this environment, and started to swim a little. After awhile, he noticed something strange. There was a vortex of light It seemed as though no matter what direction he went in, he would always be heading towards it. Finding it strange, Naruto decided to find out what the vortex had in store for him.

"Naruto..."

Naruto flinched. He could have sworn he just heard a voice calling out to him. Shuddering slightly, he continued to "swim" towards the vortex.

"Naruto..."

Naruto shuddered. This time, there was no mistaking it. There really was a voice calling to him. And stranger still, the voice seemed to come from the vortex itself. The voice seemed to be a bit feminine.

Naruto floated closer and closer to the vortex, his body floating around a sea of swirling light.

WITH KAKASHI AND CO

"NARUTO!" screamed Sakura, as she watched the boy fall into the portal. Seconds later, she found herself on the floor, taking cover between fallen columns, trying to excape the blast of a self-destructing portal. As she got back up, she looked around for Sasuke and Kakashi. Kakashi had taken cover behind a pillar, while Sasuke had clung to the ceiling to avoid the blast. Slowly, the two approached Sakura.

Sakura was in tears. Naruto was gone. She would never see him again. She started to cry, until she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Looking up she faced Kakashi. The jounin tried to reassure the pink-haired girl. Sasuke didn't have his usual frown. He too was wondering what had happened to Naruto. Kakashi decided to figure some things out, so he grabbed the nearest still-living bandit around. Lifting the man, he brought him to eye level.

"What happened?" he asked in a voice that meant business. The man in his grip groaned. It was obvious he only had minutes left. Kakashi repeated his question.

"What happened?"

The bandit slowly lifted his head. His dark brown eyes was starting to mist over. He was a young man, in his early twenties. He was handsome in his own way, but it was marred by the long scar running down the left side of his face, over his eye. Speaking in halting breaths he answered Kakashi.

"The portal...the one you saw...we were hired to protect it..." the man wheezed. He gave a hacking cough, and spat out some blood.

"Who hired you?" asked Kakashi. He was curious to the fate of his student, and wanted to know what could have caused this.

The man looked up. Blood was coming from his mouth. His eyes were half-closed. He answered Kakashi in one word.

"...Orochimaru..."

The man gave one final shuddering breath and was still. Sighing to himself, Kakashi let the dead man slip from his grasp and fall to the floor. He turned to Sakura and Sasuke.

"Come. We have to find a bandit to interrogate to figure out what the portal could have been." he said as he headed out of the room.

Slowly, Sasuke followed. Sakura was walking slowly behind the two, sobbing quietly. The boy who had been chasing her ever since the formation of their team, was gone. She couldn't believe it.

'What am I going to tell the others?' she thought to herself as she stumbled along.

Her thoughts were cut short as Kakashi motioned for the to stop. They had been walking along a hallway since they got out of the room. Ahead, the three could hear the rasping wheezes of a bandit. Ever so slowly, Kakashi reached out and grabbed the man, with his hand over his mouth. He knocked the man out with a sharp tap to the back of the man's head with the hilt of his kunai. Checking to see if the coast was clear, he motioned to Sasuke and Sakura to follow him.

The three of them crept into an empty room. Shaking the man awake, Kakashi immediately be gan questioning him.

"What were you people doing?" he asked. He gave the man one of his cold glares to ensure that the man woul answer anything he asked. I seemed to do the trick.

"We were hired to protect the ruins from intruders." the man stuttered, with fear in his eyes. Kakashi nodded, and procceeded with his next question.

"What was that portal?" he asked, staring the man in the eye.

"T-the p-portal? We d-didn't know m-much, but, the portal w-was said to be a transporter b-between galaxies." the man said, as he squirmed. He didn't like the way Kakashi was looking at him. He couldn't bring himself to look into his cold ruthless eyes.

"So that means Naruto's alive?" said Sakura, hope ringing in her voice. If what the man said was true, that meant that Naruto was alive. She looked at the captive man.

"So does that mean he's alive?' she repeated. The man knew better than to lie in his current situation. He decided to come out witht he truth.

"We don't know if he is alive. The few people who have ventured into the portal have never returned." he answered. What would happen next would either save him, or damn him.

Sakura began to cry. She wept quietly to herself. looking up she said, "So that means he's as good as dead?"

Kakashi looked at the man, and said, "Thank you. You have been most helpful." With that, he dispatched the man in one quick movement. The man's body slumped to the ground, with a frozen mask of fear on his face. Wipping his hands of dust, Kakashi stood up. He faced the two remaining people in his team.

"Come. We're returning to Konohagakure. We have to report this to the Hokage immediately." he said as he turned to go. He was stopped in mid-step by Sakura's voice.

"What about Naruto? Do we tell Tsunade-sama about waht happened to him?" she asked, her voice choked by sobs. Tears were shining in her eyes.

Kakashi turned to Sakura. His one visible eye was sad. Heaving a sigh, he answered the pink-haired genin.

"Yes. We have to tell her about this tragedy. It is unfortunate, but we must." he answered, his shoulders sagging slightly. Sasuke was as impassive as ever. His posture seemed to sayt aht he didn't care, but his eyes told a different story. He was troubled. The only person he couldn't understand was now gone. It wasn't positive that he was alive or dead, but the raven-haired boy felt troubled by the dead man's explanation of what the portal was. He didn't know why, but he felt that sooner or later, something would happen that concerned the portal, and what he had witnessed.

Turning to Kakashi, he spoke only two words.

"Let's go."

WITH NARUTO

Naruto was troubled. What would a girl be doing in a portal? And how did she know him? Those questions floated around the blonde-haired genin's mind, as he gently floated towards the cirlce of white light. Suddenly he heard another voice. It wasn't the gentle voice of the girl he had heard earlier. This voice had a bit of hidden malice in it.

"What do you think you're doing boy!"

Naruto flinched. He knew that voice only too well. Only one voice could ruin the mood he was in now. Kyuubi.

"What do you want Kyuubi?" he asked angrily. He had been doing just fine without the company of Kyuubi in his current situation, but it seemed that it wasn't going to happen. Kyuubi was back to bother him.

"Brat, don't you think that the light is only too convenient? Isn't it a bit suspicious to you kit?" questioned the Kyuubi.

"Well, no that I think about it, it does seem pretty suspic-"

His thoughts were cut short as he smelled a heavenly and familiar scent.

"RAMEN!" he screamed. He immediately began to swim towards the scent frantically. Kyuubi's voice had a definite edge of nervousness to it.

"Brat, can't you see where you're headed! You're getting closer to the vortex! Don't go there kit!" Kyuubi practically screeched.

Headless of Kyuubi's words, Naruto continued to swim towards the vortex. When ramen was concerned, nothing would get in his way. As he got closer to the vortex, he saw a bowl of ramen floating in the middle.

'That's weird.' he thought. 'But when ramen's involved, nothings weird!' Reaching a decision, he entered the vortex. As he reached for the bowl of ramen, it disappeared. The vortex also closed behind him.

"Nooooo!" he wailed at the loss of ramen, and way out. He fell to his knees and clasped his hands in prayer for the lost ramen. He was about to pray when a voice interrupted him

"So you have come Naruto."

Whirling around, Naruto faced a girl about his age with long silky black hair that reached the small of her back. She had dark brown eyes to comment her hair. She was wearing a black tank top with black shorts and the regular ninja sandals. Her face was serious but Naruto noticed that she was stunning, no matter what expression she had on. He stared at her for a few moments before her voice brought him back to reality.

"Naruto. There is a reason why I called you here." she said. She looked him in the eye as she said this. Naruto could see that she meant business. He too looked her in the eye. Of course, she was the only thing his heart wanted to look at right then. He blushed. He could feel himself sweat slightly as she continued to look at him. Suddenly he realized something.

"Hey! I don't know your name yet!" he shouted. She winced slightly. "You're loud aren't you?" she said. "My name is Hebara Natsumi. Nice to meet you."

Natsumi looked at Naruto. She could feel her feelings welling up inside her. She didn't understand. Why would her heart race when she is around this boy? She felt troubled. After all, she didn't deal with matters of the heart.

Natsumi looked at Naruto and blushed. 'What's going on! Why am I doing this! Am I falling for him!' she wondered. The blonde boy totally missed the blush. She bit her lip. 'I gotta find out whats wrong with me.' she decided. Looking up she spoke.

"Naruto, come with me." she said, as she walked along a corridor that just materialized.

"Coming Natsumi-chan!" responded the blonde. He didn't know how this caused the girl to blush.

The two walked along the corridor for a few minutes, before reaching a huge domed room. The room had many murial paintings. Upon closer inspection, Naruto noticed that they were very old, and the oils cracked at places. They depicted many epic battles in areas that were foreign to Naruto.

The only thing which caught Naruto's eye the most, were the three huge crystals located in the middle of the room. Each crystal glowed with their own light. One glowed with a firery red light, another glowed with a calm ocean blue, and the last, with a magnificent sliver-white.

Drawn in by their beauty, Naruto walked closer and closer, until he was directly in front of them. The three crystals seemed to be calling to him. He was about to reach out and touch them, when a voice stopped him.

"Brat, don't touch those crystals!"

It was the voice of Kyuubi. Judging by how his voice shook, Naruto suspected that Kyuubi was afraid of the crystals. They seemed to have a power all their own. He decided to find out more about the crystals. He turned to Natsumi and stopped.

The girl's face was so peaceful. Her eyes were closed, and the hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Naruto judged that she enjoyed being in this room, by the way her eyes shone when she looked around, and how happy her laughter was. He blushed. He couldn't help but notice the way her skin shone when it caught the light from the crystals, how her hair flowed gracefully behind her, and her soft bell-like laughter. He felt that he had to break his spell of admiration before his mind becomes as perverted as a certain Sannin...

Shaking his head, he decided ask Natsumi about the crystals. However, he had to get her attention first. An evil smile lit up his face. He knew the perfect way to get her attention. Sneakily, he got behind the girl. Slowly, he got his arms around her waist, and in one swift motion, he lifted her so she sat on his shoulder. He then proceeded to run around the room with a shrieking Natsumi on his shoulder.

"Eeeek! Naruto! LetmedownLetmedownLetmedown!" shrieked Natsumi. Naruto laughed and ran around the room even faster. After a bit, he let her down. Natsumi was breathing heavily. She glared at Naruto, who chuckled nervously. She growled playfully and jumped at Naruto. Naruto stumbled, trying to accomodate his weight and Natsumi's. He ended up tripping over a rug, and landed on a huge pile of cushins.

When he opened his eyes, he met a pair of dark brown eyes. He blushed. Checking his current situation, he realized that when he had tripped, he had pulled Natsumi down with him. The result, was with him laying down on a pile of cushins and Natsumi laying right on top of him. Naruto suddenly had this urge to put his arms around her waist. Both teens blushed. Hastily, they got up. Naruto blushed as he brushed dust off of himself, while Natsumi did likewise. He decided to get down to business.

"Natsumi-chan, There was something I wanted to ask you before...we...um...fell." he stuttered. He felt embarassed for himself and for Natsumi.

Natsumi blushed at the mention of what just happened. She decided to hide the fact that she was just as embarassed by the incident by acting calm. "What did you want to as me Naruto...-kun?" she added the last bit in hesitation, not sure if he would approve.

Naruto blushed. He didn't mind her calling him Naruto-kun, but it would just make him blush. He decided to get on with his question.

"Ne, Natsumi-chan, what are those crystals?" he asked. He pointed to each crystal to show what he was asking.

"Oh, those are the Aura Crystals. They each have a special function." she answered. "Oh, and they work against the Kyuubi." she stated.

Naruto was shocked. Natsumi knew about the Kyuubi! Whats more, she didn't think of it as such a big deal.

"How do you know about the Kyuubi, and what do you mean it works against him?" he asked. Naruto felt that he needed to get things cleared in his mind.

"For one thing, I've met Kyuubi." she said as she looked at Naruto's stunned expression. "I'm not afraid of him. Second, the crystals each have a certain power that needs storage in your body. They would simply take up the place where Kyuubi is now, and destroy him. Then you can call on each of their powers." she finished simply.

Naruto swallowed hard. He had just been dealt some serious information in a few seconds. For one thing, Natsumi knew about the Kyuubi. Another, she knew how to get rid of the Kyuubi. If he wasan't so shocked, he might have just kissed her right then and there. Naruto turned to Natsumi and gave her his trademark foxy grin.

"Thanks Natsumi. That was really healpful! Now the villagers won't be scared of me anymore!" he said. Then he surprised both Natsumi and himself. He walked towards her and gave her a hug.

"Arigato, Natsumi-chan." he said after he released the girl. He gave his trademark foxy-grin. "I know, Natsumi-chan! Let's make a pact of friendship!"

Natsumi was confused about what pact Naruto would want. "What type of pact Naruto-kun?" she asked.

Naruto smiled at her. "I'll surprise you. How about that?" he asked. Natsumi looked confused still, but nodded.

Suddenly, Naruto leaned foward and gave her a light peck on the cheek. "There you go! A pact of friendship!" he said and smiled.

Natsumi was shocked to say the least. She just recieved a kiss on the cheek! And it was from a boy she just met! SHe couldn't stop the blush from coming to her cheeks.

"Ok, now that we've done that,"she said while blushing, " What else do you want to ask me?" She knew that he would ask her something by the contemplating look on his face. Naruto looked at her.

"What are these powers exactly Natsumi-chan?" he asked. Naruto wanted to know what would be replacing the Kyuubi.

"Each of these three crystals are unique. They each control a different power." she said. She paused a bit for Naruto to understand.

"The firery red crystal is known as Kasai Shinzui, or Fire Spirit. Its power makes you movements flicker like fire. Got that?" she asked. Naruto nodded. Flickering movement meant fast movement to him. Natsumi moved on to the next crystal.

"The calm ocean blue crystal is known as Aoiro Taizen, or Blue Calm. Its power calms your mind, and can help you think and act. Its useful for thinking up strategies for war, or for getting out of tough spots. With me so far?" she asked, pausing, so that the information sinks in. At a nod, she continued to the final crystal.

"This crystal is known as the Mitsukai Reikon, or Angel Soul. The power in this crystal allows you to emit a calming aura from your body to calm people down. It helps with teamwork." she said."That's about it. Any questions?"

Naruto shook his head. He understood everything so far, but it still seemed like something was missing.

"Natsumi-chan, somethings's still missing. I don't know what it is." the blonde boy stated, still alittle confused.

Natsumi smiled. She knew Naruto would find that something was missing. He only needed to ask her to find out.

"Naruto-kun, each power also comes with it's own taijutsu style. Its there to help you master the use of these powers." she stated.

Seeing Naruto was about to speak, she quickly cut him off. "You'll be able to learn the styles in time, don't worry about it."

"For now Naruto-kun, I'll just tell you the names of these taijutsu styles. For the Fire Spirit, the style is called the Flickering Fist. It focuses on using the power of it's own crystal for combat. It is an offensive taijutsu style. The Blue Calm is similar to the Flickering Fist, only it is a defensive taijutsu style. It's called the Calm Mind. It uses its own power to make your movements calm and precise. The final crystal, the Angel Soul, is a lost medic taijutsu style. It focuses on healing your own body, while damaging your opponents. You understood all of that Naruto-kun?" she asked, after her long description.

Naruto looked like he was going to peg out, but he nodded to show that he understood. Now that it was over, he was surprised that three crystals could hold all that inside, and still not destroy itself. Natsumi took his hand. He looked confusedly at his hand and hers.

"Don't worry. It time for you to claim your powers Naruto-kun. Just go to the center of the crystals where they meet, and you will find a podium. Simply stand on the podium, and you will claim the powers." said Natsumi. SH esmiled. She had finally found the one person who could claim such vast strength from the three crystals.

Naruto proceeded to the podium. He climbed up the steps and stood. All three crystals surounded him on all sides. Then, beams of light came from each crystal, snaking its way to Naruto. As they made contact with his body, Naruto felt a surge of power ripple through him, followed by the howl of the Kyuubi. He realized how painful it must be to be destroyed from your own cage. Kyuubi's howl slowly faded into nothingness. On his stomach, the seal that was placed by the Fourth, disappeared. Naruto felt a slight twinge of pain, as the last remnants of the Kyuubi was destroyed. After that passed, he felt a surge of warmth and comfort.

Slowly, he descended from the podium. He felt calm, and yet, ready for anything. As he cleared the last step, Natsumi approached him. She looked serious.

"Naruto-kun, now that you have the powers of the three crystals, you need to proceed to Coroscant, to go to the Jedi Temple." she said. Naruto merely nodded. Another vortex appeared at the far end of the room with two huge stone golems, one purest whit, and one pure darkness, guarding it.This time, it showed a city unlike anything Naruto had ever see. Skyscrapers taller than the Hokage Monuments, people, it you could call them people, wandered here and there. And stanger still, Some mode of transportation, flying around the sky.

Naruto turned to Natsumi. "I'm ready to go...under one condition." he said. Looking confused, Natsumi asked, "What condition?"

Naruto smiled and took her hand. "You have to come with me." he stated simply. Smiling, Natsumi nodded, unable to meet his eyes, unless he would see her tears of joy. As the approached the vortex, the golems moved.

"Halt. If you pass by this vortex, which path shall you take? The path of Light, or the path of Darkness?" boomed one golem.

Naruto looked the golem squarely in the eye, and answered, "I'll take the middle road." and walked between the two golems, and into the vortex.

(A/N: Yeah, whoever guesses where I got that from, gets a cookie! The first five to get it wins! Oh yeah, I don't own that either)

KONOHAGAKURE

Tsunade wept bitterly. She had just read the report from Kakashi with the stats of the mission. Naruto was listed as: Missing Presumed Dead. Bitterly she got up from her desk. She couldn't accept the fact that Naruto was gone. Outside, she head the sounds of a party. The village was celebrating the death of the demon vessel and Kyuubi. The only exception were those who had known Naruto, and his friends. Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Temari were all weeping for his death. Tsunade smiled grimly. She knew that only the girls would cry. The guys would just hid their emotions, but they would remember what Naruto was like. Ichiraku Ramen had closed down for the day. The owner and his daughter both mourning the loss of a friend, and valued customer.

Tsunade returned to her own pit of hell. Her little brother was gone from this world. She had forced the village to mourn for Naruto a little while ago, but only the genin teams that knew Naruto, and Ichiraku Ramen showed up. She couldn't believe how the village was reacting to this piece of news. They were actually enjoying themselves, and laughing at the death of Naruto.

Putting that aside, she looke at the scroll that Kakashi had bought back. The scroll contained many jutsus, some involved with massive transport, and others with taijutsu styles, medic jutsus, and assasination jutsus. It was extremely helpful, and Tsunade knew it would dramatically increase the ninja strength in Konoha. She planned to teach these only to the few genin teams they had.

'It would have been what Naruto would've wanted.' thought Tsunade. Naruto always cared about others, and not that much about himself. He would always try to cheer up people when they are down.

'For his memory, we'll progress.' she thought. 'For Naruto.'

Hey all! That ends this chapter! Yes! I took me at least two to three days or more to write! I hope you all enjoyed that! I've been reading Rem-chan's work! It really helps! Check out his stories!

Anyway, most of this chapter surprised myself as well. I never planned it to come out like this. The fast pace parts are the parts that surprised me.

Anyway, R&R! If you want me to update faster, it would help if I got a lot of reviews! From now, updates will be random. Lots of reviews means faster updates, less reviews means slower updates.

Thanks everybody! Help me get more readers!

Ja ne!