(September – X776)

A crowd of dark guild wizards gathered around an arena, cheering, shouting, and raving at the sight of wizards destroying each other for their entertainment. It was a rare privilege to have all the subsidiary dark guilds be invited to a tournament hosted by Grimoire Heart.

The prize was a rare chance to become one of Hades' top lieutenants and receive unimaginable power in the form of an eye that once belonged to a wizard that rivaled Zeref himself.

With such an opportunity on the line, the participants fought with everything they had, brutally blasting each other off with spells or attacking their opponents with weapons and even their bare hands. The crowd erupted with joy as they watched their comrades smash each other's faces.

The tournament dragged on for hours on end, and by the time it was nearly over, only two out of the original one hundred mages remained. One wielded a polearm, pointing it towards his opponent, while the other brandished a sword.

"Just give it up pal" the sword wielder taunted with a big grin, "That eye is as good as mine!"

"In your dreams" his opponent retorted.

The two wizards circled each other, warily observing the other. The rowdy audience began to grow impatient as they started throwing junk towards the arena, urging the final two to get on with the fight. Almost as if on cue, the two mages dashed forward, ready to finish the fight.

As the crowd erupted in joy and bloodlust, Hades watched from a safe distance on a balcony. His eye zoomed in on the final two warriors, battling each other with all their might. One of them would receive the honor of being part of an experiment, and if they succeeded and showed potential, might even get to become a Kin of Purgatory as the eight-member.

Of course, the word 'experiment' was something he conveniently left out to all the participants. Taking a good look at the jar that he had brought with him, Hades let out a chuckle; the eye was going to be for his use first and foremost. The winner was only meant to serve as a test run to see if it could be safely implanted and if it could work outside of its original user.

The fact that he brought the eye inside of a jar with him was an entirely different matter. It seemed reckless and foolish to bring such a valuable artifact with him, where people could potentially steal it from him. But Hades knew better than to simply bring such treasures without having some sort of safety measure in place. First, he had enchanted the jar with a special spell that would bring grievous harm to anyone who would even think about touching it. Secondly, if anyone even thought of trying such an act, they would face the wrath of Hades himself and suffer a fate worse than death. The fact that no one had so far made attempts to do so was proof of his authority and power: they knew who he was and what he was capable of.

Hades' thoughts were interrupted as the battle reached its conclusion. The swordsman stood over his beaten and prone opponent, victorious as the crowd cheered loudly for him. Bloodied and bruised, he looked up towards the balcony where Hades sat and smiled while pointing his weapon.

In response, Hades rose from his seat, taking the jar from his hand and presented it for all to see. The roars grow louder as the winner smiled at the sight of his prize.

Sasuke opened his eye and tried to catch his breath. A cold sweat fell from his head to his neck; his eye was wide open as if he had awoken from a nightmare.

The things he had just witnessed, they were…..

"Bad dreams?"

Sasuke turned his head and looked at the driver of the supply wagon that he was on. He was not only his current employer but also the only provider of transportation as he journeyed through the icy frontiers of Isvan.

The journey had been long and tiring, to the point that Sasuke hadn't even realized that he had gone past the borders of Fiore and into the neighboring countries beyond. The country he was currently in, Isvan, was a tiny nation squeezed between its massive neighbor in Bosco and Iceberg.

"Guess it can't be helped" the driver spoke again, "Considering you spent the whole night on guard duty, you earned yourself a little bit of shut-in."

"That won't be necessary," Sasuke said, facing forward. He had enough rest as it was and focusing on a task would probably help keep his mind off of certain events.

"Suit yourself" the driver shrugged, holding onto the reigns and commanding the boar to move at a steady pace.

The two continued traveling in silence until dawn had broken and they had reached their destination. It was a small town situated right next to a massive lake, half of which was already frozen despite autumn only just starting. Then again, this was a colder place than Fiore, so Sasuke wasn't surprised by this.

"Here we are" the man announced, pulling the reigns to make the boar stop, "Welcome to Tinsle, home of ice wizards and last bastion of civilization in this god-forsaken place."

While the man took his time in gathering the payment that was agreed upon, Sasuke patiently sat and took in the sights. Besides the massive lake, snow-covered peaks surrounded the town towards its northern and eastern borders while the direction they came from, the south, consisted of snowy highlands. It looked peaceful and quiet; the type of place where he could isolate himself and reflect on his life.

The driver held out a small bundle of cash and handed it out towards Sasuke, who took the money without much fuss "One thousand Jewels as promised."

Sasuke placed the money into his new pouch and got off the wagon. With the transaction completed, it was time for the both of them to go their separate ways, though the driver probably wouldn't have minded his company a little bit more.

"Good luck to ya, son," the driver said, respectfully tipping his hat, "Hope you find what you're looking for."

Sasuke nodded back as the driver pushed on ahead, taking the wagon straight towards town. The Uchiha himself was heading towards the same destination, but at a much slower and steadier pace considering he had no goods to trade like the driver was. He had done his part in protecting his goods from bandits and other threats and now, it was time to move on to the next job.

Walking through the town, Sasuke adjusted his cloak as he made his way through the crowds, doing his best to not be seen. The air was thinner here than in Fiore and he struggled to breathe a few times, but thankfully, the worn-out yet thick cloak helped stave off the cold. From the day he left Magnolia to where he was right now, it was a nifty piece of clothing and a reminder of the place that he had left behind.

The first thing that came to Sasuke's mind was to restock on provisions. The cold and desolate environment of Isvan meant that foraging and hunting for food would be much more difficult than it was back in Fiore, Bosco or even Seven. This meant that he needed to stock up on as many supplies as he could before setting out on his journey and with the money he earned, it wouldn't be a problem.

As he walked through the quaint little town, Sasuke stumbled upon what appeared to be the first shop to be opened early in the morning. It appeared to sell mostly fruits, vegetables, and other necessities, which was exactly what Sasuke was looking for.

"Jove Fruit?" Sasuke's raised his brow as he remarked on the shop's strange name. Regardless, he marched towards the place hoping to get things he needed.

As he approached the shop, the Uchiha realized that his head barely reached the top of the stand, let alone the chairs placed next to him. Fortunately, the owner was able to notice his arrival and anticipate him.

"Good morning! How can I help you?" A young woman greeted him with a smile, looking down on him from the stand.

Sasuke's eyes darted everywhere as he looked around the store. "I need food and other supplies, it's for the journey ahead" he requested.

The young woman was taken aback, a little unnerved by the boy attitude. Most kids his age would be asking for chocolate or candies not making request for provisions in such a consummate manner. Still, it wasn't such a deal-breaker that it terrified her since she was able to compose herself. "S-sorry, I've only got food here" she answered with an uneasy smile.

"That's fine. Rations will do" Sasuke continued.

"Alright then, just hold on a minute" the woman stated.

While the shopkeeper began busily gathering provisions for him, Sasuke took a seat on one of the elevated chairs and waited.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the woman asked, continued to rummage through her items while placing the necessary ones in a paper bag.

"No," Sasuke told her.

"So where are you from then?" the woman continued asking.

"A place called Fiore" Sasuke dully replied.

"Fiore? That's pretty far away, isn't it?" the woman noted, continuing to gather the supplies, "It must be a little scary coming this far into Isvan all on your own. Are you here to visit somebody?"

"Not really"

"Ah! So you're traveling around, is it?" Sasuke quietly listened to her ramble on, hoping for the conversation to end soon, " when are you planning to go back home, to your family?"

The woman's question got the Uchiha perked up. Home? There was no place that he could call one, as far as he knew, he kept moving from place to place, unsure of what he was even doing anymore. Family? His parents were long gone, dead and buried much like hid brother, everyone he ever knew had been left behind in the old world and the people he knew here either betrayed him or stayed behind at the Tower of Heaven. That left only one person whom he could even consider family.

"You do have one…..right?"

Her question snapped him out of his thoughts as he looked at her. "I guess so, she's the only one left that I can call one but…" he glanced off to the side.

"That's good to hear. No one should try to be alone" the woman smiled as she placed a paper bag containing all the items needed. "That'll be three hundred Jewels."

Taking the money out of his pouch, Sasuke placed the cash on the table as he inspected the provisions: it consisted of fresh fruits like apples and oranges, small loaves of bread, canned food, and chocolate. The last one made him cringe a little bit but the food was food and in a frigid place like this, there was little room to complain.

Taking out his travel bag, Sasuke began to carefully take the items from the carrier bag and place them in the backpack. As he did so, he noticed the woman leaning forward and staring at the bushes near the town square with a sad look on her face.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing" the woman sighed and leaned back, "It's just..."

He could tell something was bothering her, and his presence probably had something to do with it. Perhaps it dug up some old and painful memories. Regardless, Sasuke felt it was best that he simply let her talk at her own pace.

"I had a friend who used to come by here" she explained, while the boy listened, "She used to pick up her groceries from my shop all the time and we'd talked about the things that were happening in our lives. She was a wonderful person."

From the way she kept referring to that 'friend' in the past tense, Sasuke could deduce that something must've happened to her.

"It's been almost a year now since I last saw her," her eyes looked dejected and her words were sorrowful, "I think I know what happened to her."

His prediction was right on spot. But that was little cause for celebration since it was the loss of someone dear to another person. He could empathize with that, even if it was with a complete stranger.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sasuke tried to console her as he closed his backpack. "I know what it feels like, to lose the people you love."

The woman blinked and stared at Sasuke, a little surprised by what he said. She was amazed to hear such a grown-up sentence from a young boy like him. "Sorry about all of that, I didn't mean to bother you with my life's story" she turned her frown into a smile, trying to regain the façade of a happy adult.

"It's fine" Sasuke reassured her.

"Wow, you really are mature for someone your age," the woman remarked, placing both hands on her hips. "That reminds me; my friend used to walk around with two boys that she taught. One of them had black hair and a grumpy attitude, so looking at you kinda reminds me of him."

Sasuke could sense another rambling coming. At the very least, he was glad to see her return to her chipper self again.

"And he was pretty cute too, just like you" the woman winked.

"Is that so?" Sasuke said with dull eyes, having heard that compliment from a thousand women, a thousand times. It was nothing new at this point.

"I know so!" she declared, suddenly seeming a bit more energetic, "Say, I bet when you grow up, you'll be quite the looker yourself!"

"Yeah sure," Sasuke scratched his head, awkwardly accepting the compliment. Having taken enough of her time, the Uchiha slung his travel bag across his shoulders and dropped from the chair as he moved from the shop.

"Take care!" the woman called out and waved him goodbye.

Sasuke returned the gesture with a wave of his own before parting ways with her. One of the things he liked about his travels was the opportunity he got to learn more about the lives of other people and their perspectives. His view of the world had changed for the better thanks to Naruto, and now, he wanted to look at the world through new lenses. This woman's story was just one of many he had the privilege of knowing.

Moving through the streets of Tinsle, Sasuke ran through the list of things he needed besides rations. For starters, having a weapon would be nice especially since he handed over the one he had to Kagura. If this town had any sort of blacksmith, he hoped they'd be willing to actually give him a weapon and not some toy hammer.

The next thing on the list was some set of gear. It was secondary at best since it wasn't essential to his survival, but a new set of clothing suitable for a frigid environment would definitely make life a bit more bearable.

The last thing on his mind was whether or not he would find any sort of work here.

"Psst, hey"

Sasuke stopped walking and went into full alert. He could feel some sort of presence stalking him but couldn't figure out where it was coming from as his eyes darted everywhere.

"Over here"

His eyes eventually fell on a young woman with dark blue hair with a black bandana across her forehead while a crescent-shaped hair ornament was worn at the back of her head. With the rest of her body covered in a black cloak, the girl stared down the Uchiha with a blank face.

This was a curious situation for Sasuke. He was a nobody in this world as far as he knew, so to have someone specifically look for him was a strange thing. Even stranger was the fact that she wasn't attacking him or making any attempts on his life, and he couldn't feel any sort of killing intent from her either.

Of course, he wasn't going to get any answers just standing still. "Who are you and what do want from me?" he questioned the lady as he made his way towards her.

"It doesn't matter who I am" she glowered over him, "Just keep quiet and follow me. There's someone who wants to speak with you."

Before he could even get a reply in, the irate woman was already leading the way, almost as if expecting him to keep up. She was straight to the point and wasted no time taking action, which was quite a change of pace from all the chatterboxes he dealt with.

However, she was still a stranger and Sasuke would be a fool to trust her so easily. He cautiously followed her away from the busy streets and into a small park near the semi-frozen lake, keeping a watchful eye on her and the world around him to gauge for any traps and come up with a contingency plan should the worst-case scenario happen.

"There," she pointed out towards a person sitting on a nearby bench, "My master has been waiting for you for a long time, so treat her with the respect and reverence she deserves."

"Master, is it?" Sasuke mused on the title as he looked at the person on the bench; It was a woman with bright red hair and a single strand braided at the right side of her face, wearing modest clothing consisting of a black dress, brown boots, and a white shawl. At the moment, she was staring at the lake, almost looking contemplative.

But as he began walking towards her, Sasuke realized there was something else about her presence that was bothering him. A strange feeling came over him the closer he got to her.

"Sasuke"

Hagoromo's voice chimed in, sounding almost concerned.

"I sense an enormous reserve of power coming from this woman. Proceed with caution and do not take her lightly."

"I know" he whispered. This was the first time that he had heard the Sage of Six Paths speak with such concern. And while he couldn't fully feel that power, there was definitely something about this woman that made his skin crawl for some reason.

"You wanted to see me?" Sasuke asked, standing before the woman. As he looked at her, the color of her hair and eyes almost reminded him of Erza. In fact, he thought she'd probably look like her a few years down the line.

"Yes" the woman smiled, but it didn't feel genuine, almost as if she was hiding something. "Sit" she continued, placing a hand on the empty side of the bench as if ordering him.

That strange feeling that Sasuke had about her intensified as brief flashes of old memories began popping up inside of his head; in particular, the memories he had of his mother.

The woman let out a small laugh at the sight of the apprehensive boy. "Don't worry, I have no intention of hurting you. Unless you give me a reason to, that is" she stated.

That sounded less like reassurance and more like a threat. He could feel the arrogance and sense of superiority oozing from the scarlet lady and given what Hagoromo said, there was a good chance she could back up those claims.

"I don't like to repeat myself so I'll only say this one more time" her expression hardened as she gave him a more sinister and threatening stare, "Take. A. Seat."

Reluctantly, the Uchiha warily took a seat next to the woman. The last time he underestimated someone, it nearly cost him his life, so this time, he opted to be more patient and gauge a potential threat's level of power before making a move. And if someone as powerful as the Sage of Six Paths himself warned you of a person's strength, it was probably a good idea to heed it.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Sasuke gave a cautionary look before he hunched over and stared at the lake.

"Back in my time, this nation was once home to several tribes consisting of the most talented ice mages in the entire continent. Now, none of them remain."

That was all well and good, but Sasuke wasn't interested in listening to stories about ice wizards and histories at the moment. He had many, many questions and he was going to get the woman to answer them.

"Ah, but you're not here to listen to such stories, are you?" she sarcastically quipped, pretending to have a realization. "I'm sure you have any questions for me, so I'll allow you to ask away."

Rubbing his hands together, Sasuke leaned back and rested on the bench, keeping a firm gaze towards the lake. "Tell me exactly who you are and how much you know about me."

"Me? My identity is of no importance to you right now" she bluntly answered, "But you may call me Irene."

At least he knew her name now, though he wouldn't it past this 'Irene' to fake their name for the sake of keeping anonymity.

"As for how much I know about you, the truth is; it's very little" she continued, "To be honest, I was drawn to this place by some unknown force I couldn't comprehend nor understand and for reasons I cannot fathom, you intrigue me. Looking at you feels like I'm looking at my own child."

The Uchiha looked on as a young girl happily skipped across the park with a grown man walking behind her, possibly her father or some other relative. He smiled a bit as he watched the man lift the girl up and carried her on his shoulders. Looking at the two of them, he wondered if what this woman was saying was true; what could've compelled her to feel that way since as far as he was concerned, they were both complete strangers. What could've drawn her to him?

"That and you have a very familiar scent lingering about you, boy. It reminded me of another very important person I once knew."

The Uchiha sighed as his face scrounged up with a look of awkwardness. All interest in trying to understand what she knew was instantly disregarded the moment she made those comments.

The woman called Irene, however, didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. "So now that I've answered, your questions, you'll have to answer mine. Is that a fair trade?"

Not that he had much of a choice in it, and it was a good opportunity to know what she was plotting. "Fine, ask away" he sighed.

Irene smiled at him, almost like a parent would to a child. "Tell me, what is it that you're doing here? What are you searching for?"

"Nothing"

"Is that so?" Irene chuckled, resting her cheeks on her left hand as her eyes wandered forward. "So you're a drifter, wandering aimlessly through life feeling sorry for yourself. And here I thought you were making plans to retrieve your Rinnegan."

Sasuke straightened his back as his eyes became wide open. It seems Irene picked up on it as she looked at him with a curious glare of her own.

"That look in your eye" Irene continued, "And the missing one on the left. For you to carry such a mark, you must have quite the story to tell."

With the revelation that this woman had knowledge of the Rinnegan's existence, Sasuke was no longer in the mood to play her games. "What do you know about Rinnegan?" he demanded.

"Just enough to know what it is capable of and how to wield it properly. In fact, I've already dispatched two of my forces to keep an eye on it."

Unlike Jellal, who wrongfully assumed that it was an eye belonging to some god, it seems Irene was aware of its true nature. This was a troublesome situation that Sasuke had found himself in.

"Tell me where it is?" he asked.

"And why would I do that?" Irene argued, raising a brow.

"Just answer me!"

Whatever it was that he had said, it was enough for Irene to lose her patience as she glanced at the Uchiha with murderous intent. The ground beneath them began to shake as a powerful aura emanated from her. Not only that, rocks began floating nearby while the water in the lake began thrashing violently. It was as if a calamity was about to happen.

It was at that moment that Sasuke finally understood what Hagoromo meant. He could feel enormous power coming from the woman, and not just him either; all around him, Sasuke could see the look of terror in the faces of the civilians as they ran for safety. Even her minion seemed to be concerned.

"You don't get to make demands of me, boy" she sternly admonished Sasuke as he jumped from the seat and faced the woman.

The Uchiha's body tightened as he locked his eyes on Irene, getting ready to defend himself. Fortunately, neither of them was forced to come to blows as Irene managed to compose herself and restore stability to the world around her.

While he couldn't possibly gauge the full extent of her abilities, Sasuke speculated based on the seismic event that she caused, her powers had to have been incredibly destructive.

"That being said, there's something about you that fascinates me," Irene said, returning to her calm, collected self almost instantly, "And it would be a waste to kill you right now."

Sasuke was still on guard, carefully watching Irene's every move.

Irene smirked at the sight of the boy readying himself for a fight. Compared to all the grown men who cowered and ran for their lives at the mere sight of her power, this boy stood his ground without an ounce of fear being shown.

Honestly, she found that very amusing.

"So how about this," she said, gesturing her hand as if to offer something, "I consider myself a collector of sorts; of interesting stories in particular. So I'll put up a commission for you, accept it and I'll give you all the answers you seek as a reward."

Sasuke keenly observed, feeling like he was being toyed around based on her body language and her facial expressions. He still couldn't figure out Irene's true motive; she claimed to know very little of him but somehow had intimate knowledge of the Rinnegan, its whereabouts and even the fact that it was his. It was obvious that she was toying with him. She made it look like he had an option but the truth was, he knew very well that he couldn't refuse this. "Alright, I'll do it" he reluctantly agreed.

"A wise choice, then it's settled" Irene clasped her hands together and smiled, "but do remember that if you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, you will have to pay a hefty price."

"So what it is that you want?"

"The ice witch, Ur Milkovich, one of the last remaining descendants of the ice wizard tribes of Isvan is said to have lived around this place. Her skill in Ice-make magic was supposed to be so exceptional that she was considered a candidate to become one of the wizard saints of Ishgar" Irene began explaining, "However, it has almost been a year since she was last seen alive and unharmed. Many have speculated that she has perished while others believe that she's still alive somewhere."

"And you want me to find her" Sasuke deduced.

"You catch on quickly" Irene complimented, "Yes, I want you to find out what fate befell her. Think of it as a test; a trial to follow in the footsteps of Ur, the ice witch. That does sound like an interesting story to tell, doesn't it?"

Admittedly, Sasuke did find the idea of investigating something like this to be a bit interesting. It definitely was a request that was a bit more serious than the usual errand work or delivery request that he did. On top of that, if it meant getting more information on the whereabouts of his Rinnegan and even a chance to retrieve it back, then this was the golden opportunity he had been looking for.

"Now that the contract has been settled, I think it's about time I take my leave" Irene stood up, the cold wind blowing past her scarlet hair. It was the same color that reminded Sasuke of Erza.

But more than that, her presence caused brief glimpses of his old memories to resurface once more. Long black hair slowly blowing across the wind, a warm gentle smile, and a presence that had a calming effect on him; Sasuke just couldn't figure out why seeing Irene made him remember his mother or why he felt like his own mother's presence when he looked at her.

Eventually, those memories began to overwhelm him as he placed a hand on his head to comfort himself.

"What's wrong?" Irene asked, looking back.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?

Hearing that familiar, motherly voice caused Sasuke to take a step back and realize that Irene was looking at him a bit puzzled.

"Feeling a bit overwhelmed by my power?" Irene stated, before turning around and walking away, "Well, I hope you don't become so weak as to fail this simple request. Once you're done, I'll find you, so until then, try not to die."

"Wait"

"Are you concerned about how we'll meet after you finish this? Don't worry about that, I have my ways."

"That's not it, I-"

Irene and her bodyguard disappeared before Sasuke could get another word in. There was something about her presence that was bothering her and that was what he wanted to ask.

"What happened to you Sasuke? Are you alright?"

Sasuke focused his eyes on the direction where Irene disappeared. He figured that the Sage of Six Paths would be the most suitable person to explain what he was feeling, so he rubbed his head and slowly began speaking, "I'm fine, it's just….seeing that woman made me remember something."

"Does she remind you of your mother?"

"No, it's more than that" he shook his head, "It's difficult to properly explain; the more I see her, the more the memories of my mother come back. And as ridiculous as it sounds, it almost felt like I was standing next to my mother, like I could feel her presence."

"That is an interesting, phenomenon. Give me some time to think, there may be some merit to your explanation."

The Uchiha wasn't surprised at all that the Sage of Six Paths would know something about this. Still, now that Hagoromo had this covered, he had to now focus on the mission at hand.

"You do that," he said to the Ōtsutsuki, "I'll get started with the mission."

"Hmm, how interesting"

A lone figure smiled as she observed Sasuke from the top of the town's church tower. A white ornamental robe and a hood obscured her face, leaving only the green color of her hair to be visible.

"You kept searching for something that would spark a fire inside of you, and lo and behold, fate was generous enough to deliver upon you the very object of your desire" the girl giggled as she flipped through the pages of a book, "We do hope you enjoyed our little gift, Miss Irene. Little do you know of the depths of the bonds between you and that boy."

The hooded girl flipped through the pages of a book, revealed to be a novel, before glancing at Sasuke below, who was busily making his way past the crowds of people.

"As for you," she said, continuing to monitor the boy, "Let us hope for your sake and everyone else's that you don't screw it up, this time, Sasuke Uchiha."

She continued observing Sasuke until he was out of sight. Once he was gone, the girl closed her book and stood near the church bell. Looking at the world below, the young girl smiled at the marvelous sight of the town and the world beyond.

"Be they humans, demons, dragons, or even a hairy vulcan, mortal lives are certainly fickle and unpredictable. Hmm, this is quite interesting indeed."

" Now let us see how the fate of this world will turn out this time."

The roar of the crowd intensified as the winner played along and embraced their screams. While that was happening, two audience members looked on with great interest. One was a young woman with orange hair in short pigtails and a childish figure wearing a white short dress with orange borders, while the other was a young man with black hair whose bangs covered his left side while the lower part of his face covered with a mask. He wore a red leather jacket that reached his thighs with black claw marks on the back.

"Awww, this sucks" the girl whined leaning on one of the balconies, "I wanted the spear guy to win."

"Desires and expectations are irrelevant in the face of reality" the man explained with a muffled voice, resting on the wall with his arms crossed, "The swordsman was the superior warrior and the end result is proof of that."

"Yeah, well, I bet you and I could take him down easily" the girl grumbled.

"That may be," the man said, "But remember, we have our orders, Juliet."

"Yeah, yeah, I know" Juliet continued whining with a pouty face, "But what's the point of coming here, don't you have a Rinnegan already, Lief?"

The man called Lief sighed before speaking up again, "Yes, but mine is an artificial one, created by Lord Zeref. Its powers are nothing compared to the real one above. And that goes for my Sharingan as well."

Juliet and Lief continued watching the winner prance around like an idiot while Hades showed off the Rinnegan from high above.

"Ugh, this is getting boring. Let's just steal it and bring it back to Lady Irene." Juliet grumbled, hanging loosely on the balcony.

"No. Lady Irene told us to wait and observe" Lief argued pulling Juliet back to the ground, "We're to only make our move on the eye once we're ordered to."

"Yeah, yeah" Juliet moaned.

As the noise began to die down and the audience began to disperse, the two noted that Hades had disappeared as well, though that wasn't too much of a problem for either of them since they could easily keep track of him.

"I'm a demon and you were once a sword," Lief said, placing a hand on Juliet's shoulders, "We owe it to our creators, the ones who gave us life, this much. Lady Irene and Lord Zeref in particular"

"Yeah, you're right" Juliet agreed with a shrug, "So what now?"

"Now, we wait?"

"That sounds boring" Juliet whined, slumping her shoulders. Suddenly an idea came over her head as she straightened herself, "Oh, I know! Let's get some ice cream in the meantime."

"Ice cream?"Lief tilted his head and raised a brow.

"Yup!" she nodded proudly.

The demon took a few moments to think this through. Indeed, they were only ordered to keep an eye out for the Rinnegan and that was something he was going to follow to the letter, but he personally couldn't stand another moment of his companion's whining either.

"Fine, but only one" he reluctantly conceded, seeing as there was no harm in getting ice cream. However, he still couldn't figure out how humans could enjoy such things or how even a homunculus could share that desire, for that matter.

"YAY! I CALL DIBS ON CHOCOLATE VANILLA!" Juliet shouted as she ran ahead in joy.

"Slow down! Wait!" Lief called out to her, already regretting his decision.

AN: So there's something important I need to tell everyone first. The events of Deliora and Gray's hometown are NOT in Fiore but in a country called Isvan and Brago. I apologize for this mistake and I've corrected it in the previous chapter. The exact location of both these countries aren't specified, so I made a headcanon of making them landlocked micronations between Bosco, Seven and Iceberg (since Iceberg is most likely a very cold place.)

Also, to garifullin0414, thanks for bringing up the timelines. I had been meaning to do this for a while but I just keep forgetting about. Hopefully, from this chapter onwards, I'll be adding the years.

To clear up any confusion of the years, I'm using the Fairy Tail wiki for this one.

Cana is the first of the new gen to join FT in X772.

The events of Deliora, the 'death' of Ur happened in X774, which is also the year Gray joined FT.

The events of the Tower of Heaven and the year when Erza joins FT is in X776 which is a full year after Gray first joined. This is also the time where the fanfic's story is currently taking place and Sasuke is travelling the world.

Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers (Gajeel, Sting, Rogue and Wendy) are going to come to the main timeline in the year X777 on the 7th of July.

Finally, the Strauss siblings joining FT and the birth of Happy will take place in the year X778.

Also, regarding the OCs, I'll be making a lot of them in order to create original storylines and deviate a little bit from canon. That being said, I'm also going to be introducing and expanding on a lot of characters who are explained in lore but have never made an appearance as well as make up some original lores and stories. Other than that, if you're having trouble trying to create a mental image of the OCs, I can try drawing them (Not that good), if that's what you all want.

Also, apologies if this chapter feels a bit short, the next one will probably be longer and will have a lot of interesting twists and reveals.

Dxhologram: Sasuke does have a dry wit, no doubt about that.

Protector for all: It's just a regular sword, for now.

Saru: An encounter with Silver is guaranteed. He's just too *ahem* cool to not be involved.

The Jingo: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

black luster: Two hot girls, battling for the love and affection of their beloved Onii-Chan and Sensei. Lol!

Blood050820: You can try dividing the arcs into seasons after the battle of Fairy Tail arc. So you basically get : Season 2 (Nirvana arc), Season 3 (Edolas arc), Season 4 (Tenrou arc), Seaosn 5 (Key of the Starry Heavens arc), Season 6 (Grand Magic games arc), Season 7 (Eclipse and Tartarous arc), Season 8 (Fairy Tail Zero), Season 9 (Alvarez and Acnologia arc).

Poharan: Sasuke is a very dynamic character. He's a great foil and deuterogamist, but a bad shonen protagonist, which is why he's so fun to write., because he offers a fresh and unique perspective that Naruto doesn't have.

Kensei-1085: Oh yeah, new monsters, cultist, dark guilds, crazy wizards. FT has a rich lore and world to fall back on.

Shiroyasha Rises: No, he's not fighting Atlas Flame at the moment. That happens much, MUCH later, after the seven year timeskip.

Godo: Yup, will be doing that. Fairy Tail has a large and interesting world to build on.