Author's Note: This fanfic is being written with some events that are different from the original story so that Naruto can fit into the account according to my point of view and design. No insults; be polite. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments or private.

Naruto had been traveling dimensions for quite a long time.

With the help of the tailed beasts' gift, he took steps into the distant stars in the multiverse, meeting all kinds of places and people, helping them as he could, just as the old man sage would've wanted. But some occurrences transpired in these places got stuck with him for various reasons.

The first world he traveled to was a place that was very similar to his homeworld. Martial arts and elements were used to fight, and a source of energy that powered their abilities, the chi. But a particular individual in this world reminded me a lot of himself, the Avatar.

Just like himself, just as he was born, a powerful spirit was put inside of him, and he lived unaware of it until a certain age. He laughed at the irony. A destiny he didn't ask for, just like he was, was placed on his shoulders. He couldn't help but sympathize with the boy.

The bald boy currently finds himself in an internal dilemma. He was feeling reluctant about whether he would be able to kill the Firelord and save the world. He could understand where that concern was coming from.

Before coming in contact with Avatar's group, he came across many people. Upon witnessing his feats, the people appealed to him and begged him to kill the tyrant and stop this madness immediately. He also could understand why they asked him that. He could see it in their eyes, in their voice, in their body features, the tiredness, the suffering. But he would not take another life, ever. Gutting people was not a job for him. He swore he wouldn't bathe his hands in blood again, even if it were to stop a rotten cockroach such as Ozai, a guy who kidnapped the national symbols of his nation to make political propaganda and convince his people to proceed with an already long-lasting war against the world just for the benefit of his family's selfish wish for imperialism. He had other methods...

The Avatar, though, was a different story. He was still a fledgling and wouldn't be able to take on someone with so much more power than him in his current state. His hibernation in that iceberg stopped his growth. He was still just an inexperienced kid. It was not like in the shinobi world where, since childhood, you learn to use sharp tools such as kunai and shuriken to cut the enemy's lung and finish your mission. C'mon, what else were those for? Play hit-and-miss with the enemy? Of course, those were lethal tools used for killing.

While the people insisted he takes action, others believed that the Avatar should take on the Fire Lord to restore balance. But once again, he had other methods. One simple trick would be perfect for satisfying both sides.

These people here had suffered enough for one lifetime. He believed that the other side didn't know what suffering like that was like. He just couldn't wait for the Avatar to get stronger and expected a miracle, coming out of nowhere, to help him to win without killing the man. He understood the kid's fears more than anyone else, so he left the group momentarily to stop the tyrant.

He had used a transformation jutsu to turn into the Avatar and rushed to the man's palace, knocked him out, and sent him straight to prison after sealing away his bending. It ended all right there. The world believed it was the Avatar who put an end to the Firelord's blind ambition. The people could now rebuild their homes and lives from the ashes. Razed by the Fire Nation for a hundred years, it was time for, at least these people to experience a moment of peace. He couldn't imagine the death toll from ten decades of war would be.

If he had arrived early, how many people could have been spared?

From what they told him, the tanned water-bending girl and the banished prince who accompanied him had lost their mothers, the Avatar had lost all of his people, and he had lost Jet, someone he had tried to stray from the path of vengeance. It was a strange correlation. He empathized with Jet's duty to protect the weak, but he was scarred, and scarred people were dangerous...

People like that were like a powder keg, just waiting to explode, and it wouldn't care if innocent people were caught in the blast.

Jet argued that the villagers could have been Fire Nation officials who participated in massacres in their youth. But even if that was true, he knew how the feeling was to take another one's life, even for a good cause. He didn't want that for him. Jet and his group seemed to have the best intentions but the worst modus operandi.

After stopping them from destroying a village full of people who had nothing to do with the Fire Nation's military plans, he expected the boy to change, but it was to no avail. His advice seemed to have fallen on deaf ears when he discovered that the leader of the Dai Li killed a brainwashed Jet after ignoring his friends' advice and openly challenging the banished prince and his uncle. They were fugitives at Ba Sing Se and were trying to start a new life there. He didn't criticize himself for the incident, though. He felt terrible, yes, but he knew that keeping watch under them forever was an impossible task.

People would die; even if he had strength, there would be deaths that he couldn't prevent, such as the deaths of his parents, his master, and all the others he had failed.

Not all things in there were terrible, though. He had a great time with the Avatar and his friends after Ozai's defeat. Both sides told stories, exchanged knowledge about their fighting styles and culture, and shared many a laugh on many occasions. He would miss them for sure.

Another place that he visited was a world covered by oceans and islands. It was a world full of pirates, marines, and ordinary people.

When he first arrived, he had no idea that he would be charmed into being part of the straw hat crew. He swore that the straw hat captain must have had another secret Akuma no Mi that had something to do with sorcery; his arguments were convincing...

When he realized it, he traveled the sea and cleaned the deck with shadow clones.

But not the Straw Hats wasn't the only pirate crew he spent some time on. He also spent some time in Moby Dick with the old man's crew. There, he learned much more about that world and how its power systems worked.

He learned about haki, the devil fruits, how exactly the oceans and the blue seas were divided, and some information about the old world's history and how the called World Nobles took over along the many reigns that gathered to form the new government.

In this world, these World Nobles were people who had the delusion of seeing themselves as Gods. As soon as he was aware of what kind of wicked things these people used to do with those under them, Naruto acted without a second thought. Mary Geoise was in for a big surprise when suddenly, the Red Line was cut as if it was cheese, isolating only the Pangaea Castle. Only God knows what happened to those cowards after that.

When he least expected it, they reached the final island, and he was also ready to leave that dimension. It was a fun journey where he made many memories, but the time for them to separate had come. But before that, they all enjoyed a big banquet together with everyone.

If he had learned one thing in this world, it was how important having an adventure was, especially if it is with your friends; not forgetting how enjoyable the times of having a meal and a drink together with them were...

In most places he had been, people seemed to be consumed with an idea, a meta, or a wish that deprives them of these small details that give meaning to their lives, that allow them to live how they really like.

It could really save you in times of need.

However, not everything was a sea of wonders.

The real problem lay even more profound, within something present in almost every place he went, inside the humans themselves.

But was he an exception? Had he become strong enough to take on any world if necessary? Had he become knowledgeable enough to say that he wouldn't commit mistakes? He didn't know. He didn't consider himself anything close to perfect.

Even though he had accumulated a variety of abilities, there were blind spots that he couldn't cover. His strength alone couldn't automatically save everyone. The events in the previous worlds proved that. Before he had taken notice, there had been many casualties. Many people permanently got wounded or killed in the various worlds he had been to, whether getting caught in the crossfire or indirectly without him even knowing.

The death toll started with one, then ten, a hundred, and even thousands were added to the corpse pile if his hypothesis on the people who were caught in his conflicts were true.

He started believing that there was simply nothing he could do about it. He had reached so far and traveled so many places but the situation didn't change that much, just escalated to other worlds he went to.

He had given out a long, deep sigh.

Everything outside of his village, outside of his world, felt so different...

Back in his home world, he always lived sheltered by the village's walls. Although had endured his dose of hardships such as being mistreated by the villagers and losing many companions during his life, that was still the tip of the iceberg one could go through, for he lived a life full of filters. Filters of the comfort of safety from warring countries that the hidden leaf's walls provided, filters of the friendships that he made that always accompanied him on his missions or travels outside of his village, filters of the safety of his house, and filters of the parenting that Iruka and Jiraya provided for him always masked how the world indeed was on the outside.

But he didn't regret anything. He had long decided to avert the path of rebuilding his village and becoming Hokage. He was the one who decided to leave. If he stayed back in his homeworld, the only problems he would have to deal with would be the piles of files and documents to fill. But that was not what he wanted. He knew he was destined for more than just catching dust inside an office. With the power and capabilities he had, he was able to do so much more...

But he had to admit that what once seemed like an enjoyable adventure, an opportunity to forget all the terrible things in his homeworld had turned from snowball to an avalanche slowly consuming his heart.

Honestly, he felt overwhelmed and stressed from all these thoughts. The overthinking generated from all his inner debates was getting out of hand.

For the first time in decades, he took a moment to breathe before his next great journey. He needed to find a play where he would not feel the weight of the world falling on his shoulders.

By simply focusing Chakra on his eyes, he was consumed in a vortex. He entered the Kamui dimension, a silent place where there was nothing or anything to bother him, to meditate. He took a sit on one of the giant squares of the dimension, crossed his legs, and gathered his fists. Finally, he gave out a calming breath and gathered his thoughts.

His master once taught him, "The most important ninja talent is not the number of techniques one acquires. The important thing is to have the guts never to give up". That phrase seemed almost ironic at this point. At the same time, it reminded him that, no matter how strong he becomes, there would be things that his power alone wouldn't change, it also reminded him that no matter what changes he goes through, he was still a shinobi or as his master liked to call it, "gutsy ninja". He always told him that he admired his spirit. He told him that was one of the characteristics that drew people around him, his master said that it was that one defining trait that still kept his desire to train him despite his wishes to focus on his "research". It was a simple statement, but it helped to put his spirit back in place.

With a thud, he let himself fall back on the floor of that empty and lonely dimension. A smile formed on Naruto's lips.

Being the next sage wasn't easy, but he wouldn't give up, that's for sure.

Time skip

Naruto had reached the age of 118 years old, but fortunately, life hasn't taken a toll on him as he expected it would. He stopped aging about a year after he sealed the gift that the Bijuu gave him inside of him. So, as the journey he had started reached its 100th birthday, he had come to an understanding:

Human beings were creatures successive to failure; the basic support systems and justice, no matter the world, were inefficient, and corrupt.

Unless he finds a way to manipulate reality itself, like a God, there wasn't so much he could do about that.

At this point, he couldn't figure out his genetic blueprint anymore. Thanks to the experimentations made on his body, it was all messed up. People across the dimensions he visited called him all sorts of things such as a demon, freak, Frankenstein...whatever; he was long used to being called names.

But what fun would life be if you couldn't enjoy a laugh? Thinking about problems all the time wasn't healthy for anyone.

With his mind back in place, he decided that it was time to visit the next world.

Upon arriving in the new world, Naruto, at first, found nothing out of the ordinary.

The world setting by itself wasn't remarkably different from anything he had seen before, except for a few details and design choices.

However, there were some things that caught his attention.

First, there was a big and old organization called the Gong Bang, or the Workshop, which was very influential and crucial in the development of the world. They made weapons, devices, and all other sorts of things. They were very invested in researching the order and reason of all creation in the world, knowing how to recreate all such creation, and their final ambition was to "create a God" which made Naruto release a small sigh. 'How the hell were they planning to do that?' He asked internally. He tried to investigate further in detail to determine their motivations and he discovered that the "head" of the Workshop was behind that idea. It seems that in this reality, there were these people that could manipulate a portion of reality within their "Axis field" and these were currently, still in the middle of a sort of anarchy because they didn't know how to use their power properly. According to the head of the workshop, God had abandoned them without answering the reason for the existence of their power. These beings suffered extensive research by the organization for thousands of years yet, they didn't find an answer.

The head of the workshop wanted to create a new God to stop all these conflicts.

But how did he plan to do that? The records he found said that the attempts to create one were all but failures. He thought that the only way of getting more answers was from the head of the organization itself. For now, that question would be left unanswered.

He searched and searched, however, no matter how much he searched even in the deepest parts of the workshop, there was no sight of said "head". The only thing that he found out is that he was known as "Oedipus, the King of Artificiality". Any further investigation inside the organization was futile so he had decided to search for more clues somewhere else using the few that he got.

The first clue said that a branch had long separated from the workshop and entered the "tower" to dedicate their studies and research there. Second, he found out that people entered the tower only on a few occasions, such as the ones they called "great warriors" who entered and never came out again. Third, the last person to enter the tower had done so five hundred years ago; Urek Mazino. He was infamous for being a maverick who bluntly followed the Axis user called "Phantaminum" into the "tower".

It appears that this Phantaminum is one of the most proficient beings capable of controlling what they called an Axis field and he is considered to have "transcended" in the records of the workshop. The reason for his entrance to the "tower" is unknown.

All these people were held in great regard by the Workshop. It seems all those capable of opening the door are capable "candidates." 'Candidates for what exactly?' Naruto asked himself. 'Could this have to do with their objective? Create a God?' He wasn't sure.

He asked the population many times about the tower but all they said is that they were a mystery. But he did find out about an old tale speaking about its creator. The tale is told about a being that fell in love with a star far in the starry sky and in an attempt to reach it, he started building a tower to get closer to it.

The structure, which they called the Tower, was hard not to notice since, according to his calculations, just the part visible under the skies was the size of the elemental nations, which he deemed insane.

'There could be whole worlds inside there. This world is vast, no, it is the widest world that I've ever visited.' Naruto thought, genuinely impressed. 'To be able to support a structure like that in its world, the total size of the planet had to be at least... 11 times the size of the average planet with human civilization!' He calculated, getting even more flabbergast.

"Hmm, this is all too curious... everything seems connected to that tower somehow. That will be my next goal then." He said as he teleported towards the walls of the massive structure.

Upon reaching the rocky walls of the Tower, he saw no entrance, only a bunch of rocky mountain formations and sandy ground.

"What the hell!? Where's the entrance to this thing...?" He spoke, confused. He looked at both sides and now that he was right in front of the structure, he couldn't see any entrances from there. 'It would take a lot of time to check if there is a door somewhere but If there isn't a way to enter, I'll simply force my way in.' He spoke as he started to phase through the rocks like a ghost.

Getting through the rocks seemed to get him nowhere; it was extremely dark, and he couldn't see anything.

"Damn, it's almost like the darkest pits of hell..." He commented that he was a little spooked by what he might find.

He seemed to be walking in circles, sometimes it felt like he was going up, sometimes it felt like he was going down, and before he could take notice, suddenly, the rock formation ended. He stopped at some sort of dark cave.

"This is getting nowhere. I better go back and try flying towards the top or something." Naruto spoke, turning back to the rocky walls, but when he tried to phase through it, he found himself unable to.

"W-what...? What the heck is going on here? I'm pretty sure I'm using the ability correctly." He tried again and again yet, it was futile.

He started feeling claustrophobic and panicking, and then he freaked out. "I want my lawyer! I want my lawyer! Let me out of here, or you'll face the consequences!." But it was to no effect; there was no one there, seemingly... He also tried to use Amenotejikara, but when he opened a portal, it was covered by strange black moisture that blocked his path. "What the hell is this!?" He asked, confused.

"Damn! I'll dig a passage if necessary!"Naruto readied a Massive Rasengan and slammed it against the rock, causing a loud explosion and sending him flying back. "Argh! Damn it! What are these rocks made of!?" He spoke upon crashing to the ground again.

Having fallen with his back on the ground, Naruto felt as if he was being observed. When he took a better look at it, he saw a symbol with three eyes, three dots, and a cross under it on the cave wall.

"What is this? Some sort of altar?" He asked out loud.

The scandal Naruto caused attracted the attention of a certain someone...

"Who are you? How did you get here? Are you also from the world above the ceiling?"

Nauto looked upwards and noticed a boy dressed in a long white robe, with long dark brown hair and gold eyes looking down at him.

"It's Naruto and how I got here... well, It's hard to explain... and world from above? No... I guess. Who are you, boy? What are you doing in this cave dressed like that?"

"I'm Baam, twenty-fifth Baam, and I'm... well, I don't know why I'm in this cave; I've been here since long as I remember." The boy replied calmly.

"Twenty-fifth Baam? What a strange name." Naruto remarked with amusement.

Naruto noticed a simple board game made with chalk lines, stone pieces, a small source of light, and a... cleaver?

"You're here with someone else?" Naruto asked, curious.

"No, but Rachel always comes to see me every day."

"Who's Rachel? Your friend?"

"She's like... my caretaker!" The boy said enthusiastically. It seems he had a deep respect for this Rachel...

"Your caretaker? And why does she leave you in a place like this alone?"

"It's not like that, she's the one who freed me from the darkness of this cave. When I was alone, she appeared... she's... she's all I have... and well... umm... she said that I can't go with her because the world above is only for the chosen children." The boy replied with a bit of emotion.

From Naruto's perspective, that sounded suspicious. "So... before she appeared in your life, how did you manage to survive all this time in this cave?"

"I'm not sure. I started eating and getting to know things thanks to Rachel. We met after I constructed this tower made of stones. No matter how much strength I put into it, I couldn't remove the rock from the cave's ceiling. But then she appeared from the small gap of light and removed the rock. Since then, she has come to visit me every day." The boy explained.

Naruto looked at the only light source, the cave just above them. It seemed like a passageway to someplace above. He couldn't see what was above; an intense light covered his vision.

"I'm going up, "Naruto stated, taking Baam by surprise.

"Don't. I've been forbidden to go up there. Rachel will be upset with me if I let you."

"Sorry, boy, I don't have a choice; I 'don't want to be stuck in this cave. You should come too. But if you don't want to come with me, then fine." Naruto started flying toward the ceiling, which surprised Baam widened his eyes. But the boy was not in the intention to let Naruto go just like that.

"Well, let's see what's up the- wha-...!? Whoal!" Naruto started to lose balance, and when he looked downwards, he saw the boy holding him by his leg.

"Baam, what are you doing? Hey! You'll fall off if you don't release me!" Naruto said, struggling to keep balance.

"No! I can't let you go there; Rachel will be upset with me if I let you!"

"She doesn't even know me; It won't be your fault! I'm telling you! I don't want to be stu-" Naruto and Baam's little chat was interrupted; another person had just joined them.

"Whaaaah!" The three screamed upon falling to the ground on top of one another.

Naruto's vision was blurry, but before he had fallen, he was sure that he had seen some blonde girl with a red dress falling on top of him.

Baam was dizzy from the fall; his eyes turned into swirls.

The blonde girl was none other than Rachel.

"W-what the...? Who the heck are you Mr...Whiskers...? Where did you come from? What have you done to Baam?" Rachel asked, her head still aching from the fall.

"I'm the one who should be asking that! Who are you, and what are you doing leaving this poor boy stuck in this dark cave? And Mr. Whiskers!?" Naruto questioned in an annoyed tone, and Rachel clicked her tongue.

Baam recovered from his dizziness, and the first thing he did was predictable; he immediately went to assist Rachel.

"Rachel!" He yelled, rushing to her side and helping her get up.

"I'm alright, Baam. Tell me, who is he?" She let go of Baam and placed herself in front of him protectively.

"I don't know. He just appeared inside the cave." Baam replied, almost as confused as she was.

"Just appeared...? That can't be." She spoke, unbelieved.

Naruto coughed dismissively. "You could ask me directly; you know that?"

"Well, start explaining yourself then," Rachel spoke.

Well, this will be a long story... Naruto picked a few stones around the area and made a sit for each one of them. He then explained how he decided to become a traveler, what he did on the outside, and how he got there, leaving aside the part of otherworld travels and his other powers.

Baam and Rachel couldn't believe the whiskered boy's words.

"So... Naruto, right? If you can do all that, then why don't you show it to us?" Rachel asked, and Baam nodded violently in agreement, excited to see it with his own eyes.

Naruto blushed and connected his index fingers with each other shyly. "Well... you see... Haha...there's this little problem..."

"See, you were lying. But still, did you come from inside the Tower then?" Rachel asked.

"Uh...No. But if you think I'm lying, let me show you this!" Naruto opened the palm of his hand and formed a Rasengan, which he increased its size until he created a massive Rasengan, impressing the duo.

"Wow... It's... pretty..." Baam stated, and Naruto smirked while Rachel was shocked.

"See, I'm not lying!"

"But that doesn't prove you're from outside, but if you insist, then tell me, what the outside looks like?" Rachel asked curiously. She didn't show it, but part of her was excited at the possibility of a confirmation that everything she read about in the book was true.

Naruto made a mock of annoyance. "Isn't it obvious? There are people, cities, villages, grass, rivers, the sun, the moon, the sky, and the stars. Your question made it sound like you've never seen those things!" Naruto noticed that the girl was too silent and when he looked at her, she seemed paralyzed. Rachel was astonished by what she had just heard.

'So... it was true...' She thought happily. Now, more than ever, she couldn't let go of her dream. Seemed to be taken in a spurt of anxiety, she abruptly got up and jumped at Naruto.

"Tell me, how to reach outside!? Tell me now!" She asked desperately while grabbing his shirt.

"I thought you didn't believe I was from outside, but sorry, the ability I used to get here doesn't seem to be working on these rocky walls anymore. It's like some power or magic was interfering with me," Naruto stated, which made Rachel release him, frustrated.

Seemingly resigned, Rachel sighed heavily. "Sorry for my behavior; it's just that... I dream of seeing the starry sky of the outside one day..."

"There's no stars where you came from...? How can that be?" Naruto asked, surprised.

Rachel slowly nodded negatively with her head down, disappointed that she couldn't realize her objective immediately.

"Well, I've answered your questions, now you answer mine! Why is Baam living here alone while you seem to be doing pretty good looking out for yourself; you have nice clothes and a place to go back to; why don't you take him with you?" Naruto asked, his eyes piercing hers and vice versa. The tension around them increased, but then Rachel spoke.

"I've got nice clothing and a place to return to, but I made these clothes myself, and that place is..." She grits her teeth, her hands on his knees, clenching the fabric of her dress. Her anger started to flare to the point she bit the inside of her cheek to hold her mouth shut.

"Enough, Rachel. You don't need to say it if you don't want to." Baam said, reassuring her.

Naruto observed her intently all the way. He was trying to find any traces indicating this was an act. If it was a lie, she was sure one damn good liar.

Oh, Baam, I brought you these." Rachel spoke, showing him a set of clothes and scissors.

"What's that for?" Baam asks, a bit surprised.

"I made these for you, and I brought the scissors to give you a haircut; it's about time, don't you think?" She asked, giving him a big smile which Baam beamed with happiness.

A short while later, Baam was now dressed in a black sweater, a red vest, beige pants, brown shoes, and a white scarf around his neck. His hair now was short. Naruto had to admit that Rachel did an excellent job with sewing those clothes and the haircut.

"Much better now, right?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel, thank you, I can't explain how happy this makes me," Bam spoke with extreme sincerity. Rachel smiled back at him but soon, her smile turned into a severe gaze.

"Baam, It's time; this was my parting gift for you. As I've told you the other day, I've decided that I'll climb the tower." She spoke in a severe tone, and immediately, Baam was shocked.

"W-what!? You're leaving!? N-no! Don't go, Rachel! You can't leave me here!" He panicked; his voice broke gradually until he started to shed tears.

Rachel stepped before Baam and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Baam, but I must see the stars so I can be reborn."

"Rachel, no, please..." Baam said while pressing his face against her chest.

"Don't be such a crybaby, Baam. I've done all I could for you, now return the favor for me and let me go, just forget about me. I'll have to climb the Tower now. Maybe one day we'll see each other again."

Rachel had let go of Baam, crossed him, and left towards her destination. She eyed Naruto skeptically, "Mr. Naruto, excuse me. It was nice meeting you."

Baam was petrified; he lay there, with knees and hands on the ground, destroyed. He had just lost his caretaker, his sister, his mother figure, and his star.

Naruto had slightly lowered his suspicions of the girl. For now, she just seemed like someone with a dream, but deep down, he still felt that all this sentimentalism wasn't genuine; something was wrong, this all seemed too convenient, and this whole parting ceremony of hers could have been the perfect alibi for her to get away with. Baam seemed too innocent to see any malice in her actions; he looked like a baby his mom had just abandoned. It was cold of her to leave him here like this. Couldn't they just climb this Tower together?

Naruto's moment of thought was stopped. A brown and red blur went straight through him. Bam seemed not like letting her go; he grabbed his cleaver and chased the girl.

"Rachel! I won't let you go! You'll have to take me with you if you want to leave!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He was chasing the blonde as fast as he could. Calmly walking towards the Tower's gates, Rachel started running away from Baam.

Naruto watched the chase with an awkward smile; these two gave him a Deja vu; he just couldn't remember from what. He started following them slowly. He was interested in going with them if they knew how to enter the Tower.

The chase ended with Baam grabbing the girl's red bow tied around her waist. The bond was undone, and the two fell on top of each other.

Naruto observed how the two were panting from the long run. It was a suggestive scene if he could say the least.

"Where... where do you think you are going!" Baam asked, still panting. Rachel just stared at him.

"I told you, I'll climb the Tower. Like I said before, if you climb this Tower, you'll be able to get outside. You can see a blue sky during the day and a starry sky during the night. So... I'm going to go up. Living in this dark world, I can't stand it anymore," She replied calmly.

Naruto's suspicion of this girl had been raised once again. Where was she getting all these ideas and hearing all of this stuff? What confirmed that she would be able to get outside by climbing? What would she do to get down from there? Jump? That would be insanity since this Tower's height was no joke. She had to be based on something or someone...

Rachel touched Baam's face tenderly. "I'm so sorry, Bam. Please... forget about me. So that I can be reborn." She said before a light started consuming her, and she smiled happily; it seemed her wish had been fulfilled.

Baam almost had a heart attack. "N...No... you can't, Rachel! Don't go! Please! If you go, I'll follow you till death!" He stated firmly, and before he could correctly say goodbye, the gates closed and took the blonde girl in.

Naruto approached Baam and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you're so determined to follow her, you'll also have to enter the Tower. I can assist you until you find her again if you want."

"How!? We were left behind!" The boy asked, hopeless, half-dry from the tears he spilled.

Before Baam could finish his mourning on Rachel's departure, he was also teleported inside, leaving only Naruto behind.

"Eh... What the..! The Tower also abducted him!." Naruto spoke, surprised.

He approached the gate and touched it with his hand.

"How does this work...? " He took a look at the gate; a rocky structure and a sun on top of it. "How mysterious..." He spoke.

Having tried to go through the gate by trespassing it with Kamui but after failing, he shouted, "Open sesame!"

Nothing happened.

"Damn.. what should I do then? Is there a trick to it?" Naruto raised his right arm and touched the gate with his hand.

The palm of his right hand shined brightly, coincidently, the gates opened for him, and the light consumed Naruto.

Inside the Tower - First floor

"Eh...?" He spoke, surprised by the sudden change of environment.

By looking upwards, he saw the single, dim, purple light, in the shape of a cross, illuminating the place where he stood. "So I got to enter the tower...but where is everybody?" He asked as he strolled gradually through the hall. "What a strange place... it's so dark in here..." He spoke as he walked around the precinct looking at various murals engraved on the walls.

"Hmm... these look so... Greekish..." Naruto spoke, slightly distraught by the art style.

"Well, this is unexpected, even for me." A voice called out from the darkness as some of the light bulbs on the walls got lit, further eliminating the hall.

The voice made Naruto turn abruptly. But to his dismay, unfortunately, he was mistaken; it wasn't a person that was there, the complete opposite actually. What he witnessed was a creepy rabbit wearing blue garb white a dotted cross on his chest, holding a staff. The creature's sudden appearance made his eyebrow twitch violently and sweat nervously. Was he in the underworld? Was this a spirit or a ghost? He begged to be the prior; he hated ghosts.

Suddenly, his sixth sense triggered as he caught someone's leg that was about to connect with his face. It was from a woman with a slim figure who wore he wore a white long-sleeved jacket, black shirt, red tie, red skirt, and black tights, accompanied by a man of short stature with silver hair carrying an explorer backpack who appeared next to the rabbit.

"Oh God, another irregular? This is quite unusual." The grey-haired man commented. The woman beside him seemed to hold her laughter but was having difficulty.

"Hehe, this one's got good reflexes. It was a good idea to wait for this second irregular to enter; This just keeps getting interesting," Yuri stated while approaching Naruto, who didn't seem to understand what she was saying.

'I'm impressed that this rabbit was capable of understanding me; he must be a polyglot. But what are these two saying?' Naruto asked innerly.

"Hey, rabbit from hell, don't you have a google translator with you?"

"No, but I do have this." Headon gave him a pocket.

"What's this?"

"It's a pocket; it will enable you to understand the different languages spoken in the Tower by translating them into Macsethian, the most common language in this Tower. It is yours now. Just touch it, and you'll be able to understand what they are saying." Headon explained.

"Amazing... I gotta figure out how it works!" Naruto spoke excitedly. Upon touching it, Naruto felt as if a bunch of information was released at once directly to his brain.

"Can you understand us now?" Evan asked.

"Yes..." Naruto replied while holding his head in shock from the newly acquired experience.

"Good, now just say invisible mode to make your pocket disappear while you're not using it." Evan spoke.

"Insvisible mode." Naruto spoke, and the pocket disappeared.

"Good, my name is Yuri, and this is Evan."

"It's Naruto Uzumaki, but just call me Naruto."

Naruto looked around in search of any traces of Baam or Rachel but couldn't find anything.

"Hey... did any of you see a boy or a girl get past here?"

"We did see the boy. He just left for the second floor," Yuri answered with a smile.

"And the girl...?" Naruto asked while turning his gaze to Headon.

"I've not received any visitors besides the boy," Headon replied.

Naruto stared at Headon suspiciously for a few seconds.

"What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" Headon asked.

"Maybe she was abducted by you?" Naruto supposed.

"I would never do that," Headon replied bluntly.

Naruto couldn't figure out the rabbit devil's expression, but something told him that he was being sarcastic.

Yuri felt something different with this "irregular". He wasn't naive as the boy called Baam and his clothes gave off this feeling of uniqueness and power. It was the opposite impression she first had from Urek or the boy whom she had just given her Black March.

"So, since you've entered the Tower through this floor makes you an irregular, boy. Are you prepared for the challenge Headon will provide you?" Yuri asked curiously.

"What's an irregular?" Naruto asked, confused.

Yuri sighed. She would have to explain it once again, wouldn't she? "Well, an Irregular is one who was able to enter the Tower on their own, by whatever means and for whatever reason. This grants Irregulars certain benefits, such as using shinsu without Guardian's approval. On the opposite to the regulars, all other people in the Tower who did not 'enter' the Tower themselves are, therefore, restricted; they must be allowed to use shinsu and are bound by the laws the Guardians set down for them."

"Okay... and what is shinsu?"

"It's a substance native to lifeforms within the Tower, and It is produced by the Tower and flows through the surroundings, allowing you to breathe. If you can't adapt to the higher densities of shinsu that increase with each floor, you are unqualified to climb," Yuri continued.

'I see... that's why I felt a difference in the environment once I crossed the walls of this Tower; I was also feeling that I was slowly absorbing the natural energy from this place, although it didn't feel like the same... If my guess is right, this shinsu replace oxygen!' Naruto supposed, impressed.

"It is also to note that shinsu can be utilized in many ways, given adequate knowledge, skill, resistance, and natural talent. Through shinsu, one can attain eternal youth, extend lifespans, halt the aging process, and control natural elements." Evan completed, making Naruto slowly turn his eyes to Yuri suspiciously.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Yuri asked, a bit uncomfortable from the staring.

"He mentioned that this shinsu can slow down aging, so... just how old are you- Aaargh!" Naruto couldn't finish; he received a karate chop on the head from Yuri.

"You shouldn't ask a lady her age like that!" Yuri stated furiously.

Naruto giggled. "Don't worry; I'm older than I look. I'm not one to criticize you for your age. I'm currently one hundred and eighteen years old." The statement shocked both Yuri and Evan.

"That couldn't be possible! You just entered the Tower! There's no way you can slow down aging without being surrounded by shinsu at all times!"

"Well, if you don't want to believe me, then fine. Now, what is the challenge that awaits me?" Naruto asked excitedly.

I'll give you the same challenge I gave the boy before. I want to see how you handle it." Headon spoke as he summoned another Giant Steel Eel.

"And what exactly do I have to do?" Naruto asked.

"Go there and... take down the Eel," Headon replied bluntly, shocking Yuri and Evan.

"Headon! You just said you would be giving him the same challenge as Baam! Taking down the whole Eel is different than just popping the ball with the help of the Black March!" Yuri spoke furiously.

"I can't see any paths of him winning, so I have to agree this time. Defeating the Eel is too much, and he has nothing to protect himself with," Evan stated.

"Beware, boy, that steel Eeel gives trouble even for regulars above the 20th floor!" Yuri warned.

"Then I'm just above the average," Naruto stated nonchalantly as he entered the cage.

Inside the cage

Upon entering the cage, Naruto was immediately attacked by the aggressive Eel, who seemed very disturbed by his presence. But unfortunately for the creature, its food had fast legs and dodged the attack.

'He also seems to have a high shinsu resistance; I guess it's irregulars' thing. Still, I wonder if he can clear this challenge. Maybe I should have also lent him one of my weapons. It would be a shame to lose him here. I would be disappointed; he is also really cute.' She thought as she watched Naruto escape the Eel's attacks but then, she noticed something. 'That's strange, that Eel seems more aggressive than usual...' Headon! What tricks are you using this time?!" Yuri yelled.

"I'm using no such things, Princess. The Eel must've noticed something that we don't."

Yuri and Evan were confused; what could be disturbing the Eeel so much? They observed the fight intently until they noticed something peculiar about the boy's surroundings. It seemed like the shinsu was being slowly pulled toward the boy.

'Hmm, this shinsu is denser inside this cage. It feels like water. I guess that's the property it takes when highly concentrated, it assumes a liquid-like form. Well, there's one thing I would like to try...' Naruto, having his rinnegan activated, was absorbing the shinsu inside the cage. The whole liquid-like substance was quickly pulled into the Preta path barrier's bottomless pit.

"I can't be! He's absorbing the shinsu inside!" Yuri spoke, shocked.

'This should be all of it...' Naruto thought. He had absorbed all the shinsu inside the cage, making the Eel fall to the ground; the only thing that kept it alive was the shinsu inside of its body.

Naruto had an idea. He started using the principles of the Rasengan, the capability of bending water, and shape manipulation to hold the shinsu together, resulting in spectacular sparkling water in the palm of his hand, which resembled a miniature universe. The shinsu gathered around the Rasengan as if the orb was its epicenter.

Yuri and Evan watched and couldn't fathom what the boy had just accomplished. Meanwhile, Headon just gave a sinister grin.

"Well, it's a pity, but I can let such a remarkable discovery go to waste, right? I'm going to have to test this on you. Take this!" Naruto threw the sphere toward the Eel.

"Shinsu style: Rasen Shuriken!"

The sphere left a trace of sparkling water at great speed towards the creature in which its life seemed to pass through its eyes as brief as Headon had summoned it. A blinding light covered the cage. The mortal technique spun countless times, viciously tearing the creature's flesh with each spin. Before anyone could comprehend what had happened, the highly compressed and dense Shinsu had turned poor Eel into spacial dust.

Naruto was eating his fingers in pity for the creature; poor thing. He couldn't use this on a person. He made a mental note to master the amount of shinsu he used. Otherwise, he would likely witness another slaughter before his eyes.

But before he could mourn the beast's death, he was teleported to the upper floor.

Yuri had her jaw on the floor. How could a creature that was able to survive in dense Shinsu be obliterated by it like that? Just who was this boy?" An excited grin formed on her lips. She smashed her fist in her palm, beaming with excitement. She walked towards the now torn-up cage, and suddenly, her excitement skyrocketed.

"How did he do that!?" She exclaimed with stars in her eyes with excitement that could only be compared to a kid who had just received a new toy. Evan could only sigh; he did not possess the same energy as the Princess.

"Evan, do you know what this means?" Yuri asked with a knowing smile on her face.

"That I won't get a good night's sleep?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"We have a new target!" Let's go find Baam and Naruto!" She exclaimed excitedly as she left towards the middle tower passage.

Evan sighed once again. "Story of my life." He said as he left, following after the Princess.

Chapter End

Omake

Meanwhile, on Headon and Rachel's side...

Rachel had finally been freed from the seal Headon was using to keep her hidden. She was baffled by what she had seen.

"This... is... so unfair!" Rachel said with her head bent on the ground and smashing the floor with her fists frustratedly.

"Your ugliness makes me utterly sick to my stomach; you know that?" Headon stated.

"You've already said that!" The blonde complained furiously.

End