A/N: First Chapter is partially inspired by Kamikaze132's Return of the Flash. If you have time, check that story out.
Prologue
Naruto Uzumaki was not a normal kid by any means.
Despite being orphaned early, he wasn't your ordinary orphan. Well, he was, as every orphan was, without a parent. He was, as every orphan was, lonely. He was, as every orphan was, sad. He wasn't, as almost every orphan was, looked at with pity and kindness, however.
No, Naruto Uzumaki was looked at with scorn and loathing.
Simply walking down the streets would always incur the cruel wrath of everyone who sees him walking innocently on the streets. He had no idea why but for some reason, the entire population of Konohagakure no Sato seemed to hate him. He had very few people who regarded him as something close to a family. In fact, the only ones he could name of the top of his head were Hiruzen Sarutobi, or as he had dubbed the Hokage, Jiji, Teuchi, the ramen cook who was the only civilian, along with his daughter Ayame, to take pity on the boy and gave him a warm ramen. It was sad actually that a boy his age is being hated by everyone.
Ever since, Naruto had learned this fact and was forced to age mentally as a result. He was ostracized in the orphanage where he was forced to live in since his birth. Ever since he learnt to walk on his own, the head of the orphanage started treating him like some kind of trash. He was not allowed to play with the children of his age and even when he managed to talk to them, they would mock him in whispers and tell him from afar that a monster like him was not welcome in their group. Naruto can only watch, with sad eyes.
Being enrolled in the academy has not really improved his life that much. While Naruto can argue that he is smart in a way that he can create traps and prank schemes on the spot as well as hunt small animals and cook for himself, outwardly, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. No matter how hard he tried, he was constantly struggling to keep pace in the class and it didn't help that not one teacher, save for a certain Umino Iruka, paid attention to his special needs. It didn't also help that he developed a competitive, if not somewhat toxic and one-sided, rivalry with his fellow loner, Uchiha Sasuke, whose broodiness simply got worse after the bloody downfall of the Uchiha Clan and was treated as some kind of a god-turned-man by the girls in his class. This resulted in Naruto often getting the shorter end of the stick as he was getting beat down daily by Sasuke and his cheerleaders would mock the blonde.
This was a reason why he decided to turn into books, regardless of what topics and genres they are. For someone who had been struggling to even understand the concepts of chakra theory in their class, Naruto had been enjoying books that were somehow easy to understand for someone like him and that delves into various topics like basics of iron smelting, hunting wild boars, cooking game, and, surprisingly, meditation and a lot more. Since he rarely can go into the public library as he was already once kicked out of it, he had to sneak inside the building at night or even search the trash bins for some reading materials that were now discarded. Even so, he treated them like gold mines as he filled his mind with practical knowledge on using and utilizing things around his environment and putting them into practice, especially his pranks.
The result was a tremendous success for him...at least when it comes to his pranks. Everyday, a lot of people will see paint splattered on their roofs and their clothes either burned or stolen. Some people will even find itching powder now horribly scattered in their legs and butt while others will see a apple pie in their door steps, only to find out in a hard way that it was a trap as one old man ended up getting a swollen eye after the pie, which contained a small but mean boxing glove, exploded and went straight into his face.
While this gave the attention Naruto was seeking, it wasn't for any good reason as the majority of the villagers and their children were becoming more hostile to the blonde although it wasn't overblown...yet.
Now, today was special because it was October 10 and was supposed to commemorate the sacrifice of the Yondaime Hokage in repelling the attack of the Kyuubi no Yoko almost a decade ago which resulted in the death of the young hokage and the defeat of the Nine Tails.
It was also the day that Naruto like the least for whispers from the other villagers concerning him was growing larger especially in this event.
"Sheesh, what's the old guy's problem?" The whiskered blonde whispered to himself as he heard the old man telling his son not to go near him without any questions. "They're looking at me as if I'm the Kyuubi reincarnated when Iruka-sensei said it was defeated…"
An epiphany struck him like a lightning bolt as he suddenly stopped walking somewhere in the alley way.
Now that he thought of it, he remembered a certain time when he accidentally heard a whispered conversation between a tokubetsu jounin with a bandana and a senbon stick hanging in his mouth and a man with red-framed sunglasses while hiding in a nearby ditch after yet another pranking spree. The man with the senbon mentioned about how 'it was ironic to remember the death of the Yondaime during the October 10th while openly despising the one who holds back the kyuubi at bay' and that the glasses-wearing man replied that 'the Uzumaki's status as the jinchuuriki shouldn't have been told to every…"
While the man with the bandana clearly motioned him to not continue the sentence, Naruto realized that there must be something beneath the underneath of what he is experiencing daily. Quickly running like a madman possessed, he quickly landed in his favorite hiding place in the Yondaime's stone head at the monument. The moment he sat down, he then quickly analyzed everything he had heard and remembered.
Yondaime...jinchuuriki...holding back the kyuubi bay...Uzumaki's status…
Again, Naruto isn't the smartest kid in their village but with the best concentration he can achieve, he was slowly beginning to piece together the evidences, together with his attempted requests to ask about his parents from the Sandaime, only to be rebuffed each time.
No...old man wouldn't do that..probably…
He stopped, feeling a bit frustrated before inhaling and exhaling to calm down. Okay, if my suspicions are quite true, then I'll have to confront this head-on and carefully. He then carefully saw down cross-legged and closed his eyes while speaking to someone out there in his mind.
'Oi, Kyuubi! If you are really inside of me, I want to meet you...please…'
For the first ten minutes, nothing happened and as much as Naruto wanted to explode right now, he calmed down a bit and relaxed. 'Look, if you really are inside me, let's talk! As much as I know you don't want to be stuck inside me, it's not and will never be my fault but even then, let's try to understand each other!'
After a few more minutes, something pulled his consciousness into somewhere and once it stopped, the blonde found himself in a dark corridor. So it is true. He grimly said to himself as he was walking slowly in this dark mental passage. My mind looks shit. He kept walking for a few minutes and stopped seeing some light at the end of the corridor. It seemed to pull him towards it. Well, this must be it. He thought as he stopped walking and stood in front of a gigantic room with iron bars separating him from the spacious room. The room was so large and vast that the blonde couldn't even see where the ceiling is. Looking ahead of him, he noticed that the iron door had a seal on its lock.
He gazed at the piece of paper, resignation written in his eyes. His azure eyes looked past the cage, looking for what he knew was in the cage. He was just waiting for the Kyuubi to open his eyes.
Based on what he had read and was taught in the academy, Kyuubi was a being of pure hatred and evil. A mindless demon capable of destruction on a scale that can smash rows of mountains with just a single swipe of one of its tails. But Naruto was then skeptical when he read that and the Yondaime had defeated it. In his mind, why celebrate the victory of the Fourth Hokage and yet, link him to something that was supposedly dead?
He might get to see it for himself now to see whether the mainstream assumptions have been correct or not.
A growl sounded from the cage, sending a breath of hot air in Naruto's face.
Naruto gathered all the courage he can get even if the cage is separating him from the beast within. An enormous red eye opened, causing the blonde to freeze in his spot. The single eye looked at him, as if evaluating him. The eye then started to rise, causing Naruto to look up at the massive form that was beginning to show in light.
The Kyuubi had orange, silky looking fur, with black markings around his eyes connected to his rabbit-like ears. The upper body was humanoid, including the hands. The lower body was just like a fox, barring the nine, long swaying tails in the back..
The gigantic fox beast looked at him closely with a hint of malice.
Nevertheless, Naruto spoke first. "Thank you for answering my call, Kyuubi-san..." he said with a nod.
If the Nine Tails was surprised, he didn't show it perfectly. Inside however, he was really shocked to his core. This was not really the first thing he expected his jailor to say. He expected him to look at him with fear or even anger, asking whether he really was the Kyuubi, following with the denial of the possibility. He did not expect him to thank him at all for heeding his request.
The Kyuubi snorted, "It's nothing that big, brat. I'm surprised though. Despite your shallow mind, you were able to figure it out so quickly. Why aren't you surprised?", he asked with genuine curiosity.
Naruto sat down in front of the cage, which surprised the great bijuu further.
"Well, I was, for the first time at least. But it wasn't that difficult to figure out, even for a real moron like me." He said that while swallowing his pride at calling himself an idiot. Normally, he would not even admit that when he is alone. "It is easy to create an alternate explanation once you have all the relevant facts", he said, never breaking eye contact with the Kyuubi.
The Nine Tails raised a massive eyebrow, slightly impressed with his host. His thought processes were very intelligent for someone who was only barely eight-years old. He was also bold enough to maintain eye contact with him. He could not sense any fear from the boy.
"Well brat, how come you don't fear the presence of the all-mighty Nine Tails? Or better yet, why aren't you angry at me for being the reason why you are the village's pariah?" The Kyuubi asked, quickly crossing his arms while making himself as intimidating as he could be.
With an irritated sigh, Naruto replied, "Look, Kyuubi-san, I just had the feeling whatever you did years ago wasn't everything. I think you were misunderstood, like how I was mistaken as your reincarnate…"
This time surprise was visible on Kyuubi's face, which was quickly followed by anger.
"What did you just say?! Chose your next words very carefully or never even expect a shred of sympathy from me!", he growled out.
The blonde wasted no time in answering, "In the few times that I even listened to Iruka-sensei, you were described as a malevolent being who had taken away a lot of lives during that terrible night. But now that I think of it, you probably wouldn't appear randomly in this village without someone triggering to do so and because of that, you were mistaken as the culprit of the whole thing..." he said with a sad smile.
Before the Kyuubi could even answer, Naruto continued further, "Naturally, ordinary guys will fear what they can't understand and that's probably fine. They did lose their love ones' lives, after all, in the attack but you probably didn't plan that. Isn't that right, Kyuubi-san?"
The Nine Tailed Fox was astounded at the amount of understanding his host showed towards him. Perhaps, he was even more open than his two previous containers. Perhaps…
"Well, what do you want, brat? Make it quick before I lose my patience with you."
Breathing heavily, Naruto looked at the Kyuubi straight in the eyes and for the split second, the NIne Tails thought he had just seen Yondaime Reincarnated. "We'd be stuck with each other forever, whether you like it or not so if you want, let's be partners and if possible, close friends, Kyuubi-san."
The malevolent being was truly shell-shocked at the request. For the first time, in centuries of his existence, someone had asked if they could be his friend. Naruto saw that the NIne Tails was surprised and for the Fox, if Naruto's request was not surprising enough, he was totally blown away by what Naruto did next.
Naruto got up from his spot and walked into the cage. He walked up close and offered a hand for him to take.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and it is nice to meet you for the first time."
The Kyuubi had abandoned all signs of remaining composed and was openly gaping at Naruto, his jaws dropping hilariously. But he composed himself quickly and gave a sincere, if a bit scary judging by his fangs showing, smile to Naruto. Seeing that Naruto was too small to even shake his finger, he extended his index nail to him.
"My name's Kurama brat, not Kyuubi-san. That name's too mushy. But I guess you won't be that bad to be with, Naruto."
Naruto nodded and then turned serious, "Kurama, now that we have become friends, I need some answers now so that I can have some peace, at least just to help me settle down."
"Well, fire away brat," Kurama nodded. "Although I expected that we would be meeting when you're older, I think this is much better as you can get used to my abilities earlier although doing it right now is...unwise…"
"I think so too," Naruto nodded as he remembered the conversation between the two jounin. "Well, to start with, do you know who my parents are?"
The Fox nodded, "You were a member of that near-extinct Uzumaki Clan and believe it or not, your clan was as strong as Uchiha and the Senju and since you Uzumakis had unique form of chakra that can imprison a being like me, your mother and the wife of that brat Senju were both from the Uzumaki Clan and as such, it became somewhat of a custom that an Uzumaki will held me as their prisoner. Now, your mother was my previous host and, believe it or not, your father was none other than the Yondaime gaki."
Now that piece of news shook Naruto to the core, a storm of emotions raging inside of him. He didn't know what to feel; whether to be happy that he finally has found out who is parents are or not. Bitterly, he felt hurt that the old man his his parents' identity from him and the fact that the villagers were really ungrateful for the job that he didn't even sign up for.
"It's alright that you feel that way but considering how noisy and boisterous you are, I think it did make sense that the Sarutobi brat concealed their identities," Kurama said, earning a stink eye from Naruto. "What? I'm just stating facts, Naruto. Your father had a lot of enemies, especially from Iwa nins whom he made mincemeat out of more or less 50 enemies while making the rest retreat. He probably thought it was a good idea to make it a secret about your parents to keep the village safe although I strongly believed those three stooges were the ones who had a hand on your current predicament."
"Three stooges?" Naruto blinked.
Kurama huffed, "The Konoha Council. I suspect that the third gasbag there, Shimura Danzo, had a hand in everyone knowing your supposed secret status as my jailor. For someone who dedicated himself to the common good of this village, his methods are too militant. I'd suggest that you look out for any signs of him or his lackeys being near you. I'd warn you also."
Naruto nodded, "Thanks, Kurama. I still wanted to ask you a lot of things but it can probably wait for some time later."
Kurama nodded, "True enough. I can feel one of your ANBU guardians looking directly at you. He might get suspicious if you meditate too long and too far. Anyway, from now on, I can communicate with you through a mental link similar to this one but without having to meditate. Well brat, enjoy that disgusting noodle soup dish and get out."
With that, Naruto sank deeper into the water and out of his inner consciousness.
The succeeding days turned weeks and into five months weren't really that much of a change even after the meeting with Kurama although at this point, Naruto seemed to be much calm and at peace even though his struggles in class and interacting with the majority of the Konoha villagers continued. In fact, there were a few who noticed his changed demeanour and that further angered them and it was taking all their control to not just go up and simply physically assault the boy.
Naruto sighed as he watched an old woman warn her daughter not to go near him. He can't do anything about it as he learned that there was a law in placed regarding his jinchuuriki status and somehow, he can't help but think how stupid that law is when everyone is going to whisper it to everyone.
Speaking of the rule, Naruto had learned it after infiltrating the Hokage Tower upon the request of the Kyuubi. A month after they had become friends and partners, the Nine Tails told the blonde to use his knowledge on stealth and pranks to enter the tower discreetly to steal something that Naruto can use in the future. Reluctant at first, Naruto was assured that he got Kurama's back if someone will spot him in the tower and so, he did as he was told as he infiltrated the tower at 2 am in the morning. Surprisingly, even for him, Naruto was able to enter the building without any opposition and while he was beginning to think that everything was too easy to be true, Kurama told him that he sensed no other chakra signatures in the surroundings and that there are no traps involved.
With the infiltration a success, Naruto then quickly went to the scroll chamber where, as instructed by Kurama, he quickly opened the Scroll of Seals where he copied some of the jutsus that he deemed very useful to him as well as those recommended by the fox, such as the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and its larger-scale version, fire release techniques such as the Gōkakyū no Jutsu and its derived techniques, etc. He would go on to do this for the five-month duration until he would finally have collected all the jutsu written in his own large scroll for his exclusive use.
He also stumbled upon a few legal documents, including the marriage records of his parents as well as his birth certificate and it was at this point that he found out some of the laws promulgated by the higher ups of Konohagakure, especially with his status as the jinchuuriki of the village.
From then on, Naruto can't help but feel like his growth was being held back by this village was ironically saved by his father turning him into a jinchuuriki although he bore no hatred or bitterness at that fact. If he were his father, he mused, he probably would have done the same thing given the dire situation at that time.
It was very unfortunate but he understood the situation, especially with him being the only one in the village who can contain the Nine Tails.
In the academy, he remained in the bottom of the whole class rankings although he did just enough to not constantly fail every exercises given to them by Iruka which is why he was tied with a certain Nara when it comes to becoming the second-to-the last in the standings, leaving his acquaintance and fellow class cutter Akimichi Chouji as the last-ranked student. He still kept up losing to the Uchiha although due to the constant nagging of the Fox to train him, he managed to last more than 2 minutes in sparring sessions before he got knocked down. ]
He also used to hound and pester a certain pink-haired girl in their class before his epiphany with the Kyuubi but since the pinkette painfully made it obvious that her heart's only for the emo Uchiha, he decided to just stop although it also took the nagging persuasion from Kurama to finally realize that his crush on the girl wasn't worth his life.
Outside the Academy though, Naruto and Kurama spent their time talking to each other and learning random things as they walked as far as the Naka River. There, Naruto had been busy practicing basic chakra control such as the tree climbing technique and the water surface walking practice in the river with supervision coming from the Kyuubi. It was also at this point that Kurama decided to teach him one of his Creator's techniques.
"Brat…"
"Yeah?" Naruto replied as he was running in the forest during on of Naruto's not-so-obvious training sessions after his academy classes.
"Did you remember that one technique of your father that was supposed to be taught to you by your pervert of a sannin?" Kurama yawned, not really fond of the village's remaining sannin still working directly for Konoha.
"Ah yes, my godfather who didn't seem to have a time for me…" Naruto bitterly noted before adding. "Not that I blame him for being a spymaster of this village. But what's with the Rasengan? It's not like you can teach…"
"Naruto, you're forgetting who you're talking to," Kurama huffed. "Forming a rasengan is almost no different from creating the Bijuudama and it's not that hard to figure out how your father's technique works since the process is just the same as molding tailed beast chakra. The reason why I brought it up is because my tou-sama's kid has a technique similar to your dad's, if only a bit complicated."
"How so?"
"The Amenomihashira, while its rotation is the same as the Rasengan, is...more complicated or let's just say it's a total upgrade of the Rasengan. Just imagine more or less five rasengans encased inside a large sphere of spiralling chakra. But before you're even in the condition where you can even form a proper rasengan, finish the chakra exercises first and the sooner you do it, the faster you can gain better chakra control."
Naruto nodded as he jumped out from a tree branch and splashed onto the water to swim and increase his endurance.
"Aye, aye, sensei…" he said mockingly, causing Kurama to roll his eyes from his abode.
"Oh and I almost forgot, your shadow clones would be useful for your training. And before you ask, there are reasons for that…"
And the fox told him about how his shadow clones can help in cutting down the amount of time in training while also needing regular breaks as the hundreds of shadow clones doing different activities would likely cause his brain to explode. Nevertheless, Naruto's eyes gleamed at that fact as he couldn't help but imagine the limitless possibilities of the Shadow Clone jutsu and he knew from that day how much he would abuse it.
Aside from that, nothing much special really happened in those five months since October 10, with the exception of Naruto learning one day in class from Iruka that the whole Elemental Nations has been existing for thousands of centuries since the age of Chakra and that going beyond its borders could result in getting lost as it is taught to them that beyond the seas surrounding the Elemental Countries is the end of the world.
Naruto, seemingly interested in that subject, can't help but ask his sensei.
"Neh..neh...sensei!" Naruto called out loudly. "Did someone try to explore beyond the Elemental Nations?"
"Unfortunately, nobody is advised to travel beyond the shinobi lands as the few who did try weren't heard from again and the few who tried to explore it reported encountering giant tsunamis and heavy rainstorms. The theory is that it's the sign that it is the borders of the world," Iruka explained. "Besides, if there really is another civilization outside of the Elemental Nations, then they should have at least tried to travel here."
Disheartened, Naruto decided to just sleep the whole day as the class went on to divide themselves, with the girls going to their flower arrangement classes while the boys being left behind in the room to learn about proper etiquette for young shinobis like them.
"Well, that was enlightening but not entirely true…" Kurama commented as the last class of the day ended, with Naruto simply waking up and going home without a care for the others.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, I don't buy what your sensei said about the world outside the Elemental Nations. Yes, no one from the outside is going here but it doesn't entirely mean that there are no other races of humans existing beyond you Yamato grunts nor there is no outside civilization existing," Kurama huffed, lying comfortably in his cage.
"So you're saying…"
"Yes, kit. I don't believe it. I know." Kurama added. "Tou-sama said that there were a few people from their small village who fled the Elemental Nations to escape his mother's wrath. It cannot be said what happened to them but there are two things to keep in mind: you people are the descendants of the larger Yamato race which already inhabited the whole land prior to the Age of Chakra a millennium ago and that the Yamato race is further descended from the migrating Yayoi peoples, whom I can't tell where they came from but I presume they settled somewhere else besides the Elemental Nations."
"That's some long ass history lecture much like sensei," Naruto grumbled. "But what's the second thing I should keep in mind?"
"The whole world is not only the Elemental Nations but also countless civilizations, each with numerous cultures and societies that differ from one another. Keep your mind open about such opportunities and who knows? You might end up learning more from the outside world than here in Konohagakure, where everyone hates your guts," Kurama shrugged.
"I see…" Naruto entered into his thinking pose before he suddenly exclaimed. "Hey! If I don't become the Hokage of these village, why don't we just explore the whole world just to test your so-called truth? That way, maybe I can learn new things and probably become strong from mere experience! Though the only problem is the old man and the village…"
"Heh...you don't owe the stupid villagers anything, Naruto," Kurama huffed. "It might be your duty to keep me imprisoned but that duty becomes less valuable when people can't understand that. Actually, it would have been better if the higher ups had kept it a secret from the rest of the ignorant villagers here in exchange for a job that you weren't even getting paid for and certainly did not sign up for. I'm not saying that you should intentionally betray your village but you deserved better than just barely living on scraps. When you get the chance to explore the entire world, give the majority of the stupid villagers the big middle finger and grab the chance to widen your skills and knowledge, not just everything that is confined here."
"Hmmmh...it doesn't sound so bad at all…" Naruto can't help but imagine learning all the best knowledge and practical skills that the whole world, if there really is a world beyond the Elemental Nations, can offer. "Well, if only I could have the chance to do so…"
He had no idea that soon, his wish would be granted, albeit in an unexpected manner…
"Kit…"
"Hmph?"
"I have sensed the old man Danzo's ROOT lackeys again. Get ready for a possible fight-or-flight situation."
Naruto sighed at that. During the five-month gap between October and the present time, there has been an increased surveillance on the blonde jinchuuriki and while Naruto is able to get away from them most of the time with some help from the Kyuubi and his improvised stealth skills, it has been getting harder to practice his hidden skills as the blonde had to frequently move from one hiding place to another in order to avoid Danzo's Anbu bodyguards.
At this point, Naruto had already mastered basic chakra exercises and due to the latter, he also mastered the basic rotation of the rasengan as he was able complete the three basic steps of rotation, power, and containment and also had the Amenomihashira on his arsenal right now although this was harder to learn as it took the boy nearly a month just to create three rasengan-like chakra spirals in his two hands and the next two months to encase them inside a large chakra sphere.
After quickly running under the cover of the night only illuminated by the light of the shining moon, Naruto had finally made it to the cliff near the Naka River where he can continue practicing the more advanced version of Fūton: Kazekiri no Jutsu with the use of a kunai knife. Naruto had gathered some Wind Release techniques after learning that his main affinity is Wind when he used a chakra paper that he bought from a certain old man he can only remember as Kosuke by his name. Nevertheless, he was looking forward to learning all Five Basic Natures once he grew older.
"Kit, it seems that this time, Danzo's lackeys had been non-stop in finding you. Whatever their intention is, it's obviously not a good one. Well, it's a good one probably for the old mummy but definitely not for you."
"Tsk. Any ideas on what to do right now?" Naruto asked, quite irritated at the turn of events. If this does keep up, a lot of complications would arise, such as how he knew of his parents' identity and the ability to use the Rasengan. If Danzo even knew that Naruto had finally knew the Fox…
"Kit, I hate to say it but the moment that Danzo's Root toys had been involved, your life is now in double-whammy. You can fight them off if we catch them off-guard but that would make their suspicions on you even stronger and even use it as evidence for insubordination," Kurama explained. "But if you even let them catch you, then you'll be forced into becoming one of them. Either way, it's going to be a lose-lose situation for you."
"So my only option...leave this place and possibly the whole Elemental Nations and…" Naruto widened his eyes in realization. "...See the other side of the world and become stronger…"
"Well kit...if you need to do something before you leave this rotten village, do it quickly. Danzo's men are circling around but they will be here in more or less 20 to 10 minutes," Kurama told the blonde.
Naruto nodded mentally and quickly created 50 shadow clones. He pulled aside two of them, quickly whispered to them and pulled out two small pieces of paper and scribbled what looked like short letters addressed to two people. He gave the two letters to the two clones he grabbed and gave them whispered instructions. The clones merely saluted and quickly sped off in different directions.
"What was that, kit?"
Naruto smiled sadly as he looked at the dark sky powdered with stars, "Kurama, I'm doing one big service to the village before I leave to explore the lands out there, to go strong...and possibly to find someone who will accept me for who I am…" He sighed at the last part. "I know what I will do will make me look like a traitor but I found something interesting aside from the scroll and the parental documents when I was infiltrating the tower. I'll use that as my final prank in this village."
The two then heard what looked like rustling leaves being swayed by the incoming footsteps of what seemed to be a phalanx of elite shinobis packed together.
"Here it comes…"
Five minutes later, a dozen or so of blank-masked shinobi, all draped in dark cloaks and each carrying a tanto, had finally descended the cliff where a certain blonde had been standing, his back facing the Naka River down the steep gorge.
From how the blonde stood facing his unwarranted visitors, it seemed he was, afterall, expecting their arrival.
"For someone as insignificant as an orphan like me, it seemed that a dozen or so ANBU is a bit too much, don't ya think?" Naruto playfully called out what looked like the team commander of the shinobi, who didn't even respond to the blonde.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" The team commander called out gruffly and with a tone of harshness. "We have found evidence that you have been engaging in performing SS-ranked ninjutsu training in secrecy and as such, you have placed the village in a possible danger. Come with us peacefully and…"
"Woah really? First, I have been accused of being so oh-so-dangerous when it fact, I myself, as a human being by flesh and blood, never really did anything by technicality and now, I'm accused of creating jutsu when in reality, I'm in the bottom of the scrapes in the Academy," Naruto rolled his eyes dramatically before trying to leave from the scene, only to get blocked by the lead Anbu in front of him. "I never did anything bad, did I?"
"Come with us peacefully and our master can lower your sentence if you confess your crimes," the captain said with a hint of more force.
"Master? You're talking about a certain mummy man, right?" Naruto yawned, as he watched the Root squad nearly flinch at the description that Naruto gave them. "Well, how about no?"
"You're coming with us, demon brat!" A female member of the Root squad took out her tanto and pointed it towards the blonde, who didn't even look scared at the blade. "Master went to great lengths to make sure you are properly framed for Konoha's strength to endure and we won't let you ruin his work!"
Naruto merely scratched his head before responding, "Konoha's strength, my ass. So making me a target of the villagers' anger makes this village strong?"
"It's necessary for you to suffer so that the whole village will stay united and strong," the female responded, not even sheathing her tanto back.
Naruto looked at her with a bored tone before his facial expression changed into a mischievous one, causing the female Root Anbu to be taken aback, "Then I guess you all left me with no choice. Don't worry, Konoha won't certainly fall as it's really strong thanks to the old man's leadership but I can tell you everything here in this village won't be the same. Well…"
Quickly, he took out a carefully concealed smoke bomb from his improvised leather shoulder bag and exploded it, while shouting, "...Sayonara, fools!"
He then ran towards the cliff, intending to jump down the raging and deep Naka River.
"Don't let the demon brat get away!" The captain of the Root Anbu yelled as the squad tried to prevent Naruto from escaping, only to be met with hundreds of clones of the blonde the moment the smoke had finally cleared.
To their horror and anger, all the clones made a series of hand-seals before simultaneously chanting, "Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu!" All the clones then sent hundreds of giant-sized balls of gigantic fire, burning most of the Root Anbu that weren't able to evade the fireballs while the rest that escaped had to retreat back.
"The jinchuuriki brat managed to trick us but we still have time!" The team captain barked as he watched all the clones disperse one by one into thin air. "Spread out of the forest and at the farthest borders of the village! We can't let the weapon slip out of our hands!"
"Naruto!"
"What now, Kurama?! I've been swimming non-stop for almost three hours and we still haven't found a log to hang on!"
"Listen kit, forget about finding a log to float with. Just hang on and let the waves guide you to the farthest part of the western border of the Land of Fire and from there, I advise you to take a short break in the forests and eat some berries and other wild fruits that you will see before moving quickly. I have a feeling that they will try to scour the river banks for any signs of you."
Naruto nodded and kept on swimming. After almost three more hours of swimming which Naruto endured thanks to his stamina and the fast raging waves which are rapidly moving, Kurama had told him to stop swimming. Landing ashore, Naruto scanned the surroundings of the riverbank before eventually settling down. Quickly finding the thick forest ahead of him, Naruto ran up to the nearest tree with wild fruits in it and began to pick all the edible fruits he could find before cutting them with a kunai that is stored in his storage scroll.
He quickly consumed the fruits and drank water from a nearby stream before looking ahead. Currently, the forest is very thick and is teeming with different wildlife. Naruto then created hundreds of clones to scour the whole mountains and forest surrounding him while, at the request of the kyuubi, he sent the rest to reconnoiter and look out for Konoha shinobis that are chasing him.
Quickly seeing that he is now way past the borders of the Land of Fire due to a change in the topography, Naruto decided to take a short nap as he wanted to recharge his body.
He found a large three with a thick trunk and there, he laid his body down for a short rest. After a few moments of speaking with the Kyuubi, he closed his eyes and let himself settle down to lala land.
Three hours later, he was reawakened by the Kyuubi rumbling to him in his thoughts. "Oi Naruto, I don't know how long you will remain in deep slumber but I can sense that Konoha's official ANBU and some of the Jounin are already in hot pursuit for you."
Naruto rubbed his eyes as he yawned and replied in their mental link, "Are they near the mountain pass where my clones are positioned?"
"Judging from their path and how far they are from the border, they are 20 minutes away from confronting your clones. Nevertheless, get up already and continue walking through the forested valley in-between the borders of Takigakure and the Land of Earth," Kurama said. "From there, if you're lucky enough to find a large boat or canoe, then get it already and sail away. If not...then the best bet is to build one using your clones if you do know how to build a boat."
"Aye...aye…" With that, Naruto started to sprint again to the forested valley lying ahead of him. After storing some fruits and animal meat in one of his spare storage scrolls, the blonde began to traverse the rough path ahead of him. Having to watchout for some wild animals and some shinobi patrol, Naruto had a kunai in his pocket just in case something bad happens.
Meanwhile...
"Tsk, where the hell could that brat be?!" A jounin was seen scowling as he and the rest of the jounin corps and the ANBU accompanying them were busy scanning the whole area near the riverbank where they thought the blonde would be passing through.
"As annoying as it could be, the kid's one hell of a smartass," another jounin remarked. "For someone who is considered the worst student in the academy, he's doing just fine to evade us. Oi, Inuzuka, Hyuuga, have you found traces of his track?! We've been circling around the place and we're leading to nothing at all!"
"We're trying, Raido!" An unnamed Inuzuka with his accompanying dog yelled. "We don't know why but the kid's scent is everywhere in this mountain pass!"
"Keep searching!" Raido barked. "We can't go home to Hokage-sama empty-handed!"
An hour later, a Hyuuga clansman shouted, "Raido-san, Genma-san, Aoba-san! We've found the boy and…"
"And what?"
"Well…" The Hyuuga wasn't sure how to explain it as he activates his Byakugan. "I'm not sure if I am dreaming or I am sleepy but there are thousands of clones of the jinchuuriki and…"
"What? How is that possible?" Genma said with a hint of skepticism. He had heard about their target's grades and they were the worst in the academy batch. He even heard from Iruka that the blonde was having a hard time producing a single decent clone so how could he even create hundreds of clones of himself.
The Hyuuga didn't need to reply as a chuckle was heard from behind the thick lining of trees. Getting tensed from their spots, the group of Konoha shinobi waited as the silhouette of one Naruto Uzumaki began to take the form of flesh as the boy, in his orange jacket and hoodie, emerged from the forest and into the clearing.
Only problematic for the shinobis is that he wasn't alone.
"...Shadow Clones...tsk…" Genma muttered in an irritated manner as hundreds and thousands of Naruto clones gradually gathered on one side of the clearing and boldly faced the stunned shinobi recovery squad.
"H-How?" A female ANBU with purple hair sputtered upon seeing the Naruto clones who are laughing rather boisterously as it drowned the rather air-cutting tension surrounding the two groups.
"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!" The clones all said simultaneously as they raised their thumbs in a manner similar to a certain spandex-wearing taijutsu specialist. The rest of the shinobis can clearly imagine the comparison and cringe upon it.
"Uzumaki...I don't know what you are thinking about leaving the village but the real one, come out now!" The lead ANBU called out as he brought out a kunai knife. "Please, come with us now peacefully and you and Hokage-sama can peacefully settle out, whatever problem it is."
All the Narutos only laughed as the lead clone replied, "Ihihihihi! We regret to inform you that we cannot reveal to you which among us is the real boss! Come and get us if you can! Oh and where is the Inu-gray ANBU guy? Isn't he supposed to be my unofficial bodyguard so I'd expect him to be here..."
"Unfortunately, he cannot come with us as he was sent away to another mission by Hokage-sama," the lead ANBU replied. "Uzumaki, come now and surrender peacefully. Everything can be settled in the presence of the Hokage and the three councillors…"
"All the more reason I cannot come back to Konoha, you morons…" Clone Naruto replied as he chose to be defiant. "There's one guy in the council that I cannot stand since he treats me like I'm some kind of a toy."
Treat like a toy? Genma thought as something about what Naruto said was reminding him of the deeds of a certain bandaged warhawk.
But before every one of the shinobi could respond, all the Naruto clones decided to take initiative as they weaved through multiple hand seals.
"Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu!"
A barrage of fireballs of multiple sizes flew towards the recovery team, still standing their ground. Though if the Naruto clones thought that they could take them down with ranged attacks, they had another thing coming.
"Hakke Kūhekishō!" Shouted the Hyuuga that are among ANBU squad as they thrust their palms forward, releasing multiple vacuum blasts that stopped some of the incoming balls of fire.
"Hakkeshō Kaiten!" The other Hyuga who were Jounin and Main House members shouted while they turned into blue chakra twisters that deflected the remaining fireballs.
"That was close…" Genma said as he watched the balls dissipate. "I'm curious though. How did the brat learn that jutsu? It's almost exclusively being used by the near-destroyed Uchiha Clan."
"It doesn't matter right now, All it matters is that we needed to take him down and fast," the ANBU captain said as he pulls out his katana, the others following suit as they pulled out their weapons, intending to strike down on the clones and take the real Naruto by force.
The lead clone smiled mischievously as he said, "Well boys, they're taking us seriously! Let's take it up a notch!"
"Yosha!" All the clones cheered as they all began to cup their hands and chant something.
"What the hell's the brat planning right now?" The Inuzuka in the group wearily said as he pulls out a chakra pill just in case something shit happens.
But as the Inuzuka blinked, his eyes suddenly widened as he spotted something spinning like air in each palms of the clone Narutos.
"What the fu-"
"You'll be judged…"
"...Under the…"
"...Nine Stars!"
Immediately, almost all Naruto clones had sphere-like chakra constructs in their right palms and within each sphere are nine smaller spinning balls of chakra that are rotating wildly and are shining brightly like the stars in the heavens.
"N-No way…" A jounin, who actually has served alongside the deceased Yondaime Hokage in the past, swore that the shining and secret jutsu that was whipped out by the Naruto clones was a technique he only saw the Yondaime use.
"Amenomihashira!" All the Naruto clones then hurled the orb-like chakra spheres and like a meteor, the hundreds and thousands of the orbs lit the night like a thousand suns as they impacted the ground.
"Fallback!" Genma yelled as the rest of the shinobis were forced to jump away almost 15 feet from where the impact had happened as the simultaneous explosion of some of the orbs caused a large crater to form.
"Th-That was horrifying! How did the dead-last of the academy manage to create something so similar to the Yondaime's Rasengan?!" One of the ANBU stuttered as some of the rest fired fire balls and waves of compressed chakra towards the remaining large mass of orbs, causing the spheres to explode in the air.
"Well, that was…" One of the jounin was about to say it was easy to handle the Amenomihashira but he was cut off as suddenly, a large second wave of chakra orbs emerged from the smoked and dust rising from the crater, quickly locking into their targets, which were forced to retreat further.
"I did not expect something like this from the jinchuuriki…" The purple-haired female ANBU muttered as she took cover behind a tree while watching one of the spiralling orbs impact collide into a tree and in turn, the fairly thick and large tree had exploded, its splinters of thick wood flying everywhere.
It took a whole minute for the barrage of the orbs to finally stop as they had caused serious damage everywhere they collided. The recovery team peered from their hiding spots in the trees to survey the damage.
"Tree trunks blown off...craters and mini-craters everywhere...Hokage-sama's going to have a heart attack in this one…" Genma said to himself as he scanned the battle-scarred area that is reminiscent of the landscape of the Third Shinobi World War in the past.
The Naruto clones from afar laughed as they said, "Hahahahaha! Sayonara for a long time, fools!" One by one, all the clones dispersed until no Naruto clone (or in the case of the recovery team, the real one) was standing, leaving the recovery team irritated and a bit angry.
"Damn, we all have been tired for nothing!" A jounin angrily said as the rest grumbled in agreement.
"I failed to see underneath the underneath, as Kakashi would say," Genma sighed. "Now, we have lost track of the kid and we can't just get past the borders of the Land of Fire without any complaints from the other daimyo."
He then took out his map and checked it, "Well, I hate to say it folks but it seems we have failed. Let's go back!"
10 hours after the encounter at the border…
All the clan heads, high-ranking jounin, selected ANBU squad leaders, those involved in the Naruto Recovery Team and the two of the three elderly council of Konohagakure are gathered in the meeting room besides the Hokage Office as everyone looked at each other discreetly with a hint of weariness and suspicion. The fact that the topic of this meeting is about the 'betrayal' of the village's jinchuuriki isn't making the tense atmosphere a bit lighter.
If anything, the air around them was both heavy and intense.
"Let's start the meeting now, ladies and gentlemen," the arrival of the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen made everyone sit straight up and cross-legged in their seats in the tatami mats as the elderly village leader sat down on his own seat with a table.
"Let's not waste time anymore for this is a serious crisis for the village's security," the foul mood of the Sarutobi clan head made everyone shut their mouths before they could even think of asking something not related to the situation they are facing. "Shiranui Genma, report!"
The man with the bandana put down his senbon before replying, "Hokage-sama, we were able to track the general direction of Uzumaki Naruto towards the western borders of the Land of Fire but due to the daimyo's security policies, it took some time to get to a specific location of Uzumaki but when we really got there, we were confronted with the brat's shadow clones. An impressive tactic in stalling us, if you ask me."
"Shadow clones, huh? How did the brat learn it?" Akimichi Choza asked while eating his sandwich.
"Hell if I know. But probably due to the thing sealed into him, it's not surprising that he can create a thousand copies of himself," Genma shrugged.
"While the reports said that the Uzumaki is the dead-last of his batch, something tells me there's a but in all of this. No matter how many clones he makes, it's useless if he doesn't know its true capabilities or if he has no useful skills to complement his clones," Nara Shikaku, the Jounin Commander of Konohagakure, said.
"That's what we initially thought until Uzumaki had whipped out several surprising techniques that nearly killed us," the ANBU captain that was part of the mission stated.
His statement raised several eyebrows.
"Like what techniques?" Himura Mitokado, one of the elderly councillors present, asked gruffly.
"Like the famed fireball jutsu of the near-extinct Uchiha Clan…" the ANBU captain said, shocking nearly all of them. "Fortunately, the Hyuuga in our recovery team managed to repel the flames or we would have been toasted to death. The second jutsu he created was one that I don't want to be on the receiving end of that technique in the future and that disturbingly looks similar to the one made by our beloved deceased Yondaime."
Now, this sent red-flags into Hiruzen's mind as he nearly yelled, "What?! What exactly do you mean that it looks similar to the Yondaime's technique? Are you talking about the Hiraishin?!"
"Eh...no Hokage-sama. I'm talking about the Rasengan," the ANBU confessed.
"What? How is that possible?" Hyuuga Hiashi, the clan leader of the Byakugan-wielding Hyuuga Clan, asked in genuine curiosity.
"Well…" The ANBU motioned the Yamanaka Clan head Inoichi to come near to him and when the ash-blonde man did, the ANBU squad captain whispered something to him and then the blonde agreed. "He said he wanted to transmit it into the larger crystal ball of Hokage-sama so that everyone can see what this Rasengan-like jutsu can do."
Everyone agreed and a minute later, everyone sitting on the floor were rearranged in a semi-circle pattern as the ANBU was touching a giant crystal ball with his two hands while Inoichi placed his hands in the man's head. Inoichi then closed his eyes as he began to transmit everything from the ANBU squad leader's memories into the crystal ball.
The crystal ball then came alive with images of the Naruto Clones cupping their hands to form their secret technique.
Everyone was amazed as eventually, the jutsu that the ANBU was talking about had finally taken shape in the palms of the clones as their chants were heard by everyone in the meeting room.
"You'll be judged…"
"...Under the…"
"...Nine Stars!"
The others can't help but observe and shush others into silence as their focus was on Naruto's jutsu, which is in the form of nine chakra rotations encased in a larger chakra sphere.
"Amenomihashira!"
The others watched in sheer amazement as they watched one of the Amenomihashira colliding with a wave of compressed chakra and the larger chakra sphere was destroyed but in effect, the nine smaller chakra balls were released and continued their attack path.
Naruto-kun was able to create a technique that could even surpass Minato-kun's Rasengan? Hiruzen couldn't believe it as he thought his eyes were tricking him but everything shown so far is proof of the blonde boy's extraordinary feat.
"This Amenomihashira...you would really think he watched the deceased Yondaime-sama do his Rasengan and decided to create a version of it," Hiashi commented as he was impressed with what the blonde did. "It's now a question as to what inspired the Uzumaki to do it."
"But how is that possible? Uzumaki's the worst student academically and…"
"I suggest you keep your mouth shut if all you can say is his academic standing and frankly, what you learn in school doesn't matter if you can't even apply it in real-life missions for the village," Shikaku uncharacteristically scolded the jounin, who nearly gulped at the Jounin Commander's stern warning and decided to just stay quiet. "With that said, if the kid is able to create something similar to Minato's Rasengan, then his chakra control is ridiculously impressive considering his condition. That or he offset his possible poor control by spamming a lot of those Amenomihashira orbs as they look like they needed to have boatloads of chakra to fully operate."
"Hokage-sama, what if we put the kid in the Bingo Book? That way, we can easily retrieve him..." One Jounin suggested.
"And arouse the suspicion of the other villages as to why we put someone as young as him on the Bingo Book?" Shikaku made it clear he disapproved of the idea immediately. "There might be someone out there who would take the opportunity to kill him for a bounty and as a result, the sealed Kyuubi will get freed."
Everyone in the council meeting thought of that and quickly agreed with the Nara. It's not feasible to put the blonde kid in the Bingo Book.
The meeting continued with divisions among the clan heads and jounin becoming clear and blurred at the same time. While most agreed that the blonde must be returned, a few jounin voiced out that they don't need to look for the jinchuuriki as it meant that the village will finally be freed from the 'demon' and that it should have happened a long time ago. A certain newly-promoted jounin, by the name of Isshin Kotarou, even suggested that they should hold a feast to celebrate the ridding of the 'demon' from their beloved village but was almost lopped in the head by Genma, who told him to keep that suggestion to himself or he will be sent to a certain tokubetsu jounin with a scar on his bald head.
There were also those who volunteered to join the Recovery Team to help in hunting down the blonde boy but there were also those who voiced out that the boy must be banned from becoming a shinobi if it is proven that he indeed betrayed the village.
After an hour of almost non-productive suggestions and discussions being thrown out, Hiruzen decided to dismiss the whole meeting but not before reminding them to not talk about the whereabouts of the boy nor even discuss everything concerning him but even then, the old Hokage knew that the news will sooner or later spread throughout the whole village.
As soon as everyone had left the room, Hiruzen left out a huff as he pulled out a crudely-written letter. He then remembered the events that transpired prior to unleashing the Naruto Uzumaki Recovery Team…
Hiruzen was about to leave the Hokage Office after a day's worth of signing documents and letters when out of nowhere, his supposed favorite surrogate grandson appeared in the window.
"Hey, jiji!"
"Naruto-kun?!"
But before the old man could even react, Naruto handed him a crumpled letter and said, "Look jiji, time is running short and boss has already made his move out of Konohagakure. Just read the letter and I'll go now. Bye old man!"
He then poofed out of existence.
"A shadow clone? How did Naruto-kun know of that jutsu?" Hiruzen thought incredulously as he then looked at the letter, a painful dread creeping in his stomach. Carefully, he opened the letter and as soon as he finished reading it, his eyes widened with horror. He then yelled to his closest ANBU guard hidden in the door.
"ANBU! Gather the next jounin and hunter groups that we have and meet me outside the building!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!"
As soon as the ANBU guard left, Hiruzen then said to himself, "If you do prove yourself that you can take care of yourself in the outside world, then I can't do anything about it."
"And I hope you can find in yourself to forgive this old foolish man, Naruto-kun, for concealing your parents' identity..." Hiruzen whispered to himself in sad tones as he looked out his window. "But as much as I needed to have Danzo investigated, I can't do that without the political fallout that can possibly happen."
It would be a long, long time before Hiruzen would eventually reunite with the blonde jinchuuriki and by then, he had passed the Hokage Seat to one of his remaining loyal Sannin and his fellow elders would have passed away by that time.
As for Konohagakure, news about the blonde's disappearance would spread and inevitably, the whole village will celebrate the 'death' of the 'demon brat', unaware of the incoming rough and bloody harsh times that their village will have to face because of the changes that will soon to occur due to the lost of their jinchuuriki.
Nearly a hundred miles North-West from the last border of the Elemental Nations that can be sighted…
Naruto sighed as he watched his clones row the oars of his makeshift shuinsen (sailing ship). It was almost two weeks since he had been travelling by sea towards the New World, with occasional stops at small islands to repair his canoe and replenish his supplies. It was also two months since he had left Konohagakure and the Elemental Nations and he would have left earlier if it wasn't for the huge migraine he suffered as a result of spamming a lot of Amenomihashira orbs.
Naruto was glad that he had read up on creating boats from materials from the environment before and he used his clones to gather materials and tools to be used.
"Damn, I didn't know this world is as wide as it can get. Whoever thought this is the end of the world is a fool," Naruto said as he sat down at the edge while drinking fresh palm juice.
"Agreed. By the way, try not to spam your clones again at least until we see some land, kid." Kurama reminded him. "And good job copying all the jutsu in the Forbidden Scroll. At least, we have something to work on when we find the new land of the Yamato people."
"Yes, by the way, how would it be known if we already got out of the sea borders of the Elemental Nations? You said that we aren't yet safe in this area?" Naruto asked.
"It's been a long time Naruto but from what I can remember, Tou-sama said that in order for the ninshu to not spill out of the Elemental World and be used wrongly, a gigantic barrier of fog and whatsoever was erected to keep out intruders and keep in the people here. It's not perfect but from my estimate, a lot of people had been killed trying to explore the outside world." Kurama recalled. "But there should be some kind of a hole or a way to get out of the barrier. People in general are just too eager to explore what is outside of their homeland."
"Then I guess I'll just have to be the first in a millenium to be able to reach the New World," Naruto said, determination showing in his face.
And with that, their journey continued west-ward. Occasionally, Naruto will meet some fishermen along the way as well as islanders with weird priest-like outfits as well as golden and silver masks, who warned him about facing a horde of 'tall, white humanoids' who once tried to enter the Elemental Nations hundreds of years ago before they were killed in a natural disaster.
Of course, Naruto simply took the story with skepticism but he kept his mind open for such possibilities.
After a few more weeks, Naruto and Kurama suddenly spotted a giant wall of fog now blocking every clear vision from the blonde. "Well shoot...we're here but I guess we'll have to risk going through that fog," the blonde said as he motioned his clones to continue moving forward.
Before long, they reached a wall of fog. It was here that every instinct in Naruto made him and his clones want to turn back. It was as if they were knowingly walking off a cliff without a backup plan on how to land safely. However, Kurama prodded them to continue on since they were here anyway. They might as well risk what's on the other side of the seemingly endless barrier. .
The clones then bravely rowed through an archway that suddenly appeared. It surprised Naruto as it honestly didn't seem like it had been there the whole time, and the blonde immediately noticed the numerous intricate Seals layered over the structure.
"Smart. They're not exactly fool-proof but they're doing a good job in keeping out majority of sea travellers," Kurama commented
There were innumerable illusionary seals with the sole purpose of making sure that the thick fog would stay active and that the archway would be ignored. In fact, the longer Naruto stared at the seals, his vision began to swim as if he had spun around in place while drunk. Naruto briefly looked away and then back to the archway, but it was like the archway was moving; bouncing up and down and back and forth, gliding away from him. He couldn't focus on it, and he began to feel like he was about to throw-up.
"You okay, boss?" One of the clones asked when he saw Naruto looking ill. It was understandable, though.
This was a disconcerting place.
"Umph…" Naruto grunted in response.
The fog was becoming thicker still; it was like being pulled through a filter before they broke through into more fog now mixing with salt water. But this time, they were surrounded by a forest of tall stone pillars that were several hundred feet high and were erected on stones sticking out from the water. Thick ropes and chains lined the pillars. Naruto had never seen ropes or chains that thick before.
There were hundreds and thousands of seals on the structures and layers upon layers of them were embedded on the pillars. Not only that, Naruto looked at the various shipwrecks surrounding them. The rogue Konoha citizen recognized several fishing ships from various countries that had crashed into the pillars, and there were even oddly designed ships of various sizes and styles with worn flags and stylized clan and village symbols.
Heck, Naruto even noticed a flag with the Konoha emblem floating nearby his sailing ship.
The sight of skeletons on board the other ships was a grim reminder that the place was a graveyard. There had to be hundreds of people here; and he was only seeing a fraction of the dead.
"Naruto, I admire the seal work as much as you do but don't waste time looking at them. From the looks of it, it would take long before we get out of this thick wall of fog and you judging by your reaction, we won't be getting out until you and your clones started moving again," Kurama reprimanded him for his inattentiveness.
"Oh yeah...yeah...sorry, my bad...clones, forward!" Naruto barked orders and the clone began to row the small ship faster and with more strength. They rowed for almost an hour until they reached a point in the fog between a Seal-covered archway that began to feel as if they were being pulled back and pushed through at the same time, and a few seconds later was when the scenery around them changed. They were still surrounded by the thick fog, but it was getting clearer which is a sign that they have finally reached the outside world and in effect, outside of the possible jurisdiction of the Elemental Nations.
From there, Naruto suddenly spotted a sign floating near the last spots of fog and when they rowed closes to the floating said, Naruto read the sign.
WARNING: Stay away from this region as much as possible. A lot of planes and ships and lives had already been lost here. Seek permit from Aomori Prefecture local government.
Friendly Reminder from the Government of Japan.
An internationally-recognized special region of Japan.
"Uhm? So where the hell is this Japan place and what do they mean the Elemental Nations is a part of that place?" Naruto said, visibly confused.
"Hell if I know but I believe that's where all the New World Yamato people are now residing. I think this Japan place is where you should go to," Kurama suggested
"Well, we don't even know where Japan is but I guess we'll just row further. Perhaps, we'll be able to find it by accident…" Naruto trailed in what he was saying as all of the sudden, his head suddenly ached and for some reason, he was beginning to feel dizzy.
"Naruto...oi brat! What's happening to you?!" Kurama yelled in their mental link as he tried to find the cause of the sudden sickness of his jailor.
"I don't know...I just suddenly felt light-headed...and my head's spinning...and my head's exploding…" Naruto then screamed as he felt his whole body was burning. "AHHHHH! My veins...are burning…"
All of the sudden...his vision blackened.
"Well...shit…" Kurama then scrambled to see what was happening to his host and this is where he noticed nodes of what looked like white energy suddenly beginning to creep in and interfere with his functioning chakra coils. "What the...wait a minute...how come I didn't anticipate this problem!"
Kurama then decided that something must be done quickly. "I need a quick fix on this. Dammit, this is too much trouble but there's no other way around."
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and funnily enough, he was still lying in the sail ship that he created.
"...Wh-What happened?" The blonde said weakly as he slowly stood up, his legs still wobbly and quite shaken, and began to scan his surroundings as he got out of the makeshift compartment that served as his room and kitchen.
"Naruto, you were nearly out for a week and by that time, we ran into some sort of a mini-storm…"
"We WHAT?!" Kurama's sudden news to him jolted Naruto from his musings as he then checks his makeshift sailing ship for possible damages.
"Luckily for us, you had the foresight to install portholes for the oars and this compartment or you would really have been sunk deep in the ocean." Kurama explained. "The storm is quite strong since I noticed some ships nearby sank but they're smaller fishing boats and this ship is quite sturdy enough although it did take out some roofing on the compartment."
"Sheesh...I really attracted too much bad luck. By the way, what happened to me, anyway? Did you know what was that burning sensation that I felt?" Naruto asked.
After gathering his thoughts for the moment, Kurama replied, "Naruto, I don't know if you will take this as a good news or a bad news but right now, you have an additional...no, I think it's more accurate to say that your third dormant vital energy aside from your natural chakra and my tailed beast chakra suddenly became active along your chakra circulatory system."
"Uh...what?"
"I don't exactly know what it is but if I didn't rearrange your chakra pathway system, you probably would have died if your chakra would be forced out by the newer and more dominant vital energy," Kurama explained. "Or no, you wouldn't die but it would take your body more than a month to adjust to an area where chakra is not the most dominant form of substantial energy."
"I'm not sure I can follow but are you saying that there are other forms of energy aside from chakra?"
"There are brat. You have an active third type of energy inside you and unlike chakra, which is connected to the heart and to nodes, the third type of yours can be found literally anywhere in your body and it is white or metallic white, from what I observed. But most of all, it's mostly concentrated in your solar plexus and the nervous system," Kurama said. "In combat, you'll most probably have to be more conscious in how much chakra you use as unlike in the Elemental Nations, this place reeks of different forms of vital energy. Absorbing different forms of energy might have a side-effect on you, after all."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. By the way, since I got knocked out for one week, I did not know if we were going in the right direction or what. Where are we now?"
"Don't worry brat. I have smelt land just 10 kilometers from here. Spam ten clones and row faster. The earlier the better we get to the land."
Naruto nodded and quickly formed 10 copies of himself, who quickly took over the rowing of the boat and not long after, they have finally spotted a beach shore where the now-dilapidated boat had finally come to rest as Naruto, after luckily managing to avoid the jellyfish that is infesting the sea, had alighted from the boat but as soon as he did, he ended up landing in the sand face-first as his body was weak from almost a week of not eating anything and only survived due to the Kyuubi's intervention.
"Damn...I should have eaten something edible…" Naruto whispered to himself.
"Hey, kid, are you fine? You looked like you haven't eaten in a week…"
Naruto looked up to see a middle-aged man standing in front of him. The said man is tanned, probably due to often working outside in the sun.
"Wait...you can speak my language?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised. He didn't expect someone could speak his language. "Wait...where am I? Is this Japan?"
"Kid...you sound like a moron…" the tanned man deadpanned.
Naruto twitched at that.
"Well kid...you looked a bit disoriented but at the same time, you're not lying. I can see it. So tell me everything about you while you eat at our house?"
Naruto's eyes gleamed at the mention of free food, "Really?!"
"Kid, slow down, will you?"
"Blondie's a bit hungry right now. Let him be, pops…"
"Nǐhǎo…"
Naruto looked up at the last person who said those words, only to watch a middle-aged woman with wooden clogs smile at him as he sets down a new set of food consisting of fried eggs, ham, and rice. As someone who hasn't tasted honey-soaked Yule Ham, Naruto can't help but continue to bite on the sweet and soft meat.
Currently, the four people were all in the dining hall of the house where Naruto is staying and the blonder can't help but notice that the house was very large. The Wadatsumi, as Naruto heard it was called, was the beach house located near the beach where Naruto made his landing. The blonde's eyes then fluttered towards the unusually large and numerous golden and jade statues of a fat and bald man, a cat with a raised left paw, a strange dragon-like creature, a woman in robes, a doughnut-like coin,
"Just in case you don't know, she's my Chinese wife and a member of a powerful kin back in Fujian, China," the old man proudly explained, not even realizing Naruto's confused expression. "Ah, poor Muto-chan...having to bend to the whim's of Mingxia's father…"
"Uh...dad...you're a bit rude. Can't you see that the blonde kid's a bit confused?" The son told the father, who then checked Naruto's facial expression and laughed heartily. "Oh sorry kid! Hahahaha, I'm Yagyu Muto and this is my son Maou. This is his mother and my wife from China, Chen Mingxia, a devoted Tai Chi practitioner and the daughter of a Chinese real estate developer. And like me, my son also married a Chinese electronics entrepreneur from Singapore although she's working abroad."
"Uh...huh…" Was the only thing that Naruto can say as he suddenly looked downtrodden.
"What's wrong kid? You looked like you had a bad day today…"
"Well...I'm Uzumaki Naruto and...I don't know if you will believe me or not but I'm not exactly from here so I don't know about this uh...those places that you were talking about…"
The three people blinked at what the blonde jinchuuriki said before Muto coughed and said, "You...you're not exactly from here? But you speak Japanese too?"
Naruto deduced that "Japanese" means the native tongue he is using so he replied, "That's why I said I don't know if you would believe me or not. But if you won't believe me, then another proof I will tell you is that this is my first time being here and that I from where I came from, I believed most of you were banned from entering our region…"
Suddenly, Muto's eyes widened as if he understood what Naruto was saying, "Kid...are you saying that you came from the Special Region...I mean the place where it's so foggy that a lot of pilots and seamen had died trying to explore that place?"
"Y-Yeah...I came from that place and to tell you honestly old man, it's very hard to get our region because as you say, we're stopped by the fog as well as other barriers," Naruto replied, not yet ready to say that he was a rogue civilian (with a demon in his gut) from the Elemental Nations.
Suddenly, the old man smiled warmly, much to Naruto's surprise, and suddenly, he said to his son, "Oi, brat, will you go to the market first and buy something for a hearty feast this evening? I have a feeling that things will become interesting from now on."
Maou looked like he wanted to object based on the scowl present in his face but the sudden smile shown by his Chinese mother made him sigh, "Fine, pops. I'll leave now. Going to be back here before evening drops…" He then exited the door.
"Old man...what is that for?" Naruto raised his eyebrows at the sudden interest that the old man and his Chinese wife was giving to him, judging from their looks.
The moment they were alone, Muto then decided to be frank with the blonde boy, "Kid, you claim to have come from the Forbidden Region. Let me ask you this: did you come from a shinobi country or village?"
"Wh-Whaa...how did you…"
"Kid, please listen to me first and don't worry, there's nothing bad going to happen to you so stay still," Muto reassured the blonde, who relaxe his tense body. "The truth is you're not really the first shinobi or a citizen from a shinobi village or state that had come here."
"I'm not the first?"
"You're certainly not the first but the last ones sighted here was when my grandfather was still a child. I'm not sure if there were refugees out there who landed in the other prefectures but one thing I can tell is that almost all of you possessed some kind of a different source of body energy and you're the first one that I met with that kind of energy in my entire life," Muto explained.
Naruto takes this at face value as he asks, "Old man, if I may ask, what happened to those other guys who landed here more than a hundred years ago?"
"If my memory serves me right, they were taken in by a special research team in Tokyo...the capital of Japan…" Muto had to remind himself that despite speaking to a fellow ethnic Yamato, Naruto didn't come from the main Japanese islands. "...And then there were rumors. Some say they were experimented on or sold in Academy City...others say they were hired into Tokyo's bureaucrats...others say they simply retired here and built farms in Shiga and Ibaraki. The oldest and the last remaining survivor died at the age of 101 a decade ago and most of his writings were the main sources for what we know of the Hidden and Forbidden Special Region."
Naruto nodded as he then took note about reading those materials when he got the time, "By the way Naruto-kun, what's exactly your reason for ending up here in the main Japanese islands?"
Taken aback by the blunt questioning of the blonde, Naruto hesitated in answering him when suddenly, Kurama spoke to him in their mental link. "Brat, since you're already here and the old coot didn't have any negative feelings in him, you might as well tell him everything, even me. It might help you in drawing a favor from him."
Naruto accepted the advice of the Kyuubi and confessed everything to the old man, from being a container of a nine-tailed kitsune spirit to hailing from the Hidden Village of the Leaf. He also told them how, as a jinchuuriki, he was threatened by a village elder to join him by force which is why he decided to leave the village and travel outside of the Elemental Nations. He finally tells them that he decided to come and settle down here and somewhere to find out what he wanted to do, to discover the entire world, and most of all, to find someone who will accept him for who he is.
When he finished his tale, Muto and Mingxia just looked at the boy with both sadness and curiosity as the man then asked, "I'm sorry to hear that you had to endure what your old man had signed you up for. But really? Keeping a monster in your gut?"
"It's not safe to demonstrate what my capabilities are as Kurama the Kyuubi's jailor but I can assure you that what I'm saying is true. In fact, I can demonstrate to you what I can do as shinobi," Naruto said as he then stood up and before the two can even react, the blonde then made a seal before ten clones of himself appeared, much to the amazement of the two couples.
"It's one of the many techniques I learned and will still learn in the future," Naruto explained before dissipating his clones. "We have a special type of vital energy called chakra and we use it to do this amazing stuff…"
Muto nodded sagely and all of the sudden, his raised his finger tips and, to the surprise of Naruto, he started to push forward his fingertips towards the neck of the blonde, who staggered away in fear, "O-Oi, old man?! Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Ah, don't worry kid, this won't hurt you," Muto then touches his arms with his pointy finger and to Naruto's surprise, a small flame lit appeared but instead of burning his skin, it instead showed the man's rather unique flow of energy in his veins and in blood like an X-ray. "Kid, I wanted to check your vital energy networks as I'm curious as to how much potential you have."
Reassured, Naruto nodded and quickly took off his shirt to have his body fully scanned. Muto then have his fire-tipped fingers ran through the blonde's body and as the scanning completely showed Naruto's anatomy as well as vital energy running side-by-side with his veins and nerves. "Now, this is interesting..." Muto commented. "Not only you have the basic Ki and Mana running side-by-side with your chrakra in your nervous system network, you have this special chakra centered entirely in your stomach that I swore I saw the great Kitsune-sama take shape. Well, kid, I have an interesting offer to you…"
"Well...what's that old man?"
Muto and Mingxia smiled as the latter replied in fluent Nihonggo, "Haizi, we wish to adopt you as our own and be our successor to our hidden arts."
The orange juice in Naruto's cup nearly spilled as the blonde ended up getting his jaw down, "Wh-Whaa...can you repeat that again, uhm...Muto-san and Ming...sha-san?"
"I said, we're serious that we want to adopt you to our humble Chinese-Japanese home, Naruto-kun," Muto emphasized his desire to bring the blonde into his family. "You'll be surprised to see that there's more to this world than your chakra and our tricks."
"B-But…what'dya mean successor? I mean, you have that guy as your…"
"Maou wasn't interested in our double life, Naruto-kun nor does he want to exert effort in learning our ancestor's traditions as well as Mingxia's family fighting style," Muto explained. "I understand that it's tiring to learn our mixed family tradition but at the same time, we have been finding a perfect successor who can learn our family legacies."
Naruto merely blinked.
"Kid, does our family name ring any bells to you?"
Naruto blinked again, "Yagyu, right? Err…unless if it's Uchiha or Sarutobi…then I'm afraid I have to say no, sir…"
"I don't know if your land also has samurais but here in Japan and back in the olden days, the Samurai class had always been the dominant one, even more so than the Emperor himself at one point," Muto went on a history rant. "As such, Samurais are not only expected to be dominant in the sword and in the letters but they also possess hidden secrets within their clans. An important component of our martial arts is the harvesting of the Ki or Mana or as what my wife calls it, Qigong."
"Uh…Ki?"
Muto smiled and then drew out a small paper and pencil from his pocket, "As you see, you brat had chakra on your bodies. However, every person had Ki on their bodies. Ki is the rawest form of energy that can be found in every part of your body. Unharnessed, they are present in your everyday body movements like blood circulation, cardiovascular function, and the nerves. Harnessed, they can become beyond human abilities like psychic abilities and of course…this…" He proudly shows how he can create a flame out of his thumb. "Of course, this is just the basic of the basic but in the long run, you can probably become a monster…"
All throughout the entire time, Naruto can't help but feel amazed and at the same time, happy that for the first time, he would be adopted into a family who is willing to take him in despite the fact that he is a jinchuuriki. "Hey, Kurama, should I accept their offer?"
"Tsk, that's a pretty dumb question, Naruto. Of course, you're going to accept it anyway since you're out here and they had no bad intentions, from what I can feel. Besides, I would have my own input on your training as well so be prepared for me to make your life hell…"
"Alright!" Naruto flashed his thumbs up. "I'm going to be your successor!"
"Well, that's the spirit kid. Don't worry if you feel like being a burden to us. We'll gladly take you in and have you registered in the municipal office," Muto said before letting of a warning. "However, let me remind you. Don't let others know that you're from that place until you're strong enough to defend yourself. Until then, you'll pass of as an orphan."
"Yatta!"
Ten Years Later…
Through the ten years since a certain landing has happened in the coast of the Wadatsumi in Kanagawa, Japan, nothing major has changed for the residents in the said prefecture although plenty of wild stories began to surface ever since rumors spread that day that the last known living head of the recluse Yagyu Clan and his foreign wife had adopted a kid as a successor to their hidden clan arts and techniques, which was concealed even from the foreign media's peering eyes, and the foreign woman's family of martial arts system and their practice of harnessing unseen energy.
For instance, a fisherman from Tokyo reported seeing a kid from afar suddenly spew out a ball of large fire while standing in a sandbar as the fisherman was trying to row his way one foggy morning. Frightened, the man sought the help of the police but the reports were inconclusive and therefore, the poor fisherman was almost sent in an asylum.
In another case, a certain female investigator named Naoko was busy tracking down a criminal named Hino Jinsaku, a serial killer, during the eight-year period and while she was busy eating Takoyaki in a nearby stall, she noticed a commotion nearby and when she went to investigate it, she nearly threw up when she saw a headless body with is detached head ten feet away. But upon closer inspection of the head, she gasped in surprised.
It was none other than the corpse of Hino Jinsaku.
After several investigations the following days, she found a 14-year old girl who happened to be the victim of a hostage-taking attempt by the serial killer but as she was about to be raped and killed, the girl said that someone came along to save her.
"This boy…he looks older than me by a year and he had this funny whiskers and blonde hair…" the girl recalled. "He beheaded the creep with his—I don't know—was it, a katana or not? Well, after he killed the creep, he simply left like how a wind would pass by. I wish I could thank him but he was like a ninja. He just disappeared quickly."
Sadly, the incident happened in an area where there are no CCTVs available so it's very hard to find a blonde with whiskers that would exactly feet the girl's description.
At the same time, there were also crazy stories coming from China, officially called the People's Republic of China, that was getting hot in Kanagawa.
There was a story of a merchant by the name of Fang Ailun, who claimed that he saw a blonde boy in the Wudang Mountains, where he usually sells milk and beef to the Taoist monks living there, casually create an orb of blinding light and before he knew it, he managed to destroy a giant boulder just resting near the Taoist Temple where his clients stay. Unfortunately for him, it took him nearly two months to confess what he witnessed and by the time media personalities went to the Wudang Mountains, they received news that the boy had just left two days ago.
Another time is that a 15-year old boy was hospitalized for having his ribs and bones nearly shattered to unrecognition and when he was asked what happened to him, he unashamedly said and cried that there was a blonde boy from the nearby Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Academy whom he challenged for the hand of a brunette girl's love and he ended up almost losing his life in the process.
"That—that bastard looks like as if he was possessed by the húlijīng (fox spirit) and he threw me out from the ninth floor!" The hysterical boy said, now wanting to have the blonde boy get caught by the authorities.
Unfortunately for him, the said blonde kid had already left the place and again, there was no CCTV to confirm the victim's claims.
At a first glance, one would think that the stories from Japan and China had no correlation but for the few who knew how to look underneath the underneath, they noticed some few glaring details.
Blonde boy.
Fox spirit.
Sword.
Orbs.
Vigilante.
Lack of credible witnesses.
Disappearing like a ninja.
It was just a matter of time before the topic of such urban legends and stories would soon be known worldwide but for that to happen, it's important to go back to the present time in the Wadatsumi after eight years.
"Dad." A boy by the name of Kamijou Touma called out as he ran towards his father. To cut the story short, he was a teenage boy with a mysterious ability in his right hand to cancel out supernatural abilities but in return, he received daily doses of misfortune. The so-called Imagine Breaker, as what he calls it, has been the reason he was imposed a forced vacation with his family by his teacher back from the scientifically-advanced Academy City due to a certain incident that could certainly complicate things.
However, this so-called vacation turned out to be a nightmare as they were confronted with a certain situation that made his world literally switched bodies, something he wanted to resolve as quickly as possible.
"You're back," His father, Kamijou Touya, greeted, "Did mom came back with you? What did you think of the new house?"
"What's wrong? Why so serious? Had a fight with mom, I see…"
"Why?" Touma then spoke with a deep volume that it caught the attention of his father, "Why did you lay your hands on the occult?"
"Hey, hey, what are you—"
"Quit pretending like you don't know!" Touma yelled in exasperation, "I'm asking you why you're mimicking what magicians are doing!"
There was a silence as Touya was a bit stunned to see his son acting like this. And then again, with what's happening around them, it would be more surprising if his son remains calm and serene.
"I see…now, let's see where I should begin…" Touya bowed his head a little and then he swiveled his head towards the sea, "Touma, do you remember what people called you when you were a kid? The Plague."
"For whatever reason, misfortune kept happening around you. Eventually, not only your friends but even adults began to distance themselves from you," Touya recounted in a grim tone, "I placed you in Academy City for that reason. I was scared. Scared of the hearts of the people shaken by myth and superstition. That is why I sent you to a world where superstition doesn't exist. But…even in that city of science, you were treated as a misfortune-attracting person. How can your misfortune, which even science cannot erase, be dispelled?" Touya them smiled, "That's why I turned to the occult. Funny, isn't it? To be using superstition in order to remove superstition."
"Dumbass…" Touma muttered, "Yes, I was misfortunate. But did I ever say I regretted it?! That's garbage! No matter what misfortune awaits me, my road is for me to walk!"
"You were happy?" The elder Kamijou looked at him with shock before he then bowed his head and smiled, "I was a fool, then. I was going to take your happiness away from you. But then, I knew that by just collecting all those souvenirs, nothing would actually change."
"Uh, what?"
"Those lucky charms that the gift shops sell were said to what, protect the family, excel in academics, these are all exotic crafts. If I could remove that misfortune of yours like that, your misfortune isn't worth bragging about. I won't go about buying that stuff, and instead just get some snacks. Your mom will be happy as well."
"Wait a sec!" Touma began to somewhat panic, "Didn't you trigger Angel Fall? Where's the ritual site? Since your aim of removing my misfortune is gone, you should be able to remove Angel Fall right?"
"Angel Fall? I haven't heard of that term." Touya said in a dumbfounded way.
"Then I'll ask you a question. Where did mom go?" Touma asked.
"I don't know. Shouldn't you have an idea?"
He can't tell the switch in appearance?! Then the effects of Angel Fall do work on him…
"Hey, Misha-chan!"
To Touma's horror, Misha had found them. His only chance to save his father now was for him to convince the Russian sorcerer that Touya was innocent, here and now. Acting quickly, Touma stepped between his father and the sorceress, having no intention of letting her near her target.
"Wait, Misha!" Touma came in to confront Misha, "It's true that dad's appearance didn't get switched. But he doesn't realize that the looks of everyone else had also switched. This means—"
"Answer 01—" To the horror of everyone present, Misha's eyes turned red, "This is the answer. Target had been determined."
"Please, Misha—wait…"
"Opinion 01 – It was a rather dull explanation," Misha then took out what looked like an iron rod and brandished it, seemingly preparing to execute the elder Kamijou.
"You should not be allowed to kill humans without God's will," a familiar voice said from behind the men, "Have you forgotten that as well?"
The imposing figure of the one of the few saints in the modern world, Kanzaki Kaori appeared with an unfamiliar female companion as she calmly walked nearer to the two males, "Me and my assistant from the Lóngzhī Jiǔzǐ will handle this. You must take Mr. Touya with you and vacate this area immediately."
"Uhm…who is she?" Touma hasn't met the girl with pretty long brown hair and an average height ever since his vacation at the Wadatsumi started although her stare was somehow making the spiky-haired boy hard…
Shit, not now, Kamijou Touma! The boy had to stop himself from staring too much at the girl.
"Look, I know you liked my face but that's not the issue now," the brunette girl shot down the boy's hopes. "I'm from a Fujian-based counterpart organization of Necessarius and like you three, I have managed to dispel the effects of Angel Fall. All that's left is how to determine the identity of this creature."
She then held out her right hand and from her palm came out seven glowing orbs as she said, "Jiu Leixing…inspired by someone I closely know. It will disintegrate anything it touches."
"Wait…let's calm down!" Touma frantically shouted, wanting to prevent any violence from happening. "Look, Misha! This is a misunderstanding! She—"
"Her name is not Misha." The girl said exasperatedly.
"What?" Touma was surprised.
"She submitted an inquiry to the Russian Orthodox Church," Kanzaki calmly explained, "Only a 'Sasha Kreutzev' has been confirmed. She passed that information to me which is why a China-based agent is with us. That appearance must be borrowed from her."
"The hell is that? So if that wasn't the Misha girl as we thought then—" Touma trailed off.
"In this world, there is an entity belonging to neither gender that is depicted as both male and female in myth," Kanzaki began to clarify, "For them, their name denotes the purpose God created them for. It isn't something they would switch with other people easily."
"Wait a minute. What exactly—"
"Have you forgotten? The name of this grand spell?" Kanzaki reminded him.
At hearing this, Touma began to curse himself mentally as everything became clear to him. Her hesitation to touch my right hand. The fact that she knows everything is already suspicious and even I didn't bother to bring it up!
As all of these facts came to light, Misha seemed to have heard it as she narrowed her red eyes and in an instant, the sky became dark all of the sudden. The full moon shone brightly as the figure in front of the group faced them, as if ready to give them hell.
"I see," Kanzaki's voice was laden with venom as she prepared to take out her katana while the girl prepared another set of orbs in her left hand, "You bring out the night, which powers your attributes, eh?" As she spoke with fury, a pair of white and glowing wings appeared behind the monster before them, causing Touma and Touya to flinch back in shock and fear.
"The symbol of water and the governor of blue, the guardian of the moon and the protector of the rear side. The one they call…the Power of God or in layman's term, an archangel…" Kanzaki continued explaining to the new comers of the magic world. As she spoke, black wings made of glass shards drawn from sea water suddenly appeared behind "Misha's" back and as she was elevated into the air, she lifts up her staff and in doing so, a giant circle centering on the moon suddenly appeared from the sky and soon, it further expanded into several circles and lines.
"Tsk. I personally know the adopted son of the Wadatsumi owner here which is why it's pretty much easy for me to track you Japanese guys here but I didn't expect the situation to be this bad," the brunette girl said as he orbs then took the form of a subatomic particles. "He should be here by now so he can help us deal with this one."
"You know, I never did ask for your intentions why you Lóngzhī Jiǔzǐ guys decided to barge into Necessarius' operations. Any reasons for that?" Kanzaki narrowed her eyes. "And who is this person that you're talking about?"
"I fetched you the information from Annihilatus, didn't I? We simply had a single goal of ridding this impostor which is why I'm here," the girl explained. "And about that person…he's just as Japanese as you are and I can assure you that he would be helpful…"
"Well, we can't just wait for this guy whoever he is. I have my right hand," Touma said. "That bastard didn't touch my right hand. It must mean that Imagine Breaker is effective against angels as well…"
"No. From this point on, it is not a battle of ordinary humans though…" Kanzaki would have continued on if it wasn't for the appearance of a random voice out of the blue.
"…and unfortunately, I'm not an ordinary human as well. Well, more like the Kings of kings of pranksters and the partner of the great Kitsune-sama…"
!
The four individuals turned from their backs to see a figure slowly walking near them. Looking to be at least 185 cm in height, the blonde teenage boy had red basketball shorts and a black sleeveless shirt and had a single-edged sword and a large and gigantic scroll strapped in his back. He even had whiskers in his face, which Touya thinks is funny-looking.
Above his semi-bald style hair is a small red fox with rabbit-like ears.
The brunette girl, who had an impassive look a while back, now had a look of both surprise and familiarity as her cheeks suddenly turned red while she tried to turn away from the boy, who looked at her with both mischief and a feeling that is beyond friendliness.
"Yare…yare…last time I checked in here a week back, everything is still peaceful and I just had to send the old man and his wife to the hospital for diabetes and now, this is what I first see at home?" He then looked at the brown-haired girl and said, "Hey, bao, I know you told me about the situation but I never knew it was this bad." He then unsheathes his sword as he lays down his scroll. "But nothing like a quick fuinjutsu can't do."
"I'm glad you responded to my call bao but I don't think you can seal-scroll the angel over there…" The girl managed to regain her composure. "…You said it yourself that there's a possibility that this creature in front of us was accidentally summoned. Otherwise, it won't just appear randomly…"
"That's right, bao. Which brings me…" He then looked at Touya. "Oi, you old man. You do realize now that your arrangement of stupid lucky charms had the opposite effect screwing things. Well, it's not like we can do anything about it unless we can simply destroy the spell site."
"You mean destroying my our house, right?" Touma grimaced.
"If it's that simple, I would have done it already," Naruto explained. "It seems that in order to completely reverse the Angel Fall effect, we either have to destroy everything in the spell site in complete one-shot or we simply defeat the spell-caster. That would mean either sacrificing the porcupine hair's old geezer or that one of us sacrifice themselves for an elaborate ritual to succeed in destroying the site completely."
"What?" Touma couldn't believe what he heard. "There must be some other way and I won't let you sacrifice my dad or Tsuchimikado…"
Kamijou Touma wasn't able to finish what he said as in the blink of an eye, Naruto suddenly shunshined in front of him and before he knew it, quickly knocked him down unconscious.
"Touma!" Touya cried and in a fit of rage, he charged blindly at Naruto, who merely yawned as he said, "Amateur…" He said as he shunshined again in front of Touya and before the Kamijou patriarch knew it, he got hit in the chest and in the nape, quickly blackening in vision as his brain shut down to lala land.
"Do you really have to knock them down, Naruto-bao?" The brunette girl asked.
"And besides, not that I don't appreciate you in calming down both the boy and his father, who are you and what is your connection with Li Wan Qing…"
"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service…" Naruto smiled before turning serious once again. "Look, we can become chummy-chummy later. Right now, let's deal with the angel while my clones carry the two morons away." He then made a hand seal and came 10 clones, who spoofed into existence and carried off two Kamijous into a safer place.
"Clones. Huh? Useful but would that be of any use against the Angel?" Kanzaki asked as she prepares her nodachi against their opponent, who is releasing a strong killer intent.
"We would find out so let me have first dibs," Naruto said as he then leaped into the air and made a series of handseals. "Kurama, give me some oil. Let's test the fallen angel's water defense."
"Tsk, you can do it yourself but since the angel looks formidable, possibly even a hundred times more than the Nidaime, I might as well give you a lift," Kurama said as he leaps out of Naruto's head and both yelled simultaneously.
"Katon: Gōen no Jutsu!"
"Katon: Kitsune Yudan!"
From afar, a blonde boy with dark shades watches the ensuing battle with both interest and alarm.
"Dammit, I was supposed to prank Kami-yan nya but suddenly, this guy appeared out of nowhere and even knows Nee-chin's friend closely," the blonde said exasperatedly.
Then all of the sudden, as the other blonde had expelled a gigantic flame that expanded rapidly as it flew towards the Angel, the blonde without shades suddenly looked at his direction and although the two have never even met before, the newcomer merely nodded at him, as if saying, "Look, I don't know who you are and I don't care who you are but if you're going to do something, then do it now and I'll hold this monster for all of you."
The blonde in shades took this as a sign to trust the other blonde as he then ran off.
"Well, it looks like I'll have to place my faith on the guy for now. Sorry, Kami-yan but it seems another sacrifice will be used."
