Disclaimer: I own none of this. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, and Fairy Tail is the Property of Hiro Mashima. All other references to other media are the property of their respective owners. So please don't sue me!

Chapter 3: Training and Friends

(Time Skip two months later)

Naruto was doing pushups, and his face was drenched in sweat.

"Come on, Naruto," Jiraiya encouraged, "you've only got fifty more."

"Only fifty?" Naruto taunted, "Come on, old man, give me a challenge!"

"Keep it up, wise guy. I'll double those gravity seals!" Naruto's face paled. For the two months, Jiraiya had been pushing Naruto to his limits. The first thing he did was curb Naruto's monthly ramen limit. Naruto was only allowed to visit Ichiraku's four times a week. The next was to place gravity seals on Naruto to help train his body while not limiting his growth as weights would. Jiraiya then set up a training regime that Naruto would follow. The first part of his morning was pushups, situps, and other physical exercises. The second was chakra and chakra control, though that part was a pain in the ass for Naruto. Despite Naruto's best efforts, he couldn't use the Bunshin Jutsu. Jiraiya theorized it was because of his Uzumaki lineage and the Kyubi inside him, making using so little chakra extremely difficult. The third part was by far the easiest for Naruto, accessing his reserves of Ethernano. It seemed that using magic was far easier than chakra as there was very little reason for control. "The Gaki nearly set me on fire the first time he used his Dragonslayer magic," Jiraiya thought as he watched his godson finish the morning pushups. "Still, he's making remarkable progress. Those notes Kushina and Minato left are a godsend." Jiraiya looked up at the sky, where he hoped his student and wife were happy. "Still, it's cruel that I have to be the one to teach Naruto instead of you, Minato, Kushina."

"Finished," Naruto called out, breaking Jiraiya from his thoughts.

"Alright, now, let's get started on your Taijutsu."

"Alright," Naruto dropped into a stance.

"Come at me." Naruto pushed off with his feet, threw a punch at Jiraiya, who blocked, and countered with a kick that sent Naruto flying into a tree. "Naruto, you can't just charge in recklessly. That will get you killed, again." Naruto got to his feet and shook off the spots, then charged again. Jiraiya sighed and prepared to block the apparent punch Naruto was planning. Just as Jiraiya was about to grab Naruto's fist, Jiraiya noticed a magic circle appear behind Naruto's arm.

"Karyū no Enchū!" Naruto's arm shot forward at surprising speed and collided with Jiraiya's stomach. The blow caused Jiriaya to buckle.

"Clever Gaki," Jiraiya kicked at Naruto, who dodged, "Not bad, Naruto, caught me off guard with that one, nice use of your Dragonslayer magic. But you know the rules; I'll match what you throw at me."

"I hope you're ready, old man," Naruto punched his hand. "Cause I'm all fired up now."

"There's that catchphrase again." Jiraiya smiled at his godson, "Whenever he gets serious, he always says that." Then, Jiraiya charged Naruto, who returned in kind, his fist igniting.

(Time skip four hours later)

The training ground where Naruto and Jiraiya were sparring had craters from exchanging blows. The snow that had covered most of it had melted from Naruto's fire Dragonslayer magic. Jiraiya was breathing heavily while Naruto was unconscious. Jiraiya had a few burns on his skin but was mainly unscathed, while Naruto was bruised, and dust covered his clothing from all the times he'd been knocked into the dirt.

"Brat's got a long way to go before he's ready to face someone as awesome as me." Jiraiya looked at the sky. The sun was about in the center. "Looks like it's almost noon." Jiraiya's stomach grumbled. "When the Gaki wakes up, I think I'll treat him to Ichiraku. He's earned it."

"CAN WE GO NOW 'TTEBAYO!?" Naruto's excited voice caused Jiraiya to look down to see his godson sitting upright, all traces of exhaustion gone.

"Of course, you heard that you addict." Naruto's stomach growled, almost loud enough to shake the ground. Naruto's face turned a bit red, then he and Jiraiya started busting out laughing. "Come on, Gaki."

"Hai." Naruto followed Jiraiya as he walked out of the home they were staying in. As Naruto walked next to Jiraiya, he noticed some of the villagers bowing to Jiraiya, but when they saw Naruto, they glared, causing Naruto to growl. Jiraiya placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"It's okay, Gaki. You'll earn their respect one day."

"I know, but I hate that they all look at me with those angry eyes."

"Then forget about them. What matters to you more? How your friends look at you, or how ignorant villagers look at you." Naruto looked down at his feet.

"I don't have any friends. The other kids won't play with me. So I'm always alone." Jiraiya looked at Naruto, shock on his face.

"Then that settles it."

"What do you mean?"

"After we get lunch, you and I are going to the park."

"But, no one will play with me."

"Let me handle that." The rest of the trip to Ichiraku's was in silence. Naruto sat down at his favorite stool when they arrived, and Jiraiya sat next to him.

"Hey, Teuchi Ji-chan!" Naruto called to the Ramen chef.

"Naruto," Teuchi greeted as he turned to face him. "How have you been? We haven't seen you as much."

"I've been great."

"The usual?"

"Yep."

"And for you Jiraiya-sama?"

"I'll take what Naruto's having." Jiraiya replied, "make Naruto's first. The kid's burned through a lot of energy."

"Coming right up." Then, Teuchi started boiling the water and making the toppings.

"By the way, Teuchi, you got a bathroom?"

"Yeah, Ayame," Teuchi called his daughter. "Can you show him?"

"Sure," Ayame replied, "right this way, Jiraiya-sama." Jiraiya followed Ayame behind the counter and to a back area. Ayame turned to face Jiraiya. "You know we have a bathroom. Why ask?"

"Because I'm going to leave a Kage Bunshin with Naruto while I go talk to the clan heads about having their kids meet Naruto," Jiraiya replied, "hopefully, he'll make friends." Ayame's eyes softened as she heard Naruto laughing at something Teuchi said.

"He doesn't deserve the hell he's living in."

"His life has significantly improved since living with me."

"Yes, it has, but it's sad for a child to have no friends."

"I better get moving." Jiraiya formed the cross handsign. "Kage Bunshin." Jiraiya created a clone and then started walking out the back as his clone walked back to Naruto.

"One more thing Jiraiya-sama." Ayame called as he was about to walk away; Jiraiya turned to face Ayame, who was now glaring at him. "If you try and make him a pervert," Ayame held up a knife, an evil look in her eyes. "I'll castrate you so thoroughly not even Tsunade-sama can heal you." Jiraiya paled at the threat, and he could even see a smiling image of the Shinigami floating behind Ayame.

"R-Right." Jiraiya ran off, eager to get away from the ramen chef. Jiraiya's first stop was at the Nara compound, and he saw Shikaku lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. "Still as lazy as always, eh Shikaku?" Shikaku looked over at Jiraiya and got to his feet.

"Has something happened?" Shikaku asked, "Jiraiya-sama."

"Nothing serious, I was just wondering if you have any plans with Inoichi and Choza, and if not, I'd like you to bring them as well as Shikamaru and his friends to the park."

"Is this about getting Naruto friends?"

"Leave it to a Nara to figure it all out." Jiraiya smiled a bit. "Yes, that's exactly it."

"It'll be troublesome, but I can do that."

"Thank you." Jiraiya bowed and continued down towards the Aburame compound next. When he arrived, the two guards outside the gate bowed to him.

"Hello, Jiraiya-sama," They spoke as one.

"I'm here to see Shibi and his son."

"One moment, Jiraiya-sama," one of the guards spoke, then headed inside. A few minutes later, Shibi walked out.

"Jiraiya-sama," Shibi greeted as he bowed to the sannin. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm planning to have all the clan heirs meet in the park to help Naruto gain friends."

"I see." Shibi was silent for a moment. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Shino and I will be there."

"Thank you, Shibi-san." Jiraiya bowed, then began heading to the Inuzuka compound next. When Jiraiya arrived and was led into the compound, he saw Tsume standing next to her son as they were caring for the clan hounds.

"Kaa-san," Kiba tugged on his mother. "Why can't I get a ninken? Hana nee-chan has three."

"Because your sister will be graduating from the academy this year," Tsume replied. "while you have yet to even enter. Not to mention that taking care of ninken is a huge responsibility, something you're not ready for."

"But Kaa-chan."

"No, Kiba."

"Tsume-sama." the clan member escorting Jiraiya spoke. Tsume turned to see the Gama Sennin standing there.

"Jiraiya-sama." Tsume bowed to the sannin, "to what do I owe the honor?"

"I am arranging for the clan heirs to meet in the park so that Naruto can make some new friends." Tsume's face hardened a bit at the mention of Naruto. "I know how you feel about Naruto, but I can assure you that he's a harmless gaki." Tsume's face relaxed.

"If you're sure about that, my son is precious to me. So I won't let any harm befall him."

"If you're worried, you can join."

"What's wrong with this 'Naruto' kid?" Kiba asked. "Is he dangerous?"

"Not unless you get him in a pranking mood." Jiraiya laughed as Tsume shuddered.

"I still don't know how he manages to pull off half the pranks he does." Tsume shook her head. "When do you plan on this happening?"

"In about an hour or two."

"Then I will see you then."

"It's a date." Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows.

"PERVERT!" Tsume punched Jiraiya in the face causing him to fly over the compound wall and land on his face.

"Okay, I deserved that." Jiraiya got to his feet and shook the dust off himself. "Next stop, the Hyuga clan." Jiraiya shook his head and continued on his path. After several minutes of walking, Jiraiya arrived at the Hyuga compound. Two Hyuga stood outside; they both had kimonos on and headbands covering their foreheads, which Jiraiya knew were covering the Caged Bird Seal. "Still can't believe that they still enforce a barbaric tradition."

"Halt!" One of the guards commanded as both Hyuga dropped into a stance. "State your purpose here."

"I wish to speak with Hiashi about clan relations."

"Wait here." One of the guards walked back into the compound, and not too long after, Hiashi walked out, the guard following behind him.

"Jiraiya-sensei," Hiashi greeted the Sannin with a bow; Jiraiya responded in kind. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What?" Jiraiya teased, "A sensei can't visit his students without reason?"

"Don't play dumb with me, sensei. I know you're here for a reason."

"It's about Naruto." To Hiashi's credit, he didn't react when Jiraiya said Naruto's name, but already he was on guard.

"Minato's son, what's happened now?" Hiashi looked at his old sensei, "Come with me, sensei. We'll continue this in private." Jiraiya and Hiashi walked into the compound and walked to Hiashi's office. Hiashi shut the door behind them as a seal spread over the entire room. "What has happened to Minato's son?" Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Come on, sensei, you didn't think I wouldn't see the similarities between Naruto and Minato, not to mention I was the best man at his and Kushina's wedding."

"You always were an observant one." Jiraiya sighed, "Naruto's been getting better ever since I took him in, but he has no friends his age. So I'm planning to have the clan heirs introduce themselves and, hopefully, make friends with Naruto."

"I find myself in a complicated position," Hiashi sighed. "On the one hand, I want to help Naruto, but on the other hand, as the head of the Hyuga clan, I bear the weight of the Hyuga name."

"Hiashi," Jiraiya looked at his old student, "You were Minato's best friend. Plus, if you really need an excuse, say you're fostering relationships with the other clans, forming future alliances." Hiashi smiled.

"Even the elders won't be able to object, and if it's in a public space, they can't control who shows up."

"So you'll take Hinata there."

"Yes, I think she'll be very excited."

"Then I'll be headed out. The Uchiha clan is my final stop."

"A fine day to you, Jiraiya-sensei." Jiraiya walked out and began walking towards the Uchiha compound.

(With Haishi)

Hiashi watched his sensei walk away and walk towards Hinata's room. He opened the door to see his Hinata holding an infant Hanabi. Hiashi felt tears well in his eyes as he looked at the only things he had left of his wife, Hitomi.

"I swear it, Hitomi, I will make sure our daughters grow up strong." Hiashi steeled himself and gave a slight cough. "Hinata." Hinata, startled, looked up to see her father standing there.

"G-g-greetings," Hinata stuttered, "Otou-sama."

"Hinata," Hiashi looked at his daughter, "we shall be heading to the park in two hours. We will be interacting with several clan heirs. I expect you to represent the Hyuga clan."

"H-Hai, Otou-sama." Hiashi closed the door and walked back to his office. Hiashi sat down, looking at a picture in a frame. It showed himself, Hinata, Hitomi, and baby Hanabi. Hinata was smiling and clutching her mother's dress; Hitomi looked tired but was still smiling. Hiashi was stoic as always.

"If I had known this was the last day I'd have them all in my life," Hiashi picked up the picture. "I'd have smiled, held them in my arms, made sure Hitomi's last photo was one of joy." Hiashi placed the photo down and went back to his paperwork.

(Time Skip 2 hours later in the park)

Naruto was walking with Jiraiya into the park when he saw a group of people and some kids. Naruto's face fell, and he looked at Jiraiya.

"Who are these people?" Naruto asked.

"They are the clan heads and their kids." Jiraiya replied.

"Why are they here?"

"I asked them to come here for you to make friends." Naruto looked at Jiraiya, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Really?"

"Of course." Jiraiya motioned Naruto to walk over, and he did. As he did, the other kids looked at him.

"Hi," Naruto stated, "my name is Naruto; what are your names?" Kiba stepped forward.

"My name's Kiba." Kiba introduced, "I've heard some things from my mom." Naruto started looking down at the ground. "What's wrong? I'm talking about your pranks." Naruto's head shot up, and he looked surprised. "What type of pranks do you pull?" Naruto's surprised look transformed into a look of mischief.

"KIBA!" Tsume snapped, "don't give him ideas!"

"I'm of a mind to agree with Tsume-san," Hiashi added. "Kami-sama knows Naruto doesn't need more prank ideas."

"I think they're funny." A tall boy added. Naruto looked at him. He had black eyes, under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair pulled back in a low ponytail, and his face was framed with center-parted bangs that extended to his chin. His clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, bandages around his ankles, and black sandals. In addition, he wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. "They remind me of my mother's friend."

"Kushina always had a way with pranks," Jiraiya added, "That's for sure. I'm surprised to see you here, Itachi. I thought Mikoto would take your brother." Itachi looked down at his little brother.

"Sasuke insisted, and I have nothing better to do today." Itachi pushed Sasuke forward. "Go on, Sasuke, introduce yourself."

"Nii-san," Sasuke whined and looked up at Itachi, "you said you'd show me the Shuriken jutsu." Itachi knelt at Sasuke's level, then poked him in the forehead.

"Forgive me, Sasuke, but there is a balance in the life of shinobi, training and fun."

"Why?"

"Because one without the other is not healthy." Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto replied, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you, 'Ttebayo." The adults, save Jiraiya, all looked shocked to hear the last word.

"He is Kushina's son." Tsume thought as she saw the shadow of her old friend standing over Naruto.

"Troublesome," Shikaku thought, "he's Minato's and Kushina's alright."

"What a weird kid," Sasuke thought as he shook Naruto's hand. "Nice to meet you, Naruto."

"Go on, Ino." Inochi prompted his daughter. "Be nice." Ino walked forward.

"Nice to meet you," Ino greeted, "Naruto Uzumaki, my name is Ino Yamanaka," Ino looked over at Shikamaru and Choji, "the lazy bum with the pineapple hair is Shikamaru, and next to him is Choji." Shikamaru and Choji walked forward.

"As the troublesome blonde said," Shikamaru started, "I'm Shikamaru. Nice to meet you, Naruto."

"I'm Choji," Choji introduced himself.

"My name is Shino." Shino introduced himself monotonously.

"A-a-and I-I-I'm Hinata," Hinata stuttered, "N-nice to m-m-meet you N-Naruto."

"Nice to meet all of you," Naruto smiled, "So, what do you want to play?"

"How about Ninja?" Kiba suggested. "There's eight of us, so that way we can split into two teams; I'll be the leader of one group. How about you lead the other team, Naruto?"

"Sure, 'Ttebayo," Naruto smiled again, "I'm all fired up now!"

"That's the spirit!" So Kiba and Naruto made two teams, and soon the game began. The adults watched the kids play, and many realized how wrong they had been to ostracize Naruto.

"He really is just a kid," Inoichi commented, "Kami-sama forgive us. We put a poor child through that hell."

"Yeah," Choza replied as he munched on some chips, "We let our fear blind us; we should have trusted Minato."

"Damn," Tsume cursed. "I guess we all owe you an apology, Jiraiya-sama; we doubted your student and your word."

"Apology accepted," Jiraiya replied, "and I hope that you've learned to trust those who are experts in the field."

(Time Skip four hours later)

The group of eight had finished the game of ninja. Naruto and Kiba were the best; for some reason, the Kiba couldn't understand; Naruto's sense of smell rivaled his own. So now they were all lying on the grass watching the clouds.

"Wow, Shikamaru," Sasuke commented, "you're right. This is relaxing."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "this is fun." The group sat in silence for a while when a shadow covered them, and Shikamaru saw a group of older kids.

"Hey, you're in our spot." The biggest of the older kids spoke.

"Can you just go away?" Shikamaru asked, "it's too troublesome to move from here."

"I said move!" The kid grabbed Shikamaru and threw him aside, causing him to slam into a tree. At once, Naruto stood up, glaring at the oldest. "And what are you going to do, weakling?"

"P-Please," Hinata started, "D-don't fight, t-there is no need."

"Oh, look, she's a Hyuga." one of the other kids.

"Bet she thinks we're beneath her." The third commented.

"N-N-no," Hinata stuttered, "I-I-I don't think that."

"You Hyuga are always so arrogant."

"Leave my friends alone." Naruto growled.

"Or what?" Naruto continued to glare. "Hey, I recognize this kid."

"Yeah, me too," the second friend replied. "He's that trouble maker that my parents told me to stay away from."

"Let's teach him a lesson." The first kids spoke.

"Yeah, you beat this kid up, Naroma; Kanama and I will kick the snot out of his friends."

"Sounds like a plan," Kanama spoke. "And I'll start with the Hyu-" Kanama was cut off by Naruto planting his fist into his stomach.

"Didn't I say to leave my friends alone?" Kanama doubled over in pain.

"You bast-!" Naroma started only to get kicked in the face by Sasuke.

"What Naruto said," Sasuke glared as he put his hands in his pockets. "Leave our friends alone."

"You think you're so tough!'' The last boy started weaving handsigns ending on the tiger sign. Sasuke's eyes widened in recognition.

"Get down!" Sasuke shouted, "it's the Gōkakyū!"

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" The boy opened his mouth, unleashing a small fireball at the group of kids. Naruto jumped in front of the ball of fire.

"Don't be stupid, Naruto; get out of there."

"I won't let anyone hurt my friends." Naruto declared as he held out his hands, his palms facing the fireball. The fireball made an impact and exploded.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke and the others shouted, horrified.

"How do you like that?" the older boy taunted, "It looks like his stupidity got him killed."

"You bastard!" Sasuke growled, his eyes turning red, as the Sharingan flared to life, a tomoe in each eye. "I'll-!" The sound of an inhale cut Sasuke off, and the fire was swirling inward. The fire started clearing, showing the outline of Naruto, the flames being sucked into his mouth.

"What the hell?" Was the general thought of everyone around him. The fire was gone entirely in a few seconds.

"That tasted pretty good." Naruto picked at his teeth with his pinky nail. Naruto stepped forward, glaring at the kid in front of him. "Now I've got a fire in my belly that's raging to get out." Naruto clashed his fists, and a red magic circle appeared in front of his joined fists, a dragon's face in the center. "I'm gonna blow you away!" Naruto inhaled again, his chest puffing up as his cheeks swelled.

"WHAAAAAAT?!" Everyone was stunned; Naruto put both his clenched fists sideways in front of his mouth.

"Karyū no hōkō!" The same magic circle appeared in front of the other side of Naruto's clenched fists. A jet of flame blasted forward towards the kid who tried to hurt Sasuke and the others. The kid dove to the side to dodge. The stream of fire washed over some nearby trees, and the snow on the ground melted. When the fire cleared, everyone's jaws had dropped. Naruto whipped his mouth with the back of his hand, exhaling a large cloud of steam. "Get lost." Naruto growled at all three of the kids who had tried to hurt his friends. The kids wasted no time in scrambling to run away as Naruto.

"Dude, Naruto," Kiba was the first to break his shock. "That was awesome. How did you do that?"

"Well, Jiji called it a Kekkei Genkai. I don't really have a name for it, but basically, it allows me to take on all aspects of a dragon. I have dragon lungs for breathing fire, dragon scales for dissolving any fire I come in contact with, and dragon claws for attacking with fire." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I feel bad lying to my new friends, but Jiji told me that I have to."

"Who is Jiji?" Ino asked, curious.

"The Hokage."

"EHHHH?" All the kids responded at once.

"N-N-N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered. "Y-Y-Your Hokage-sama's grandson?"

"Well," Naruto rubbed the back of his head again, "he's not really my Jiji. I just call him that, as he's kinda the only person who treated me kindly, so that's why I call him Jiji." Naruto looked at Sasuke, a curious look on his face. "Hey, Sasuke." The Uchiha turned to the Dragonslayer.

"Yeah?"

"Did you get something in your eyes?"

"No, why?"

"Cause they look weird."

"I couldn't have." Sasuke thought as the adrenaline wore off, and he finally started comprehending the shift in his vision. Sasuke walked over to a puddle of water that Naruto's roar had created from melted snow. Sasuke looked into the eyes of his reflection and saw the famous Sharingan. "The Sharingan." Sasuke whispered, shocked.

"What's the Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

"The Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha." Just then, the adults appeared next to the kids.

"Naruto," Jiraiya spoke as he looked over the scorched ground. "I sensed your special power. What happened?"

"These kids were picking on us," Sasuke started, "Naruto defended us."

"Sasuke helped too," Naruto added, "he punched the other bully."

"Really?" Jiraiya crossed his arms, but he was smiling.

"Yeah," Shikamaru groaned as he got to his feet, "he even ate a Katon jutsu to protect us."

"He ate a Katon jutsu?" Inoichi repeated, confused. "How did he do that?"

"He said it was a Kekkei Genkai." Ino supplied.

"What's this Kekkei Genkai called?"

"That's classified," Jiraiya informed the blonde mindwalker. "Inoichi."

"Hai, Jiraiya-sama."

"Nii-san." Sasuke got his brother's attention. "I did it." Sasuke's voice was excited.

"Did what?" Itachi asked.

"I awakened my Sharingan." Itachi's eyes widened in shock, and he looked at his younger brother's eyes and saw Sasuke was speaking the truth.

"Well done, Sasuke." Itachi ruffled his younger brother's hair. "Tou-san and Kaa-chan will be very happy." Then, Itachi looked at the sky, "Well, it's getting late, Sasuke. Say goodbye to your friends. We need to go home now."

"Okay, Nii-san."

"Wait." Naruto spoke, gaining the attention of the Uchiha brothers. "I want to ask you both something." Naruto looked around at all his new friends. "I want to ask all of you." (A/N: Play Fairy Tail Strong Bonds in Mind.) "I've started rebuilding an old guild called 'Fairy Tail,' and I want all of you to be a part of it." Naruto held out his hand. "All you need to do is shake my hand, and you'll get a mark like this one." Naruto pulled back his sleeve, revealing the Orange Fairy Tail mark.

"What happens if we join?" Kiba asked.

"Fairy Tail is a guild that always fights for their friends no matter the danger to ourselves. And every day, we make a promise." Naruto looked around again. "To give it our all, to make sure that if our friends are in danger, they never have to fight alone." Kiba smiled a bit.

"It's like a pack."

"Yep, one big family, and we always have each other's back."

"Count me in."

"Me too," Sasuke added.

"I'm in," Ino replied.

"I'll join too." Choji smiled.

"This is troublesome," Shikamaru spoke, "but I'll join too."

"I-I-I'll j-join, too." Hinata stuttered.

"It sounds like a good idea." Shino chimed in. Naruto turned his hand so his palm was facing skyward. Then, one by one, the other children placed a hand on Naruto's, forming a stack, with Naruto's at the bottom and Sasuke's at the top. The tattoo on Naruto's shoulder glowed, and a golden light spread from his hand, linking the others to him. Sasuke was the first to gasp as the Guild Logo appeared as a hologram, projected from just over his heart. The mark was a teal blue, and Sasuke smiled. Hinata was the next to have a mark spread to her, and her right shoulder started glowing, and the violet guild mark appeared. Next, Ino had her mark appear on her upper arm and glowed like the others. Next, Choji's mark appeared on his hand, glowing red, while Shino's was green and was on his left cheek. Next, Shikamaru's appeared as a hologram. It was on his left shoulder blade and was pitch black. Finally, Kiba's mark appeared on his shoulder, which was vermilion colored.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." Naruto beamed at all his friends and, for the first time in his life, Naruto felt truly accepted by everyone around him. Although no one could see her, Mavis was sitting on a branch in a nearby tree.

"And Fairy Tail is reborn." Mavis thought as she smiled at the scene before her. "They will all make fine fairies."

"You're quite sure of that, then?" a smooth voice responded next to her. Mavis turned her head to see her husband, Zeref, standing on the branch next to her. "They will have a long road ahead of them, full of heartbreak and struggles."

"It wouldn't be Fairy Tail if they didn't."

"Indeed, it wouldn't." Zeref chuckled a bit as they both faded back to the afterlife. (A/N: end Fairy Tail Strong Bond in mind.)