Hello people. So... you might be wondering what has made me write a story about Nagato and Fairy Tail, and the thing is: I love Naruto and I love Fairy Tail, and absolutely love Naruto and Fairy Tail crossovers. However I'm kinda sick of reading 1,000 stories about how Naruto got stuck in Fiore and ended up in Fairy Tail and is very beautiful, smart, powerful and mature and can get any woman at his feet. Don't get me wrong, I love Naruto and all, but that's just too much. So I've decided to write a story about Nagato, who I find to be a very interesting character, seeking redemption for his past mistakes. I actually had to struggle because I was planning to write this fanfiction with Madara as the main character, but luckily I've searched before publishing and found there's already one story about Madara getting redemption in Fairy Tail universe (btw should ever Minipa read this, congrats your story is amazing and I love it and you all reading this should give it a shot) being written, so I will stick with Nagato.
Warning: as of 12 June, 2022, this chapter has been edited. No content of the story was changed, I've only altered a few words and corrected grammar errors. If you still find something wrong with the grammar, please point it out so that I can correct it. Chapter 6 has been entirely rewritten — if you have read it prior to the aforementioned date, I'd recommend you to read it again.
"After everything that's happened you still believe in Jiraiya-senseis teachings?" To say Nagato was surprised would be an understatement. Rarely before he had met someone with so much conviction. Was this boy really willing to spare them in spite of his hatred, just to avoid tainting Jiraiya's ideals? Could he actually be right, and Nagato wrong? The redhead closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remain calm. "... Very well then, you've given your answer"
But it was of no use, for the flurry of questions that occurred to him immediately had Nagato grow angry. To be wrong now, after everything he'd done in the name of bringing stability and peace to this would, would be unbearable. All the people he had killed over the years, all them faces, even Jiraiya's, all that for the greater good. It had been necessary, their lives was a small price to pay in exchange for breaking the cursed fate of the ninja world. Or that's what Nagato wanted to believe in.
"And you expect us to wait until you somehow magically transform this world to peaceful place? No, never! How can I believe in Jiraiya's words after all of this? There'll never be such a thing as true peace, not as long as we are forced to live in this accursed world! Peace is impossible... impossible!"
"Well, then... I'm gonna break that curse one day. If there's truly such a thing as peace in this world, then somehow... I'll find it!" Naruto retorted with flaming determination. Could that be the Will of Fire Nagato had heard so much about? This fellow, Naruto, had endured so much pain as a holder of the Nine Tails, yet stood firm to his ninja way. He... he was the Saviour of this World. Now Nagato knew that. Those words... "I'll never stop looking!"
Nagato's eyes widened as he remembered the exactly same words he'd say to Jiraiya so many years ago. "You... That's..."
"Nagato? What's the matter?"" Konan asked in concern.
"Those words... they can't be..." The Rinnegan bearer looked at Naruto in disbelief.
"That's right, you know them. All of those were taken right out of this book." Naruto's eyes went down to the very old book in his hand. Nagato didn't even blink as the blonde spoke. Right now, he was not seeing the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails in front of him, nor a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf. He was looking at a much younger versio nof hisemfl "The very first novel that Pervy Sage ever wrote. He was seriously trying to change the world with this message. And in the back of it, he wrote about a student who helped provide him with inspiration... It was you, Nagato."
"But...?" Nagato couldn't believe that. He didn't want to, he did not want to remember his life with Jiraiya, or the way he killed his former master and friend a few months ago in coldblood, or to feel regret and doubt about it. Like many that came before and would come after, Jiraiya's death would contribute to the creation of a world of everlasting peace. "Is this just a coincidence...?"
"And... the name of the hero in this novel... his name is" The blonde shinobi didn't stop talking. His gaze was fixed upon the leader of the Akatsuki. Nagato remembered how many years ago, when Jiraiya left, Yahiko had cried for hours after. He also remembered finding that very same book on a table inside the house they'd shared. The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. He tried to remember, but the name just wouldn't come up to his mind. Then it came all of sudden. "... his name is Naruto!"
"His name is Naruto. Listen, my name is a precious heirloom that has been handed to me by my master. There's no way that I'm just gonna give up and dishonour my master's gift!" By now, the Leaf ninja was yelling at him. "I will become Hokage, and I will bring peace to the Hidden Rain too! I will! I am asking you to believe in me"
'You are the Saviour of this World. I know... you can do it'. Nagato could remember both Yahiko's and Jiraiya's voices. This boy... perhaps he did have the answer Nagato had spent his entire life looking for. But things could not be so easy. Things were never so easy, how could them be? So he struggled to accept this. The questions started flowing out of Nagato's mouth without him even realizing it. He was truly interested: this child, perhaps he really could to bring true peace. "Why should I? How can you stand there and tell me that you will never change your mind? Do you really think you will never stray from that ideal no matter how much pain befalls you? You think you will always believe in yourself?! Can you guarantee it?! How can you possibly have that much faith that life won't change you?!"
These questions, he realised sadly, reflected his own choices. His own failure of holding up to his ideals.
"I've felt pain too... you're not the only one..." Naruto said, remembering his childhood. His entire life he had been hated and ignored by the entire village for something totally out of his control, but that was the past. Now it was different. And the future... Sasuke was his enemy, but his friend and a brother. "There's still pain buried deep down inside of me. And there's no telling what kind of pain I need to face down the road. But... if I stop believing just because things get difficult, if the hero in this book were to change who he is, then it would become a whole different story. It sure wouldn't be the story our master left behind."
"And it wouldn't be about Naruto. The thing is... I can't write books like our master did, and so, any sequel has to come from the life I live. That's why no matter how much pain my own path brings, I'll keep walking. Because that's... who Naruto is!"
"If the hero changes, it'll turn into another story... You and I are sibling disciples. As students of the same master, we should be able to understand each other. That is what I said earlier" The redhead shinobi blinked for the first time Naruto could remember, his face softening. "I meant it as a joke. You're a curious fellow. You remind me of myself when I was much younger..."
"I wasn't able to continue believing in Jiraiya's ideas. Nor... could I continue believing in myself" Nagato said with a sad expression. "But you've chosen a different path, and I can see in you a different future." With his eyes focused on the Konoha ninja's body, the Rinnegan bearer removed both his hands from the machines they were both resting in. "I think I shall believe in you after all..."
He put his hands together in a single seal and closed his eyes.
"... Uzumaki Naruto."
"Gedō Rinne Tensei no Jutsu" When his eyes opened, Nagato had a determined look on his face, the very same spark of hope he had every single time he told her he could see peace coming. But this jutsu...
"Nagato, you can't...!" Konan stepped forward, knowing what the jutsu would do for him. Couldn't he see using this technique with such a low level of chakra would kill him? But of course he knew that. He was willingly giving up his life for this boy.
"Konan, it's okay" Nagato's voice was soft, knowing she was just worried about him. She had always been there for him. "I'm making a new choice."
He was happy to be able to say these words there in his final hour, finally able to do something right for a chance. Now he could see it clearly. For the first time, Nagato could really feel he was making the right thing, rather than just blindly follow Madara's instructions like one of Sasori's puppets.
"One I had once given up on."
Naruto tensed up. Even though he could see Nagato did not mean anything bad, the blonde couldn't help- not his fault, since the guy had been a godlike enemy a few minutes ago, one who managed to stand his ground against the Nine-Tails' rage."What is it? What kind of jutsu is that?"
"Those who possess the Rinnegan are able to use all the techniques of the six 'Pain'." Konan explained, not makig any effort to hide her sadness now. Even though he always seemed unaffected, Nagato actually hated to see his childhood friend like this. "And are said to exist outside this realm of life and death"
Her gaze then went upon the Akatsuki leader, who was doing his best to keep his hands together.
"Nagato's ocular power is the jutsu that presides over life and death... He is the seventh Pain."
"Gedō..." Nagato still had his eyes closed. The pain was too g, areatnd it was hard to endure spending that much chakra at once. He knew what would happen, but he didn't fear it anymore. If he could at the very least atone for what he did in Konoha before his death, it was good enough for him.
'If he uses this technique with his chakra so low, Nagato will... He truly believes in this child?' Konan was sad, but at the same time she could not help but feel puzzled about Naruto. No one had ever been able to defeat Pain, let alone convince Nagato to change his mind. And yet... 'This strange child has changed Nagato.'
"What..." The vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox looked around — naturally, he could sense the many chakra signatures suddenly appearing in the Leaf Village. He could sense even Kakashi's chakra now, even though it should not be possible. Kakashi was dead. "What's going on?"
"The people in the village are coming back to life!" For the first time since Naruto arrived at the fake paper tree, Katsuyu — also known as Tsunade's slug — got out of his jacket. Naruto looked at the slug in utter disbelief, then back at Nagato. 'Is that what Konan meant when she said Nagato's ocular power was the jutsu that controls life and death?'
"Then..." Naruto started, but never finished that sentence. His sapphire blue eyes didn't even blink as he watched Nagato's hair change from a bright and, if he had to be honest, — not that he would ever say that aloud — pretty beautiful scarlet red to a snow white one. Apparently, his hair colour changed according to how much chakra he had in his body, and a lot of chakra did the man possess, considering he was no jinchūriki and even then managed to fight and effortlessly destroy the whole Leaf Village on his own, fight Naruto through two instances of Sage Mode and the Six Tails transformation, and still use a miraculous jutsu like that, capable of bringing back from the doors of death hundreds of people who'd died during Pain's attack on the Leaf. For the first time, the blonde realised how he would most likely have been defeated by Pain if it wasn't for Katsuyu's help and how long he took to recover after blowing up the village.
'I'm going to stay here and take care of them for a while. Just until they can take care of themselves. It's the last I can do.' They say when you're about to die, that's when you can know what you have truly become. Right now, the memory of the day he and his friends met Jiraiya was all he could think of — and how he had failed him and Yahiko by becoming such a unsightly monster.
"I'm still in time to save those I've killed since my arrival at the Leaf Village." Nagato slowly opened his eyes, focusing them on the blonde jinchūriki in front of him. "It's the least I can do for them."
"You..." Naruto started, but was quickly cut by the Rinnegan bearer. He had no intention of holding back now. 'Not unlike Granny Chiyo's death', Naruto sadly realised; the man before him, the one who killed Jiraiya and who Naruto not too long ago perceived only as a demonic entity, was just a broken man trying to use his final moments to make things right, or at least fix them the best he could.
"War inflicts death, injury, and pain to both sides." It was clear that every single word took all of Nagato's willpower to be spoken. His entire body trembled and his eyes closed once again. "There's nothing harder to accept than the deaths of those you love."
He forced himself to continue, refusing to die before he was finished.
"Sometimes you actually convince yourself there's no way they could die." For the first time, the Rinnegan bearer made a short break before going on with his speech. But the pain was starting to disappear, meaning he had little time remaining. "This naivety... It especially can't be helped with a generation like yours. A generation that does not know war."
His eyes opened again, the Rinnegan still focused on Naruto.
"You may try to find meaning in death, but there's only pain. An unbearable hatred..."
"Senseless deaths... Eternal hatred, and pain that does not heal. That's what war is." As his breath oscillated, the Akatsuki leader fought to keep his hands together "That's what you will be facing in time."
Naruto didn't try to say anything now. All he could do was what the end of his sibling student.
"Haahah... The book... and you... it feels like... someone... set this all up... Or... perhaps... this is the real work of a god..."
Nagato's breath was weak and accelerated. He had no more than a few seconds left, and he knew that; so Nagato hurried up. He really wanted to finish what he was saying.
"My role is over now... Naruto... maybe you can really-"
'-bring peace to the world.'
Nagato never finished that sentence, but Naruto understood what he meant. Closing his eyes one last time, the Rinnegan bearer's breath finally stopped. He was dead. Both Konan and Naruto stood there, staring in silence at the dead body of Nagato. Sadness and respect. Despite only coming to know him in the very end, Naruto knew his sibling student was someone to look after, despite the many bad things he'd done through his life. He was just a broken man, a misguided soul — and, if what his father told him was true, Naruto knew he probably was just being used by that masked guy.
Enduring such pain and being able to do the right thing in the end. That's the teachings he got from the deceased leader of the Akatsuki. Being a jinchūriki, Naruto knew how hard enduring pain could be. And from what he'd heard, Nagato had endured much more pain than him or maybe even Sasuke ever did. Maybe Nagato's soul could be saved.
Unknown to him, Konan was having similar thoughts, although most of them were memories from her childhood with Nagato, Yahiko and Jiraiya. How they used to be, and how terribly wrong everything went after they separated. Just like Naruto, Konan hoped Nagato would finally find the peace he had lived and died for. What none of them could have known, however, if there truly was a god in their accursed world, he or she had other plans for him right now. For he truly was a Child of Prophecy and the Saviour of the World. Just perhaps, well... not of this world.
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A bright light was the first thing he saw when his eyes opened. Nagato felt like he had been asleep for a very, very long time. How many hours, days or weeks... His memories were an absolute mess, he could barely remember Naruto or Konan, the last two faces he saw before dying, and-... His eyes widened as he realised what happened to him. He had died. He set Naruto on the path to find true peace and achieve that which both he and Jiraiya dreamed so much about, but ultimately failed to accomplish.
But if he was dead... 'Is this what afterlife looks like?'
Because if it was, it was a beautiful, peaceful place. Very different from what Nagato felt he deserved. But he already knew the answer for that question: as the one who bears the Rinnegan, he would have realised it if this was the afterlife. No... he was no dead. He lived. Somehow, he was alive.
Getting up, the first thing Nagato noticed was the condition of his legs: there were no burning wounds anymore, though the marks were still there, from that ninjutsu Hanzō used on him long ago. There was no Gedō statue either, no black chakra rods piercing his back. He could walk and move freely again. The second thing was his red hair. After he finally managed to stand up, Nagato followed the sound of running water until he found a stream. Just as he suspected, as soon as he looked at the surface of the water, there was it. His own reflection.
He was a rather tall thirty-five years old man with bright red hair and purple eyes — the Rinnegan. He also noticed he had gained some weight, though he was still a slender, pretty pale man. But why in hell he woke up in the middle of a God-knows-where forest, especially considering he was absolutely supposed to be dead? What was he doing there? What am I doing here?!
"What are you doing here?!" An old female voice yelled that same question from a few meters away. When Nagato turned around, the lady's — whose pink hair somewhat remembered Nagato of that Leaf medical kunoichi he had seen during the invasion — eyes widened as she saw his Rinnegan. Even from the distance those purple eyes felt like they were piercing right into her soul, as if there was nothing in this world they couldn't see. As she tried to step away, the former leader of the Akatsuki pointed his palm at her.
'Banshō Ten'in.'
Before the pinkette even realised what was happening, her feet were lifted from the ground and she flew towards the stranger. "What the... Let me go!"
"Calm down, I mean you no harm." Nagato's voice was soft, but commanding. Years of being the leader of a criminal group like the Akatsuki and having to keep ten very powerful S-Rank shinobi under control do that to you. "I just need to ask you some questions."
As he said that, he let the old lady down, but did not drop his guard. At the very least least she seemed to understand he really didn't want to hurt her, despite the suspicious look on her face.
"If you tell me who you are and what you are doing in my forest." She retorted angrily. In spite of that, Nagato could still sense the fear inside her. It was just easier to hide fear with anger, he supposed.
"I really don't know. Sorry. Don't even know where here is." He shrugged, looking around once more. "I just woke up in here and don't know why. Can you please tell me who you are?"
By this time the woman realised Nagato really meant no harm.
"You know it's rude to ask someone's name without saying yours." Her answer came in the same angry tone as before, and Nagato raised an eyebrow at that. "I'm Porlyusica, and 'here' is my forest. I live here."
"Sure... I apologise if I offended you. Did not mean to be rude. My name is Nagato." Once again Nagato ignored her angry demeanour. Whatever her reason to act so negatively, Nagato could feel that she was a good person and meant him no harm. "So, Ms. Porlyusica... Can you tell if there is a village around here?"
Before she could answer, Nagato felt his vision blurring once again. This time it was much worse — a second later the red haired man fell to the ground, fully unconscious; it was only then that Porlyusica had a tick mark on her forehead as she wondered if the gods took for some big cosmic joke occasionally sending random freaks to her- the only person she knew who hated humans. Not that she knew the gods may actually have a finger on this freak's sending. Or perhaps not.
I'm sorry if this chapter felt like a rush, but I wanted to both finish Nagato as a shinobi and start him in Fiore. Don't worry, everything shall be explained in the future. Of course the whole plot is not going to be about Nagato messing around in the magic world, since I find fanfictions like these very annoying - never coming to a point. I'll try to write at least 2,000 words per chapter (but might as well go over 3,000 depending on how inspired I am for the chapter) and not hurry up since I don't want to rush the story. Speaking of, I'm gonna give some time for those who like Nagato to actually see his journey, so I will not keep time skipping to reach canon just for the sake of reaching it — and don't expect him to replace the main characters in doing things they do in canon, like the old cliche of Naruto defeating Jose in Makarov's place just to show how badass he is, or stealing every fight of Natsu (Jellal, Laxus, and so on) just for the sake of it. The ending is a jab of mine to all those 'Naruto is sent to Earthland by some random deity' stories (I like them, but it does get old after a dozen or so of them xD).
Thanks for reading, see ya around.