Hey. So guest, well, I know that Kimimaro shouldn't be able to shatter the chakra chains, but let's just say Hikari's chains aren't as strong as Kushina's chains and leave it at that...

To the other Guest, well, I'm using quite a lot of the cannon history, so since Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, he has some past problems with them, so giving them the Kyuubi would solve those problems.

And to the poll, well, its official, Kirito is getting Unlimited Blade Works, with 37 to 10 votes... But then again, I should have expected this... And just so we're clear, he will only get it at the end of the Aincrad arc.

And since this poll is closed, I will be reopening the poll for the next story I'm doing. So yeah.

Anyways, let's start with the 31st chapter.

XXX

Kirito glowered at the snake sannin as he held his swords. The young man knew he probably couldn't take Orochimaru on and leave alive, so he had to stall and use his Acceleration in one full burst to get both Sasuke and Hikari away.

But for that to happen, he needed an opening first. Kirito wasn't so stupid to think Orochimaru would let him go so easily after all.

Orochimaru grinned, "Eh, so, what are you waiting for?"

Kirito didn't reply as his mind raced for ideas to create an opening where he was in a position to run. The snake sannin took a step forward, "Kukuku, well, if you're not gonna make the first move, then I suppose I will!"

In an instant, Orochimaru appeared in front of Kirito, the Kusanagi drawn to strike. The blacksmith instinctively activated his Acceleration and dodged the slashes before he spun and sliced Orochimaru in half at the waist.

But the Snake Sannin didn't earn his title by allowing himself to get sliced apart that easily. As soon as the blades cut through his waist, the man melted into water and appeared several meters away.

The man cackled, "Is that it? I guess you really haven't gotten stronger. A shame, I was actually hoping you would do better than you did during the Chunnin Exams."

Kirito glared at the snake, his eyes unknowingly flickering between yellow and his original eye colour. The man smirked as he saw that before he jumped back to dodge a slash from the Elucidator.

Then, in a flash of red, Kirito appeared in front of Orochimaru again in a spinning position. The swordsman swung his swords (Levi style) at Orochimaru who quickly brought up the Kusanagi to block.

Then to his surprise, right before the blades met, Kirito adjusted his swords so that they struck the flat of the Kusanagi, avoiding damage to his swords and at the same time, disarming Orochimaru as the Kusanagi flew out of his hands and into the water.

The man wasn't too concerned, however, since he could easily retrieve the sword later with his snake summons. What mattered more was obtaining his two vessels and the girl.

Orochimaru laughed gleefully, "Not bad, but, Kirito, you have more, don't you, SHOW ME!"

Kirito charged forward, his swords glowing light blue as his body glowed red. Orochimaru's eyes widened as the young man yelled before he vanished, "ECLIPSE!"

In an instant, Kirito sent 27 consecutive slashes at Orochimaru, just as he did the last time. And just like the previous time, Orochimaru would have been sliced to pieces had he not substitute with a mud clone.

But there was one difference, Kirito wasn't as tired as he was the last time, since he had trained to improve himself.

As Kirito skidded to a stop, the young blacksmith cursed as he saw the man melt into mud. He quickly flew upwards just in time to dodge a stab from the Kusanagi from behind.

As he stayed midair, Kirito growled at the smirking Orochimaru. He then realised his mistake. Now that he had flew upwards, Orochimaru could close the distance between him and Hikari and Sasuke easily.

The swordsman quickly shot downwards and sent a slash at Orochimaru who dodged it easily, causing a huge wave to rise up from the impact of Kirito striking the water.

Then, to Orochimaru's surprise and amusement, in a flash of red, Kirito, Hikari and Sasuke vanished from sight. The sannin laughed, 'So he wants to play like that, very well.'

The man then vanished via Shunshin, unaware of the frown of the face of one Uchiha Itachi. The elder Uchiha then wordlessly vanished into a flock of crows, following them.

(Just so no one gets confused, in terms of direction, if Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and the Sand Siblings are moving from the South. Kusagakure is at the north, so Kirito, Hikari and Sasuke are going to the east. I know the Elemental Nations map says otherwise, but I'm just saying that for easier understanding.)

As Kirito sped past the trees out into the air, carrying Hikari and Sasuke, each in one arm, his swords sealed away, he spotted Orochimaru easily keeping up with him.

Kirito cursed as Orochimaru spat out a few dozens snakes at him. The young man quickly flipped and chanted, "Ek verpa einn brandr mus pilli, kalla bresta bani, steypa lundr drott!"

A dozen fireballs appeared around Kirito and shot towards the snakes, burning them alive. Orochimaru smirked, slightly impressed at the spell as he leaped through the trees.

Kirito then turned and increased the Acceleration, speeding up even more. He couldn't use it at full power for too long, even if he disregarded the drain of his reserves, since the Acceleration didn't extend to other people he was carrying. If he did that, then the g-force would kill Hikari and Sasuke.

Then, as he flew, his caught the glint of metal. Kirito flipped and easily avoided the kunai, but that was his mistake. Then suddenly, Kirito was pushed towards the ground by Orochimaru who had used the Shunshin and Kawarimi to appear above Kirito.

Kirito cursed as Orochimaru's voice reached his ears, "You've given me quite some fun, but it all ends here."

The man raised a kunai and stabbed it into Kirito's back, causing him to yell in pain as they fell towards the ground.

Kirito cursed as the ground was reaching them fast. He spotted two large branches and quickly threw Sasuke and Hikari at them, letting them crash into the branches, luckily staying above the trees as he did. Unfortunately, because Orochimaru was on his back, he couldn't do anything more.

Without the two people in his arms, Kirito quickly flipped, ignoring the pain on his back, and kicked Orochimaru away before he painfully extended his wings again and stopped his fall just in time as he reached the ground.

But due to Orochimaru stabbing his back, which unfortunately just so happened to be near one of his wings, the wings vanished due to the injury. Kirito growled in pain as he spotted Orochimaru getting up, he glanced upwards and spotted both Hikari and Sasuke unconscious on the branches, safe for now.

But then came the bigger problem, Kirito could possibly fight and win against Orochimaru. He had let his anger gotten the better of him and he had rushed straight in, now he was paying the price.

Orochimaru also seemed to have read his thoughts and smirked, "So, what are you gonna do now, Kirito?"

The young man thought, his chakra reserves were running low, especially if he needed to use the Acceleration. Then his mark started to pulse, but to Kirito's confusion, instead of the foul chakra Orochimaru and Sasuke emitted, it was familiar, it felt natural, it felt right.

Orochimaru also seemed to notice it, mostly because the mark was glowing a dark yellow instead of the dark purple the marks usually let out. The man narrowed his eyes and reached to feel the connection of his soul fragment in the seal, and to his shock, it wasn't there.

Orochimaru glared at him, "What did you do to the mark?!"

Kirito didn't answer him, instead, he was focused on the mark. The aura the mark let out was getting more familiar every second, it was like a power he had for a long time but lost it, and now it was coming back. It felt nostalgic.

The young man decided to let loose the power in the seal, and at that instant, to the shock of Orochimaru and Itachi, who had arrived just now, Kirito's wounds healed and he had a yellow aura around him as his eyes turned yellow.

To Kirito, as he drew his swords, for a brief moment, he saw two different yet similar swords in his hands. They were both the same colours of his Elucidator and the Dark Repulsor, but instead of the normal guards, the black sword's guard had something that looked like a symbol of a tree, and the blue sword had a rose on the guard.

But the vision faded as soon as it came, and Kirito decided to file it off for later, instead deciding to focus on his current problem.

Kirito stared at Orochimaru coldly, focusing his aura at him. At the point, Orochimaru found himself unable to breathe, just moments ago, Kirito couldn't injure him, but now, the Sannin could literally see his death.

With Itachi, he cursed, while it wasn't the way Kirito was supposed to awaken his powers, even if it was too early, the young man had drawn on the power of the Underworld. The Uchiha sighed, at least it wasn't fully awakened yet. It was something the late Sandaime and Kayaba had told him, during one of his reports some time ago, and the important thing was that Kirito was not to awaken his powers before Kayaba finished his project.

But what's done is done, at the very least, it wasn't fully awakened. Back to the fight though, Kirito glowed red, the yellow aura mixing with the glow of the Acceleration, making hin turn orange, then he vanished and reappeared in front of Orochimaru.

The elder man's eyes widened as he quickly jumped back, trying to draw the Kusanagi in reflex but only to realize he had dropped it at the river at the Valley of the End.

He realized his mistake a little too late as Kirito swung his swords, barely touching his cheeks as the blades passed his face. Orochimaru growled as he regained his footing and thrust his arms forward, shooting several snakes from his sleeves.

But the next thing Kirito did made his eyes widen, or rather, the words that left his mouth as he held his swords up, "Release Recollection."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the swords exploded in a bright light blue light. Kiriro, for some reason, had expected the black sword to release a dark beam of energy, and the blue sword to release icy thorny tendrils.

But that wasn't the case, as the swords he had forged were made with the purpose of lighting up and protecting the future of the four girls he loved so much.

So instead, the swords emitted a bright light blue light of energy, combining to form a massive pillar of energy stemming from the pair of swords.

The amount of energy pouring out of the blades shocked Orochimaru anf Itachi, hell, it even surprised the Kyuubi who could feel it in Hikari's seal, who was still unconcious.

Then, Kirito roared as he swung the beam of energy down at Orochimaru. The man's eyes widened as the blade slammed into him, and he knew no more.

Kirito panted as he lowered his swords, seeing the smooth crater he made with the attack. The young man then quickly turned and extended his wings again, speeding towards the branches where Hikari and Sasuke were.

Kirito then grabbed them and quickly shot towards the air, heading back for the Valley of the End.

As he flew, Kirito thought, 'This power, it feels familiar, maybe I should ask Kayaba-sensei about this when he gets back.'

Soon, he reached the river and spotted Asuna, Suguha, Sinon and the Sand siblings, and they were surprised to see the man carrying both Hikari and Sasuke.

Kirito landed on the ground and placed both the last Uchiha and last Namikaze on the ground as Suguha asked, "Kirito-kun, what are you doing here?"

Sinon nodded, "And, why are you glowing?"

Kirito didn't reply, instead the glow faded and he fell to the ground unconscious, causing everyone to rush to his side in concern.

Meanwhile, around a mile away, one burnt Orochimaru leaned on a tree as he struggled to move. The sannin thought, 'Fucking shit, how can he unleash so much power all at once?!'

He let out a breath and decided to look at the bright side, 'Well, at least this proves he's worthy of being my next body.'

As he moved, the sight of one man made his eyes widen. The calm but angry eyes of one Uchiha Itachi stared down at the Sannin as the Uchiha slayer spoke, "Orochimaru..."

The man smirked, "Itachi, is there anything I can help you with?"

In an instant, Itachi appeared in front of him and grabbed his neck, strangling him, "I can kill you now, you know?"

Orochimaru struggled to breathe, with his current state, he couldn't possibly fight Itachi, not that he could in the beginning anyways. Itachi continued, "Your desire for the Sharingan, frankly I don't care about that, or if you were to use any other Uchiha, but you tried to use my foolish brother."

The man tightened his grip on the snake's neck, "Then, you foolishly targeted Kayaba's apprentice, you should know who he is by now, but I suppose, you don't care."

Itachi sighed and contemplated if he should kill the man, after all, regardless of the trouble Orochimaru would bring, he was still useful in a way. The man decided to be merciful for once and let go of the Sannin's neck, "Get out of my sight. If I catch wind of you even touching Sasuke, Hikari or Kirito..."

He let the threat hang in the air, but Orochimaru knew he would kill him, after all, the Sannin knew very well Itachi was still the loyal Anbu he always was, and he was always the brother who would spare his brother in exchange for killing the rest of his clan.

The snake wordlessly left in a Shunshin, which was quite painful considering his current state. Itachi sighed and left the area, heading towards a small village.

The man reached out to sense if Zetsu was around. He knew the plant-man was on a mission to Iwagakure, but he had to be careful. After that, he entered a bar and headed straight for a private room, where one Jiraiya was waiting.

The elder Uchiha greeted the man, "Jiraiya."

The man nodded, "Hey, so?"

Itachi sat down on one of the cushions and spoke, "The Akatsuki are officially moving in one year."

Jiraiya nodded, "I see, and if Kayaba finishes his project in time, which is two years, then we need to get ready."

Itachi nodded, "Yeah. Train the girl well, we'll need her."

The older man nodded, "Of course, I'm planning to take her on a one year trip to fully focus on her training after all."

Itachi nodded, "I see. By the way, Kirito has partially awakened his powers."

Jiraiya's eyes slightly widened, "Are you serious?"

The man nodded, "Orochimaru tried to bring Sasuke over to his side, and since the Hokage sent Hikari and three other girls to retrieve him, Orochimaru baited Kirito into chasing after them. Long story short, Kirito fought Orochimaru, almost lost badly, and awakened his heirtage via the cursed mark. "

The Sannin let out a breath, "I see. So, what does it do then?"

Itachi nodded, "From what I could see, it gave Kirito a boost, enhancing his base abilities. He could also use something called, Release Recollection."

Jiraiya nodded, "Probably one of his powers as a descendant of the Underworld."

The Uchiha nodded, "Yeah, here, this month's reports."

The man handed a file to Jiraiya who took it, "Thanks, Itachi."

The Uchiha nodded and turned before he dispersed into a dozen crows. Jiraiya then stood up and thought, 'Time to go then. Those kids should be back in the village by now.'

A while later, in the Hokage's office, Hikari and her team along with the Sand siblings stood in front of Tsunade. Kirito was still out cold, but after the Hokage checked, it was only because he was exhausted.

Hikari had woken up on the way back thanks to the Kyuubi who managed to undo the seal and clear her system of the poison, along with her already impressive Uzumaki regeneration factor.

As for Sasuke, the young Uchiha was still unconscious, though Hikari, under the insistence of the Hokage, sealed up the cursed mark with a Hakke fuin, similar to the one that was holding the Kyuubi. A bit of an overkill, but after what happened, they didn't want to take any risks.

After receiving the reports, Tsunade sighed, "I see. So, no one really knows what happened after Orochimaru knocked Hikari out. I guess I'll have to ask Kirito about that."

The woman then looked at the group of young ninja in front of her, "Anyways, good job. After Kirito and Sasuke wake up, I'll get a report from the both of them. And by the way, thanks for coming, Gaara. I'll send you the pay later. "

The redhead nodded in response before Tsunade looked at the others, "You're dismissed. Take the next two days off."

The girls and the three siblings nodded and excused themselves from the office. As soon as the door closed, Tsunade spoke up, "So, Jiraiya?"

At that moment, Jiraiya entered from the window, "I got the report from our weasel, you're better off reading it yourself."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow as Jiraiya handed her a file. The Hokage quickly skimmed through it and her eyes narrowed, "So, the Akatsuki is moving..."

Jiraiya nodded, "In a year or so, and besides, Kirito has partially awakened his powers, that's why they got Sasuke back."

Tsunade sighed and slumped on her chair, rubbing her temples, "Yeah, that explains a lot. But to be frank, I don't know what to do here, I mean, in the end he's still a civilian, and there are no rules that civilians can't help on missions."

Jiraiya chuckled as he leaned on the wall, "True. But, it doesn't change the fact that Orochimaru came in again and provoked him into chasing after them. Besides, Itachi was ready to intervene, but he didn't need to, and according to him, Orochimaru wants all three of them."

Tsunade sighed, "Fucking son of a bitch... The snake just can't stop giving us trouble, huh?"

Jiraiya nodded before the woman continued, "Whatever... So, when are you planning on telling our goddaughter?"

The frog sage let out a breath, "No idea. I'll probably tell them when Kirito wakes up, better let all of them know first. But I'll deal with it when the time comes. Besides, how are you gonna deal with the Uchiha?"

Tsunade looked at the reports on her desk, according to Hikari, Sasuke wasn't taken forcefully, instead he willingly went with them. Granted he may have been under the influence of the mark, but reports of his past behavior said otherwise.

The woman sighed, "No idea. Probably have more Anbu watch over him, if he was actually captured, then all I need is to prevent Orochimaru from coming in. But the problem is he went willingly."

Jiraiya nodded before he suggested, "Hey, since Hikari sealed up the mark, he may not be under its influence anymore, how about talking to him first?"

The last living Senju nodded before she stood up, "Sure. I'll do that. I need a break... And some sake, wanna join me?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Sure, why not. As long as you get back before Shizune checks on you."

Tsunade paled slightly, after all the last time she slacked off for sake, which resulted in a pile of work, her apprentice had made her think twice about slacking off again. But then, this time was different, since her tasks at hand were all completed, so it should be find... Should be.

The woman shook her head and glared at him slightly, "It'll be fine...and Jiraiya, you're paying later."

The man just laughed as the two old friends headed for a bar.

The next day, in the afternoon, in Kirito's room back in the compound, the young man groaned as he opened his eyes to see the familiar ceiling of his room. Kirito groaned as he thought, 'Where am I?'

The last thing he remembered was seeing Asuna, Sinon, Suguha and the Sand siblings at the Valley of the End. Then he remembered, the mark. Kirito quickly got off the bed and went to look at the mirror, but the mark was still the same.

He frowned and reached down into it, and true enough, the familiar feeling was there. Then he pulled. Immediately, his body was covered in a yellow aura, his eyes taking the same glow. He felt stronger, more complete yet still incomplete in a way, as if he still lacked something.

The young man decided to file that for later and focus on his current state. But before he could further study his new found powers, the door opened, startling him as the aura faded.

As the door opened to reveal Sinon, the archer was surprised to see Kirito awake. The girl said in surprise, "Kirito-kun! You're awake!"

Kirito turned and saw the girl, "Hey, Sinon-chan."

The brunette quickly went over to him and asked, "Are you okay, Kirito-kun?"

The young man smiled, "I'm fine. But more importantly, how's Hikari-chan? What happened to the mission?"

Sinon frowned slightly, "Hikari-chan is fine, I suppose we were lucky you were there, or we would have lost her. And the mission was a success, we got Sasuke back and Hokage-sama has more Anbu watching him."

Kirito nodded before Sinon glared at him slightly, "Speaking of which, after I get the others, you're gonna explain what were you doing there."

Kirito just smiled forcefully as the girl walked out to get the other girls.

A while later, Sinon gathered Hikari, Suguha and Asuna and they all sat in the living room. Like Sinon, the three of them checked over Kirito for any problems before they glared at him for making them worry.

Hikari asked, "So, what were you doing there?"

Kirito smiled nervously, "Erm, Orochimaru threatened to hurt you girls, so I kinda rushed out?"

Asuna sighed, "But, I guess everything turned out okay, I mean, because Kirito-kun rushed in, we didn't lose Hikari-chan and we also got Sasuke back."

Hikari and Suguha nodded, the blonde said, "Yeah, but, to think Orochimaru would use a suppression seal along with poison on me..."

In the seal, the Kyuubi apologised, "Sorry I couldn't help much, Hikari."

The girl smiled softly mentally, 'It's fine. Everything turned out fine anyways.'

The Kyuubi nodded as Sinon spoke, "Well, since everything turned out fine, I guess we can let this slide, what do you think girls?"

Suguha smiled slightly, "Well, I don't mind, since we got back safely."

Asuna also nodded in agreement. Then Hikari grinned, "Well, they might be okay with it, but I want a dozen bowls of ramen!"

At that comment, the three girls sighed in unison as Kirito sweatdropped. A dozen was a bit less, but he wasn't about to complain, since she could do much worse.

But then before they could continue, the seal alerted them of a visitor at the door. Suguha stood up and headed for the door, "I'll get it."

The black haired girl opened the door to see Jiraiya standing there. The girl blinked, "Jiraiya-sama?"

The Sannin grinned, "Hey, I'm looking for Hikari, she in?"

Suguha nodded, "Yes, come in."

The man nodded as he entered the house and saw the other four occupants of the house. Hikari said in surprise, "Jiraiya-sensei?"

The man grinned before he noticed Kirito kneeling, "Yo, Hikari. Am I interrupting something?"

Asuna shook her head and pulled Kirito up and onto the sofa, "Not really, so, is there anything?"

Hikari nodded, "Yeah, normally you'd just waste your time outside some hotsprings, so, there must be something for you to come over."

Jiraiya just sweatdropped seeing the other two girls nodding in agreement before he cleared his throat, "Actually, I'm here to tell you that Hikari is coming with me on a one year training trip."

Hikari blinked several times, "Wait what?"

Jiraiya nodded as his face turned serious, "According to my spies, the Akatsuki are officially moving in a year and we've confirmed that most of them are all S-ranked nuke ninja, you remember Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, right?"

Hikari nodded, "I know, but a year?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Yes, their leader is a high Kage level ninja, and they will be hunting for all the Jinchurikii. That means that you will eventually fight them, that's why I want to take you alone on a one year trip. As of now you're around mid to high Jounin, but that's not enough. I need to make sure you're at least low Kage level, if not mid Kage level. Gaara and his siblings have gone back and are planning to up their training too, that's why I'm planning to train you."

The man then noticed the faces of his goddaughter's family, "You don't have to decide now, I'll come back by tomorrow morning."

Asuna nodded, "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama."

The man nodded and went to the door, "Well, think about it Hikari, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

He then left the house, leaving the five of them. After a while, Sinon spoke up, "Hikari-chan, I think you should go."

The blonde snapped her head at her, "Eh?"

Sinon let out a breath, "Think about it, he said the Akatsuki are gonna come for you in a year's time. That means you have to prepare to face them. Besides, I doubt he'll focus on training you 24/7, but a training trip for one year with one of the Sannin is not something you can get everyday, even if two of them are your godparents. "

Hikari sighed, "I know, but to leave all of you here and go train with him, well I just don't want to leave you four here."

Suguha smiled, "Well, its only for one year, its not like you're leaving forever, besides, it's Jiraiya, he'll have to come back eventually."

Asuna and Kirito both nodded, the auburn haired girl said, "Well, I think you should go too, Hikari-chan."

Hikari sighed, "Fine. I guess I'll go."

Then the blonde stared at the four, "But when I come back, I expect you to all get stronger, and Kirito-kun, I expect you to finish all 10 volumes of the Uzumaki clan fuinjutsu scrolls."

Kirito gaped, "What?! B-but all volumes?!"

Hikari frowned, "Hey, I am going to have to get from my current level to at least low Kage level in a year, I think learning all 10 levels of fuinjutsu is easy."

Kirito sighed, "Fine, I'll do it..."

Hikari nodded in satisfaction before she heard the Kyuubi's voice, "Hikari, I need to speak to your mate about something, bring him in to the seal."

Hikari blinked and thought back, 'Hmm, what brough this up? And how do I bring him into the seal?'

The Kyuubi cracked his neck, "Bump fists with him, I'll do the rest."

Hikari nodded and looked at the young man, "Kirito-kun, the Kyuubi wants to talk to you."

Kirito blinked, "What?"

Hikari held up her fist, "Come on, bump fists with me."

Kirito blinked in confusion, "Ermm, what?"

Hikari sighed, "Just do it."

Kirito nodded and bumped his fist against Hikari's. Then suddenly, he found himself in a wide plains, with a massive red nine-tailed fox wearing a loose collar standing in front of him.

The Kyuubi smirked, "Yo, fleshbag."

Kirito jumped in surprise hearing the Kyuubi talk before he heard Hikari scold, "Hey Kyuubi! Be nice!"

The bijuu chuckled, "Hey, come on, I need to put up an image, I am a Bijuu after all."

Hikari huffed, "Whatever, so, you wanted to talk to him right?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah, I prefer to talk in private though, so, I'll talk to you later."

Hikari blinked, "Wait, what?!"

She was a little too late as the Kyuubi flicked a pebble at her forehead, sending her out of the mindscape. Kirito blinked in surprise at how the bijuu dismissed her, "Erm, you can do that?"

The bijuu shook his head, "Of course not. Had she really willed herself to stay here, she would have. But the girl doesn't really know how to control her mindscape, so it makes it easier for me. But, of course, Hikari will be mad and most probably blow up at me later."

Kirito chuckled, "That does sound like something she'd do."

The Kyuubi nodded before an awkward silence fell upon them. Kirito then spoke, "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah, its about that little seal of yours. I suppose you have no idea what that power is, yes?"

Kirito blinked, "You know?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Somewhat, I remember one of Hikari's summons telling you about the Underworld, yes?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, I tried to look it up, but I couldn't find much."

The Kyuubi nodded and cupped his chin, "Hmm, I suppose it wouldn't be strange. See, the Underworld is something like a different continent to the Elemental Nations, but not exactly a different continent. Hmm, more of a different dimension, I guess?"

Kirito blinked, "A different dimension?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "I seriously have no idea about how it works, but it was accessible to the Elemental Nations some decades ago, I would say we lost contact with them around Mito's death."

Kirito nodded as the bijuu continued, "The reason is still unclear, but something big happened there, and the people of the Underworld cut off from the Elemental Nations. But then here comes another problem, you."

Kirito blinked, "Me?"

The bijuu nodded, "Its clear that you have Underworld blood in you. Hell, the power you released is obviously from the Underworld. But the question is, how did you get here? I can sense it, the gate to the Underworld is still closed, and it was closed long before your birth, so your existence is a bit of a mystery."

Kirito stood there, considering his words before he asked, "So, what do I do?"

The Kyuubi shrugged, "Hell if I know, but, I'd say nothing. For now we have no way of getting information about the Underworld. Even if the Hokage of yours knows anything, I doubt she'd tell you. So just focus on what you've been doing until now."

Kirito nodded before he touched his seal, "So it's safe for me to use this?"

The bijuu nodded, "Yeah, there's no danger in using it. But from what I can feel, its just partially awakened, your power I mean. The mark is just a way for you to tap into the power."

Kirito nodded, "Thanks, Kyuubi. So, that's all you wanted to talk about?"

The Kyuubi nodded, "Yeah, but don't tell those girls yet, its better for it to stay hidden, so get out and spend the rest of the day with the girls, Hikari's leaving tomorrow, right?"

Kirito blinked, "Wait, you know?"

The Kyuubi chuckled, "Of course, with the girl's permission, I can see and feel stuff from the outside world, of course, just the stuff she allows me to see."

Kirito nodded slowly, taking in the information. Then the Kyuubi narrowed his eyes and smirked, "Time for you to go, it was nice talkin to you, fleshbag."

Before Kirito could reply, the Kyuubi swung his tails and sent a wall of wind that blasted Kirito off into a ravine that mysteriously appeared.

Right after that, Kirito opened his eyes to see Hikari frowing, still bumping fists with him. The girl seemed to grumble, "Baka-kitsune, he threw me out of my own mind..."

Kirito just smiled awkwardly, "Erm, Hikari-chan, he just wanted to talk privately."

Hikari blinked in surprise, "Oh, you're done, that's fast."

Kirito was confused, "Wait, how long was I out?"

Sinon replied, "Not long, just a few seconds."

Suguha nodded, "Yeah, you two just bumped fists and then after a few seconds Hikari started grumbling about the stupid fox kicking her out of her own mind, then you spoke up."

Kirito nodded, "I see."

Asuna then asked, "So, what did he want to talk about?"

Kirito reached up and touched his mark, "He wanted to talk about my mark, apparently, it may be tied to my heritage, but he doesn't know how I got here, since the place I came from should be cut off from Konoha quite some time ago."

Sinon nodded, "I see, but I don't think you should worry too much about it. The important thing is we're here, right?"

The three other girls nodded in agreement.

Kirito smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'll just deal with it next time. Now, Hikari-chan wanted a dozen bowls of ramen, right?"

The blonde just cheered as the other three girls giggled/shook their heads at the girl's enthusiasm before they followed Kirito to prepare dinner.

The next day, Hikari and Jiraiya were at the gates, with Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Suguha, Yugao, Tsunade and Kakashi accompanying them. Surprisingly, Sakura and Sasuke, who had woke up last night, were also there to see the two off.

As they reached the gates, Jiraiya looked at the group, "Well, we'll be off. So, we'll see you all in a year."

Hikari nodded and she looked at her family, "I'll be going then, I'll be back in a year."

Asuna, Sinon and Suguha smiled and the four sisters in all but blood hugged each other. They then let go as Hikari looked at Kirito. The girl jokingly said, "I'm gonna miss your ramen."

Kirito chuckled, "So you only like my food?"

Hikari giggled before Kirito kissed her on the lips. The others just smiled at the scene while Kakashi and Sakura glanced at Sasuke, knowing his infatuation with Hikari. But to their surprise, Sasuke didn't show any reaction.

Sakura whispered to Sasuke, so soft that no one heard her, "Hey, are you okay, Sasuke-kun?"

The Uchiha nodded and whispered back, "It's not my place to say anything, you can say I realized my mistakes."

Sakura just nodded before Hikari and Kirito parted. The blonde then looked at her team. Kakashi said, "Well, good luck, Hikari, I expect a good spar when you come back."

Hikari grinned, "Yeah, I'll kick your ass when I get back, Kakashi-sensei, and I'll take that mask off your face."

Kakashi just eye-smiled, "I'll look forward to it then."

Hikari just before Sasuke walked towards her. The Uchiha said, "I know I bothered you a lot, but you showed me where I went wrong, so I hope we can at least be comrades."

Hikari grinned, "Understatement of the year, but sure, get strong, Sasuke, since Itachi is part of the Akatsuki, I'll help you kick your brother's ass."

Sakura sighed, "Finally our team is complete, but then you have to go on a training trip."

Kakashi nodded in agreement, "I know right?"

Yugao chuckled, "It's only a year, man up Kakashi-senpai."

The cyclops grumbled, "Says the one who got her ideal team right off the bat..."

Hikari laughed, "Well, like Yugao-sensei said, its only for one year. Before you know it, we'll be back and doing missions like a proper team."

Kakashi sighed and nodded, "Yeah, sure. By the way, where's Anko and the others? I mean surely we can't be your only friends to see you off here?"

Jiraiya said, "Well, Gai and his team are out on a mission, same with Asuma and Kurenai and their teams."

Tsunade nodded, "As for Anko, well, we recently got a spy, so Ibiki and her are working on cracking that spy, and Shizune is at the hospital, so she couldn't come either."

Kakashi nodded, "I see."

Tsunade then looked at Hikari after talking to Jiraiya, the woman said, "Take care Hikari, you'll be travelling and seeing the world as you train, so make sure the pervert doesn't slack off."

Hikari nodded and hugged her godmother, "Got it, Tsunade-baachan."

Then after a while, Hikari pulled away and asked, "By the way, why are you all making it seem like I'll be gone for a long time?"

Kirito shrugged, "No idea, but one year is quite a long time, no?"

He looked at the others who just shrugged before Jiraiya spoke, "Well, it was nice and all, but I think we should get going."

Hikari nodded before the two left the gates, with the others watching them go off.

As the two faded from view, Kirito turned, "Well, I guess I'll go look at Kayaba-sensei's shop. He should have stuff that can help me get stronger."

Asuna, Suguha and Sinon nodded and were about to follow him when Yugao said, "Not so fast girls, we still have missions."

The girls groaned as Kirito chuckled before the swordswoman dragged her three students off with her. Tsunade just went back to her office while Kakashi just vanished, probably to read his smut.

As Kirito walked, he heard Sasuke's voice, "Kirito."

He turned and saw the Uchiha with Sakura, truthfully, he was still a bit pissed at the Uchiha for his past actions, but if Hikari let it go, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to do the same.

The Uchiha said, "Hey, you run a blacksmith, right?"

Kirito nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Sasuke let out a breath, "I want to pick up a weapon, maybe a sword, so, I was hoping if you could give me some advice, and probably buy one from you."

Kirito nodded, "Sure, but I'm not going for my shop now, I have something else to do, so if you don't mind a detour, you can follow me."

Sasuke nodded, "Sure."

Then Sasuke turned to Sakura, "So, what are you gonna do?"

The pinkette thought a while before she saw Tsunade heading for her office, "Since Hikari is training under Jiraiya and all, I think I'll go ask Hokage-sama for training, what do you think?"

Kirito chuckled, "Well, if you just went to ask her, I doubt she'll agree. Tsunade's prideful about that, but I heard she's planning to train several kunoichi from your generation on Iryo ninjutsu, maybe you can ask her about that."

Sakura nodded and quickly chased after Tsunade as Kirito and Sasuke headed to Kayaba's shop.

Meanwhile, with Hikari and Jiraiya some distance away from Konoha, the blonde asked, "So, Jiraiya-sensei, what are we gonna do first?"

The white haired man grinned, "Patience, we have a long year ahead of us. But to answer your question, we'll be going to the ruins of Uzushiogakure first. Ashina is still there, right?"

Hikari nodded as they headed for the ruins, determined to get stronger for the trials they may face after the trip.

XXX

Done. So that marks the end of Part 1... FINALLY! I was actually hoping to reach the Underworld arc by now, but apparently working towards this was quite time consuming, so eh... Whatever, plus it would help since the 3rd season of SAO is coming soon, so for those who haven't read the Alicization arc, well I suppose it would be better.

So, the next chapter will be the one year timeskip, we'll be officially entering the next stage of the story. So here's a brief overview of what's coming up.

1) Akatsuki trying to gather bijuu arc, mainly focusing on Ichibi, Niibi, Sanbi and Nanabi.

2) Aincrad arc, with a few changes

3) Oberon arc

4) Underworld arc (mixed with Fourth Shinobi War and Kaguya fight... probably the final arc)

I'm still not sure if I should put in the Deathgun arc, since that involves futuristic gun fights and stuff. So yeah, review please.