Chapter 3: Chaotic Quintet

"Ah, yeah, no. I don't want to be this God you speak of, sounds too stuck up". Naruto, steadying his mind after all the events that had taken place, answered Michael in a quick but respectful manor. "And what did you just call me?"

"Your name? It is Asura-san, isn't it?" Michael responded, a bit flummoxed that Naruto had just basically insulted his father's position. Naruto, scratching his head, asked Kurama if he had heard Michael call him by his real name.

"You're hearing things again, brat".

"Guess that solves that, then". Naruto knew Kurama was right, he had been hearing people call his name for the last 4 or so centuries, people that weren't there anymore. He was sure he had lost his mind by then, but Sasuke had helped him stay afloat, just as he did for Sasuke. Both of them were used to the loneliness, after all. Lost in his thoughts, Naruto didn't sense the radiant sun goddess appear behind him, only noticing because of Michael's facial expression switching from sad to surprised.

"Ara, does that mean you want to join MY pantheon? Yasaka isn't the only maiden I could offer you", Amaterasu said with a wink. She had caught up to Naruto and Michael, coming from out of nowhere seemingly and dragging a very distraught Yasaka with her.

"If I may ask, Amaterasu-sama, how did you access the Heavens? Neither I nor any of my siblings were alerted, and it's... frowned upon entering another pantheon's realm without permission. It could be seen as an act of military aggression".

"Need I remind you of the land we are currently residing over, Michael-san?" Michael flinched at being reminded just where they were.

"Last I checked, the land of the rising sun wasn't a part of your religion. There is not a single place that I can't access here, as this is the land that I myself helped cultivate and sustain day-in and day-out". Amaterasu spoke with pride of her home turf, reveling in the petulant look she could tell that Michael was shooting her way.

Naruto was lost in all this, and felt quite overwhelmed. He was never any good at meetings back in the village, and was too far removed from even then to think about how to handle this. Sighing, he spoke up for the first time in a while.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but could I please just... leave? I'm flattered by both of your offers, but I don't know anything about this world and would like to get accustomed to it before I make any life-changing decisions". Amaterasu smiled at this declaration.

"Well then, if you want to take a tour around my beautiful home land, I could have Yasaka guide you-"

"No thanks!", Naruto yelled out, interrupting her. "I'd rather explore on my own is all. Doing things with my own two hands has always been one of my mottos in life."

"Are you absolutely sure?", both Amaterasu and Michael said at the same time, both getting the same nod from Naruto.

"If that is your wish, then so be it. I will await your answer, Asura-san. You and Indra-san can keep the gauntlets, if you so desire", Michael said.

"As will I. It's not everyday people like you or your fellow deity show up and are unaffiliated with any pantheon", Amaterasu echoed. Naruto let out a relieved sigh at this, he had gotten them off his and Sasuke's backs, at least for the time being. Now he just had to get out of this place (as comfortable as the clouds were) and find his way around. Sasuke suddenly came from out of nowhere, gripped Naruto's shoulders, and teleported them both out of Heaven, leaving all of the other members there perplexed.

"He's quite fast", Michael said, noting his speed and the technique that seemed to affect space and time around him for later use. He also noted that they did take the gauntlets with them.

"That wasn't just simple teleportation", Amaterasu also made note. It felt a bit different to her. Yasaka and Gabriel had no words to say, both of them silently mulling over the future that was to befall them.

-Ocean-

Naruto and Sasuke landed on a vast expanse of sea, regaining their balance perfectly. "Oi, teme, what did ya do that for!?"

"I was waiting on your slow ass to give them your answer, idiot. I had already deduced that they had no questions for me based on how they acted when they did speak to me. I simply moved us to the place that was most quiet, so as to not draw attention", Sasuke spoke unfiltered. He wouldn't lie, he was just as bored as Naruto was when he was being drilled with questions and offers.

"Tch, I guess. So, where do we go from here?"

"I suggest you two train for a bit", Kurama spoke from Naruto's body. "You've gotten sloppy and unrefined. Had either of you been at full power, those dragons wouldn't have injured you so badly".

"Oi, furball!", Naruto shouted out.

"He's right, Naruto. Those dragons are comparable to the bijuu at best, which stopped being problems for us when we turned 17. Do you know how long ago that was, dobe? We've gotta stay sharp".

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but how? I'd rather not fight you, since we always get... carried away, dattebeyo". Naruto was not scared of fighting Sasuke. He quite enjoyed it, in fact. What he was scared of was the collateral damage they'd cause since one defeating the other could take months in their best condition. Even in their current condition, the battle would last for days. Sasuke silently agreed, they couldn't afford to fight among themselves for any prolonged period of time if any of the inhabitants of this realm had sensed their energy when they landed, and were malevolent in nature.

While both of them were lost in their thoughts as to how to solve this problem, the gauntlets that they had taken from Michael as gifts glowed simultaneously. Naruto and Sasuke looked down, taking notice of this. The gauntlets spoke.

" (I believe we can be of help)", the red gauntlet spoke.

"[Likewise, we could be of use to you two]", this time the white gauntlet.

"Oh yeah, those dragons! What were your names again?", Naruto spoke while crashing his fist into his hand as if having an epiphany. Sasuke shook his head at Naruto's forgetfulness, it hadn't even been that long since they fought. It couldn't have been more than a day or two.

Somewhere in Heaven, a certain female angel suddenly grew sad about her age.

"(Ddraig/Albion]", the two dragons answered simultaneously. "(We have seen your strength from millennium past, and are content with you two being our wielders. Even now, your strength rivals ours in our prime", Ddraig pridefully bellowed. Dragons were a prideful race above all else, and the most powerful of them wouldn't bow to anyone unless they proved themselves their superior. Naruto and Sasuke had done just that.

"Wait, did you say millennium? How long have we been out?", Sasuke questioned, alarmed at the implications of the way the dragons spoke. Just how old were they now?

"[4000 years exactly. It is now the year 1995 A.D., as the humans would call it]".

Naruto and Sasuke stopped in their tracks, standing on the water taking in the fact that they were now 5000+ years old and weren't conscious for the last 4000. They hadn't fought anyone in 4000 years! Now they HAD to spar with someone.

"Ok, ok, so back to what you were saying. How could you two help us?", Naruto spoke, spoiling for a fight with this new information. Sasuke looked aloof, but was secrretly hoping for a good fight as well.

"(We will be your sparring partners as long as we are in your possession, but we require physical bodies as we are now just mere souls sealed inside these gauntlets)".

[Yes, we could attach to you and manifest in your psyche if you wish. That way we can take our original forms and have near our full power, as you two are obviously capable of handling it]".

Naruto and Sasuke brewed this over. Then, at once, a lightbulb dinged over both of their heads.

"Heh, good thing I figured out how super sage gramps did this a while ago. Banbutsu Sozo no Justu", he yelled out, bringing forth a red flame and a white flame in his hands. The flames burned brighter, and then suddenly, they coalesced, taking the form of two dragons. "Sasuke!"

"Already on it". He opened his rinnegan, extending his hands forth. "Human path!"

With a bit of effort, he extracted two floating orbs from the gauntlets, one red and one white. He pushed the orbs into their respective dragon body, and waited. Clouds had started to roll in, and the ocean water started to slosh around rougher. The two dragons opened their eyes.

(To think, you two would be able to do restore our original selves to this extent. For that, I am grateful)".

"[As am I. Now...]" The dragons, as if on que, both swung their massive reptilian arms towards the two shinobi. They dodged, no more words having needed to be said to get the message. A large column of water shot up from the impact as it started to fully rain, lightning flashing in the sky, illuminating it. Naruto quickly lifted up his shirt, undoing the seal and releasing Kurama from his body. He knew he'd want to get in on this free-for all himself. Anything went, there weren't any teams, he learned, as he had blocked an elbow strike from Sasuke in the process. Kurama, fully released, howled out.

"Fuck yeah! I haven't a good battle in ages, hope everyone is ready to get their asses kicked, chewed, and worn out!"

Naruto interrupted him, hitting him with an Ultra Big-ball rasengan. He had no time to savor the hit he had got in on his longtime companion, as he narrowly dodged a sword meant for his head. The bastard Uchiha certainly had no reservations about where he aimed, it seemed. Kicking his sword out of his hand after he dodged, Naruto immediately went into his Six Paths Sage mode and grabbed a hold of Sasuke's collar, headbutting him and finishing off the combo with a jumping axe handle.

Sasuke recovered, maneuvering to the side and getting underneath Naruto's guard. He blasted him with an uppercut, setting him ablaze with Amaterasu as he flew upwards. He activated his susanoo shortly thereafter to protect him from the flames that he sensed meandering towards him. Those dragons were pretty clever, taking advantage of his fixation on Naruto to try and blindside him.

Kurama, still angry at Naruto, charged up a tailed beast ball and flung it in his general direction. Naruto had discarded the chakra that he had used to cover himself from amaterasu, and sensed the ball coming towards him.

"That furball got carried away! Can't he see that we were holding back?! That tailed beast ball could obliterate an entire city if it keeps going!" Naruto created an arm of chakra, bracing for the impact. Sasuke suddenly jumped in front of him, holding out his hands. The tailed beast ball collided with a force field, and started to diminish in size as it was being absorbed by Sasuke. Naruto let out a sigh.

"Hey, jackass! That could've killed the entire population of a large city! Maybe restrain yourself a bit more?", Naruto yelled.

"You know damn well that either of you could've stopped that, Sas- I mean Indra just so happened to leap in front of you. He's probably gonna give you that 'my body just moved' bullshit he always does to cover up the fact that he cares about you as much as he did Itachi". Sasuke, at the mention of Itachi, rushed forward, brandishing his sword as he ran on the water and appeared in front of Kurama, ready to swing. He had played right into Kurama's hands, as a tail swipe had nearly caught him off guard as he was in the air, having to save himself with Amenotejikara, switching himself out with Naruto who took the hit.

There was no rest for anyone, though, as just after Naruto had been hit with Kurama's tail, the two dragons front-flipped with their tails leaning forward. Naruto increased his speed, vaulting off the patch of water he had just landed on right as the tails splashed. He reset back to the position he was originally in, with all of the other combatants present in a circle of ferocity. The lightning crackled across the sky, the winds were speeding, and the waves were too rough for any normal humans to venture out to this spot. Everyone had a smirk on their faces, enjoying the first vestiges of heart-pounding combat they all had had in eons.

Then, in a flash, everyone vanished. They all clashed at high speeds, trading blows, insults, compliments, anything that could be hurled at someone. This chaos went on for hours, until Sasuke stopped, suddenly raising his hands into the sky, a purple, ethereal warrior forming around him with it's hand raised as well.

"As much fun as this had been, I think it's about time we all-"

"Ended This", everyone finished for him. The lightning became even more manic, dancing across the sky and pooling into one spot. He planned to electrocute them all, seeing as they were standing atop an ocean right now. There was no where they could run , and if any of them tried to fly, the lightning would strike them down in an instant.

Naruto, familiar with this technique, created a massive rasenshuriken in one hand. Kurama prepared a tailed beast ball, emaciating himself as he had once did when fighting Naruto. The dragons pooled their flames together, creating a fireball that was more akin to a miniature sun.

Ok, so maybe they did all get carried away in the end after all.

The explosion that ensued was nothing short of spectacular. Naruto, standing on solid ground now, felt relieved that he couldn't sense any nearby living things. He had scolded Kurama for firing off such a technique earlier, but that was only because it had no outlet to stop if he had missed. Tailed beast bombs keep going until they hit something. The area immediately around them became super-heated, not only the ocean but the rain in the vicinity evaporating instantly.

"That was... fun", the blond eked out.

"... Yeah. Hn", Sasuke responded.

"That was a pretty good round 1, I'll agree".

"(We all just had a battle that would shake the very foundations of any pantheon that it took place in, and you're saying it was only round 1?)"

"Yeah. Got a problem with that, scaly boy?"

"(... Of course not. I'd expect nothing less from our wielders)".

"[I concur with the red lizard. That battle was but a taste of things to come, I feel]".

"Well. Guess we've gotta ACTUALLY start doing something productive now. You two can do whatever you want, you don't have to go back inside these gauntlets", Naruto decreed. He knew what it was like to be viewed as a monster, to be caged and detained against your will. He would not force that fate onto these two, even if they did start out on shaky terms.

("As we have already said, we do not mind you and your comrade being our wielders, especially now that we know we can have physical bodies whenever we wish. Be warned, however, that powerful beings will flock to you like moths to a flame. You two are abnormalities, strong enough to kill gods. However, there are forces out there beyond even gods".

Gods, huh? Naruto had to stifle a chuckle. He had beaten a god or 4 back home, as did Sasuke. Whatever was beyond the gods here, if it wanted to challenge him, he wouldn't back-down from it.

"[That said, we would very much like to travel with you, Asura and Indra-san, though we do have one request]". Naruto and Sasuke listened intently.

"(I would like to be paired with Indra-san)", Ddraig said sincerely.

"[And obviously, I would like to be paired with you, Asura-san]". They both nodded their heads, seeing no problem trading gauntlets.

"Well then, let's get going", Sasuke spoke up. Wrenching their souls from their created bodies and placing them back into the gauntlets, he and Naruto equipped their respective possessions. The bodies fell limp, Naruto destroying them with a rasenshuriken as he could always just make new ones. They started walking on the water, as Sasuke had used his rinnegan too liberally to teleport them right now. The storm had ceased and given way to a clear sky.

"Where to now", Naruto questioned.

"Wherever the nearest city is, I suppose. We've definitely gotta learn more about this world and how it functions".

The two spoke, unaware that they were being watched by someone high in the sky. A small woman sported a subdued smile in front of a dark portal. She was dressed in a gothic lolita fashion, with long, dark hair and an exposed chest, tape seemingly covering her nipples.

"These two... could prove useful".