Ok, so some of you guys have got the wrong idea. Issei is NOT, I repeat, NOT who Naruto chose to be the white dragon emperor. His inclusion in the story last chapter was purely for comedic effect, and he'll have a different role and demeanor going forward. Who Naruto chooses will be revealed pretty soon, so don't worry. On to the story! There's one final big time skip at the start of this chapter, and then that's it for that.

Chapter 8: Training and Bratty Dragons

Fifteen years. It had been fifteen years since Naruto and Sasuke had parted, and each of them had gone on various adventures and made a name for themselves. The entire supernatural world recognized them, feared them. Their religion, Ninshu, was formed on the basis of compassion and understanding. It had only three rules.

Thou shalt not act in mistrust.

Thou shalt not misuse their power.

Thou shalt not turn their backs on their brethren.

Naruto and Sasuke had jointly come up with them just before setting out on their adventures, and now they had an entire cult of followers following these guidelines. They held no delusion, things such as killing and fighting were everywhere. Those were not sins. One could only sin if they abandoned their ideals and turned on their brethren. Killing, fighting, deceiving to protect their way of life was something they had done often as ninja, and would do as gods if push came to shove. The sage that had gifted them their powers had wanted total peace, but they quickly realized that good could not exist without evil during their long lives. Rather, in order for something to be considered "good", there must be an equal and opposite action that is considered "evil" to contrast and define it.

There was no set punishment for one who had sinned or a reward for one who had prospered, however. No heaven or hell, no tartarus, no paradise or purgatory. They simply did not know how to create such spaces, to their embarrassment. Maybe they'd ask Amaterasu? Naruto had the ability of creation, and Sasuke power over souls, but they couldn't quite imagine what a "heaven" or hell" would look like. The prospect of dying and moving on to the afterlife was long since lost to them. Speaking of the two, Naruto had done quite well for himself in particular.

-Kuoh Town, Naruto's Mansion-

"Such a convenient ability, dattebayo!" Naruto had come up with a brilliant idea. He was used to constantly being on the move, but having a place to call home was still nice, and now that he had pupils, he'd need somewhere that they could stay and visit. Nothing too grand like Amaterasu or Yasaka's palace, high accessibility and homeliness was the idea. So, he used his ability of creation to mold a home in the shape of the old hokage tower. Majestic enough to be the base of a deity, but simple enough to navigate easily and holds a bit of nostalgia for the good ol' days.

Naruto was currently situated outside of this base, beaming at it with pride. His pupils, all three of them, were situated to the side of him on the (perfectly trimmed) lawn.

Kuroka was practicing her senjutsu, seated indian-style with her hands clasped together in her lap. She had gotten off to a rotten start years ago, since she didn't trust Naruto completely even after following him willingly. Over the years, she warmed up to him, eventually not bothering to keep her guard up around him anymore in any serious capacity.

Naruto observed her keenly, noting how he had been right when he came upon her and her sister. She was a natural at gathering and balancing nature's energy, to the point he'd call her a prodigy. This realm's senjutsu was different from his, but the applications and fundamentals were the same. He'd taught her to use the energy she gathered for a number of things (mostly things he learned when he first practiced sage mode himself), as well as a few things the two-tailed cat, Matatabi, tutored him in (he was the meeting place of all the bijuu, after all). The only thing she struggled with... was the malice.

Taking in senjutsu in this place meant taking in the malice of the surroundings as well. Naruto had since come to terms with malice and hatred, able to filter it out and ignore it easily. Kuroka, however, was still young and was still able to be affected by something like this. The malice coming in acted on your own rage, bringing it to the forefront of your consciousness and amplifying it. Kuroka's childhood trauma had made her lash out and begin to lose control a few times, but Naruto was always able to stop her before it got too out of hand every time.

"Looking good, kitty-chan!"

"I told you not to call me that, shitty geezer! I'm a grown woman now!" Naruto beamed at this, he liked ruffling her feathers every now and then. This teasing also served the purpose of trying to disrupt her concentration, testing how good her focus really was. She could power through his name-calling if she really wanted, he had seen her ignore far worse (like the literal cat-calling from passersby), but she always seemed to oblige him for some reason.

"You should be nicer to ojii-san, Kuroka-nee." Naruto turned towards his second, and youngest pupil, Shirone. She had taken to reminding him of his age all the time, intentionally or not. He was an actual grandpa a long time ago, but he couldn't help but feel a bit insulted everytime she called him that, even though he knew she didn't mean any harm.

Her area of training was simple martial arts, though she had begged and pleaded to learn senjutsu with her sister when she started. Her sister had taken care of her ever since they had been orphaned, so she idolized her to an extent and wanted to be just like her. Naruto being so powerful was also a motivator for her, but he had denied letting her do so until she was "mature enough". She was 15 now, though, the same age her sister had been when they met him, so she was sure she could start soon.

"Sooooo, can I start training with my sister yet, ojii-san?" She asked him, hitting him with the patented puppy-dog eyes (strange for a cat yokai). To his credit, Naruto didn't falter.

"I tell you what, itty-bitty kitty, if and that perv over there can pass a test of mine, I'll let you train with her." Naruto pointed to his third and final student, Issei Hyoudou, who stopped doing his assigned set of push-ups to gawk at his master and a smiling Shirone.

"R-really!?" The joy in her voice was evident.

"Yes, really." Turning his gaze towards Issei, he yelled at him.

"Oi, pervert! I've got a special training session for ya!"

Issei paled. 'Special' more often than not meant 'torturous' when it came to training with Asura-sama. He'll never forget the time he had to run a mile... on his hands. The blond bastard kept laughing at him and saying he looked like some "bushy brows" person, all the while he struggled and fell on his ass occasionally. He couldn't call it quits either, as whatever monstrosity that was sealed inside his mentor would threaten to put him in the "Room". He shuttered, ANYTHING was better than being locked in that god-forsaken room...

"DO YOUR EARS NOT WORK, MAGGOT!? HE SAID GET OVER HERE!" The deep voice of Kurama came out of Naruto, knocking Issei out of his daydreams (read: nightmares) and causing him to scamper over to the spot where his master and the white-cat girl was. Upon getting there, he idly noted that Kuroka looked absolutely stunning today as well. He would've nosebled, but he didn't for fear of getting his perversion beat out of him again (Asura would appear and whack him with a cane any time he had lecherous thoughts, he didn't know how).

"Ouch!" Asura had hit him again. How does he do that!?

"Being a pervert will get you killed on the battlefield." Naruto looked at Issei with cold, hard eyes, fixing him in place. Everytime he looked into them, Issei thought he saw something along the lines of sadness. Asura was never angry with him, more like... worried?

Naruto almost wanted to scoff at fate. Issei was far too reminiscent of someone he had already lost. The boy was even more extreme in his perversion than his late master, but, just like him, there had been something else inside Issei. Some innate talent he wasn't quite sure of yet. Above all else, he was kind.

But more than kindness was needed...

"So, jii-chan, what's this test?" Shirone spoke excitedly, practically bouncing off the walls.

"Yeah, what tortu- I mean, training do you have for us sensei?" Issei spoke with an air of cowardice, still trying to figure out Asura's gaze.

Naruto's attitude did a 180, and his steely gaze transformed into a playful smile. He dug in his pocket, and brought out a pair of bells, dangling them in his pupils' faces.

"The test is, you two have to take these bells from me within the day. Once nightfall hits, you fail if you haven't gotten them. If you take them, you pass obviously." Naruto couldn't help himself. He had always wanted to take on a student and give them the bell test like Kakashi did to him. Now he had two and the perfect opportunity. His end goal, however, wasn't teamwork like Kakashi's had been. No, he had two distinct, separate goals for both of them.

"Oh yeah. Big kitty-chan, you're not allowed to jump in! They have to go it alone!" Naruto had to make sure Kuroka wouldn't hop in. She was much farther along in her training and abilities, so much so that she was apparently labeled an SS-rank criminal in the underworld right after they met all those years ago. It didn't matter much to him, Sasuke had been labeled a criminal and so had Itachi. This world didn't look too deep into things, that or the ones in charge had no backbone to shut down the council (because there was ALWAYS a council, regardless of who was recognized as being the head of a faction.). It's not like they could catch the number one hyperactive, knucklehead ninja anyhow. He had been skilled at evasion ever since before he was an academy student. Back to the matter, he also needed to push itty-bitty kitty, and Kuroka jumping in to hold her hand like she's prone to do would devalue the lesson he was trying to teach them.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Guess I'll go take a break or something." Kuroka got up from her position and sauntered towards the makeshift mansion, letting Naruto know she wouldn't interfere. She had felt a peculiar energy nearby, and she was sure he had felt it as well. Him not saying anything about it likely meant it wasn't anything to worry about. After all, as far as she could tell, he was stronger than that bratty dragon. He was a god himself, she had to remind herself. Shirone and Issei hadn't figured it out yet, but she could practically taste his divine aura, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. She also smelled something on him, a faint smell but one she couldn't mistake. The smell of a woman, a fox to be precise. Did he have any concubines, she wondered?

Once she was out of sight, Naruto turned back to his two protege. Issei was trying not to give away the fact that he was leering at Kuroka as she walked away, and Shirone was breathing heavily. She seemed to be ecstatic. He opened his mouth to speak.

"All right you two. Anything goes. You don't hold back, and neither will I. The test begins... NOW!"

-Underworld, Same Time-

Sasuke was a master upon masters of espionage and covert ops. He had been sneaking in and out of the underworld on occasion without leaving so much as a hint that he was even there. His protege had seen better treatment ever since he had been given that gift, and he liked to check on him on occasion.

"Master!" Gone was the boy trying to prove himself to his peers and superiors. Now, in his place, stood a tall, muscular brunette with even more fire in his eyes and a red gauntlet on his right arm. Sasuke had given him the means to contact him sometime ago, and every time he called, it was usually important, so Sasuke paid a visit.

"I assume you have something more to show me, Sairaorg?" Sasuke spoke calmly, silently proud that his pupil had come as far as he did and seemingly earned the respect he craved. Not since Boruto had he trained someone with so much potential and natural talent.

"Yes sir! I'll get right to it!" Sairaorg wasted no time, he wanted to impress the man who gave him the chance to turn his life around.

"Balance... break." A surge of power erupted into being around him, and his body started to be encased in red, reptilian armor. He had taken special care to request they meet in a remote location, lest they be bothered by onlookers and the government. The transformation finished, and the aura died down to a shout of "WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!"

Sasuke was impressed. Sairaorg's power had no doubt skyrocketed, as it was visible and coming off him in waves. He was formidable on his own, but the gauntlet had given him access to an avenue of power most beings his age couldn't even fathom.

"Master... I have a request." Sairaorg spoke in a somewhat distorted voice through his armor. The location, he thought, was perfect for what he was about to ask.

"Speak your mind", Sasuke replied simply.

"Fight me. Do not hold back." The young devil wanted to see how he stacked up against him. He didn't know if he was a god or not, but his master held godlike power for sure. The perfect sparring partner.

Sasuke stood still briefly, contemplating the request, weighing the pros and cons.

"Wouldn't that attract attention?"

"Well, maybe, but not from who you think."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke was curious, now.

"I asked to meet in this place for a reason. No one from the devils' part of the underworld comes here, and they consider any anomalies the fault of the residents. We stand at the edge of the realm of the Nephilim, master."

Nephilim? Sasuke had heard of that term in his travels. The spawn of humans and fallen angels. Abominations to every race. Humans, because they are supernatural. Angels, because they are impure. Devils, because they are part angel. Fallen, because they are half-breeds. No one associates with them, or even acknowledges their existence.

His pupil was bright.

-Naruto's Mansion, Nightfall-

Naruto was glad he had learned to put up barriers and basic illusions. The fireworks from those two trying to take the bells from him would've attracted some unsavory guests, aside from the one that was currently peering at him. He'd deal with her soon enough, though. His pupils were the priority, and they had 5 minutes left to take the bells.

Naruto dodged, and a white blur struck the ground, smashing a tiny crater into it.

"Jii-san is... far too fast for an old man." Shirone stood in the crater she had made, panting and trying to regain her breath. Her physical strength was in extreme contrast to her small, frail-looking body. She could punch straight through tree bark and smash holes in the ground at will. Her reach was a bit of a problem, but she made up for it in speed and technique, Naruto had made sure of that. He idly noted that she was subconsciously using her chakra to bolster her attacks now. Progress, as she was not even able to pull it out when they had began.

He felt a presence looming behind him, and stuck his elbow out. His strike hit the mark, stunning Issei, who had tried to get behind him while he was distracted and swipe the bells. These two were a much better team than his own genin squad initially was.

"Ow!" Issei fell to the ground, clutching his nose that had been smashed in. He was far more physically fit than an average human, olympic level even. He could last against low level supernatural beings for a decent length of time, though he wouldn't win. Naruto had an idea in mind to help that out, however.

He sped over to Shirone, and picked her up by her collar before she could react. Then, he sped back over to Issei, and stepped on his chest just hard enough to cause discomfort. His pupils were now slits, indicating that he had switched with Kurama.

"Give up yet, punk and little girl? There's no shame in losing to my partner, ya know? You'll never be able to take the bells in 5 minutes, you should just accept defeat." Kurama chided them, going along with Naruto's plan.

A faint cough could be heard coming from Issei. Kurama looked down into his eyes, and he saw a raging inferno. The kid couldn't even speak he was so exhausted, but the look in his eyes told all the words that needed to be said. Defiance. Courage. Guts. The guts to never give up. Issei would normally cower at the mere mention of him, but here he was looking into his eyes, hell-bent on succeeding. The kid had this strange aura about him. Normally, he was an incompetent goofball who's only calling in life was lechery.

But now, he looked fierce. What spurred this change? Kurama didn't know. Perhaps Naruto had finally whipped him into shape. Perhaps he had some type of epiphany. Perhaps... he just wanted to look cool. Whatever the reason, his tenacity was beginning to show.

The fox peaked over to the girl in his hands. Rather than leering at him, she swung and pried at his hand desperately. This girl was even more feisty. She refused to let her dream die, despite being outmatched and knowing it, time and time again in their training. Naruto's eyes switched back to their normal blue, and he released his hold on Shirone while removing his foot from Issei's sternum. He was pleased with the results.

"Alright, exercise over!" he bellowed out in a jovial tone.

"Jii-san! You said we had 5 more minutes!" Shirone was panicking. This was the best shot she's had since he took her under his wing to train with her sister, and he just cut the time short?

Issei nodded likewise, still too tired to speak.

"I've seen enough to know where you stand. You two... are ready now."

Shirone's eyes lit up, the unanswered question hanging precariously in the air. Naruto turned to her with a smile and a thumbs up. No words were needed.

She jumped for joy, and ran into the house to annoy her big sister. Naruto helped Issei off the ground, and held him up by the shoulder.

"As for you, I've got another idea." He stretched his free arm out and cupped his hand. Swirls of blue began to form, and, soon enough, he had created a rasengan.

"W-whats this?" Issei asked, having regained enough stamina to speak.

"One of my techniques, but here's the catch. It's only usable with chakra. This is the next step in your training, I'm going to teach you how to harness and use it." It was second nature to everyone back home to use chakra, but here, humans had none. No chakra coils, no gates, nothing. There was a way around this, however. Humans didn't start out with chakra in his home dimension, as he had come to find out. Kaguya was the beginning, the progenitor of chakra there. Naruto would have to play that role here for the human population, starting with Issei. Looking at the tired child, he concluded that he had had enough.

"Now, your parents might be worried about you being gone. You can only say you're staying over at a friend's so many times until they start to get suspicious. Go get some rest." Issei was his student, but he did not live with him like the cat sisters. He had his own home, his own responsibilities, and his own parents. Naruto knew the importance of spending time with one's parents. He was an orphan after all.

Issei nodded weakly. His home was just a stone's throw from Naruto's mansion, so he could walk once he gained enough strength. He closed his eyes, getting just a tiny bit of rest for the impending walk. When he opened them, he was already at his front door step. Confused, he knocked on the door and waited on his parents to answer, In his tired haze, he missed the mark on his shoulder and the side of his house.

Naruto smiled back on his lawn. The place was wrecked, but he could fix that easily, and his students had made so much progress. It felt good, since their progress was a barometer for himself and how good a sensei he was. He turned around, ready to finish up for the day.

"Alright you two, you can come out now", he called out into seemingly nowhere. A black portal opened up, and a familiar (and not-so familiar) face stepped out of it.

"I believe you called that the flying raijin, yes?" Ophis spoke liberally. Her vocabulary had gotten better the longer she had pestered Naruto and Sasuke. She was something of a messenger between them, relaying information back and forth at the promise that they would consider joining her organization.

"Yes, it's a spacetime ninjutsu. Who's the kid?" Naruto eyed the newcomer. Silver hair, a smug look, and an air of hostility. The only way he could be more like a young Sasuke was if he dyed his hair black.

"My name is Vali. I suppose you could say I'm the newest member of her group." Ahh, a newbie. This was another recruiting session, Naruto thought. Vali began speaking again.

"I had heard from her that there were powerful deities abound that would oblige me if I challenged them. I felt a similar energy to one I had challenged long ago that had ran away from me, and thought that I could get the drop on him. I didn't know I'd be finding a new opponent, though." Vali didn't sound at all disappointed that Naruto was not who he was looking for. He sounded rather insane, actually.

Great, another battle freak. Although, he might be able to spin this into a helpful outcome...

"So, will you fight me, unlike that other deity?"

"If you lose, you have to join me." Ophis, ever the schemer jumped in. Naruto was going to accept, but he needed to sweeten the deal first.

"... Sure, Ill fight you... if there's something for me in it too." The first rule of negotiations: never agree to anything that would leave you empty-handed.

"Hmm... I suppose I shall grant you one wish if you win." Ophis, ever the sucker, agreed to Naruto's demands.

"Alright then. Hey, kid!" Naruto tossed something at Vali that he caught. The silver haired devil felt immense power radiating from it, almost as if it was calling out to him. A white gauntlet with a distinctly draconic aura.

"I'll give you a handicap! Use that gauntlet all you want!" Naruto wanted to see how far he himself had come. This kid looked like he had a lot of natural talent, no different from Kuroka. If he could figure out how to use the gauntlet, the challenge would be adequate.

Ophis stood by, somewhat amused. A descendant of Lucifer with the power of Albion at his disposal, and a god whom has peaked her interest for years. This would be informative.

No one spared a glance, but everyone there was aware of the two-tailed black cat looking at them from the window of the mansion.

"It's a mystery how we've been able to lay low with all the attention he attracts", Kuroka silently thought to herself. In spite of the impending battle taking place right outside, she found herself going back to the smell of a woman she had noticed on him.

Just who was this mystery woman he was with?