It's that time again. Let's get this chapter started. In other news, the poll over what the characters will be wasn't much of a contest. Anthro characters won by quite a decent margin of 8 to 3, so you'll be getting a look at anthros in the story starting this chapter with Celestia.
Thanks to ShiningShadow once again for his beta work in the chapter.
Chapter 3: First Impressions
Naruto and Co., Base of Mt. Canterhorn
Naruto slowly came to to find Minato, Jiraiya, Hiruzen and Hagoromo standing around him. While Hagoromo already knew Naruto would wake up, the others hadn't the slightest clue, and Minato rushed over to him with a relieved expression on his face. Naruto sat up, lightly pushing his father back as he checked over his physical state. "It's okay, Dad, I'm fine. Kurama definitely comes through in a pinch when you need her."
That stopped everyone in their tracks. A tiny smile appeared on Hagoromo's lips and he prepared to watch the bursting of the metaphorical dam. Jiraiya was the first to respond. "Who's Kurama?"
"Kyuubi's real name, courtesy of Six Paths Super Gramps here." At that, Jiraiya turned to Hagoromo, and the man nodded his head slightly in confirmation.
"The Kyuubi has a name? And a gender?" Hiruzen stepped up to the verbal plate next.
"Well, the constructs themselves don't, but considering they're not constructs anymore, gotta start somewhere, right?" At that, Naruto turned to the forest next to them. He could sense the presence of the ten that had accompanied them. Upon his nod, they all stepped out of the trees and made themselves known to the three. Naruto had a feeling he knew what was going to happen next, and two seconds later, Hiruzen's pipe had been straightened out and put back in his mouth a hundredth of a second after he had let it slip in shock, and Jiraiya found his eyesight covered the second he stared at Žiara and Kurama and his arms restrained by two shadow clones each. He tried to break free, but Naruto applied more of his chakra to his clones, who in turn used it to anchor themselves to the ground, and Jiraiya found himself unable to move. Hagoromo actually laughed at this development.
"Knew that was gonna happen." Naruto looked smug for a moment before his shadow clones dissipated and his chakra returned to him, and then turned serious. "Ero-sennin, no perving. You won't like what happens to your everything if Kurama catches you doing it." Jiraiya stared at Naruto in open-mouthed horror for a moment before he busted out laughing, rolling on the ground. "Hmm? What's so funny? Or have you finally gone batshit crazy?"
"No... it's just... my little student... is turning into a man... FINALLY!" Jiraiya managed to get out between bated breaths, then finally picked himself off the ground and dusted his clothes off, a smile on his face that was quickly wiped away by a more serious expression. "Now it's time to get down to business. Kurama, I'll ask you once. How did you manage to force your way out of the seal and keep Naruto alive?"
Naruto, Minato and Hiruzen sweatdropped at the treatment Kurama was receiving before remembering Jiraiya hadn't borne witness to the events of the war, as he hadn't been resurrected. Hagoromo chose to answer for them. "Do you have knowledge of the Fourth Great Shinobi War?"
Jiraiya turned to Hagoromo with a confused look on his face. "What are you talking about? There was no Fourth Great Shinobi War."
"Yes, there was. In fact, we just got out of it." Jiraiya turned to Minato upon hearing this.
"What are you talking about?"
Naruto took over here, being the only one among them with intimate knowledge of the circumstances that led to the War. "Pein wasn't the leader of Akatsuki. He was more or less a figurehead. The real leader was none other than Madara Uchiha himself." Jiraiya prepared to speak up, but was stopped by Naruto's raised hand. "And before you say something along the lines of 'he's supposed to be dead,' he was dead. Until he was resurrected by one of Dad's old students." Jiraiya looked to Minato, who had a somber expression on his face. He nodded and gestured for Naruto to continue.
"Obito Uchiha formally declared war while we were attending the first Five Kage Summit to be held in quite a while. I ended up fighting Sasuke again there, and they got away. We got maybe a couple months to prepare and then Obito brought back Madara with Edo Tensei. Reason it's called a World War is because with how strong Madara was, it was literally the entire world versus him. The four Hokage were even brought back, but not even Hashirama could do anything to stop him. Then we had him cornered, and we were about to seal Edo Tensei when he got a hold of his Rinnegan and used Rinne Tensei to revive himself. Then he went ahead and sealed the Ten-Tails into himself and got powerful enough to give Super Gramps here a run for his money. Even Sasuke and I couldn't do a damn thing. Most damage that got done was when Gai opened the Eighth Gate and unleashed his most powerful attack and ended up blowing half his body to smithereens."
"Turns out the Zetsu we all know and hate were never on the side of Akatsuki at all. Black Zetsu was a spawn of Kaguya's chakra with the sole purpose of bringing about her revival, and it used Madara as its host to gather needed to do it. And let me tell you, beating her was no walk in the park. I think we came close to dying three separate times. Finally did it by sealing her away with Super Gramps's jutsu Six Paths: Planetary Devastation.
"Then Sasuke decided he wants to go full emo and used his newly acquired Rinnegan to trap the Biju, and I had to fight him. Considering we're all here, not hard to figure out how that went over. And that's basically the Fourth War in a nutshell." Jiraiya had been giving Naruto his undivided attention, but the sudden and severe swerve caught him so off-guard he choked on air for a brief second. He quickly recovered.
"Damn, kid. Got yourself in one hell of a pickle there, but I know you were able to do a lot more than I could've." Naruto couldn't quite pick up on what was going through Jiraiya's head, but the others had no issue, but the others had no issue figuring out what Jiraiya was doing.
Isobu spoke up, standing in front of the man. "That may be so, but you are still more than competent in your own unique way. From what I have gathered through Naruto's memories, you never gave up hope, only passed it on to another. Even among a race bred with such a degree of corruption, the possession of such a trait is admirable, and you should do well to remember that."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks for that..." At the stop, which was obviously Jiraiya fishing for a name, Isobu, as well as the others, turned to Naruto.
"Might as well. We're the last of our race and Super Gramps is here, so they would end up finding out eventually. No point in hiding it anymore." Naruto's logic made a shocking amount of sense to those of the group who hadn't had the foresight to prepare for such a situation - not like they knew they'd ever be in one - and they turned back to Jiraiya.
"My given name is Isobu." One by one, the rest introduced themselves to Jiraiya. Introductions weren't necessary for Kurama, as Jiraiya had learned that tidbit due to a slip of the tongue from Naruto. What really surprised Naruto and got his gears turning, though, was the fact that Žiara didn't approach Jiraiya or give him her name. Though now that he thought about it, Žiara had probably seen through Jiraiya's façade and into his lecherous nature, which wasn't surprising. He had learned to do the same himself after having trained with the man for the better part of three years.
As everyone finally settled down from the sudden excitement Jiraiya's initial curiosity had brought on, Hiruzen asked the thousand-yen question everyone had, at some point, been thinking. "So what is next for our group of world-weary travelers?"
"First, I'd like an explanation of who you are, as well as what you're doing in my domain." The voice came so suddenly, everyone was shocked. Even Kurama was utterly floored. Okay, who is this chick?! Never has anything, human or otherwise, managed to bypass my biological radar!
Hagoromo stepped up and stared into the mysterious woman's eyes. The unknown woman stood at a towering height of 6'10", and had a lean, toned body no doubt built with many long hours of strenuous exercise. Instead of skin, a light cream-colored coat adorned her body, and she had a light multi-colored tail curled around her left leg. She also had striking light blue eyes. Her hair, the same multi-colored scheme as her tail, fell to upper back and rested in front of the dress she was wearing: a strapless blue and gold gown that would look more fitting at a wedding than out in the mountains. A set of bracelets on her wrists, the shoes on her feet, and a crown on her head had matching intricate golden designs of what looked to be the rising sun emblazoned upon them. The most striking features, though, were an eighteen-inch long horn the same color as her coat jutting out of the top center of her forehead and a pair of flared wings extending from her shoulder blades.
"We are travelers borne of another world in another reality gifted with special powers, nothing more." Hagoromo spoke for the group in a voice that was carefully smooth, as if he were testing the waters of this new interaction.
"Likely story. Now tell me who you really are." Hagoromo sighed; this was most certainly not going to be easy to deal with.
Forty minutes later, after an ample amount of explaining, re-explaining, and multiple instances of Jiraiya getting bopped over the head by Hagoromo's staff for trying to get an indecent look at Žiara's breasts and private area during the quite serious conversation, the woman, now identified as Princess Celestia, leaned back slightly on the proffered log adjacent to the one the others were using, and absentmindedly ran her other hand through her hair, inadvertently giving Jiraiya another show that he wanted to capitalize on. Before he even had the chance, however, his student had seen the glint in the older man's eyes, and not a half-second later, Jiraiya found himself on the other end of a broken tree fifty yards away, rubbing his now sore jaw. "Damn disrespectful brats..."
"Not the time or place, sensei. You should know better." Minato interjected before Jiraiya could finish his complaint. Hiruzen chuckled at the antics of the two.
"Fine, fine." Jiraiya grumbled in displeasure, turning away from the conversation.
"So you're residents of another world inhabited by these 'shinobi' that were wiped out in a recent war against an enemy so powerful, not even your strongest warrior was able to best it in combat?" Celestia asked, attempting to shorten the lengthy explanation to a more manageable stub.
Naruto answered the question immediately. "Yeah, that's basically it. But Sasuke didn't get the victory he wanted, either; I just have to be happy with that and learn from my mistakes." Celestia nodded at the words of wisdom the teen had unknowingly uttered. She had seen many people fall before their time due to miscalculations, laziness, fear, or most commonly, arrogance.
"Well, as much as I would like to offer my assistance, it seems you've already figured out what your group will be doing for the future. I will be returning to Canterlot, the seat of my throne. Though you may have decided to 'rough it', you are welcome in the city and in the palace should you need assistance in an important matter. The city is on the other side of the mountain here." Celestia then stretched her wings, ran forward a few steps, and jumped, launching herself into the air with her wings as she set off for Canterlot.
Jiraiya chuckled to himself for a brief moment before he felt the unanimous glares of the entire group on him. He turned away and sat on the ground, huffing and muttering something about tough crowds before grumbling to himself. Naruto snickered and Minato chuckled, while Hagoromo and most of the others pondered.
Shukaku spoke up briefly. "Say, she had that look in her eyes you only get when you've been through a lotta deep shit. Wonder what jumped in her cornflakes and died?"
"A crude way of simply saying she's seen more than her share of conflict, but coming from you, I suppose it will have to do," Matatabi ribbed at Shukaku's crudy delivery. Said man frowned for a moment before his grin returned in full force.
"She seemed very kind, though hesitant to share anything personal." Kokuo brought her opinion into the mix. Everyone nodded; even Naruto had seen that Celestia had been hiding far more than she was revealing.
"Maybe a side effect of whatever happened in her past? I mean, it can't be easy running an entire country singlehandedly." Chomei added her input in as well, and Hagoromo had to agree that it was a more than valid point. He had heard tales from Kaguya as a child about how the people of old, before chakra, had been divided by region and ruled by kings, queens, princes, and what-have-you, and some chose not to have any assistance whatsoever, which led to severe mental strain and some... less than desirable outcomes.
"Well, either way, we aren't getting anywhere by just sitting here doing nothing. But at the same time, it's well past dark, and we've already eaten our fill, so why don't we all turn in and get some rest?" Saiken suggested. The others nodded their heads in agreement, as each went to prepare their own arrangements, whe Minato channeled chakra and unsealed what looked to be several large tents.
"Good thing I went scavenging for supplies. Figured we'd need these, even though when I had been searching, I didn't think so many would be along for the ride."
"Awesome!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically as he immediately went to help set one up. Within minutes, the four tents had been set up. Jiraiya, Hiruzen and Minato slept in one, Shukaku, Isobu, Saiken and Hagoromo slept in the second, Matatabi, Son Goku, Kokuo and Žiara slept in the third, and Naruto, Gyuki and Kurama slept in the last.
Naruto was the last one awake, as everyone else had already fallen asleep. He was occupied in his thoughts for quite a while before he finally laid his head down and closed his eyes.
Well, look at the dead-last... It was your fate to fail, just like it was your fate to have the Kyuubi sealed inside of you...
Hey, Mr. Big and Bad ain't so tough now, is he?
Your flames of youth have sadly flickered out...
It seems I made a grievous miscalculation in believing you would be the one to save the day...
Heh, I always knew Sasuke was better than you. Luck is the only reason you managed to keep up with him...
Man, what a drag... You could have at least put more effort into saving the world...
Naruto shot up in his sleeping bag, one hand over his rapidly beating chest as he tried to make the images and sounds of what appeared to be a nightmare go away. He almost reflexively drew a kunai from the pouch lying next to him as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder, but turned to find Kurama there, staring sorrowfully into his eyes. Without prompt, Kurama whispered loud enough for Naruto to hear, but soft enough to ensure Gyuki wouldn't wake up, "My emotion sensing isn't just useful in battle. I've known you were having a nightmare since an hour ago, Naruto..." He turned around and hugged Kurama, burying his head in her shoulder, letting the tears out of his eyes, but he made no sound other than the occasional sniffle. Kurama was momentarily surprised, before she gladly returned the embrace, running her hand through his hair to help calm him down. "Everything will be alright. I don't know what happened in that nightmare, but just don't let it get to you, alright?" Naruto removed his head from her shoulder and nodded in thanks at her kind words. "Now try to get some rest, okay? I think the Old Man has something planned in the morning."
Naruto nodded once, before laying back in his sleeping bag. Before long, he was asleep, though Kurama could tell he was having a nightmare again. She placed her hand on his, and he stopped sweating and fidgeting, a thin smile crossing his features. She smiled herself at being able to help, before laying down in her sleeping bag and falling asleep herself.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Gyuki, who hadn't been tired in the slightest and had elected to simply feign being asleep, smirked. Well, this might be an interesting development...
And so we come to the end of the rewritten Chapter 3. Here on out, the story's content is entirely original and not being redone like a bad wash load. So Celestia makes her appearance, Jiraiya's lecherous habits see him physically smacked around, Naruto isn't as dandy as everyone thought, and Gyuki seems to have found something he finds interesting.
Also, for future note, the Celestia in my story is not canon Celestia in the normal sense. She still has her kind and motherly personality, but I figure X-thousand years of rule over a nation that, at times, has tenuous - at best - relationships with the world at large, as well as seeing more than her share of conflict, should have tempered her outward projection into a more cautious state than what we're given in the show.
Questions I felt needed answered:
Finally Celestia deos something other then be a weak piss of shit.
To be fair, Celestia is only 'weak' because the Elements of Harmony are extremely powerful. She is still strong in her own right - being able to stand up to Chrysalis until the Bearers showed up is a decent example of this, as well as assisting Luna and Cadence in holding off Sombra while Twilight and Spike retrieved the Crystal Heart - the issue is that because the show focuses mainly on Twilight and co., Celestia doesn't often get her chance in the spotlight. And don't worry, I've got plans for her in the story...
This is so incredible I love this rewrite, I wish I would seen the original-(more after, but I cut the rest out to keep the word count on the AN decent)
Thanks for checking out the story! And trust me, this is much better than the original, which, in my honest opinion, was total dogshit. I'm honestly glad I rewrote it, and I'm glad to be able to continue with a story I had once thought completely dead.
Only bummer is you didn't send Kushina too
Kushina didn't fit with the theme of mentors I had going with Hiruzen, Minato and Jiraiya. Not only that, there isn't much she can really teach Naruto that either someone else hasn't already taught him or he can't figure out on his own with assistance. Those are the big reasons I didn't make her a part of the story.
Well, it's now nearly two AM, so I'm hopping off for the night. Make sure to leave a review if you've got something to say, and like and favorite to keep on the lookout for updates! Or use the app and simply download the story, it's no skin off my back either way :)