(AN: This was written between 8pm Central time and 3am Central time. No beta, #wedielikemen.)
Naruto found himself in the Lands Between. Upon ensuring that his home would be forever safe from the depredations of the Ootsusuki, and after ensuring that Sasuke would be able to care for Konoha in his stead, Naruto travelled. His Rinnegan, evolved from a Sharingan that Sasuke was always cagey about in terms of providence, gave him the gift to walk through the worlds.
Konoha, and the Elemental Nations as a whole, gave him a fond farewell for his travels. They had always known he was meant for bigger and better things than just handling the management of a hidden village. Defending the world several times over just proved this.
A call through the worlds led him here, to the Altus Plateau, to the side of a man who stood tall upon a bridge, finger pointing to the titanic glowing tree in the distance. Most would have been lost to try to understand what he was doing, but Naruto, master of Sage Arts and Ninshu, had no such issue.
With but a moment to calm himself, he attuned to the Sage of the Golden Order.
The Noble Goldmask, and the man called the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven, communed.
Konoha had wanted to hate him, but they could not.
Not with that pure aura of peace that followed him, everywhere he went.
When asked by the Third Hokage, he said, "Konoha was not the only one deeply hurt by that night."
For a moment, the Sandaime could feel the pain and anguish of a being far greater than himself or the 6 year old Uzumaki. The deep hunger for freedom.
The Sandaime let him go, and asked him no other questions about the matter.
They communed about the matter, silently, for some time. None of the wild or mad creatures bothered them, deranged undead ignoring them even while walking directly next to them. Naruto providing his input on what he felt within the lands between, using his sage arts to give a different perspective on things.
They were joined, in time, by a woman in blue, with four arms. A demigoddess, though immensely reduced. Naruto could respect that: Doing all she could to cast off a fate she never wanted, he could understand. His own path could have been similar.
The toads laughed on meeting Naruto; they had little to nothing to teach him. He was a greater sage than any before they've trained. He was a greater sage as a genin then any they'd ever trained. Instead, he worked with Gamamaru, taking his first true strides into Ninshu, alongside a course in understanding the probabilities of prophecy.
He left the toads as Gamamaru's equal in that department.
It took some coaxing, for Ranni had been alone and frightened for many years before the calling of Goldmask by grace, and the arrival of the sage. The few close to here were unable to truly help her, one damned by the Two Fingers, another only able to advise...and smith. The less said about Pidia and his puppet Seluvis, the better. A would-be betrayer, in the heart of her power.
Once she joined in, she was stunned by the work the two had done on understanding the current Order, and brought her own concerns. Of meddling gods, the failures of both the Golden Order and Greater Will, as well as the attempts of interference by other Outer Gods, like the Rot, the Formless Mother, and the Frenzied Flame.
Ranni brought her true concerns and wishes to the two, her desire of an order free from the interference of those not of the lands, for all in the Lands Between to be able to forge their own destiny free of such things.
The debate on the matter, though completely silent to any outside observer, lasted for some time. Goldmask was not attached to the concept of Gods. He appreciated the attempts by others previous to build a strong order, and wanted to perfect the work already made by others.
Naruto, on the other hand, agreed: Having been the subject of a number of predestined fates he defeated by his own means, seeing the greater picture and how he became free on his own.
However, this would require more work for all present, to try to find a way.
Brother Corhyn came later still. His mind was not strong enough to join them, sadly, he would have been shattered by the titans he stood near and their work, even with Naruto trying to buffer everything. Instead, he spoke to Corhyn.
Corhyn was...an unfortunate fanatic. Obsessed with the perfection of the Order, but perceiving the Golden Order as it stood as perfect, not of the perfection it could be. It fell to Naruto to talk with him, explaining what he and Goldmask were doing, what they were studying. He tried to slowly encourage him, to get him to relax his views, but he was too resolute, felt the Golden Order's perfection couldn't be improved.
However, to his credit, Corhyn was able to begin to understand just what the three he stood by were able to do, and was in awe of the three of them, even as he couldn't grasp their full intent or join them in their silent communion.
Before the arrival of the Ootsutsuki Three, Naruto, realizing he needed to be pushed as hard as possible and to face the greatest danger he could, directly summoned the Shinigami.
They contested far from any civilized lands. Nobody could have survived even being in the presence of titanic forces like this. Only B and Gaara were even able to get close enough to try to observe, with their Bijuu shielding them from the worst, and they couldn't get within one hundred miles of the contest.
Of this, Gaara said, "Neither moved. Their presence and pressure alone was the battlefield. Naruto and his connection with Life itself against the Shinigami and Death itself."
The contest lasted several days straight, ending when Naruto broke one of the few limits left to him, and was able to expand his already eternal sage mode to cover the planet.
All life on Earth was aware of Naruto, and they were aware of him besting the Shinigami itself. They could feel the Shinigami yield to him, and the unspoken declaration that it would not take him until he wanted to go.
The next day, every summon clan who had a contractor declared to their summoners that the Great Sage, Equal of Heaven has appeared.
From that day forth, Naruto had a blood-red forelock, the mark of one who challenged Death itself and won. Just like his Uzumaki ancestors before him.
The Ootsutsuki never stood a chance. No vestiges survived to infect the planet, not when the planet in it's entirety and it's chosen Champion rejected them so.
Ranni found herself intrigued by the newcomer. Never touched by Grace, but here all the same. Champion of his home land, and a presence that could not be ignored. Welcomed by life itself, the Lands Between embraced him like a long lost son. Even before she began this strange communion, she could feel it, but within it, she could see the fullness of life, natural energy, and chakra that surrounded him like a storm. A storm that enveloped the entirety of the Lands Between.
Eventually, Blaidd tracked her down like this, a far way off from her usual home. Puzzlement practically radiated from her shadow, and she would swear eternally that he cocked his head to the side just so, not unlike the canine he resembled.
"Ranni, so this is where you've been! I haven't seen you in who knows how long and I was growing worried."
"Ah, Blaidd, I thank thee for coming. I hath someone to introduce thee to, and I do believe the two of thee will get along famously."
Goldmask remained, though he inclined his head towards Blaidd in acknowledgement.
Naruto strode forward, a smile on his face, and extended a hand: "Naruto Uzumaki, pleased to meet you, Blaidd. Don't mind Goldmask, he doesn't speak, he's rather busy with trying to get to the bottom of how to properly fix this place, and he's been doing some amazing research in that area. We all have, really, it's been a team effort understanding this whole mess and how to go about fixing it."
Blaidd looked surprised at Naruto's declaration, to Ranni's amusement. "How would you do that, don't you need the Great Runes to reforge the Elden Ring?"
"That would just return everything back to where it was before the Shattering. I'm sure most here would like that, but it's not solving the underlying problems that caused it in the first place. Of which there are a few."
Naruto, Ranni mused, was good at connecting with others. Almost literally, as she witheld a grimace thinking of a Grafted Lord in Stormveil, but unlike Godrick who stole strength from others to add to his own, Naruto was more inclusive. Nothing of you was being taken, you were being brought in and brought up to his level or as close as one could go on their own merits.
He was also a bit of a ham. Understandable, since the three of them didn't need to speak to each other, but others didn't have the benefit or ability to have that deep level of understanding of others, the pinnacle of Ninshu as Naruto called it. It was a bit of an act, but with no deception, and with an audience of whoever he was talking to at the moment. Blaidd stood no chance, which fell well within Ranni's expectations. However, the following sentence from Blaidd certainly did NOT fall within her expectations:
"Ranni, you know you've been gone from your rise for a full year, right?"
She blinked in thought, 'Surely could not hath been so long, right?', only for Blaidd to launch into detail about her small cabal and what they've been up to, Adula leaving her rise to try to search for her, Seluvis skulking around and his activities, and the ever dwindling numbers of Tarnished arriving at the shores of the Lands Between.
She turned her head to Naruto and narrowed her eyes. An act of her own, also for Blaidd's benefit, though the surprise was genuine. She should have been forced to sleep regularly and for long periods due to her puppet body, and yet she never noticed that her strength did not flag, and that she did not tire. The one and only culprit for why that was was standing in front of her, with a bit of a sheepish grin on his face.
"Sorry, Ranni. Once we all started working together I noticed your energy would drop really fast, so I'd help you by feeding you energy to keep you going. It wasn't that much from my end, and you are really helping us with this, y'know."
Dattebane, a verbal tic he picked up from his mother, upon meeting her briefly. The previous holder of Kurama, who she had met early on. You don't work this closely with another person and understand as much as you do without meeting their close friends as well. Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken and Chomei, all chose to walk with Naruto on his journey. All resided within him, and knowing him meant knowing them as well.
She huffed. "Thou art a most infurating man, Naruto Uzumaki. All the same, I am glad I met thee." The last delivered with a small smile.
Blaidd would, shortly afterwards, build a small hut nearby to rest in, and would often come to visit.
Eventually, the groundwork was laid for how to fix the Elden Ring. All three contributed every ounce of skill and expertise on making the Mending Rune, Naruto bringing his natural talent with Fuinjutsu, which translated to runecrafting with shocking ease. Goldmask brought forth every aspect, covered through sacred mathematics and sacred geometry, moving a great work closer to perfection. Ranni wove in protections from deific interference, pushing the Outer Gods to a great remove to protect all from their interference and depredations.
But all work came to a halt, when trying to tie all of this to the fragments of the Elden Ring still in the Erdtree. Somehow, and Naruto confirmed this with his own senses, Radagon and Marika were confusing the information about them, showing as being in the exact same place in space and time, which should not happen lest an epic and bloody mess result. Naruto elected to go, and Ranni decided she was going to come with. To lay eyes upon her father, who betrayed her family.
What should have been a perilous and fraught journey...was peaceful. Practically a stroll through the park that was the Altus Plateau. Nothing, absolutely nothing noticed their presence. The results of a perfected Sage, that one walks with nature, and that nature itself walks with them.
The knights and soldiers never looked their way. Nothing barred their way, all the way into and through Leyndell. They took in the sights as they walked all the way to the entrance to the Erdtree, to find it blocked.
While she still spoke archaically as was her habit, when communing with Naruto and Goldmask she was far more informal. 'Naruto, I do believe I sense the presence of Morgott nearby. Should you try to force entrance through the briars, I do believe he may act.'
A mental sigh from Naruto, 'should that happen, Ranni-chan, I will deal with it.'
The briars formed a rune, Radagon's rune specifically, and they could sense it was a powerful block. Jutsu would probably do nothing, and a Bijudama would likely get through it, but they weren't trying to destroy the whole Erdtree, only see what was inside it for a closer look.
A Truth-Seeking Ball was the final decision. With Morgott likley nearby, speed would be of the essence, and taking the time to try to decipher it through Fuinjutsu risked his notice. The Gudodama would be able to negate the effect and punch through the briars easily enough.
Gazing upon the ruin of Marika was troubling. Expanding his senses and having he and Ranni feel the ruin of what was left of Radagon was almost sickening. Two bodies. Two minds. One soul, half corroded by the Greater Will. They could feel Marika's resistance, and Radagon's complete capitulation.
They left shortly afterwards, and Ranni spent some time weeping in Naruto's arms, the truth of what happened to her father being very painful, and the truth that he was no longer in control of himself causing her to need to think on things.
Finally, it was complete. A forged Mending Rune, the Rune of the Sun and Moon. Forged from the will of three beings combined in purpose. Holding their hopes and dreams for the Lands Between. Order brought to it's highest purpose. Strength forged to protect all who reside under it's grace. Even gods and godlike beings are brought to account under its light, and those who would interfere with the lives of those it protects are barred from ever doing so.
Naruto and Ranni could feel the joy coming from Goldmask. 'Finally, the hard part is done. Thank you both for all your help, this exceeds my wildest expectations!'
Suffusing that joy, however, was a soul-deep weariness. Goldmask was still of mortal limitations, speaking volumes of his sheer willpower to see this done, and he poured everything into his end of the manifestation. He still lived thanks to the support of the others, but his time with life was near its end.
There was no sorrow, despite that: A task that all others would consider pure lunacy to attempt, made possible and real. Poor Brother Corhyn wept upon gazing upon the Rune. Blaidd howled in joy as the Rune was made manifest.
'Thank you both for giving me the chance to see the dawn of a new age. I can hold on to life long enough for that. Naruto, I'll have to impose on you for collecting the rest of the Great Runes, to make sure the Elden Ring is as complete as it possibly could be.'
'Sure thing, Jiji. Coming along, Ranni?'
'Of course.'
Godrick fell in a single blow.
Radahn was sent to his final rest with a Futon: Rasenshuriken.
Rennala was put to bed to rest and recover.
Rykard...Naruto may have taken a little longer to make his displeasure with Rykard's actions absolutely clear before he killed him.
Mohg met his end face to face with a senjutsu-enhanced punch that took off the entirety of his upper torso.
Not wanting to risk or deal with the Scarlet Rot, Naruto sent two Lava Release: Rasenshuriken at Malenia, followed by enough fire to purge the entire chamber she was resting in.
Morgott was given the chance to surrender. Even in the face of a man who never touched grace who bore every other great rune, he stood tall and elected to fight. Naruto made his end mercifully brief.
Radagon was knocked around the interior of the Erdtree like a doll thanks to Shinra Tensei, and operating only on combat instinct, however refined, did not avail him against Naruto.
The Elden Beast barely made it out of the body it was puppeteering before it met its own end at the point of a Gudodama.
'He's laughing...' Ranni sent, with a mental chuckle. They could feel Goldmask's humor at how quickly they collected all of the Great Runes even from the heart of the Erdtree.
'Can you blame him? He wasn't kidding when he said the hard part was done, ya know...' Sage he may be, but Naruto was still a shinobi, and still a bit of a prankster at heart, and he had wanted to get a good chuckle out of Goldmask before they fixed the world so he could get his well-deserved rest.
He'd miss the man he'd come to consider his second Jiji, but he worked stupidly hard to get this made, and he earned his rest.
Focusing on the Great Runes he bore, he willed them up, and out, to reforge the Elden Ring.
All who lived in the Lands Between felt the dawn of the Age of the Sun and Moon. Poems would be written and songs would be sung of that first dawn, when the meddling Outer Gods were taken to task for their actions, when an Elden Lord who had never once known grace ascended to make something once thought perfect even more so.
While the names of Naruto the Great Sage and Ranni the Witch would be mentioned, of the parts they played and heroics they underwent, even greater songs would be sung for Goldmask, who saw the flaws in the old Order, and with the help of the other two, poured everything of himself to help forge a new rune. He who began the immense and nigh impossible task, who the others later came upon to help in his endeavors. How he passed under the sun of a new Age, content that his task was completed to perfection.
As for Ranni and Naruto, well, it was known that Naruto was from a far-off land, and was already wandering when he came to the Lands Between, and that Ranni was set to leave if her plan came to fruitition, to make sure that her order, and the Outer Gods, were all very remote. It would only be a matter of time before they departed, to visit Naruto's home, or find other worlds in need of saviors.
Needing to get back into writing, and dreamed this up over a few hours. This is a one-shot, but wouldn't mind hearing what people think of it.
The concept behind Naruto here is one swiped from Hero or Monster? by Hyvnn, which basically has Naruto as a natural-born sage. Take it to 11? Start adding Ninshu, which is really the only way that Goldmask would be able to try to communicate with anyone with his extreme focus on his impossible task, and it sort of goes from there.
Dialog isn't really needed, oddly enough because the three are so focused on the real task, and Ninshu helps the process along.