Naruto: The Mega Gamer
Chapter 20:The Return
Histoire's voice could be heard monologuing as she flies through the skies with a destination in mind
"It has been a year since the battle against Arfoire. The explosion was contained at the price of Celestia's demise…it's not like I can confirm that Celestia is gone but the fact that I can't go there is more than enough proof of what happened to it. As for Naruto, Neptune and Arfoire, I could not find either of them. The other goddesses went back to Compa's room to wait for Naruto and Neptune's return. But one by one, the goddesses returned to their respective Lands. Despite the damage to the Lands, slowly but surely, things headed in the direction of recovery,"
Histoire looked down sadly "I wish…I could have recorded history with Neptune, Naruto and Arfoire. Anyways, I'm going to see how the others are doing,"
Lastation's Basilicom
"Lady Noire, this is the report on the contamination," surprisingly enough, it was Ganache giving reports to Noire who's interacting with him rather civilly.
Noire nodded in understanding and took the report to read it "Let's see…it looks like things are faring well,"
"Yes, as the graph shows that the emissions have gone down quite a bit,"
Noire beamed happily "Very good, now that's my Lastation!"
Histoire approached them and was a bit surprised to see Ganache "Hello Noire, I came by to see how you're doing,"
"Hello Histoire, did you come alone?" asked Noire.
"Yes, though I am a bit confused as to why Ganache is here in the Basilicom?"
"Well, after his image of Blanc was obliterated, he came here,"
Ganache huffed "I have no reason to follow Lady Blanc anymore, I follow Lady Noire now,"
"Are you sure about this Noire? He caused quite a bit of trouble in the past," asked Histoire with concern.
Noire shrugged her shoulders in response "I haven't forgotten. Not trying to take a page from Blanc's book, I wanted to beat him senseless. But then I saw how earnest he wanted to repent so I figured to give him a second chance. Sure enough, he started to prove himself as things started getting better around here,"
Ganache bowed in gratitude "I am grateful for your words,"
"So in short, you're as soft as butter too," said Histoire teasingly.
Noire blinked in confusion, feeling a bit shy "Do you think so?"
Histoire nodded in assurance "I am the all-seeing tome, I'm being quite truthful when I say that you're a kind goddess. It looks like I need to get going now,"
"Already? Do be careful since you are pretty small, you know?"
Leanbox Basilicom
"Lady Vert, come out of there! Just how long have you been in there!?" Yvoire was knocking on the door leading to Vert's room. Apparently, she has been inside for weeks now.
"I'm still tired from the battle, I need another day of rest," Vert retorted.
Yvoire sighed in exasperation "You said that yesterday too, and the day before that!"
"Uh Vert? Maybe you should come out and work?" Histoire spoke up with uncertainty.
"Yvoire is more than sufficient to handle the work,"
Histoire sweatdropped at the goddess's nonchalance "Well, that's not exactly the point,"
Suddenly, Vert's game console gave an audio notification [Emergency alert, Emergency alert! Enemies approaching Leanbox!]
Vert snapped to focus "An emergency quest, get ready to counterattack Ran-Ran!"
"(ˊ ∙ ω ∙ ˋ) Um, um…Ran-Ran wants to go to sleep," Ran-Ran whined tiredly.
"It's only been three days, Ran-Ran. A true gamer is capable of doing this for a whole week!"
"(ˊ ; ω ; ˋ) *Sob*…,"
"…*Sigh* someone really needs to help Vert out," said Histoire, who's already mentally exhausted by this.
In the main halls of the Basilicom, Yvoire was muttering to himself "Lady Vert doesn't let me into her room anymore, but why?"
The Older Brother spoke up "Lady Vert may be a goddess, but she has a youthful soul,"
The Younger Brother nodded in agreement "Yeah, even we aren't allowed inside. She must be shy,"
Histoire sweatdropped at the ignorance of the two brothers "For you two, there's a different reason…,"
Snowy street of Lowee
Histoire had been told that Blanc wasn't at the Basilicom and so went to look for her outside, eventually finding her playing with some children.
"Lady Blanc, let's have a snowball fight!" said a boy excitedly.
"No, Lady Blanc is going to make a snowman with us!" a girl argued.
Blanc stepped in to placate them "Don't fight now. I'll play with everyone, so take turns, okay?"
Histoire called out as she approached her "Blanc, it's been a while but what are you doing out here?"
"I'm playing with the kids,"
"But I thought you would be in your room reading or writing a book?"
"I was doing that…for five days straight but then…," Blanc sighed "Financier cut the power to my room which forced me out,"
"Oh, I see. So where is Financier right now?" asked Histoire curiously.
"She should be back soon…,"
Sure enough, Financier showed up with a basket of tea and snacks "Lady Blanc, I brought us some tea and sweets. Oh, miss Histoire. You're here, would you like to join us for tea?"
"I'd love to, but there's somewhere else I need to be," Histoire politely refused.
Compa's Apartment
Hearing a knock on the door, Compa went to open it up to see Histoire "Hello there, Histy! What brings you here?"
Histoire noticed that Compa was carrying a picnic basket "I wanted to visit you, are you going somewhere?"
"Yessy, I'm going to the park to have a picnic with Iffy," Compa explained.
"You two are great friends, as usual,"
IF then arrived at the door "Sorry I kept you waiting, oh hey there Histy,"
"Would you like to come with us too? The more the merrier," Compa offered an invitation.
"Are you sure I can come?" asked Histoire politely.
"Of course, we don't mind!" said IF with a smile.
"I'M FAAAAAALLING!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice yelled out from…somewhere?
Compa looked around in confusion "Hm? Did you guys hear something?"
"What do you mean?" asked IF.
"For a moment, I thought I heard Nep-Nep's voice,"
IF shook her head in disagreement "I'm sure you heard something else…,"
"Yes, Neptune is…," Histoire was suddenly interrupted by a loud yell.
"WAAAAAH!"
*BOOM*
Something smashed through the roof and into the room, much to everyone's shock. Then someone stepped out from the dust cloud, revealing to be none other than Neptune with a beaming smile.
"Tadaa! Hey y'all, I'm back just like I promised!" said Neptune happily, then she found herself being glomped by a teary-eyed Compa.
"Nep-Nep, you came back!" said Compa joyfully.
"Awww, it seems that crybaby persona is still in you,"
"If you're okay, then why didn't you call? Do you know how worried we were?!" asked IF sternly then looked around "And more importantly, where's Naruto? Isn't he with you?"
At the mention of Naruto's name, Neptune felt most of her joy being sucked out which worried the rest of them.
"Please don't tell us that Naruto is…is…," Compa couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence in fear of what might be the truth.
"No no no! Naru's not dead, he's just…,"
"Just what? You're not exactly being clear with us," said IF sternly.
"Please calm down, whatever happened to Naruto must be something which even Neptune wasn't too happy about," Histoire pointed.
"You're right about that, even Naru wasn't happy about it but had no choice in the matter. Which is why I want to call everyone here," said Neptune.
"…*Sigh* I'll get right on it," IF took out one of her phones and began typing a message to send to the others to come over to Compa's place…which has a hole in the roof at the moment much to the pinkette's exasperation.
Later on, everyone had gathered in the apartment, they were glad to see Neptune alive and well but were also concerned about Naruto. She had told them that he's alive but that didn't explain why he's not here with them.
"Care to explain why one of my cuties isn't here?" asked Vert with a serious tone.
"And it better be good or else we'll stuff you full of eggplants," Noire added.
"…what she said," said Blanc.
Neptune shivered at the threat "Okay okay okay, you see it all started when we had defeated Arfoire. She released all of the power from her body which blinded us because of the flash and the next thing I knew…,"
***Flashback Start***
Neptune had her eyes squeezed shut and braced for any kind of pain but then she noticed that she wasn't hurt and out of her HDD form. She then looked around to see that she was in realm comprising of a semi-cloudy sky and an aqueous soil which seem to extend to infinity with no end in sight (The Final World from Kingdom Hearts 3)
"Okay, I'm kinda hoping that this isn't the afterlife. Don't want Compa haunting me with eggplant pudding…yuck. Wait, where's Naruto?" she started to look around with worry since he was also engulfed in the light along with the Digimon.
Neptune started running around in random directions in search of the blonde ninja aspirant all the while calling out his and the Digimon's name. she soon caught of someone in the distance and immediately recognized it to be Naruto thanks to his spiky blonde hair then ran over to him.
"There you are! I was starting to think that I would never find you and-," Neptune trailed off upon seeing that Naruto's body was glowing faintly which was odd since she herself looked okay "Naruto, what's happening to you?"
"…," Naruto stood there silently for a few moments before finally deciding to speak "I'll be going away soon…,"
"Going away? I hope it's not a Game Over or anything right?" asked Neptune, a bit worried that he might die.
"Thankfully it's nothing like that, what I mean is that I'll be returning to Konoha now,"
"Wait, for real?"
"Remember that I was brought into Gamindustri by something or rather someone for a reason. I didn't know what it was until yesterday when Kurama brought my attention to my statistics and I saw that my Game Completion Progress was at 97% which meant I was supposed to help you guys save Gamindustri from Arfoire and that I would be sent back home once we defeated her," Naruto explained.
Neptune felt her heart ache upon hearing this "You mean…you're leaving us?"
Naruto turned around to face Neptune with sadness in his eyes, she could see that he was conflicted about all this "Not by choice,"
"But why didn't you tell us?"
"Come on Nep-chan, the world was in danger and we have too much to lose. I can't risk distracting you all when there's so much at stake," Naruto pointed out.
"That doesn't make it okay for you not to tell us!"
"I know and I'm truly sorry about that,"
They stood there silently then Neptune spoke up.
"So this is it…you'll be going home? Never to come back?"
Naruto frowned in response "I refuse to accept that notion, I'll do everything I can to come back to you. All of you accepted me for who I am, truly cared for me regardless of my status. I refuse to let the connections we have formed to be broken just like that. If I can figure out how I got here, then I should be able to find my way back to you,"
Seeing how serious he was with wanting to be with them "Alrighty then, I can ask Histy since she's literally a know-it-all book or maybe MAGES. and the others since they came from another dimension like they told us before. We'll try to find a way to reach you too,"
Naruto smiled in response "Thanks Nep-chan, you're the best,"
"Of course, I am the heroine of this game and I'm not gonna allow a bittersweet ending like this happen," Neptune placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest with pride.
Then Naruto's body glowed even more, making him sigh sadly "Guess it's time for me to go, at least whatever was doing is at least being considerate. I'm not gonna say goodbye Nep-chan but rather see you later,"
"You'd better, anything you'd like for me to tell the others?"
"Actually, I already prepared that beforehand. I taped a USB underneath Compa's table lamp before we left for the Basilicom, it contains a recording for everyone. Make sure not to forget,"
"I won't!"
"With your amnesia, I'm not fully confident," said Naruto teasingly.
"Hey, that's mean!" Neptune pouted, making the blonde laugh and felt inwardly sad as it will be a while until he would see them all again.
Naruto's body began to crumble away like stardust from the feet and gradually rising. Neptune saw all this happening and couldn't help but feel sad upon seeing him about to leave for who knows how long. She remembered the day they first met, their interactions with each other along the way, the battles they fought, the friends they had made. Naruto was an odd guy, but he was their odd guy and she couldn't let them part away like this!
Neptune suddenly stepped forward and kissed Naruto on the lips, making the blonde's eyes widen in surprise as she continued to kiss him for some time before pulling away with her cheeks tinged pink.
"Nep-chan…why…?" Naruto was too stunned to make a complete sentence.
"Like I said before, I refuse to allow a bittersweet ending to all this plus I'm making sure to get rid of the dense hero trope before it develops as it's funny at first but eventually gets super annoying," Neptune explained, shyly hiding behind a partial truth.
"Oh, I see…," Naruto lightly brushed his fingers on his lips, recalling how soft Neptune's lips are when they were pressed against his.
"Catch ya later, Naru!" said Neptune happily.
"Yeah…," Naruto smiled genuinely, his sky-blue eyes looking straight in hers "See you around!" then he disappeared completely, leaving Neptune alone in the realm.
"Now then…," Neptune began looking around "How to get outta here, kinda wish for an AutoMap right now,"
***Flashback End***
"…after that, I found my way back here after some serious searching since the gate leading to Celestia was broken and all," said Neptune.
"So…you kissed Naruto," Noire stated with a stony look.
"Well uh yeah, I figured that it'd be suitable for such a moment like they do in video games and movies,"
"And you had to kiss my cutie, right?" Vert was smiling but for some reason, Neptune felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"Was it really necessary for you to do what you did?" asked Blanc who was frowning.
Neptune looked around in confusion "Um why is everyone so aggressive about the kiss?"
IF sighed "Nep, you can be so random at times but this really takes the cake,"
"You too, Iffy?!"
"I found it!" Compa spoke as she returned to the group with a USB stick in hand "Naruo said that there's a recording stored in it, I'll insert it into the TV right now,"
"Please do," said Vert, wanting to know what Naruto had to say before returning to his world.
Compa plugged the USB stick into the designated slot of the TV then used the TV remote to access the recording and play. The video started up and displayed Naruto facing the camera while sitting on his bed with the Digimon seated on his lap, he looked at the camera and began to speak.
[If you guys are watching this, then it means that we were able to defeat Arfoire and save Gamindustri which will be a great relief to everyone and that we all made it back. But it would also mean that I'm not with you guys and have returned to my world] Naruto rubbed the back of his head while Gatchmon and Herissmon looked at him sadly.
[To begin with, I was brought here by someone or something for a reason but I didn't know what exactly it was until Kurama brought my attention to my statistics and saw my completion progress which was when I realized that I brought here to help you fight against Arfoire and save Gamindustri then would be sent back soon afterwards. I have mixed feelings about that since I wanted to spend more time with you all after the final battle]
"Didn't we all," Noire mumbled.
[I really wanted to tell you guys about this, but there's so much at stake and the last thing I want is to distract you guys during a critical moment. Even so, I feel guilty for not telling you all]
"I know you mean well, but still…," Blanc muttered lowly, feeling sad that Naruto's no longer here. There's something about Naruto's energetic nature which is different from Neptune's yet she finds it likeable.
[But I'm not recording this to say goodbye to you but rather to assure that I'll do everything I can to make my way back, although I'm not opposed to getting a little help from your side. Especially since I have several promises to keep]
"Promises?" asked Compa confusedly.
[I promised Noire to help her with certain tasks and quests in Lastation, saying that my skills are needed to accomplish them. For Vert, I'm supposed to help her out with the online raids so I hope that she preserves my gamer account until I get back. With Blanc, I'm helping her with the completion of the Light Novel we're working on, I'll be sure to write down some new ideas while I'm in Konoha and show them to you when I get back. And for Compa, Iffy and Nep-chan; I'll definitely find my way back to you, so that we can continue to have adventures together and enjoy pudding and ramen while we're at it]
Compa smiled sadly "I promise to make the best pudding you will ever taste,"
[I look forward to returning to an even better Gamindustri, let's give it our all to fulfill our dreams! See ya later] Naruto gave a two-finger salute with the Digimon waving at the camera before the recording ended.
"I guess we've got some work to do if we want to find a way to reach Naruto in his world," IF thoughtfully.
"Besides that, what's this about you requiring Naruto's skills with certain things in Lastation?" asked Neptune curiously.
Noire looked away with her arms crossed and cheeks tinged pink "W-What? He's proven to be reliable over the time I spent with him. It's not like I want to spend time with him or anything like that,"
"Are you really that lonely, Noire?"
"Stop calling me a loner!"
"Oh my, I'll need to make plans to preserve my cutie's account and also archive certain games for us to play together when he gets back," said Vert thoughtfully.
"I worry that he won't be leaving her room for years when he returns," Histoire sweatdropped at the thought of it.
Falcom turned to Blanc with curiosity "So, what is it about a light novel that you and Naruto are working on, Lady Blanc?"
"I'm afraid I cannot say any more that what you have heard for the sake of not leaking any spoilers," Blanc turned away from everyone with her cheeks blushed pink.
"They're so obvious, nyu," Broccoli rolled her eyes at the reactions of the goddesses, easily figuring out that they were planning to horde Naruto to themselves, there's even the likeliness of a Console War over him if they're greedy enough.
"I for one can't wait for Naruto to return, no doubt he will be much stronger and be a true ninja by then. I really look forward to the match between ninjas!" said MarvelousAQL excitedly.
"That is if the village doesn't try to impede on his growth," Noire muttered lowly, still bearing a grudge against the village for mistreating Naruto whom she had come to value very much as everything he did for her.
"So, what happens now?" asked Tekken curiously.
"Well, our main objective will be to continue restoring Gamindustri to what it was before Arfoire and make it even better," said Vert thoughtfully.
"But we'll also work on a way to bring Naruto back to Gamindustri too, it's obvious that he wants to return just as much as we want him back, he's our friend after all," Blanc added.
"I'll need to search through the archives for anything relating to connections between dimensions," said Histoire.
"I hope you don't mind if I assist, such a subject will be quite interesting to research on," said MAGES.
Neptune spoke up cheerfully "When Naru gets back, we're gonna have so much fun; Eating pudding, playing video games, watching anime, and much much more!"
Compa happily nodded in agreement "Yessy, I can't wait!"
Noire frowned at this "Hold it right there, Naruto is supposed to help me with things in Lastation. Don't think you can hog him to yourself!"
"I'm afraid that my foxy cutie will be too preoccupied playing online CO-OP with me to help any of you, but I'm sure you can handle it on your own," said Vert all too sweetly.
Blanc glared at Vert with anger "Hold it right there, Naruto's gonna help me with my novel. Ain't no way I'm gonna let you sway him into doing whatever you want with those oversized mammaries of yours!"
"Oh, and how would you know when you're lacking in that department?"
"Grrrrrrr!"
"I knew it, nyu," Broccoli sighed at the antics of the four CPUs.
IF rubbed the bridge of her nose with two fingers "Unbelievable…to think that these four are the goddesses that helped save Gamindustri. I don't know whether to be glad that Naruto left or not,"
Naruto opened his eyes and looked up towards a familiar ceiling which didn't belong to Compa's room, making him realize where he is right now. He sat up and looked around to notice that he was laying on the bed of his room which hadn't seemed to change since he was gone.
"So, I'm back home huh…," Naruto muttered to himself, looking at his hand to see that he didn't have the G-Pad strapped to it but the other still had that strange bracelet latching on to his wrist, also he was wearing his old clothes and not the ones he got in Gamindustri "At least let me keep those duds when I got back here,"
Getting up from his bed, Naruto looked around and noticed that the digital clock on the table displayed the time to be evening on a Sunday. He seemed to recall that he was transported to Gamindustri after leaving the academy which was on Friday, could it be that time in Konoha was slower than in the other world?
Hearing a beeping sound, he glanced to the source of the sound where he set his eyes upon his handheld game on his bed with the screen displaying an icon which he sees on Neptune and the others when they're in their HDD forms, a text appeared on the screen which read.
[Congratulations on beating the overture phase of the game, your rewards will soon arrive]
"By overture, does it mean that there's a chance I can go back?" asked Naruto curiously, feeling hopeful that it would be the case "And also…Kurama, are you there?"
Things were silent for a moment then a scoff was heard within his mind "Hmph, I was wondering when you were going to ask,"
"Kurama, boy am I glad to hear you. Hearing your voice just confirms that everything I went through wasn't a crazy long dream," said Naruto, feeling relieved.
The Bijuu rolled his eyes in response "Of course it wasn't a dream, how else would you have known my name and your past?"
"You got a point there,"
"I always do. So, we're back here, huh?"
Naruto frowned a bit "Yeah, but things are gonna change for sure. Time to get serious now,"
"Yeah, but not entirely. I don't want you to be blonde version of that accursed Uchiha,"
"No need to worry about, still gonna be the fun-loving gamer you know me as, just need to train myself up to have everyone learn the hard way that my bite is far worse than my bark,"
"Good to know, we'll also work on you handling my chakra so that scenario of you going on a rampage wouldn't repeat,"
Naruto nodded in affirmation "Yeah, we need to put a lid on that as soon as possible,"
*Knock**Knock**Knock**Knock*
Hearing someone knocking at this time of the night, Naruto cautiously approached with a kunai in hand then opened it slowly in preparation to react to anything. But then there was no one in sight save for a package which was rather large but quickly realized where it came from as he saw multiple designs and logos which were from Gamindustri then quickly picked it up to carry inside to his room.
Ripping off the tape to open the package, Naruto looked inside to find more boxes inside which he took out to place on the table and came across a letter which was addressed to him which he opened to read.
To the Player Naruto Uzumaki, the Game Masters extend their congrats to your successful gameplay and has rewarded you in accordance to your performance and playstyle. Sent to you is everything you came into ownership in Gamindustri. However, some have been modified in order for you to be able to utilize due to the stark differences in the two dimensions. Hence the Core System is introduced.
The CORE System is based on the capability of utilizing contents or essences which are compressed into colored translucent orbs called Cores and requires energy in order to be activated. In the meantime, you have been given four Cores which are; Weapon Core, Biometal Core, Storage Core and Command Core.
Weapon Core (Red) - Contains weapons which can be called upon and exchanged rapidly. however, energy is required to summon, swap or execute weapon skills.
Biometal Core (Blue) - Contains the Biometals which can be called upon to initiate the Megamerge and transform into a Megaman.
Storage Core (White) - Capable of storing many items regardless of number or size and capable of automatic use but requires energy for the latter function.
Command Core (Yellow) - Allows the user to access various skills which has mostly damaging effects on opponents.
You're still capable of summoning the Elementals with the summoning crystal necklace albeit energy is required to do so and they can remain active for a certain amount of time before being recalled. We also transported your Digimon into a modified Tamagotchi game but cannot be brought out due to the severe lack of data in your world's atmosphere.
Wise usage of these possessions is recommended, we are all looking forward to your next gameplay.
Yours sincerely,
I.C of Gamindustri
Naruto looked through the letter with contemplation "From what I'm reading here; all of my weapons, Biometals and Digimon have been converted to forms that I can use while here in my world except for the summoning of the Elementals with the limitations being that I can only use one at a time and requires my chakra when using them,"
"Let's not forget that these Game Masters been watching you and will continue to do so. Also, there are also hints of us returning to Gamindustri in the future," Kurama pointed out.
"I didn't miss that, glad to know that this isn't a onetime thing for us. Now to check out what we've got here,"
Deciding to start off with the smallest of the packages, Naruto opened it to find the Tamagotchi game which is colored orange and has a keychain attached to it, he turned it on for it to suddenly project a holographic screen which displayed what appears to be a ranch bordered with a wooden fence and a ranch house is situated at the end of it (an; the Normal Digifarm from Digimon World DS). There he saw Herissmon and Gatchmon sleeping on the grassy floor before waking and starting to look around in confusion.
[Gatchmon, where are we?] asked Herissmon nervously.
Gatchmon hummed thoughtfully [I am just as confused]
"I'm glad to see that you two are okay," said Naruto fondly.
The Digimon immediately turned in his direction and saw him via a Holoscreen, cheering at the sight of their Buddy.
[Naruto, it's you!] said Herissmon joyfully.
[What happened? The last thing we recall is having defeated Arfoire then were swallowed up in the beam of light] Gatchmon inquired.
"You see it went like this…," Naruto went on to explain everything that had happened "…that was how you ended up inside this modded Tamagotchi game,"
[I see…apparently, we won't be able to directly interact with your world while we're here] Gatchmon crossed his claws in thought.
[It's okay, so long as we can be with Naruto. I was really scared that we would be separated when he went back to his world!] said Herissmon, being optimistic about things.
Naruto smiled at the Digimon "So long as you're okay, I have little to worry about. Now to check on the other things,"
Opening the next box, Naruto came upon the Summoner Necklace and eagerly wore it around his necklace, making the crystal glow in resonance and he felt the presence of the Elementals in his mind.
"Everyone, are you there?" asked Naruto anxiously.
"Of course, hatchling. Don't think you can be rid of us so easily," Drago scoffed in response.
"We're all here, Naruto," said Stiria with Nix nodding in agreement.
"It is good to be with you again, young one," said Elrath fondly.
Zekrom grunted "So, this is your homeworld. This will be quite interesting,"
"I am ever pleased to be with you, O King," said Garuda.
Naruto smiled happily "It's great to have you guys here too,"
"We're just as relieved, a summoner like you is someone who's only born once every ten centuries. We'll be hard pressed to let you go just like that," Elrath explained.
"In other words, you'll be stuck with us for a long while. Plus, we need to make sure that you represent us properly by training you," said Drago.
"I'll be looking forward to that," Naruto turned back to the box "Now for the rest,"
Inside the next box, Naruto several translucent orbs of different colors alongside a pair of black fingerless gloves (an the Mega Glove from Pokémon X and Y) with one of them possessing some sort of indent meant for something to be installed before realizing that these are the Cores he read about in the letter.
Wanting to try them out, Naruto put on the glove with the empty slot and inserted the Weapon Core then channeled his chakra as he concentrated and summoned Kanshou and Bakuya to his hands much to the blonde's joy of having his favorite weapons again, he cycled through all his weapons before trying out the other Cores with Model X and Model Z being pleased to be reunited with him again.
"I believe there's one more package inside the box, Naruto," Nix pointed out.
"Let's see what it is," Naruto looked inside the box to find that the remaining package were a set of new clothes and footwear along with duplicates of them, he found a note pinned to it which read.
We're aware that you would miss the clothes from the other world and so sent these as an additional gift which is closer to your preferences.
Yours sincerely,
I.C of Gamindustri
Naruto smiled at this "These guys really know how to please a guy and one of the first steps to my changes," he turned to the window to look at the village "I gonna show the village and the world who Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze really is! That he won't bow his head to anybody and he's got self-respect!"
Drago huffed in approval "Spoken like a dragon; not lowering your head to those who have not proven themselves worthy. You don't need to bloody yourself to earn the respect of those that don't acknowledge your true value but rather the other way around!"
Zekrom nodded in agreement "Indeed, building uphold yourself ideals which you won't regret and remain steadfast against all oppositions that would go against you,"
"We'll always be here to help you, no matter what happens," said Stiria.
"O king, rest assured that the wind will always be your ally," said Garuda in support.
"Know that the Elementals will never abandon their summoner and always be their sword and shield," said Elrath.
[Us too!] said Herissmon with Gatchmon nodding in agreement.
"It goes without saying that we'll be on your side," said Model X.
Naruto smiled genuinely in response "Thanks you guys, you're the best,"
The next day at the academy, everyone was in their classroom waiting for Iruka to arrive and begin the lessons as they did random things to while away the time.
Ino and Sakura along with the fangirls were ogling at Sasuke who was ignoring them but no doubt enjoying the attention. Hinata was reading a book but at times glancing towards the door for someone, Shino sat alone with slight buzzing with his clothes as he holds a conversation with his swarm, Chouji was snacking on a bag of chips like always, Shikamaru was snoozing, and Kiba was playing a video game on his handheld with Akamaru perched atop his head and watching him play.
Iruka eventually arrived and went towards his desk "Alright everyone, take your seats while I take attendance…," he began calling out the names and checking them out on the registry as they responded until "Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Don't bother yourself, sensei. Apparently, the loser won't be coming to school today," said Sasuke in a uncaring tone.
"That's right, the baka is not worth it!" Sakura yelled in support, trying to garner favor with the Uchiha.
Iruka along with Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji and Hinata glared at the two with the former about to scold them for their slander. That was when the door opened and someone stepped inside.
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. I was doing something at home and I ended up late," turns out that it was Naruto, but his appearance has stunned everyone due to what he was wearing.
He wore an open orange parka jacket with two Uzumaki swirls on the left shoulder over a black high collar t-shirt which has a red-and-white Uzumaki swirl on the chest. He also wore black cargo shorts with orange drawstrings at the waist and black drawstrings around the cuffs, several orange designs are on the left pant leg, a pair of black fingerless gloves with a blue orb embedded in one of them, and a pair of black ninja sandals with orange accents and white soles.
"N-Naruto, is that you?" asked Iruka in shock.
Naruto looked at Iruka with a smirk "It's me alright, I had undergone some changes with one of them being my clothes,"
"Changes?" asked Shikamaru, having woken up and saw Naruto's new clothes as well as the different vibe he's now emitting "Something must have happened, he looks more focused like he has been made aware of himself,"
"I don't know what you mean by changes but…," Kiba did two finger guns towards Naruto "You seriously dripping bro!"
"Arf Arf!" Even Akamaru was in support of Kiba's statement.
Naruto grinned back "Thanks man,"
However, someone had to spoil the good mood and it was Sakura "Those new clothes don't change who you are, baka! There's no way I'll be impressed by you!"
Naruto's happy expression instantly turned to that of disdain when he turned to the pinkette "I don't recall saying that I changed my clothes to impress you, Haruno. So would you mind keeping your opinions to yourself?"
"…!"
Everybody was seriously confounded by what Naruto has just said and how he didn't address Sakura by her first name. it was no secret that Naruto has a major crush on Sakura and persistently sought for her affection only to be violently rebuffed but would try once more, so for him to say such a thing was so out of the norm that they didn't know how to react properly. Even Sakura herself was stunned speechless; she had always wanted Naruto to leave her alone with the belief that he was disrupting her attempts to go out with Sasuke but now that she's getting what she had wanted…she felt unsure.
Chouji was shocked to the point of not eating his chips "Whoa, I know we advised Naruto to move on but…whoa,"
"Shocking, but not unwelcome," said Shikamaru.
Iruka managed to snap back into focus "Um, well…please take a seat, Naruto. We're behind time as is,"
Naruto nodded in affirmation "Sure thing, Iruka-sensei,"
Sasuke watched Naruto from the corner of his eye and noted that the way he was walking was of that of someone whose self-confidence isn't born from arrogance but rather from pride of oneself. He frowned when Naruto didn't so much as glance at him when he passed by and went to sit next to Kiba.
"Hey man, I don't know what happened to you over the weekend but I'm liking it. Just hoping that none of the changes include no video games,"
"No way, I'm gamer for life!" said Naruto with a smirk "So, what plans do we have later?"
"Shikamaru will bring you up to speed on what you missed over the weekend during lunchbreak," said Chouji who had resumed eating his chips.
"Gotcha,"
"So, these are your classmates? I'm not impressed," said Drago nonchalantly.
"That was the same thing you had said about the boy from what the Shiva Sisters told me," said Zekrom.
"The hatchling's different!"
"You mustn't be so quick to judge, Drago. I sense great potential in some of them. However, I sense great darkness from one of them," said Elrath, frowning at the end of his sentence.
Kurama snorted in derision "Doesn't take a genius to figure who it is, the clan is so obvious,"
"I like your teacher, he appears to be quite considerate towards you," said Nix.
"I know, which is why I'm gonna take things seriously from now on and have him worry less about me," thought Naruto.
The blonde ninja aspirant's eyes burned with flames of determination as he has firmly decided to become the strongest ninja with the goal of being Hokage as a secondary. He wants to be the best if he wants to be there for his friends and those whom he holds close to his heart. This is the path he has set himself upon and he will definitely not stray from it, no matter difficult it gets.
This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, it has been a year since the final battle against Arfoire but Naruto and Neptune hadn't returned. Histoire traveled to the four Lands to visit the other CPUs and saw that they were doing well before going to see Compa who was about to go on a picnic with IF. That was when Neptune came crashing through into the apartment. Neptune gathered everyone to let them know of what happened after the battle and that Naruto had returned to his world but promised to return to the one day.
On the other hand, Naruto found himself back in his world and received a package from the mysterious Game Masters which contained everything he had along wit a few new things but were modified in a way so he can use them in his world. Resolving to better himself for the sake of himself and his friends, Naruto prepares to take things much more seriously and show everyone just who he is.
As you may have noticed, I made it that time went slower in the Elemental Nations than in Gamindustri. Also, now that Naruto got everything but were tweaked in a way that he can use them out of the other world by borrowing a bit of the Materia mechanic from Final Fantasy with the summons utilizing the same mechanic from Final Fantasy VII Remake. I'll do several chapters relating to Naruto spending his time while in the Elemental Nations with timeskips here and there and the kind of effects he will have on everybody but I'm not going to make him edgy or anything like that as I want to keep to the core aspect of Naruto excluding ignorance which is him being less impulsive and more strategic. As a heads-up, he'll be returning to Gamindustri in time for the Rebirth arc to help Nepgear and the others. Another thing, Ram and Rom are NOT going to be in the pairings but rather be younger siblings to him
If you want a clear image of Naruto's new clothes, refer to the cover image.
Be sure to read and review.
This is Hussbek from Ghana.
Signing out and staying alive.