Two weeks later, Fairy Tail
Coming to the back of the guild. Makarov lead his grandson to the sword embedded into the stone. Siegfried looked at the sword in confusion before giving Makarov a curious look.
"Gildarts found it the day Lisanna returned. He said he couldn't pull it out." Makarov said. "I thought he was pulling my leg and joking around. Except not even I could pull it out. Not even with an ample amount of Titan magic. The thing wouldn't so much as budge." he explained.
"Were you able to move or destroy the stone?" Siegfried asked.
"Yes and Gildarts put it back together. The stupid thing refuses to come out." Makarov answered. Siegfried then approached the sword, "I asked Erza about it and she said it wasn't hers and spent an entire three days trying to take it out." he added.
Siegfried slowly reached for the sword as he gazed at it. Using his Sharingan, Siegfried tried to locate an enchantment or sealing magic keeping the blade in place. Knowing Erza and the men, this weapon should have been badly damaged by now. Siegfried started to assume the blade was sentient like Soul Calibur and that it was just very stubborn. He was very curious as to who put this sword here and why it was stuck.
Any number of reasons were plausible and not all of them were for the sake of laughs and aesthetics. However, once Siegfried's fingertips were about to touch the sword's handle. He immediately backed away as his eyes flashed and he saw another vision. Prompting him to back away from the sword as if it were about to explode.
"What's wrong?" Makarov asked.
"Not ready." Siegfried answered.
"Not ready? What, you forgot you sword gloves or something?" Makarov asked.
Siegfried shook his head, "This is no ordinary sword. It can't be lifted by anyone with brute force." he said as he pointed at it.
"So what? We have to ask it to move nicely?" Makarov asked.
"Someone worthy will claim it." Siegfried answered as he left.
"Well that will do me no good." Makarov said as he tried to think of a good way to remove the sword.
Sure there was Erza who refused to surrender to the sword. So she would likely return later at another attempt to remove it from the stone. All the while Siegfried was having these words replaying in his head.
"Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise king of all."
Chapter 22 - Blind
In the past, With Sarada, a few moments earlier
With her mother practically kicking her out of the house to help Siegfried be accustomed to the village. Sarada was wondering what is so special about the blond swordsman. Sure, there was the cursed sword but any person could have stumbled onto it. Siegfried himself mentioned other people were after it. Sarada just felt like there is more worth understanding.
"This place is good." Siegfried said as he stopped.
"Huh?" Sarada asked before looking at the Ichiraku ramen restaurant.
"Sorry, did you want to eat something? I haven't eaten yet." Siegfried said.
"Isn't it early to be eating noodles?" Sarada asked.
Siegfried gave her a serious stare, "It's never too early and it's ramen, not noodles." he said before going inside.
Inside, Siegfried went up to the stools again. Where he was greeted by Ayame's friendly smile.
"Welcome to… hi there! I see my cooking allured you back." Ayame said jokingly.
"It's hard to find good ramen lately." Siegfried replied making Ayame laugh.
"What can I get you for today?" Ayame asked.
Sarada sweat dropped as she took her seat. Where she listened to Ayame take Siegfried's order. Making Sarada look surprised by the intake of ramen that her new acquaintance demands. Though it was none of business, she wonders how someone fit enough to fight a chunin could eat that much salty food.
"Hello there Sarada, are you friends with Sieg-san as well?" Ayame asked.
"Acquaintances, my mother wants me to show him around." Sarada answered.
Despite rarely being at Ichiraku's, Sakura would visit this place on occasion. Though Sakura never really explained why as Sarada wasn't really a fan of ramen, Ayame knew Sarada through her parents.
"I'll just take some bean paste." Sarada said as it was the only thing she enjoyed at the restaurant.
"Okay, I'll be back with both of your orders." Ayame said as she went into the kitchen.
After their meals arrived and the two started eating. Sarada couldn't help but gawk at Siegfried's appetite for ramen while Ayame merely smiled at the scene. While there are chefs who have pride and feel love when their cooking is devoured with gusto. There was something she didn't find natural about this scene.
"You want some oxygen with your food?" Sarada asked.
"I've trained myself to breath underwater for extended periods of time. I can handle eating ramen." Siegfried answered.
"Do you have to eat it like someone is going to steal it? Seriously, not even Chocho eats this fast." Sarada asked.
Siegfried finished his current bowl and wiped his mouth. He didn't want to answer while his mouth is full as it would be bad manners. However, as he looked at Sarada in preparation to give her in answer. He suddenly stood up and raised his guard.
"What? What are you doing now? Is that a manga pose?" Sarada asked.
Siegfried sat back down, "Sorry, for some reason I thought you were going to angrily hit me for poor manners." he said.
Sarada sweat dropped, "I'm not a neanderthal and besides, we're in public." she said.
Ayame giggled to herself, "Sounds like someone I know." she said.
With that awkward scene finished, Siegfried finished his last bowl and put down his money.
"Thank you for the meal." Siegfried said as Ayame nodded. "There should also be enough for Sarada-san too." He said.
"That's sweet." Ayame said.
"H-Hey! I can pay for myself!" Sarada said, surprised by the gesture. Siegfried didn't reply as he already started leaving, "Don't wander off on your own!" she said as she followed him.
Ayame smiled at the pair, "Sarada's date seemed nice. Though I wouldn't say they are compatible." She said as the two left.
Outside
"Where to now?" Siegfried asked.
"You were the one that was leading the way!" Sarada replied.
"I did now, didn't I?" Siegfried asked as he suddenly lost himself.
Sarada sighed, "Okay, I know this is personal, but can you tell me why you came to Konoha? It sounds like there's an important reason as to why you are here, but now you've been rushing to leave." She asked.
Siegfried closed his eyes and sighed, "Do you remember that transformation of mine?" he asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Sarada asked as she was still in the dark about it.
Unfortunately, that information would still be withheld from her. As Iwabe decided to show his stupid face. Actually, it seemed as he had his own path only to stop as he walked up to Siegfried. No doubt angry from his beating earlier in the day. As its less than likely that Iwabe had been humbled by the fight.
"So you're still walking around, tourist?" Iwabe asked with a sneer.
"Drop it Yuino, you can't be bothering foreign visitors." Sarada said.
"Well I think these foreign visitors should stop bother us." Iwabe said as he got into Siegfried's face.
Which Siegfried proceeded to push, "I see dental care is also something you want to avoid." he said.
That only made Iwabe feel more angry, "Well it's not like you foreigners know anything about hardships. You can all just wave it away with magic and crap." he said.
"And you know about hardship?" Siegfried asked with a raised brow.
"That's right! I know what a shinobi's life is about!" Iwabe said trying to look down on Siegfried. Yet it didn't help that Siegfried was about the same height, "My own grandfather fought in Kiri's civil war and I had to work my ass off after failing so many times in the academy!" Iwabe yelled.
Sarada sweat dropped, "You failed because you couldn't pass any test or any practice outside of ninjutsu and taijutsu." he said.
"It sounds like you also have an inferiority complex." Siegfried adds as Sarada snorts. "You're using someone else's experiences and your own failure to act tough. History means nothing if you don't learn from it and adapt it. Like the beating I gave you earlier." he said.
"I think you failed to realize that he doesn't learn." Sarada said with a small smile.
"Why do you even bother trying if all you're going to do is get angry and shout about your pride?" Siegfried curiously asked.
Then again, it was a bad idea to ask a brute about something delicate. King Solomon did say that fools will never accept wisdom from a wiseman and take it as foolishness themselves. So with that, Iwabe spouted on about his stupidity.
"Because I'm strong, unlike the rest of this generation and all shinobi should be strong. The last shinobi war ended over 20 years ago and it made everyone lazy and weak." Iwabe started to spout on. "Uchiha here is the daughter of the strongest shinobi and he's just an empty shell after fighting some weakling and feeling bad about it." he explained.
"Iwabe, just shut up already. You don't even bother to listen to anything. So why bother using history if you don't know the whole story?" Sarada asked as her dad's past was sensitive or something.
"Let's go Sarada, I don't want either of us losing more brain cells." Siegfried said as Sarada nodded in agreement.
"Fight me again then!" Iwabe demanded.
"He's really tempting me to kick his ass." Siegfried said.
Iwabe then ran in front of them, "I'll take you both on! I can handle the daughter coward and some foreigner!" he yelled.
Sarada groaned, "Iwabe, you really need to grow up. Besides, I'm not defending my dad but we're different people and you couldn't care less if Sieg-san was some drifter or war hero. You're just a jerk who can't handle not getting what you want." she explained.
"Well he isn't much in my eyes either way!" Iwabe argues. "It's bad enough that they give a statue to some weakling at the Valley of the End for losing. Now…" Iwabe was interrupted when he met Siegfried's fist with his face.
Sarada sighed as Siegfried was having to beat the crap out of Iwabe, "This guy never learns." she said. That's when she saw the explosion in the distance, "And I think I'm going to be homeless by this point." she said.
Siegfried dropped Iwabe, "No, that's a bad sign." he said.
"I know, it was my humor trying to kick in." Sarada said.
"Cute." Siegfried said before grabbing Sarada and running towards her apartment.
"Hey! Don't grab me like that!" Sarada said with a blush forming around her cheeks.
Ignoring Sarada's pleas, Siegfried arrived at the new apartment where Sakura now lived. Only to find a good portion of it smashed as if a meteor hand landed nearby. Luckily, there was no sign of any injured civilians nearby. As Siegfried properly surveyed the area, he felt his and Sarada's hands being broken apart by Sasuke who appeared out of nowhere.
"I don't approve of this." Sasuke said.
"Your home is attacked and you're concerned by me grabbing your daughter's hand?" Siegfried asked.
"You're too young and not good enough for her." Sasuke said before punched him in the side.
"My mother, remember? We need to find her!" Sarada said as Sasuke winced.
"I see you're progressing with your mother's training." Sasuke said as the two broke off to look for the cause of the destruction.
After a few minutes of moving around the wreckage and trying to move around the damaged remains of the Uchiha apartment. Sasuke was able to notice signs of a fight. Which on it's own was obvious as Sakura still had monstrous strength in her age. However, she's not stupid enough to just hit whatever she wants anymore. There was a clear sign that whatever or whoever attacked this place was hostile.
Soon enough, he heard Sarada call out to him. Where she proceeded to lift up some debris as Siegfried pulled out a large tri pronged blade.
"This looks familiar don't you think?" Siegfried asked.
"The attackers from the other day. The ones with my dojutsu used the same weapon." Sasuke answered as he took the weapon.
"You think you can trace it somehow?" Siegfried asked as Sasuke thought it over.
A brief while later
Despite the difficulty, Sasuke had an idea and it lead to him revealing his Susanoo. Though with the loss of his old eye, he had to work with Orochimaru to create a sort of artificial eye. Unfortunately, it did not function as a perfect substitute for the lost Rinnegan let alone a Sharingan with at least a single tomoe. It functioned enough to help reduce Sasuke's exhaustion from using his Mangekyou Sharingan abilities as well as tapping into Susanoo.
He wasn't sure if it was good enough for Izanami and Izanagi, but it's not something he wanted to test out. So now, Sasuke was flying high in the sky with Sarada and Siegfried on his back. With the mission to save Sakura who was most likely abducted by those fake Uchiha children.
"Sieg-san, forgive me for not paying attention but why are you tagging along?" Sarada asked.
"Despite the bad reception and the fact I really want to avoid pink haired people." Siegfried started to say making Sarada sweat drop. "You could say I'm someone who likes to help. As well as someone who likes to put down really bad people." he said.
"That… is still super vague, but I'm grateful." Sarada said.
Sasuke caught onto what Siegfried said, 'I shouldn't over think it. The only person Naruto never tried to talk things out with is Kaguya.' he thought. That's when Sasuke realized something, 'Wait a minute, he said he can't because he can't feel empathy from her. Does that mean Naruto would done the same with someone like Danzo?' he wondered.
Unknown to Sasuke, Siegfried would be as hesitant to kill someone like Danzo as Itachi would be hesitant to not eat a box of pocky.
Ignoring that Siegfried is once again completely different from his past life. Sasuke finally arrived and crashed down into the middle of some ice hide out. Where Sasuke proceeded to look around for his wife.
"Damn it, Naruto use your sensory and…"
"Dad what are you talking about?" Sarada asked.
"And did you call me by my last name? Also, what's sensory?" Siegfried asked as he felt confused.
Sasuke shook his head, "Never mind, I just… we'll go this way." he said leading the way.
When he suddenly felt the whole place shake. Sasuke smirked as he could recognize his wife's monstrous strength. There was no doubt that Sakura stopped playing damsel in distress and proceeded to open a can of whoop ass.
"Just follow that." Sasuke said as the tremors were everywhere.
By the time they found Sakura, they found her standing over an injured mutated man with Sharingan eyes all over his body. It was safe to say that this job is probably already over. Though the mutated man looked like he was ready to go another round. At least that's what he is trying to say.
"I need new organs again." The man said as he looked at the children.
"Your entire body is broken. So mobility will be a big issue for you." Sasuke said as he analyzed the man. "We're going to take you into interrogation back at Konoha." he said.
"Will you now?" the man asked with a scoff. 'I'll have to use the rest of the shins as decoys to escape.' he thought.
Before Shin could command his minions to do anything. All five present shins proceeded to stab him with their tri pronged weapons. Siegfried and the rest of the group watched in shock as the younger Shins betrayed their master.
"What are you…?" Shin tried to say.
"We no longer listen to you father." the younger Shin said.
"How dare you!? I am the original damn it!" Shin yelled angrily.
"Your eyes are as old and decrepit as you are." the younger said. "Now we will be the ones who will progress and evolve. That course of action is most logical." he said as an army of Shins appeared.
Despite the entire army of Shins that appeared. Most of them looked of lesser quality with a few being chubby, some being too skinny and others hardly looking capable of being able to fight.
"I wonder why this hasn't happened yet." Sakura said.
"What?" Siegfried asked.
"That man Shin, he made them all so he can have an army and uses them as cadavers. All so he can rebuild the Akatsuki." Sakura explained as the last part surprised Sasuke.
"When… where did they all come from?" Shin asked.
"We made them. We no longer need you, father." the younger Shin said.
The Konoha group then focused on the army of Shins heading their way. Including a gigantic pudgy one that coming out from the back of the crowd. Seeing the high numbers and possibly no chance of winning in direct confrontation. Siegfried summoned Soul Calibur to his side and stabbed it into the ground. Causing a giant wave of azure crystals to run through the Shin army. Subsequently piercing any that weren't able to move away in time including the giant Shin thought he could stop the wave with his body.
"I suggest a retreat for now." Siegfried said as more Shin clones arrived.
Which Sarada dispersed by jumping into the middle of the army in between the crystals. Where she proceeded to smash her fist against the ground. Creating a giant earthquake with the punch she dealt.
"SHANARO!" Sarada yelled.
"That's my girl!" Sakura said as kicked away another Shin clone.
"You must be very proud." Siegfried said before blocking a strike from behind.
"I really am." Sakura replied.
Sasuke then turned around to find Shin missing. Completely, it wasn't like he just dragged himself away and he was ten feet to the right or left. This left the man feeling cautious as Shin must have found an opening when the new Shin clones started to attack. It also looked like the Shin army was not willing to quit just yet.
"There's still too many!" Sarada yells out.
"Just keep your distance and keep hitting." Siegfried said as he parried another Shin's attack before eviscerating him.
"I can never unsee that." Sakura said.
"I though ninja have come to terms with death." Siegfried said.
"That's not entirely what I meant." Sakura said.
As the group continued to fight while thinking of a means to escape. Sasuke noticed a strange little creature with a giant eyeball running among the liter of bodies and fragments of Soul Calbur's crystals. It was fairly tricky to keep up with the creature's direction but Sasuke immediately realized that was something off about it. Especially as he noticed a couple of dead ones among the bodies.
"Sakura! The eyeball creature!" Sasuke shouted.
"Huh?" Sakura asked as she saw the chibi creature running. She immediately noticed that it had the Sharingan and tried to stomp on it, "Get back here you!" she yelled as she tried to crush it.
The creature continued to move around the mess as Sakura tried to kill. There was no assurance as to it's capabilities but seeing that Shin most likely created it. That thing's danger level is very high.
*SPLAT*
A good thing Siegfried picked up on the memo, "I don't know what that happened, but it's dead." he said.
"There's still another one!" Sasuke yelled as he slaps a crowd of Shin clones away with his Susanoo arm.
It took a moment to notice the other Sharingan eye creature, but when it was found. It was standing right in front of Sarada and staring right at her. Sarada immediately jumped away in fright as the creature's Sharingan started to spin. As Shin reappeared with one of the weapons his "sons" were carrying.
"Sarada!" Sakura yelled as she tried to lunge at Shin.
Sakura barely had the chance to save her daughter. As Siegfried poured a lot of magic into his legs to attack Shin. The result ended with Sakura tackling her daughter out of the way and Shin being bisected from the waist down. The fake Uchiha vomited blood as he hit the ground.
"Fools, without me. The human raise will never evolve and will self destruct unless I destroy them. Do you not see… ACK!" Shin finally shut up form his self contradictory beliefs when Soul Calibur was stabbed into his head.
"Amaterasu!" Sasuke yelled as he encircled the remaining Shin clones in a ring of black fire they couldn't cross.
"Finally, thanks mom. You too Sieg-san." Sarada said gratefully.
Siegfried continued to mutilate Shin's body, "Most important rule of killing dark mages. Don't double tap, triple tap." he said.
"I think he's pretty dead by this point." Sasuke said as he pushed Siegfried away and burned Shin's remains. "You are too intense with that blade Nar- Sieg-san." he said catching himself as he faced Siegfried.
Only to turn look on in horror.
"Screw you teme. I saved Sakura-chan jr." Siegfried said as his good eye was destroyed. "Huh? Where did that nickname come from? Also, how come my Reinforcement magic didn't… make my… bones… explode?" he asked before collapsing.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he bent down reach for him. "Hey, wake the hell up!" he said unable to get a response.
In Siegfried's mind
Siegfried slowly stirred awake on a wet floor. As he slowly stood up, he found himself in a strange facility with hardly any light and nothing but water leaking from the ceiling. Hoping he wasn't in a sewer, Siegfried slowly stumbled out of the strange labyrinth he found himself in. Eventually, he found himself on a path leading to the outside.
As Siegfried navigated his way out. He eventually found himself in a canyon surrounded by healthy vegetation. He felt some familiarity about this place he stumbled onto. Looking around, Siegfried could make out the shape of the canyon but felt confused as he saw two statues facing each other with a large river way leading down the middle.
"No, this is somewhere else. Where am I?" Siegfried asked himself.
"In your head." a voice answered.
Siegfried quickly turned around and saw a blond boy around his age. He had blue eyes, three whisker marks on each cheek and an orange and black tracksuit. Siegfried looked at the boy and made sure he was real. Because a part of this journey felt too strange to comprehend. Such as the transition from the strange sewer to this canyon.
"Who are you?" Siegfried asked.
"That's literally the first thing you're going to ask me?" the boy asked. Siegfried turned around and started moving on his own, "Hey I'm sorry! I felt really underwhelmed with that intro." he said.
"You are a terrible spirit." Siegfried said.
"Hey! I'm not a ghost! Just listen! This is a super important life changing thing I have to explain!" The boy shouted.
In reality
Tsunade was really stressed out, "I should have never let him go outside in the first place." she said.
"If it wasn't for Sieg-san, Sarada could have been dead Shishou. With all due respect, I prefer not thinking about what happened but what we can do right now." Sakura said as she was also stressed.
"I know Sakura, it's just that. This is too much. There are only a few times a doctor can say this and this is one of those moments." Tsunade said as she scanned over Siegfried's body. "At least it isn't a whole lot." she said.
Right now, the only issue was Siegfried's sudden exhaustion from when he collapsed along with Shin's attack on his eyes. Since it was the only thing that the fake Uchiha was able to attack at with his limited movement between the chibi eye monsters. Though now, it looked like the Azure Knight might be blind.
"I think we can still perform an eye transplant. It's a risk, but it can work if we work quickly." Tsunade said.
"I'll check the list." Sakura said as she went to look for transplant donations.
Tsunade cursed as she made a deep examination, 'That was his good eye. If I'm right, Naruto-Sieg, his other eye is already failing and he's bound to go blind in a year or a few months.' she thought.
Now both eyes were on the line and little did Tsunade know. There were no eyes left to be transplanted.
In Siegfried's mind
Siegfried punched the ground with all the might he could muster, "That's bullshit!" he cursed loudly. "This is another Inferno's tricks!" he yelled.
Siegfried refused to believe it. He already had enough experiences with a demon, spirits, all sorts of monsters and people with dark abilities.
"It's the truth Sieg, we're the same person or at least that's what we're supposed to be." the boy said.
Siegfried stood up and looked away, "I've already been through enough. I can tell when Inferno is manipulating me." he said. "Naruto Uzumaki was a hero, a boy turned legend. I'm just some fanboy with bad luck." he said.
"You talk like my, our life is any easier Sieg." Naruto said as he stood up too. "Look, you don't want to believe it and I get your stressed. But there's a lot of things not even a bunch of books or even my close friends would know." he told his other self.
"And what? Are you going to tell me to fuse both cursed swords?" Siegfried asked stubbornly.
"Well our behavior is the same at least so that makes you easy, yet frustrating to read." Naruto started to say. "No, look inside. It's going to be ard to see but think of this. Imagine a piece of metal with the kanji for oil on it." he said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Siegfried asked.
Naruto groaned, "It feels like I'm talking to a sassy wall. Just picture it." he said.
"Fine." Siegfried said as he tried picturing what Naruto said.
A few seconds later, an image of an old man in a kabuki outfit appeared. Then a strange shrine in the middle of the woods with a sake filled saucer in front of it appeared.
"What is that? Some kind of monument?" Siegfried asked.
"Think deeper, where is it?" Naruto asked.
"It's here in Konoha, is this something Inferno knows?" Siegfried asked.
"That sword takes knowledge, but not memories." Naruto pointed out.
Siegfried shook his head, "It's a memorial then. Someone died a long time ago and it's in memory to a… a… a pervert?" he asked.
Naruto grinned, "Yeah, that's Ero-sennin and he was my teacher. Well, our teacher." he said.
"Stop saying it like that." Siegfried said.
Naruto frowned, "Sieg, I know there's a lot to take in and this is pretty intense. Trust me, if we still had the same personality. You would probably be screaming your head off and talking about being Hokage and the fox trying to trick us." he explained with an accurate detail of his own character.
"What fox?" Siegfried asked.
"The big fur ball with nine tails." Naruto answered as if it would be obvious.
"You mean Kurama?" Siegfried asked.
Back outside
Sakura shook her head, "There aren't any donors Tsunade-sama. No left over organs whatever they're called now." She said.
Tsunade sighed, "I'm certainly not asking the snake to make a synthetic one." she said having read the report about Shin's existence. "At best, I can perform a surgery to at least help the remaining eye. Maybe that can help restore some vision or slow down the degeneration." she said as she tried to plan out an operation.
Only to find herself being disturbed. Tsunade's eye twitched as she saw Sasuke at the window as Sakura opened up the curtains. If it wasn't bad enough that she had her own personal reasons to want the Uchiha dead. He's asking for entry in the wrong place at the worst time like an annoying neighbor with nothing better to do.
"Don't let him in Sakura." Tsunade said.
Sakura proceeded to close the curtains, "I think my husband really is senile." she said awkwardly. Then she heard the glass cracking, "Oh hell no!" she yelled as she opened them again.
Sasuke was slowly using wind release to slowly crack the glass by making a small circle. Acting like he's Catwoman trying to steal expensive jewelry. Sasuke tried to reach for the lever that opened the window only for Sakura to slap his hand. The retired kunoichi groaned as she started opening the window by herself.
"You know, I'm starting to think that besides him being annoying. Naruto worked as an outlet for when you frustrated me." Sakura said as Sasuke came in.
"I brought a jar." Sasuke said while ignoring his wife.
Sakura sighed, "Yes, keep ignoring me." she said sarcastically.
"Why the hell would we care that you brought a jar?" Tsunade asked as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I overheard everything from the outside and I didn't want to wait and risk it." Sasuke said.
"Again, why would we care about a jar?" Tsunade asked, thinking Sasuke was a bad listener.
So Sasuke raised up the jar, "Before the war, when I battled Itachi and passed out. I was found by Obito who explained many things. When he did that, he had my eyes replaced with Itachi's." he started to explain as Tsunade looked at the jar with wide eyes. "I didn't think about it until a long time later. I was surprised to see that these things were still fresh." he explained
For inside of the jar, were Sasuke's original eyes.
"Why would I use your eyes!? Better yet, how do I know these eyes even work?" Tsunade asked.
"Because you're a doctor and you would know. There aren't any other donors from the look on Sakura's face." Sasuke said as he started to pressure the former Godaime.
With Siegfried again
Sitting down, Siegfried tried to think about what Naruto was telling him. There are a few similarities and pieces of information that couldn't be written off as coincidence. Like Rasengan, Siegfried has used Rasengan out of nowhere before he could claim Soul Edge. It wasn't as random as having blond hair and the same face shape and even having a great liking towards ramen.
"Then how am I talking to you?" Siegfried asked.
"What?" Naruto asked.
Siegfried groaned, "Reincarnation isn't just having power or thoughts of another person. It means we have the same soul, so one of us wouldn't be here." he said to the best of his ability.
"I think it's time you learn the whole truth Sieg. I wasn't entirely conscious, but then again. I think I'm like a split personality by this point." Naruto said.
"Now you're making even less sense." Siegfried replied.
Naruto sighed as the world around them started to change. Siegfried stood up and felt tension as darkness enveloped the world before becoming bright again. That's when he realized where he was.
"We're outside of grandma Porlyusica's treehouse." Siegfried said as he walked up to the door.
"It's not an illusion Sieg. It's a memory." Naruto said.
"Then it's not real, it feels real." Siegfried replied.
"Hey, I'm not used to this either. You're essentially talking to yourself, remember that." Naruto said as Siegfried looked inside.
"You should take this more seriously Sieg. Mordred doesn't like showing her emotions, but she's concerned for you." said the voice of Porlyusica.
Siegfried's eyes widened as he saw his adoptive grandmother talking to his father. The Azure Knight felt a pang in his heart as he looked at his father who was just inside. Thinking about it, the young man never knew his father or even saw him. His little eyes saw Mordred for a few days before she passed away, but Sieg had passed away before then.
"I am, I feel very concerned for my health as well." Sieg said before coughing.
Porlyusica sighed, "Then start acting like it. Your wife may be pregnant, but she is not helpless enough for you to constantly find work at the guild." she said sternly. "Honestly, Mordred is a big girl, but she still needs emotional support. So you constantly moving around in your current health is not helping." she said.
"If this is a memory, how can I see this?" Siegfried asked.
"I'm not completely sure, but I think it's part of the process. I think with a bit of my memory going into you, you can somehow see the memories of others." Naruto explained.
"Memory manipulation?" Siegfried asked.
"I guess, I said wasn't conscious for it but like I said. I could just be a split personality, not a full soul since… well you exist now." Naruto answered.
"What else should I know?" Siegfried asked as he looked at his former incarnation.
In reality, two days later
The surgery was successful and Siegfried's new eyes were implanted. Now it was a matter of waiting until he recovered and woke up. Surprisingly, it would be very sudden despite the stress put into his body. Siegfried sat up and regained consciousness where he took the time to adjust to his surroundings.
It wouldn't be too long before he realized he was blinded. Leaving him unaware of the bandages around his eyes from the surgery. Despite only his eyes having taken damage over any other part of his body. Siegfried still felt a bit lethargic from having suddenly awakened. Siegfried initially struggled to try and remove the bandages before trying to find something sharp.
Instead, he decided to summon a small bladed weapon to his side.
"At least I have that." Siegfried said in a tired voice as a golden portal handed him a dirk.
Using the blade, Siegfried cut off the bandages. Though he kept his eyes closed for a few minutes as he still felt some pain. He realized maybe it was a bad idea to do, but Siegfried still felt a bit disoriented and confused as to what happened. Siegfried lied back down for a minute as to catch the breath he suddenly lost.
'What happened anyways?' Siegfried wondered as he was trying to remember what happened.
It was still hard to digest, Naruto Uzumaki was in his head. Siegfried was still in disbelief as he thought about it. Siegfried was never educated in religion or any form of spirituality. The concept of reincarnation was just a silly story in his mind. Like Macao would tell him in the future, death was where life ends and there's nothing to avoid it. With that in mind, Siegfried tried to remember what happened before he was in his mental world. Only briefly remembering the events with Shin and saving Sarada.
Siegfried then slowly opened his eyes and found his vision to be hazy. Not just blurry, fuzzy or out of place in any way. It felt as if colors were hard to see and the lights trying to move over the window covers felt too bright. Even if they weren't aimed at him, Siegfried felt like the sun's rays were very painful. The Azure Knight slowly attempted to stand and through what felt like an eternity, walked towards the bathroom.
(Gears of War 2 OST - Dom and Maria)
Splashing some water into his face, Siegfried's vision started to grow bright again. It started to make his head ache as visions started to surround his mind. Siegfried grunted as he started to slip on the floor.
"Ninshu…"
"…scaly lizard."
"ARIA!"
"Curse of Hatred…"
"Thirty three…"
"Two sons…"
"Cycle of Goodness…"
Siegfried started to pant as the voices continued to grow louder.
"Your eyes disgust me, child of savages!"
Siegfried looked straight at the bathroom mirror and saw his his sclera turn black, his eyes red and three black tomoe appear. The last thing he saw before collapsing backwards was his eyes morphing into a six point star shape. When he hit the floor, Siegfried let out a pain filled groan. The resulting noise cause someone to come running in.
"Sieg!" Siegfried slowly tried to crawl back up.
Only to be gently touched, however that alone made him feel startled. He pushed away his helper only to look up to see a woman in a white dress with pink hair obscuring her eyes trying to help him. Siegfried rubbed his face as he was drenched in sweat before letting the woman help him into back in the bed.
As she helped Siegfried up, all he could hear were concerned groans and mumbles. Almost as if the person helping him had some sort of difficult time trying to speak. However, as the the woman let go of him, Siegfried quickly pulled her into a hug.
"I missed you." Siegfried said as the woman looked stunned. "Please, don't leave me again." he pleaded as he held her tightly.
"Okay." the woman said.
Siegfried let out a few tears, "I thought there was nothing left for me without you…" he said as he started to weep.
In reality, the person that Siegfried thought he was speaking to was not really there. Instead, Sarada was waiting outside and ran in looking for Siegfried out of concern. Feeling indebted to him, Sarada was waiting for him to wake up in order to show her gratitude. When she found him on the ground, she immediately ran to him and asked if he was okay. Now, she was afraid that his state of mind was messed up.
"Sieg-san…" Sarada tried to say.
"I love you…" Siegfried interrupted. Sarada blushed and started to stutter when he finished, "…Franny." he said.
"What? Who's Franny?" Sarada asked but Siegfried sounded silent again. Sarada felt scared again, "Nurse!" she shouted in an attempt to get help.
(End of song)
End of flashback
Levy sighed as she put away the letters. She thought it would be best to take a break for a few days and she made sure to organize the finished letters and the unread letters in separate piles. However, as she soon found her piles turning into a mess when a stray letter fell out from the unread section. Though the letter was clearly opened so Levy had to double check as the letters all had a wax seal.
So a random letter couldn't have opened on it's own.
"Maybe I'm too tired to notice." Levy said as she read the letter to confirm it.
Dear Sieg,
I'm not really sure how to write this. My hands are shaking, I can't see because my eyes are watery and I had to throw away like ten pieces of paper by this point. So, I want to be honest and be real with you. Right now, you look so peaceful and so does Franny. I swear, I'm just really scared that I'm going to wake up and learn that you're gone too. I literally jump out of my sleeping bag and have to check that you didn't freeze or that your heart didn't just stop.
I"m super anxious Sieg, you're the only real friend I met in a long time. So was Franny but now I can't. I never even thought that something like this would…
Levy put the letter away and shook her head, "This isn't for me, this is for Naruto." she said before opening again. "But who wrote it?" she asked as she looked for the ending of the letter.
I heard a rumor of special eyes that can control demons. It's some big rumor that happened a long time ago. With any luck, we can at least get rid of the sword demon. Though right now, I'll let you rest up. I'll also try to find a nice place with pretty flowers for Franny. I bet she would love that.
-From your best friend, Astolfo
Now Levy felt curious and before even thinking for too long. She started thinking of ways to contact Blue Pegasus.
The next day
In the middle of the afternoon as the guild started getting energetic from hearing about the fight between Fairy Tail's strongest females and the lost grandson. Of course, there were people making betting pools. Most of which were going to Erza as some just thought Siegfried was merely hype and flashy magic.
Others just wanted to see if Erza would lose her metaphoric crown. Then there were a few who wanted to see Mirajane fight after having been inactive for so long.
However, Levy looked around as she waited for a special guest. When she saw a hippogriff flying in the sky. After finding a good spot to land, Levy waved towards the pink haired crossdresser.
"Hey Levy, not that I don't mind flying at speeds to the point that Hippy vomits, but why did you want to see me?" Astolfo asked.
"I'll tell you in a minute. Right after this crowd calms down." Levy said as Astolfo nodded.
Then Max came walking by with trinkets, "Get your stuffed dolls of your favorite Fairy Tail Wizards! We now have a stuffed Naruto!" he announced.
Lisanna ran up to Max to buy one, "Mira is going to love this." she said as she bought a Naruto doll.
"I want one too!" Astolfo yelled.
As things began to settle down, Makarov jumped in the middle of the street with a black and white striped shirt on. The guild master then proceeded to blow on a whistle to gather everyone's attention.
"Okay brats! Settle down!" Makarov yelled. "This is a rare deal, since we have three S Class level mages fighting. We're going to turn this into a steel cage match! Actually there is no steel cage, but a magic container. Freed, if you will." he said.
"Very well master." Freed said as he created a cube with his Jutsu Shiki.
Siegfried then switched his Tribute Armor, "I accept the conditions." he said.
"Good, because we're not destroying the town. Laxus almost got us disbanded that time." Makarov said.
Erza gazed at Siegfried with a hardened stare, "Just before we start, I want to ask you something." she said. "Who are you under that armor? You told me that my heart is weak and I admit that, but what has become of you to throw away your heart?" she asked.
Everyone turned silent as they looked at the master's adoptive grandson in silence.
"You can take as many guesses Titania." Siegfried replied. "But I am always the same person. No matter the armor, weapons or hardships. I am the same person." he said.
That's when Mira changed into her Satan Soul form, "I doubt your the same little brat that wanted to be guild master. Now you're stuck up like Erza, so you would probably be boss that likes to tell people what to do if that happened." she said trying to rile him up.
Siegfried let out a laugh, "Poor Mirajane, you can't ever understand your own feelings let alone understand others." He said catching Mira off guard. "Being guild master, for what reason? Pride, envy, strength, respect, none of that matters." he replied.
Siegfried then switched his sword for Soul Calibur and stabbed it into the ground as to prove a point.
"Do you need a reason? Other than to make your family proud?" Siegfried asked.
(Shuumatsu no Valkyrie OST - Do You Need A Reason)
Now everyone was stunned into silence before most of the guild cheered. Only a few words and now the whole crowd was hyped even more by simple speech.
"Papa! You can do it!" Filo cheered.
"Filo?" Erza asked, with a look of betrayal on her face.
Kurama started to shake which made Wendy worry, "Papa? Are you okay?" the girl asked.
Kurama grinned which looked scary as he was in human form, "All of this hype, it's more than just talk. It gets me excited Wendy." he answered. "I should have been in this fight instead." he said.
For some reason, Shukaku started to cry, "Damn it Ashura! Your transcendent just had to be cool for once!" he yelled as a geyser of tears fell out of his eyes. Then he started to turn into mud, "Ah crap!" he cursed.
"Are both combatants ready?" Makarov asked with both nodding. "Begin!" he announced.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Press Conference with Xiaomei
On one end, Siegfried sits on a table with sunglasses while Erza and Mira sit on the other. Behind them are posters for the fight coming in the next chapter. With many reviewers trying to ask questions and statements.
"Oops, that took longer than expected. Don't worry though, even though we fell behind. We will definitely have two chapters done for February. We even have some new stories coming up real soon. But where are my manners, I am overwhelming you all aren't I? No need to worry if you forgot about me, I am Xiaomei and let us answer some questions." Xiaomei stated before pointing at someone.
"So far you've given more focus to Mirajane, given how obvious it is that she likes Siegfried. But what about Erza? Are you ever going to put more scenes in relation to her and how she feels about Siegfried? Would Erza feel jealous seeing another woman near Siegfried?" Fan asked.
Xiaomei nodded, "Well as you already know, Mirajane was an immature child who didn't understand her feelings. Erza on the other hand doesn't know she has any feelings, but they will be noted and be important in the next arcs." she answered.
A guest raised their hand, "Yes, question for Erza. What do you think of Siegfried's growth and how strong he has become? How do you think your chances would be against him in a fight" he asked.
Erza cleared her throat, "Yes, I admit my pride often outweighs my judgement and even my own strength. However, unlike Laxus, I do give credit where it's given and unlike last time where I was exhausted. I feel that Naruto's powers are like many swords, but I have many shields in the form of my armor. I feel fairly confident with Mirajane by my side as well." she explained.
"Will Siegfried ever visit Konoha again or did he decide once was enough?" Spellbat asked.
"I wouldn't put that village behind me entirely. It's not very important, but it's not going be erased from my memory. I'll say that much." Siegfried answered.
"Why did Siegfried suffer Bullying in his childhood? He seemed like a nice and friendly boy, so why would Erza and the others do this to him?" The guest sked.
Siegfried sighed, "I think it's best to say ignorance, but that's not enough." he said looking over to his bully.
Mira felt sad, "Because we were stupid! That's why!" she said making everyone wince. "I was a dumb idiot, I got jealous that Naruto had a home, family and even money. While I had to fend not only for myself and my two siblings. I didn't even have parents anymore and I was only what? 12? 13? And I thought my crush on him was my hate for him." she explained.
Erza sighed, "And my pride, I never really acknowledged Naruto as more than the slow boy who can hardly amount to anything. So I felt angry thinking he stole credit for being beaten up. Natsu, Gray and… who else?" she asked. "Overall, I think jealousy turned into misconception. So we picked on the weak who had everything we lost or wanted." She finished.
Everyone gasped in surprise at such audacity.
"We have time for more one more question." Xiaomei said.
One person raised their hand, "Yeah, what's the Kingdom of Fiore Secret?" they asked.
Xiaomei smiled, "The secret: Its rumored that despite being new to the guild and even ranking higher than Jenny Realight in the female popularity polls. Astolfo is more than likely to succeed Master Bob as the master of Blue Pegasus in possibly a decade or so." she said.
With that everyone started making their way out of the press conference.
"Remember to also watch Katarina Claes Vs. Aileen Lauren Datriche on Pay-Per-View! Don't just stream it on Twitch you cheap bastards!" Siegfried yelled. "Oh and next time! Chapter 23: Always Naruto!" he added.
END OF QA