Summary: "Finally, I have my peace." Naruto was grateful he woke up in this new world where he wasn't hunted or hated just for existing. It was a peaceful life for him, and he did what he had always wanted: To stay away from trouble and live on the sidelines. But as always… Naruto Uzumaki would be dragged into something sooner or later. "Ah, come on!"

"Speech."

'Think.'

Technique/Magic

Events of the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other Anime/Manga material used for this fanfiction.

Warning: English isn't my first language.

The light spear with the power to annihilate entire buildings without much effort darted through the air toward Naruto and Mio, intending to kill both targets. Kokabiel looked at his two playmates and hoped Naruto could give him a good fight. He had the sword of the thunder god, after all. He should be able to withstand his attack.

Naruto unsheathed Narukami and slashed the air, unleashing a crescent-shaped lightning bolt. His lightning attack and the light spear collided and triggered an explosion, shaking the ground slightly. Naruto sheathed Narukami again and dashed through the black smoke of the explosion.

Kokabiel had seen through this move long ago. Multiple smaller light spears were hovering around him in the air, ready to launch at Naruto. Naruto slid over the ground a little because he stopped. Kokabiel snipped with his finger, and a light spear shot forth, ready to pierce Naruto.

What came now was truly surprising. Naruto began to slide along the ground like he was sliding over ice. Naruto unleashed multiple lightning bolts to counter the light spears. Naruto had to concentrate on his chakra on his feet because he was using chakra control to slide over the ground. Someone could describe it as "hovering" over the ground and using this hovering to slide over the ground as if he would ice skate. This was accomplished by focusing a big layer of chakra under his feet to gain this hovering effect.

Kokabiel created a larger light spear this time and threw him with his arm. Naruto stopped and went into a ready position. He filled Narukami's sheath with lightning energy, ready to obliterate the light spear.

Just before the light spear could hit Naruto, he unsheathed Narukami and unleashed a devastating slash attack. The light spear was utterly destroyed, and, in the same instant, a crescent moon-shaped lightning flew toward Kokabiel. Kokabiel created a light sword and slashed at the lightning attack, splitting it in half.

Kokabiel grinned, being satisfied so far. "You are not bad to be able to counter this many light spears without much trouble," said Kokabiel.

Naruto didn't answer and dashed forth again, shooting multiple lightning bolts toward Kokabiel. Kokabiel spread his ten black feathered wings and began to fly around the lightning bolts with ease. Naruto jumped up, intending to end this fight. Kokabiel smirked at this obvious move and held a hand before him.

A golden magic circle appeared before Kokabiel. "Holy Magic: Judgment Ray!" A golden magic ray shot out of the magic circle and traveled at high speed toward Naruto. Against humans, Holy Magic was pretty neutral, but if this attack hit a devil, vampire, or yōkai, those beings of darkness would take extreme damage. Holy magic was a very effective weapon against all beings of darkness, doing extra damage.

Just before Naruto got hit, he seemed to dodge midair to the side and push himself off something invisible further toward Kokabiel. Kokabiel raised both eyebrows when he saw Naruto's maneuver.

The golden magic ray flew further toward the ground and caused an explosion of golden magic energy. The ground shook slightly, and chunks of earth flew away. Mio had to create a defensive magic circle before her. Otherwise, she would have been swept away from the shockwave that was triggered by the explosion. A few chunks of earth also crashed against her defensive magic circle. She closed her eyes slightly to see better. While she held her defensive magic circle up, she looked up toward her classmate and the fallen angel with ten wings.

The defensive magic circle could be used by all beings who had access to a magic system. The more magic power someone could use, the more the defensive magic circle could withstand. It was a universal tool for every magic user.

Naruto seemed to slow down while he flew toward Kokabiel, who was high in the air. Kokabiel wanted to say something but saw it now. Naruto tensed his legs and pushed himself midair further toward Kokabiel. 'He is using the air like steps!' thought Kokabiel.

Another golden magic circle appeared over Kokabiel this time, but unlike before, there didn't come a magic ray out. Multiple light spears shot out of it and rained down on Naruto. Naruto narrowed his eyes and shot multiple lightning bolts toward all the light spears. But this didn't do much because the continued rain of light spears became too much for his lightning bolts. The sheer number of light spears was too much for his lightning bolts to handle.

Naruto looked down and frowned, realizing he would have to stop this attack. Otherwise, Mio on the ground would be caught up in the attack if the light spears would hit the ground. He pushed himself one last time midair further up toward the rain of light spears. He pumped a large amount of lightning energy into the sheath of Narukami. Just when all the light spears were about to hit him, he unsheathed Narukami and said the name of his attack.

"Raikiri." (Lightning Cutter) Naruto unleashed a slash, which moved at an immense speed, surpassing the speed of sound and releasing both blinding light and a tremendous amount of heat in the process. The sound of a thunderclap echoed through the sky. Kokabiel and Mio had to shield their eyes because of the blinding light that was created.

All light spears were wholly obliterated, and Kokabiel was even pushed back because of the blast wave that was triggered by the explosion when Naruto's slash destroyed every light spear. When he opened his eyes, he could see how Naruto was almost before him. Kokabiel created two light swords in his hands and shot toward Naruto.

Naruto didn't have enough time to sheath Narukami again, and because of that, he couldn't use Raikiri to end this battle. Raikiri was a Battōjutsu, meaning Narukami had to be sheathed to use this slash attack. Besides the weakness that it had to be used at close range, the other weakness would be that Narukami had to be returned to the sheath every time Naruto wanted to use it.

Naruto blocked the first sword with Narukami, and when the second light sword from Kokabiel swung from the other side, Naruto surprised Kokabiel by using the sheath to block the light sword.

"Not bad, this quick draw technique you just used has a devastating power. I shouldn't allow you to use this attack in close range, right?" asked Kokabiel with a smirk. Naruto didn't say anything and kicked Kokabiel away before sheathing Narukami, shooting a lightning bolt after Kokabiel.

Kokabiel surrounded himself with his wings, and the lightning bolt crashed into his form, triggering a lightning explosion. Naruto let himself fall to the ground, landing in a crouch before rising into a standing position.

He looked up at Kokabiel and thought, 'He is so far the strongest opponent I faced. My lightning strikes seem to do little damage against him.' The black smoke around Kokabiel vanished and revealed an unscathed Kokabiel. His wings were still around him when he was revealed until he spread them again, laughing.

"This is it!" said Kokabiel. He looked down and grinned like a madman. "Dance longer with me, human! Show me all your tricks and strength before I kill you!" He shot down at immense speed, surprising Naruto a little. But this speed was nothing he couldn't handle. Naruto took a defensive stance and waited for Kokabiel to get close enough.

He couldn't use Raikiri since Kokabiel wasn't dumb. Kokabiel created light spears in his hand and threw them toward Naruto. Naruto had to unsheathe Narukami and destroy the light spears with multiple slashes. Before Naruto could return Narukami to its sheath, Kokabiel was already before him. Kokabiel created a light sword in his hand, slashing at Naruto.

Naruto and Kokabiel began a wild weapon fight. Multiple shock waves ravaged the park, and the ground was destroyed slowly but surely under extreme pressure. Both opponents were attacking, blocking, and attacking. Naruto blocked a slash from the right from the left and had to sidestep the followed-up thrust attack.

Mio could only look in awe at how Naruto could keep up with Kokabiel, one of the strongest fallen angels alive. A fallen angel with ten wings was on a level she couldn't even dream of fighting at her current strength. Her current strength was just enough to fight on equal terms with a four-winged fallen angel. She also didn't see how Naruto and Kokabiel were moving. Their movement was too fast. Everything she saw was multiple sparks of the moment the swords clashed and a black and yellow blur speeding over the ground.

An explosion rocked through the park when Naruto and Kokabiel clashed swords again. A block smokescreen erupted and cloaked both fighters. A yellow and golden blur flew out of the top, clashing multiple times in midair. When they were about 30 meters in the sky, they made some space to clash again and trigger a massive explosion.

Kokabiel and Naruto flew out of the explosion from opposite sides. Naruto twisted and straightened his body, sheathing Narukami. After 4 seconds, he landed safely on the ground and looked toward Kokabiel, who also landed on the ground 20 meters from him.

"Good, very good!" said Kokabiel in an ecstasy voice. "This is it! This is a real battle! How long have I waited for a good opponent to show up? Let's fight more, let's enjoy ourselves, human!" Kokabiel shot toward Naruto with a smile only a maniac could express.

Naruto didn't say anything and dashed toward Kokabiel. Just like before, he had to unsheathe Narukami before he could get in range with Raikiri because Kokabiel threw some light spears toward him.

Mio spread her wings to put some distance between her and the two fighting titans. It was unbelievable what she saw. She knew that Basara had no chance at all against Kokabiel, and she saw her classmate keeping up with Kokabiel. He has not had a single injury to this point. She was now hovering in the air and only saw how shockwaves ripped through the landscape, destroying chunks of earth, trees, benches, or lamp posts. Everywhere the two opponents went through got utterly destroyed.

Naruto slashed at Kokabiel and had to sidestep the counter slash from his first light sword. Kokabiel summoned a second light sword at the same moment and slashed at Naruto. Naruto rolled out of the way and jumped toward Kokabiel afterward. Kokabiel grinned, and multiple small light spears appeared around him before he shot them toward Naruto, who was only 3 meters away.

Naruto's stoic facial expression didn't change when he saw in slow motion how the light spears were about to pierce his body. A few sparks of lightning appeared around him before he vanished at the last second. Kokabiel's eyes widened when he felt how the wind moved unnaturally behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Naruto sheathing Narukami. Kokabiel dashed away a few meters to escape the range of Naruto's Raikiri.

Naruto didn't dash after Kokabiel. Instead, he went into a low position and closed his eyes. Kokabiel stood a good ten meters away when he saw how something like white steam came out of Naruto's mouth. Naruto tapped into his reverse sight ability, preparing his attack.

'What?' thought Kokabiel. An unnatural pressure appeared all around Naruto and Kokabiel. The ground beside Naruto began to get cracks from the pressure that Naruto radiated. A few sparks of electricity could be seen around Naruto.

"Yes! That's it! Show it to me!" said Kokabiel, getting a golden aura around him. His power shot through the roof when he tapped into his secret technique, the Holy Multiplier. The Holy Multiplier was to make it simply a boost in every aspect of one's fighting power. He got faster and stronger, his light weapons were more durable, and so forth.

Naruto unsheathed Narukami slightly, concentrating. He regulated his breathing, sending all his strength to his legs. His legs began to tremble from the tension they were under. Naruto channeled chakra into his legs, further boosting his leg strength. To put even more power into his legs, he used lightning manipulation to increase his reflex time and general speed.

'Battōjutsu, Ōgi…' (Quick Draw Style, Secret Technique…) Lightning exploded out of Naruto's body, enveloping him completely. The roar of a monster could be heard when the lightning began to shape into a Japanese dragon head around Naruto.

Kokabiel smirked, feeling how his blood began to boil, and his neck hair stood up. How long had it been since he felt so threatened in his life? How long had it been since he was in such an extreme situation? It's been too long! He lived for this moment! Those moments made him feel truly alive.

"COME AT ME!" said Kokabiel, summoning a shield out of light energy in his right hand. His red eyes were now shining golden while he was in his Holy Multiplier state. He laughed loudly, fixing his gaze on the first decent enemy he had in a long time.

Naruto's eyes shot open, having prepared everything for his attack. '… Honoikazuchi no Kami!' (Flaming Thunder God) What now came was too fast for Mio. Naruto shot forward, leaving behind destroyed earth and a massive cloud of dust. Everything that came in contact with him was obliterated to nothingness. When he was right before Kokabiel, he unsheathed Narukami and unleashed a frontal slash.

A massive lightning explosion destroyed everything around the two opponents. Trees were uprooted, massive chunks of earth flew away, the ground was ripped apart, and the clouds in the sky began to move away from the extreme shock wave that was triggered by Naruto's attack.

Mio had to put everything she had into her defensive magic circle so as not to be blown away by the shock wave. She looked at the massive black smokescreen that appeared after the lightning explosion happened. 'What an incredible attack,' thought Mio. She held her defensive magic circle up, thinking this would not be over.

Kokabiel flew out of the massive black smokescreen and held his left shoulder with his right hand. Where formerly a left arm was is now nothing. Kokabiel had lost his entire left arm up to his shoulder. He gasped and was breathing heavily, suppressing his desire to scream out of pain. He never thought the attack his human used could cause such massive destruction and damage. But despite everything that happened, his crazy smile never left his face.

He felt it—as if he was on a battleground, just like in the war between the three factions! He began to laugh, laughing to the heavens, looking up toward the sky. The wound on his shoulder had already closed since he had used some magic to close it. His right hand fell beside his right side.

His head snapped down, looking toward the black smokescreen. He wanted more! He didn't even wait for Naruto to appear. He bent down and pushed himself off the tree he stood on, destroying the tree completely.

A few lightning bolts shot out of the black smokescreen, hitting Kokabiel. Kokabiel twitched but never slowed down. His laughter only increased because of the pain he felt. The black smoke screen vanished out of nowhere, and Naruto was revealed. Naruto stood there, ready for Kokabiel to come near him.

Naruto waited patiently, having been prepared already. His eyes were closed, but he knew exactly where Kokabiel was. '12 meters… 11 meters…' Naruto waited until Kokabiel was in range.

"Raikiri." Everything Kokabiel could see was how Naruto unsheathed Narukami, unleashing his Raikiri. The sound of a thunderclap echoed through the park, and a massive amount of heat and blinding light was unleashed at the same time.

When everything was over, and it became silent, Naruto stood there with a sheathed Narukami. He looked at the ground where Kokabiels' corpse was lying. Naruto turned around and walked away with a stoic expression on his face. Narukami vanished at the same time.

"Uzumaki," said Mio. She landed before him and looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I just want to go home. I would recommend you also go home, Naruse. Tōjō will be worried," said Naruto, walking past her.

Mio wanted to say something, but Naruto already vanished after a few steps. She looked at the spot where her classmate just vanished and remained silent before spreading her wings. She began to fly toward the Tōjō Household and thought about everything she saw and experienced that day.

…

She couldn't get it out of her head. The warm feeling she had when she was around Naruto. The feeling she wanted to feel more when she was around him. The feeling as if the sun was right beside you.

She shook her head and tried to think about something else.

"I said no," said Naruto. He just entered his apartment after he left the park. Narukami tried to talk to him about something, but Naruto wouldn't listen since he already told Narukami what he thought about all this.

"I won't join Tōjō, Naruse, and the others who are involved in their struggle. Today was an exception because Naruse literally flew into my arms, and I had no other choice," said Naruto. "I won't interfere from now on. I will stay on the sidelines."

'Yes… in Konoha, no one thought about my well-being. I had to become stronger to survive as long as possible. No one helped me, and why should I be the one who helps others?' thought Naruto.

He remembered all the times he asked for help but never got anything. His blood began to flow faster, his heartbeat increased slightly, and his emotions went into overdrive. Naruto took some deep breaths to get a hold of himself. His buried emotions almost came back to the surface.

Naruto could calm down and suppress the emotions that were about to break free. Naruto sat on his couch and looked at his hand. 'I thought I would have overcome this… but it seems like my past still hunts me,' thought Naruto.

Naruto furrowed with his eyebrows, remembering some nasty memories of his time in Konoha. He stood up and walked into his bedroom, undressing himself. He hoped that with some sleep, he would forget.

When he lay down, he looked at the ceiling of his apartment before his gaze wandered to his window. He could see the dark night sky with its many stars sparkling in the endless horizon. He turned away and closed his eyes.

'Two days already…' thought Mio as she sat in the classroom. Basara and Yuki were also back in the classroom, but one classmate didn't come to school after the incident in the park. Naruto Uzumaki didn't come to school.

She had hoped to speak with him about everything that happened on the day she did more with him than on any other day, the day she planned never to return, and the day she only wanted to be selfish one more time.

Everything turned out different than she thought. Naruto Uzumaki was someone she didn't understand in the slightest before she spoke with him further. Everything she predicted would happen that day turned out to be false.

First, he surprised her when he greeted her with a smile like everyone else. Then, there was the warm feeling that radiated from Naruto Uzumaki—a warm feeling indescribable for words. It triggered so many different emotions in her that it was hard to stay focused the first time she was near him.

The longer she felt this warm sensation around Naruto, the longer she wanted to stay at his side. Then there was his explanation of why he talked normally to her like usual. The way he spoke of his morals and why he still saw Mio as his classmate was inspiring, but she didn't know what it was at the moment. She felt a sensation in the depths of her soul that told her this man… Naruto Uzumaki… went through a lot like herself.

She wasn't sure why she felt it. The way his eyes darkened when he spoke about promises and how Yuki broke them and had to earn his trust again. The way his eyes darkened during this explanation was frightening but also worrying. She saw those eyes before… hers. When she talked about her past, she remembered all the pain she had to go through.

Even when she always tried to face her dark past, she couldn't contain the anger and hatred she felt during these moments. Those were the moments she saw her darker side, the one who wanted nothing but revenge.

She didn't tell Basara or Yuki anything about the incident in the park from the time she was about to handle herself to Takigawa because she wanted no one else to get injured because of her. But everything happened differently that day.

She met Kokabiel, a leader of the fallen angels with ten wings. Her being still alive was more luck than anything else. He only played with her and chased her around as a cat does with a mouse. Just when she thought she would die with many injuries already, she landed right in the arms of the man who confused her more than once that day. The moment she crashed into his body, all her injuries got healed in an instant. She only realized this when Kokabiel mentioned this casually on the sidelines while he spoke with Naruto.

Without any form of hesitation, her classmate protected her. He stood himself before her without saying a single word to her. He charged head-on toward the ten-winged fallen angels and fought with him on equal terms until he defeated him. The speed, the strength, the focus… just everything during this fight was unbelievable for Mio. She could only defend herself against the shock waves, which almost blew her away multiple times. Even when she was far away from the fight, she could feel the resolve, the heat, the adrenaline, and other emotions both fighters had.

And in the end, he looked like he only had minor scratches. It was just incredible. He sent her away, telling her that Basara would be worried.

…

She was worried about him at that moment, not about someone else. Even though she had always worried about Basara until this point, she didn't know what was happening to her. All her attention was on Basara and how to repay his kindness in taking her and Maria in, protecting both.

She really thought about them as a family. She was even sure she felt something for Basara until everything they went through. They even kissed already, but what was it… why didn't she think of Basara anymore when she woke up?

Why did she always see those darkened blue eyes? Those blue eyes that represented the endless sky… which became dull and full of anger at this moment she saw his darkened eyes. His golden blond hair looked like it was chosen by the sun itself.

She wanted to know, but she couldn't figure it out. She became so confused that she often didn't even react to someone speaking to her. Even now, her gaze was toward the blackboard; her mind was on her missing classmate. Why couldn't she forget him and focus on Basara again?

'Naruto…'

Naruto gasped and looked at the white smokescreen before him. 'Come one! Please!' thought Naruto. He was in his apartment, standing in his living room. He had moved the furniture to the side of the room so he had an open space for the thing he tried since yesterday.

When the white smoke began to vanish, Naruto could see the shadow of a figure standing there. Naruto swallowed once and prayed to god he finally managed to master the technique.

He blinked when he saw his creation. Blue eyes stared into the blue eyes of someone who looked exactly like him. Naruto blinked some more and began to smile before grinning wildly, almost like a fox.

"YATTA!" he jumped up and cheered that he finally managed to do it. Thirty hours without any sleep and constant failures and tries made themselves worth it. Before Naruto stood his first ever created Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone). Naruto had finally managed to learn one of the two Jutsu, the other version of himself used in the memories he saw.

"Yo, Boss!" said the clone with a cheeky grin.

"Hello, clone!" said Naruto with a grin that mirrored that of his clone.

Both looked at each other for a while before nodding at the same time. "We are badass!" said the original and clone simultaneously. Both looked at each other before bursting out laughing. Naruto couldn't believe he really managed to pull that off!

Just from a few memories of seeing someone perform the Jutsu, he managed to find the right hand signs and the right amount of chakra to use for the clone technique.

"Ok… let's try to dissolve yourself," said Naruto.

The clone saluted and exploded into smoke. Naruto had wide eyes when he felt the chakras from outside enter his chakra network. He also had a short memory of how he looked at himself.

'Wait… no way! Does this mean?' thought Naruto. He made four hand signs before another clone appeared in a poof of smoke. "Please circle around me once and dissolve yourself," said Naruto.

"Sure thing, boss!" said the clone, walking around Naruto once before dissolving itself.

Naruto could feel it again… the same chakra crashed into his chakra network, and he got a short memory of how someone circled Naruto. 'It's the truth! The memories from my clone will get transferred back to me when they dissolve!' thought Naruto.

Naruto walked toward his couch and sat down, thinking about something. 'Wait a second… if their memory gets transferred back to me… shouldn't that mean I could also train with them?' thought Naruto.

He never understood why his other version used clones while he was training for something, but after Naruto's discovery, it made perfect sense. Two people are more than one, and three are more than two, and so forth. Thinking about doing this with 1000 clones was ridiculous.

If Naruto had trained with 1000 clones just for one minute, he already would have trained effectively for 1000 minutes / sixteen hours. One minute would equal sixteen hours of effective training… just ridiculous.

He looked up at his ceiling and saw that his vision had darkened for a second. He frowned, realizing he had overdone it this time. He stood up and suddenly felt exhausted. He used more chakra than ever in his life from trying to create a functional Kage Bunshin for 30 hours straight.

He walked through his apartment and stumbled into his bedroom, falling on his bed. His eyes closed, and he smiled. He felt like he had accomplished something worth the entire work. The last thirty hours were worth the struggle, the frustration, and so forth.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he stood in Konoha. 'I guess I am dreaming again,' thought Naruto. He walked through the streets and could see all the happy people. He could almost grasp the peaceful atmosphere.

He looked around with a blank expression. This reminded him again of his past… something he wished he could forget. Naruto had wide eyes when he felt something.

A piercing gaze… someone was watching him. He looked around, trying to find the person who made him feel so uneasy. His body was feeling fear. He bit his tongue in annoyance and calmed his body down.

He heard a voice. "So here was where you are hiding." Naruto looked up toward the massive rock formation behind Konoha. He looked up and couldn't see it at first, but after he had let his gaze travel a little, he saw someone.

There, on top of the rock formation, stood a single figure with a black hooded cloak that concealed everything. Even when the cloak moved rapidly in the wind, the form of the figure wasn't shown. Naruto narrowed his eyes, feeling an unsettling rage rising inside him.

Even when this person stood up there, and Naruto stood in the middle of the village, the person's voice was as if the person would stand directly before Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flashed crimson when he felt a bottomless rage out of a sudden. 'What is going on?' Naruto thought. He gritted his teeth and didn't let that hatred and rage consume him. His eyes were still crimson, but he could hold it together.

"I am glad." The voice of the person echoed through the streets of Konoha. "You are one step closer to your original self. Even the power inside you remembers me. Get stronger, master everything you can, and when the time comes… I will come for you. If you don't want to lose everything again, become stronger."

Naruto had wide eyes when the person was before him out of a sudden. "Naruto… I will have you one day," said the person. Naruto could now see something under her cloak. Even when the hood concealed her hair and most of her face, he could still see the lips. Those definitely were the lips of a woman. No man had those soft-looking lips.

"But until then… goodbye, my…." The person vanished into a cloud of ash, and Naruto had to cough when he breathed something in. When the ash cloud was gone, he couldn't see the woman anymore. He didn't understand the last part of the sentence the woman said.

…

'What the fuck was that?'