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.

Naruto decided to sleep until he had to get ready for school. He wanted to rest a little after the things that happened with Kuroka and Takigawa. It wasn't that he was tired or anything; he just wanted to sleep to have a clearer mind. Sleeping did wonders for anybody.

He was standing in a familiar room—a giant hall, to be more precise. He knew where he was, his original-looking subconscious. He stood before the two giant gates where formerly the Kyūbi (Nine-Tailes) was sealed behind. Those two massive doors were the reason the Kyūbi couldn't break out of Naruto's body of his own. Actually… he knew the actual name of the beast, but he didn't acknowledge the name. For Naruto… this monster was the reason why he had nothing but hell in his former life.

The real name of the Kyūbi was Kurama… but Naruto didn't use this name for it. For Naruto, the Kyūbi was the monster who took every chance he had at a good life in Konoha. If it weren't for the Kyūbi, Naruto might have been able to find friends. Who knew? He could have a family he didn't know about.

His other versions might have accepted this monster as their partner and became stronger because of it… but Naruto didn't. He hated this beast with his entire existence.

The two massive gates were still closed but the paper with the Kanji for seal on it wasn't present. Naruto looked into the darkness behind the gates and saw nothing. He narrowed his eyes when he couldn't see anything.

Why didn't he see the Kyūbi or any other beast behind those two massive gates? He was sure he had felt the chakra of the Kyūbi when he met the woman in his dream. He didn't recognize it at first, but later on, he remembered this feeling. Such a bottomless hatred was something only the chakra of the Kyūbi radiated.

Naruto walked further toward the two massive gates. He had stood a good 20 meters away from it. This was the minimum distance he used to stay away from the gates because otherwise, the Kyūbi could hit him even through the gates.

Slowly but surely, he saw something behind those massive gates. The familiar red chakra of the Kyūbi was hovering in the air behind the gates. 'What's going on? I see the chakra of the Kyūbi but not the Kyūbi,' thought Naruto. He walked past the gates into the place where the chakra was hovering in the air. The moment Naruto placed a single foot into the place behind bars, the chakra began to fly toward Naruto. Naruto had wide eyes and stepped back instantly. The chakra crashed against the gates and a barrier hindered the chakra from escaping the prison cell.

'Ok… I understand nothing. So, I have the chakra from the Kyūbi behind the seal that formerly held the Kyūbi itself at bay. But why is only the chakra from the beast here and not the beast itself?' thought Naruto.

He shook his head and didn't want to figure that one out. If he only had the chakra from the Kyūbi inside himself, then he didn't have to worry. The chakra was trapped behind those two massive bars and couldn't escape.

He also didn't want to find out what happened when he would let the red chakra reach him before he left the prison cell again. Nothing good so much was clear. He turned around and began to walk away from the massive gates.

'The next question was how I escape this massive hall,' thought Naruto. He already tried to leave it like he did in the past, but he couldn't. Something was holding him here and hindered him from escaping like usual.

After 5 minutes of walking, he walked into a dead end. In the past, there was a corridor that led away from the beast that was trapped there. But now… there was nothing. The giant hall was just a big room without any door or other forms of escaping it. He looked back toward the two giant gates.

'How the hell can I escape this room without walking into the prison cell?' thought Naruto. He closed his eyes and tried to manipulate this room with his will. After all… this was his subconscious once, so he should be able to manipulate it.

But it didn't work. He opened his eyes and couldn't understand it. He walked back and tried to find another escape method. He paid close attention to both sides of the giant halls while he walked toward the giant double gates again.

He had a feeling he didn't like. He stopped when he thought about something. 'Of course!' thought Naruto.

"Narukami!" said Naruto. Since Narukami was residing in his current and real subconscious, he should be able to call it and let it summon him out of there. He should be able to leave this place and enter his real subconscious through Narukami.

Lightning appeared before Naruto, and he smiled in relief when Narukami appeared before him. "Thank god! You really appeared," said Naruto with a smile.

"Naruto," said Narukami.

"Sorry for summoning you to such a weird place. Could you summon me out of here into my real subconscious?" asked Naruto.

Narukami hovered in the air and said nothing.

Naruto became confused when his partner didn't answer. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Naruto, worried.

"Naruto, you should be able to tell it," said Narukami. Naruto narrowed his eyes when he heard this.

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"You should be able to escape this room without any worry," said Narukami.

"Are you kidding me? I tried it, okay? I tried everything I knew, but nothing worked!" said Naruto.

"You didn't try everything," said Narukami. Narukami hovered a little to the side and let Naruto see the two massive gates. "The only way out of here is on the other side of the gates."

"Come on, this is not funny," said Naruto.

"I know that you know it," said Narukami. "You also know what that means for us."

"No! I will never accept this beast as my partner! I have you as my partner, Narukami! Don't even begin to talk about things that won't happen," said Naruto.

"Naruto, you need-" Narukami was interrupted by Naruto's voice. "Shut up!" said Naruto angrily. "I will not accept this! I don't care if some higher being gave you me! You were the first friend I made in this world, and I won't let you sever the bond we made! NEVER!"

"The god or whatever borrowed me, you can go fuck himself. You have been my friend and partner since the day I opened my eyes to this world. I won't let you go!" said Naruto.

"And I don't want to hear that you will go back to the entity who gave you to me as long as you seem fit. I want no other partner besides you!" said Naruto.

"I am sorry, Naruto, but the time has come. You are strong enough to survive without me, and your real partner could be by your side again. I was only by your side until you awakened your hidden abilities and managed to awaken your real partner again," said Narukami.

"Once you step past the gates, the chakra of the Kyūbi will touch you, and the yang seal on your palm. With the yang seal you got from Ashura, you are able to awaken the Kyūbi again," said Narukami.

"NO!" said Naruto. He did something Narukami didn't except. "I don't care what you think, who my real partner is! This is my life, and I make the decisions! I have already chosen you as my real partner! The Kyūbi can go fuck himself all he wants. I don't care about him! He only caused me pain in Konoha, and I can't forget that." Naruto grabbed Narukami's handle and was surrounded by lightning the next second.

"Naruto, don't!" said Narukami.

"I don't care! I will not let you go!" said Naruto. He closed an eye when he felt how the lightning began to burn his flesh. Naruto gritted his teeth and didn't let go of Narukami's handle.

"Naruto, let go! I can't control the lightning that hurts you right now! Please!" said Narukami desperately. This was not how it was supposed to go. Naruto should have just accepted it and stepped inside the cage. This way, he would have been able to get the Kyūbi back, but he did the complete opposite. He took Narukami in his hand and triggered the lightning attack that Naruto had to endure right now.

This was the result of Naruto trying to fight against the choice that someone made. Someone had given Narukami to Naruto, but just as long as Naruto would get the tools to get his real partner back. Naruto had the tools for that. The yang seal on his right hand was everything he needed.

The one who gave Narukami to Naruto tried to get Narukami back right now. Naruto talked through the pain he felt. "I… WO..N'T… GIVE Y…OU UP!" said Naruto.

"Naruto, please! Stop!" said Narukami. Narukami couldn't do anything right now besides watch how Naruto got hurt. She couldn't escape Naruto's hands because he had managed to bind himself to Narukami as long as he held Narukami in place.

Naruto smirked and said, "If the one who gave you to me wants me to live and do something, he won't kill me." Naruto closed one eye because the pain was almost unbearable. "Because he won't get you back!"

"You are wrong, Naruto. I am sorry, but I can't let you die," said Narukami. Naruto's eyes widened when he felt how Narukami began to vanish.

"No! Please! Stay by my side!" said Naruto. The lightning around him vanished at the same moment when Narukami began to vanish.

"I can't. The god who gave me to you isn't as nice as you think. He would kill you. I can't let that happen; I am sorry. But don't worry; you have allies whom you can trust. Don't let the past control you. I know you can do it," said Narukami.

"NARUKAMI!" yelled Naruto with tears in his eyes. The sword… his partner… his first-ever friend was gone. Naruto went on both knees and held his face with two hands. He had never cried since he was six years old. But right now, he cried harder than ever. The first friend he made a meaningful connection with had been taken from him. He didn't know how long he was kneeling on the hard steel ground, crying. He only knew that his entire body was filled with sorrow.

After some time, Naruto stood up and looked toward the two giant gates. His hair shadowed his face while he walked toward it. He walked into the prison cell and let the red chakra from the Kyūbi hit his body.

He didn't show any reaction to the hate he felt. He stood there and raised his right palm, holding it before him. The sun-shaped yang seal on his right palm began to shine brightly, and the prison cell was filled with a bright light. Red chakra appeared all around Naruto and began to fly toward a single point. When the bright light faded away, Naruto could see a miniature version of the Kyūbi sleeping on the ground.

Naruto clapped his hands together and simply vanished, not even saying a word to the Kyūbi who just appeared. The Kyūbi wasn't as big as it was originally. The Kyūbi was only as big as a full-grown dog right now. The Kyūbi opened both eyes when he woke up.

The Kyūbi looked around and afterward toward the gates.

…

"Something went wrong," said the Kyūbi in a deep voice.

Naruto opened his eyes to the real world and had a blank expression on his face. He stood up and walked out of his bedroom. He took a quick shower, dressed up, and walked out of his apartment. He wasn't wearing his school uniform. Normally, he would have to prepare for school, but he wouldn't go today.

He wasn't in the mood. He would still go to school in the end because he accepted Mio's request to eat together after school. He would never break his word even when he wasn't in the mood at all.

Naruto began to run toward the factory building. He had training to do, and this time, he would train with his clones together. He needed to clear his head and get the negative emotions out of his body. Intense training helped the most in this situation. There would also be the fact that he didn't have Narukami anymore. He couldn't fight like he normally did in this world. He mostly used Narukami because of the immense strength Narukami had.

He needed to learn ninjutsu more than ever before. He knew he would surely face strong opponents. He just knew it. Only theshadow clones weren't enough. Naruto needed to step up his game. He still remembered a few things his other versions were training. For example, wind manipulation or this sage mode. He would acquire everything he could remember. But first of all would be learning the Rasengan, followed by wind manipulation, and finished with attaining Sage Mode. This was his priority list for now. Everything afterward remained to be seen, but he had his goals in mind.

Mio Naruse was worried. She didn't know what was going on, but she didn't like it. Since the morning she woke up, she had had this weird feeling inside herself, a feeling that told her something wasn't right.

She knew it wasn't because of Maria or Basara since both were healthy and like usual. While she dressed up for school, she looked into the mirror and saw something she hadn't noticed before. The symbol around her neck appeared while she had this weird feeling. Normally, when the symbol around her neck appeared, that was the meaning the curse was activated because she did something that was against the rules.

Strangely enough, she wasn't aroused in any way. She only had this weird feeling that made her feel uncomfortable, but not in the way someone might think. It was hard to describe, but she would call it being worried about someone.

The symbol around her neck had also changed a little. In the middle of the collar-like symbol was originally a heart with spikes around it, but now the symbol in the middle was something like a sun.

She touched the symbol around her neck and got wide eyes when she felt extreme sorrow and grief. Everything around her changed when she touched the symbol. She looked around her and saw nothing but darkness. She didn't know what was happening until a warm light appeared in the sky. She looked up and saw a beautiful sun. The sun radiated a pleasant warmth she knew too well. This warmth was the exact warm feeling she had when she stood next to Naruto. She had wide eyes when the sun was beginning to darken.

The warm feeling from the sun transformed into a cold sensation. Mio shuddered when she felt the cold. The sun was slowly but surely turning dark. She looked forward because she saw a strange connection between the sun and herself and someone else in the distance. It was like a thin thread connecting the sun, her, and another person.

"Naruto!" said Mio, running toward the direction she knew Naruto would be. But when she took the first step, she was back in her room. She looked in the mirror and saw how the symbol around her neck vanished.

She didn't know why, but she must go and see him! Something was wrong with Naruto Uzumaki, and she would do anything to help him. She ran out of the house, ignoring Basara and Maria's yells. She spread her wings and flew toward the direction she had the feeling Naruto was.

Her heart was beating against her chest. It was a feeling she never had before. It was this kind of worry that consumed her. She couldn't explain it. When Basara was injured, she was also worried, but not to the extent that she is now. She had this feeling she needed to get to Naruto as soon as possible, or something terrible would happen.

'Please… Naruto!' thought Mio while she flew over Tokyo toward the outskirts. She followed her feelings and could see an abandoned factory in the distance. She slowed down when she saw the giant factory premises.

Naruto was inside one of the multiple factory halls, trying to create a Rasengan until he got the memories from one of the clones he stationed outside looking for intruders. He didn't want others to know that he could create clones. "Continue training; I will handle this," said Naruto to his hundreds of clones.

"YES, BOSS!"

Naruto raised both hands and made a hand sign. He managed to recreate one of the Jutsu, which he saw almost every ninja use. It was the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique). A convenient tool to have. He exploded into smoke and appeared outside the factory hall 2 seconds later. The body flicker technique was to make it short, a high-speed movement technique. It takes the concept of boosting one body with chakra to the limit to move at an almost untraceable speed.

Back in the elemental nations, this jutsu was normally used as a way to move a distance in the shortest amount of time. The battle wasn't used in battle, only by the most skillful Shinobi. There were a few reasons for that. The first would be the aftereffect of using a Jutsu to boost the body to such high speed that you basically vanished from sight. If the body wasn't used to this kind of speed, then the user had nasty side effects and needed to orient himself before he knew where he was after coming out of the body flicker technique.

The next would be the necessary chakra control to use the exact amount of chakra needed to move the distance the user wants to travel. If the user used more chakra than needed, he would travel a higher distance than he wanted—the same in reverse. In a fight, it would be critical if the Shinobi wanted to use the body flicker technique to appear behind the enemy for a surprise attack but used too much chakra and appeared 10 meters further than he wanted.

Another problem was that the eyes needed to be able to see even at the high speed the body was traveling. Someone with a Dōjutsu, like the Sharingan or the Byakugan, had a significant advantage. Someone without such a Dōjutsu had to get used to moving at such high speed.

Naruto already fulfilled all three things to an extent when it came to using this Jutsu in a battle. His chakra control was almost perfect since he trained it since he could think. His body was used to moving at high speed because he already had the physical attributes to move at incredible speed because of his total concentration breathing technique. Because of that, he was also used to moving at great speed, and he could see everything while moving at such speed.

But he just recreated the Jutsu and would need to train it more before he could safely say he would be comfortable enough to use this Jutsu in the middle of an intense battle. Using the body flicker technique as a means of transport so far was enough for him outside of battle.

He looked up toward the sky and narrowed his eyes a little, trying to see who came to this abandoned factory. Naruto thought he would be safe in this abandoned factory, but it seemed like he needed to change his training spot in the future. It all depends on who appeared.

"Naruto!" said a female voice.

Naruto raised both eyebrows when he heard the familiar voice of a certain red-haired girl. Mio Naruse landed before Naruto with her spread wings and walked up to Naruto with a worried expression on her face.

"Naruto! Are you ok? Did something happen?" asked Mio worried.

Naruto was taken aback by the questions. He prepared himself for some things he could think of, but not those things.

"Uhm… yeah, everything is ok," said Naruto. "Why are you asking? More importantly, how did you manage to find me, Naruse, and what are you doing here?"

Mio blushed when she realized how close she was to Naruto. She took two steps back and looked away for a few seconds. "Well, I… I don't know how I should say it," said Mio.

Naruto felt his right palm pulsating, and Mio's face flushed out of a sudden. Around Mio's neck appeared the collar-like symbol with the new sun in the middle of the symbol. "What?" Naruto and Mio were suddenly in another place. Above them was the sun Mio had already seen.

Mio could feel the cold sensation again when she saw the darkened sun. The sun was darkened halfway, but it seemed to have stopped. Naruto looked up toward the sun and could feel the same sensation when he got the yang seal from Ashura.

'What is going on? Why am I and Naruse in this place and why…' he looked at the collar-like symbol on her neck with the sun in the middle. 'Why do I feel a connection to Naruse all of a sudden? It's like we are connected in some strange way. What the fuck is happening?' thought Naruto.

"This is the reason… I came to you. I felt something was wrong with you, and I needed to get to you," said Mio with a flushed face. She didn't know what was happening. Her entire body was throbbing.

Naruto held a hand to her forehead and said, "Naruse, you have a fever!"

He could grab her before she couldn't stand any longer. She didn't know what was going on. Her legs became weak all of a sudden. Naruto picked her up like a bride and looked around.

'Damn, how do I get out of here?' thought Naruto. He needed to get Naruse to a hospital as soon as possible. Her fever was pretty high, according to what he felt when he touched her forehead.

His right palm was holding her by the shoulder when he felt something happen. The underside of his right palm was shining brightly. The symbol on her neck also began to shine, and the sun in the sky did the same.

Mio's eyes widened when she began to scream. A dark aura began to appear around Mio, and it took the form of a female demon if Naruto had to guess. The dark aura tried to stick to Mio's body, but the sun in the sky shone brighter again, and it looked like the dark aura was sucked out of Mio's body. The dark aura screamed and flew up toward the sun, where she got burned. Literally… Naruto could see how the aura began to burn and turn into nothing but ashes.

Mio gasped and panted afterward while she held on to Naruto's clothes and body. Naruto didn't know what to do and remained on the spot, unmoving. He held Mio against his chest, secured in his arms.

"P-please…" Mio's voice was only a whisper. "Please don't leave me too."

"Hey, Naruse!" said Naruto.

"NO!" screamed Mio and held Naruto tighter. "DON'T GO, MOM, DAD!"

Naruto's eyes widened when the entire scene around him and Naruse changed. He was standing inside a burning building. He was standing in the flames that raged inside the burning building, but he didn't get burned. He looked to the other side of the room and could see a crying girl.

…

He watched at how an older demon attacked the girl if he had to guess. The demon had formerly killed the parents of the little girl. He saw it the moment Naruto appeared inside the burning room. The moment he appeared, the demon severed the head of the body from the girl's mother. The father was already dead on the ground at that moment.

Naruto held Mio more tightly and securely automatically when he saw the entire scene unfold. The nightmare didn't end there. It was something Naruto would wish no one. The entire spectacle from the girl and her parents went on for 20 minutes before Naruto found himself with Mio in the dark space with the sun in the sky again.

Naruto looked at the crying girl in his arms and felt his heart skip a beat. He furrowed with his eyes when he remembered the scene he just witnessed. The girl he saw was Mio Naruse. He didn't know how that was possible, but he somehow saw a part of Mio's past.

The sun in the sky began to shine brighter. The sun wasn't dark anymore, and the warm sensation was back on full display. Mio became unconscious in Naruto's arms. Naruto found himself in the real world again.

He looked at Mio and said nothing. He stood there, with his heart pulsating like crazy. He never felt this way. He didn't know what it was. Well… he felt it before when his body forced him to accept Mio Naruse's request. What was it? He didn't know. He only knew one thing: He needed to know what was happening and what connection he and her had.

Since he couldn't use a hand sign right now, he used his total concentration breathing. He tensed his legs and regulated his breath, vanishing in the next moment. He appeared two minutes later before his apartment. He opened the door carefully and stepped inside, walking into his bedroom. He lay Mio on his bed and walked back to the apartment door. He made four hand signs and created a shadow clone. "Look after her. If something happens, dissolve yourself," said Naruto.

Naruto walked outside and closed the door, making a hand sign. He exploded into smoke and appeared on the roof of his school shortly after. He walked into the building and ignored the stares because he wasn't in his school clothes.

He walked through the corridors with a clear goal in mind: the infirmary. He knew that if he wanted some answers, he would get them from the women who knew everything about him.

The sliding door was already open when he turned the corner. He walked inside and saw Chisato Hasegawa sitting in her chair, looking at him. Naruto closed the sliding door and sat on the chair beside her.

"I see that quite a lot of things happened," said Chisato.

Naruto sighed and leaned forth a little, holding his face with both hands. "Everything is so confusing right now. One thing happens after the next. I don't even know if I am myself anymore. All these dreams, the new powers, the things I can do, the things I see when I close my eyes… just everything," said Naruto.

Naruto remembered Narukami and closed his eyes. "But all that is nothing to the thing I lost," said Naruto. "The first person I made a meaningful relationship with… my best friend, was being taken from me in exchange for something I don't even want. Something I hate with my entire existence."

"Maybe it didn't seem like it on the outside, but Narukami was always by my side since I woke up in this world. I regret not showing him how much he meant to me. I wanted to do so many things with him in the future. But all of that is now useless. He is gone, and I will never see him again."

Chisato listened to Naruto's story. Just like always, Naruto felt that he could let go before Chisato Hasegawa. He told her everything… from the first dream he ever had to the most recent event with Mio Naruse. He really told her everything that could be told.

"… why does this entire shit happen now? And why me? Didn't I already suffer enough in my previous life? Am I destined to get dragged into things I can't refuse? I never wanted this. I simply wanted to live a peaceful life with Narukami at my sight and the friends I made in school," said Naruto.

Naruto looked up and had tears in his eyes. "Please tell me what I am supposed to do, Ms. Hasegawa. I don't know anymore. Do I have no choice but to play after someone else's will? Does everything I do even matter? What comes next? A god wants to kill me? A giant monster that wants to destroy the world?"

Chisato held a finger to Naruto's lips. Naruto's blue eyes were focused on Chisato's green ones. Chisato hugged Naruto, and he let her. Unknown to Naruto, Chisato Hasegawa snipped with her finger, and everything in the world stood still. Nothing moved besides Naruto and Chisato. It didn't matter if it was now a human, a devil, or something else. Nothing moved anymore.

Naruto began to cry hard in the warm embrace of Chisato Hasegawa. He let everything go. Chisato stroked Naruto's hair gently and hummed a soft tune. A green aura currently surrounded Chisato; her green eyes were blue, and her black hair turned golden.

Naruto would cry for a few hours even when he didn't know it. He endured so much and always buried it deep inside himself. He never got the chance to let everything out. He managed to live with this burden until now since he could live the life he always wanted. But now that all those things happened… all the things of his past come back to the surface; Narukami had been taken from him, and everything else was just too much.

Naruto Uzumaki let loose every negative emotion he had buried deep inside himself.