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 lay on one of the beds in the infirmary. He slowly opened his eyes and was confused for a second. How did he end up in the infirmary bed? Didn't he just tell Ms. Hasegawa his entire story? He raised into a sitting position and looked at his hands.

Something was different than before. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from his existence. He remembered now that he began to cry. He must have cried in the warm embrace of Chisato Hasegawa and slept afterward. He thought about it, and it would be the only logical explanation.

He didn't remember anything after he began to cry. He looked around and saw that the curtains around the bed were closed. He couldn't see anything besides the curtains. He looked at his hands again, thinking about everything.

…

He stood up and opened the curtains. He could see Ms. Hasegawa sitting in her chair doing some paperwork.

"How do you feel?" asked Chisato. She lay down her pen and turned to Naruto. Naruto sat once again beside her on the chair, remaining silent for a few seconds.

How did he feel? It was weird to explain. He had never felt like this. When he opened the curtains… it was like normal sunlight was different from before. He couldn't explain the difference right now. His mind was still a bit froggy and confused. He knew that he wanted to come here to get answers. He knew that he had told Chisato Hasegawa his entire story. Why did he even do that? He didn't know… it just felt for him the right thing to do.

Maybe it was because this woman had an unknown effect on him and calmed him down. She just radiated this aura that let you know you could trust this person. It penetrated every defense the person had. No matter how suspicious someone was, once someone talked to this woman, they automatically began to feel safe and sound.

It was the same with Naruto. He never talked with her because he was suspicious of Chisato Hasegawa. But once he really talked with her, he couldn't help but feel better. It was like Chisato was some kind of goddess who made someone feel good just by being around her.

Every time Naruto came to Chisato Hasegawa, he felt better than before. He told her things he didn't tell anybody else. But even when he went against his own way of living in this world, getting involved with some powerful being… it didn't feel bad.

"Different," said Naruto. He felt different, but was it good or bad? His mind couldn't decide because he never felt like this. This feeling of liberty was completely foreign to him. This feeling of weightlessness inside his soul was so unfamiliar that it almost scared him.

When was the last time he looked around and…. could see? That's how he would describe it. His vision took in things he had never seen before. Not in the way one would think. The way the hair of Chisato Hasegawa moved lightly because of the gentle breeze that blew through a window… the sunlight… his own skin… just everything around him was so different. It looked more alive if he had to describe how he perceived the things around him now.

His heart was beating in a fastened space; his eyes were wide open and focused. But his facial expression looked almost blank. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to this kind of feeling.

"Shall we-" Chisato Hasegawa was interrupted when the sliding door opened to the infirmary.

"Ms. Hasegawa, I need your-" the person stopped when he saw Naruto sitting beside Chisato Hasegawa. "Oh, I am interrupting something?" HhAHDFIAHSF

Naruto shook his head and said, "No. We are finished." Naruto stood up and bowed to Chisato Hasegawa. "Thank you for everything, Ms. Hasegawa. I will deal with everything else."

"I am glad I could help," said Chisato. Naruto turned away and walked away. He stopped beside the student who came into the infirmary. "See you another time, Tōjō," said Naruto.

"You won't remain in school today?" asked Basara. Naruto looked into Basara's green eyes and said, "No. I have many things to take care of. I would suggest you also concentrate on getting stronger. I know that you want to protect your girls, so get stronger."

Naruto walked out of the room and closed the sliding door. He remained there and didn't move. He said he had many things to do, but what exactly? He had a clear goal in mind before he came here: Stay on the sidelines and live in peace. This should be his goal, but… he had other thoughts since he woke up. After he felt like he could really see and think clearly, not clouded by his troubled past… he began to think about certain things he never would have before.

The most obvious thing would be to get stronger. Far stronger than he was right now. Strong enough to win against anyone who would try to fight him because of reasons that weren't clear yet. Strong enough to reach his newest goal. Naruto would not bow down to destiny or fate. He never gave up and he wouldn't begin now. He would take back what was taken from him. Narukami would be at his side again in the future.

Naruto began to walk. Everyone who would look now into his eyes would see an inferno. An inferno so strong that it couldn't be put out by anyone. It didn't matter what everyone tried. This inferno… his will to live and to fight for what he believed in was stronger than anything else.

Naruto's thoughts were racing. His thoughts were faster than ever, already forming plans for what he needed to do next and what came next. He vanished from the school, making his way toward the factory where his clones were. This would be his number one priority. His clone at the apartment should already have taken care of Mio Naruse and brought her to Tōjō's house.

Just when he came to the factory, he got the memories of his clone, who brought an unconscious Mio to Tōjō's house and vanished afterward. 'Good,' thought Naruto. He didn't need any distractions. Mio Naruse had an effect on him he didn't think was possible at first, not just because of the connections they had through his yang seal. There was something else. Her eyes, her fake smile, her past… just everything.

He knew he was already involved in the life of Basara Tōjō and his harem. Especially when it came to Mio Naruse. Chisato Hasegawa was a special case, but Naruto wasn't involved with her as much as Mio Naruse was.

But for now… he would concentrate on his training. He wouldn't visit school for a few days or maybe even weeks. He just had other priorities right now. He now knew that he couldn't return to his peaceful life just like that.

For him to have a peaceful life, he would need to be strong enough to deal with everything instantly. With power comes responsibility, but after some point, when you have enough power, everyone just stays away from you.

But Naruto was very far away from this level of power. He didn't know how long it would take him, but he would get strong enough so no one could stand in his way. For his own sake and those around him.

When Mio opened her eyes, she shot into a sitting position and said, "Naruto!" She realized she was in her room. She looked around and wondered how she came here. She shook her head. This wasn't her top priority right now. She remembered how she met Naruto at the factory and shortly afterward felt her legs getting weak. She remembered being in the space with the sun in the sky again.

She looked at her hands and didn't know what it was… but something was different with her. She could remember how something got removed from her body. She held her hand to her neck and could feel a warm energy flowing from there through her entire body.

She stood up and saw that she was in her school uniform. Around her neck was a collar-like symbol with a sun in the middle. She touched the sun and found herself in the endless void with the sun again. She looked up, and her pink eyes saw that the sun wasn't darkened anymore. The sun was also burning stronger than ever.

A wave of relief washed over her body when she remembered the cold sensation she had when the sun darkened. Since the sun was burning stronger than ever, whatever was wrong with Naruto was over. He was okay and did better than before. She could feel it. There was this feeling inside her body that told her that Naruto was doing better than ever. The warm sensation that flooded her body also was stronger and more intense than ever.

She opened her eyes wide when everything around her changed. She saw many different memories flying past her in fast motion. Even when the memories flew past her so fast, she could see everything clearly.

When all the memories were over, she found herself again in the space with the sun in the sky. She was at a loss for words. She could feel a wet sensation on her cheeks. She raised her hand and touched her cheek. She realized she was crying because of the memories she just saw.

'Naruto… what have you endured your entire life?' thought Mio. Mio saw tiny parts of Naruto's life and how he was treated because of something he had no control over. She could feel the symbol on her neck pulsating. She reached up and touched her symbol. 'Is it because of that? Am I connected to Naruto through this?' thought Mio.

Mio closed her eyes and wiped away her tears. When she opened them again, she saw that she was back in her room. Her eyes were full of determination. She wanted to be there for him! She wanted to stay at his side and shoulder everything with him together. She didn't know why and when all this started… but she wanted to stay at his side. She looked out the window and thought about the man who changed her. She saw how he never gave up no matter what he had to endure. He fought alone for so long and kept going even after getting shunned out, ignored, beaten, and so much more.

'Naruto…'

It was in the middle of the night when Naruto woke up all of a sudden. His eyes shot open, and he jumped out of his bed, landing in a crouch before pushing him off the ground to jump through the window. He crossed his arms before his face to shield it. The window shattered when Naruto's body crashed through it.

Just 2 seconds later, his apartment was completely destroyed. Naruto landed on a roof on the opposite side of the street. He frowned when he landed and turned around. He saw the black smoke and fire that came out of the building where his apartment was. He was pretty calm over the day after he woke up in the Infirmary after he let loose all his buried emotions.

But right now? He was pretty pissed at whoever decided to attack him while he was at his apartment sleeping. He would crush whoever attacked him and destroyed his apartment at the same time. Naruto had a blank expression on his face when he looked over his shoulder.

Behind him appeared multiple black magic circles on the ground. Naruto watched as multiple lower devils appeared out of the black magic circles. Naruto was currently only wearing black boxers since he slept just one minute ago.

He turned around and tensed his legs, vanishing. All the lower devils blinked before they all began to turn into dust. Naruto appeared at his starting point with a formed fist. He killed every single low devil with a single fist punch.

"I hope you have a good explanation for this…" Naruto turned to the side and looked at the person who attacked him. "…Tōjō." Naruto's annoyed expression was obvious for everyone to see.

Basara Tōjō stood there with his large blade out for the world to see. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw Basara's condition. It was clear something was different with Basara Tōjō. His usual green eyes were purple-pink, and instead of a green aura, there was a purple-pink aura around him.

Basara made noises almost like a wild animal. He growled at Naruto. Basara charged forth and slashed at Naruto with his sword. Naruto jumped back and dodged the slash. Basara jumped after Naruto and slashed at him again.

Naruto held his palm open, focusing. Orange chakra appeared above his hand before beginning to spin into a sphere of concentrated chakra. Naruto had just created a perfect Rasengan with one hand. Naruto slammed his Rasengan against Basara's sword and pushed Basara back.

Basara flew to the ground and landed while sliding over the ground. He looked toward Naruto, who landed 10 meters away from Basara, his Rasengan still on display. "No idea what's going on with you, Tōjō, but it seems like you are not yourself," said Naruto.

Basara only roared and charged forth at blinding speed. Naruto remained stationary and waited for Basara. When Basara was close enough, he slashed at Naruto. Just like before, Naruto slammed his Rasengan into Basara's sword. This time, however, the Rasengan burst and let Basara fly away a good distance.

Basara crashed through a wall, and Naruto made a hand sign. Multiple clones of him appeared around him in a white smokescreen, and Naruto said, "Go and look what the fuck is going on here. Something is happening, and I don't have a good feeling. Also, one of you, look for Ms. Hasegawa. When someone can turn Tōjō back to normal, it's her."

"Yes, sir!" said every clone before they all vanished in a poof of smoke, signaling the usage of the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique). Naruto looked toward the hole in the wall and didn't need to wait long.

Basara stormed out of the hole and charged with rage toward Naruto. Naruto backed away, dodging many slash attacks from Basara. Naruto had to dodge a slash from right and left before he had to sidestep the followed-up thrust attack.

Naruto jumped back and made a hand sign indicating that he got the hang-on during his training today. It was the famous hand sign his other versions did for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu). Multiple clones appeared before him in a protective wall before him, blocking the purple energy attack from Basara.

All his clones dissolved into smoke, but that was everything Naruto needed. He jumped high in the air and created another clone from himself on the ground. Basara charged through the white smokescreen that was left behind by the dissolved clones and attacked Naruto's clone on the ground.

Naruto held both palms open, and two orange Rasengan appeared above them. Another clone popped up behind him, and Naruto used his clone to push himself toward Basara, who was still trying to attack his clone.

Basara was slashing at Naruto's clone when he saw a shadow from above appear. He looked up and widened his eyes when he saw Naruto flying toward him at high speed with two Rasengan over his palms. Basara jumped back and dodged Naruto's two Rasengan.

An explosion occurred when Naruto's two Rasengan hit the ground. Two small spiraling craters appeared under Naruto, and the ground was destroyed in the process. Chunks of earth flew away, and a shock wave darted through the street.

Naruto stood up and looked through the dust toward Basara. "Hey, Tōjō!" said Naruto. He had a suspicion, but he needed to be sure. Nothing but a roar was heard before Basara appeared before Naruto. Naruto raised both eyebrows. 'He got faster?' thought Naruto. He ducked under the sword slash and made a low kick.

Basara jumped over the leg from Naruto and made a vertical downward slash. Naruto created a Rasengan in his low position and thrust his arm upward. His Rasengan and Basara's sword rubbed against each other before Basara ultimately was thrown back from the force of the Rasengan.

Basara caught himself and slid over the ground when he landed. He raised his sword over his hand, and a purple-pink aura pulsated around it. He swung his sword and unleashed a wave of purple-pink energy toward Naruto.

Naruto jumped into the air and dodged the energy attack. Basara appeared before him and swung his sword. Naruto didn't want to drag this fight out longer than he needed to, so in the last second, he twisted his body away and dodged the deadly blade. Basara's eyes widened when Naruto formed his right hand into a fist.

His entire right arm was glowing orange. "Sorry, Tōjō, but you need to sleep for a while." Naruto drove his right chakra-enhanced fist into Basara's face. It was like slow motion. Basara's head turned before he darted away and left an air ring behind.

Basara crashed into the ground not even a second later. The ground beneath Basara's body gave in, and he sunk into the ground, creating an imprint of his body in the ground. A dust cloud rose around Basara while a few debris flew away.

Naruto landed basically over Basara's body. Basara was out cold and wouldn't move so fast after this punch. Naruto checked if Basara was still alive. He hoped Basara was still alive after his last attack. He concentrated a little too much chakra into his punch. He noticed it first after he saw that his entire arm was glowing orange. Basara had heavy injuries not only from the punch but also from the impact on the ground.

Naruto hesitated to use his yang seal to heal Basara. He didn't know if Basara would also be connected to Naruto like Mio, who was connected to Naruto because he healed her with his yang seal.

Naruto carefully lifted Basara up and sighed in relief when he could tell that Basara could be carried by his clone. Naruto gently laid him down again before creating a clone. "Bring him to Ms. Hasegawa. She is in her apartment," said Naruto.

The clone nodded before gently lifting Basara and jumping away. Naruto cracked his neck and thought, 'So… shall we begin with the main attraction?'

"Why don't you come out…. Takigawa," said Naruto.

"I have to say, I didn't think you would be able to say I am here. You are full of surprises, Uzumaki," said Takigawa. He walked out of the shadow of a building with his hands in his pockets. He was in his demonic appearance, wearing a white mask and elegant suit.

"Cut the crap. What happened with Tōjō?" asked Naruto.

"Beside Naruse lived another girl with Basa-chi," said Takigawa. "The other girl is a succubus, someone who can seduce and subdue other souls."

Naruto frowned when he heard this. He could already guess what the cause of Basara's behavior and his strange appearance was. "Let me guess, the succubus used her power to subdue Basara's soul to manipulate him?" asked Naruto.

"I knew you would catch on quickly! You are indeed a worthy successor of Basa-chi," said Takigawa.

"Hey… don't say things you will regret. I won't take over anything from Tōjō, Takigawa. If you keep talking nonsense, then we will have a problem," said Naruto.

"But you already took over something from Basa-chi, Uzumaki," said Takigawa. "Don't tell me you have already forgotten?"

Takigawa snipped his fingers, and out of a purple portal appeared an unconscious Mio Naruse. Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked at Takigawa. "You have taken over the role of Mio Naruse's guardian and protector the moment you protected her from Kokabiel in the park and broke the master-servant contract between her and Basa-chi," explained Takigawa.

"I don't know how you managed to accomplish it, but you did something that was impossible to this point," said Takigawa. Mio Naruse gently glided to the ground and lay there. "You broke the connection between the master and the servant. You managed to cut off the connection between Naruse's and Basa-chi's souls."

"Should I understand what you are talking about?" asked Naruto. He had no idea what this master-servant contract was, and he didn't want to know. Hearing words like master and servant, let his neck hair stand up. It was something he despised more than anything.

Takigawa looked at Naruto's expression and could tell he had no idea what he was talking about. "You really don't know, do you?" asked Takigawa.

"I never cared about all this shit. The less I knew, the better," said Naruto. "But let's get to the point. What do you want, Takigawa? You want to threaten me with Naruse in your possession?"

"No. The complete opposite, actually," said Takigawa. He snipped his fingers, and Mio's body began to hover over the ground before gliding toward Naruto. "I am letting Naruse be in your care since you are connected to her. I will find out how you managed to do this, but for today, let's call it a day, shall we?"

"Oh yeah," said Takigawa. He raised his hand, and a purple magic circle appeared before his hand. Naruto prepared for an attack until he could see that something changed around them. All the damage that was done in the fight between Naruto and Basara began to revert back to its original state.

After 5 minutes, everything was back to normal. "I also fixed your apartment. I hope you accept this as a peace offer for now," said Takigawa. "We will most likely fight in the future, but for now, I am on your side."

Naruto flared his chakra, and the ground beneath him cracked. Orange chakra pulsated around him right now. "I warn you, Takigawa," said Naruto.

Takigawa got sweat behind his mask when he felt this overwhelming chakra. Naruto's chakra was extremely potent. He felt strong chakra from high-class Yōkai already, but Naruto's chakra was on another level.

"I won't play after your little game. If you have anything to say, say it now. Otherwise, fuck off, and the next time I will see you, I will see you as my enemy," said Naruto. His blue eyes were ice-cold, and he looked directly into Takigawa's eyes through the white mask.

"If this is the case…" Around Takigawa appeared a purple aura, and the ground began to shake from Naruto's chakra and Takigawa's aura. "I thought we could work together, but I guess you are too suspicious."

Naruto held a hand open, and orange chakra swirled into a condensed sphere. Takigawa also held a hand open, and a metallic sphere with purple magic around it appeared in it. "Do you really want to clash with Naruse nearby?" asked Takigawa.

Naruto said nothing while a clone of him landed next to him and Naruse. He lifted Mio off the ground and exploded into smoke. When the smoke faded, Mio and Naruto's clone were gone. Takigawa chuckled a bit and said, "How convenient," said Takigawa.

The orange chakra around Naruto vanished, and the purple aura around Takigawa vanished. Both charged forth at blinding speed, thrusting their hands forth. Rasengan met the metallic sphere from Takigawa. Both spheres were fighting for dominance before an explosion shook the street. A black smokescreen appeared around both fighters. Naruto and Takigawa flew out of the black smokescreen on opposite sides. Both landed safely on their legs.

'He is strong,' thought Naruto. Takigawa was stronger than Basara, not just slightly. The gap between Takigawa and Basara was massive. Naruto didn't know that he hindered Basara from getting stronger faster because he cut the connection between him and Mio. If Naruto hadn't interfered and broken the connection between Basara and Mio, he would be stronger since he would have become stronger through the submissions of the master-servant contract by now. However, since Naruto was in the picture, Mio didn't activate the curse, as Naruto had broken it. Her soul got connected to Naruto's soul instead of Basara's soul.

Naruto narrowed his eyes when he felt an unknown source of energy. His head snapped toward the sky, where he saw a foreign devil. "Oh, right on time," said Takigawa. Naruto looked forward and saw Takigawa again because the black smokescreen vanished.

"You know, Naru-chi…" said Takigawa. "I have a goal, and to achieve this, I need to do it."

'Naru-chi?' thought Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Today is the only day where I have the chance to fuck his plans up completely," said Takigawa. "If I don't use the chance today, I will never get the chance to lure him out."

He vanished, and a strong explosion rocked through the air. Naruto looked up and saw that Takigawa had attacked the devil in the air. Takigawa was hovering in the air, looking down. 'I am sorry, Zest. But for Zolgear to appear personally, you need to be in Naru-chi's care as well,' thought Takigawa.

The devil who appeared was Zest, Zolgear's right hand. Takigawa's only real goal and wish was to kill the bastard who killed his foster parents. Zolgear killed Takigawa's foster parents in the past. Takigawa didn't care about anything else. He would achieve his goal no matter what.

He interfered in Zolgear's plan to capture Mio Naruse today. Zolgear originally sent Zest out to give the succubus the order to subdue Basara Tōjō, kidnap Mio Naruse, and bring her to him. But Takigawa was there on time, saved Mio Naruse, and killed the succubus. He didn't have anything personal against the succubus, and he basically killed her in self-defense, but he killed her in the end. She tried to get Mio Naruse back and kill Takigawa because he interfered with the plan.

Takigawa knew that the succubus only did what Zolgear told him because Zolgear held the mother of the succubus hostage. But it couldn't be changed. He defended himself and killed her in the action.

Naruto jumped up and caught the injured Zest. He landed in a crouch and looked at her. He furrowed his eyebrows when he could tell he was getting dragged into something here. He looked up and saw Takigawa descending toward Naruto and Zest.

Naruto laid Zest on the ground and looked at Takigawa. "Let me make one thing clear, Takigawa," said Naruto. "I don't know what you expected to happen when you attack this demon before me. But I won't heal her and don't care what happens with this woman. Kill her if you want; I will not stop you."

Takigawa looked at Naruto and narrowed his eyes behind his mask. "You won't help a helpless woman in need?"

"When I interpreted this right, then this woman is someone who you know. It's not difficult to figure out that you try to bind her to me like Naruse is connected with me. I have no idea what your goal is, but I won't play after your little game. I already said it, Takigawa," said Naruto while the orange chakra pulsated once again around him.

"I see you as my enemy. Since you didn't vanish, I already see you as my enemy, and I won't show mercy to those who try to drag me into something," said Naruto. Takigawa got wide eyes when Naruto was out of a sudden before him and cocked his fist back. Takigawa could barely raise his right hand to catch Naruto's left fist. He got blown back by the force of the punch.

Takigawa slid over the ground before he stopped. He began to chuckle darkly. "You are really something, Naru-chi," said Takigawa. "To think you could slip into my subconscious."

Naruto didn't have Narukami anymore and couldn't use the lightning manipulation, but Naruto still could use everything else he learned from Narukami. Nukiashi (Trackless Step) was one of the techniques he could still use.

Even if Takigawa could see Naruto, his brain didn't perceive Naruto's movement as necessary information and didn't perceive him. Only when Naruto was right before Takigawa and his life was in danger did Takigawa's brain recognize Naruto's movement as necessary information. For Takigawa, it was like Naruto would have teleported the short distance between them, but in reality, Takigawa simply didn't perceive Naruto's movement as necessary and didn't see them.

Naruto let his outstretched fist fall beside his body again before he looked at Takigawa. "Not my problem, you can't see clearly," said Naruto.

Takigawa laughed at the comment and said, "I will retreat for today. I achieved everything I wanted for now. We will see each other again, Naru-chi. I hope you will take good care of Mio Naruse." Takigawa vanished in a purple mist before the mist faded away.

Naruto sighed and looked back toward the injured female devil called Zest. He walked back to her and remained silent.

…

'I hate myself,' thought Naruto. He couldn't simply let this devil die, even when he knew he would most likely regret this later down the line. He placed his right hand on Zest's stomach and concentrated. Her body twitched slightly before all her injuries were gone the next moment.

He stood up and placed Zest over his shoulder. He made a hand sign and exploded into smoke.

He remembered Ashura's words at the moment. "It's just who you are. You are a hero." Naruto shook his head and thought, 'No. I am not a hero. I am selfish.' He appeared in a forest outside of Tokyo and laid Zest on the ground. He created a clone and said, "Watch over her. When she wakes up, you can dissolve. Don't let her see you. If anything happens while she is still asleep, take her and flee. But besides that, don't interact with the devil."

"Yes, boss!" said the clone.

Naruto turned around and exploded into smoke once again. When he appeared before his apartment door a minute later, he sighed. 'At least my apartment isn't destroyed anymore.' He opened the door and walked inside.