A/N: Yo! It's been a very long time, like seriously. I never meant not to update this story, but I got another case of not being motivated to write. I did end up starting another story to get my groove back. This is probably one of my most favorite stories I have attempted so far and I really want to go on a journey with you guys and finish. I wanted to shout one of the reviewers that has been nothing but nice to me. Memekuda you are a gem and I really mean that. Couple things I want to address. First of, flaming reviews I will ignore, same for PM that are rude. I love to hear constructive criticism, this is what makes me want to improve and get better each time I write.
Secondly, I have went back and revised the chapters and added or did some minor changes. Hopefully, it helped with pacing of this story. As for Naruto power scaling, he is still very strong. I only took away his powerss that Hagoromo gave him away, which was literally the enhanced sage mode and truth seeker orbs. He's still very powerful, but there is some characters in Leagues lore that is insane. Also finally, this will NOT be a harem! I'm not comfortable with those.
Anyway, sorry for the long typing, Enjoy!
Irelia opened her eyes and noticed that she was in a completely dark place. 'Where am I?'
She also noted that her blades were not with her. Looking down at her hands, she saw that there was blood on them. However, what really caught her attention was what laid in front of her. She saw the lifeless body of Oze in front of her.
Shaking her head, his body vanished from view. She took a step back and fell. Recovering quickly, she seen that she fell into the unmarked grave of her family. Now trembling in fear, she scurried out of the pit and backed away quickly. "What is this?!" she shrieked.
Hearing a weak cough, she turned her attention to the source. Eyes widening, she seen that Seira was on her knees with a distant look on her once beautiful face. Her throat was pierced and she was missing a arm. Blood was everywhere! 'Please…' she silently pleaded.
She then felt someone towering over her and she slowly turned around. She gasped when she seen that it was Naruto. He had all types of blades sticking into him, to be exact, her blades! He coughed and blood landed on her face. He gave her a sad smile and mouthed a sorry, before his beautiful blue eyes went dull.
She caught him as he fell into her arms. Holding him in a tight embrace; she started to sob. "Why… WHY… WH-..."
"WHY?!" she screamed as she sat up quickly. Panting heavily, she realized she was in her and Seira's tent.
"Why what?!" came a startled voice. Irelia looked to see a perfectly fine Seira with a look of panic on her face.
'It was another nightmare after all.' She thought to herself. Taking a moment to calm her rapidly beating heart, Irelia gave a sigh of relief.
"Good morning Seira, did I sleep in too late?" Irelia asked the girl.
Still a bit confused on Irelia's outburst, she responded back to her friend."No, everyone has been recovering and celebrating the victory."
Smiling at that, Irelia started to get herself dressed. She needed to get some fresh air and clear her mind of the nightmare that was still fresh in her memory.
"You know what's crazy though? Naruto on the other hand, is a ball full of energy. You would think with how much magic he displayed, he would be exhausted. He's actually out there sparring the Kinkou ninja for fun." Seira said while frowning.
Irelia chuckled at that, she was relieved that he was alright. Naruto must have ignored Seira's request to rest if she is complaining about that. After she was dressed, she glanced over towards Seira and saw that something was bothering her. That normal shine in her eyes that Irelia was used to seeing was gone.
Biting her lip, Irelia decided to bring up the touchy subject that was probably the cause of that look. "It's not your fault, you know that right?" She said.
Seira frown deepened, she started to feel herself tremble at what Irelia was hinting at. Her breathing started to get a heavier and her vision was becoming blurred. She opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when she felt herself in a embrace from Irelia. That's when Seira decided to let it all out.
"I -it's just… I am tired of this Relia!" Seira wept. "Like I just want it all to go away! I keep telling myself we are almost done, just to stay strong. Seeing Oze die like that, was just too much and I- I-… I'm so sorry!" the girl cried in anguish, tightening their embrace.
Irelia stayed silent as she listened to Seira. This wasn't the first time her friend broke down after a battle. She herself normally would cry with her. It's what made her still feel human after taking so many lives.
Irelia's mouth opened, but she shut it just as quickly. She really didn't know how to respond to Seira. This was one of her closest friends and they lost another comrade. One that was like an older brother to them.
'You were supposed to see it through the end with us Oze. To watch life again without war. To see both of us grow up into young women as you would say. To finally experience true happiness once more but as adults.'
Neither one said anything else as they just sat there and mourned their fallen friend.
Naruto had awoken quite early that day. He had surprised himself with how fast he had fallen asleep after he was relieved of watch.
Currently, he was having a duel with the ninja that he faced briefly with two nights ago. The guy wanted to test him as a ninja, to see if what he pulled was a fluke or not. Naruto initially refused, but once he was called a coward he found himself dragged into it.
He brought his arms up to dodge a kick to the head. The ninja who's name was revealed as Tajira, used the force of his kick to jump off naruto. This caused Naruto to slide back a bit and Tajira took the chance to throw some shuriken at Naruto. Noticing the incoming projectiles, He quickly deflected them with a kunai.
'This guy isn't half bad. He's a bit more on the defensive side in his fighting.' Tajira thought as he rushed Naruto again. This time, taking his speed up to the next level; he had drawn his katana and took a swing at Naruto.
However, he wasn't expecting a clone to poof out of existence underneath him and kick him in the chin. The force of the kick sent him upwards; two more clones appeared and kicked him in the stomach to send him further in the air.
Slightly dazed, Tajira looked to see that the clones disappeared as fast as they came and Naruto was nowhere to be found. Sensing a presence behind him, he turned to see Naruto rapidly descending towards him.
He raised his arms to block a kick that sent him towards the ground hard. Before he could get up his own sword was pointed at his face. Looking at Naruto with an annoyed look, he sighed. "I yield." he said grumpily.
Naruto smiled and held his hand out to help the shinobi out. "Man, you are quick!"
"Your reflexes are insane, I was sure I had the upper hand on speed." Tajira stated.
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Well I had a history of fighting quick opponents, so I learned to anticipate when they would strike."
"I can respect it. Now I definitely want to see you at your full power, and not just a friendly spar."
Naruto smiled at that. " I bet you are super strong."
"Eh, I would love to be considered super strong, but there are some ninja that are way stronger than me. Like Akali over there. Her speed is most definitely unrivaled. I feel she's even faster than her mom." Tajira said.
"Don't compare me to her." Akali replied. She walked up to the two after watching from a distance. Naruto was most definitely a strange one. He doesn't scream ninja, but he was adamant that he was trained like one. He even caught them off guard when he walked up a tree, saying this was taught to him shortly after graduating the academy.
Tajira sighed as he looked at the young kunochi . 'Has the same personality as her mom.' he thought.
Naruto looked confused, but decided to speak up. "You should be proud of that."
"Why?"
"My dad was known as one of the fastest ninja to ever live before he died. He was called the Yellow Flash, and before I actually became stronger I never lived up to that title. However, now I can confidently say I am as fast as him, if not faster."
"I think you are a fast kid, but that damn father of yours was a nuisance."
"You should come back to the Kinkou with us. It would be good to have someone new around for once." Tajira said laughing.
"I would like to visit one day for sure, but I kind of promised to stick around here." Naruto replied back.
"What kind of magic was that you used? Or do you use ki?" Akali asked, grabbing his attention again. That one move he used to vaporize the giant was fascinating.
"Oh that was ninjutsu. That's what we call it back home, and it was my Wind Style; Rasenshuriken." I just combine wind nature chakra with my Rasengan and it turns into that.
"But it vaporized the giant and left nothing…" Tajira said.
"Yeah and?…"
"…"
"You said Sage Art though?" Akali pitched in. Oh he did use an enhance version didn't he?
"I am trained in Senjutsu. After my Master died, I went to a place far away and was trained by toads to be a Toad Sage. My normal Rasenshuriken is with wind release, but with my chakra mode that you seen, I used natural energy from my sage mode." Naruto explained.
"So what you are telling me, you are a Sage?" Tajira asked. When Naruto nodded he laughed.
"I would call you crazy because of how young you are, but after the shit you have shown us, I am not even going to doubt it." Naruto felt the back of his neck get warm and he rubbed at it in embarrassment. He didn't know if it was a compliment or what, but he liked the praise.
"Looks like you guys are having fun." came the voice of Irelia. After having a heartfelt talk with Seira, she was back to business.
Naruto noticed that her eyes were a bit red, and he frowned. She had just got done crying, and looking at it now, Seira was not with her. He took a mental note to talk with her alone like he did Seira.
"Looks like everyone is well rested, since you guys have a decent crowd here." Irelia said. The crowd started to go back to whatever they were doing before the spar.
"I guess it's time we have that debrief." Akali said. Irelia nodded and crossed her arms.
"My plan is to head back to the Placidium and talk with the elders on what will be our next action. We are going to send some reinforcements down to help with the town we have been camped in, at least to keep the numbers strong. Since Nafori has been burned to the ground, all we can do is hope the land will grow back beautifully."
"What about in the southwest? Shouldn't we be mobilizing soon to strike?" Akali asked.
Irelia sighed at her question. "As much as I would love to, there is a bit of a rift that is now happening among our people. The Navori Brotherhood, wants me dead and have plans to make Ionia a monarchy."
Naruto frowned remembering the guys that tried to take her life when he first met her. He hoped he didn't run into them again, he may not be so forgiving this time.
'Hmmm you starting to think that mercy isn't always the way? I like it kid.' Kurama said.
'I wouldn't word it like that Kurama.'
' Yeah…right. Your kindness isn't going to be a saving grace here like it was back in the Elemental Nations.'
Naruto decided to ignore that and focused back on the conversation.
"Well you have our full support, we just want our lands free of outsiders." Akali said
"Doesn't mean you Naruto, we like you!" Tajira pitched in. Akali only rolled her eyes at that, and some other ninjas around cheered in agreement.
Naruto scratched one of his cheeks sheepishly and smiled. It felt good that he was being accepted in a lot better now.
Irelia smiled, holding her hand out to Akali. "I thank you again, and if we meet again out there; hopefully we will be raising our arms in victory again."
Akali shook her hand and nodded. She motioned for all the ninjas to get ready, and put her hands together in a familiar hand seal Naruto recognized. They all disappeared in a whirl of wind and leaves.
'Not bad,' Kurama added. Naruto could only snicker in agreement. Turning towards his friend, he seen that it was now really just him and Irelia.
"Hey are you busy?" Naruto asked.
"Not until everyone is packed and ready to go. That should be within the next hour." Irelia responded, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at his sudden question.
"Cool, did you want to come with me real quick? I want to talk with you about something." Naruto said with a warm smile. Irelia eyed him for a bit, but nodded.
Naruto had motioned for her to follow him and they traveled a bit away from camp. Once they arrived, they had a perfect view of the valley that oversaw Whe'le, and the ocean way into the distance. Naruto pulled out a scroll and sat it down.
"What's that?" Irelia asked.
"This is a scroll that's from my old world and life. I wanted to open this, so I can move onto the next chapter in my life, but first there's something else that needs to be done." Naruto said as he extended his arm and held out a fist towards her.
Looking at his outstretched fist, Irelia furrowed her eyebrow in confusion. When her blue eyes met his, they had a burning confidence in them that made her feel relaxed?
"Back home, we made connections with people close to us by bumping fists. This right here, is a vow that I am making with you because I promised this to Oze. Me and him had a talk before we made it down here."
Irelia's eyes widened at the mention of her fallen friend. Correction, their fallen friend. She slowly raised her hand up to his and bumped fists with him.
Her breath caught in her throat as she was hit with tons of memories. Faces she had never seen before, but she saw Naruto in almost every one of these scenes. Happy, sad, horrible, and even a battlefield. Was this his memories and thoughts? He's been through so much, just like she had.
As soon as they came, they vanished and she was now looking at a smiling Naruto.
"I know I haven't been here long, but you and everyone so far has been accepting of me while I am trying to find myself in this new world. I don't know where I may end up in my life, but I have made the decision that I want to help protect this land. To protect the land, that I want to be my new home. Oze died protecting something precious to him. I want to do the same, and keep my promise to him by protecting all of you from this day forward."
Irelia's eyes had watered at his words and Naruto gained a worried look. He was most definitely not expecting her to start crying at his vow.
'You really are going to always be a fool. Don't you remember when you promised the pink banshee and she cried? Or when you talked with your Mom in your declaration of how much you loved them and your words reached them? Females are super sensitive when you say soothing words to them.' Kurama said, obviously annoyed. Guess some things won't change with this idiot child.
'Watch who you are calling a fool, Furball!' Naruto retorted. However before he could give Kurama a tongue lashing, Irelia laughed.
Looking at Irelia, she wiped her eyes with her other arm. "Was definitely not expecting the smooth talk. However thank you Naruto, it means a lot. I don't want you promising something that steep. I will take the promise you that you won't die on me though." She said, giving him a bright smile.
"With this old fur ball inside of me, I won't be kicking the bucket too soon." Naruto chuckled. Irelia laughed again, and nodded as they broke their fist bump.
They both took in the view of the valley again, before Naruto finally decided to open the scroll. Irelia took notice and silently observed him. He put his hand on the scroll seal and poured some of his chakra into it. What happened next was words started to appear on the scroll.
Irelia watched as Naruto started to read the contents of the scroll. His face gained an ear splitting grin, before he bursted out into laughter.
"Shikamaru you lazy asshole!" He said to no one in particular. Irelia could only smile as she listened to him read the written letters from his home world.
Thanks for reading!