Hello there!

Moving on, I belive that the next part is going back to the surface. Not sure I missed something, but the Belobog arc is coming to an end very soon, so here's a question; should I add the side quests before or after the Xianzhou arc? Give me an answer in the reviews. Also, (naruto wesker) asked for a Naruto x ZZZ fanfic. I was thinking about it, but I don't really see how I can make one. If you have any ideas for a plot line, please fell free to PM me about them. Anyways, the disclaimer is in the first chapter and I'm quite sure you know what bolded letters mean by now. On a side note, Naruto's path will be revealed in this chapter.

Aeons

Madara

Kurama

Naruto was crouched in front of a newly repaired Svarog who was holding on to Clara a bit more protectively. "Now that the reunion is done and dusted, how about we just sit down and have a talk?"

The robot gave it some thought. "Very well. I will accept your request."

Naruto smiled. "There we go. Now we're getting somewhere. Since you don't seem to like stalling, I'll get straight to the point. Before that, let me ensure our privacy." The blond lifted his staff and gently tapped it on the ground, creating a bluish dome that covered everyone. "I hope you don't mind little Clara being privy to our talks?"

Said girl broke the hug with the robot and sat down on Svarog's leg and looked up at him questioningly. "Mr Svarog. Will you listen to them?" Svarog stared at her and finally moved his head in a way that resembled nodding.

Naruto smiled at the interaction. "Ok then. In simple terms, we need to go to the surface, so that we can seal away the Stellaron and set the course for the recovery of this planet. It won't be quick, but I'd say that's for the better."

"Excuse me, but what exactly do you mean by that?" Natasha's voice was laced with confusion and a bit of anger. "Why would taking a long time for our home to recover be a good thing?"

Naruto sighed. "Look at Clara. Notice something about her clothes?" Everyone, including Clara herself, looked over the girl and came up with nothing. "She's not wearing any shoes. This place is cold, and under normal circumstances, her feet would've been ridden with frostbite by now. Why do you think that's not the case?" Everyone looked at Clara and noticed for the first time that she wasn't wearing shoes.

"It's because her body has, more or less, adapted to living in the cold. I have no intention of conducting an exam on her, so I can't say for sure, but if anything, her body might have trouble cooling down from higher temperatures. Actually." Naruto put his knuckles on Clara's forehead and hummed in thought. "Her body temperature is much higher than average. I hate to say it, but in a warmer world, she would be suffering from a chronic fever. The slow warm up will give future generations time to adjust and get used to living in higher temperatures. Not to mention your planet itself will need time to adjust to the change. In all of Belobog, I only saw a few trees with actual leaves, which means that plants are slowly evolving to adapt to the cold. A slow warm up will give the plant ti- I think they've heard enough Mr Naruto. You don't need to add even more salt to the wound." Once his little rant was interrupted by March, Naruto turned around to see Natasha, Seele, Bronya and Sampo all looking a little pale while the Astral Express Crew was sweatdropping at the utter ruthlessness of the verbal bombs their senior just dropped.

Naruto also sweatdropped at their reactions and cleared his throat to disperse the tension. He considered explaining how long of a time this would take, but in the end, he decided to keep quiet. He'd rather not have them having a panic attack. With that in mind, he turned back to Svarog. "Sorry for getting sidetracked there. What I am trying to say I that we have the means to seal the Stellaron. We also have four people from this world, three of which are from the Underworld, that are supporting us here. I won't lie; we aren't representing the whole of Jarilo-VI or even the Underworld, but we are trying. Actually, some to think of it, your previous claim about us trying to make contact with the Stellaron for selfish reasons wasn't entirely off either. We are followers of the Trailblaze and the Astral express, which we use to travel through the Universe, is kind of… grounded, so to speak. The influence of the Stellaron is making the Star Rail unstable, so we can't move forward without risking getting stranded."

While Naruto was explaining this, everyone was trying to make sense of why Naruto wasn't trying to challenge Svarog's calculation results. "Umm… does anyone understand what is happening? Mr Naruto isn't even trying to challenge Svarog?" Everyone shook their heads at March 7th's question. Despite this, Dan Heng still looked deep in thought, something March dismissed as Dan Heng being Dan Heng. Suddenly, the boy perked up, drawing the attention of March and Caelus. "Dan Heng. Did you figure something out?" The stoic archivist nodded. "Then don't keep it to yourself. Tell us what it is!"

"Mr Naruto isn't trying to change the variables in Svarog's calculations. He's trying to show a different result to the calculations being made. That's why he isn't challenging anything, or introducing anything new that might tip the scales." Dan Heng's explanation made sense. Naruto didn't say much of anything outside of what had already been said that may have a major impact. He just told Svarog that they were also looking for the Stellaron for a selfish reason and gave the exact details of what was going on. Looking at it head on, it may have seemed like a stupid idea, but now, it might have been genius. 'And he said that I was the best at negotiations.'

After a few minutes, Svarog conceded. "Very well. I shall provide you with all the information I have on the Stellaron." Searching database…" Everyone moved around Svarog and listened to what the robot was saying. A few more minutes later, they had plenty of information.

Naruto nodded grimly. 'So the Architects have known about the Stellaron for a long time and have been trying to find ways to minimize its effects. Not half bad. In that same note, I can take a guess that Cocolia wasn't the first time that someone tried contacting the Cancer; however, this could easily be the first time that the it has succeeded in manipulating the Supreme guardian. If push comes to shove, I might have to kill her, but…' Naruto glanced at Bronya, who was chatting away to Seele. 'In that case, I might have to look for a way to stop the Stellaron from corrupting Cocolia.' He shook his head and turned back to Clara and Svarog; both of whom looked like father and daughter. "Thank you for the information Svarog. Before we leave, can you stand up? I want to make sure that I didn't miss anything when I did the reconstruction." Svarog made a nodding gesture and Naruto coaxed Clara off the robot's leg. Then, he instinctively held out his hand for Svarog to grasp. The robot looked confused before grasping the outstretched hand and pulling himself up. Naruto smiled. "There we are. Looks like you're good to go." The second Naruto let go, Clara basically teleported to Svarog and kept chatting off his ear. Naruto guessed that it was because the poor girl was worried about Naruto basically killing the robot and wanted to make sure that he was still alive. He understood that. "Oh, and one more thing." Svarog looked up at it. "We need the Furnace core active again. That would probably be the easiest way to get back to the Overworld, unless we consult Sampo which is something I really don't want to do."

Svarog nodded. "Very well. I shall provide you access to the Furnace core." Naruto smiled and nodded.

Despite the victory, there was somewhat of a sombre mood between Seele and Natasha. "Hey Nat? Is this it? Did we… did Wildfire win? Is this the end?"

Natasha shook her head. "No. This is just a new beginning. Our battle. Their battle. The battle for this world; is just beginning."

The sound of clapping drew their attention to Naruto, who was walking towards them with his staff tucked in his armpit. "Not a bad speech Doc. Not bad at all. By the way, why do you carry around an enhanced grenade launcher when you're a doctor?"

And just like that, everyone looked at Natasha. "Actually, that's a good question. She's threatened me with that thing many times when I went to the surface. *shudder* It's scary." When everyone looked at Samp, he just raised his arms in surrender.

Natasha sighed. "Ignoring that, I have a question for you. Are you ok?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "I mean there is a you shaped impression on that rock and what looks like missile scraps, not to mention your torn clothes. Did you get bombarded by Svarog?"

Naruto sheepishly scratched his head and gave a nervous laugh. "No…" The doctor kept glaring at him. "Ok fine. Yes I was. But I blocked them all." She kept on staring. "Fine. I was dazed from the hit, so I couldn't block the first wave." Still staring. "Ahhh… Fine! I couldn't block any hits because I was rusty. Happy? I need to get on a training regimen." That last part was uttered quietly so no one heard it.

*Timeskip*

After some deliberation, the gang had decided to storm the Overworld the next day. They were all tired from fighting Svarog and wanted to rest. They had also wanted to find possible allies up there that could make their mission easier. The Trailblaze trio, as March had taken to calling the team of her, Caelus and Dan Heng, invited Seele and Bronya to their room in Gothe hotel to discuss this, along with potential adversaries thy may have to face. Eventually, the talk had eased off into small talk with everyone talking about everything which had ended up in an impromptu sleepover that had been a first for Bronya and, surprisingly, for Seele.

While everyone dozed off peacefully, Bronya opened her eyes and shifted onto her back. She looked around and took in how everyone was sleeping. March was culling a pillow and slightly drooling in her sleep, which Bronya expected from the bubbly girl. Also as expected, was Dan Heng, who was perfectly tucked in, with only his head poking out. What surprised her were Caelus and Seele. Both were passed next to each other in a corner of the room with Caelus' phone between them. Bronya suspected that they had been watching a video or playing a game before they passed out midway. Looking at them one last time, Bronya sighed and slowly stood up, trying her best to not wake anyone up. She then walked up to the feedback book in the hotel room and wrote something on the last page before tearing it out and putting it on Seele's fist. Once she made sure that the girl wasn't waking up, she slowly opened the door and walked out before closing it and stretching. "Sorry everyone, but I have to do this." She took a deep breath and walked to her own room to find her weapon and leave. While she was walking there, a memory with Seele flashed before her eyes.

*Flashback*

"You know, I never figured that I'd ever be having a heart-to-heart with the future Supreme guardian. I never met many people from the Overworld as a kid, so I always thought they were just a bunch of cold snobs."

Bronya laughed at Seele's words. "Well, some of them can be." She sighed and looked out over the abandoned town. "I've heard from veteran Silvermane guards about how the Underworld and the Overworld used to be basically the same before the order to seal off the Underworld. I heard how people ate the same food, talked about the same things, and even celebrated the same festivals…" Bronya trailed off before looking at Seele with a small smile. "Even though things are different, I believe that I can still find a way to change it. That I can make it right."

Seele put a hand on Bronya's shoulder. "You don't have to do it yourself anymore, because I'll stand with you."

Bronya smiled. "Thank you Seele. It means a lot to me." She turned to look at the city and change the subject. "So, did you come here as a child?"

Seele also turned. "Of course. I just never realised how nice everything was back then. It was very nice."

They kept talking for a while, where Seele also offered to teach her some Underworld slang, until they met back up with Naruto and Caelus.

*Flashback end*

Bronya sighed as she remembered the memory. She knew how dangerous her quest is, but she had to get some answers. She did one final check and made sure that her gun was loaded before taking a deep breath and getting ready to leave. She really didn't want to do this, but he also felt that asking her mother directly was the best course of action right now. It was also something she knew that no one else would agree with. "Going somewhere, Supreme guardian?" Startled, Bronya quickly summoned her gun and moved to fire a bullet but her gun was wrenched out of her hands. "Easy there Bronya. While healing is easy for me, prevention sounds a lot better." Only when the assailant finally turned the lights on did she realise that she almost shot Naruto again. "So, care to tell me where you plan on going at this hour."

Bronya sighed. She idly wondered about the number of times she did that for the day, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and sighed again before talking. "I'm going to confront my mother. If you're going to say not to do that, then don't. I've already made up my mind."

Naruto smiled and leaned his staff on the door frame before speaking. "I'm not going to stop you Bronya. If you think that you can help her, then please go ahead. I'd hate to ki- ahem… put an end to your mother." Seeing Bronya's eyes widen, he gave out a gentle laugh. "Don't worry. I'll only do that if push comes to shove. Before you leave though, I have to talk to you about something. I have reason to believe that the Stellaron has some influence over Madam Cocolia." Bronya's eyes widened. "Before you ask, my source is confidential, so I cannot tell you who told me about this information. Also, don't ask your mother about the Stellaron. Oh, and before you go, take this. Just in case." Naruto handed Bronya one of his Hiraishin kunai with a smile.

At first, the Silver haired girl was confused. "This is…" Then she remembered how Naruto had teleported to a similar looking kunai before. "Why are you giving me this."

"Just in case. As an elder, I can't let my kouhai get hurt now can I?" 'Did I just say that?' Naruto's question was answered by a dark but mirthful chuckle from the back of his mind. "Haha! Looks like the old Naruto Uzumaki is back afterall!" 'Cut it out Kurama!' "He's not lying Naruto. You haven't used that word since you left that ship. Maybe that grey haired kid awakened some old instinct inside you." He could feel Kurama nodding his head to Madara and gave up. "Oh, and by the way," Bronya perked up at hearing him address her. "Catch!" She lifted her hand and perfectly caught whatever was thrown at her. when she took a closer look, she realised that it was a pendent made of black stone made in the shape of a closed eye. "Put it on, and watch the eye. If, it's fully open, then it won't protect you from the Stellaron any longer. It's still in testing but it's better than nothing. If you ask me, I'd suggest putting it on as a hair tie with the eye inside. Be careful out there Bronya." With that, Naruto took his leave while Bronya stared at the pendent in her hand. She thought about leaving it here, but he hadn't given her a reason to doubt him yet, so she put it on, just the way he instructed. She didn't feel any difference but she decided not to doubt it. With one final look at the room where her friends were sleeping in, Bronya made up her mind and went on her way to confront her mother.

Naruto walked outside the hotel and watched Bronya leave before making his way towards Natasha's clinic and knocking on the door. In just a few seconds, he heard the door unlock and saw it open just a crack. Natasha saw Naruto and motioned for him to come inside before locking the clinic and moving to the doctor's room. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Naruto sighed. "Firstly, thanks for agreeing to meet with me. Second, I want to know how much you actually know about everything."

Natasha looked confused. "What do you mean? If you need information, you should ask Oleg. He's the leader of Wildfire afterall."

Naruto chuckled. "Don't play the fool with me Doc. I know the difference between a leader's face and a true leader. In other words, I know you're the true leader of Wildfire." Natasha looked visibly confused, making Naruto chuckle again. "As of now, I'm 90% certain that you are the leader of Wildfire or was a part of it for sometime. You wanted to hide your involvement because you're a doctor who's more keen on saving as many lives as possible."

For a good ten seconds, Natasha glared at Naruto, something that (unlike last time) had no visible effect on him, before sighing. "Fine, you got me. I don't know how you found out, but yes, I stated Wildfire to fill the role that the Silvermane guards left when they were ordered to retreat from the Underworld. Speaking of which, there has to be a reason you're here right?"

Naruto smiled. "Correct. I came here to ask if you have any contacts from the Overworld."

Natasha's jaw dropped before she caught herself with a cough. "And what makes you think that?"

Naruto chuckled for a second before the smile shrunk into a tiny one. Oh how he loved the shocked look on someone's face when he revealed the depths of his knowledge. "It was quite simple really. The Underworld has been sealed off for a whole decade and even though the Overworld sends supplies, I doubt there's ever anything to spare. It's a very effective tactic. If you control the essential resources, then the other party is forced to comply to the conditions you bring to the table."

Natasha crossed her arms and leaned on her bed frame with a raised eyebrow. "And what's the point of telling me this? Even if I know about that, there's nothing we can do."

Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back on Natasha's table with a sigh. "That's true, but right now, as we speak, Bronya is going to meet up with her mother and try to talk some sense into her. Before I say anything else, I want you to swear that nothing we speak in here will leave this room."

Natasha looked at the ground in contemplation before nodding. "I swear."

Naruto nodded in response. "Good. The reason that the Supreme Guardian is acting like this is because she is influenced by the Stellaron." Natasha's eyes widened in shock but Naruto pressed on. "Right now, she isn't herself and there's no guarantee that she'll be taking the rational route out of this. Chances are that she'll try to corrupt Bronya too. Don't worry. I gave her something I've been testing that can help with that up to some extent. What I want you to do is be prepared. Right now, there's a good chance that the Underworld is just a bargaining chip on the table. I'm sure most of these accusations are baseless but just in case, keep it in mind. Anyway, before I got sidetracked, the reason I believe that you're in contact with the Overworld is because you managed to keep the clinic running down here, which means that you had someone giving you the supplies you needed. I won't press on who it is, but I just want to say that you should warn your contact to be careful. Better yet, see if she can help Bronya. Also, before I forget, we'll be heading to the surface tomorrow. That's that, so I'll take my leave." With that, Naruto left the clinic, leaving Natasha unaware of the small mistake he'd made. 'Guess I'm still rusty.'

Once he left, Natasha locked her door and pulled out a small box from under her bed. Opening it, she placed its contents on her table before pushing on a corner of the bottom, making one of the sides stick out. She took off the false bottom and pulled out a small round device. She quickly turned it on and waited for a response. After a few seconds, she heard the gravelly voice of a voice changer ask her what she needed. "Serval. Listen to me carefully…" Natasha explained everything Naruto had told her and about Bronya returning to the surface. Once she was done, she replaced the communicator and put the box back under her bed. She didn't know why, but she had the feeling that Naruto had left one crucial that she just couldn't figure out.

After his talk with Natasha, Naruto made his way into his room and sat down on the bed. His room was the farthest from the sleepover and that was completely intentional. He had even decided to organise the sleepover by suggesting it to March and even going as far as promising to pay the hotel for any damage caused to the mattresses when they were moved into one room. He sighed again and moved to the floor, placed his staff in front of him and sat cross legged before taking a deep breath and releasing it. "Are you sure about this? I can feel your insecurity." Naruto sighed again. "Yes Kurama. I'm sure. If I want to become who I was back then, I have to do this." Kurama sighed. "But you aren't any different. You're still Naruto Uzumaki. Be honest Brat. You just miss them don't you?" Naruto hummed. "True, but we're going up against a Stellaron, and having their help can mean a lot. Besides, it would be good to know how he sees me after all this time." With one more breath, he closed his eyes and began meditating.

'Still as a stone.' The phrase came to him rather easily, and he repeated it in his head. Still as stone. His breathing became imperceptible as he focused on his mind and slowly, the darkness fell away to reveal a starry sky. Turning around, he saw a dark blue spiral stabbing into a grey disc, stirring up a storm of debris. He felt two familiar presences behind him and smiled. Madara moved next to him and Kurama loomed over him. He gave them both a nod and moved forward. On the way, he saw many memories from his old life; from battles to celebrations to moments of loneliness, they were all laid bare before him.

Before long, he reached the center of the spiral and took off his headband, revealing a vertical slit on his forehead; the product of something done a long time ago that set many things in motion. "Naruto. You return to meet me at last." Hearing the familiar voice brought a smile to Naruto's face. "I'm back old man. And I'm sorry for being gone for so long." The old voice chuckled. "Even after this long, you still call me that. Don't worry about anything. You deserved the break. Now tell me my son. Why are you here?" Naruto sighed and explained everything. "I see. Then allow me to lend a helping hand." Before the voice could say anything, Naruto interrupted. "Wait! Before you do anything, I still want to walk on the Path of Trailblaze. I've met many friends that I'd put my life on the line for and… I don't want to lose that." The voice was silent before it chuckled again. "In that case go ahead. Akivilli used to be a good friend of mine and our Paths are aligned. So go forth my son, and receive my power! The power of the Ninshu!"

The space innfront of the spiral shimmered with power for a few seconds before revealing the smiling face of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths and the Aeon of Ninshu. (A/N: that line sounds so cheesy)

*The next day*

Seele woke up and stretched her body with a small yawn. Feeling all her joints crack and pop into place, she let out a sigh of relief before looking around the room. Caelus was sleeping next to her with his phone in his hand. They had played video games for hours last night after Seele caught Caelus playing on his phone under a blanket. March 7th was cuddling a pillow and Dan Heng was perfectly tucked in and both were dozing off like no one's business. Seele felt something wrong but couldn't place it at first but then she noticed the glaring absence of the future Supreme Guardian. Concerned, she placed her hands on the floor to push himself off the floor but stopped when she felt something coarse under it. Lifting it up, she saw a piece of paper and quickly unfolded it to read its contents. "Oh no."

"So Bronya left for the Overworld to talk some sense into her mother?" A nod. "And you just let her?!" Naruto physically recoiled from Seele's loud words and reflexively closed his eyes. Said girls was happy about this. The man in front of her could have easily stopped Bronya but he chose not to. Right now, they were in Naruto's room with everyone else staring at the scythe wielding girl shouting at the blond haired senior.

The happiness Seele felt was quickly shattered when Naruto brought out a tissue and wiped his face. "I'll have to wash my face twice as hard after this. Did you brush your teeth this morning?" Seele blushed furiously until Naruto chuckled. "Kidding. As for your question about Bronya, yes I did. This was a problem between her and her mother and I don't want to interfere. If there's a chance that we can get out of this with a fight, I'm willing to take it. Besides, I also have a backup plan just in case, so don't worry." He let out a huge sigh before stretching his arms with a satisfied groan. "Anyway, shall be begin our own expedition then?"

Everyone looked at each other with a resolute look and nodded. "Let's go!" Naruto smiled at Caelus and walked out.

"Well come on then! We have a Stellaron to take care of!" With that, everyone left the hotel, ready to help their friend and take back the frozen world from the clutches of the Stellaron.

4300 words isn't too bad.

So, Naruto's path was revealed in this chapter to be the Path of the Ninshu and the Aeon was revealed to be Super gramps himself. I might add some more lore about the path later but for now, that's all I'll say. I originally planned on doing this for the Penacony quest but you can see how that ended up. I will note that so far, there is only one major change in Naruto's power. That will come in very handy during Cocolia's battle. I won't be giving spoilers so don't bother asking. On a side note, the main Belobog arc will be ending in around 2 chapters, and Acheron is leading the ship vote by 10. Should I lock in the ship votes? Also, like I mentiond before, if you have any ideas about how I can make a Naruto x zzz fanfic, please PM me! Anyway, that's all I have to say so please leave a review. They've been at an all time low and I'm not too sure if people like what I'm putting out.

Peace out!

P.S. The update on this will be a bit delayed (by about a week) because I am starting another fic. don't know what ya'll will think about that but oh well.