Maelstrom Of The Keyblade

by ReaperOfBalance

Having had a second war following immediately after the 4th Shinobi War, Naruto finds himself in a new world and new friends, but it also comes with new enemies and problems. Chosen by the Keyblade, Naruto must wage a war against the Heartless to find his friends and restore the worlds that have succumbed to the Darkness. (Follows the games with tweaks and twists of my own)

6. Chapter 6: Traverse Town 2

Hey guys and welcome back.

Time to return to Traverse Town due to Naruto being injured, but that's not all that's gonna happen.

Nothing else to go over, so let's get this show on the road.

DISCLAIMER: I own NOTHING from Disney, Square Enix, Naruto, any of the affiliated companies, sub-companies, brands, or anything. I also don't own anything that I add in from other items that may appear in this fic.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

[Not English]

Spell

"Summons, pissed off Naruto, spirit/apparition speech"

"Above's thoughts"

# check bottom for details.

CHAPTER 6: TRAVERSE TOWN, VISIT 2

SPACE

The trip wasn't as exciting or happy like the others had been, Goofy and Donald were gunning the ship right back to Traverse Town to get Naruto healed before it was too late.

Cloud was rotating between helping on the ship and checking on Naruto and Mulan, the latter of whom refused to leave his side the entire way there.

Of course, there were complications as the Heartless kept getting in the way, but between Donald, Goofy, and Cloud, they were able to handle them and Donald grabbed what Gummi blocks they passed but wasn't going out of his way to do so since they were on a time crunch.

Mulan was arguably the most worried, seeing Naruto, who was usually so strong, capable, and confident reduced to this mess was heartbreaking to her and she clutched his hand as they flew taking time to wash his wounds and wipe his head at times.

Mushu was with her, getting her to eat at times by pointing out that if she passed out or got in danger of not eating and sleeping, then she'd be hindering Naruto's recovery rather than helping with it.

Kairi was no better as Naruto was unconscious even in the mindscape and hadn't reacted to anything, making her worried as she was curled up around him, kissing his cheek and neck and whispering in his ear to stay and fight, to come back to her and the others.

She hated feeling so useless and no doubt that Mulan felt the same way with Donald, Goofy, and Cloud feeling similarly to a lesser extent.

A knock on the door brought Kairi and Mulan out of their thoughts as Cloud came in. "Donald says we're approaching Traverse Town; we need to get him ready to be moved." Cloud informed, making Mulan nod as she had just finished changing his bandages before she and Cloud helped get him ready to be moved and carried.

His movements and actions at the Palace and City had tore open his other wounds making it that much harder on them.

Donald and Goofy landed the Gummi Ship just outside of Traverse Town and moved to help Cloud and Mulan with Goofy being ready to protect them if any Heartless showed up.

They also had to make the puppies stay there since it wasn't safe and were thankful they at least somewhat understood them.

Moving into the first district, they ignored the people and Moogles looking at them in shock as they headed straight for the accessory shop. "Hey, welcome to the- What in tarnation happened?!" Cid asked in shock as they brought Naruto in and Cloud helped support him in the ring of light, hoping that it could fix some of the damage or at least stabilize him better.

"We got in a bad fight, Naruto jumped to save some people and got hurt before he took them out. We need Aerith's help." Donald stated quickly making Cid nod his head as he came around to help support Naruto.

"All right, come on, we need to get him to the hotel or the abandoned house in the third district. I'll carry him, you guys watch my ass and keep the Heartless away." Cid stated making them nod as they moved.

Getting to the second district was easy enough, but immediately Heartless started swarming them making Cloud, Goofy, and Donald glare angrily. "Out of the way." Donald shouted as he smacked one aside before blasting more with his magic while Goofy threw one of his shields and bashed the other into a Heartless while Cloud cut through several of them.

Mulan cut through some as well, but she was making sure to stay close to Cid so they couldn't try and drive them apart.

"Come on, kid, don't quit on me now." Cid grunted as they were almost to the hotel before more Heartless arrived only for them to get hit by a large green shuriken as Yuffie jumped down and began pelting the Heartless causing them to disperse.

"Hey guys, what's happening?" She asked as she kicked another Heartless away.

"Naruto's injured, badly, we need Aerith to heal him." Mulan stated making her look and widen her eyes at the state he was in.

"Holy shit! What happened?!" She asked in shock.

"Talk later, fight now, Yuffie." Cloud ordered making her look shocked to see him before she shook her head and began throwing more knives and shuriken at the Heartless.

However, they just kept coming making them all fight harder, but it was getting harder and harder, especially as some monkey like ones with slingshots were joining the party.

Mulan then shouted as she and Yuffie were tackled while Donald and Goofy were cornered and Cloud was locked against two Assault Riders, the name Jiminy gave to the centaur Heartless.

Cid put Naruto down to try and help only to get jumped by some Heartless too.

"No!" Mulan shouted as they neared Naruto before they suddenly dispersed in a flash of light and a heavy presence settled over the area making the Heartless fidget and move back.

Everyone looked around before seeing Naruto on his feet with his Keyblade in his hand and his hair shadowing his eyes while his magic was coursing around him.

He merely raised his head before everyone choked as they felt a sense of dread and fear.

Why?

Because Naruto's eyes were blood red with a slit pupil and he had a more feral appearance. "Beat it." Naruto growled out in a tone that made everyone shiver in fear.

To their shock, the Heartless actually took a step back and retreated.

Naruto waited a moment as he breathed hard before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

"Naruto!" Mulan shouted as she scrambled to her feet and went to Naruto with the others quickly coming too.

"What the hell was that?" Cid asked in shock as he'd never seen anything like that before, especially the Heartless actually running away in fear.

"Doesn't matter, just get him inside before they decide to come back." Cloud commented as he and Goofy lifted Naruto up and got him inside the hotel before putting him in the red room on the bed as Naruto was now drenched in sweat and rasping for air.

"Damn, he's gotten worse." Cid commented in worry.

"Yuffie, go get Aerith." Cloud ordered making her nod as she quickly left.

"Cid, go to the item shop and get potions, it doesn't matter what kind, just get some and bring them back here. If it takes Yuffie too long to get Aerith, we can at least use the potions to stabilize him." Cloud continued making him nod as Goofy went with him to be safe.

"Naruto." Mulan commented in worry as she grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry, he's a tough guy, he can make it." Cloud assured her, even if part of him was starting to get worried.

He had no idea how or when, but the kid had quickly become a close friend to Cloud and he didn't have many of those left.

He'd be damned if he was going to lose another one!

"I'm here." Aerith shouted as she burst into the room a short time later with Yuffie and Leon following her quickly.

"Catch up later, we need you to work your magic on him to heal him. He's in bad shape and Donald can't use Cure magic at the moment." Cloud commented knowing that he wanted to catch up with his closest friend, but now was not the time.

Aerith nodded and began healing him as Cid and Goofy came back.

"What happened?" Leon asked as Donald sighed and began telling him what they'd been up to in Wonderland, the Coliseum, and then in China with Goofy giving input here and there and then Cloud as well with Mulan only giving comments on China.

"Shan Yu was about to kill the captain and the Emperor, somehow Naruto was able to switch places with them and took the hit for them after those other wounds he had on the mountain. He then broke Shan Yu's wrist and pulled his sword out of him before getting struck by two arrows. He then killed the archer with lightning and snapped the neck of the other Hun after throwing the sword into a pair of twin Hun warriors before he collapsed. Mulan killed Shan Yu when he charged Naruto to kill him. We then left with Mulan joining us and came right back here when Cloud mentioned Aerith was good a healing magic." Donald wrapped up the story.

"Geezus, that kid is something else." Cid commented knowing that many of the soldiers back home couldn't go through half that shit and still survive.

"How is he?" Mulan asked as Aerith kept casting Cure, ignoring how draining it was getting as sweat started to accumulate on her forehead.

"It's difficult, he's been injured a lot. I'm trying to get the more serious wounds healed first so when I run out of Mana, I can rest without worrying about him while I do. He'll need some Ethers though, his mana is dangerously low and it seems to be trying to heal him but it's not working." Aerith explained making them frown as Donald quickly came over and gave him an Ether before then giving Aerith one too making her smile in appreciation as she kept working.

Eventually, she had to stop and was panting for breath, but Naruto's breathing had evened out a bit and he seemed to be more calm. "Thank you." Mulan stated as she looked at Aerith, who nodded.

"He should be out of immediate danger, but I've still got more work to do after I've rested a bit." Aerith informed making them nod.

"Try to get some rest, we'll help watch him." Leon commented as the others all nodded before Cloud and Aerith hugged and he nodded to Leon in greeting.

Eventually they all went to sleep, Mulan and Aerith remaining in the room just in case with the others in the connecting room.

Aerith looked at Mulan, "You should get some sleep, I'll watch him." Aerith stated as Mulan sighed before she nodded, but instead of leaving, she merely stripped down to her chest wraps and her panties before climbing into bed with him and holding him close.

"Oh." Aerith stated as she blushed a bit at Mulan being so brazen. "You care about him, don't you?" Aerith asked and Mulan sighed.

"I love him, I'm not sure when it happened, but it did. He's been there for me through the whole ordeal and now I'll be there for him." She commented as she held him and kissed his cheek.

"I see." Aerith stated as she looked at Naruto, and felt her face blushing again as she took in his appearance.

"It's the same for you too, isn't it?" Mulan asked breaking her from her musings as she blushed.

"W-what?! No, no. I'm not." Aerith stated as she shook her head making Mulan smile.

"I can tell, don't know what it is, but I can tell that you're feeling more and more attracted to him. You think about him, you feel warm and happy when you do, and you know that seeing him like this is making your heart hurt." Mulan commented making Aerith blush and look at her lap.

"It's okay, I don't mind, and I hope you tell him soon." Mulan commented making her blink.

"But, why are you telling me this?" Aerith asked in confusion and Mulan sighed.

"I don't know. Three times now, I've felt him exert his presence and power in different degrees. Each time, I get glimpses of him as a young boy, it was awful and heartbreaking. However, I've also felt someone crying at not being able to be there for him anymore and wanting him to have the love and happiness that he was deprived of. I also know he's in love with a girl named Kairi and she will hold first in his heart, but he's willing to open his heart to others and Kairi is agreeing to it. Besides me, there are two others who share a place in his heart." Mulan explained making Aerith frown as she looked at Naruto. "So, I'm not going to stand in the way, I'm not going to deny you a chance to be with him since Kairi could have done the same to me and I would not have gotten as close to him as I have. It's your decision in the end, but I'm not going to be ashamed of being with him with other women, especially when I know for a fact he cares about me and could love me in the future." She added as she looked at Aerith, who bit her lip and turned her head to the side.

"Well, that was quite the speech." They whipped their heads to see Naruto with his eyes open and groaning a bit.

"Naruto." Mulan exclaimed as she kissed him heatedly as Aerith came over to him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, ignoring her blush at Mulan being so passionate.

"Like hammered shit. Besides the wounds, I've got a monster headache, my muscles feel like they've been shredded, and all around my body feels shot." Naruto groaned as he laid back while his hand cupped Mulan's ass.

"Don't worry, I'm healing you, it's just taking time, you've been through a lot." Aerith stated as Naruto nodded.

"You've no idea, sister." Kairi commented as she was laying on the couch in the mindscape.

She had been cuddled to Naruto before he had jolted awake when the others were in danger and his magic took a red tint to it before he was passed out again and then he actually woke up, making her sigh in relief.

Her lover really was making her go on a rollercoaster of emotions rapidly.

Naruto gave her a mental kiss before looking at Aerith, "So, I've gotten into your heart too, huh?" He asked making her blush and look away.

"I-I'm not sure, exactly." Aerith commented making him chuckle as he extended his arm.

"Well, there's an easy way to tell." Naruto replied, making her look at him in confusion.

"How-MMPH!" She started before widening her eyes as he pulled her to him and kissed her.

She was so shocked, it took her a good 10 seconds to process this before she felt heat flowing through her and her heart beating faster and she moaned and returned the kiss, feeling his tongue licking and lapping at hers.

"Mmm, can't wait to see what Aerith is hiding, her tits look great in that dress, they'll probably be awesome outside of it." Kairi commented as she stroked her pussy.

Mulan just smiled at them, not even feeling slightly jealous, before the two broke for air. "So, are you sure now?" Naruto asked as Aerith blushed and smiled.

"I don't know, I may need to run a few more tests." She stated as she bit her lip and he smirked before coughing a bit. "But later, you need rest." She added and he nodded.

"Yeah, care to join us?" He asked indicating the bed making her blush more.

"Not this time." Aerith stated as she moved back to her chair and Naruto smiled before he kissed Mulan again and laid back, falling asleep in an instant, making the two smile as they relaxed as well.

FEW DAYS LATER

Naruto sighed as Aerith worked her magic on him getting some relief from the pain while the others were around him, all happy he was awake.

"There we go, that should do it." Aerith commented as she stepped back with a smile and Naruto stood and stretched feeling his body being a bit stiff.

"How do you feel?" Leon asked and Naruto sighed.

"Better, bit stiff, but that's normal I guess." Naruto commented as he called his Keyblade and twirled it a bit before he pointed it at some candles. "Fire." He intoned expecting some fire... only nothing happened. "Fire." Naruto repeated and still nothing happened.

"That weird." Donald commented making Naruto nod before he tried to access his magic only to scream and collapse to his knees as he spat blood on the floor and clutched his abdomen.

"Naruto!" Mulan and Aerith both shouted and moved to him as Mulan supported him and Aerith began using Cure again.

"I... I don't understand, I can't find anything wrong!" Aerith exclaimed in worry as Naruto collapsed on his back and started sweating and hyperventilating as he clawed at the floor.

"Naruto, breathe, just breathe." Mulan shouted as she pulled his head to her chest as she took some deep breaths letting him hear her heart while inside Kairi was panicking as the whole place was shaking and the lines in the ground were glowing and groaning as she shouted in fear.

Naruto then spat more blood and screamed loudly as orange static began sparking around him mixed with golden static and his eyes kept fluctuating between red and blue as his fingers became claws and he scratched at the floor.

Then it suddenly stopped as if it never happened and Naruto slackened as his vision blurred, "Kurama." Naruto rasped before he passed out again.

"I don't understand, what happened?!" Donald asked not getting what could have caused this.

"I don't know, it's almost like his own magic is fighting him for some reason." Aerith stated as she helped Mulan move him back to the bed.

"That static around him wasn't so good either. It didn't feel like magic." Yuffie commented, trying to control her blush at Naruto being shirtless again.

"Gee, I wonder if that was that Charka thing he mentioned before." Goofy wondered making the others frown.

"Charka?" Leon asked in confusion.

"It's Chakra. It's some energy that Naruto had access to before but he said he lost it." Donald explained since he was still unsure how the hell he knew that name but couldn't for the life of him place where he heard or read or learned about it.

"Never heard of it." Cid commented idly as he scratched his head and the others all shook their heads as well.

"I have." Mulan stated making them look at her, "They're supposed to be parts of your spirit connected to your body and soul that take years to master, mixing both spiritual and physical power together to a new form of power. Each one requires discipline and enlightenment to unlock and use, though that's based on my world's culture." She explained making them nod in understanding.

"Let him rest for now, we'll talk to him the next time he wakes up." Leon ordered knowing this was getting more and more problematic.

It took another two days for Naruto to awaken and he did so with a pained groan making him sigh as he saw the others there. "Well, that sucked." He said nonchalantly.

"Any idea what happened?" Leon asked and Naruto sighed as he laid there a moment debating with himself.

"Aerith, do me a favor." Naruto spoke making said woman look at him. "Channel magic to your hand and then just run it across my stomach, please." He requested making her frown in confusion, but she nodded and did as asked.

However, she and the others widened their eyes as an intricate design of some kind appeared on Naruto's stomach as she did and he looked at it.

"Fuck." He said in annoyance as he looked at his seal and saw some spots were damaged and ruined from the hits he took.

Without his seal to keep things under control, whatever happened to the Biju and any residual power that may be coming from them wasn't under control while being cycled into his system in moderation.

His magic was also likely tied to his seal, evidenced by the fact it showed itself when magic was introduced to it instead of chakra.

Dammit that was problematic.

Whatever had happened to him must have altered the nature of the seal since he had been hit before in the stomach and the seal healed with him, though that could also be that the seal took some of Kurama's power to repair itself and now couldn't do that.

"I'll take a stab and say that's not good." Cid commented as Aerith was looking intently at the design in interest.

"No, it's not. I don't suppose any of you know about or have any ink that can be made permanent with magic?" Naruto asked since he highly doubted sealing ink was just randomly available.

Each of them looked at each other before shaking their heads, "I may know someone, an old coot of a wizard that lives near the third district. He may be able to help, though he'll likely talk my ear off for not finishing a job for him yet," Cid commented making Naruto nod.

"I'd appreciate it if you could reach out, otherwise, I'm stuck without magic until I can fix this." Naruto commented gesturing to his seal.

"What exactly IS that?" Leon asked curiously and Naruto sighed as he looked at the ceiling.

"It's called a seal. My people developed them to do a wide variety of things whether they act as storage vessels, explosives, containment, security, privacy, and more. My family were masters of the sealing arts, able to take it to heights that no one else had ever seen before, though that proved to be a downside to them at once point." Naruto started as he sighed with them all listening intently and Jiminy jotting things down.

"Why's that?" Yuffie asked and Naruto sighed.

"Because my mother's side of the family was completely wiped out by enemies. Every last man, woman, and child except for her and two others were killed in less than a week." He revealed, shocking them all.

"WHAT?!" Donald shouted in shock and Naruto nodded.

"They were growing too strong too fast and became a threat to others but they were numbered in the hundreds and had their own city and defenses so no one enemy could kill them alone. It took the combined might of three major cities and a dozen lesser ones to bring them down, even then the major ones took years to recover and many of the lesser ones never did from the losses they incurred." Naruto explained shocking them even more.

"Damn, sounds like they were quite the fighters." Cid commented and Naruto nodded.

"They each killed over a hundred opponents using chakra, seals, weapons, and spells unique to chakra before they had nothing of those left... then they killed 20 more with their barehands." Naruto spoke as he laid there making them all widen their eyes.

"Anyway, this seal was put on me the day I was born, before I was even two hours old." Naruto added making them look at him.

"What does this... seal do?" Aerith asked and Naruto sighed again.

"It makes me a living prison." He said simply making them all frown.

"Prison? You mean someone put a living thing into that seal?" Leon asked and Naruto nodded.

"Yes, my father did, specifically. He had no choice at the time." Naruto answered causing them to frown more.

"Why was that?" Yuffie asked this time.

"Because if he hadn't, the city he was the leader of would have been destroyed." Naruto explained shocking them all before he sighed. "Look, enough history, please. Could you go and see that wizard please and see if he has the ink I'll need?" Naruto asked, making it clear to them that he didn't want to keep talking about this and Cid nodded before he left with Leon going with him just in case.

Naruto sighed again and idly ran his hand over the seal, feeling the marks of his new scars there and looked down at it sadly making Kairi send him loving feelings as she looked at the statues in sadness.

He then sat up and put his back against the headboard while leaning his head back, "Are you all right, Naruto?" Mulan asked in worry taking his hand.

"I will be, believe it or not, I've been through worse than this, I was just better at healing when I did go through that." He responded, squeezing her hand.

"Say Naruto, who or what is a Kurama?" Goofy asked curiously and Naruto sighed.

"He's the one that was imprisoned in my seal." Naruto answered calmly. "He and I were at odds with each other for a long time, prison and prisoner after all, but over time we found common ground and became good friends. It helped that he was forced to attack the city I lived in that resulted in him being sealed away so it wasn't like I could hold that against him really. Having him as an ally helped with my training and growing my powers at the time." Naruto added as he leaned his head back.

"Why was that?" Jiminy asked and Naruto was silent a moment.

"Because my seal let me access his powers and make them my own, adding them to me slowly as time went on." Naruto explained making them look at him in shock.

Naruto didn't say anything else as he sat there before a poof was heard and smoke cleared to show Leon, Cid, and a third man there as well.

Said man was elderly as he had a white beard that reached past his waist and wore a blue pointed cap, blue robes, and blue shoes while holding a stick in his hand.

"Ah, Naruto Uzumaki, a real pleasure to meet you at last." He stated excitedly as he came over and shook Naruto's hand.

"You know me?" Naruto asked with a frown and the man chuckled.

"I know a great deal, my young friend, now shall we take a look at your seal?" He asked as Naruto looked at him, "Ah, where are my manners, my name is Merlin and I'm a wizard." He added in jovial tone.

"A pleasure, are you some omnipotent being like the Cheshire Cat was?" Naruto asked and Merlin chuckled.

"No, I'm just the greatest wizard of all time. And no, that's not me being boastful. I've been hailed as that time and again, no matter how much I insist that there are others who will surpass me one day. You see I've done time travel at times, got a vacation, some fun, see new sights, and as such I've heard and learned a great deal about you, Naruto, and all of it is rather impressive and grand." He informed making Naruto frown.

"Does that include what happened to me over 16 years ago?" He asked and Merlin sighed sadly.

"In one sense, yes, but in another sense, no. You see I heard some things about that incident, but no one would talk about it directly. Apparently, it was just common courtesy to not bring it up, something about you not wanting to dwell on the past as it affects you pushing towards the future." Merlin informed and Naruto sighed and nodded.

It's not like he wanted to change what happened, not completely at least, he more just wanted to know WHAT had happened.

"Hey, wait a minute, if you know what happens in the future, then why not warn us about things?!" Donald asked and Merlin shook his head.

"No, my friend, no. It is very dangerous to know the future and try to alter things to be better for you. Moving one small thing can cause a ripple effect that can make things better or much much worse than they are." Merlin explained making Donald sigh.

"There's also the fluidity of time." Naruto commented making the others look at him while Merlin smiled.

"Quite right, my good man, quite right. Going to the future more than once doesn't mean that you are in fact going to the same future. As I said, there is a ripple effect on changes and choices. One future could be due to Naruto here deciding to train for a year before setting out on his journey. Another could be he rejects the Keyblade and doesn't fight, and there are hundreds of others." Merlin explained casually.

"Every choice has consequences, every decision branching new consequences and decisions to take place and thus a timeline can be made from one choice while a different timeline is made from a different choice." Naruto simplified making Merlin nod his head.

"You've time traveled before?" Yuffie asked curiously and Naruto nodded.

"Once, saved a princess and changed the fate of her people and country in the process and she left a note to her successor to ensure I was put on a mission from my home to come to her lands so that the timeline looped to itself and stopped any side branches from occurring." Naruto explained thinking of Sara.

"Yes, one of many heroic and selfless acts you're accredited for. Now, let's get to work on the seal, shall we?" Merlin stated before he waved his wand and several vials of ink appeared. "I'm 99% certain that this ink will work with the ink currently on you and it will bolster it, making it safer from damage for the future, though I'm sure you know not to test that theory." He explained before handing Naruto a brush. "Now, the ink should work with mana just as your old one did with Chakra, so you can practice your sealing arts again and that will surely come in handy for you, I'm sure. And with time and practice, you'll be able to create the sealing kanji with your mana just as you were able to do with your chakra." Merlin commented making Naruto nod.

He then opened a bottle and dipped the brush in before he began fixing the seal array taking his time and doing measured strokes ensuring full saturation and that the intricate details were all correct.

"Once you're ready, give us a warning, I'm quite sure the aftereffects of the seal being reignited will be just a tad extreme." Merlin cautioned making Naruto nod before he finished a minute later and nodded. "All right, everyone step back please." Merlin cautioned making the others do so before his hand was covered in magic and he placed it on Naruto's seal and looked at him.

Naruto nodded and Merlin did so as well before he pressed into the seal, "SEAL!" Merlin shouted making the seal glow brightly causing Naruto to grunt as he clenched his jaw shut and his whole body stiffened as his hands clenched and he was groaning and fighting back screams of pain.

"Steady, Naruto, steady, my boy." Merlin stated as he held his hand there and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder as the seal glowed brighter and brighter as the orange and gold static sprung forth again but now it was joined by 9 other color statics.

Tan, blue, grey, red, white, turquoise, green, purple, and black static.

However, slowly a white static began to form and assimilate the other colors before it began to blend with the gold until it was encased in a darker blue that seemed to match Naruto's eyes before he was engulfed in a blue flame making Naruto grind his teeth as he held back his voice.

The seal was also expanding and covering his body in markings making him finally have to roar out as a blast of power shot from him making the others shout in surprise as they braced themselves and got pushed back while Merlin flinched away but kept his hands on Naruto to keep the magic going.

Naruto roared as pain and power surged through him his eyes and mouth glowing brightly with his seal blinding everyone and pushing them back from the force it generated.

Inside, Kairi was holding on for dear life as the whole mindscape was going through an earthquake with the lines in the ground pulsing and glowing like crazy.

If she wasn't so distracted, she'd have noticed that the lines on the ground suddenly spread out and crawled up the Biju statues with sealing marks being engraved on their chests around the cracks that had formed and onto each of their tails with the marks now glowing faintly in each of their colors.

After a few minutes, it ended and Naruto collapsed back on the bed panting and gasping for air as Merlin stumbled back, looking tired as well, and Naruto's vision swam as he slowly lost consciousness, but as he faded, he heard a familiar voice.

Remember the Keys to yourself: Be Better, Spark, and Fury.

Merlin sighed as he helped position Naruto to be more comfortable as Aerith and Mulan came over. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. Now he just needs rest to let the seal fully stabilize everything." Merlin stated as he wiped his brow and conjured himself some tea to drink.

"Why is the seal so much bigger?" Leon asked and Merlin sighed.

"The original version of that seal was only meant to contain a certain amount of power with Naruto utilizing it. What he may not have told you, is that he's long since added more tenants to that seal and its purpose has expanded now." Merlin stated as he sat down.

"What do you mean?" Jiminy asked and Merlin sighed.

"Naruto has a rare talent, something that only 4 people in over 1,000 years of his people have been able to do. It is called Sage Mode and it lets him tap into and absorb the energies of the world." Merlin commented making them all look at him in shock.

"But that's crazy! The energies of the worlds are too strong for someone to handle, doing that could kill him!" Donald shouted and Merlin nodded.

"And if he were just a normal young man, you'd be right." Merlin commented as he looked at the sleeping blonde. "Naruto is no stranger to having massive quantities of energy flowing through his veins and he's not been consciously taking in power from the worlds, it's been on a subconscious level. However, his body is not used to the unique energy of the worlds, let alone the difference in energy each world has. It's why despite his talent and skill and power, when he first arrives on the world, he's sluggish, slower, weaker, and seems to be exhausted despite doing nothing at all. His body has to adapt to the new energy being added to it and the longer he's in a world, the more his body will adjust to the energy. As he adjusts, he'll be able to fully draw on the power and not be consumed by it and each time he does, he grows stronger little by little on a more permanent basis. This in turn helps him handle more power and the strain of a new world's energy each time he taps in, creating a loop of increasing power to a point he could consciously draw on a world and not receive dire repercussions." Merlin explained causing them to look at Naruto in shock.

"If not for the fact that he has some unique circumstances, even his capabilities wouldn't handle the world energies. It's quite fortuitous and lucky." Merlin added as an afterthought.

"What circumstances?" Cloud asked and Merlin sighed again.

"Naruto has lived two lives: One on his original world and a second on the world his friends are from. He was 19 when something happened on his first world that forced him to wind up on his island homeworld as a baby and was raised there." Merlin explained shocking them all again.

"So, he had been absorbing the island world's power from the time he was a baby to when it was destroyed, so his body in its formative years grew accustomed to the power and thus prepared his body for the other worlds. Thus making him faster, stronger, and more powerful than a typical person regardless of the training he chose to do." Aerith deduced making Merlin nod his head.

"Precisely. Naruto has now lost two homes, two families, and two sets of friends with only one of each being in reach of getting them back. However, his old life has also influenced his current one hence his talent for combat and his manipulation of magic. In addition, it has also made earning his trust harder as he has been betrayed by people before and he knows fully well, Donald and Goofy, that despite how friendly you are, you are primarily using him to find your king and your intentions and desires for his own goals to be fulfilled aren't that high. By the same token, he also doesn't want to alienate you two nor does he want others to suffer as he has suffered, so he will work with you even if at times he dislikes it. BUT, he will never compromise his morals and personal code, no matter what anyone demands of him." Merlin explained making Donald look away while Goofy looked saddened.

"Be patient with him, trust him, put your faith in him, and he will not fail you. That said, for all his strength, courage, and endurance, he will need support, even he can crumble at times from the pressure and stress and as the last battle showed you, he is nowhere near invincible." Merlin added as he stood and dismissed his teacup.

"Think about what I said, and let him rest, when he awakens tell him to come see me. I've some things to discuss with him and can provide him with another area to train in so he can adjust to things easier." He said as he headed for the door, "Ah, and Cid, do send the book with him when he comes to see me, it would be of use to him." He added making Cid nod his head as Merlin left.

"Poor guy." Jiminy stated as he looked at Naruto sadly after jotting down everything in his journal.

"Yeah, to lose your world, family, and friends is one thing, to lose it all twice and be helpless to stop it?" Cloud agreed as he shook his head, respect for Naruto increasing as he looked at the other blonde.

The others all nodded in agreement as they now realized how much Naruto had suffered, and technically was still suffering.

The fact that he could just trudge forward and still smile, be happy, and be optimistic was impressive and inspiring to say the least.

"Come on, let's let him rest and get some food for when he wakes up." Leon ordered making them nod as Mulan, Aerith, and Yuffie hung back in the room.

"The markings make him even more handsome." Mulan commented idly.

"Yeah." Yuffie and Aerith both commented making them widen their eyes, blush, and then look at each other. "You too?!" They asked in shock making Mulan giggle a bit.

"Good, Naruto could use more love and support." Mulan stated smiling at Yuffie, who was blushing and looking away.

"You really are pushing for this, aren't you?" Aerith asked curiously as Mulan shrugged.

"I can either be fine with it, not have to fight other women and cause him problems, and help heal his heart and get sisters and a loving family or I could be selfish and make things more difficult for him, it's not that hard a choice in my eyes and you already know he likes you or did that kiss not cement it for you?" She explained and then asked causing Aerith to blush while Yuffie looked shocked at her.

"You kissed him?! Details!" She asked and then demanded eagerly.

Aerith blushed before telling Yuffie about the kiss making Yuffie blush a bit too. "Well, I may just have to get my own kiss when he wakes up." Yuffie stated with a grin as Aerith glanced at her and Mulan just smiled and stroked Naruto's head.

Kairi, for her part, was sighing as she was plopped on the ground staring at the sky as she tried to calm her heart after all of this. "I just had to fall in love with the trouble magnate of a world traveling warrior." She sighed as she laid there, hoping that there would be no more earthquakes or anything for a long time.

Still, despite the whirlwind of shit recently, she wouldn't trade Naruto for anything.

The next day had Mulan waking up and shaking the sleep from her body as she did before she looked at the bed and widened her eyes seeing Naruto wasn't there!

She was about to shout and call for help when she looked to her right and saw he was there.

He was currently in nothing but his boxers as he was doing handstand pushups with only his fingers touching the floor.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, letting him know she was awake.

"Good... great, actually. I've not felt this good in a long time." Naruto stated as he put his legs down and stood back up making Mulan enjoy the sight of his muscled body, though she personally would have liked the boxers to be removed too.

"You're staring, Mulan." Naruto commented with a smirk making her blush and smile.

"Well, if I knew you were going to be awake today, I would have given you a better way to wake up." Mulan stated with a smile as she shook her chest at him making him smirk and shake his head.

"Keep in mind we're not the only ones here." Naruto commented looking at the still slumbering Yuffie and Aerith.

"So? Aerith can be motivated to join and it appears that Yuffie has taken a liking to you too, she was even talking about giving you a kiss when you woke up." Mulan replied with a grin making Naruto cock his eyebrow before shaking his head.

"Honestly, you girls are gonna drive me crazy." Naruto commented and Mulan grinned.

"Please, you love it." Mulan stated grinning as Kairi giggled inside of Naruto.

Mulan was certainly getting bold and fun.

"Well, our little warrior sure has come a long way from the blushing maiden she was before." Kairi commented making Naruto hold back a snort, even if it was true.

"Mmm, what's all the noise?" Yuffie asked before she saw Naruto was standing there and blushed as she ogled his body. "Wow." She said as she looked over his muscles and frame.

"Not so bad yourself." Naruto retorted making her blush a bit.

"Now Yuffie, wasn't there something you were going to do when Naruto woke up?" Mulan asked with a smirk as Yuffie blushed more.

"Oh, well come, Yuffie. Give it to me." Naruto commented as he looked at her making her fidget a moment before she got up and walked towards him.

She then leaned up to give him a peck on the lips, only to widen her eyes and then moan as he kissed her square on the mouth and felt his tongue sliding into her mouth.

Yuffie merely moaned as she felt his arms wrap around her and hug her close, making her eyes widen a bit as she felt a certain something pressing against her that was warm, hard, and felt VERY long even through his boxers.

She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and one leg around his waist as she hugged him close and began battling his tongue with hers, even though she was quickly being forced to submit to it, and was essentially humping his erection as she did.

It got even more intense for her as Naruto snaked a hand down to her butt and groped it making her moan more as she kept kissing him.

Mulan, for her part, was staring transfixed as she blushed and felt heat going through body as her pussy moistened and her nipples hardened.

She didn't feel jealous or upset at Yuffie doing this at all, she felt REALLY fucking horny at the sight of it and was loving the sight of it as the two kept going.

Kairi was no better as she was whistling, cat calling, and encouraging Naruto to do more and to tame the naughty kunoichi, maybe give her a nice spanking to top it off for being so naughty.

If that meant having Mulan help and get a spanking of her own before Aerith was dragged into it, then all the better in her opinion.

Eventually, the two did have to break for air and Yuffie was gasping and panting while blushing wildly while Naruto smirked. "Well, that wasn't bad." He commented before his head was grasped by two hands and he was pulled into another kiss.

Based on the brown hair he could see, he guessed it was Aerith and he quickly wrapped an arm around her and grabbed her plump ass making her moan as she eagerly and aggressively kissed him making Yuffie blush more while Mulan was getting hotter and grinning.

"Nice! Two for the price of one!" Kairi cheered while grinning wildly and idly playing with her tits.

Aerith then pulled back and smiled at him, "Looks like you're behind again, Yuffie." Aerith teased lightly as she kissed Naruto's cheek, though she had no idea why she was being so forward, but she couldn't help it.

Yuffie blushed more and sputtered, "Well, you're both behind me." Mulan stated with a grin as she sat there.

"Oh?" Aerith asked and Mulan nodded.

"Yup, he's seen me naked, I've seen him naked, I've been groped and teased by him while his dick rubbed against my vagina, I've sucked his penis, took it between my breasts, and I've gotten to enjoy his mouth on my vagina too." Mulan listed making the two girls look at her in shock as they both blushed and glanced at his crotch, which was still against Yuffie's and they blushed more.

"Much as you guys treating me as part of some competition is entertaining, we should get dressed, and I could REALLY use some food and water." Naruto commented making them snap out of their dazes before they nodded and dressed, though Naruto's clothes were only his pants and shoes since his shirt and jacket were ruined.

He'd have to get a replacement set of clothes... or maybe get a few sets of clothes since he was sure he was going to get into some bad fights again.

He had some clothes on the Gummi, but that fight made him realize he needed function and if not that then something that was a good base that could be improved with seals and magic.

For the moment though, he sat on the bed as Yuffie went to grab some food while Aerith went to tell the others that he was awake.

"So, how do you feel?" Leon asked as Naruto nodded.

"Good, really good. Been a long time since I felt this good, actually." Naruto repeated as he clenched his hands and could feel his power coursing through him.

"Little over 16 years, I take it?" Cid asked and Naruto looked at him.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Merlin told you some things." Naruto replied as he sat there.

"Gawrsh, Naruto, don't matter none to us what happened in the past, we're just glad you're okay." Goofy commented sincerely.

"Thanks, it's just not something I care to talk about, if I can help it." Naruto responded before Yuffie returned with food and Naruto happily and hungrily dug into it, not surprising since it had been a few days since he ate something.

"Merlin wanted to see you, when you were feeling up to it, said he had some things to talk to you about and wanted you to bring him this old book I fixed up." Cid commented as he handed Naruto the book and he nodded before putting it into his bag.

"Thanks, I'm going to need to do some clothes shopping too and we're going to have to stock up on supplies a bit more since we went through so much." Naruto commented making them nod.

"Good thing we've got the Munny." Donald stated knowing that between their winnings at the colosseum and what the King of Hearts gave them, they didn't have to worry too much at the moment.

"Ah, we also need to get the Dalmatian puppies from the ship and take them home." Naruto commented making them nod.

"They sure were worried about you, Naruto. I was checking on them and making sure they got water and food while you were snoozing." Goofy commented making Naruto nod in thanks.

"Good, so first I need to get some clothes. If nothing else to give me just a bit of padding when we fight or something else happens." Naruto stated making them nod, though Mulan wouldn't mind if he stayed shirtless more often.

Based on the looks from Aerith and Yuffie, they wouldn't mind it either.

Naruto then walked out of the room with everyone following before more Heartless showed up.

Naruto just looked at them before he summoned his Keyblade and swung sending an arc of power that sliced through them causing them to disperse.

Naruto then just kept walking as the others looked at him in surprise.

"Well, I guess he's feeling better all right." Cid commented as the others nodded and followed him to a clothing shop where they found four teenage girls working it.

"Hi! Welcome to-HELLO HOT STUFF!" A dark skinned girl with platinum blonde hair greeted before looking at Naruto with hearts in her eyes and drool coming down her mouth.

"Hi, I need some more clothes." Naruto commented as the girl just stared at him.

"Are you sure? It seems like such a waste to cover that awesome body of yours." The girl asked as she practically eye humped him.

"Dijonay! Will you get serious please! We need the mon-Hello gorgeous!" A lighter skinned girl with brown hair that framed her head came up next before she stared at Naruto lustfully as she flicked her hair back.

"I know girl, this hot stuff wants to cover himself more." The now named Dijonay explained as the other girl just stared.

"Well, we can probably help with that, we'll need him to strip down, of course." She commented as Dijonay grinned.

"I like the way you think, sister." Dijonay agreed making Naruto snort and shake his head.

"Dijonay! LaCienega! Stop making problems for customers!" A third girl ordered as she came up, she was between the two other girls in skin tone and had jet black hair that was in two bushy pigtails.

She then looked at Naruto and blushed before she shook her head. "I'm terribly sorry, how can we help you today?" She asked and Naruto smiled, making all three blush while the hearts only grew in Dijonay and LaCienega's eyes.

"I need some clothes, got into a bad fight and my jacket and shirt kind of got ruined. Figured it would be best to get a few outfits just in case." Naruto explained making the girl nod while Cid commented that he was going back to the shop while Leon decided to leave them to their shopping and told Yuffie to come by the abandoned house in the Third district when they were done with everything.

Cloud just took a position near the door and leaned against the wall.

"We can definitely help you with that." The girl said cheerfully as he led him further into the shop. "I'm Penny, by the way, Penny Proud. The first girl is Dijonay Jones, the other is LaCienega Boulevardez, and that's Zoey Carmichael back there." The now named Penny introduced while motioning to a tall girl with glasses, freckles, and orange hair standing in the back and cutely waving while she blushed.

"Pleasure, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, these are my friends Donald Duck, Goofy, Aerith, Yuffie, and that's Cloud by the door." Naruto introduced himself and the others as he shook Penny's hand before kissing the back of it, causing her to blush while Dijonay and LaCienega both glared in jealousy.

"Nice to meet you, now how can we help?" She asked smiling with her blush.

"I need something that will fit, but not constrict me when I move or have to twist and turn at odd angles to fight and dodge. Breathable, but can still keep me warm if necessary. I'd prefer something that's sturdy or at least semi-tough to take some scrapes, hits, and whatnot without taking a lot of damage." Naruto listed making Penny blink.

"Uh, we may be able to help with that, but you may have to get a couple outfits and things since we aren't a magic shop." Penny stated since that was a very specific order and would be hard to do with normal stuff.

"That's fine, I didn't expect to get military or combat grade clothing from here, just figured I'd list what I needed. Everything does need to be that first bit though, I can deal with the rest but mobility and movement is a must." Naruto explained making her nod before she and the others began helping him by going through the racks, though Penny had to get Dijonay and LaCienega to be serious instead of trying to get Naruto to wear some smaller clothing.

As they did that, both Kairi and Naruto were looking the girls over.

Zoey was slim with some perky High B-low C cup breasts and a nice bubble butt to go with her long legs. Her collared blouse and skirt, while normal length looked almost like a mini skirt on her legs, were a yellowish color and she had sneakers on her feet and was the tallest of the four.

Dijonay was on the opposite end of that as she easily had some DD breasts, a nice plump ass, wide hips, and big kissable lips. The ass and hips were accentuated by her tight jeans while her breasts were shown off with a tight tank top shirt with her jacket being buttoned just under them only accentuated them even more. She was the shortest of the four.

Penny and LaCienega were between the two since they had bigger breasts and butts than Zoey, but smaller than Dijonay. From what they could make out, Penny had bigger breasts at about a CC-D cup and but LaCienega had the bigger butt.

Penny was in sneakers, calf socks, a red skirt, a white shirt that hugged her breasts and then a coat that framed her breasts while she had pouty lips.

LaCienega was in some tight three-fourths jeans that accentuated her nice butt, sneakers, a pink tank top that was pressed against her high C cup breasts, and a red sweater while having a flower pin in her hair.

All four had the cute and sexy look to them making them doubly attractive and each girl being with the others showed their own appeal even more.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Kairi commented licking her lips at the four girls.

While not having raw sex appeal like say Meg, they definitely weren't bad to look at and she could just imagine what they'd look like without those clothes on.

She was tempted to tell Naruto to offer to strip to his underwear if they'd do the same, but with Donald and Goofy and Cloud there, it was probably better not to even if it would be really hot.

Eventually, they had a bunch of clothes picked out and Naruto started trying them on, with Mulan and Penny stopping Dijonay from trying to go into the dressing room to "help" him.

"So, baby, what are you doing getting into fights?" Dijonay asked outside of the room as Naruto dressed.

"Fighting the Heartless and trying to save and restore the worlds from them." Naruto commented idly as he tried the clothes on.

"You mean those shadow things?! You mean you're fighting those?!" LaCienega asked in shock that the other three mirrored.

"Yup, killing them to save the people they've consumed in darkness and hopefully finding a source that will restore the worlds consumed by darkness too. Like my homeworld and a lot of other peoples'. We just finished helping Mulan's world when I took some hits, though in all fairness we were facing an army so I got lucky, all things considered." Naruto commented as he adjusted the clothes.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you could possibly bring our home back?!" Dijonay asked in shock.

"That's the goal, yes, though we're not sure how to do that yet, but logic states that it would mean defeating the Heartless or finding a world made of the broken remnants and then using it to restore the others." Naruto explained before he came out and the girls all blushed as he was wearing a form fitting black long-sleeved shirt, a vest with a lot of pockets, a belt with some pouches, black pants with a red stripe down the sides, and grey boots.

Dijonay was struggling not to drool.

Zoey was blushing scarlet.

Penny was staring with a bit of a blush.

LaCienega was staring with her tongue hanging out a bit.

Aerith and Yuffie both had some blushes and were eying him intently.

"This will work." Naruto commented as he adjusted the sleeves a bit and moved around in them to a get a feel for them.

"Great, we've got a few articles of this so we should be able to get you a few outfits." Penny informed making Naruto nod his head.

"That's fine, hopefully with some experimentation on my part, I can make these last longer than the others did." Naruto idly commented before he paid for the clothes before he had Mulan shop for some too since she couldn't wear her under armor constantly and it was the same for Cloud, Goofy, and Donald.

Once they had their purchases, Narutos stuck them in his bag before leaving.

"Oooh, girl, that was a stud of a man." Dijonay gushed as she watched Naruto leave from the window.

"I'll say, did you see those muscles? Plus, those scars give him a more rugged and dangerous look." LaCienega commented cupping her face.

"He's got such amazing eyes too." Zoey added since she had never seen someone with such intense blue eyes before.

"And he's got money too." Dijonay stated with a grin looking at the nice pile of Munny they just got for the clothes.

"Yeah, we're eating good tonight and we can get some more supplies." Penny commented with a smile as they nodded.

"Here's hoping he has to come back and get more." LaCienega commented with a grin making the other three blush a bit.

They wouldn't mind seeing the hot guy again.

With Naruto, he and the others were now at Huey, Dewey, and Louis' store where Naruto got Goofy two new shields: The Golem Shield and the Mythril Shield.

The Golem Shield was a larger red and yellow version of the Stout Shield while the Mythril Shield was blue with two yellow circles on it and then had four connected blue circles that had two triangles attached at the top and was more balanced than the Golem Shield.

For Donald, they got the Shooting Star and Silver Mallet, both of which were just differently painted versions of the Morning Star and Warhammer only better.

They then stocked up on the potions, Hi-Potion, and Ethers ensuring they had a good amount of stock for the future.

They then returned to the ship, both to drop off everything and to get the puppies, who were excited to see Naruto up and about again.

Naruto gave them some pets before he had them get in the bag so he could take them home.

Pongo and Perdita were lying about wondering if Naruto would ever be back and with their family since he had been gone for weeks now and there was no word.

They looked up as the door suddenly opened and Naruto walked in smiling. "Hey, you two, got some people here to see you." Naruto commented as he knelt and opened the bag making the puppies he had found so far rush out and begin jumping and rubbing against Pongo and Perdita.

[Mama! Papa!] They all shouted as Pongo and Perdita nuzzled them as well.

"Six puppies down, 93 to go." Naruto commented as he smiled at the sight.

"Wait, you're saying there were 101 Dalmatians here?!" Donald asked in shock and Naruto nodded.

"Yup, Pongo and Perdita there with 99 puppies all living on a farm/plantation area before the Heartless caused problems." Naruto revealed as he smiled at the dogs before Pongo and Perdita came over and licked his face. "All right, all right, that's enough of that." Naruto commented with a laugh as the two settled down.

[Thank you, Naruto.] Perdita commented as Pongo nodded.

"It's no trouble. I'll be on the lookout for more when we leave again." Naruto replied making them nod before they went over to the pups and nuzzled them some more.

"Gawrsh, Naruto, seems like you can understand them." Goofy commented and Naruto nodded.

"That's because I can." Naruto revealed as he stood up.

"I'm not gonna even ask anymore." Donald commented as he shook his head making Naruto smirk.

"Come on, let's go see Merlin. Then we can see Cid about some more accessories to help us out." Naruto commented making them nod as they went to the Third District, fighting some more Heartless as they did.

However, they had to stop as they came to a door that had a fire emblem on it. "Gee, how do we open this?" Goofy asked as he saw no handle, hinge, or anything else to indicate how to open the door.

Naruto just pointed his hand at it, "Fire." He intoned and hit the door with a fireball making it glow before opening.

Naruto walked through with the others following right behind him and found themselves in a cavern with an old house sitting on a small island with a moat around it.

There were some rocks that were used to jump across, but they moved meaning they were likely enchanted.

Naruto just simply jumped across and Mulan, Yuffie, and Cloud kept up while Donald, Aerith, and Goofy struggled a bit before they entered the house.

Inside, they found stacks of books, a bed, two desks, a bookshelf, a table and chairs, a tea set, and several luggage bags.

"Ah, you've arrived, jolly good. Excuse the mess, I'm still in the process of unpacking from my last trip, you see." Merlin commented as he was placing some books on the shelf.

"Speaking of books." Naruto commented as he pulled the book that Cid gave him out and held it out for Merlin to take.

"Ah, glad to see that Cid was able to fix this." Merlin commented as he took the book and unwrapped it showing it was an old book with a picture of a yellow bear sitting on a log while above it said 'Winnie the Pooh' in orange letters. "This book is a treasure of the worlds, it itself is a self-contained world, an entire world with living beings contained within the book. However, the world is damaged and incomplete as there are missing pages, and as such the world can't be complete and the residents within will be unable to continue with their lives." Merlin informed making Naruto sigh.

"And let me guess, the pages were scattered across the worlds and you'd like me to find them all and bring them back to the book?" Naruto asked and Merlin nodded.

"Quite right, my boy, quite right. For each page you return, the world may reward you and I can offer you some things and a secure place to train your magic and capabilities should you wish. Restore the book entirely, and I should have a better reward for you by then." Merlin informed making Naruto nod as he walked and took a seat at Merlin's table.

"Tell me about magic and mana and how it works when compared to Chakra." Naruto commented and Merlin sat down across from him.

"Magic is a highly versatile form of power, similar in ways to your Chakra. However, it is much more fueled by intent and emotion than Chakra was and the strength of a spell can reflect that easily. Some spells may not even work if the spell is lacking true intent for it to work. Mana is a more calm and refined version of Chakra in its basic form. It is similar to Nature Chakra in that it can be used to shape and change things to become stronger when compared to normal chakra. Mana is much easier to shape than chakra is and thus elemental magic and changing the form is easier allowing for some spells to be used that are more of the physical world but aren't elemental in nature." Merlin lectured making Naruto nod.

"And I can use it in similar ways to chakra, it just may need more power than the chakra version did." Naruto commented since he was able to do the tree climbing exercise and do substitution with his mana.

"Correct, and with time you will be able to control your mana to the degree you were able to control your chakra. Many of your Jutsu will be possible with time and effort on your part, though the damage dealt could be different depending on how much mana you put into the Jutsu in question." Merlin agreed as he kept going making Naruto nod.

"Then, in theory I could also create new attacks with it as well, attacks that I had tried with Chakra and couldn't control." Naruto commented making Merlin nod.

"In theory, yes. Experimentation with spells hasn't been done much in recent years, a lack of motivation and imagination, sadly. However, magic is much more versatile than Chakra as your intent can help make the magic do what you're attempting. It's more about perseverance and desire than straight power, though that does help when using it." Merlin commented making Naruto nod.

"Does mana work the same way Chakra did with healing?" Naruto asked and Merlin tilted his head in thought.

"In some instances, yes, but not in every instance. For example, the Cure spell is ranged meaning you don't have to be right next to a person to heal them, let alone even touch them. By the same token, the Cure spell, even at its highest tier, has many more limitations than medical jutsu did. Many diseases and illnesses can't be fixed with the Cure Spell, despite the name implying that it could. However, in theory, an overcharged Cure could possibly undo many negative effects, diseases, and other things afflicting a person, but there's no guarantee that it would work." Merlin explained making Naruto nod with a frown.

"All right, can you show me the training area? I want to see if I can recreate a couple things." Naruto requested and Merlin nodded as he stood before moving to a section of his floor and tapped his foot on it, making it rise up into the air before Naruto and the others hopped on.

The floor then rose up higher to Merlin's attic where several pieces of furniture were floating around, "Here you are. This room is warded and protected so there is no need to worry about causing some destruction. Also, I've enchanted this furniture to repair itself and I have duplicates handy if you should destroy it completely." Merlin explained making Naruto nod, while making a mental note to ask about warding and enchantment later.

Naruto stepped forward and held his hand out before he closed his eyes and focused.

Everyone watched with interest while Merlin had his wand pointed forward, a shielding spell ready just in case.

Everyone's eyebrows raised as his magical power began flowing out of him and focusing to his hand, where it began swirling and swirling in on itself until it condensed into a ball.

Naruto focused on keeping it contained and condensed into his hand, finding it a bit easier than he did with his chakra.

However, he also found that as he condensed it, it got a bit heavier and it was taking more concentration to keep it under control.

He got it to about how the size of a normal Rasengan before he jumped forward and drilled it into a wardrobe, the ball grinding into it as the wood and paint chipped away rapidly.

Naruto frowned on why the ball was still there before he realized his intent was to form and keep it contained and he channeled more magic to it causing it to spin and spiral faster before it launched off his hand and sent the wardrobe flying back into other furniture before the magic exploded, shredding the furniture to splinters while causing a shockwave that made a few of them cover up while Naruto just looked on.

"Well, that's going to take some adjustments." Naruto commented idly as he looked at the destruction and then saw the splinters reform back into the furniture.

The others could only look on in shock at what he did before he frowned began channeling magic again, but this time he flipped through handsigns before he stopped on one, "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." Naruto intoned as he inhaled deeply before blowing out.

Donald squawked loudly as a gale force wind suddenly came from Naruto's mouth smashing the furniture into the wall and causing everyone to cover up again as the wind blew around the entire room carrying the debris from the smashed furniture.

The wind then died down and they saw Naruto standing there before he sighed a bit. "Well, that's a starting point at least." He commented as he turned and walked back to the others. "I'll try some more experimentation next time we're here." Naruto informed making Merlin nod his head in understanding before the floor lowered back to the main area of the house.

"Thanks for the information, Merlin, we'll be back." Naruto commented as Merlin nodded his head with a smile.

"Come by any time, I'm always happy to help, especially to royalty." Merlin commented making Naruto freeze while the group looked at him in surprise.

"Royalty?" Donald asked in confusion as Naruto stood there.

"Oh yes, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, future King of the Uzumaki Clan when he was of age and was betrothed to some princesses and queens at that." Merlin commented as Naruto turned to look at him with a glare.

"Shut up. That's a time past and any land I would have been ruler of is gone. I'm no king, I'm no prince, I'm no commander. I'm just a man now." Naruto commented as he turned and left with the others looking at each other in concern before moving to follow him.

Merlin just smiled after him, "The lands you had may be gone, Naruto, but that doesn't mean new lands won't be open to you later on." Merlin commented before he turned and went to make himself some tea.

With Naruto, he kept walking with the other quickly moving to catch up while not being sure what to say to him about what they just heard and saw.

Mulan, for her part, was a bit ecstatic since the man she was falling in love with was a king!

There was no way her family would object to their union in the future now!

Of course, she also felt bad for Naruto as he lost his family, his home, his lands, and his people with whatever happened 16 years ago.

He had to have been suffering for years, especially if he remembered it all clearly as a child and the pain lessened as he made new connections to people.

Moving back to the third district, Naruto paused as he called his Keyblade to his hand making everyone else draw their weapons and ready themselves.

"What is it?" Cloud asked and Naruto looked around at the roofs and area around them.

He then began channeling lightning around his Keyblade before launching it into the air the lightning held there spiraling and crackling before it burst and began raining down around them revealing dozens of Heartless that were electrified, causing them to disperse while a few of the Yellow Operas remained only for Goofy to throw one of his Shields into them, causing them to disperse.

More than arose from the ground or appeared in the air surrounding them as the various ones that they had faced, save for the Fu Dogs and Guard Armor, were there.

Naruto just hummed a moment before he began flipping through handseals, "Whatever you do, don't move." Naruto spoke making them look at him in confusion before he stopped on one handseal and began spinning the Keyblade above his head. "Wind Style: Tornado Blade." Naruto intoned as the magic began funneling out of his Keyblade causing large winds to pick up before they began spinning rapidly around Naruto and the group, grabbing and pulling the Heartless into as it began increasing in intensity and power before the Keyblade glowed and blades of magic began being released that were spinning into the wind and cutting through the Heartless each time they came into contact with one before there was easily a dozen blades spiraling through the wind and cutting the Heartless before they eventually dispersed leaving only a few remaining Heartless.

Naruto then pointed the Keyblade upwards and the wind rose up before he slammed his Keyblade down and the wind launched downward taking the Heartless with it, crashing them into the ground where they dispersed.

Naruto lifted the Keyblade as he let it flash away and took a breath since doing that move took a bit out of him.

"That's gonna take some adjustments." Naruto commented idly since that took a good chunk of his mana to do.

"That... was impressive." Cloud spoke, now seeing why Naruto never seemed satisfied with his performances in combat at times.

If he could do this with one attack while adjusting to his new circumstances and was pretty much untrained in magic, what could he do when he did fully master his abilities and power?

"Thanks, let's go." Naruto commented as they crossed back into the First District and headed for the Accessory shop.

"Hey, how you feelin'?" Cid greeted as Naruto nodded at him.

"Better, but I want to get some extra things to improve our chances." Naruto said making him nod as he pulled all of his good quality stock out.

Naruto looked it over and grabbed a few of each before he distributed them to the others, giving himself and Donald more defense while giving elemental protection and strength to the others.

Naruto then twitched slightly as it felt like a surge come from the world to ask Cid something. "Hey, Cid, you know anything about Gummi Blocks?" Naruto asked and Cid cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, I do. I know about them and know how to build with them and improve things." Cid commented making Donald and Goofy's eyes widen.

"Great, think you can upgrade our ship with what we've got for blocks?" Naruto asked and Cid shrugged.

"It would depend on what blocks you got." Cid replied and Naruto opened his bag and showed Cid what they had. "Well shoot, I can work with this. I can make it bigger, improve the armor, engines, and the weapons systems too. Shoot, I can even throw in a better computer operating system on top of that." Cid commented looking at all the blocks.

"Great, how long and how much?" Naruto asked and Cid shook his head.

"Take at least a day to build up the ship and everything, but for price, I'll do it for free this time. Next time I'll charge you a right good fee." Cid commented and Naruto nodded in acceptance.

"Deal." Naruto stated as he and Cid shook on it.

"Great, I'll go tell the owner that he needs a new clerk, then I'll get to work." Cid commented as he walked off.

"Looks like we're staying here one more day." Donald commented and Naruto nodded.

"One more day, at least. We'll head out as soon as Cid says the ship's ready." Naruto replied making the two nod since they had used a lot of time getting Naruto better and that was time that more people and worlds were getting in danger.

As they stepped out of the shop, they stopped as something interrupted them, "Hey there, you Naruto Uzumaki?" A voice called before they saw a blue skinned man in a toga with a gold helmet with wings and sandals with wings flying towards them with sunglasses and a Caduceus staff.

"Yeah, who are you?" Naruto asked and the guy bowed a bit before looking at him.

"Name's Hermes, I serve Lord Zeus on Olympus. I was sent to inform you that an exhibition tournament is being held at the colosseum and that you are invited to participate. The prize is monetary plus some other incentives that I'm not to disclose, but it will be challenging as it doesn't function the way a normal tournament does. Each of the gods are putting up a challenge and your rank is determined by how many you pass. There's even guests from other pantheons coming to watch at least." The now named Hermes informed, making Naruto nod his head.

"When is it?" Naruto asked and Hermes smiled.

"Not for another week at least, we want enough time for guests and competitors to arrive." Hermes answered and Naruto nodded.

"I'll try to attend; it will depend on how long it takes our ship to be finished." Naruto informed him, making him nod before he flew off again.

"Guess we know where we're going next." Cloud commented and Naruto nodded.

"Come on, let's make sure we got enough supplies, then we can turn in for the night." Naruto ordered making them nod while Yuffie and Aerith were contemplating what they were going to do.

And they had to figure it out fast.

DONE!

Next time it's back to the Colosseum, but not for one of the Cups that the games had.

Shout out to my supporters: Michael welsh
Andrew Stephens
charger2040
KidChaos
Shadow9Fox
Janus Christoffer Sønderskov
Zenkichi
Patrick Ferro
Smilix
William Skondras
Tom Khoury
Nicholas Koenig
Matthew Jackson
Joeri Lissens
Knight
dragonkw213
TheDarkKnight
Tommy Mars
William Kwok
VisibleColt136
jeff027
Blazestorm2
Ashwin
Basketballer23
Cole Hughes
fireking1999
Heroville111
Rich Didcott
Elias
Saint Maximus
Kholek Suneater
Alucard 01
Lachlan
Roger Williams
Josh Smith
John Doe
Zerothrei
dwayne sangster
Dan L
Gizmodragon90
Argent Phoenix
SpinachGlad28
Stephen McArthur
WMAF Enjoyer
AamanB
Nightwolf
Caleb
Caleb Oxenham
Orioles Enjoyer
Martin Velebil
Angel Mungaray
Johnathon Lewis
beardy
Dion Troiano
Ronald
mashall dilno
NotableRonin
William Burton
J
Tyler K
Kitsune
Shadowpuppet
Koma Bloodpaw
Decoy_M9
Nyx
LoDeTeR
Tommy Ware
Haha93
Zero
Calvin Humeniuk
Hayden Williams
Erick Puno
Ben knight
Peter Nguyen
Michael
Wesbrook
Shawn Carroll
James rayford
ItzFredoBD
NeedHealth
jacob brewer
Fabuloso_25
Travis kendrix
Steve Lance
Matthew Williams
Skarpi
Gethin Jones
Harvey Purnell
Chas49
Adrian
Savan Newsom
Mark
Fotis Refenes
Quinshad Singleton
tristan littleton
Istragon
Thrilla9
Christopher Wagner
Sbhat Asfaha
Luffy
Scarlet Fox
doompie
Tates5097
pieman807
Robert Hernandez
Yato. God
Jim24
Squishmitten
Sinbad
Bobby Johnson
Eli Knight
Ryan Walsh
Eric Green
Wade Gibson
Dorian A Simunac
Shackedsoul
And Chris Shaw

Thank you all for your continued support.

If you'd like to join them, just google "Pat-reon ReaperofBalance" and join there where you get various perks such as giving me oneshots, picking pairings, getting early access to chapters, and getting to be part of live writing sessions.

That should be all, see you guys next time.