A/N: Ta-da! Second chapter. And in roughly the same month, too.

…

[Hokage's Office]

The air was tense as Sarutobi Hiruzen looked on at the form of Uzumaki Naruto.

After the debacle that started with his grandson being tricked into stealing the Scroll of Seals by Mizuki, and then saving both Iruka and Konohamaru from being killed by the traitorous teacher, Naruto found himself promptly surrounded by Team Kakashi. They then ordered that he come with them to the Hokage Tower to speak with him.

Kakashi paled, as though he'd just found that his sensei was alive and well. Hanabi and Sakura looked at him with a mix of curiosity and indifference; the former was because of how he'd somehow managed to gain her sister's interest, and the latter because nobody trumped her crush. Sasuke, however, looked like he wanted to spar with him…to test his progress against this strange fighter.

It'd been years, but he still recognized the boy; in the time since he'd been gone, he'd put on muscle, but he still recognized those three vulpine whisker-marks on each side of his cheeks. Those cerulean pools he had for eyes glistened with the sort of intellect he'd seen in scholars…though he also noticed the slight glaze of a veteran of war. Wherever he'd been, it was clear that the boy had clearly been better off there, and yet seemingly worse-off, than in Konoha. That he was also able to quickly deal with the traitor Mizuki only added to his assertion that the boy had seen combat, and that he'd made use of powers never before seen in the Shinobi Nations.

The loss of the village's resident Jinchūriki was nothing short of upsetting for the old Hokage. Had he not punished the people that openly celebrated the burning of Naruto's apartment, Hyūga Megumi would've hunted them down herself. He had no idea who leaked the boy's status as a Jinchūriki to the public or why, but he needed to make a statement before she left a bloody mess.

There was so much the boy could tell them, but he had to learn what had happened.

"You've caused quite a stir," said Hiruzen, taking a drag of his pipe as he settled down.

"Call it the curse of curiosity," Naruto replied, seemingly well-behaved.

Hiruzen snorted in amusement. "What would satisfy my curiosity is how you managed to get into the village using a fake name on otherwise legal travel documents."

"I was pointed towards a legit place along the way to get them," Naruto answered simply, "After that, it was a matter of filling in the paperwork. I still remember how I was treated back when I was still living in this village, so I had to avoid using my real name so that I didn't get egg on my face when I walked into the village."

"Of that, I'm sure."

"Well, I suppose now you want to know what I've been doing in the years that I've been gone."

"That would be a good idea," Hiruzen agreed.

Naruto reclined in his seat. "I must warn you though, you're probably not gonna believe a word I say…and from what I understand, some of the tricks I learned in other Planes would be condemned in this one."

"Start with the fire." Hiruzen offered.

"Well, it started when a noise woke me up early in the morning," Naruto began.

Hiruzen listened as Naruto told his story; how his slumber was disturbed by the smell of smoke. He tried to go out the door, only to find that the fire had spread over all areas he could've used to escape, trapping him inside the apartment as he suffocated in the place he was supposed to feel safe in. Desperation flooded his veins as he tried to find his way out, until he fell unconscious.

When Naruto next woke, the first thing he noticed was that he was breathing in fresh air…that he was somehow outside—the next thing he knew, he found himself in a place he didn't recognize. Scared, and hoping to find someway home, Naruto ran to find help as soon as possible; in the end, he wound up being taken to an orphanage. For the time, he resigned to his fate of being stranded in a place he was unfamiliar with and with no apparent way home…it was also from there that he learned the art of 'magic', the art of using spiritual power to bend the laws of reality. When he was old enough, he resolved to attend Strixhaven University; as a student of Lorehold College, his grades were passable, but he was an accomplished school athlete.

Everything changed one day when he encountered a brother-sister duo known as the Kenrith Twins, Rowan and Will, attending Prismari College of Magical Arts. As it turned out, both were much like himself: they were not originally from the so-called "Plane of Existence" he found himself in known as "Arcavios"…they were originally from a Plane known as "Eldraine," but they came to Arcavios to study. Through the Kenrith Twins, Naruto learned that he was a Planeswalker, one of a handful in the multiverse that could traverse the many Planes of Existence; it was also through this newfound friendship that he would learn to Planeswalk.

After nearly two weeks of trial and error, and with pointers from the Twins, he was able to Planeswalk, and promptly used the power to visit other Planes. And on the advice of the Kenrith Twins to keep Planeswalking to other Planes to truly get the hang of it, he'd seen, learned, and done many things in his time as a Planeswalker. Once, he'd even been to a Plane called "Kamigawa" that was not too different from their own in its distant past, but far more technologically-advanced in its present; it was because of his travels to other Planes that Naruto's desire to find a way home had been reignited.

However, something happened that put Naruto's goal of finding his Home Plane on hold: mechanical horrors appeared one day, killing and converting everyone in sight. From what he was told, this was not the first so-called "Phyrexian Invasion" to happen in the Multiverse, but the second, and possibly the worst one. The war was so bad that it took place on many Planes at the same time; it was a conflict so terrible, so horrible, that it made the atrocities of the Sengoku Period look like a tiff between children. For his part, Naruto started off in the war fighting in defense of Arcavios, but would later take part in the counterattack against New Phyrexia, pushing the abominations back to the hellhole from whence they came. Suffice to say, the war was over in favor of the Resistance, and the Phyrexians were unlikely to make a return.

With the war now over, and his ability to Planeswalk retained, Naruto was able to continue his search for his Home Plane, bringing with him the things he'd learned on Arcavios, until by a stroke of luck, he'd succeeded. He managed to Planeswalk back to his Home Plane, but the transition wasn't perfect—while he'd learned to travel to other Planes by the Kenrith Twins, but he'd never perfected the art of precision Planeswalking. Because of that, he'd arrived on Nami no Kuni before Team Kakashi did, and wound up saving the island before they did anything. In the end, he wound up traveling back to Konoha, where he saved his grandson and Iruka from Mizuki…and where he was currently recounting his adventures to a Hokage in disbelief.

"That's quite a tale you've told me, Naruto," said Hiruzen, taking a drag of his pipe, "Is there any proof to your claims?"

"That depends on what you want as proof," Naruto said, "But I'm pretty sure you'll see that my Magic is unlike anything you've ever seen on this Plane."

"How so?"

At this, Naruto leaned forward, propping his hand up on the desk. He watched with curiosity as the ambient energy coalesced into a glowing green sphere that hovered over his open palm; no hand seals, and seemingly no effort at all. "This is Mana, the energy that powers all the spells I learned to use in other Planes. All mages can use it, and so even Planeswalkers can use it."

"How do you get it?" Hiruzen asked, almost mesmerized by the glowing green sphere.

"I borrow it from the environment around me," Naruto explained, as though it were the simplest answer in the world, "Though what kind of mana I borrow depends on where I am."

Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock at that admission. "You can use Senjutsu?!"

After dispelling the sphere by closing his hand, Naruto reclined back in his seat. "Don't know what that is, but I can tell you that I've had to learn to use a totally different art when I was out of this Plane. With Mana, I can do a whole lot of things, but probably one of the easiest things I can do as a Planeswalker is to summon creatures from many different Planes…from simple fare like brave warriors and great beasts, to mythical creatures like dragons and demons."

Taking in that explanation carefully, Hiruzen wondered as to what the future would hold if such an individual existed in this Plane of Existence. To know that there were others that had the same powers as Naruto wandering in the multiverse was a sobering thought—such dangerous individuals could potentially end this world if it so struck their fancy. And indeed, if Naruto's claims of evil Planeswalkers held water, they needed to be ready for such an eventuality. "Well now that you're back, what are you going to do now?"

"Now? I'm just going to explore this Plane," Naruto replied, "I only stopped by Konoha to take in the sights and maybe catch the Chūnin Exams I'd heard so much about while I'm here; but I most important thing was that I came to see if I still have a home here in Konoha. So far, I'm not seeing much incentive to settle down here, not when I've just found out that people are still celebrating the day of my alleged death every year. After all, why stay in a place where I'm not even wanted?"

"If that's the case, then perhaps you should be put in the Bingo Book," Hiruzen threatened, watching Naruto carefully as he looked back in curiosity, "As it stands, nobody likes it when their neighbors are much more powerful than themselves, and even worse is a wanderer with the power to potentially destroy a village in the palm of their hand. Therefore, if you intend to leave, I'll have no choice but to put you in the Bingo Book, and label you as an extremely dangerous fugitive with a bounty to match."

"And what's stopping me from just leaving this Plane, and never coming back?" Naruto challenged.

"This is where you were born," Hiruzen reasoned, "You may be able to travel to other Planes, but you'll always feel the pull that will drag you back here no matter how many other worlds you visit. But if you agree to become a Konoha citizen, I won't have to put you in the Bingo Book."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, looking back at him suspiciously. "First the stick, then the carrot, eh?"

"No tricks, no games, just stating it as it is," Hiruzen assured, keeping his poker-face on, "Besides, I can guarantee you that there's a lot more to Konoha than what you'd just seen earlier in your childhood. As I understand it, the college you'd attended is one that deals with and studies the past…well I can tell you that there's plenty of history in this village for you to delve into. And before you ask about who started the fire, I will tell you here and now that the fire investigators had found no evidence of foul-play; just an oil lamp that was accidentally knocked over a few floors below you."

There was a tense silence between them as Naruto stared back at the Hokage. "You seem like a straight-shooter, so I'll take your word for it and become a Konoha citizen…I'll even sweeten the deal and become a Konoha shinobi if you can get me a place to live."

"I don't think there'll be any problem in that, not when I show the people of Konoha that you're still very much alive," Hiruzen added sincerely, "Though I don't think I can take you as a Shinobi; despite your unique abilities, you're much too old for us to take you through our training. Had you been in the village at the time you disappeared, you'd have been at that perfect age to undergo training as a Shinobi. As you are now, it'd be like trying to teach someone how to walk when they'd been running all their lives…not to mention it'd look suspicious if I made you a Shinobi and promoted you to Chūnin right off the bat. Are you fine with having to share a classroom with younger children?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why not? I'm always up to learning something new."

Hiruzen nodded in approval. "Excellent. And with that, I think I can set up some living arrangements for you - did you have anything in mind?"

…

[Konoha Industrial District]

Tenten walked the streets of Konoha towards her home, tired from the day's training.

With the Chūnin Exams right around the corner, Team Gai had to refrain from taking missions in order to train. Between the three of them, Tenten needed the most work…but she'd improved quite a bit since she started working as a Kunoichi.

Rumor had it that the Industrial District was getting a new resident, and that he was a strange one. So long as the newcomer didn't come between her and her training, they weren't going to have any problems.

Evidently, they were moving into the Tetsu-ishi blacksmith's shop that fell into disrepair for a year now.

"So you're the new owner of this place, eh?" asked a very familiar voice.

Tenten recognized the speaker to be Naga Kobuse, the self-styled local Yakuza with his posse. The man was distinguished by his shiny, bald head, and the fact that he wore an eyepatch over a scar he'd received in a missed axe blow. He wore a white tank that exposed a set of tacky tattoos and a pair of dirty gray cargoes; a pair of fingerless gloves with reinforced knuckles were worn on his hands, and a pair of studded sandals, all of which were signs of his penchant for fighting dirty.

The person he was harassing however, was evidently the rumored newcomer. He was dressed in a flowing white, hooded robe with red trim almost like a Hokage, unflinchingly standing up to the Yakuza undaunted and evidently unimpressed given the way he carried himself. And yet, for all his apparent confidence, all he held in his hands was a thick, leather-bound book that she couldn't quite catch the title of. Whoever he was, he was seemingly taking the encounter with as much patience as he could muster as he weathered through the jeering and the attempts at intimidation while trying to get past them.

"You're probably not from around here, so let me fill you in on the particulars," said Kobuse, grinning confidently, "You stay here, you gotta pay a protection fee."

"And if I don't?" asked the hooded newcomer.

"Well then, it ain't gonna end well for you," Kobuse replied, "See, we don't like strangers, least of all, immigrant scum like yourself: we think they're a menace to society, taking all our money and our jobs. But if you give us the money, we'll be a lot friendlier with you from now on."

The newcomer scoffed. For a moment however, Tenten thought she'd seen his hand glow, but it was below the line of sight of Kobuse and his cronies. "Upfront, not too bad. I honestly don't know what to think…on the one hand, I could pay you and make you leave so I could enjoy the rest of my day, but I think we both know you're just gonna come back for more. I'll tell you what: you guys leave me alone, and you get to leave alive."

The thugs laughed in response…but Tenten knew better - time spent with Gai-sensei had taught her to watch her opponent's body language. What she saw from the way he carried himself was that the newcomer was no stranger to combat; it was a confidence that carried over even when the Yakuza stopped laughing.

"What're you gonna do, dumbass? In case you forgot, there's ten of us, and only one of…"

Whatever else Kobuse had to say came to a sudden halt when something darted down through the air, and into the ground right in front of his feet. Once its movement had come to a halt, Tenten saw the shaft of a very long arrow sticking out of the ground, fletched with brown feathers with black stripes. All eyes were promptly drawn upwards to a number of forms standing by the ledges with what appeared to be very large bows in hand that were aiming down, the apparent shooter that fired the warning shot quickly getting another arrow on the bowstring.

"For the record, I'm never alone," said the newcomer.

Tenten watched as Kobuse stared at the newcomer, the silent threat between them was clear: if the Yakuza didn't vacate the premises, the archers on the rooftops would shoot them all dead. She noted the look of terror in the gang's eyes as the newcomer regarded them calmly. "If I were you, I'd leave now before I show you just how many friends I really have."

Taking the newcomer's suggestion, Kobuse and his gang took off down the street, scrambling to avoid getting shot by the archers who stepped away from the ledge. Curious, Tenten walked towards the newcomer, wondering exactly who he was to have so much influence as to have a handful of archers on standby. The newcomer looked in her direction, much of his face obscured by the shadow of his hood, leaving only his lips to be seen.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same question, but it seems you had that situation handled," Tenten answered, "Who were those archers that were helping you?"

The newcomer smirked cheekily. "What archers?"

Wondering what he was talking about, Tenten turned around to find that the arrow that was planted tip-first into the ground was nowhere in sight - looking up, she found that the archers had disappeared. She was dumbfounded as to what had just happened, though in her mind, the most plausible excuse for this to have happened was a Genjutsu.

"I suppose you're my new neighbor," said the newcomer with a sincere smile.

"When I heard that someone's moving into the old forge, I decided to come and see what the fuss is all about," Tenten replied.

The newcomer shrugged as he turned the knob on the door. "Well, might as well invite you in. I was gonna have a look at what the previous owners left behind until those pretentious idiots started bugging me."

Tenten entered the forge with the newcomer, trying to get a read on the newcomer's body language under his loose and baggy clothes. It was very difficult to do considering how much of his form was hidden underneath, doubled by the fact that the two of them were busy inspecting the remains of the smithy.

What they saw as they inspected the shop was the number of rusty tools that were hung on racks in need of tender loving care, most notable of which being a number of hammers and tongs of varying shapes and sizes. The raw iron and the steel was gathered in one corner, some in ingots, others in long, solid metal rods, some of which were rusty themselves, though the bags of charcoal seemed to be in questionable condition. The anvil was a large, cubic block of metal with a square hole near one side for different attachments, and held in place by a few brackets of heavy metal at the base. A quench tank near the forge would have been filled with oil to heat-treat a variety of items, though its length made it suitable for blades. Overall, a pretty simple arrangement of tools, with racks to mount finished weapons and armor.

"Whoever the previous owner was, they must've been a real badass if they used a coal forge to heat up their work," said the newcomer, looking at an ash-filled pit with bellows at the base.

"You say that like you're a smith yourself," Tenten noted.

"I picked it up as an extracurricular activity in my old school," replied the newcomer, looking around at the smithy, "Helps to get a feel for how things were done in the old days - that, and it helped me overcome my fear of fire. Though I gather that the last owner of this place would've been reluctant to leave."

"You're not wrong," Tenten agreed, indicating the small house in the backyard of the forge through the window, "They only left after they went bankrupt -I heard because of mismanaged finances- and were forced to foreclose before they lost any more money. Such a shame, because they were well-known for producing some of the best-quality weapons and armor the village had ever seen, many of them being custom orders for some very exacting clientele, some of whom eventually became famous."

The newcomer looked back at her "So there's history to this place as well. Good to know. Though I have to wonder, why do you know so much about this place?"

"Other than the fact that I'm a fan of their work? I'd been wanting to buy that place for quite some time for when I retire from active duty…not happy that it's already been bought out, but at least there's a chance that the forge will be brought back to life."

"And it's good to know I have someone I can count on."

Tenten looked back at the newcomer…her new neighbor in curiosity. Her thoughts were interrupted with a realization. "Aw, damn! Where are my manners? The name's Tenten, kunoichi of Konoha."

The newcomer huffed in amusement. "I know, we've met before."

The claim had hit Tenten through the heart almost as sure as if she'd been shot with an arrow. It only added to the questions on her mind as the newcomer finally pulled off his hood, revealing a crop of sun-kissed hair, and cerulean eyes framed by a more aged, but familiar face…after all, how could she forget the vulpine whisker-marks that flecked each of his cheeks?

Tenten was dumbstruck to see the form of Uzumaki Naruto, a boy she thought was long-dead standing before her.

"Long time, no see, Nezumi-nee."

…

[Streets of Konoha]

It didn't take much time for her to infiltrate the village; after all, she'd learned to suppress her killing intent to the point where she was able to fool even hardened Shinobi into thinking she wasn't a threat.

She didn't much like the getup she'd found, but it helped with her disguise if she looked as harmless as possible…nobody would suspect the traveling acupuncturist of being a fugitive kunoichi on the run from Kirigakure's Hunter-Nin.

She traveled alone, but not by her own volition. Her master had taken up a contract with Gatō, and for the first time in a while, they'd managed to find refuge and a place to hide. It wasn't ideal, given the amount of sexual harassment she'd had to put up with, but at least it gave them a respite from a life on the run.

Everything changed one day when their rat of a boss had given her master the task of assassinating a stranger that had been working as a bodyguard for the bridge-builder's family…and overall emboldening the demoralized people into fighting against Gatō. Their mission was simple; defeat and then bring the stranger back to Gatō so that he could make an example of him.

The mission seemed simple enough when taken in at face-value…until they had their first encounter. Her master tracked down the stranger, and found him alone - whoever he was had proven to be very formidable, fighting her master off with a spear in combination with very strange powers. She watched him firing lightning bolts from his fingertips, throwing fireballs, even countering some of his moves with jets of water. What she saw in that fight were the movements of a person that had fought in a number of conflicts, at least some of them against Shinobi given how he was able to trade blows with her master even with his vision obscured by mist. The fight had eventually gone so much in favor of the stranger that she was forced to intervene and fake his death.

Her second encounter with the stranger was when they were alone…he was sitting under a tree with a book in hand, and she was looking for medicines to accelerate her friend's healing. With no small amount of charm, she was able to gather some intel from the stranger…that his name was Uzumaki Naruto, and that he was a "simple scholar trying to find his way around the world." Out of curiosity, she asked him if he had someone precious to him…someone to protect - he admitted that he did not, not because he didn't have anyone, but because he was confident that they could take care of themselves.

When she asked him what he fought for, if not for his precious people, he answered that he fought to find the true ending of his story. It was at this point he told her of his belief that everyone's destiny was the secret ending of their story, that the only agency one had was in how they told that story, and that true immortality was achieved when their stories were told. It was here that he asked her if she had anyone to tell her story.

She admitted that she did have someone she cared for, but she was not certain if he would tell her story. He assured her that if she meant anything to the one she cared for, he would be telling her story…even if it was to himself. After a moment's contemplation, the two of them parted ways.

The third encounter had come when they found Naruto making his way towards Gatō's yacht…this time, she fought with her master to try and bring him down. First by summoning her ice mirrors to prevent him from escaping, while trapping him with her master; second by doing everything she could to disrupt his footwork and overall nullifying his ability to fight back. Eventually, Naruto used his strange devilry to banish her to a place she didn't know, leaving her unable to help her master, no doubt to level the playing field in his favor.

By the time she was returned to the battlefield, she found herself looking through the aftermath of a small war. When she found her master on the floor, his body mangled from a protracted duel against Naruto, but still barely alive…she'd treated his wounds enough to recognize cuts from the spear the scholar seemed to favor, and so she knew that he wasn't alone in the fight. Strangely enough, his mighty blade Kubikiribōchō was missing.

Strangely enough, when he told the tale, her master didn't seem at all upset at the way the fight turned out. Evidently, after she'd been banished, both of them stopped pulling punches, and it was from there that he caught a glimpse of the true breadth of skills that Naruto was capable of using. Oh, he still summoned weapons and wielded very dangerous powers, but he'd also proven himself to be capable of summoning aid from other realms, though he seemed to prefer summoning warriors. And yet, through it all, her master took his defeat gracefully…terrified, perhaps, by the amount of sheer power one person had at the palm of his hand, but not at all upset.

As if sensing the last of his life fading away, her master told her to forget about getting revenge; he'd lost their bout fair and square, and that Gatō was probably a dead man by now, suggesting she instead take the time to bury him. However, the last words her master said to her had truly crushed her:

"Don't cry - this is the end of my story, Haku; it's time for you to write your own."

After burying her master, Haku laid low to recover from her battle with Naruto. After a bit of information-gathering, she discovered that he was on his way to Konoha - and so plans were made to infiltrate the village and hopefully find him there.

Haku had no idea what she was going to do when she found him, or what she was going to say. All she knew was that she had a new chapter in her life to write.

And perhaps he would be the one to help her write it.

…

A/N: As promised, some things will stay the same…like the way Naruto and Haku met.

With any luck, it's still up to par.

Anyway, keep it relevant, and keep it classy.

…

Vocabulary/Translations/Notes:

Tetsu-ishi—the name of the forge Naruto now lives in means "Iron Will."

Coal Forge—a type of forge that was very common back in the old days. Why you're considered a badass as a smith (to me at least, as a fan of programs like "Forged in Fire" and "Man at Arms") is because coal forges are more difficult to handle than modern gas forges. What you get in exchange for ease of use is the fact that coal forges use dry heat to heat up metal, which allows you to heat up your work even more than with a gas forge.

…

Cards used:

Elite Archers (5)(White)—Creature - Human Archer, 3/3

(Tap) Elite Archers deals 3 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.