Paradoxity
No, Naruto is not from his original universe. Still picking whether other Naruto characters will appear down the line or at all but that also all depends whether this story goes beyond the Arcane show. I plan on starting season two soon but from what I've understood, magic will be an interesting aspect in the coming chapters. Especially as we progress and get more characters. The barrier was basically a version of the barrier spell in the League of Legends game (summoner spell) but not entirely as we will find out more.

Hi!

Enjoy!

Bye! :)

I

"So what is all of this stuff even for?"

Jayce looked at Caitlyn as she indicated to the box of trinkets, books, and metallurgy that he had her help pick up with him. His own box had their own pieces of junk that only he and his benefactor knew the true potential of. It was said benefactor's intelligence to make all of these item purchases separate so it wouldn't catch the cautious eyes of those who would see the experiments fail.

In Naruto's words, "there are those who will see the progress of advanced sciences stopped. Fear is powerful especially over those without the control to seize the progress."

They were different. Jayce had the desire to harness the beneficial arcane that saved him and his mom in Freljord after losing their caravan. Naruto, however, made all of it possible by providing the energies needed to complete the experiments. They were a team.

"This stuff is for my projects," Jayce finally answered as he always answered with partial truths.

A lie is easier to maintain when it was sprinkled with the truth, after all, and the older boy was just not of the mind to outright lie. That was Naruto's shtick, albeit one that even he could not tell were lies or truths at most times. Still, he made sure he was not completely dishonest when answering questions that dug too close to his dirty secret.

"How many projects are you doing?" Caitlyn questioned again as she eyed her box once more. "None of this stuff even looks like it goes together!"

Jayce chuckled and shook his head as they turned the final corner that would lead to his dorm. "That's because it's a lot of pieces to one large project."

Before Caitlyn could question more, she was stopped when it felt like the air around them was charged with electricity. Her hair stood on end as light blue and dark red appeared like spots in her vision. She had never experienced something like this before.

But Jayce, however, simply dropped his box and took off in a sprint for his door. He only made it five steps before a black-red-orange-blue fuschia of colors exploded through the door and into the hallway. The walls and door were destroyed from the force and various windows burst from the charged energies whipping through the narrow corridor.

Jayce was flung back from the force where he landed back near Caitlyn, who had yet to move. She had dropped to the ground in fear, holding herself in as small of a form to avoid being hit with any objects possibly launched in the explosion.

"Jayce!" She shouted and crawled forward to look at her friend. "Are you okay?"

"No," Jayce answered her as he slowly rolled over onto his stomach.

He looked up at the wreckage that is his room and was scared by the destruction. Nothing in his room could have caused this! Nothing but… his experiments.

Wait, his eyes widened as he suddenly realized an important fact. Naruto was coming over!

He stumbled as he had yet to recover from the explosion but he forced himself to keep moving forward. Caitlyn tried to stop him but she could not force herself to follow him as she was still feeling herself. She was worried for her friend as whatever caused that explosion may not be over. They couldn't guarantee that it was safe when they didn't know the cause.

Eventually, as Jayce neared the door and was back on his feet, she was able to get on her feet and followed after him.

Jayce however, coughed through the smoke as he leaned against the ruined wall and looked inside. True enough, the room inside was no better looking than the hallway. Only his balcony remained and that was shocking and confusing if not for the sole occupant of the room.

"Oh, hey, Jayce," the charred body spoke as he turned around to look at the Piltie.

Red and orange energies bubbled within the blackened skin as it slowly turned into red muscles and then pink skin. The burnt remains of clothing the person wore remained on the floor, leaving the person nude for the world to witness. It did not matter at first as there was no flesh to see and no rod or sword to avoid looking at.

The image was sickening at first, mostly From seeing the blood on the ground seeping back into the pores of the feet and partly By witnessing an important part of the body be regrown. It was then relieving to see the healed face of his benefactor and partner looking back without a care for the destruction he just faced.

"Looks like something happened with the marbles," Naruto finally said while motioning to the room. "The Enforcers will be crawling around soon enough so I'm going to have to get going. If you are still free, I will contact you again to continue our experiments."

"Jayce who's there-?"

Caitlyn's voice was strangled in her throat as she looked at the naked boy standing in the middle of the room. Her eyes glanced down despite her attempts to close them instead. A gasp escaped her lips and she squeezed her eyes shut, the last thing imprinted on her mind being the object of manhood between the boy's legs.

"Ah, this must be the kid you are mentoring," Naruto grinned at the flustered face of the young girl. "Sorry for flashing you but my clothes are kinda burnt to a crisp right now, I'm sure you understand. Anyways, gotta go. See ya!"

And with that, the boy disappeared in a flash and exploded in a sharp pulse of energy.

Jayce just stood there with his mouth open and his eyes wide. Did… did he just abandon him to clean this mess up? Clean his mess up? What the fuck!

Caitlyn finally opened her eyes and looked around the room for the boy. She took a hesitant step forward, trying to see if the boy had jumped out the balcony, before multiple stomping footsteps could be heard stampeding behind them.

"Hands up!"

"Freeze!"

"Get on the ground!"

The multiple orders startled the two as many Enforcers rounded the corners with their rifles ready for anything and anyone. But anyone can see that they were confused and scared at what could be there that was happening under their noses. It made them jumpy and those types are the ones best listened to at the moment.

Jayce held his arms up and shouted, "I'm a student, don't shoot!"

Caitlyn, however, shouted angrily, "which is it? Freeze, hands up, or get on the ground?!"

She had just felt herself come close to death and saw an older boy's dick. All before her first kiss! She was not in the mood for stupidity, especially from those who should be trained to better handle these situations.

Naruto grinned as he looked at the clothes brought to him to replace the ones lost in the explosion. A burnt orange shirt and a rust colored jacket, blue jeans and hard-toed boots. No underwear so he would just have to go commando again, but he was fine with that.

He felt bad for leaving Jayce to deal with the mess that was the arcane explosion. It took no time for the Enforcers to surround the dormitories and make their way inside to investigate the scene. He was gone before they got a glimpse of him, although the girl his experiment was mentoring had got a good look at his naked body as he made his way out.

She may snitch but who would believe her?

At least he hoped no one would believe her. He didn't know what kind of family she comes from but hopefully they don't have that much of a position in Piltover. Otherwise, he may just have to take care of that problem.

"I'm guessing we're having to find a new willing participant, sir?"

Naruto looked up to raise an eyebrow at the boy, a soldier in his group, who spoke to him. The boy wore a white fox mask that covered the top half of his face, typical of Naruto's group's signature look. They've gained the collective moniker of "fox ghosts" because of their ability to appear and disappear when needed.

Little did the two cities know, they did so with the use of magic. All taught and offered exclusively by Naruto as gifts for joining him in his crusade. A crusade, mind you, that no one was privy to but believed in all the same.

All because of him leading them.

The group was technically classified as a gang in Zaun but unlike the others he did not get into any fights with the small shrimp. Most didn't even know he still existed after the fiasco that was the revolution over the Bridge of Progress. Despite this, he had members in Piltover and Zaun where he had a hand in multiple areas and industries.

There was no corner that did not have an ear leading back to him.

"Nah, I doubt anything will happen to Jayce," Naruto shook his head as he pulled on the clothes. "He will be kicked out of school and probably be shunned by his neighbors and friends, but that just makes him more willing to do what I want. How about those kids that left? Did they make it back to the undercity?"

"They had a run in with one of the local street rat gangs and one of us had to get involved but other than that they made it to Zaun fine," the boy shrugged his shoulders. "What was interesting is where they went back to as soon as they were sure they weren't being followed."

Naruto nodded his head to indicate he was still listening even as he turned around to walk away.

The masked soldier followed his leader while he continued talking. "They are Vander's kids. They went back to the Last Drop."

Naruto stopped at that, his blue eyes staring ahead as he spaced out. He remembered the first time he saw that man, seen what kind of beast that man was. The man was a shining beacon of Zaunite strength. Showed that they could fight for their freedoms and rights if they wished.

The man who became the Hound of the Undercity!

And then he stopped. He gave up and chose a life of peace and laying down to the whims of the Enforcers. After that, Naruto just thought of the man as weak and a traitor to the cause that was started on the Bridge of Progress. He will never respect that man again, even if he had to be cautious of his activities.

"Is that so," Naruto mused before smirking as a thought slowly grew in his mind. "That makes things so much more… exciting. I guess I really will be going to see the kids soon."

Naruto did not say anymore as he quickly disappeared into the crowds, his soldier understanding a dismissal when hinted.

It was time to prepare the board. Things were going to be changing very soon.

And Naruto never sat at a game that he could not win.

Where to start first? Vander's kids? Or maybe… the Enforcers?

He will have a few days before he can confidently contact Jayce without any of those paranoid pricks looking out for him. Like the others who knew him, they thought he was dead and buried. Just another justified death in the name of a peaceful future.

A future only they get to benefit from.

Naruto's hand squeezed painfully as his magic burst from his sudden spike of anger. A volatile energy that can destroy so much more than it can build or heal. Fire was such a beautiful element in his eyes as it burnt down old forests to make way for the seeds of younger and more eager plants.

Yet in his hands it has only known destruction.

Red and black tunic symbols appeared from under his clothes, poking out the neckline and down his fingertips. It crackled and spoke of arcane truths and messages beyond his current comprehension. All he knew was that it fueled one emotion and one emotion only.

No! No.

He took a few deep breaths to quell the growing dark emotion. He felt his magic die back down and his chest no longer felt like it was on fire. The symbols also began to fade, leaving his body unmarked once again - with the exception of his whispered cheeks.

I am more than my anger. I am more than the whims of my power.

He really hoped Jayce gets left alone sooner than later. He needed them to resume the experiments.

Anything to figure this shit out.

Vander rubbed his face as he leaned against the wall opposite of the kids he was taking care of. Mylo, Claggor, Powder, and Violet. These kids were giving him more gray hairs the more the years passed. Not without good reason, either, as these four have caused him so many headaches lately.

But they just committed the greatest headache of all and came back with bruises and scrapes. They had just blown up a building in Piltover and now the Enforcers were breathing down his necks over the so-called terrorists. As if four kids could be terrorists!

"You… blew up a building, Violet," Vander stressed it as much as he could.

"That wasn't us!" Violet shouted back heatedly. "It was that guy's fault!"

"That guy?" Vander raised a thick eyebrow. "Someone else was there? The owner?"

"No, just some acquaintance of our score," Vi shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't stop us and gave us time to escape."

"Doubt he's alive now, though," Mylo contributed lazily. "That explosion would have taken out anything."

Vander's eyes narrowed at that. "Do you know who it was?"

"Didn't catch his name," Violet shook her head. "He was some kid a few years older than me. Blonde hair, blue eyes, whisker birthmarks in his cheeks."

Vander's eyes flashed up at that, his dark eyes narrowing in thought even as Vi listed the characteristics with the help of the others. Even without them continuing he had a good idea, a fear, of who they were talking about.

So he survived.

He always wondered if Piltover ever found his body but nothing was ever confirmed or denied. The boy's parents were confirmed to be among the dead, among the many unarmed protestors shot by the Enforcers. He just assumed his body was lost to the waters or levels down below.

But to think he was alive still? Now that complicated a lot for him.

Why couldn't you have just stayed buried?

"Alright," Vander sighed, stopping all of the kids' bickering about the boy they met. "All of you are to remain on the low until all of this has blown over. No going up top, and no picking fights with Enforcers. I'll handle everything else."

"Yes, sir," the four of them answered him and he nodded his head before walking for the door.

He stopped before leaving the room, however, and put a hand on the doorframe. He turned back to look at the bags sitting in the middle of the room, and nodded his head while a small smile made its way in his lips.

"Good work on your first real job, kids."

With that, he left the kids to bask in their pride of getting the silent approval of the man that took them in.

For Vi, it was a moment where she feels things could actually change for her. That her stars had aligned just right that she could help her sister and friends out of this dirty underbelly.

But she was curious about that boy. That explosion should have hit them as well, considering they were barely out of the dorm and climbing the balcony to the roof.

How did he protect them?

Why didn't he protect himself if he had the means to do so?

The more she questioned it the more she hoped she got to meet the older boy again. He didn't look like a Zaunite, though, so she doubted she would see him again. At least not anytime soon with the Pilties sniffing around for them.