346Yoo! What's up? My name is Demon Knight, I'm a writer.
Now allow me to say three things.
First being Thank you for the interest towards my story, it's appreciated knowing your work is not for naught so thank you.
The second thing is that my story features a more realistic version of Naruto, the reason being that he just got out of a war, one that killed many (Naturally) people including some of those he came to care for. (Such as Neji.)
Realistically speaking, you don't walk out of a battlefield with many people dead and not mature or grow up at all. Now I'm not changing Naruto's personality much, all I am saying is that in this story he will be more mature than what you see in Shippuden.
And finally the third thing, Naruto doesn't lose his hand.
That's pretty much it, I do hope you all come to enjoy and love this story,
Start:
Fate seemed to have a penance for symbolism.
It was a hundred years ago when Hashirama and Madara battled for the fate of the elemental nation, one believing that peace could be achieved through understanding and unity.
The other believing that humans were incapable of understanding one another, that power was needed in order to force the concept of peace to exist.
Now arriving at the climax of the fourth great shinobi war, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha stood on opposite ends of the battlefield, both sharing almost identical values and thought processes as that of their predecessors.
They battled.
Fist against fist, chakra against chakra, ideals of peace through unity clashing against ideals of peace through power.
In the end… Fate deemed that their battle had to end once more with both utterly exhausted and their surrounding damaged and devastated beyond repair. A rasengan materializing on Naruto's palm as he stared above at his rival and friend.
A Chidori manifesting on Sasuke's hand as he stared down at admittedly his best friend and rival as well.
They wasted no time and moved at once, the gap between both shinobi's closing quickly as this was a battle that neither could afford to lose.
With a mighty thrust from both men, their attacks connected, the Rasengan facing and clashing once more with the Chidori.
They put every ounce of energy and being into their final attack, neither backing down as the fate of the shinobi world was at stake, the end result culminating into a massive interdimensional sphere that overtook both shinobi's form and shielded them away from the prying eyes of the Elemental nation.
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Sasuke woke up with a cough, painfully gasping and wincing as his body hurt all over.
He instinctively shifted slightly and hissed as even more pain registered in his nervous system.
Despite all he had gone through and despite how many times his body ended up wrapped in a casket, never in his life had he ever experienced so much pain and utter fatigue.
it took a great deal of effort not to fidget or move but Sasuke was determined to stay still, not in the mood or in the condition to handle anymore pain in his system
He frowned at the thought. He felt so weak and pathetic.
A chuckle vibrated through the air, the last Uchiha didn't have to turn his head to know who it was from.
"Yeah… that's how I felt when I woke up too." Naruto spoke up, inwardly grimacing as his voice sounded weak even to his own ears.
Sasuke shifted his head to the right and was promptly rewarded with the view of his rival and best friend lying down on the floor, purple bruises, discoloration, and blood found all over his body.
it wasn't a stretch to say that it looked like a violent mob found and beat up the blonde… for weeks.
"There's no need to look at me like that Sasuke… you're in the exact same condition as I am."
Sasuke looked back up, gazing into what seemed like a sky of pitch black darkness. "Where are we?"
"I don't know." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "All I do know is that, that bright… portal? It's our ticket back home, I can sense the senjutsu chakra of our world along with the chakra of everyone else on the other side of whatever that is, but that… portal was a lot larger when I first saw it."
The last Uchiha sat up, clenching his jaw and balling his fist as pain assaulted him once more.
He exhaled sharply and waited for the pain to subside before he could focus and see what the blonde was talking about.
Approximately five seconds later and Sasuke found himself frowning as his eyes landed on a glowing white circle, far too small in size, the diameter of the portal being roughly around two-thirds the size of his fist. "That's far too small for us."
Naruto closed his eyes. "I know…"
Steeling himself for the pain about to come, Naruto pushed himself in a seated position and barely quelled the urge to hiss as his nerve center was flooded with pain.
It was difficult ignoring the agony that afflicted him but the jinchuriki managed as he turned his attention towards his friend. "Sasuke, it's over for us, but that doesn't mean that it should be over for everyone else, help me release them from the infinite Tsukuyomi."
The last Uchiha slowly shifted his gaze back on to the blond. "…Why?... Why do you persist in always fighting me? Why is it that no matter what I do, you are always the one who is opposing me?"
Naruto scoffed. "That's because you're always making the wrong choice, even earlier you wanted to enslave the world in order to create peace and that is not the way to go about it. As your friend, the responsibility is on to me to make you understand that what you're doing is wrong."
"…Friend… you've always called me your friend even after I tried to kill you… what does that word mean to you?" Sasuke softly questioned.
"Now is not the time you idiot, we don't have a lo-" "Until I get an answer, I will not help you release them from the infinite Tsukuyomi." He threatened.
Naruto sighed and shook his head. "It's hard to put into words, all I know is that when you're hurt, I feel hurt too. You're asking me why I oppose you all the time? It's because it pains me when I see you all alone… to me a friend is someone who you care about and would go to the end of the world for."
Saying that Sasuke was stunned into silence was putting it lightly, not at all expecting the confession made by the normally dense blonde.
In his utterly drained state, Sasuke felt too exhausted to cling to the rage and hate that he normally surrounded himself.
Now free from the influence of his darker emotions and having just heard the response made by his only friend, the gravity of his actions finally dawned on him as he realized just how badly he messed up with his friend, his teammates, and every person who ever cared about him…
An explosion of all consuming guilt erupted within the last Uchiha's chest, suffocating him with intense feelings of shame and regret and permanently snuffing out the fire within him that demanded he incinerate all those who opposed him.
The last Uchiha felt his lips tremble and the beginning of tears appearing at the edge of his eyes, he hastily turned his head the other way, not wanting the blonde to see him look any more pathetic than he already was.
Naruto felt his eyes soften as he caught sight of the tear that slid down Sasuke's cheek as he turned away. "Sasuke, we don't have much time left… we have to release everyone, that includes the tailed beasts."
If not for how attentively he was paying attention to his friend, Naruto would have missed the small, almost unnoticeable nod that Sasuke sent him. "…Alright."
So consumed by guilt and shame, it was only natural that the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan would lose the will to right his wrongs, and that would have most definitely been the case had it not been for the feeling of immense gratitude that Sasuke felt for the blonde.
The feeling of gratitude that demanded he do right by the only one who stood by him despite how low he sunk.
Sasuke still didn't agree with Naruto's point of view, but he'd be damned if in his last moments he didn't stand by his friend, no… his brother, he'd be damned if he didn't stand by his brother after everything the guy had endured and sacrificed for him.
That was why despite not sharing the same view, Sasuke vowed that he will do right by his brother and help him release everyone from their imprisonment.
The last Uchiha turned towards the blonde, his arm extended and his fist currently forming half of what was supposed to be the rat-hand seal.
Naruto felt relief and sent the Uchiha a grin. "About damn time."
He wasted no time and promptly helped his friend complete the rat seal.
"Release!" "Release!" They both simultaneously yelled, the tailed beasts chakra within Naruto and the rinnegan in Sasuke's eye socket flaring.
Seconds passed before a massive smile overcame Naruto's features as he sensed everyone's chakra start to liven up again. "It worked, they're waking up from the infinite Tsukuyomi."
A confused frown plastered itself on Sasuke's visage as he looked over toward his happy friend. "How can you tell?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It's hard to describe but before the infinite Tsukuyomi, everyone's chakra felt more… alive. It just felt more animated and real dattebayo. When everyone got caught up in that jutsu, the feel of their chakra was just still, so still that one would think it was one of those toad statues back in Mount Myoboku."
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "Toad statues?"
"Long story." He dismissed his question. "Point is, I can sense that their chakra returned back to how it was before the infinite Tsukuyomi happened."
Sasuke nodded. "That is good news, then I suppose the only thing left would be to free the Bijuus from the Chibaku Tensei."
The blonde shinobi watched quietly as the rinnegan flared once more, the six tomoe spinning rapidly before they slowed down once more and eventually came to a halt. "… Are they free?" He softly asked.
His question was met with a nod.
Relief flooded the Konoha shinobi as he gently lied back down on the floor. "Thank you."
Sasuke closed his eyes and mirrored his friend by planting his back on the ground. "…You're welcome." He whispered drowsily.
Exhaustion was rapidly closing in on Sasuke and had he opened his eyes to peer to the right, he would have noticed that his friend had already lost the battle to stay conscious.
It was but a few seconds later that sleep had also claimed the last Uchiha.
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Time Skip: Three hours later
"Arrrrgghgghhhhhhhhh!" Naruto woke up screaming in pain, heavy tears quickly forming and cascading down to his cheeks as what felt like boiling, steaming water was poured out all over his chest and stomach.
So intense was the pain, the shinobi almost blacked out.
Sasuke looked over worriedly, wide awake once his friend's pained yelling reached his years, panic gripped the former avenger as he tried to understand what was happening to his best friend and why nothing seemed to be happening to him.
Mind running rampant with theories, the first one to come to mind was what was perhaps the biggest biology factor that separated Naruto from him?
…
Sasuke's eyes widened as he instantly understood the reasoning behind Naruto's predicament. "Naruto! It's the Kyuubi within you!"
The blonde gritted his teeth and shakily nodded, he tried to summon as much willpower as he could and managed to successfully generate the amount needed to appear within his subconsciousness, albeit barely.
Within moments, Naruto appeared in his subconsciousness, eyes wide as he took in the scene of Kurama rasping in agony, fists clenched as his form glowed an ominous white.
It took a tremendous amount of effort on his part to not drop to his knees and succumb to the pain but for the sake of his friend, Naruto needed to endure and stay strong. "What's happening to us Kurama! What's happening to you?"
"Arrrggghh!" Yin Kurama gritted his teeth, finding this predicament to be the most painful experience of his life. "It's because only half my soul is here, Naruto I don't have much time so listen carefully. Souls can't be separated, at least not between worlds, I never had a problem because though my soul was separated since I was sealed within your father, my other half was within you, it still lied in the same universe."
"But nothing was happening to you when I was inside here hours ago! So why are you suffering now?!" Naruto questioned, panic clear in his voice.
Kurama breathed deeply, wincing as even the act of drawing air hurt. "Nothing was happening because that portal was still open, providing me with a connection to my other half, it's about to close for good and due to my connection with my other half who is still present in the elemental nation, the space between dimensions is forcing me out against my will."
"Bu-" "LISTEN! I can't stop this, within a minute I'll be gone but I'm leaving you with my chakra, that should be able to prevent you from dying even after I'm gone, but you need to get out of this place immediately, it may not seem like it but this place is killing you on the inside."
Against his will, Naruto felt his body tremble as he shakily stared at the one who's been with him since birth. "K-Kurama please don't go, I don't know what to do without you."
Kurama felt his eyes soften for his container, an indomitable amount of sadness weighing on the strongest Bijuu as he gazed into the teary eyes of his first and only friend. "I'm sorry kit, but I have every ounce of faith that you will find a way out of here."
The white glow around the Kyuubi intensified in it's brightness, Naruto took a step back and raised his forearms to shield himself from the light, missing the thankful smile that Kurama sent towards the blonde for accepting him and saving him along with his siblings
"Goodbye… Naruto." The light illuminated the whole sewer and within seconds the strongest Bijuu was gone.
Horror grew in the pits of Naruto's stomach as he heard his friend's words, he dropped his arms and fretfully looked around for the massive fox. "Kurama!? Where are you!?" He bellowed desperately.
He searched all over his mindscape, white hot panic grasping a hold of him as seconds passed without him finding his desired result.
So frightened by the prospect of being alone, the shinobi failed to notice that he was no longer in pain.
Tears grew at the edge of Naruto's eyes as despite his intense searching, his massive and easy to spot friend was nowhere to be found. "P-please don't go." He whispered quietly.
So consumed by despair, the shinobi lost the strength to hold himself up as his knees dropped, silently sobbing as the implications of what happened hit him with the force of a speeding train.
Back in the real world, Sasuke worriedly looked over his friend as his shoulders shook unceremoniously. "Naruto what happened?"
Silence was the blonde's response as he sobbed over the loss of his friend.
Guilt gripped the last Uchiha as he eyed his friend. 'What Have I done…'
Sasuke looked down sullenly, utterly regretting the choices that led him to his path, what was worse was the fact that it wasn't just him that was suffering from his mistakes.
He laid a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder, finding the action to be awkward but willing to do what he had to do to help.
Nearly half an hour passed since then until Naruto finally managed to quell his crying as he gazed towards his raven haired friend, eyes red rimmed from the tears and causing another surge of guilt to pop up within the Uchiha's chest.
Naruto breathed slowly, still sniffing every few seconds. "We need to get out of here now Sasuke, before Kurama… disappeared." Sasuke winced as he instantly noticed the immense pain that showed itself on the now ex-jinchuriki's visage. "He said that this place is killing us from the inside, do you have enough chakra to get us out of here?"
"I do but barely." Sasuke shakily stood up, gritting his teeth as even the act of standing up caused him immense pain.
A pain that the blonde similarly experienced as he got up as well. "Can you take us back to the elemental nation?" he questioned seriously, no hint of cheer or affection present as he addressed Indra's reincarnation.
Sasuke almost hesitated answering as he peered into Naruto's red rimmed eyes. "I'll be blunt with you Naruto, I only have chakra enough to open only one portal and I don't know where that portal will lead us, we might get back home or we could end up in an entirely different world, either way there is no going back if we go now. Are you certain that we must leave now?"
The ex-jinchuriki nodded. "Kurama said immediately, I'm willing to put my trust and life in his words."
"Very well." Sasuke utilized his chakra as fuel and through his rinnegan, formed a purple portal large enough for both of them to fit in just around five meters away. "I can't hold it for long so let's go."
Naruto nodded and with that they wasted no time, both of them walking side by side as they headed towards their ticket to freedom.
Sasuke breathed harshly as he trudged his way to the portal, vision blurring as he and the blonde crept closer to their way out of here.
Naruto was faring slightly better, hope blooming in his soul that they would return back to their home world.
They were so close!
If all went according to how he wanted it and Naruto desperately hoped that was the case, he'd see everyone including Kurama safe and sound.
It was rather unfortunate that Fate was not that merciful.
Sasuke coughed out a heavy dose of blood, knees smashing into the floor as he gripped his chest with one hand while the other helped him steady himself on the floor.
"Sasuke! Are you alright!? What happened?" Naruto turned and looked over his friend worriedly, not noticing the flickering portal on his side.
"I'll arghhh…. I'll… I'll be alright, let's go." He answered through pained breathing, forcing more chakra in his dojutsu in order to stabilize the portal.
Despite his less than stellar condition, Naruto wrapped an arm around his friend's lower back, gently helping him up while simultaneously ignoring the agony he inflicted on his muscles.
Sasuke wasn't oblivious to that fact, nodding gratefully towards the blonde.
They slowly limped their way towards the portal, Naruto not feeling at all comforted as the sound of his best friend's labored breaths met his ears.
But if there was one thing the blonde could take comfort in, it was in knowing that they now were just six feet away, they could definitely make it.
If only their troubles didn't follow them.
Sasuke felt himself rapidly losing chakra, his reserves quickly nearing his depleted state, dread and trepidation engulfed the last Uchiha as he realized that despite being only four feet away, they wouldn't make it.
Mind running rampant with thoughts, he tried to think of anything that could change their fate and ended up arriving at one grim conclusion.
They wouldn't make it.
But that didn't mean that he would fail his best friend and brother.
Summoning every ounce of will and power in his being, Sasuke pushed his startled and wide eyed friend into the portal just as it started to flicker away from existence, sending a soft and thankful smile through bloody lips for the brother who pulled him out of the darkness.
That was the last thing a horrified Naruto saw before the portal vanished away from existence.
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Location: Magnolia town
Mirajane waved and smiled beautifully towards the citizens of the town, oblivious to the blushes she evoked out of the men as they gazed at her with dreamy, heart-shaped eyes.
She hummed melodically, elegantly carrying a couple bags of grocery in her right hand as she ambled her way back to the guild.
It didn't take her long to arrive at the doorsteps of the guild and Mira fought the urge to giggle as she easily heard the sound of everyone fighting inside the bar.
Being rowdy was practically tradition at this point.
Mira only hoped that Lucy wouldn't be intimidated by their… eccentric behavior, though considering she did come back with Natsu and Macao, one couldn't blame her for being optimistic.
She pushed open the door and walked inside, carefully moving around to dodge the various projectiles, be it bottles, shoes, barrels, and… Elfman?
Her eyes widened marginally and she quickly dived away just as her humongous brother landed on the spot she was formerly in.
Mira looked over to the grocery bags and sighed in relief at the sight of the products being undamaged from her sudden plunge.
She got up and glared at the one responsible for tossing her brother right towards her, eyes locked on the uncomfortably smiling Gray as he looked over to the side, feeling skittish and awkward when he had Mira of all people glaring at him.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Natsu launch some unfortunate mage to the nearby wall, the sight of his rival evoked feelings of bloodlust within the ice wielding mage.
Letting out a cry of rage, Gray charged towards the pink haired idiot, eager to teach him a lesson and beat the ever living shit out of him.
Mira shook her head in fond exasperation. 'Natsu and Grey will always be Natsu and Grey.' She thought amusedly.
A dainty hand gently squeezed her shoulder and Mira looked over just to be greeted to the welcoming sight of soft and kind chocolate brown eyes belonging to fairy tail's newest member. "Are you okay Mira?" Lucy asked concernedly.
The take-over mage smiled kindly at the younger girl. "I'm alright Lucy, thank you for asking. How do you like fairy tail so far?" she inquired while heading towards the bar.
Lucy beamed at the cover model as she walked with her side by side. "It's amazing, sure everyone is crazy, except you Mira, but everyone is super nice and friendly to me… except for Loki." She spewed out his name in annoyance.
Mira barely suppressed a snicker as her thoughts went towards fairy tail's resident playboy. "I wouldn't think too much about it Lucy, it's nothing against you personally, he just…" she tried to explain his reasoning but only drew blanks. "Well, I have no idea why to be honest, no one knows why he's scared of celestial wizards but trust me when I say that he'll warm up to you."
"I hope so, he may be a bit of a pervert playboy but that doesn't mean he's a bad person." The brown eyed blonde stated softly.
Surprise decorated the barmaid's features as she gazed at the blonde wizard, taken aback by the younger women's mature outlook in life. Surprise quickly transitioned into approval and warmth and Mira couldn't help but squeal as she set down the bags on the stool and excitedly hugged the startled blonde. "You're so cute!"
Lucy blushed and felt like she could die happily, her idol called her cute!
She was so happy! "Thank you Mira."
Mira unwrapped her arms from the younger women and stepped back, smiling a bit sheepishly "Do forgive me for the sudden hug, I'm afraid I couldn't resist the urge."
Lucy shook her head and smiled widely. "No, no, I didn't mind at all, actually it was kinda nice." She admitted, face a bit flushed.
"Well in that case you can expect a lot of cuddles and hugs between us, we're sisters now." Mira declared.
Another surge of joy exploded within Lucy as she nodded her head enthusiastically, the smile on her face not possibly being able to stretch any wider than it already was.
Off to the side, Cana smiled as she heard the entire conversation. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop but once aware of the conversation, she couldn't help but listen some more, curiosity driving her to stay despite proper etiquette telling her not to.
Trust Mira to be so affectionate to their newest wizard.
And Lucy… Cana couldn't blame Mira from hugging the cutie when she almost succumbed to the same urge herself.
'Ah, may as well just do it.' She thought cheerfully.
Seconds later Lucy squeaked as Cana glomped her from behind, she looked over her shoulder just to be awarded with the sight of mischievous large brown doe eyes. "Aww Lucy you're so cute, can we be sisters too." She asked while delivering the best puppy dog eyed look she could muster.
Lucy smiled. "Sure, I'd be happy to have another person to call a sister… but… can you let go of my breasts." She asked annoyedly at the end.
Cana grinned sheepishly. "Yeah of course." She swiftly let go of the celestial wizard's large soft breasts, part of her already regretting heeding the blonde's words.
Off to the side, Mira gazed at the scene amusedly. "Alright ladies, I think we've bonded enough for now, why don't you both be a dear and help me with the groceries." She gave out her own version of the puppy dog eye look.
Having been on the receiving end of that look more times than she'd like, Cana managed to avoid gazing into Mira's arguably best weapon just in the nick of time. "Sorry Mira but I still haven't finished drinking from my barrel and I don't need Macao or Wakaba drinking my booze." She unwrapped her arms from Lucy and cheerfully walked away.
Before Lucy could utter a word, a purple portal materialized centimeters below the ceiling and unceremoniously dropped the unconscious ex-jinchuriki towards the unsuspecting girls.
Twin surprised screams rang out throughout the guildhall as the extremely fatigued shinobi fell on top of both female mages.
Everyone promptly stopped their fighting to gaze curiously at the scene, intrigued by the events.
Cana, who hadn't gotten far away and also the closest mage nearby, turned towards the downed figures to inspect the situation just to be gripped by horror as she noticed the various bruises, injuries and blood that decorated the strange man's person. "Oh God! someone get Porlyusica now!" she bellowed while gently trying to carry the muscled blonde.
Tension quickly set in on the shoulders of all the fairy tail wizards as they comprehended the brunette's words, Jet swiftly dashing away in order to retrieve the guild's finest doctor.
Apprehension and terror quickly grew in the pits of Elfman's stomach as he approached the downed figures. "Mira! Big sis!" he called out desperately.
"I'm okay Elfman don't worry, me and Lucy are okay." Mira assured him, not noticing the state of the blonde man on top of her.
"We're alright, we were just caught off guard" Lucy added, also unaware of Naruto's current physical condition.
Elfman gently picked up the unconscious shinobi, allowing the girls to finally move and stand up just for their reaction to mirror Cana's as they got a good look on the man who fell on them.
"Oh dear! What happened to the poor soul!?" Mira couldn't help but question.
"I don't know but he needs desperate medical attention now." Cana stated seriously.
Mira nodded before turning towards her brother. "Elfman, have him placed in one of the beds of the medical wing" Said giant immediately nodded and set off to do exactly that. Mira turned her attention to everyone else. "Cana go inform master of what happened and everyone else, be on guard just in case someone is coming after him."
Lucy looked on worriedly, soft and warm chocolate brown eyes filled to the brim with concern for her fellow blonde.
End
And that ladies and Gentlemen is chapter one, I do hope this chapter was to your liking.
Now I do have a few more things I'd like to mention.
1. Naruto's appearance will be a bit altered from what you see in canon, mainly him being more muscular and his height being at five foot eleven (5'11').
2. Though the story will initially follow canon, I'm going to have it diverge away from canon after the tower of heaven arc, even then I'm going to make significant changes to some of the arcs, basically if you love canon, this story is not the story to read unless you're willing to give it a chance.
3. Because I'll be diverging the story away from canon (after the tower of heaven arc.), the seven year time-skip won't happen, That's why I'm gonna make it so that the guild Sabertooth already exists, and characters like Sting, Rogue, Minerva, Yukino, etc… are basically the age you see them in the anime at the year X784. That also applies to Kagura, to put it bluntly, the characters mentioned are nineteen or twenty years old.
4. Now even though Jura Neekis does appear before the Tenrou Arc, I'm gonna make it so that in the year X784, he has the age, power, wisdom and design of when he appears after the seven year timeskip, that also applies to Ultear, her appearance and power is that of after the seven-year time-skip however I'm making it so her age is nineteen.
Chapter 2, 3, and 4 are posted on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n feel free to check it out, the link down below lads
www.#patr#eon.#com/Demon_Knight939 (Just remove all the hashtags)
And that's pretty much everything, If I forgot to mention something, I will mention it in next chapter.
Take care mates.
Peace