101Not Fate But Destiny
Naruto x Young Justice
Summary: Naruto doesn't believe in fate and dreams of one day becoming Hokage. What will he do when life takes a turn and pushes him into the company of one who bears that name?
Naruto and Young Justice are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and DC respectively. I am merely a fan of both and claim no ownership of either intellectual properties.
Chapter 1: Destiny's Prelude
Within the legendary battle ground of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, known as the Valley of the End, stood two teenage boys locked in combat. One was a blonde, spiky haired boy with sapphire blue eyes and whisker marks wearing an orange jumpsuit. The other was a dark haired boy wearing a blue shirt with a fan symbol proudly displayed on his back.
These two were Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Both are young shinobi from Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Naruto had been sent out alongside a team of his former classmates to pursue and retrieve Sasuke, who had decided to abandon their village in pursuit of power by joining the rogue criminal Orochimaru.
Sasuke's only goal in life was to become powerful enough to avenge the massacre of his clan by taking the life of the one who killed them. The Uchiha clan was one of the most prominent clans in Konoha before their abrupt genocide. Sasuke's goal was to take his revenge by murdering the culprit, his older brother Itachi Uchiha and restoring the honor of the Uchiha. Sasuke was willing to throw away and abandon the bonds he had created for the sole purpose of achieving his revenge.
Unlike Sasuke, Naruto had never felt the bond of family like a clan. Naruto had lived through a life of loneliness as an orphan by unknowingly being the container of a powerful chakra beast known as the Nine-Tailed Fox. However, the bond he shared with Sasuke felt akin to a brotherhood and motivated Naruto to prevent Sasuke from throwing his life away in the pursuit of power.
They had been fighting for a while and had damaged the surrounding cliff sides with their destructive techniques. In a final attempt to end the fight, both combatants had poured their remaining chakra into their most powerful jutsus.
Naruto held his right hand out to create a spinning orb of chakra while Sasuke held his left wrist with his right hand to channel lightning, creating the sound birds chirping. The two leaped at each other in a clash.
Their hands met and the resulting collision of energy created a dark orb encompassing their bodies. The world shook and when the light died down, the two young boys were nowhere to be seen.
Earth 16
Salem, Massachusetts
July 4, 2008
03:00 PM EDT
Within the mysterious Tower of Fate, a veritable treasure trove of mystical knowledge, sat one Kent Nelson who was enjoying a cup of tea. Kent is an elderly man at the age of 106 years old and has been protecting the fabled Helmet of Fate for many decades. Kent had previously used the helmet to act as a conduit for the Lord of Order Nabu, turning himself into the powerful sorcerer Dr. Fate who was a member of the Justice Society of America.
Nowadays, Kent spends his days relaxing on walkabouts, especially since it has been ten years since the death of his late wife Inza. However, what he didn't expect was that his world was about to change.
BOOM
Kent heard a loud explosion and felt the tower shake in response.
"It's a bit early for fireworks I would say," Kent mused.
Heading out of the tower, Kent came across the body of Naruto in a crater outside his home. His orange jumpsuit was in tatters and numerous patches of skin were red from his injuries. More importantly, Kent could feel the power radiating from his still body.
"How did you end up here boy and why do I sense so much power from within you? Well, first things first, I should get you some medical attention."
Levitating Naruto's body with his magic, Kent took Naruto into the tower and to hopefully get some answers.
The first thing Naruto felt when consciousness returned was how sore his body was. Opening his eyes, he took in the unfamiliar surroundings. He was lying on a bed in a room illuminated by a lit fireplace. The shelves were stocked with books and there was a desk nearby.
Hearing a door open, Naruto turned his head to the other side and saw an elderly man wearing a black colored suit while using a cane to walk.
"Well hello there young man. You gave me quite a scare with how you showed up. What happened to you?" the older man asked.
"What did you say? I don't understand you."
"Hmmm. Japanese I believe. This should help." Kent mused as he waved his hand, creating a light glow at his fingertips.
"Can you understand me now?" Kent asked.
"Huh? What just happened? Why can I understand you? Where am I?" Naruto rapidly responded.
"My name is Kent Nelson and you are in my home. I found you unconscious outside in a crater with some significant injuries. Although,those injuries have quickly healed in the hours since I found you. What is your name, young man?"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. How come I can understand you now?"
"I simply used a translation spell so we could communicate."
"Spell? You mean a jutsu?"
"No, I mean a spell as in magic. I am a practitioner of the mystic arts. It was a simple spell. Do you call it jutsu where you are from? I can sense quite the abundance of energy emanating from your body."
"Everyone uses jutsu. Magic isn't real. Where in the Elemental Nations am I?"
"Elemental Nations? I have not heard of such a place. We are in Salem, Massachusetts in the United States of America. Where are you from?"
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"Well I did bring you into my home and have been looking after you. Plus, the fact that I showed you my magic so I can better help you should be a good indication," Kent explained with a calming smile.
"I guess … I'm from Konoha. I've never heard of any of the places you just said. Wait! Where is Sasuke? Did you see a guy with black hair with me?" Naruto asked in a panic.
"I only found you. Is this Sasuke the one who hurt you?"
"Umm … I was trying to stop him from making a mistake," Naruto said as he looked down at his clenched fists.
"Hmm … I see. How old are you, Naruto?"
"I'm 13."
"What kind of mistake would push a 13 year old boy such as yourself to risk his life to stop?" Kent inquired.
"Sasuke was going to throw his life away. I couldn't let him abandon everything for revenge," responded solemnly.
"It sounds like you care a great deal for him."
"He's like a brother to me."
"I see. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news Naruto, but I think you're a long way from home." Kent levitated a nearby globe over.
"This is a globe of the planet. It illustrates the countries on our planet. Tell me. Do you recognize anything?"
Naruto peered at the object hovering in front of him. His forehead began to crease more as he failed to locate any familiar lands.
"Where am I?!" Naruto frantically asked.
"What's the last thing you remember before waking up?" Kent asked in an attempt to calm him down.
"Sasuke and I were fighting. We used our strongest attacks and then everything went black."
"I see. I believe what happened was that the clash of your attacks somehow created some sort of tear that sent you here to our world. Whether you can return home is a whole other story. It could be that your home is on another planet, in another dimension, or perhaps even in another time."
The realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.
"You mean I can't go home!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"I didn't say that. I merely meant it might take some time to locate your home and a necessary way to send you home."
"What am I supposed to do now?" Naruto lamented.
"You are more than welcome to stay here in the meantime. I have some friends I can contact to see if I can get some help in finding you a way home."
"Thank you old man."
"By the way, I asked you earlier, but I can sense a powerful energy within your body. Is that the source of your attack you mentioned earlier with Sasuke?"
"I guess I can tell you about it since we aren't in my world. I use an energy called chakra in my body. It's a mix of spiritual and physical energies. Everyone uses chakra to do jutsus where I'm from."
"Chakra you say? Chakra is a concept in a religion known as Hinduism in this world. This may provide us a focal point to research in finding a way home for you. Thank you for sharing with me Naruto. I won't let your trust in me be misplaced"
"Heehee," Naruto snickered while rubbing his nose with his index finger.
"By the way, I won't always be around to help you with my translation spell. I think it would be prudent for you to begin studying this world's language and culture for the duration of your stay."
"Huh?"
"I will make sure your education during your time here is most prudent," Kent responded.
"Old Man says what?" Naruto questioned.
"Better get some rest Naruto. We will start your studies bright and early tomorrow," Kent said as he began leaving the room.
"Noooooooo!" Naruto yelled.
Kent merely smiled at the wail of despair emanating from the room as he walked towards his own room.
"Serves you right for calling me an old man," Kent snickered.
Tower of Fate
October 10, 2008
07:00 PM EST
It has been three months since Naruto landed on Earth in the company of Kent Nelson. Learning the language and culture of this world introduced Naruto to a whole other world. He had come to learn this world was vastly different than his own. The major difference had to be the history and progression of this world's technology. The masses were powerless, unlike the chakra that existed in all people in his world, so technology made up the difference for the day to day activities.
Naruto was familiar with some items such as radios and refrigerators. However, the thought of rocket ships capable of space travel or teleporters known as Zeta tubes were a shock to Naruto. Currently, Naruto was sitting before a television watching the local news. It had been a useful resource alongside the internet in learning about the various new aspects of this world for him.
Learning English was a bit of a chore in the beginning. Kent had sat Naruto down daily to practice reading, writing and speaking the language to help Naruto acclimate to his surroundings. Naruto just didn't have it in him to sit through boring schooling and focus on the paperwork before him. However, one good thing did come out of his lessons. It was discovered one day that his primary technique, the shadow clone jutsu, could speed up his learning process.
Naruto had never known that information learned by his clones would transfer back to him when they dispersed. Both Kent and Naruto stumbled upon this by accident when Naruto had tried to avoid his lessons by leaving a clone in his place and Kent decided to whack the clone in the head as it began to doze off. The following lecture devolved into Kent requesting that Naruto make more clones. This was done both to speed up his education as well as to punish Naruto for trying to avoid his lessons. Now Kent had the pleasure of putting multiple copies of Naruto through boring lessons.
Furthermore, Naruto learned about the extraordinary individuals who called Earth their home. There existed enhanced individuals with powers akin to bloodlines from his home world who stood out. There were those with powers who used them to defend the innocent as heroes while others abused their abilities for their own purposes as villains. The struggle between good and evil reminded him of the fantastical stories back home in the Princess Gale movies.
Kent's connections even allowed Naruto to personally meet members of the famed Justice League, a group formed by the greatest superheroes who protected the innocent from crime. Kent had reached out, calling in favors from both the supernatural and extraterrestrial members of the Justice League, in hopes of finding a way to return Naruto to his home.
Although those efforts were for naught, it was still an experience for Naruto to meet Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern and Giovanni Zatara, a fellow magic practitioner, for consultations. Hal was consulted to see if he had encountered anything remotely similar to what Naruto had described as his home in the known sectors of space whereas Zatara was enlisted for further help in potentially locking onto Naruto's chakra as a focal point for finding his home. Kent had even consulted Nabu by donning the Helmet of Fate in an attempt to help Naruto return home.
Despite the lack of results, Naruto did get to meet someone his own age whom he quickly became friends with. Zatara's daughter Zatanna was a cute 12 year old Italian girl with medium length black hair and bright cyan colored eyes. She was brought alongside Zatara to the Tower of Fate and had quickly struck up a conversation with Naruto as the adults had separated themselves to discuss Naruto's situation.
It was the first time Naruto had interacted with a girl around his age who was genuinely interested in him. Their conversations not only revolved around their backgrounds and abilities but also what each other's interests were.
Zatanna, like her father, was classified as a Homo Magi. This meant she had an innate talent for magic and dreamed of following in her father's footsteps in becoming a magician. She was curious of his alien origins as well as the chakra he wielded to perform his techniques.
Naruto in turn spoke with Zatanna about how his chakra differed from magic. He spoke of his dream to become the Hokage, the leader of his village. He spoke of how he wanted to grow strong enough to earn the acknowledgement of those around him. He told her about the time he had saved a bridge builder and liberated a country. Naruto even told her about the time he saved an actress who turned out to be a princess.
If Naruto was being honest, he found himself enjoying his time in this world more than he would have ever thought. The different languages, religions, ethnicities, and cultures were a huge shock to him. Back in the Elemental Nations, everyone spoke the same language and were merely referred to by their native villages.
Being able to experience different cuisines was one of Naruto's favorite experiences so far when Kent decided to take Naruto on trips to different countries to experience the world. Naruto even discovered his favorite dish, ramen, existed here as well which originated from a country called Japan that shared many aspects as his home world.
However, Naruto was beginning to lose hope that a solution would be found to send him home. Don't get him wrong. Naruto was grateful for the effort Kent had put into looking for a way home for him and looking after him, but each day was looking less fruitful for his situation. Naruto had even tried to perform a summoning jutsu in an attempt to contact his contracted allies, the toads of Mt. Myoboku. His efforts were unfortunately in vain.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Kent yell out to him.
"Naruto. It's time for dinner," Naruto heard from outside the room. Turning the TV off, Naruto walked over to where he heard Kent's voice from. He was surprised to find the other lights off when he entered the dining room.
"Surprise!" Kent exclaimed and suddenly the lights came on. There was a banner above the dining table with the message 'Happy 14th Birthday'. There was a white frosted cake on the table as well as a large pot. "Happy birthday Naruto. I also got your favorite, ramen. I know you've been frustrated from the lack of progress in getting you home, but I thought this could help cheer you up."
"What?"
Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. He had lost track of time since his arrival in this world and had completely forgotten that today was his birthday. Touching his right hand to his face, he was surprised to feel tears flowing down from his eyes.
"Is something the matter, my dear boy?" Kent asked, noticing that Naruto had begun crying.
"It's just … this is the first time anyone has ever celebrated my birthday with me," Naruto replied in a whisper. "My birthday isn't exactly a happy day for me back home. I never had anyone to celebrate with either since I'm an orphan."
"Oh dear boy, you've been alone for a long time haven't you? We will have to fix that now won't we? Come, take a seat and partake in some of this delicious food."
For the first time in his 14 years of life, Naruto got to celebrate his birthday with company.
After enjoying the pot of ramen and cake, Kent did have a topic to discuss with Naruto.
"I know I have been less than successful in finding a way home for you, so there was something I wanted to discuss with you, Naruto."
"What did you want to talk about?"
"I wanted to discuss the possibility that we may never find a way back for you and ask you what you would do if we can't."
This question shook Naruto. It was a future that Naruto was dreading to think about. He feared the possibility that he would be unable to return home to his friends and unable to return home to pursue his dream of becoming Hokage.
"I don't know," Naruto finally responded after pondering for a moment. "I had always thought I would keep getting stronger and become Hokage. I wanted to become the person that my village could rely on. I never thought about any other future."
"Well, life tends to work in mysterious ways and run into obstacles along the way. I never imagined I would have the opportunity to raise someone akin to a grandson after my wife Inza had passed away a decade ago."
"You really think of me like that Old Man?"
"Of course, dear boy. These last few months together have been some of the best of my long life. Which is why there's something I want to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I wanted to ask if you would consider becoming my apprentice and learning magic from me. I can see you doing a lot of good for this world."
"You want to teach me magic? But, why? How do you know I can even learn magic?"
"I see a spark in you. You're a real spitfire and have a good heart. I know you will do great things in the future."
Naruto pondered Kent's words before finally responding.
"Do you want me to be a hero like you were?" Naruto tentatively asked.
"I know you can be a hero because it's who you are," Kent responded with confidence.
"You're wrong. You don't know anything about me." Naruto denied.
"Why do you think I'm wrong?" Kent pressed.
"You saw how hurt I was when you found me. The reason I was chasing after Sasuke was because it was a mission assigned to me by my village. I'm a Shinobi. I've been trained from a young age to serve my village and take lives if necessary. It's all I've ever known in life," solemnly replied with his head turned downward.
"Who you were before doesn't mean that is who you will always be. I've seen it in your eyes when you conversed with members of the Justice League and young Zatanna. I can see that you have the heart of a hero."
"No, I have the heart of a demon." Naruto whispered.
"What do you mean by 'heart of a demon'?" Kent asked.
"The reason I've never celebrated my birthday with anyone is because I'm a weapon for my home. When I was born, a powerful fox demon called the Nine-Tails attacked my village and killed so many people. It was stopped by my village's leader, the 4th Hokage, by sealing it into me. All the adults told their children to stay away from and looked at me with such contempt. I didn't even know the fox was sealed inside me until I was 12 years old."
Remembering all the pain and loneliness, the tears flowed freely down Naruto's face.
Kent moved forward to envelop Naruto in a warm embrace.
"You poor, poor child. I can't imagine how much pain and loneliness you must have endured. You must have been without love for so long, yet you would still want to return there."
Naruto could only hiccup as he continued to cry. The gravity of the situation finally dawned on him. For the first time, he was away from his home for an extended period of time. He had the chance to live a life away from the hatred and be acknowledged for his actions.
"I made a promise to a friend of mine. I promised her I would return Sasuke to the village. I don't go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way. I have people close to me who are precious. I would do anything for them."
"Keeping your promises is an admirable trait, but have you ever asked yourself if you were happy?"
Naruto couldn't respond positively to that question. At the end of the day, Naruto used to return home to an empty apartment. It's ironic that he had learned and become so adept at using shadow clones, a technique that masked his loneliness.
"I guess not," Naruto replied.
"Also, you aren't the first person I've met to be a vessel for a demon."
"I'm not?"
"One of my greatest and lifelong friends is host to a demonic entity. You are not the demon you contain. You are defined by the choices you make, the people you care about, and those who care for you."
"You really don't care that I have a demon sealed inside me?"
"I have come to know the brash young man known as Naruto Uzumaki these last three months. I can confidently say that there is no one else I would rather teach, whether it be this world or any other."
Wiping his eyes, Naruto raised his head up to meet Kent's gaze.
"I'll do it!" Naruto confidently exclaimed. "I'll be the best student you could ever wish for. I won't let you down and that's a promise of a lifetime!"
"Wonderful! Well, I suggest you don't stay up too late tonight. We start bright and early tomorrow."
It was on that day that Naruto began his journey from wayward shinobi to hero. The days turned to months filled with intensive training, both theoretical and practical.
Naruto had begun to learn that magic could be quite abstract in application. His first objective was to learn how to cast magic in the first place. Kent had explained that magic could be broken down into three steps: focus, power, and effect.
This reminded Naruto of how jutsus were cast. Hand signs were woven together in a sequence to focus the jutsu while their bodies molded their chakra to specific areas of the body to power the technique. The resulting effect was the jutsu.
With this in mind, Naruto began his lessons in earnest to make Kent proud. He was initially worried that his chakra wouldn't translate to being able to cast magic, but his worries were unfounded. Casting magic was similar to performing jutsu. He just had to adjust his mindset to achieve the desired results.
Kent had expanded on Naruto's understanding of magic by explaining that magic was a world of visualization. You had to be able to picture the desired effect to cast magic. This had been the guiding rule for when Naruto began learning simple spells.
Molding his chakra to levitate items had become his daily routine in training his control. Kent stressed that being able to perform this act as if you were breathing would help Naruto in achieving the delicate control required for more advanced techniques.
This training honestly reminded Naruto of the chakra control lessons from his past. Memories of days spent running up trees and walking on water flashed in his mind. Furthermore, Kent took it a step further by having Naruto be physically active while levitating objects.
Apparently, Kent had gotten this idea from a movie called Star Wars. Naruto would run, do push ups, or maintain a handstand while levitating objects to tax both his mind and body at the same time. The most obvious proof of his efforts was that he could now make a rasengan one-handed without the assistance of a clone.
Not only was Naruto training physically, but Kent also forced Naruto to keep up with his studies. Abusing the ability to transfer memories from his shadow clones, Kent made sure Naruto received compulsory education as well in the traditional subjects of literature, history, and mathematics.
This was the biggest headache for Naruto. Kent's reasoning for doing this was to prepare Naruto in case he wanted to pursue a higher education in the future. At the very least, Naruto would be caught up with his age group and could potentially test for a GED in the future.
Kent had even called in a favor with a friend of his. Ted Grant, aka Wildcat, was a fellow member of the defunct Justice Society of America. Kent had taken Naruto to meet Ted to improve Naruto's hand to hand combat. Naruto had mentioned that he preferred close range combat compared to the wizard style of spell casting that Kent utilized. Thus, an introduction was made for Naruto to learn from a former heavyweight boxing champion.
The biggest takeaway from his lessons with Ted was to always put conflicts on his terms. He should be acting, not reacting. Naruto had grown accustomed to trying to overwhelm his opponents with shadow clones that he neglected his taijutsu training. Of course, he didn't have personalized instruction in the past either like Sasuke or Lee had received from Kakashi and Gai respectively.
He was also used to coming up with plans on the fly by being unpredictable. Looking back, he was putting his own body in harm's way just to get a hit in on his opponents. Memories of his preliminary fight with Kiba and deadly fight with Gaara were the most prominent examples of him reacting to his opponents.
It was amazing how much Naruto could absorb from his lessons with Kent and Ted. It begged the question of how much he could have progressed back home if he had received personalized attention earlier.
Nevertheless, Naruto was taking in as much as he could to prepare for his eventual debut as a hero. Kent had put emphasis on prioritizing civilians during emergencies. He had to learn how to approach a situation and assess his surroundings to avoid running in blindly. Naruto had to learn how to think like a first responder would by assessing the high priority and low priority targets in any given situation.
Training wasn't all bad though. It gave Naruto the opportunity to experiment with magic and create his own identity as a hero. Kent's signature magic while acting as Dr. Fate was the use of golden ankhs. Naruto had instead chosen to take a route expressing his newfound love for anime.
His favorite stories back home were the Princess Gale movies. In this new world, there was so much more media for him to consume. The various genres and plots entranced Naruto.
He got a ton of mileage out of his Crunchyroll account. When he would sleep to rest his body, he had numerous shadow clones awake pulling all nighters and binge watching.
Since magic involved visualization and Naruto didn't have a person to teach him jutsu, he instead chose to adopt techniques from various series he watched. He might as well be an Uchiha with all the techniques he wanted to copy and test out.
Alongside his discovery of anime was the accompanying source material known as manga. It amazed him how stories could be conveyed through the art and panels. Something that seemed so simple conveyed so much. Tales of heroism, action, and romance captured Naruto's imagination.
Naruto idly wondered if this was how Jiraiya felt when writing his dirty novels. Jiraiya had always been so hyper focused that he was in his own world. Naruto supposed it made sense that Jiraiya was so locked in when creating his own world within his novels that he tuned out the rest of the world. There should have been no chance that a genin like himself should have gotten the drop on a famous shinobi like Jiraiya at the hot springs.
Anyway, Naruto mainly borrowed elements from various series serialized in Shonen Jump, a manga imprint which published stories mostly aimed towards young men. These series tended to lean into the genres of action and adventure with detailed fights. He utilized techniques as well as training methods outlined in these series to craft his fighting style of being a battle mage.
Who knew being a weeb would help him in making a better superhero. He had the power of anime on his side. Although, Naruto was surprised to find so much raunchy artwork on the internet. The day he discovered Rule 34 and was caught by Kent was the most mortifying experience of his lifetime, especially since Kent had to sit him down to give him 'The Talk'.
Kent spared no details when explaining the differences between men and women as well the process of procreation. Naruto already knew men and women had different bodies. He just didn't know how much different they could be.
Life was good for Naruto, but nothing could have prepared him for what he would discover through his love of anime.
Tower of Fate
Naruto's Room
July 20, 2010
01:00 AM EDT
A fifteen year old Naruto yawned while atop his bed. A laptop lay on his chest after his latest binge watch of anime.
"Man, Dragon Ball Z is so cool. I wonder who wins in a fight between Goku and Superman?" Naruto mused aloud. "Hard to believe it's already been two years since I've been in this world. I hope Kent thinks I'm ready to go out in the field soon."
As Naruto was about to turn in, he noticed the latest announcement on the homepage of Crunchyroll.
Menma Manga Releases its 500th Chapter
"Menma huh? I think that's one of 'The Big 3' from Shonen Jump. Guess this is the next one. I wonder what it's about."
Clicking the series, Naruto began to read the synopsis.
Before Menma's birth, a great demon fox had attacked the Hidden Leaf Village.
"What the fuck!?"
A man known as the 4th Hokage sealed the demon inside the newly born Menma, causing him to unknowingly grow up detested by his fellow villagers. Despite his lack of talent in many areas of ninjutsu, Menma strives for only one goal: to gain the title of Hokage, the strongest ninja in his village. Desiring the respect he never received, Menma works towards his dream with fellow friends Sasuke and Sakura and mentor Kakashi as they go through many trials and battles that come with being a ninja.
"What the hell is this?"
This sounded just like his own life. Clicking the first episode, Naruto started upon a path that would change his life forever.
Later that day
A knock was heard on the door to Naruto's room.
"Naruto? Are you there? You missed breakfast," Kent's voice came through the door. Kent knocked again and was greeted by a baggy eyed Naruto.
"My word, Naruto. You look like you haven't slept a wink. What happened?"
"Is my life a lie, Old Man?"
"What could you mean by that?"
Naruto brought Kent over to the laptop and showed him the webpage. Naruto had spent all night reading through the Menma series and had learned some startling information. Offering a brief summary of what he learned, Naruto could stare at Kent's face, awaiting a reaction.
"Well? What do you think, Old Man? I found it last night and went through it all. I had my clones make portals to Japan and read through all the available chapters at a local library."
"I think it's an amazing coincidence how similar your life is to this story."
"That's it? Is that all you have to say? It's not similar, it's completely the same!"
"I can understand why you are currently upset. This begs the question of what you will do now with this information."
This question gave Naruto pause as he was too preoccupied with getting through the story that he forgot to consider his next move.
"I don't know, but that has to mean something. Maybe, I wasn't supposed to end up here with you. What if I was supposed to train with Ero-sennin and return to the village? What if I was supposed to get stronger and protect Konoha? What if that was supposed to be my fate?"
"Those are merely what ifs. It is possible there exists a version of you out there who has lived out this story. It doesn't mean that it is meant to be your story as well."
"This manga has Menma meet his parents though. I never knew who mine were."
"Do you envy this character? Do you wish you never ended up here on this planet?"
This question gave Naruto pause. Naruto had come to enjoy the time spent here on Earth. He was excited to learn magic from Kent and to prepare for his debut as a hero. He loved all the media there was to consume. Most of all, he enjoyed the relationship he shared with his mentor.
"I do wish I could meet my parents like Menma did, but I don't regret coming here."
"Do you want to see if the same circumstances could bring you to your parents?"
"What do you mean?"
"In this story, Menma's father appears when the seal is about to break to repair. Menma's mother appears when he is battling to gain control of the Nine-Tails's power. Do you think we could recreate that and have your own parents appear?"
"How can we do that?"
"Well, the character Menma was removing the seal in the story in preparation of harnessing the strength of the demon. Perhaps we could take a similar trip into your mind and try to remove the seal."
"Do you really think that could work? Menma received a key to his seal from the toads in the story. I can't summon the toads here."
"We won't know unless we try. Let's head up to the roof. We wouldn't want to try this indoors, I would imagine."
With that said, the two made their way up the stairs to the roof of the Tower of Fate. Kent had Naruto sit down to meditate in an attempt to enter his mindscape. Kent kept his hand on Naruto's shoulder to maintain contact in the hopes of accompanying Naruto through this mental ordeal. It was important that Naruto receive some closure after the existential crisis he experienced.
Within Naruto's Mindscape
The appearance hadn't changed at all since the last time Naruto was here. It was reminiscent of a sewer with a large fence-like gate. There was an ofuda with the kanji for seal written on it in the center of the gate, representing the Shiki Fujin seal that kept the Nine-Tails at bay.
"It's been a while since I was here," Naruto mused. "I only ever showed up here when my life was in danger and the Nine-Tails chakra would flood my body to keep me alive. I guess all my magic training helped me in focusing my mind."
"So this is your mind, young man. I must say, it is quite the dreadful atmosphere," Kent said from beside Naruto.
"Well, my life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows growing up. Still, it does feel weird having someone else in here with me," Naruto responded.
"So, my jailer has decided to grace me with his presence. It has certainly been a while. You've also brought a guest. Good. Twice the humans for me to kill."
A voice echoed among the walls of the sewer. Suddenly, long nails from a claw were stopped before their faces. The Nine-Tailed fox had thrust its paw at the gate. Its long nails slipped in between the bars but could not reach the duo.
"I assume this is the Nine-Tails you told me of," Kent asked rhetorically.
"Yeah. This is the giant furball," Naruto responded. "It looks just like I remember."
"So, what brings you here today? Are you here to demand more of my chakra as rent? What other possible reason would you have to visit me?"
"I'm here to get some answers, and I have to tear that seal off in order to get them."
"Hahahaha! You came here for answers and wish to tear off this seal to get them. By all means, be my guest. You would actually give me the chance to tear you limb from limb by releasing me. You're an even bigger fool than I had thought."
"No, I'm here for answers, and I will get them," Naruto responded with confidence. He began walking past the paw and up to the gate. With a mere thought, Naruto's body began levitating to reach the paper representing the seal. He stretched his right hand out to grasp it and began to peel the paper from the gate's surface.
As if summoned, a hand suddenly clasped Naruto's wrist to prevent any further movement. Looking to his right, Naruto came face to face with the form of the 4th Hokage, the man who was the source of all his suffering and supposedly his father. With a quick movement, Naruto was dragged away from the seal by the man.
"I never wanted to see you again Nine-Tails," the 4th Hokage stated. "Although, I am a bit confused. This memory of me was supposed to appear when the seal would be breaking in order to repair it. What is going on Naruto and who is that man behind you?"
"I came here to remove the seal on purpose. I needed to get some answers from you," Naruto responded.
"Answers? What could be so important that you would risk breaking the seal just to ask? How did you even know I would appear?" the 4th Hokage asked with a puzzled face.
"Perhaps a change of scenery is in order to continue this conversation." Kent interjected. With a wave of his hand, the trio were suddenly in a new environment away from the sewer, as if they were in a painting of pastel colors.
"Who are you and how are you here?" the 4th Hokage asked.
"Kent Nelson. I have been Naruto's guardian for the past two years. May I have your name, good sir?"
"Minato Namikaze. What do you mean by guardian?"
"Circumstances have brought Naruto before me, and I have been looking after him for the past two years. We are here because Naruto needed answers."
"What kind of answers?"
"Well, first and foremost. Are you Naruto's father?"
"Yes, I am. Why would you need to come into the seal for a simple question like that?" Minato asked with a puzzled face.
*POW*
All of a sudden, Minato hunched over from a blow to his sternum from Naruto.
"How could you seal the Nine-Tails into your own son?!" Naruto cried out. "Do you know what I went through because of you?! All the adults looked at me with scorn and contempt! I couldn't make any friends! I'm not even in the Elemental Nations anymore!"
"Ughh …" Minato sucked in his teeth from the sucker punch given to him by his son. "What do you mean by 'not in the Elemental Nations anymore'?"
"I somehow ended up in another dimension or another planet. We're not really sure, but that doesn't matter. We tried, but there's no way for me to get home. I found this story that was the exact same as my life before I ended up here, so I needed to know if you would show up if I tried to remove the seal."
"I see. I'm sorry you had to live through all that suffering. How old are you now, Naruto?"
"I'm 15. I didn't even know the Nine-Tails was sealed inside me. I learned about it from an academy instructor who hated me when I was 12. He tricked me into stealing the Scroll of Seals because I failed the graduation exam. He told me it was a secret way to graduate."
"I'm so sorry Naruto. It was never my intention to put you through such pain. There were circumstances surrounding your birth that required me to seal the Nine-Tails into you."
"Speaking of circumstances, I believed the comic you showed me had another guest in the seal, Naruto. I can feel the lingering energy of hers," Kent said.
With a wave of his hand, another figure suddenly appeared. This new person was a woman with long red hair, a round face, and violet eyes. She looked around herself and was confused when her eyes landed on the trio before her.
"Minato? What's going on and who are you with?" the red-haired woman asked.
"Kushina, this man is Kent Nelson and our son, Naruto." Minato responded.
Before anything else was said, Naruto rushed forward to envelop Kushina in a tight hug. Naruto's body trembled as his face was scrunched up with unshed tears.
"I've always wanted to meet you, ya know."
"Ya know huh? You really are my child. More importantly, why am I here? How are we both here, Minato?"
"I believe I can explain the situation," Kent spoke up. "You see, the reason we have come into the seal was to seek answers. Naruto ended up outside my home two years ago after a climactic battle with a friend of his. We have recently discovered a story written in my world that mirrors his own life. We came here to confirm certain details on whether or not the same events applied to Naruto."
"What do you mean by your world?" Kushina asked.
"We're not in the Elemental Nations. I'm on a planet called Earth." Naruto responded. I found a manga called 'Menma'. The main character had the Nine-Tails sealed into him and had a life exactly like mine before I ended up here."
"Naruto was having a bit of an existential crisis. He wondered if the story was the life he was supposed to have had he not found himself in my company," Kent explained. "Thus, the two of us made the decision to come into the seal for answers. We had to test that the same outcome would occur should we try to remove the seal. Seeing you two here, it played out how we thought it would."
"I see," Minato finally said. "You had to test out your theory. Now that you have Kushina and myself, what is your plan?"
"Well, that will depend on Naruto, I suppose," Kent said.
"I need to know why you seal the Nine-Tails into your own son. What happened to you both?" Naruto asked.
"I suppose it starts with why I came to Konoha in the first place," Kushina began. "I was chosen as a young girl to become the next host for the Nine-Tails, after Lady Mito Uzumaki who was the wife of Hashirama Senju."
"What? Why would you be picked to do that?"
"I had special chakra that could create something called the Adamantine Sealing Chains. These chains had the power to restrain a tailed beast like the Nine-Tails, and Lady Mito was getting too old. It was my duty to become the next host."
"We met and fell in love. I won't bore you with the details," Minato said. "However, the Nine-Tails should have never attacked Konoha all those years ago."
"That's right," Kushina followed up. "A masked man attacked me the moment when the seal holding the Nine-Tails would be at its weakest."
"When was that?" Naruto asked.
"In childbirth," replied Kushina. "Somehow, that man knew when I would be at my most vulnerable. I was taken to a hidden location with a team of barrier shinobi who would be on a lookout when I went into labor. Your father was also there to make sure the seal remained intact."
"Somehow, the masked man was able to kill the shinobi guards and had taken you hostage from the midwife immediately after Kushina gave birth to you," Minato added.
"Your father had to rescue you from danger. In doing so, he left me unguarded when the masked man took me elsewhere to release the Nine-Tails. You are probably familiar with the destruction the Nine-Tails caused that night," Kushina continued.
"I fought the masked man and was able to separate him from his control of the Nine-Tails but was unable to finish him off. I used the Shiki Fuujin seal to split the Nine-Tails's chakra in half. Half went into me, and the other half would go into you, Naruto. I felt that you would need its power in the future to fight the masked man."
"However, I was weak from childbirth and couldn't hold the Nine-Tails back the entire time. In a moment of weakness, my hold on it went slack and it tried to kill you. We threw our bodies in front of its claw to stop it from killing you. Your father completed the sealing, and we lost our lives protecting you."
Naruto could only stare in shock as his mind was overloaded with information. He has wanted to know about his parents for so long. The 3rd Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had refused to tell him anything about them.
"Why did you leave memories of yourselves in the seal?" asked Kent.
"Our chakra was meant to help Naruto in certain times of need. I would fix the seal should it need to be repaired if it began failing. Kushina's chakra was meant to assist Naruto for when he would be ready to take control and master the Nine-Tails's chakra," Minato explained.
"Then let's do it," Naruto interrupted. "We're all here together. Let's take down the Nine-Tails."
"Do you think you are ready for such a task?" asked Kent.
"I've never been more ready for anything in my life." Naruto responded. "Maybe this wasn't the way this was supposed to happen, but I'm ready to do things my way. This is my life, and fate doesn't tell me what to do."
"I suppose you no longer believe your fate was meant to be like that story, my dear boy?"
"This is my life. I say what my destiny is supposed to be."
"Well all right then. What do you say, Minato and Kushina?"
The married couple exchanged a look before both nodding. With that, the group appeared before the gate back in the sewer.
"4th Hokage! Kushina! How dare you both show yourselves before me!" came the bellowing voice of the Nine-Tails.
Naruto approached the gate and floated up to the seal. With a snap of his hand, the paper tag came off and the gate suddenly burst open in a burst of wind. Immediately, the Nine-Tails barreled forward in an attempt to swallow Naruto.
Golden chains came from behind Naruto to wrap around the Nine-Tails's mouth and the rest of its body, restraining it. Looking back, Naruto saw the chains coming from his mother's back.
"Woah, are these your Adamantine Sealing Chains, mom?"
"They sure are, ya know."
"Well then, I can't let myself look weak in front of you guys. Cantus Bellax (Song of Battle)!" Naruto shouted in Latin. With magic flowing through his entire body, Naruto reinforced himself for the coming battle.
Taking off into the air towards the Nine-Tails's head, wind swirled around his form and created miniature tornadoes around his limbs.
"Tornado Fist!" Naruto shouted as he slugged the giant fox in the snout, causing its head to rear backwards. Not letting up, Naruto began creating a Rasengan in his right hand in the center of his tornado. Naruto flew at the downed fox and thrust his hand forward.
"Tornado Rasengan!" The contact on the fox's body created a swirling point of impact on its torso.
"Amazing. Naruto was able to combine an elemental attack with the Rasengan. I could not be more proud of you, son," Minato commented.
"Rahhhh!" the fox roared. It opened its mouth with great effort despite the chains wrapped around him. A dark orb of energy began forming within its maw aimed right at Naruto in the air.
"Naruto, look out! It's going to fire a Bijudama!" Kushina exclaimed in fear.
The energy orb fired from the fox upwards towards Naruto. Suddenly, a tri-pronged kunai appeared in between Naruto and the orb. In a flash, the orb disappeared and reappeared. It was now going in the direction of the Nine-Tails.
The resulting explosion from the blast connecting with the fox sent everyone flying back. The chains around the Nine-Tails were loosened, but the direct hit from the Bijudama caused great damage to the fox as it was sent back several meters.
Naruto looked back at his father.
"Nice save, dad!"
"It's a father's duty to protect his child after all," Minato responded from his position. "But I don't think we're done yet."
Turning forward, Naruto saw that the fox was getting back up despite the devastating blow it took. A sudden thought occurred to Naruto.
"Hey mom, is it possible for me to make those chains?"
"I've never heard of a male Uzumaki having them before."
"Well it doesn't hurt to try."
Visualizing those golden chains in his mind's eye, Naruto envisioned the properties they held. The chains had spear-like tips at the front and held the power to restrain a mountainous foe like the Nine-Tails.
"I am Naruto Uzumaki of the Uzumaki clan!" With that yell, four golden chains erupted from his back and headed for the fox's limbs. "This should take some of the burden off you mom."
"Amazing. Our son is truly one of a kind, Minato," Kushina whispered in amazement. With a renewed vigor, Kushina created new chains to wrap around the fox's torso and mouth once again.
Jumping in the air, Naruto molded his chakra for his next attack. "Iaculatio Fulgoris (Lightning Javelin)!" Naruto conjured several spears made of lightning to rain down and pierce the fox's body.
Not letting up, Naruto channeled more energy into his next attack. He hovered his right hand over his left hand by his side, in the shape of a sphere.
"Haaaaaaaa!" Naruto yelled as he prepared his attack. He thrust his hands forward, emitting a spiraling energy wave towards the fox. "Rasengan Wave!"
The beam of energy struck home and caused the fox to grit its teeth in pain.
"Damn you Uzumakis and damn you 4th Hokage!" The fox bellowed.
"Looks like it's still not down yet. Let's hit it together, Naruto."
Minato approached Naruto and placed his hand over Naruto's. Their chakra resonated together as a Rasengan began forming between their hands. The size of it continued to grow, and they had to place their arms in the air to give the energy to grow. The Rasengan finally stabilized in the air at ten times the size of their bodies.
With a yell, the two ran towards the Nine-Tails in an effort to end this battle.
"Take this! Father-Son Rasengan!" Minato and Naruto yelled together.
The duo launched themselves at the fox in an attempt to put the fox down. The resulting blow created a dust cloud that enveloped all of their bodies. Held down by Kushina and Naruto's chains, the Nine-Tails finally stopped struggling and was trying to catch its breath while on its back.
Kushina looked at Naruto. "Now's your chance, Naruto. Grab hold of the Nine-Tails's chakra."
Naruto grabbed at one of the tails and began to tug. His hands began glowing gold as he reached for the fox's chakra. With a mighty heave, a golden outline of the fox was ripped out and went into Naruto.
Naruto's form was suddenly engulfed in a golden flame-like aura. He had never felt this much power coursing through his body in his life.
Minato approached Naruto and placed a palm on his stomach. He rotated his hand clockwise as if he was turning a lock. Red torii gates began falling from the sky onto the fox, keeping it down. A new gate emerged and locked up the Nine-Tails once again.
"With that, I believe our job is done," said Minato. "I believe your mother's and my time is running out."
"I wish I could have had more time with you both," Naruto responded. "I wish things were different, and we could have had a life together."
"Don't worry. Our time may have been short together, but it was meaningful," Kushina spoke up. "We love you, Naruto. Don't ever doubt that. Thank you for making Minato a father. Thank you for making me a mother. Thank you for being born to us."
With their final thoughts spoken, the memories of Minato and Kushina began to fade away.
Back atop the Tower of Fate, Naruto and Kent opened their eyes.
"Well, I'm sure that was quite the experience for you, young man," Kent started. "Did you accomplish everything that you wanted?"
"Yeah, I think I did," Naruto replied. "It was a shock when I found the Menma series. I just felt like my life wasn't my own. I thought something was wrong because I ended up here instead of continuing my own story in the Elemental Nations."
Looking towards the sky, Kent contemplated his next words. "Well, I believe that we don't have a predetermined fate. Ironic, considering the alias I used to go by."
"You really think so?"
"I do. It wasn't fate that brought you before me. It was your own actions and morals that guided you in confronting Sasuke that day. You guided your own destiny"
"I guess I did. Do you think that's what my hero name should be? Destiny?"
"I think that is a wonderful name to describe yourself. You made your choices, and all your experiences will lead you to your destiny. Everything you have experienced is just another chapter, a prelude if you will, towards your destiny."
Kent began walking back towards the roof opening. "Well, I believe that's enough excitement for me today. I'm going to turn in early. I have plans to head out soon. I've heard there is a woman in New Orleans who can speak with the dead. I plan on going to investigate such claims."
"Good night, Old Man," Naruto called after him. "I guess I should turn in as well. I did pull an all-nighter after all."
Naruto returned to his room and locked the door behind him. "Even though the Menma series isn't my life, I do wonder how all my friends are doing back home. I hope they are all happy with their lives." With that thought, Naruto prepared for bed.
However, there was just one more thing he needed to do before bed. He grabbed his laptop, a bottle of lotion, and a box of tissues. He fired up the computer and typed into the search bar, 'Tsunade, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten Rule 34'.
The internet was truly a wondrous invention. Although, the song was right. The internet is for porn.
Tower of Fate
August 19, 2010
08:00 PM EDT
It had been nearly a month since Naruto had gone into his mindscape and met his parents. Kent had gone out to investigate the woman who could speak to the dead a week after assisting him with going into the seal. Naruto had not heard from him for a while. Naruto had no way to contact the Justice League to look into his disappearance, so he could only wait until he received word from Kent.
Currently, Naruto was training in the use of his Adamantine Chains to become more proficient with them. He wanted to become proficient enough with them to conjure more chains or instinctively protect himself if necessary. He also wanted to recreate his father's Hiraishin jutsu as it seemed to be a very useful technique in both combat and utility for protecting lives.
He wanted to honor the memory of his parents. He had begun wearing his hair in a style matching his father's by growing out his front bangs. His wardrobe was even updated to match his father. Naruto wore an orange robe decorated with black flames over a black flak jacket and blue pants.
However, Naruto's training was interrupted when the tower suddenly alerted him to intruders. Leaving his training room, Naruto ran down the stairs and came across five teenagers tumbling out of a subspace door with snow on top of them.
Without giving them a chance to attack, Naruto sent chains out from his hand to subdue the intruders.
"Ahhh!" the group exclaimed as they were hoisted into the air by the chains. "What is this?"
Naruto took a moment to assess his captives. There were three males and two females. All of them appeared to be around his age.
The first teenage boy is a dark-skinned boy with light blond hair with the front shaved. He was wearing a black jacket with a blue front and black pants.
The second boy is a Caucasian boy with short black hair. He was wearing a black shirt with a red Superman "S" on the front and blue pants. He also looked to be the most muscular of the group.
The third boy is a light-skinned redhead wearing a red layer over a long sleeved white shirt and dark blue jeans.
Looking at the two girls of the group, Naruto thought they were quite attractive.
The first girl is tan-skinned with her long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She is wearing what looked like a brown leather jacket over a white midriff top and dark pants.
The last of the group gave Naruto a bit of pause. She is a girl with shoulder length red hair wearing a blue jacket over a white top and with a matching blue skirt and calf length white socks. The biggest surprise is her skin is green.
Naruto could ponder their appearances later. There was a much bigger priority question he had at this moment.
"Who are you and why are you in my home?"
Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfiction written after years of reading. I have come to discover that most writers create stories because there are certain pairings that they wish to write about. That being said, the pairing is decided and will not be changed from any reader input. This story would not have come into creation if not for the amazing community in the fanfiction Discord servers I am a part of. Check out AizenTheGoat's server if you want to interact with other writers and readers at /MTpZ9Bt7 or reach out to Aizen for an invite through PM.