Hello once again to my readers, Old and New. This is something I've been wanting to start writing for a few months now but I was putting it off until the finale of Book 4, now I have no excuse not to begin.

For those holding out for the second chapter of Shield of Humanity, don't fret as it's very near completion and will be posted up soon.

With this first chapter I mainly just want to gauge everyone's reaction. Do you like it? Hate it? Let me know, I'm very open to what my readers would like to see in my stories. So if there's anything you would like to see done or changed in this story, let me know in a review.

It had been many decades since Iroh, the famed Dragon of the West, had set foot in the material world. His physical body had long since died and he had chosen to live on in the Spirit World, becoming somewhat akin to a Spirit himself. The Spirit World had become his home and the Spirits that inhabited its strange lands his friends.

Throughout the time he had spent in the Spirit World Iroh had seen many a strange occurrence though he had become accustomed to it, the strange happenings around him had long since stopped surprising him, now only brining a sense of wonder and awe.

He was not prepared however to return to his small tea house to find a young man face down in the grass next to his large tea-table, his clothes a tattered mess and a small pool of blood forming underneath him. Even in his extremely confused state, Iroh still had the awareness to know that the boy needed his help.

Upon cursory inspection Iroh noticed almost immediately that the young man was in-fact a flesh and blood human, meaning that he would've had to of entered the Spirit World physically. The only way Iroh knew of to accomplish this was via either of the two Spirit Portals on the South or North Pole but the wizened old man knew that both portals had been closed for aeons.

Iroh quickly dismissed the thoughts, the universe was a truly amazing and unknowable place, it was not for him to say what was possible or impossible. The old Firebender hefted the young man into his arms, taking note of his unusual bright blonde hair and strange facial markings, and hurried inside.

After over an hour of checking the boy over for injuries Iroh found nothing singularly life threatening but the multitude of smaller injuries would have spelled the end for him had the Old Man not found him when he did.

When he was tending to the boy he found something odd. There was some form of spiritual presence within the boy himself and if Iroh had to guess, it was straining to be released from whatever bonds held it.

The boy's Chi was also extremely chaotic, almost as if it possessed a mind of its own. It was churning and writhing within his body though Iroh's trained senses could feel the utter calmness yet potential for uncontrollable, elemental force within his Chi. It seemed whoever the boy was, he was a Bender.

Iroh brewed a fresh pot of tea, grabbing a cup for himself as he sat by the young man's bedside, his body now almost completely covered in bandages. Iroh decided to spend the time waiting for the boy to wake up by continuing to monitor the boy's Chi.

It would be three long weeks before Iroh's silent vigil proved fruitful.

It was at the beginning or the second week of the boy's slumber that Iroh first noticed the Fox Spirit perched atop the young man's chest. At first Iroh wasn't quite sure how the Spirit had managed to get there without him noticing. He knew it was a Spirit because of its unusually strange appearance.

It sported nine bushy tails where a normal fox would only have one. The shape of its front appendages was more akin to that of a man than a beast. It had extremely long ears for its small size and its face sported distinct black markings. Iroh knew that the longest he had left the boy's side was only a few minutes at most but there the Spirit sat, content with staring straight into the old man's eyes.

It was a few hours after the Fox's first appearance that Iroh noticed something different about the boy.

The spiritual presence that had been within him was now gone and Iroh could only assume that the Fox that was now acting as a silent guardian had once resided within the boy though for what purpose he could not determine.

The end of the second week brought much desired knowledge for Iroh. The Fox began to speak.

"Who are you?" it questioned him, the sudden sound of its incredibly deep voice making him jump somewhat. Iroh recovered quickly, offering a small bow of respect towards the Fox Spirit.

"My name is Iroh," he replied with a warm smile adorning his face. "And I would very much like to know yours Great Spirit." The Fox had smiled at that, showing its large canines.

"I think I'm going to like you," it said, "But I don't think you've earned the right to know my name." it explained with no small amount of haughtiness though Iroh had spent enough of his life dealing with Zuko to realise the falseness of the Fox's tone.

"Of course, you name is you own to keep." he replied graciously and the Fox gave a small nod of thanks. The room descended into silence for only a few moments before the Spirit spoke again.

"Where are we?" it asked and Iroh knew immediately that it was referring to itself and the boy it sat atop. Iroh gave a small laugh before answering.

"You, my friend, are guests in my humble tea shop here in the Spirit World." The Fox Spirit's eyes widened somewhat at the statement and for the first time in days it moved from its perch on the young man, moving towards the nearest window.

It propped itself up on the windowsill and craned its neck to look outside.

"So this is the Spirit World," Iroh heard it say though only barely. "The Old Man always used to talk about this place." it said, a sense of maintained wonder in its voice.

"If you don't mind me asking." began Iroh, "Who is the boy?" he asked politely. The Fox Spirit quickly returned to its former seat.

"His name is much the same as mine. It is his to give and not mine." it said stubbornly. Iroh could only give another small nod of acceptance. The Spirit met his eyes with a serious look on its surprisingly human like face.

"I take it from the nearly three weeks of peace and quiet as well as your lack of cautions that we were alone in our coming here?" It asked, piquing Iroh's interest.

"Yes," he replied, "I found only the boy when I was returning home." he explained curtly.

"I see…." the Fox Spirit said. "I suggest you give the area around your home a thorough inspection for any other signs of life or disturbance." Iroh frowned somewhat at the strange suggestion.

"Are you expecting me to find someone?" he asked and the Fox shook its head slowly.

"Quite the opposite in fact, I'm praying you find nothing." it said solemnly.

Iroh had done as he was asked, finding nothing until he searched the immediate area where he had found the boy. Underneath his tea-table he was greeted with a grisly sight.

A strangely off-colour right arm, flakes of long dried blood had crusted underneath the appendage though the limb itself showed no signs of decay. He bundled the limb in a cloth and presented it to the Fox Spirit.

"I found only this, right next to where I found the boy." he announced as he carefully placed the package at the Spirit's feet. The Fox extended one of its hands and un-wrapped the arm, its eyes widening slightly before its face returned to a neutral expression of calmness.

"This is good," it said, "But I think I'll be keeping this safe." It said, grabbing the appendage with one incredibly dexterous tail and seeming to force the limb into its own body.

The arm soon disappeared 'within' the Spirit and it seemed to grow to at least twice its original size, now standing as tall as one of the other Fox Spirit's Iroh had seen within Wan Shi Tan's library.

Iroh had not questioned the strange sight as it seemed a fairly personal matter for the Spirit. The next few days were spent in quiet conversation with the Spirit, its mood somewhat more amicable after Iroh had offered it a cup of tea from his prized teapot.

Their conversations had turned more to the informational side of things as the Spirit began to ask more and more questions about Iroh himself and what the Fox called the "new Physical World".

What the Spirit meant by 'new' eluded Iroh but he let such thoughts leave him; it was none of his concern.

The boy's health however was.

"What is wrong with the boy's Chi?" he asked the Spirit, causing it to raise an eyebrow slightly.

"Where we came from, the boy didn't have Chi as you know it. He possessed a different type of energy within him. Our arrival here upset that delicate energy system and I was forced to convert his remaining energy into the Chi you know otherwise he would have been poisoned from the inside out." explained the Fox.

Iroh could only nod his head slowly. Who was he to question the Spirit; it clearly knew what it was doing whilst he had no knowledge of the subject.

"What will happen to him once the imbalance is corrected?" he wondered aloud, the Fox was quick to respond.

"I'm not exactly sure, but if I had to guess I assume he will become what you would call a Bender and have mastery over his element."

"What element would that be?" Iroh asked and the Spirit gave a small shrug in response.

"Air more than likely, he did have an affinity towards that element before." said the Fox, causing a smile to form on Iroh's face.

"Another Airbender, that is marvellous. Perhaps he can help correct the imbalance in the world. With so few Airbenders alive today, they would welcome him happily." That drew a raised brow from the Fox.

"What happened to the Airbenders? The last time I was here with the Old Man there were hundreds of them living in their ridiculously placed Temples." it asked. Iroh's mood turned sombre almost immediately.

"War." he said, leaving it at that. It appeared that one simple word was all the explanation the Spirit needed, it too hung its head slightly in what Iroh could only assume was a small sign of mourning.

"I know the terrors of war well enough Iroh, it is a shame to know that the most peaceful of your world's inhabitants were the ones to face annihilation. It is gladdening to know at least a few survived." said the Fox, pausing for only a moment before continuing.

"Anyways, I fear I have expended too much of my energy by altering my companions energy network, that and keeping my vigil. You seem trustworthy enough Iroh, I will sleep for now. Wake me when he does." it said, gesturing to the boy beside him. Iroh nodded, a small smile upon his lips.

"I thank you for your trust Spirit; his needs1 will be met in your absence I assure you." he said. The Fox nodded softly before lying down and resting its head in its hands. Only moment had passed before the Spirit was already well and truly asleep.

Not knowing how long he may have to wait, Iroh did the only thing he could to centre himself for whatever conversation would arise when the boy woke up, he went to make another pot of tea.

Naruto hadn't felt this tired in a long time. Not since his rigorous all day training sessions with Jiraiya had he felt quite as sore as he did now. Despite the physical ache he could feel, there was also a strange feeling of weightlessness accompanying it.

His eyelids felt extremely heavy, so much so that it was a great effort to even be able to squint. All he was greeted with for his effort was the sight of a generic wooden roof. He tried to move his arms but they refused to respond. Even his toes were adamant in their static behaviour.

His memory was hazy. The last thing he could remember was the mere moments after he and Sasuke had sealed Kaguya. When the sealing process had been completed, out of nowhere, Madara Uchiha had made one final appearance after Kaguya's possession of his body had ended.

Sasuke had been too weak at the moment of his reappearance to be of any help, so Naruto took it upon himself to take the initiative and attack first.

With a golden Rasengan swirling angrily in his palm he had dashed towards the man that had taken so much from the Alliance.

It had been un-necessary however. When Naruto had been only metres from striking Madara, Old Man Hagoromo warped into existence between the child of destiny and the curse of hatred personified.

The Sage had lifted both arms, with one palm facing Madara and the other facing Naruto. He had seen the Sage mutter something and it was only now that Naruto had time to sift through his most recent memories that he realised it had been a single word.

"Sorry."

And then his world had exploded with light. For the life of him, Naruto couldn't figure out what the Old Man had to be sorry for, he'd done nothing but help Naruto.

Naruto soon returned to trying to move at least some small part of his body, it was then that he noticed something was wrong, VERY wrong.

Since Naruto had 'broken' the seal binding him to Kurama the Biju's familiar presence had been very noticeable, his energy never truly leaving Naruto. Even when Madara successfully extracted the half of Kurama that resided within Naruto, there were still small traces of the Biju's power within him.

Naruto began to panic as he now felt absolutely nothing. The realisation brought with it more than a few terrifying thoughts. Foremost of these was the possibility that he was dead; his alarmed mind quickly saw the sense in the thought.

He was brought out of his motionless panic attack by the sound of something shattering against a hard floor. Through sheer force of will he managed to open his eyes enough to see a rather portly old man who had dropped what appeared to be the remnants of a tea cup onto a wooden floor.

At first Naruto didn't notice anything immediately strange with the scene, until he noticed he was looking down on the man from a decent height.

He managed to move his head to the side slightly and his eyes widened for a moment when he noticed he was laying horizontal well over two metres in the air.

The sudden realisation of his strange position caused whatever force that was suspending him in the air to vanish completely, causing his body to flail about comically and crash onto a thing mattress below him.

The sudden jolt of activity seemed to kick start Naruto's body, he now found it relatively easy to move himself into a seated position. He gazed at the old man who was only just now moving himself to sit on a small cushion by the bed.

"Uh, hey." Said Naruto as he scratched the back of his head slightly, a look of pure embarrassment on his face. His easy-going attitude seemed to put the old man somewhat at ease.

"I must say, I've been around for a long time, I've travelled the far reaches of both worlds and I have never seen anything quite like that young man." said the old man between chuckles. Naruto blushed under the praise.

"Uh, thanks, I think. I'm not really sure how I did that. I've never woken up in the air before to tell you the truth." he said.

"It must be your Bending. While you were sleeping you must have subconsciously used Airbending though I've only ever heard legends of an ancient Airbending Guru who could, well, fly." answered the old man.

Naruto could only give the man a deadpanned expression.

"Uh, I understood some of the words you just said but the rest of it made no sense. What's Airbending?" he asked innocently. Naruto nearly jumped in fright as the old man began laughing loudly.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry young man; I forgot you don't know anything about Bending. I suppose we'd better wake up your friend, I think it best that he explain this to you." replied the old man. Naruto stared at him in puzzlement for a moment.

"What friend?" he finally asked aloud. The old man smiled and gestured towards the strikingly familiar shape of a Nine Tailed Fox sleeping soundly in the corner of the room.

"Kurama!" he called out loudly causing the Fox to jump awake suddenly. When Kurama realised what was happening he gave a low growl.

"Dammit brat. Why'd you have to go and yell my name out like that?" Naruto stared clueless at his old friend for a short moment before realising what he meant. He glanced back at the old man who was still sitting on his small cushion, a wide smile now marking his worn face.

"What? Were you trying to do the whole mysterious monster act? You cannot know my name mortal!" laughed out Naruto, his voice taking on his best impression of Kurama towards the end. The Fox growled once again which only caused Naruto to laugh even harder.

"Now listen here you little brat!" started Kurama though he didn't have a chance to say any more because Naruto's laughter reached its peak.

"What's so funny?" yelled Kurama.

"Y-you're calling me 'little'," started Naruto, his laughter interrupting him mid-sentence. "Take a look at yourself Kurama, you're smaller than Akamaru now." he finished, earning yet another growl from his lifelong friend.

"Fine," said Kurama as he turned his back on Naruto. "I guess you don't want to know about Bending then or where we are for that matter." his last statement caused Naruto's laughter to abate rather quickly.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry alright. I really want to know what this Bending stuff is, it sounds really cool." said Naruto trying to placate Kurama as quickly as possible.

Iroh could only laugh at the relationship displayed between the two. A young man and an incredibly powerful Spirit made a strange duo. Kurama huffed slightly in annoyance before beginning his explanation.

"There are four types of Bending, one for each of the primary elements. Firebending is the pyrokinetic ability to control fire. Waterbending is the hydrokinetic ability to control water in all of its forms and I think you can see where I'm going with this." said Kurama, giving Naruto time to think over his words.

"Bending differs from Ninjutsu in the sense that it does not require specific handsigns. Also, a Bender can only bend one element that is genetically unique to them." Naruto sported a slightly puzzled look on his face.

"That's cool and all but what does it have to do with me? How can I Airbend?" he asked.

"Before we arrived here you chakra nature was Wind. Chakra does not exist in the form you know it here; I had to forcibly convert your chakra into Chi, the energy used here to bend. It was only natural that your Wind natured chakra would become Air natured Chi, thus making you an Airbender." explained Kurama. His explanation only served to leave Naruto with more questions.

"What do you mean by 'here'? Where are we?" Kurama only sighed.

"No longer in the Ninja World. It seems the Old Man saw fight to send us here, to the Spirit World." Kurama easily saw Naruto's irrational side beginning to emerge and quickly headed it off.

"No we're not dead brat. The Spirit World is named for the beings that inhabit it, Spirits. I can't begin to explain why the Old Man sent us here but it would not have been without reason." he said, calming Naruto visibly, his mood quickly turning sour.

"There's no way to get home is there?" he said somewhat dejectedly. Kurama shook his head sadly.

"No. Only my father knew how to get here from the Ninja World, there is no way for us to get back now." he said softly. Iroh truly felt for the boy.

To be taken from the only world he had ever known only to be thrust into another was not something Iroh believed he would like to experience. He felt it was his place to try and cheer the boy up somewhat.

"Not all is lost my boy. You may be in the Spirit World now but the Spirit World itself is connected to a world much like your own I imagine. You could make a life there, free from any worries of your past." he said, drawing Naruto's attention. The blonde in question managed a small smile.

"I guess you're right." he said. Iroh could easily see the boy trying his hardest to bury any negative emotions within himself before his mood brightened visibly.

"We never really had a proper introduction did we old man?" he laughed before extending a closed fist in Iroh's direction.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he exclaimed loudly. "Pleased to meet you." An ear-to-ear grin split his features and Iroh guessed the meaning of his gesture rather quickly. He bumped his own fist against Naruto's softly.

"Iroh my boy and the pleasure is all mine I assure you. It's not every day I get to meet someone as interesting as yourself." said Iroh, a small smile adorning his features. Iroh was astounded at how quickly the boy was able to bounce back from such a daunting scenario.

His sadness had quickly turned into excitement.

"Are you a Bender too? Oh, maybe you could teach me some wicked new moves, I'm going to have to get a hang of this Airbending stuff sooner or later." he said rather quickly causing Iroh to chuckle lightly.

"I'm afraid that there isn't much I could teach you about Airbending Naruto, you see I was a Firebender before I decided to stay in the Spirit World. I would only be able to teach you the basics of the Airbending form, things I picked up from my time with Avatar Aang." he replied. Naruto seemed immediately hooked on his words.

"Who's that, he sounds pretty cool. Maybe he could teach me?" asked Naruto. Iroh shook his head slightly.

"I'm afraid Aang's time in the Material World came to an almost twenty years ago. A new Avatar has taken his place." he said.

"What's the Avatar?" was Naruto's next question.

For the next few hours, Iroh was in deep conversation with Naruto, trying to explain to him the concept of the Avatar Cycle. It seemed the boy was smarter than he looked, soaking up the information with glee.

Their conversation eventually led to the topic of the White Lotus and how it was their duty to guide as well as protect the Avatar, helping them to bring balance to the World. It wasn't long before Naruto expressed his interest.

"I've decided Kurama, we're joining the White Lotus, it sounds awesome, plus their goals are kind of like mine, world peace." he announced, causing Kurama to snort softly.

"Fine, it will give us something to do at least, but we aren't doing anything for a while." he said.

"Why?" complained Naruto. Kurama only rolled his eyes.

"Because we are staying here for a while." he said. His statement caused Iroh to raise a brow slightly; he couldn't understand why the Spirit would insist on staying in the Spirit World. Naruto groaned in response.

"How long?" he asked petulantly. Kurama's answer was simple and to the point.

"For as long as it takes from Iroh to teach you the basics of Firebending."

The next morning saw Iroh and his guests outside his humble house. Naruto was pacing back and forth, deep in thought and Kurama was sitting lazily on his haunches in front of the boy. Iroh had to admit he was shocked to say the least when he heard the Spirit's plan the night before.

"Let me get this straight," said Naruto, the sound of his inquisitive voice bringing Iroh out of his own personal machinations. "You want to Fuse with me, not hop inside me again like always?" he questioned. Kurama sighed in slight annoyance.

"I've already explained this Naruto. When we arrived here I had to change your Chakra into Chi because if I didn't it would have slowly killed you. I was made of pure Chakra, what do you think would have happened to me? I had to convert my own energy into Chi as well which has pretty much made me a Spirit now, albeit a very powerful one. I always did have an affinity towards Fire, it seems I kept it when I became a Spirit." explained Kurama.

"I can't just 'hop' back inside you because the seal holding me there has been completely dissolved, I would have no anchor in your body." he continued. Iroh felt it only right for him to interrupt.

"I take it that you know what will happen once you fuse with Naruto's own spirit Kurama?" he interjected. Naruto seemed confused by his statement.

"Oi, Kurama, what does he mean by that?" he asked his friend.

"He means you will become like the Avatar, though you will only gain the ability to bend the element of fire, not all four elements. Also you will, ah, technically become immortal." said Kurama, his voice trailing off slightly towards the end. Despite his voice quieting, Naruto still heard Kurama loud and clear.

"IMMORTAL! What's that supposed to mean, I don't want to live forever." he yelled out.

"Naruto my boy, what Kurama means is that your spirit will be re-incarnated after your death much like the Avatar. Your spirit would be able to act as a guide for your next life." explained Iroh, hoping to put Naruto at ease. It appeared to work though he still seemed sceptical.

"So kind of like Old Man Hagoromo's kids, Ashura and Indra?" he asked as he turned his attention back to Kurama. The Fox shrugged slightly.

"Kind of, but you'll be able to actually speak with your re-incarnation, and me as well even after you die." he said nonchalantly.

Iroh didn't know who Ashura and Indra were but he supposed that it was knowledge best kept to his quests, information about the world they had come from served him no purpose despite how interested he may be.

Naruto seemed to consider for a moment, but no longer than that.

"Alright Kurama, I trust you. How do we do this?" he asked. Kurama finally stood up on all four legs and walked closer to Naruto.

"Easy, just stand still and clear your mind. Should be quite simple for you." he added cheekily, a strange smile dancing on his vulpine lips before his face took on a sad expression.

"We won't be able to communicate like we used to," he began, his tone strangely solemn. "The only way you'll be able to contact me is through deep meditation though it is possible that we could establish some form of constant communication in a few years. But don't get your hopes up though."

Naruto seemed to deflate slightly but his cheery mood overcame such thoughts quickly.

"Doesn't matter," he said, kneeling down and placing a hand on Kurama's head, only to have it swatted away quickly causing him to chuckle. "I'll know you're there and that's all that matter to me."

Naruto stood up and walked a few paces away from Kurama before turning and spreading his arms out wide, exposing his bare chest.

"Come on then, let's do it Kurama!" he called out, causing his friend to smile widely and break out into a run. Kurama closed the distance between them quickly and when he was no more than two or three meters from Naruto, he leapt.

Golden wisps or energy flared across his form mid-flight, his body quickly turning from short red fur to pure golden light, his form illuminating the early morning with a warm radiance.

Iroh could feel the life energy pouring from the soaring Fox as it now seemed to be flying rather than leaping towards its intended target.

The moment Kurama's fingertips brushed against the bare skin of Naruto's chest, the fate of the two beings was sealed.

The golden spirit's body was absorbed into Naruto's, Kurama forever disappearing into his friend to merge his spirit with the child who had freed him of his hatred.

Kurama was quickly gone from view, the merging taking only the briefest of moments. Naruto's feet dug into the ground as he was pushed backwards some five metre by Kurama's impact, his feet digging small trenches in the soft dirt. Iroh saw the boy double over in what looked like pain, holding his stomach with both arms tightly.

Iroh wanted to help but knew there was nothing he could do; he had to let the process run its course. Naruto through his head back quickly, his arms flying to his sides, and let loose a loud roar of pain.

Iroh could only watch in morbid fascination as nine distinct black markings began to sear themselves into the flesh of Naruto's chest, forming a half circle from shoulder to shoulder.

For a brief instant Naruto seemed to radiate the same golden glow that Kurama had displayed only moments before. His body began to flicker between golden luminescence and normal teenager.

Seconds later, his body exploded with light. Iroh was forced to throw his hands up to shield his eyes from the brightness. A long moment passed before Iroh was able to open his eyes again, what he saw filled his old heart with awe.

Where Naruto had once stood there was now a figure wreathed in golden fire, wisps of the ethereal energy billowing softly from his arms and hair. Strange lined markings had snaked their way over his body, expanding on the tattoos gifted to him by his original merging with Kurama.

When Naruto slowly opened his eyes Iroh was able to see that they were no longer the eyes one might expect to find on a man, but black, animalistic slits resting upon the bright gold that had replaced the whites of Naruto's eyes.

Naruto brought his hand up to his face and clenched his fist as a small experiment before a huge grin broke out on his face. He threw his head back, arms at his sides, and spun around as a loud whoop of enjoyment was thrown from his lungs.

"This feels amazing!" he called out as his piercing eyes found Iroh's. "I can feel everything, the trees, the wind, the Spirits all around us and the energy saturating the air. I can feel it all."

Suddenly he thrust his arm outward, punching at the air and a stream of bright orange flame was loosed into the air.

Naruto's face showed his excitement at his newfound ability. Instinctively he thrust an open palm in the opposite direction in a gracefully fluid motion and a powerful gust of air blew across the open grass plains surrounding Iroh's home.

Naruto raised his hands and stared at them intently for a moment before looking over at Iroh.

"This power, it's dangerous, very dangerous." he said before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His golden form disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced with his original self, the nine marks now seared into his skin looked red-raw and painful.

He slowly made his way over to stand directly in front of Iroh before he pressed a fist into an open palm whilst bowing low.

"Please teach me how to control It." he asked graciously. Though Iroh had only known Naruto for close to half a day, he was certain he had never felt so proud since the day his nephew Zuko had stumbled into his tent before Sozin's comet.

He mirrored Naruto's action before placing a hand on the young man's shoulder.

"It would be my honour."

Naruto spent six full months training in Firebending with Iroh in the Spirit World. As disappointed as he was that he would have to wait to begin mastering Airbending, he was glad to have a teacher as wise as Iroh. During his stay he befriended many of the spirits that called the area around Iroh's tea-shop home.

His newly dubbed 'Spirit Mode' was another story however. After more than a few failed attempts to re-enter the powerful state, Naruto had decided that it could wait.

The power he wielded in that form almost frightened him and he wanted to master his newfound abilities before attempting to control the force of nature that he became when entering Spirit Mode.

Naruto had only received one small communication from Kurama since their merging, knowledge of how he would be able to leave the Spirit World despite the portals being sealed. From what Kurama had been able to communicate, it would be a one-time deal.

If he ever wanted to enter the Spirit World again it would have to be via meditation and even then only his spiritual self would cross over.

Since his old clothes had been annihilated when he first entered the Spirit World, Naruto had managed to scrounge together a new outfit from what Iroh had laying around his house.

He now wore a slightly tattered orange robe with elbow length sleeves and a tight brown wrapping around his waist. His forearms were covered in bandages with only the tips of his fingers being visible. He had found a plain pair of brown trousers and managed to make himself a pair of tight, form-fitting grey boots, (AN: Google Avatar Wan, the older version with a small beard, just take away the red scarf.)

Naruto had tried his hardest to re-create his subconscious ability to fly but found it fruitless. Iroh had mentioned that an ancient Airbending master was supposed to have discovered the secret of flight but all information on the man would only be found in the Material World, much the same as a living Airbending master for Naruto to learn from.

The day of his departure had arrived far too quickly for Naruto's liking but he knew deep down that it was time to leave and continue his training.

Naruto stepped out of the building he had called home for the past six months to see Iroh seated at his Tea-Table surrounded by a multitude of Spirits, many he had come to know by name such as May-Jim.

They had all come to say goodbye to one of the only Humans to truly appreciate Spirits.

On the table beside Iroh sat a raggedy old shoulder-bag that seemed full to bursting with different items.

Iroh felt great pride as he watched Naruto walk towards his little tea-party. He had trained the boy well in the art of Firebending, as well as teaching him all he could of the world he would soon be living in.

Naruto had taken to Firebending like a prodigy despite his natural element being Air. His movements were graceful much the same as Iroh's and not aggressive as many Firebender's tended to be.

Despite his rigorous training regime, Iroh had not taught Naruto all he knew of Firebending, there were some secrets to the art that were not his to teach, though he was certain that he would learn them in time.

Naruto stopped in-front of Iroh and gave a slight bow before embracing the elderly man in a tight hug.

"Thank you for all you've taught me Iroh. If you hadn't found me that day I don't know what would've happened to me." he said whilst smirking.

"Think nothing of it my boy, you are welcome here anytime, I hope you know that." said Iroh, gesturing to the many Spirits surrounding them. "Your friends here will miss you as well I'm afraid." he chuckled.

Iroh turned and grabbed the old bag from the table behind him.

"Now, before you go I have a few parting gifts for you." he said as he reached into the bag, pulling out a well-worn map, its edges chipped and browned.

Iroh carefully unfurled the map, showing it to be a very detailed map of the world. Laying it down on the table he motioned Naruto to come closer.

"This will be your first destination," he said, indicating a small island north of what Naruto now knew to be the Fire Nation mainland. "I ask that you be very respectful when you visit this place, the people there have much to teach you about Firebending." Naruto nodded sagely.

"Sure, I can do that." he assured his teacher. Iroh reached back into the bag, this time removing an envelope and small round object.

"After you've visited the island, make your way to the Southern Water Tribe, which is where the White Lotus is training the new Avatar. Present this at the gate," he said as he handed Naruto the White Lotus Pai Sho tile. "Then ask to see the Grand Lotus and give him this." Iroh explained before handing Naruto the envelope.

"That should allow you to join the Order if you still wish to." said Iroh, earning a vigorous nod from his newest student.

"You bet. From everything you've told me of the Order, it sounds like the perfect place for me. Plus I'll get to meet the Avatar, sounds like someone who would be a good sparring partner." said Naruto excitedly.

Iroh chuckled at Naruto's eagerness, knowing that he had been waiting for the day he would get to explore the Material World for many weeks.

Though he was sad to see the young man go, Iroh knew that Naruto's place was no in the Spirit World, he had a greater calling and if he helped him achieve that then he would be more than content.

"Well then," he said, re-packing Naruto's small bag and taking him by the shoulder, guiding him to an open area away from the Tea-Table. "I think it's time you were off Naruto, you have things to do and places to be. Ah to be young again." Once again Naruto gave a gracious bow before sending all of the Spirits a long wave.

"I'll see you guys again soon, that's a promise of a lifetime!" he called out.

Naruto sat down cross legged in a meditative position and prepared himself for the journey to the material world. He looked up into Iroh's face one last time.

"Thank you, Iroh. Truly." he said before closing his eyes and allowing Kurama's spiritual energy to well up inside of him.

Goodbye Spirit World, he thought, I'll be back.

And in a flash, he was gone.

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~Raptor