Well here's the third chapter! I'd like to thank Vuurdmeister, BoredofBoredom, Nasha Rei-kun, duelingchamp and chaosknight for reviewing! As for the rest of the one-hundred and three of you who didn't…please do!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or Negima.

Paths of Destiny: chapter 2

Naruto stepped into town, taking in the sites with a cautious –if somewhat awed- gaze. The sheer difference from the Elemental Countries was mind-boggling. There were humans, demi-humans, beastmen, elves and countless other types of people wandering through the streets. He was in a small town on the coast of the Confederacy of Megalo-Mesembria.

It had taken him a week to actually travel to Wave Country and find a boat willing to sail him out of the Elemental Countries. The task was considerable; since most common folk had no idea there WAS anything outside of the ninja continent. He was basically asking for someone to sail him off into the unknown, with unknown results awaiting. Most sailers he met simply looked at him like he was mad. But still, Naruto persisted. And it finally paid off.

Naruto was officially ready to give up for the day and head back to Tazuna's house for the night. Every ship captain he had asked had turned him down on the spot. He couldn't really blame them, but this was getting extremely frustrating. He sighed heavily and instead of heading to the house, turned down by the docks and stepped into the local tavern.

Ever since Team Seven's mission in Wave, the economy of the nation had improved substantially. Gone were the sullen, hopeless people and stagnant living; the entire town and country had new life, and it showed. The tavern was filled with raucous laughter, sailors and others enjoying their meals. Naruto slipped into a booth near the door. Ever since he had left Konoha, he had basically gotten a "crash course on reality" as Kyuubi called it. His outlook on life had changed much. He regarded most he met with suspicion and kept to himself(save for Tazuna and family). His young kid naiveté had evaporated, replaced with a cold determination. He couldn't actually think of one time he had smiled since leaving Konoha. Not once.

'I've changed.' He reflected, staring down at the table. 'Damn it all, I don't even really miss Konoha. But why should I? Those bastards threw me out! After all I did..' He stopped that train of thought. He had finished his sulking days ago and was resolved to move on. Fuck Konoha. He would find a better life, one that he chose.

His reverie was broken as a man sat down across from him. "Evening." The man said with a nod. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked. Naruto nodded, looking at the man curiously, saying nothing. He sized the man up mentally. He was maybe forty years old with fiery red hair pulled back into a ponytail. One eye was missing, covered up with an eyepatch, the traces of a scar just visible. It was obvious that he was a sailor. "So, you're the kid who has been asking around the docks, right? The crazy blondie who wants to go off looking for this "other world"?" He asked. Naruto's eye twitched at the description, but he nodded, hope flaring.

"Yeah..that's me." Naruto said. The man grinned broadly.

"Well, then let me ask you this. Do you know where it is you want to go?"

"Yes, it's outside the Elemental Cou-"

"I mean, do you know the name?" The man interrupted, leaning forward. Naruto blinked.

"Err, yes. Ostia. " He said. The sailor leaned back, grinning.

"I knew it.." He whispered, half to himself, the best Naruto could tell. Suddenly he held out his hand across the table. "I am Captain Zhang, of the Night Haunt." He introduced. Naruto shook his hand, replying,

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Well then, Uzumaki Naruto, you have yourself a ship. I'll take you to Ostia." He said. Naruto could barely believe it. He had been looking for two days, and suddenly his chance dropped right in his lap.

"Thank you, Zhang-san!" He managed. Zhang stood.

"Meet me tomorrow morning and we will set sail." And with that, the captain turned and left the tavern. Naruto stood and also left, now eager to prepare for his journey.

Naruto stepped into a small restaurant, skirting around patrons until he found a table. A waitress (a cute young neko girl, he noted) came and took his order.

"Would you happen to have any maps?" he asked, earning a confused look.

"We might," She replied. "I'll check in the back." As she left with his order, Naruto leaning back in his chair and once again thought about his journey here. He was almost sad to have to part with Captain Zhang and his crew. Over the week long journey out of ninja country, he had actually come to enjoy the company of the (rather eccentric) captain.

Naruto arrived at the docks early the next morning. He had returned to Tazuna's house and told the family the news. They were sad to see him go, but understood it was for the best. Naruto packed his meager possessions and then looked at the sum of money he had.

"I need new clothes." He noted, glancing at his tattered, orange jumpsuit. So he went into town, intent on making his change complete. Now, as he approached the Night Haunt,, Naruto was wearing black shinobi pants and a black turtleneck shirt. He had bought a white high-collared traveling cloak along with these simple clothes. He kept his black bandana to keep his bangs out of his eyes.

As he stepped up to the spot where the Night Haunt, Zhang walked down the ramps to greet him. "Naruto my boy! Welcome aboard. We'll be ready to sail in just a few minutes, now that you're here. Naruto let the captain lead him onto the ship, which was crawling with busy sailors. Zhang led him to the captain's cabin, where the blond saw a map spread over a large desk. The map was of the Elemental Countries, but Naruto saw a dotted line leading away from the continent, with a large X at the end. Zhang caught his gaze and nodded.

"I suppose you're probably wondering why I offered to this journey." He said. Naruto nodded.

"All the others I asked didn't even believe there were places outside our continent. But how do you know?" He asked. Zhang got a far away look in his eyes.

"I..didn't know. Rather, I hoped that there was something out there." He said softly. "You see, all my life, my father used to tell me stories about how my grandfather travelled to a far away land. All the amazing thing he had seen. Of course, everyone thought he was crazy. I always believed those storied all my life. But lately, I had begun to lose hope, began thinking that maybe everyone was right, and my grandfather was insane." He stared directly at Naruto. "But then you showed up. There is someone else out there that believes that there is another land, and that's good enough for me." He finished with a wide grin. "This voyage is as much for me as for you, boy."

Naruto was unsure how to respond for a moment. Finally he said, "You know, everyone else will probably think you're insane for this."

"Bah, they've said I was half insane for years." Zhang waved it off. Naruto found that he was beginning to like this man a lot.

And so, for the next week and a half, The Night Haunt left port from Wave Country and set sail into the unknown. Naruto was impressed by the unshaken loyalty of Zhang's crew, even on such a crazy voyage as this.

"We have to be half crazy to put up with the captain anyway." One man jokingly said to Naruto when he asked. ZhaNng didn't even bother to ask why Naruto wanted to go, or where he was from and the boy was grateful for that. Naruto spent a lot of the trip either in his cabin, working on chakra control exercises, or out with the crew. He would sometimes join Zhang as he plotted their course. The captain had some very interesting stories to tell and from some of them, Naruto wasn't so sure that the other sailors weren't too off about Zhang being half insane. But still, he enjoyed the trip.

Finally the day arrived when someone spotted land. It was so sudden that Naruto was almost startled out of his chakra exercise. He joined the crew at the decks, where they were peering over the sides. Naruto could see the barest hint of land off in the distance, but it filled him with excitement. Zhang joined him and stared at the line of land as it gradually grew.

When they finally got close enough, Naruto's eyes widened in wonder. There was a small city along the coast, a port town from the looks of it. But what caught his eyes was what floated above it. There were what seemed to be flying whales flying over the town and off into the air. They were ships of some sort. Flying ships. And they weren't the only thing. Some of the large rocks in the mountains off futher were floating in mid air, hung by some invisible force. It was a scene of fantasy. Beside him, Zhang stared with equal wonder.

"He was right. Damn it, but granddad was right.." He recovered and quickly ordered the crew to make preparations to port. The crew rushed to with a new fervor.

Not long after that, it was over. The Night Haunt landed in a small fishing harbor (near some rather confused and astounded locals). Naruto and Zhang stood at the bottom of the ship's ramp.

"We finally did it." Zhang grinned. "We don't plan on going back to the Elemental Countries for some time. Too much to explore now. What about you?" The captain asked.

"As I said, I am heading for Ostia." Naruto replied. Zhang nodded.

"Well, good luck to you, boy. Perhaps we will meet again someday." The captain said. Naruto nodded and, remembering, dug out the remainder of his money and offered it to the captain. "Keep it." Zhang waved him off. "Just consider it owed. The trip itself is worth it." He said. Naruto smiled, for the first time in weeks, actually smiled at Zhang.

"Thank you, captain. And goodbye."

And with that, Naruto left Captain Zhang and the Night Haunt, to set forth for his new home.

"Here you are." The waitress returned with a plate of good-smelling food. Naruto nodded in thanks and was about to eat when, "Oh, and here. That map you wanted. I found one in the back." The girl set a rolled up map down on the table. Again Naruto nodded in thanks. When the waitress left, Naruto rolled it open, scanning it as he ate. From what he could tell, he had landed in a small coastal town in the nation of Megalo-Mesembria. From there, Naruto had traveled inland to this town. He found Ostia on the map and resisted the urge to groan. It was practically on the other side of the country, in Vesperita. Looks like he had a long journey ahead of him.

"Naruto." Kyuubi spoke up so suddenly it startled the ninja. The demon had been rather quiet during the voyage here.

'What is it?' Naruto asked mentally.

"I have been thinking. This new land is very powerful and dangerous and..let's face it your shinobi education is lacking." Naruto couldn't protest to that; it was true.

'What of it?'

"Throughout your journey to Ostia, I will train you." Now that caught the boy by surprise. Kyuubi sighed loudly. "It's not like I like you or anything. But since events have placed you here (due to my input) I might as well make sure you are better fit to deal with this place. I can probably bump your skill level up to high chuunin by the time you arrive." The fox demon explained. Naruto was at a loss for words.

'Err..well, thank you Kyuubi. Thank you.'

"Whatever. Just hurry up and finish here so we can get started."

That said, Naruto quickly finished up his meal and, laying some drachmas on the table, left. He left town after buying some supplies, heading west for Vesperitas. After he got a few miles, he realized it was already evening and made camp for the night.

'Okay Kyuubi. I'm ready to begin.'

"Then let us begin"

-One month later-

Naruto stepped into Ostia, thankful that his journey was finally over. Ostia was even more amazing that much of what he had seen in his traveling. And that was saying something, considering Kyuubi had him fight dragons when he felt Naruto was strong enough. An entire month of travel across the Confederation had left him weary. But he was also stronger. True to his word, Kyuubi had spent every night of the trip training Naruto in his mind. Naruto was now everything a ninja should be; quiet and deadly. Kyuubi also had a rather vast knowledge of jutsu. Wind jutsu, as it turned out, were the boy's specialty. Aside from that, Naruto had leaned a bit of weapon proficiency, martial arts and genjutsu.

"A shinobi is nothing without illusions to aid him." The demon had said. So while it wasn't Naruto's favorite thing, genjutsu was now in his list of abilities. Kyuubi had even taught him rudimentary magic. All ninja, Kyuubi explained, could use magic and vice versa for mages. Chakra and mana were essentially the same energy, simply harnessed differently. Mages used incantations and other amplifications while ninja used hand signs.

So here he was, now for the first time feeling like a true and accomplished ninja. Along his travels, Naruto had acquired a short katana as well as some throwing knives and daggers. Now the question was this; ….now what?

He was finally in Ostia, and he was a great deal stronger. So now what?

"With your particular skills, it shouldn't be too hard to find something. Perhaps a prize fighter, or a bounty hunter." Kyuubi offered. The second option intrigued Naruto. A bounty hunter eh?

"Why not." He muttered. It took him the better part of an hour to find a bounty office. Ostia wasn't like any of the more lawless towns Naruto had been in, and such things were more…uncommon here. Along the way, Naruto caught whispers and rumors from various people. From what he had gathered in his traveling, Mundus Magicus was in a state of war. The Hellas Empire and the Confederacy were apparently at war with each other over some reason that Naruto didn't quite understand. Either way, he reflected, work as a bounty hunter or mercenary would be good.

He stepped into the bounty office and, earning a few glares and suspicious gazes, inspected the bounty board. His eyes landed on one in particular. The man was maybe thirty years old, and rather nondescript. And apparently wanted dead. Naruto , having accepted that death was a part of shinobi life, didn't even bat an eye.

It wasn't that big of a bounty, but the man was supposedly still in Ostia. That was good because Naruto REALLY didn't want to leave so soon after just arriving. He ripped the poster off the wall and walked away, feeling stares from behind him as he left. He was getting more and more of those these days. His image did leave a rather cold impression. To be honest Naruto was a much colder and more serious person than he used to be. But that was just as well. To Naruto, it simply meant his old life was truly over and done.

He began asking around, showing people his target's image. Finally someone mentioned they spotted someone like him in a small restaurant across town. Eager, Naruto quickly found the restaurant and went in. He took a seat and scanned the room. It wasn't one of the nicer places in the city. Finally his eyes rested on a man sitting in the far corner. Bingo. Naruto stood and strode over to the table and sat down across from the man. The man simply glared at him.

"The hell do you want, kid?"

"Are you Davis Firali?" Naruto asked. The man nodded slowly.

"Yea..what of it?" He asked, suspicious. Naruto leaned across the table and flipped out his wanted poster. Seeing it, Davis' eyes widened and he stood abruptly, sending his chair falling backwards and attracting attention from others in the restaurant. "Oh no! There's no way you're a bounty hunter, kid." He said. Naruto simply nodded, emotionlessly. Davis swore and began to back up. "Well fuck you! No way you're takin' me alive." He yelled. Pretty much all of the patrons were watching them now. Naruto stared flatly at Davis.

"I won't be." He said. "You're wanted dead." He said calmly. Davis' eyes widened in horror. He made to move, but Naruto was quicker. A slender throwing knife buried itself in Davis' forehead. The man stared in shock for a moment, and then toppled over backwards, blood pooling around him. The restaurant was dead silent. Everyone stared at Naruto with horror and shock. The Boy simply stood and walked around the table to Davis' body and retrieved his knife. He picked up the body and left the building without even a glance at the other patrons. No one tried to stop him.

Outside, he snuck into the alley behind the shop and set the body down, preparing for the grisly work of removing the corpse's head. Naruto was suddenly aware of someone else in the alley. He spun around, knife in hand, to see another man standing behind him. He was tall and lanky, and a hat was pulled over his head, barely hiding the horns on his head.

A demi-human, Naruto realized. The man held out a placating hand. "That was a rather good job." He commented nonchalantly, nodding over Naruto's shoulder at the body of Davis. "It's not often you see one with such talent or ruthlessness at a young age."

"What do you want?" Naruto asked.

"I have an offer for you. Come, I'll walk with you to the bounty office." The man said. Naruto nodded hesitantly and quickly turned and finished up. He stored the head in a small bag and joined the mysterious man. Together they began walking back.

"So who are you exactly?" Naruto asked as they walked.

"Oh, where are my manners? I am called The Chief." The demi-human said. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Odd name."

"I assure you, it is far more usefull and important than my given name."

"Well, what do you want?" Naruto asked.

"I am the leader of a rather new organization. We are a bounty hunter association you see. I would like you to join." The man explained. Naruto was rather hesitant to join any organizations after his experience with Akatsuki, but he listened. "Our goal is to hold a grip on the bounty hunting industry. It pays quite well." It was tempting. Naruto considered it, only to stop and realize that they had arrived at the bounty office. Both went inside. Inside, Naruto noticed that most of the people that had glared or stared at him before seemed to be purposefully avoiding gaze with him now. It was the Chief, Naruto realized. They were scared of him. How big was this organization?

Naruto turned in the head and received his reward. "Well?" The Chief asked when he was finished. Naruto glanced around and then finally nodded.

"It sounds like a fine deal. I'm in.' He said. The Chief grinned.

"Excellent." He said and waved over the man from the counter, who handled all the transactions. "Get me a coat. We have a new member." He said. The man nodded and left. Soon he returned with a long, high collared coat. He handed it to Naruto and then returned to his duties without a word. The Chief grinned at him. "I don't think I ever got your name."

"Uzumaki Naruto. "

"Well, Uzumaki Naruto, welcome to Canis Niger."

-Nearly Twenty-one years later-

Ten year old Negi Springfield was feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He stood in the office of Principle Konoe, the current head of Mahora Academy. He mentally crossed his fingers. He desperately wanted the dean to approve this trip. He wanted, no, needed to follow this lead to find his father!

"So…a field trip to Kyoto?" Konoe stroked his chin thoughtfully as he stared across the desk at the young teacher. "Hohohoho, sounds interesting." He said, nodding his aged head. Negi brightened.

"So you accept?"

"Sadly it looks like the trip might have to be cancelled." The principle said, making Negi's hopes plummet.

"What? Why?" He asked, his sadness making the boy sway dramatically. The Principal sweatdropped. He held up his hands. "Hold on now, it's not for certain. It's simply that THEY don't want you to go." He said. Negi blinked and recovered from his sense of depression to one of curiosity.

"You mean the Kyoto Government Office?"

"Err no. How do I explain this…" The old man began. "It's the Kansai Magic Association that doesn't want you to go." He said. Negi's eyes widened.

"Kansai?" He asked, not having the slightest clue to what the dean was talking about. Konoe sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Actually, Negi-kun, I'm one of the leaders of the Kanto Magic Association. The Kanto and Kansai magic associations have been in a sort of feud for a while now." He explained. If I were to send in a teacher who was also a mage, they would undoubtedly voice their disapproval." He said. Negi began panicking, waving his arms around frantically.

"Wha? We can't go because of me?"

"Wait, keep listening." The dean held up a finger. "I want to end the feud between associations. So I'm going to send you as a special envoy. " He reached into his desk and withdrew an envelope. He held across the desk to Negi. "All you have to do is deliver this message to their boss. There could be danger along the way, but they're all mages so I doubt they'd get students or normal people involved." He said. Negi took the letter and beamed at the dean.

"I undertand!" He said enthusiastically. "Leave it to me." The dean chuckled.

"Good. I like that spirited look you have about you, Negi-kun." He cocked his head curiously. "Did something new happen this term?"

Images of the battle with Evangeline, his victory, and his pactio with Asuna. He blushed lightly. "Uhh no nothing at all." He said, laughing nervously. Konoe just shook his head.

"There is something else. My granddaughter, Konoka is from Kyoto. She hasn't found out that you're a mage yet, has she?" Negi shook his head no. "I figured as much. I don't really care, but Konoka's parents want her to live a simple, normal life so please make sure that she doesn't find out, okay?" He asked. Negi nodded. Just as well, since he needed to keep his identity a secret.

"Of course sir."

"Excellent. Now, there's just one more thing." Konoemon said. His face turned a bit more serious, making Negi tense. "Not that I don't trust your abilities as a mage, Negi-kun, but I feel that someone with a bit more experience should allo go with you on the trip. Takamichi-kun is currently away on business, so I am assigning one of our teachers to help you." He said. Negi nodded. Inwardly he was a bit confused. How many people at this school were aware of magic? He had figured that only Takamichi and Dean Konoe knew.

Principle Konoe looked up to his door. "Shizuna-san ," He called. "Can you please send for Naruto-kun?"

The door opened, but it wasn't Shizuna who entered. "No need, old man. I was already waiting." Negi didn't recognize the voice. He turned around and got a good look at the new arrival. The young man was dressed in a standard black suit and maybe eighteen years old, from what Negi could tell. He had stunning blue eyes and golden blond hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail, similar to Negi's. But what drew Negi's attention were the six whisker marks that were faintly visible on the boy's cheeks.

"Negi-kun, meet Mahora Academy's current personal fitness instructor, Naruto Uzumaki." Komoemon said. Naruto flashed Negi a grin and held out his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, Negi-kun." He said. Negi nodded and formally took the other teacher's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Naruto-san." He said. Naruto laughed and shook his head.

"Well aren't you the polite one. So you're the Thousand Master's kid, huh?" He asked. Negi looked at him in surprise.

"You know who my father is?" He asked. Naruto snorted.

"Everyone in the magical world knows the Thousand Master. I must say, it's an honor." Negi blushed slightly in embarrassment and turned back to the Dean.

"So Naruto-san will go to Kyoto with us?"

Konoemon nodded. "As backup. Purely a precaution. I have no doubt that you can take care of your students Negi-kun. Naruto-san will simply oversee things." He explained. Negi nodded.

"Got it."

"So it's 3-A right?" Naruto asked. Konoemon nodded.

"Yes, that's right." Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

"With that class, I'm sure it's gonna be a real interesting time." He said. Negi mentally nodded. His class was definitely a handful at times. Well….most of the time actually. Naruto coughed and scratched the back of his head nonchalantly.

"Is that all, old man?"

"Yes it is. The trip in three days, so prepare your schedules accordingly. " Both Negi and Naruto nodded.

"Yes sir."

"Then good luck to both of you."

Naruto and Negi exited the office together, heading for their respective work places. As they walked down the hallways, Negi glanced over at the blonde teacher. He was curious to know more about the other teacher.

"Neh, Naruto-san?" He ventured. Naruto glanced over at him.

"Hmmm?"

"I was wondering….why do you work at Mahora? I'm only here to complete my mage training, and still, having one child teacher is nigh on impossible. But you only look about eighteen years old." Naruto grinned.

"I'm pushing thirty three actually." He said. Negi gaped.

"Wh-what?. You look quite a bit younger."

"Why thank you." Naruto said, staring straight ahead as he walked. His face adopted a more serious expression. "My body appears this young for…well for reasons I think I'll keep to myself. Just know that mentally, I'm older. Chronologically I'm thirty three." He said. Negi was shocked. He had never heard of any sort of magic that prevented aging, in all his studies. He was about to ask more, when they came to an intersection in the hall and Naruto stopped.

"Well, I head off this way to the P.E. gym. See ya in a few days, Negi." He waved and headed down the hall. Negi watched him go for a moment and then headed for his own room. He had a lot of preparation to do.

When Negi left, Naruto stopped walking and glanced back at the way he had come. "Well well….Negi Springfield huh? Things should be a lot more interesting with Nagi-sempai's kid around here."

An): Well, how was it? Sorry for the wait, but glad I finally got it out there.

Reference- Canis Niger is the Association that those four bounty hunters from Negima chapter 217 belong to.

So yeah, hope you enjoyed and hope you will review and give me some feedback! Till next time,

Scion of Fate, signing off!.