Prologue: Sacrifice

"I will believe in you, Uzumaki Naruto," Nagato concluded with a sense of new-found resolve. His voice reverberated off the walls of the large hollowed out tree in which they resided, empowering his words. The withered man lifted his hands to form a single hand symbol. "Outer Path—Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."

"Nagato, you can't-!" Konan attempted to protest but was quickly cut off by her long-time companion.

"Enough, Konan. I have decided to choose a new path to peace; one I had long thought to be unreachable," Nagato interrupted. His tone left no room for argument. Konan lowered her head, struggling to accept his decision.

Naruto looked on in awe and confusion, not understanding what the man who had just recently been his planned to do. He turned toward Konan for an answer. "What's this technique going to do?" he asked.

Konan paused before turning her gaze toward the blond ninja. A rare look of sadness crossed her typically neutral face as she answered, "Nagato is the seventh path of Pain, the Outer Path. It gives him the power to return souls to the land of the living at the cost of his own life force."

Naruto was stunned; Nagato even had power over life and death? But if his life force was taken in exchange wouldn't that mean…

"Wait, so if he uses this technique it's going to kill him?" Naruto asked in realization. Konan only gave a small nod in response. The two of them continued to watch as Nagato performed what would likely be his final act. After several seconds, Nagato dropped his hand symbol and grabbed his head in pain.

"Nagato, what's wrong?!" Konan asked as she moved to assist him. Nagato weakly lifted his head toward Konan in order to respond.

"It appears my life force has faded too far. The King of Hell will not accept it as adequate compensation for the return of all the lives I have taken," he answered with disappointment.

Konan's eyes widened at the information. Naruto looked on in confusion, not fully understanding what the Rinnegan user meant. "So, what does that mean will happen?" Naruto asked.

"I am already in the process of dying. The King of Hell will only accept the soul of the caster or a willing and living soul in good health as a sacrifice, especially for this great a number," Nagato elaborated for the blond. Naruto's eyes widened for an instant, but he soon looked toward the ground while beginning to clench his fists. No matter what, he had to save his loved ones if he could. That was part of his ninja way, and what he had built his entire life around. He decided what to do in an instant. For him, there was no other logical choice. He raised his head and turned back to Nagato to voice his decision.

"Then use mine."

The Akatsuki members looked at Naruto with stunned gazes, hardly believing the resolve with which the blond ninja had said his idea. Nagato quickly regained his composure. "Naruto, I have trusted you with the future. I can't let you use your life so quickly. What of your dream to become Hokage?"

Naruto's gaze was unwavering. "You said that you'll believe in me. So, believe me when I say that I believe in all of my friends and loved ones that have died out there. I wouldn't be where I am without all of them. If I have the chance to save all of them, then to me there is no other option. If I turned my back on all of them just so I could save my own life it would go against everything I have ever believed in, dattebayo! If I did that, I wouldn't deserve to be Hokage in the first place. I trust them with the future, so you can trust them too."

Nagato's expression remained blank. He appeared to consider what Naruto had said before responding. "Are you certain this is what you want?" he asked.

Naruto's signature grin appeared on his face. "I've never been surer of anything in my entire life."

Nagato regarded Naruto silently for several seconds before continuing. "Very well then. Come stand in front of me," Nagato beckoned him to come closer with a wave of his hand. Once Naruto had arrived, Nagato asked him one final question. "Do you have any final words you wish to say?"

Naruto thought for a moment before turning to Konan. "Could you somehow tell everyone what happened? I feel kinda bad leaving everyone without being able to see them again."

Konan nodded in response, and Naruto decided to add more to his request. "Also, tell them that I was glad I got to have all of them as my friends. There's no way I could have gotten this far without them. They'll need to make sure to keep getting stronger and not slack off since I won't be there to save their asses anymore," Naruto chuckled to himself, and then continued, "But I know they can handle it, because we've always been able to before. I'll keep on believing in them no matter where I end up."

Konan's lips twitched into the slightest of smiles as she nodded once again, and Naruto turned back to Nagato. "Alright, I'm ready when you are," Naruto finished.

Nagato reformed the hand seal and began his technique once again.

Naruto wasn't sure what to expect once the technique had begun. The first thing he noticed was a strange pulling sensation in his chest. It wasn't like anything he had ever felt before. As the feeling became stronger, he started to feel his breaths become harder and harder to take in. It felt like the pressure of the world was beginning to close in around him, slowly suffocating him.

Once the corners of his vision began to blacken, he fell to his knees as the power in his legs gave out. He was starting to struggle to even rasp in the smallest amounts of air. He couldn't remember ever feeling so cold before and was feeling more tired by the second. He tried his hardest to fight off the unmitigable feeling of tiredness that had begun to wash over him, but it was beginning to feel like an impossible battle. Just as the darkness encroaching upon his vision was about to fully take over, he suddenly felt the pull in his chest disappear, and a warm, blinding light enveloped him.

Naruto launched himself into a sitting position as he began to gasp for air. After finally refilling his lungs, he noticed something quite different about his surroundings. He was in a shallow pool of water. He scratched the back of his head in confusion. Is this where people went when they died? It reminded him too much of his own mindscape. As he got to his feet he noted a major difference about the place he was currently in, as he could see no end to the expanse in sight. "This all there is to the afterlife?" Naruto complained as he crossed his arms.

"So expeditious to accept your fate? I expected greater ardor from one such as you," an unknown voice sounded out from behind Naruto.

Naruto quickly turned around to find the source of the voice. He wasn't expecting to see a horned, stuffy looking old man casually sitting on a giant flower. Naruto furrowed his brows as he took in his appearance. The man's long, plain robes made him feel as though he was from a different period entirely. And what was with the way the guy talked? He could barely understand the old geezer. "Who are you?" Naruto asked unceremoniously.

The man gave no indication that he was affected by the Naruto's slight rudeness. "I am the one known as Hagoromo."

Naruto just deepened his look of confusion. The old man said it like he was supposed to know who he was, but Naruto couldn't recall ever having heard his name. Noticing the boy's increasing bewilderment, Hagoromo offered him another answer, "Those of your era may know me by another designation. I am also called the Sage of the Six Paths."

After a few seconds of thinking, the title finally clicked in Naruto's head. He was pretty sure the Pervy Sage had mentioned the name several times when talking about the founding of ninjutsu. He had always thought that was just a legend though. If the geezer was that old, how could he still be alive?

As if reading Naruto's mind, the ancient sage answered Naruto's questions, "You and I view death from divergent frames of reference. My corporeal form succumbed to its agedness many years ago, but my chakra, soul, and psyche have continued to roam and observe the world."

Naruto's eye began to twitch. This old fart was really starting to piss him off. He had to be talking like that on purpose by now. He pointed a finger at the man and let out his frustration. "Can't you just talk normally?! I can't understand half of what you're saying!" he yelled.

Hagoromo maintained a neutral face throughout the outburst and into his next words. "Perhaps the changing of language and culture over time has created a barrier between our capability to communicate. Very well, I will attempt to speak in a manner that you may comprehend."

Naruto stared at the timeless sage expectantly as he waited for him to start talking again. "What's up, boy? Been trying to talk to my man but he's havin' some problems. Ya get what I'm sayin'?" Hagoromo finally said in his usual tone.

Naruto gave the sage an incredulous look, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Hagoromo misunderstood his lack of response as him still failing to understand. "Do you still not understand? I did not think such speech would be too complex," he wondered.

Naruto was quick to correct the man, happy he could at least understand what he was saying. "No! I understand. I was just surprised, you know," he explained while quickly waving his hands in front of him.

"Bitchin'," said the ancient creator of the ninja arts. Naruto began to scratch the back of his head while giving the sage an uncomfortable look.

"Uh, could you maybe talk a little more formal? I guess you talking like that is actually kind of distracting." Naruto asked as he chuckled uncomfortably. Something about one of the most powerful men in history talking like some teenage delinquent, or at least what the sage thought one sounded like, was unsettling. He couldn't help but feel a little insulted that the sage thought he talked like that.

"Alright, how is this?" Hagoromo attempted to find a middle ground.

"Perfect!" Naruto exclaimed, happy to finally be able to understand the sage without being creeped out.

"Good. Now then, we have many things to talk about."

Naruto, to say the least, was a bit overwhelmed by all the information Hagoromo had just given him. A lot of it was confusing, and he didn't get how half of it was even possible, but he had no reason to doubt that all of it had happened. And apparently, he was pretty much in the center of all of it. Until he died, that is.

"So, I'm the reincarnation of your son, Ashura. He was constantly fighting his brother, who is reincarnated as Sasuke. I was supposed to be the child of prophecy who would stop all the fighting and save the world. Your mom turned evil and you had to seal her in the moon, and the plan the Akatsuki had would release her. You also created all of the Bijū from some giant evil monster your mom turned into," Naruto recounted to make sure he had all of his facts straight.

"That is correct," Hagoromo said as he nodded.

"So, what does all of that mean now that I died? I kind of messed up the whole prophecy thing, didn't I?"

"Though I am able to see into the future to a certain extent, I am not all-knowing. However, I believe the prophecy should still hold true. All that it said was that you would be the catalyst to change the world. That does not necessarily mean you would be the one to directly change it," Hagoromo answered.

Naruto thought for a few seconds, trying to think of what he could have done that could start such a large change. "Then maybe me dying so I could bring back everyone Nagato killed could be what the prophecy was talking about?"

Hagoromo gave a small nod. "It is quite possible. It would also be fitting considering you are the reincarnation of my son. I know that if he were in the same situation, he would have made the same choice."

Naruto chuckled and shot the sage a grin, "Sounds like my kind of guy." Naruto that his most important question was still unanswered. "So, what now? This can't be all there is to the afterlife is there?"

"I told you when we first met, you shouldn't be so quick to accept your fate. Though your destiny in the Elemental Nations may be over, that does not mean it cannot continue elsewhere," The sage answered cryptically.

"The King of Hell took my life force, didn't he? How am I supposed to come back from that?" Naruto asked with a frown. Why was the old geezer starting to talk about destiny all of a sudden?

"While he did take your life force, that does not mean your soul is forever trapped within his stomach. You forget that I also possess the Rinnegan. Even now I have plenty of life force to save a single soul with little repercussion."

"You saved my soul from it?" Naruto asked in surprise, his eyes widening.

Hagoromo gave another nod in confirmation. "Over the many years I have watched the reincarnations of my sons, you were the first to so fully embody Ashura's personality. I suppose it made me feel remorse for how I let the same cycle repeat for so many years with no intervention. Now you have come along and performed a selfless action that may very well bring an end to the cycle, depending on how Indra's reincarnation responds in the future. However, when I looked upon your soul, my precognition showed your destiny was still incomplete. I had no choice but to intervene. Because of these things, I decided to save you from the King of Hell.

"I have also procured your body. That was the bright light that you likely saw just as your last bit of life force left you. However, you will still not be able to return to the Elemental Nations. Your destiny there ended with your life," Hagoromo finished his explanation.

"I've never really been one to believe in destiny, old man."

At this, even Hagoromo raised an eyebrow. "Says the reincarnation of my son and child of prophecy that appears to have fulfilled his goal in a manner almost exactly as my son would have. Whether you would like to believe it or not, destiny is very much real, even if humans get it wrong quite often. You can often change the path you take to get there, but not the destination."

The sage had a point, even if Naruto was a bit too stubborn to admit it. It was Neji that gave him such a bad view of destiny and fate. While the Hyūga may have been wrong in his view of destiny, that didn't mean there was no such thing as it. Naruto decided to avoid an argument in favor of finding out what he was going to do next. "Then you can't send me back to Konoha? And what happened to the fox?"

"As for Kurama, or the Kyūbi as you know him, his destiny in the Elemental Nations is still incomplete. The prophecy also stated that you would help to unite the tailed beasts. Kurama became disillusioned with humans very early in his life and also created a divide between himself and his brethren with thoughts of superiority.

"What you did today may remedy those issues by showing him humans are far from the evil and hopeless creatures he believed them all to be. I would also not worry about him bringing any harm to your village. I do not believe he will go on such a rampage. And I'm afraid I will not be able to send you back to Konoha. However, if you wish to continue living then I am able to send you somewhere else."

Naruto's shoulders slumped from their sure and confident posture, and his face contorted into a frown. He was devastated he wouldn't be able to return to his home, but he had already accepted that fact when he decided to give his life for his village and friends in the first place. He was saddened he would never see them again, but he was happier that they would be able to continue their lives. He knew all of them would continue to be with him in spirit even if not physically. He was happy just to have another chance at life to begin with.

He wasn't sure how to feel about finally being free of the fox after so many years. In a way, he felt connected with him, even if they had never really gotten along. If the fox still had a role in saving the world, the furball would need to go through a pretty big transformation. Hagoromo believed it to be possible, so he would trust in the man's judgment. He quickly replaced the frown on his face with a broad grin and straightened his posture. "Do you even need to ask, gramps?"

The faintest of smiles appeared on Hagoromo's face. "I didn't think that I would. This world is both similar and different to ours in many ways. They use an energy very similar to chakra, so your powers will not be considered too out of the ordinary. However, it appears you are to be sent there for another reason. A great evil is on the horizon. I am not sure of much past that, as it is merely an omen. But I believe your destiny there will play an important role in saving that world, just as it did this one."

Naruto's grin managed to widen even further as he pointed a thumb at himself. "If there's a world to save then I'm your guy, dattebayo!" Naruto's face then scrunched in confusion as he realized something odd. "I'm all for helping and saving people obviously, but isn't it kind of weird that my 'destiny' is to go to another dimension?"

Hagoromo thought carefully before answering, "Even I am not in the position to question destiny. It is something decided by powers beyond even me. I merely observe and make sure it comes to order if it is needed. I find it best not to worry over that which we are unable to discover or comprehend."

Naruto frowned at the sage's lack of a good answer but soon started grinning again. "Alright, old man, I'm ready when you are."

"Farewell, Naruto. Good luck in your new life. I hope you enjoy it; few deserve it more than you."

Naruto was able to get out a quick thank you and goodbye before he was once again enveloped in a bright light.

Chapter 1: Promises and Purpose

July 7, X777

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he once again found himself waking up on the ground. However, the warm air and soft grass of this area were much more comfortable than the cold water and concrete floor of the place where he just was. As he got to his feet, he noticed thick foliage surrounding him on all sides. While not nearly as thick or as tall as the forests that surrounded Konoha, it was still enough to make it difficult to get a sense of direction. He had trouble seeing more than a few meters into the tree line, which rather suddenly gave way to the peaceful clearing he was in.

He looked around himself to see if he could make out a possible path but it was solid trees all around him. He tapped his foot and groaned. It would probably be best to find a road, so he could make it to a town to figure out more about where he was. The sage could have been a bit more descriptive about the place. Creating twenty shadow clones, he sent them off in random directions to find the nearest road. After they had chosen their paths, he took one that none of the others had chosen.

After several minutes of traveling through the dense forest, the dispelling of one of his clones caught his attention. He rushed in the direction that his clone had dispelled to find a dirt road that cut through the forest. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, happy that he didn't need to wander aimlessly through the forest for hours thanks to his clones. He really did love those things. Naruto created another clone, which stared back at him intently. "You ready?" he asked, hardening his own gaze.

"Of course!" his clone responded.

"3, 2, 1—go!" Naruto and his clone counted down. On the mark of go, the two threw out their hands, Naruto's in a fist, and his clone's flattened out.

"Ha! I won!" The clone gloated. The clone continued his cheering until a quick punch to the face from a grumbling Naruto ended its short existence. Could he really be that annoying? Sometimes he hated the damn things too.

Naruto shook off his frustration, happy that at least the direction he would travel was decided. The clone winning meant he would travel north instead of south. He set off in the decided direction, hoping to come across a town as soon as possible.

After a couple hours of traveling, Naruto felt a smile cross his face when he saw what looked to be the first person he had seen since arriving in the new world. As he came closer, the smile disappeared when he saw that it was a young, crying girl standing off to the side of the trail. He broke into a run to check on the girl, who didn't seem to notice him approaching. She had short, dark blue hair and was wearing a pair of blue shorts along with a plain white and yellow shirt. When he got a few meters away he knelt down onto one knee and soothingly said, "Hey, what's wrong?"

The small, blue haired girl was startled when he first spoke, but soon began running toward him and wrapped him in a hug. A surprised Naruto soon returned the hug, trying his best to comfort her. "She's gone! I don't know where she is!" the small girl managed to answer between sobs.

Naruto patted her on the back, trying to calm her. "Hey, it's alright. Who's gone?"

The girl's sobbing subsided slightly but continued. "My mommy. She was here but now she's not. She didn't say she would go away."

Naruto patted the girl on her head as a grin grew on his face. "Then I'll help you find her. I'm really strong so you won't need to worry about a thing," he said, trying his best to reassure her.

The girl nodded, her crying finally beginning to come to a stop. "So, what's your name? Mine is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto asked with a smile.

The girl took a step back lowered her head, becoming shy now that she wasn't crying and upset. "Wendy Marvell," she answered, unable to make full eye contact.

"That's a cool name. Is there anything you can tell me about your mom? It might help us find her."

Wendy seemed to be in deep thought for several moments before finally giving her answer. "She's white and really big," the girl said with an accomplished nod.

Naruto chuckled at the girl's cuteness. "How big are we talking here? I'm pretty big too compared to you."

"Really, really big. Way bigger than you," she stretched her arms out as far as she could to try to show how big she was.

Naruto was a bit confused by that. Just how big were people around here? Naruto raised his hand to his chin in thought. "Well, that'll make her stand out some. Does she look like you at all?"

"No, she looks different. She's a dragon," Wendy answered with a shake of her head.

Naruto's mouth dropped open slightly at that. He wasn't sure if he should take her seriously, considering she was still a kid. Then again, he knew absolutely nothing about this world. For all he knew at this point the dragons here could be living, flying orphanages. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Whoa, I've never seen a dragon before. Must be cool to have one as a mom."

Wendy finally gave a small smile, the first since they met, and nodded in agreement. "Grandeeney is the best," she said before once again lowering her head toward the ground.

"Hey, don't be sad. I'm gonna help you find her remember? I may not be a dragon but I'm still pretty awesome," he said as he gave her an overdone, cocky grin. "So, you have no idea where she might've gone? Did you guys live somewhere around here?" he asked. It was kind of odd that she was out in the middle of nowhere.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head.

"Then I think we should try to find a town then and figure out where we are. I'm kind of lost too," Naruto admitted with an embarrassed chuckle.

Deciding on their plan, Naruto began guiding Wendy in the direction he had been originally heading.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh as he was finally able to enjoy some dinner, which ended up being some fish cooked over the fire he and Wendy were now sitting around. It had taken him much longer than originally expected to provide dinner for the two of them, much to his chagrin. He had planned on showing his new companion just how awesome his survival skills were, but he soon learned that a five-year-old really couldn't care less. How cute something is was apparently more important than how good it tasted, though he had to admit he was the same way even at a later age than her. The plant life around here didn't seem to be as forgiving as back in Konoha either, making it harder to forage for non-meat.

The shapes the fire made in the shadows of the night made for an entrancing sight. The deep oranges danced and reflected off the small stream that ran not too far away from them. This was the first time he had found to relax all day. His mind wandered over everything that had happened. He missed Konoha already. While he would never regret the decision he made, it was becoming increasingly hard to swallow that he would never see any of his friends again. In the moment, it had seemed so easy to handle. Now though, the finality of everything was setting in.

Sakura, Kakashi, granny Tsunade, Iruka, and everyone else, he would never see again. He felt something drop in the pit of his stomach as he continued thinking about Konoha. While it hadn't always been perfect, certainly not, it was still all he ever had. He wished he could somehow still be there for everyone and help to make sure they stayed safe. He believed in them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't worry about them even if he was there. Now that he wasn't…

Naruto found his brooding cut short as he felt a tug on the sleeve of his well-worn jumpsuit. He looked to his left to see a frowning Wendy. He hadn't even noticed her move from the other side of the fire. "Are you mad? I'm sorry for the bunny," Wendy said sadly, referring to having ruined his attempt at hunting earlier in the day.

A confused Naruto looked down at his fish to see that he had only taken a single bite out of it. The fire was about half the size of what it had been when he first picked up the fish. Just how long had he been thinking about the past? "You're fine, Wendy. I was just thinking about some stuff. You didn't do anything," he responded with a reassuring smile. He took a big bite out of the fish to prove his point, which he ended up regretting due to the fish having grown cold. He never was one for sushi or any other type of cold fish. He made sure not to show his displeasure and gave her a big smile as he gulped his bite down.

The girl giggled at him and seemingly forgot that she had just been sad and worried. "Thank you for the food; it was good. Fishies look yucky though," the girl said as she scrunched her face at the thought.

"Is that why you are okay with fish and not bunnies?" Naruto asked. He received a nod from the girl, confirming what he thought about her reaction when he tried to hunt the rabbit. "You're really polite for your age, y'know. I barely ever thought of thanking anyone when they gave food when I was five. I just tore in." Maybe he was just impolite though, or at least more than he still was now. He didn't necessarily have anyone to teach him manners.

"Grandeeney said to always be nice and say thank you."

"I guess that's usually a good idea; you're probably better than I am at it though," Naruto said with a smirk.

"Did your mommy never tell you to?" Wendy asked.

Naruto looked away from the girl for a moment, not sure how to answer. He didn't know a lot about being around kids, but he figured talking about being an orphan with the recently abandoned girl probably wouldn't be for the best. "Uh… not really," he answered dumbly, "what else did your mommy teach you?" he asked to avoid the question.

"Lots of stuff! I'm learning to read and write now. I also know how to count super high. She also showed me magic," she said, sitting up straighter.

Well, one of those things was not like the others. "Magic? Like what?"

"Grandeeney called it Sky Dragon Slayer Magic. I can heal and use wind and other cool stuff," she said with a smile.

Naruto thought about the information she had given him, moderately surprised. Maybe it was like chakra, but they just had a different name for it? Five was a young age to be using chakra though. Without saying a word, Naruto pulled out a kunai and made a small cut on his arm. Wendy looked at him with a tilted head as he pulled out the knife and let out a squeal when he cut himself. She moved closer to him and held her hands over the cut. A green aura emanated from her hands, and his cut vanished. The little girl glared at him, which hardly looked like one due to her smallness. "Why did you do that? You got hurt."

Naruto looked at his healed wound with wide eyes. "Whoa, cool! I wanted to see what your magic was like. You're pretty awesome, Wendy."

That didn't seem to make her feel any better, as she just pouted in response. "I didn't like it. You still got hurt."

Naruto shrugged off her worry. "It didn't hurt that much. I'm used to a lot worse than that. It would have been fine even if you didn't heal it," Naruto said. Wendy just crossed her arms and continued her pouting.

Finishing their conversation, Naruto ate what was left of his dinner. He looked back over at Wendy to see that she was falling asleep sitting up, and was almost falling over. "How about we go to bed, Wendy."

The girl nodded and allowed herself to lie down on the ground. Naruto put some more wood on the fire to keep them warm through the night and laid down himself. He stared up at the stars, noticing that none of the constellations he was used to were there. He rolled over onto his side and sighed, hoping he could fall asleep soon. He needed to stop brooding. If he kept it up at the rate he was going, he would into Sasuke.

"Naruto, I'm cold," Wendy said after several minutes.

Naruto cracked open his eyes to see her shivering even with the warmth of the fire. The temperature really had plummeted since night fell. He unzipped his jacket and laid it over her, not being bothered by the cold himself. The fire was enough heat for him. Wendy quietly thanked him for it, and he gave her a smile in return.

"Goodnight, Wendy."

"Goodnight."

The next day, the pair continued heading north on the road. Naruto was beginning to get annoyed that they hadn't found a town yet. The area they were in must be quite sparse. Around noon, just when Naruto was considering stopping to find something to eat, he saw what appeared to be a small town in the distance. Getting excited, he scooped Wendy up, placed her on his shoulders, and began running toward the town. Wendy was startled at first but was soon enjoying moving at the much faster pace, giggling as she bounced on his shoulders.

Once he was in the town, Naruto found no one to be in the streets. It seemed kind of weird for no one to be out and about at high noon, even for a town with probably fewer than a hundred people. Naruto set Wendy down on the ground and they began walking further into the small village. After another minute of searching, Naruto found the answer. Up ahead on the wide street they had just turned on was a group of a dozen men carrying various clubs. They had surrounded and looked to be threatening a man that was being held up against the wall of a shop. Naruto set Wendy down and made a shadow clone. "Take Wendy somewhere safe."

Wendy, who had started looking back and forth between Naruto and his clone with wide eyes, followed the clone as it grabbed her hand and led her away.

Naruto cracked his neck and began walking toward the group of bandits. One of the members turned to see Naruto approaching and pointed his wooden club at him. "Get outta here, blondie. We're in the middle of somethin'."

The rest of the members in the group turned to see Naruto standing a short distance away. Each of the members was wearing a bandana with a skull insignia over his mouth. When Naruto started to do stretches and showed no intention of leaving, another member of the group called out. "Didn't ya hear 'em? Or do you want us to beat your ass?"

Naruto continued to ignore them and moved on to his next set of stretches.

"I think we got one of those tough guys, fellas. You know how we do them," their apparent leader, who was the only one with a sword, said with a rough voice. The group of men burst out in boisterous laughter and began preparing their clubs. "Don't you know who you messin' with, kid? Never heard of the Black Skull Gang?"

Naruto began laughing after the man finished. The leader deepened his glare. "What you laughin' at?"

"That name sounds like something a kid would come up with. Come to think of it, I do know a five-year-old that sounds smarter than you though, so I guess it makes sense."

The man who they were threatening used his distraction to escape into a nearby alleyway. Naruto had their full attention now. "You callin' me stupid? I ain't the one who's about to get his ass kicked," the leader said.

Naruto began laughing again. "I could beat all you guys with my hands tied behind my back." He could tell these guys were only common bandits, just like the ones in the Elemental Nations. Any decent ninja could probably beat a whole group of those guys blindfolded, and the ones here didn't seem any different.

All the men took their turn to erupt in laughter once again. Naruto was almost starting to get pissed off. He was getting a bit tired of laughing back and forth at this point. Maybe he would follow through with not using his hands to hurt their pride while he was at it. It would probably make dealing with these dumbasses more enjoyable.

The leader looked to one of his men. "Jimmy, why don't you show our new friend here what the Black Skull Gang's all about."

A large and rather ugly man stepped forward toward Naruto, tapping his large wooden club into his hand as he approached. Naruto didn't move as the man stopped a couple feet away from him and wound up to take a swing, aiming for Naruto's head. Just before the club would have hit, Naruto ducked under the swing, feeling air from the attempted hit ruffle his hair. Naruto swept his leg across the ground while dropping down, sending the large man toppling to the pavement with a surprised yell.

The cobblestone pavement shook and fractured under his weight when he landed, and Naruto wasted no time as he stomped his foot down onto the man's stomach, further cracking the ground. The gang member let out one last groan after the hit, and his head fell to the side as he lost consciousness.

Naruto smirked at the stunned faces and sudden loss of confidence showing in the gang members' faces. "What did I tell you guys? No hands."

Three of the men charged Naruto at the same time, trying to avenge their comrade. Naruto sidestepped the first one to arrive but made sure to leave his left leg extended to trip the attacker. The man was propelled though the air, landing face first on the pavement. The next was close behind, and Naruto planted the foot he had used to trip the previous thug and pivoted on it to deliver a powerful spinning kick at the man's head.

Naruto was somewhat impressed that the thug had the reflexes to attempt to block the attack. However, Naruto's kick easily broke the club in half, sending splinters and Naruto's heel crashing into the man's face. The thug was out before he hit the ground and skid a couple meters once he crashed into the ground. Naruto reset himself into his standard fighting stance before the next gang member arrived. Naruto allowed him to get a swing off, which Naruto stopped with the bottom of his foot.

The man tried to pull his club back for another swing but found that his weapon wouldn't budge. He looked up from his stuck weapon to see Naruto smirking, and then found himself falling forward as Naruto drew his leg back behind him. The man fell face first into Naruto's knee and toppled over onto the ground, also unconscious. Naruto turned around to see the man he had tripped slowly trying to get back to his feet. He kicked his leg forward and stopped channeling the chakra that was holding onto the club, sending it rocketing into the man's face just as he turned around, knocking him back on the ground.

Naruto turned around to see the rest of the gang members trembling in fear. Even the once cocky leader was starting to look unsure of himself. As soon as Naruto took one step forward, all the members but the leader dropped their weapons and began fleeing.

The gang leader turned and yelled at his retreating men, "Get your asses back here! I'm gonna kill every last one of ya!"

Naruto began laughing as soon as they started running away. "Don't worry, I'm gonna make sure they don't get away," he said as he made a single shadow clone for each man that ran away. The clones left to capture the retreating criminals.

The leader turned back to Naruto, realizing the danger he was still in. "So, you some sort of mage then? Shoulda known with how cocky you were. I guess me and the boys must of really made a name for ourselves. You get a job to take us out?"

Naruto tilted his head at the criminal. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just saw you guys being assholes and threatening that guy, so I decided to stop you."

The man deflated at that, not even getting the satisfaction of being taken out by a powerful wizard after a big bounty on his head. Naruto decided to give the man a chance to surrender. "You've already lost. Either you can give up or I can knock you out like the rest of your buddies."

"I may not have my men, but I still got my pride. I ain't surrendering like some coward."

Naruto just shrugged and got back into his fighting stance, and the gang leader dropped into a sloppy stance with his sword. Naruto appeared to vanish from view as he rushed toward his opponent. The leader tried his best to hit Naruto with a stab, but Naruto avoided the blade with a rapid spin, extending his arm at the same time. Naruto's fist smashed into the back of his head, causing the man to fall to the ground unconscious.

His clones soon returned with the rest of the thugs who had tried to run away. He had them put the men into a makeshift pile and then had the clones stand guard in case they woke back up again. After everything was done, Naruto scratched his head in thought. "I wonder where I'm supposed to take these guys. There must be a jail around here or something."

He then noticed the man he had saved peeking out from an alley not too far away. He must have stayed to watch the fight. Once he realized Naruto had noticed him, he came out from the alley and approached Naruto. When he reached Naruto, he gave a slight bow of thanks. "Thank you so much, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't show up when you did."

"Eh, I couldn't just stand there and let those guys rob or kill you. They were pretty weak anyway, so it really wasn't a big deal," Naruto said.

Naruto looked back toward the pile of thugs. "You have any idea where I should take these guys? I can't just leave them out here to get away."

"We need to take them toward the town hall. The jail is right next to there and we can give them to the sheriff until some rune knights can pick them up."

Naruto had no idea what any of that stuff was except for the jail, so he just decided to make more clones to carry the unconscious thugs while the man led the way. On the way there, the man struck up a conversation. "Your magic is really cool. I don't know much about magic really, but I've never seen someone make clones like you before."

Naruto gave the man a smile, always happy to have someone think he is cool. "Thanks. I'm not really from around here so that may have something to do with it. What else have you seen?"

"Just the common stuff like fire and water really. We don't see mages that often around here. The nearest guild is a pretty far way off."

Naruto nodded at the information. He wondered what a guild was, but it confirmed that magic was somewhat like chakra and jutsus. He would need to wait to see some for himself to find out just how similar it was.

They arrived at the town hall around a minute later, which Naruto found out was the largest building in the town. Off to the side was a smaller, box-like building, which they went up to. The man he was with knocked on the door, which at first just cracked open, but then opened fully once the person inside saw it was a familiar face. "Did they leave, Luke?"

Luke shook his head in response. "I wasn't able to make it inside in time and they ended up getting me. Luckily this young man showed up and was able to stop them." Luke then looked embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot to ask what your name was with everything going on."

"Oh, my name's Naruto. It's alright; I didn't even ask for your name either," he said while smiling.

The sheriff's jaw dropped as he noticed the knocked-out thugs being carried by a dozen copies of Naruto. He tried his best to regain his composure and return to business. "So, a mage finally came for the Black Skull Gang? We put the bounty out months ago, so I didn't think anyone was going to take it."

"I didn't know anything about a bounty. I was just coming into town because I need to figure out where I am. I really need to get a map somewhere," Naruto said while smiling and rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you not part of a guild then?"

Naruto shook his head in response. The sheriff thought for a moment before going back inside. After a short time, he came back out with a piece of paper. "You can have your, uh, buddies put them in some cells in here. The deputy in there will show you where."

The clones then filed into the small building and dispersed after dropping off the criminal they carried. Once they were all inside, the sheriff turned back to the real Naruto, shaking his head while smiling. "Take this to the town hall and they will give you the reward. Bounties are one of the few jobs that you usually only see mages do that don't require you to be in a guild. Anyone can claim the reward if they turn in the criminal. It's just dangerous if you aren't a mage."

Naruto took the paper that the man offered and looked at it. It had a picture of the gang leader he just captured and some other writing. He stared at the paper for several seconds before realizing something important. He couldn't read any of it. It all just looked like random lines and squiggles, and what he guessed was the sheriff's signature was written in ink on the bottom. The sheriff noticed his confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto looked up from the paper to answer, "Uh, no, I'm good." Even if he couldn't read it, he still knew what to do with it. Not being able to read could cause some problems though. He inwardly groaned at the thought of needing to learn a new written language. Studying anything not ninja related wasn't his strong suit.

Naruto said goodbye to Luke and the sheriff and then turned to go to the town hall, which was a three-story white building with a small garden out front. Four pillars that were erected in the front reached all the way up to an overhang from the roof. It looked a bit out of place compared to the rest of the town, which was mostly made up of smaller box-like buildings with slanted roofs like the sheriff's building. Before making it to the door of the town hall, Naruto's other clone, which was giving Wendy a piggy back ride, ran up to him. The clone dropped Wendy off and dispersed. Wendy shrieked when she saw the clone pop and frowned in worry. "It's okay Wendy, that was just one of my clones. It's… a part of my magic." Naruto wasn't sure how to explain it to her, so he decided it would be easier to tell her it was magic, something she already understood.

Wendy looked up at him with wide eyes. "Wow! Naruto is cool!"

Naruto gave her a prideful smirk. He liked this kid already. Respected him and thought he was cool.

Wendy continued to look up at him sweetly before asking a question, "Naruto, what does "cool" mean?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. "Whaddya mean? Didn't you just say it?"

"You said my name was cool. I wanted to say it too; I like new words," she said with a smile.

Naruto hung his head in disappointment. "You need to be careful saying words if you don't know what they mean, you might say something bad. Just ask me if you want to know something."

"Did I say something bad?"

"No, but it's better to be safe. Grandeeney said to always be nice, right?" Naruto said as he smirked to himself. He might just have this dealing with kids thing down better than he thought. He just needed to tell them to do the opposite of everything he did as a kid.

Wendy nodded in understanding. "So, what's being cool mean?"

"Uh, it means that you look cool or do cool things," Naruto tried to explain, realizing he couldn't come up with a good definition.

Wendy just looked more confused. "But what is cool?"

"It's hard to describe; you just know it when you see it, y'know? You're getting way too philosophical about it. You were right though, I am cool. Just think of cool things as things that are like me."

Wendy nodded, but still appeared unsure. "What does that mean? Pillow soft tickle?" she asked as she tried to pronounce the new word.

Naruto sighed in frustration. He wasn't even going to try to describe that for her, as he wasn't even sure he knew how to describe it himself. "Philosophical. Don't worry about it, Wendy. We need to go in this building," he said as he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face the town hall. She nodded and started walking with him to the large building. At least kids were easy to distract.

As they were walking to the building, they stopped when a woman's came over the loud speakers that were spread throughout the town. She announced that the threat was over and that the gang members had been captured. Wendy was looking around as if trying to find the source of the voice, but Naruto prodded her to start her moving toward the building again.

As he entered the town hall, Naruto noticed that the inside looked just as extravagant as the outside. The building contained polished, shining wood tables with regal chairs, intricately patterned wallpaper as opposed to a plain coat of paint, and various potted plants that seemed to be well cared for. Directly in line with the entrance, there was an elderly woman sitting behind a desk, which had a microphone on it. Off to the left of her was a staircase leading up to the next floor. She noticed them after almost as soon as they entered. "Oh, you must be the one who caught those nasty gang members. The sheriff just called over a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, the sheriff said to give this paper to you," Naruto said with a nod as he walked up and placed the paper on the desk.

The woman looked at the paper and turned to go further back into the building and then disappeared into another room. She came back out with a stack of money, which she then handed to Naruto. "Here you are, sweetie. There are 30,000 jewels, just as promised," she said kindly.

Naruto guessed that "jewels" must be the currency around here. He had no idea what 30,000 jewels was worth though. Normally he probably would have declined them giving him money, but at this point, he wasn't in the position to turn down money. He earned it anyway, even if he didn't mean to.

Just then, a short, portly old man in a striped suit came down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom, he appeared to be nearly out of breath. Once he collected himself, he looked at Naruto. "Ah, you must be the one who dealt with those troublemakers! They have been plaguing our town for months. I wanted to come personally thank you. Mayor Gregory Blackbell, at your service."

Naruto looked surprised at that. "They were doing stuff like that for months? No one could stop them?"

The mayor wrung his hands nervously as he answered, "Well, we only have the sheriff and his two deputies, who aren't equipped to take out a group of ruffians like that. There is no guild in the area to scare them off, so we put out the bounty that you so gallantly took care of. Admittedly, it is quite frugal compared to what is usually offered for such a job, but we have quite limited funds at the moment. We decided warning the citizens of impending attacks to be suitable enough, you see."

Naruto looked around the room he was in again. The decorations sure didn't look cheap, so how the hell could they not have enough money to get someone to come? The mayor mistook his surveying as him admiring the building. "I see you have good taste in architecture. We just finished some renovations very recently. You should have seen the mess this place was beforehand. Quite unsuitable if I dare say so myself."

Naruto began glaring at the man. He didn't ger a good vibe from this guy. From what it sounded like, he put his own desires over the safety of his people. The man began to shrink back under his gaze. "So, you decided to fix up this place instead of trying to stop those gang members, old man?"

"Well, I wouldn't necessarily put it that way," the man said as he began to sweat. He produced a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Naruto held his glare on the man for several more seconds before turning to leave. "I don't care how you put it, you old fart. Not caring for the people you are supposed to protect will bite you in the ass eventually. You're just lucky I came through when I did; I won't always be here to do your job for you," he said as he grabbed Wendy's hand and walked toward the door. He heard the mayor sigh in relief as he neared the exit.

A few years ago, he would have had a much more violent reaction to something like this. However, he now knew it would solve nothing and serve only get him in trouble. He didn't feel like getting arrested on his second day in a new world. Once they were back outside, Wendy tugged on his hand to get his attention. "Naruto was mean. And you said a bad word."

Naruto chuckled at being scolded by the little girl and continued guiding her down the road as he talked. He wanted to find an inn of some sort and somewhere to eat. "Sometimes people don't deserve you being nice to them. And I'm old enough to say words like that, Wendy. Just don't say them until you're older."

"Grandeeney said to always be nice," she said while puffing out her cheeks.

"Well, I guess you should always try to be nice when you can. I usually am as long as people are nice to me or I think I can change their mind. It's just kinda hard with people like that guy back there," Naruto explained.

"What was he like?"

"Don't worry about it too much now, you'll get it when you're older. He was greedy and only cared about himself. Come on, we need to get something to eat," he said as he saw what appeared to be a cafe.

Later that night, Naruto sprawled himself out on the queen-sized bed of the room he had bought in the local inn. During the day he had managed to find various stores where he was able to buy a map, camping gear, canned food, and various other supplies. After buying the supplies, food, and the hotel room he was left with around 10,000 jewels left. He noticed that the Jewels didn't seem worth quite as much as ryō, so he would need to get used to things costing more to buy.

He also finally found out what a mage guild was by asking the innkeeper. It was an organization of banded together mages. When they were registered with the government, they could then legally take jobs. There were also dark guilds though, which took illegal jobs and caused various other problems.

Naruto was wondering if he should join one, as it would make it easy to get money. However, he looked over at Wendy, who was laying on the opposite side of the bed, and remembered his promise to her. If he joined a guild it would make it difficult to travel around looking for her mom. He also wouldn't mind spending some time exploring, as it would help him learn about the new world he was in.

That still left the problem of money though. He tossed and turned as he tried to think of the best way to make some. The only thing he was good at was fighting, so that kind of limited his options unless he turned to manual labor. He struck down that idea as he turned over once again. He hated manual labor. He had to do enough of that when he was doing D-rank missions.

Then, an idea clicked in his head. The sheriff said that anyone could claim bounties, not just mages in a guild. He smiled as he thought over the possibility. It would also be a good way to help people and kick ass at the same time, just like he did as a ninja. He thought he remembered seeing some board in the sheriff's office that had papers with pictures on them from the memories of his clones, just like the one the sheriff gave him. Those probably all had information on the people with bounties on them, which he could use once he could read them.

Sighing with satisfaction at his plan, he turned over one last time before finally drifting off to sleep.

Omake: Naruto: Survival Expert

"Alright, Wendy, I'm gonna show you how to survive out here in the middle of nowhere. I'm pretty much an expert at this sort of stuff," Naruto said as he prepared to go find them some food for their first night together. Wendy, however, didn't respond. He looked around in confusion trying to find her, only to see her giggling as she chased a butterfly. He groaned in frustration. "Hey, Wendy!" he yelled to get her attention. She finally noticed him and skipped over.

"You gotta pay attention here, Wendy. I'm trying to show you a survival expert in action. You don't see stuff like this every day."

Wendy just tilted her head to the side and followed him into the woods.

Not too long after they entered the woods, Wendy yelled out in excitement. "Look, a bunny!" she said as she pointed off to the side.

"Good eye, Wendy. Now we just need to set up for the kill," Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai.

Wendy let out a scream and ran into Naruto as hard as she could as he was about to throw the knife. Naruto yelped in surprise, and his aim was thrown off enough to miss the rabbit. The rabbit got startled and ran away into the woods. Naruto frowned and turned back to Wendy, only to be met with wide, tearful eyes. Naruto suddenly felt the anger in his heart melt, unable to stay mad at something so cute. Naruto held out his arms for a hug. "Forgive me, Wendy. I don't know what I was thinking."

After they made up, his next plan was to try foraging. "Alright, Wendy, you need to be careful with what you find to eat out here. Some of this stuff is poisonous."

Wendy nodded and continued to follow him. Finally, he found a bush with some red berries. He carefully knelt to inspect them, but the plants around here were nothing like the ones back in the Elemental Nations. Suddenly, a giant beetle the size of Naruto's hand flew by and landed on his shoulder. Naruto jumped away in surprise and felt his elbow squish into something soft and warm. Naruto, with terror in his eyes, looked over to see elbow deep in something sticky and brown. Luckily, he had taken off his jacket and tied it around his waist earlier. He groaned and stood up, cursing his still overall bad luck. On the first step he took forward, he heard another squelch. Freezing, he took a closer look at the ground and paled. There was shit everywhere, with what looked like those red berries in it. Definitely not eating those.

"Be careful, Wendy. Something pooped all over the place over here."

He once again got no reply. Turning around, he saw her admiring and smelling some flowers a little way away.

"Fuck this shit; I'm going fishing."

Chapter Notes: Most action scenes will be longer than the one in this chapter. It was only so short because of who he was fighting, and it was mostly part of introducing Naruto into the world. It was originally supposed to be longer, but I decided to cut it because I felt like it would have dragged on for too long.

Story Notes: This will be a three part story, with the first start being everything that happens before X784. Each part will also have its own distinct sections. The first section of the first part will skip through time much faster than the other parts, as it will mostly be a highlight reel of Naruto's time as a bounty hunter, showing the most important events (Which honestly don't usually involve him doing bounties, as most of those would just be random fights.). It would drag on too long otherwise. While it will introduce some characters or things important for later on in the plot, it will mostly introduce Naruto to the world.

Also note that while Levy is a main character, she will not appear during the entire first section of the first part for obvious reasons. I will answer any questions asked in reviews with PMs as long as it won't spoil too much, so feel free to ask any questions you may have. The rough outline is already done out to the end of the second part, but I already know the major plot points that will come up in the third part. Finally, these omake are "canon" in the context of the story, in that they are actual events that take place. They are just little scenes that don't really fit in a full chapter.

Edit 11/18/2018: Edited the chapter and changed a good amount of dialogue slightly.