Uzumaki Naruto, the living weapon of Konoha, stood in front of the Sandaime Hokage. He is wearing full out ANBU gear with a mask in the shape of a bear. Naruto stood at a short height of four foot six for his twelve years of age. On his back were a pair of kodachi. The boy had been turned into a living weapon for Konoha. A perfect soldier to do whatever the Hokage commanded. Trained by the top jounin, he had already attained the rank of ANBU Captain by the age of ten. Sarutobi now looked at the boy who had the skill to fight on par with Kakashi and maybe even himself to an extent.

A sad look appeared in the Sandaime's eyes. Minato would have let Kyuubi burn this village to the ground if he ever witnessed what had become of his son. They had taken away a child's life and turned him into a killing machine. All because he, the Hokage, had been too weak to protect the boy from the greedy council. "Naruto, are you happy?" asked Sarutobi.

"Happy?" Naruto replied emotionlessly.

"Yes. Do you even going out on missions? I would like to know the truth, hold nothing back," nodded the Sandaime.

Naruto took a moment to come up with an answer, "I am not displeased. But I don't particularly find any joy in my missions." The Sandaime smiled a bit. "Are you worried about my efficiency?"

"Actually, quite the opposite. You were inducted into the ANBU at the age of four but weren't given an official rank until you turned five. Then a year later you hit the rank of Chuunin and two years after that jounin. Two years ago you attained the title of ANBU Captain. Your mission record is the best in the village. Most ninja take a lifetime to complete as many missions as you. Not to mention you only failed two missions out of the three hundred you have performed. A rather impressive record," smiled Sarutobi.

"Arigato Hokage-sama," bowed Naruto.

The Sandaime lit his pipe and blew out a small cloud of smoke. "I have decided to give you the opportunity to retire." Naruto's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "Just hear me out Naruto. You have not truly been living your life. All you have been doing is what I or the council has ordered you to do. No other ninja is treated in this manner. I don't care what others call you or say, you are not just a tool. You are a person and you are entitled to the same desires and wants as everyone else." Naruto stood silently. "I want you to take the next week off active duty and observe the people of this village. Don't just study them, actually see them. Then after a week, I want you to come back and meet with me."

One Week Later

Naruto stood on top of the Hokage Monument wearing his mask as he looked down upon the village. This past week had been eventful. Yes, that would be a proper word for it. He had spent the entire week watching the villagers from the shadows. The first couple of days had been, rather uninformative. But then, he started to take notice of things. He would notice how children would play together without a care in the world. How something as small as a hug could bring the greatest joy to even the most hardened of ninja. Some of whom he had worked with and seemed to have a completely different personalit now that he witnessed them off duty. Even a smile from friends and family seemed to bring a great deal of comfort. Things he had never noticed before had started to become clear to him.

For the first time in his life, he was envious of them. Why could he not have that? Had he not earned it? Did the Sandaime not admit his mission record is the best in the village? Yet all these other ninja get to enjoy these things, not him. Why? "I thought I might find you here." Naruto turned his head to see the Sandaime standing behind him. The old Hokage came up besides him. "You probably don't remember, but you used to come here a lot."

Naruto hadn't known that. He didn't remember much except when his training began at the ANBU headquarters. "So tell me Naruto, have you thought about my proposal?" asked Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama, I am not particularly fond of doing missions. But, I don't know how to do anything else. Also, the council will never let me retire. You pointed out earlier that I have an excellent track record. I am indispensable in their eyes," answered Naruto. He turned to look back over the village. "However, I am grateful for the opportunity, but-"

Naruto never finished when a blow to the back of the head knocked him out cold. Sarutobi picked up Naruto and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

An unknown amount of time later, Naruto woke up to find himself in a room that he didn't recognize. He tried to move, but found chakra draining chains binding his arms and legs. His eyes looked around noticed a very complicated seal all around him and he in the middle of it. The torches along the wall lit and Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the Sandaime standing just outside the seal. "Hokage-sama! What is this?" asked Naruto stopping his struggle.

"My atonement for everything I have done to you. I am giving you a chance to start a new life. To do whatever you want to do," said Sarutobi an apologetic look in his eyes as he started to form a very long set of hand seals. "This is a seal that transports things to a different dimension. Like a storage seal, but on a much larger scale. However, in order to work it will use the Kyuubi's chakra. I have made a direct link between this seal and Kyuubi that way you won't be killed as your transported to a different dimension."

A stunned look appeared in Naruto's eyes. "This way you don't have to be a missing-nin or worry about the council anymore. If you want to me to stop then merely call out the release word and the chains will disappear allowing you to escape." Naruto muttered kai and the chains fell away. He then sat down on the ground and removed his mask for the first time in five years. Sandaime looked about the handsome face and knew that if things had been different, Uchiha Sasuke's fan club would be nowhere near the size of the one Naruto would have had. "There are several storage scrolls that I have placed in your pouch. I wish you a safe journey and find happiness," smiled Sarutobi ending on a ram seal. Red chakra started to pour out of Naruto and the boy could hear Kyuubi screaming in agony.

"Arigato Hokage-sama," said Naruto. A small smile appeared on the boy's face as the red chakra exploded ripping a hole through space and time. Sarutobi watched as Naruto disappeared from this world forever. May he find a better life there then he did here.

Unknown Location

Naruto's eyes snapped open. He then sat up and looked around. Interesting. Judging from all the sand and the limited amount of flora, he had landed in a desert. A loud roar made him turn his head. There coming right at him a large lizard that had to be at least twenty feet long from head to tail and stood at least fifteen feet tall. It had a jaw that would make a shark jealous and green scaly skin. With a flick of his wrist he tossed several wind imbued kunai at the lizard. To his surprise, even with the wind added to them, the kunai caused minor cuts. That skin is surprisingly stronger then he thought.

The lizard lunged forward intent on eating Naruto but the former ANBU captain predicted such an attack. Naruto jumped up avoiding the bite and drew one of his ninjato. A Bunshin formed above him and sent him downward so that he had enough power that his ninjato pierced right through the lizards iron clan skid and steel like skull, like a hot knife through butter. Naruto pulled out his swords flicking the blood off before sheathing it on his back.

He then looked up to see all the other strange creatures backing away in fear. Naruto removed his mask and decided on a change of clothes. If he truly wanted to start a new peaceful life, then he couldn't walk around dressed like an assassin. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out one of his many storage scrolls. One that contained a set of clothes that he wore when not on duty which wasn't often.

A few minutes later, Naruto now sported a brand new outfit. Well, new outfit for him to say the least. In actuality, he now wore a standard jounin outfit. A long navy blue sweat under a forest green jounin vest. Though his vest had been modified to give him more protection with a thin, steel piece of armor sowed into the back. He had on a pair of black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back of his hands. To finish the outfit he wore a pair of blue sweats that were wrapped up at the ankles and a pair of open-toed black sandals. Strapped to his thigh is a pouch for kunai and shuriken and on the back of his waist he had another smaller round pouch. Naruto instead of wearing a mask, now wore a black face mask covering the lower half of his face and his hi-ate still hung around his forehead. No matter where he is, Konoha would always be his home.

Naruto tapped his toes on the ground to make sure his sandals were secure before checking to make sure both pouches were secure. Once he had double checked all his equipment, he pulled out a piece of pocky and started to munch on it. Something that Itachi-sempai had hooked him onto before he betrayed Konoha. The mask had been a gift from Kakashi-sempai. Kakashi and Itachi were the only two people besides Sarutobi-sama who had truly cared or taken an interest in his life. Probably not the best of role models or parent-types for a child to grow up under, but they were all Naruto had.

The nearest civilization is that way. Naruto ran at Chuunin level speeds headed north.

Mount Nibelheim

"Stop Tifa!"

"Come back!" yelled Johnny and the others. The little ten year old girl continued to walk the path up the mountain refusing to stop. Tears brimmed her eyes as she continued to travel. If only she could make it pass the mountain then maybe she could see her mother again. She started to run ignoring the yells of her friends trying to stop her. She didn't even stop as she ran across an old rope bridge. The bridge started to shake and Tifa gasped. Her eyes widened in fear as the ropes snapped and it started to collapse. "Ah!"

Tifa screamed as she plummeted downward. She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. It is then she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. Her eyes snapped open and she felt a light blush heat her cheeks. There with his arms wrapped tightly around her is a handsome boy with a black facemask covering the lower half of his face. She soon snapped back to reality as she realized they were still falling. "Hang on tightly," ordered the boy.

"Ok," Tifa sniffed burying her head into his chest. His chest expanded and she almost lost her grip, but then he exhaled. A sudden heat made her flinch slightly as her arm became slightly burned. However, she realized their descent had slowed down. Turning her head, she saw the boy is breathing fire! He kept breathing fire for the next thirty seconds or so. When he stopped, she felt a light thud. Her feet touched the ground and she quickly jumped up as the ground felt as if it were on fire. He jumped ten feet away and gently placed her on the ground.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

A light blush heated Tifa's cheeks. "Hai. Arigato."

The boy who had to be at least four years older then her nodded. He was about to walk away but she ran up to him. "Wait! Don't leave me here please." Tifa had a scared look in her eyes. She didn't want to die. If that happened then she wouldn't be able to see her father either. She had already lost her mother.

"Ok."

Tifa smiled before blushing a bit, "I'm Tifa. Tifa Lockhart."

"Uzumaki Naruto." She giggled a bit. What a strange name. Naruto looked up at the cliff wall. That shouldn't be too hard to climb. "I'm sorry, but I don't know the way back to town from here," an apologetic look appeared in Tifa's eyes.

"You know the way if we were to return back up the mountain right?" A confused look appeared in Tifa's eyes but she nodded. Naruto crouched down a bit. "Climb on." Tifa blushed a bright red but did as she was told. The moment she locked her arms around his neck a scream escaped her as he began running up the side of the cliff. The wind blew her hair all about and she tightened her grip. She soon found the fear at falling disappearing and she smiled as she hung on tightly. This is the second time today he had carried her to safety. Maybe her mother had sent him to be her guardian angel.

It only took Naruto five minutes and a great deal of chakra to make it to the top of the mountain. Naruto reached the top and panted heavily. The loss of Kyuubi had weakened him greatly. His stamina, endurance, and chakra reserves had decreased by at least half. If he had to guess he would say that overall, he is at mid-chuunin level. That is not good at all. Not considering he could see and feel many monsters with jounin to elite jounin power levels all over this mountain. "That was amazing. How did you do that? I have never heard of any magic that allows a person to climb up a wall," said Tifa. "Do you have some type of rare materia?"

He had no idea what she is talking about but decided to go with it. "Yes. It is a materia that I found a few years ago. Allows me to walk on any surface," nodded Naruto. Tifa gave a bright smile obviously believing him. He would need to learn more about this materia.

"Come on. You can follow me back to Nibelheim. The least I can do for you saving my life," blushed Tifa. Naruto nodded and followed the young girl. Little did he know how much his presence would change the course of this world. Or the adventures he would go on.

Five Years Later

Naruto stabbed a monster right in the head. The monster fell to the ground dead. He kneeled down and cleaned his kunai off on the ground. Then used a basic fire attack to burn the body. He didn't know what it was, but lately the monsters had been increasing in numbers.

This world is completely different from the Elemental Countries. Far more advanced technology wise and much more dangerous. Every single monster had at least chuunin level speed and jounin level strength. Some could manipulate the elements far faster and easier then he could. Well beforehe learned how to use Materia that is.

Probably the biggest thing that this world had that made it so much more dangerous is materia. Materia is how people could call upon magic to perform feats that would make any ninja jealous. Using materia barely took any chakra at all and the effects were amazing. It could do anything from lighting a small fire to setting an entire village aflame. Bring upon a light cool breeze or gale force winds that could rip a house apart. The power of materia is something that should be respected. In the wrong hands, Materia could cause great death and devastation. Fortunately, materia is hard to find and took a great deal of time to master.

Two years ago he had obtained a Lightning and Fire Materia. Granted he didn't fight very often compared to when he had been a ninja. He had raised them up to cast Fire 2 and Thunderbolt 2. It didn't bother him though that he didnt fight as much anymore. He enjoyed the peace of his new life.

It had been five years since he had landed in this new, strange yet amazing world. He ran a hand through his hair. Naruto now stood at a height of five foot seven. He still wore his jounin outfit and had that face mask covering the lower half of his face. His hair had grown out turning him into the spitting image of his father. The only difference is that where Minato's eyes had been full of life, Naruto still had that emotionless look. Even though he had several friends the only one still in Nibelheim would be Tifa. The others left to go to Midgar or elsewhere. He still had yet to fully understand human emotions. Tifa had been helping him, but they were more complex then he thought they would be.

Naruto pulled out a little orange book and started to read as he headed back to town. Kakashi had given him the entire eight book set of Icha-Icha Paradise as a present when he became an ANBU Captain. It had been Naruto's very first present so he took great care of the books even if they were full of a smut. Besides, if one could get past all the smut they would find that the book actually is a pretty good read. Though Tifa would always start blushing then get mad when she caught him reading Icha Icha Paradise.

Speaking of Tifa, he felt her presence and looked ahead as he put away his book. A beautiful fifteen year old girl sat on a rusty old trunk. She had long black hair that fell down past her waist and the end tied into a ponytail. She wore a cowgirl outfit that did nothing to hide her D-cup sized breasts and long legs. Naruto is probably the only man in the world that didn't lust over Tifa. Though he had beat up several that had tried to be a little more touchy feely with his friend. "Out fighting monsters again?" smirked Tifa.

"More and more seem to be popping up," said Naruto. Tifa hopped off the truck and walked next to Naruto clasping her hands behind her back. "It is because of the Mako Reactor leak. Once Shinra gets here and fixes it up everything will be fine," she smiled.

"How do you know it is because of the Mako Reactor?" asked Naruto.

Tifa shrugged, "I don't. But that is what father says. And he works at the reactor and has problems with monsters all the time." Naruto still had his doubts but let it drop. They would know soon enough when Shinra arrived tomorrow. "You worry to much Naruto-kun. Loosen up a bit and have some fun," smirked Tifa.

"I plan on going to Cosmo Canyon after Shinra fixes the Reactor. Do you want to come with?" asked Naruto.

A coy smile appeared on Tifa's face. "Are you asking me out Naruto-kun?" Naruto tilted his head and looked at her in a manner she found extremely cute. "A romantic time at Cosmo Canyon does sound nice. And I have wanted to go there. Yes, I'll go with you," smiled Tifa walking a bit closer to Naruto. "But only if you show me what's under that mask of yours. We have been friends for five years and I still haven't seen your face!"

Naruto raised his hand up to his face. Tifa saw it move in slow motion as Naruto grabbed the mask and lowered it. Her eyes went wide before anger appeared in them. She raised her fist and punched Naruto in the head but hit nothing but air making her stumble. "Another mask. You jerk!" Tifa huffed as she stomped off angrily. Naruto blinked confused. She asked to see under his mask and he had shown her. What was the problem? He shrugged and quickly caught up to her but Tifa gave him the cold shoulder.

Next Day

Zack hopped out of the Shinra truck with a large smirk. Finally they had arrived in Nibelheim. He had started to grow bored of just riding around. No offense to Sephiroth, but that man couldn't hold a conversation if it smacked him in the face. Checking to makee sure that his signature Buster Sword is secure on his back, Zack then took a moment to look at the town. A frowned graced his face. "Man this place sure does look boring," sighed Zack running a hand through his hair.

"Is there a problem?" asked a commanding voice. Zack turned to look at the older man and the strongest SOLDIER in the world. Sephiroth. "Nope. Just taking a look at the town is all," smirked Zack.

Sephiroth remained as emotionless as ever. Zack sighed as he followed his commander into Nibelheim. The town seemed to be deserted. "Aren't there supposed to be people here?" frowned Zack.

"They are scared," said Sephiroth. "Find the guides and tell them we will be leaving at 0700 hours tomorrow morning."

"Right," nodded Zack. Sephiroth headed into the small inn. Where he would wonder why this town felt so familiar.

Zack wondered where he should start looking for the guide. His eyes swept over the buildings and past a man with blonde hair. Wait. He turned his head to look at the man leaning against a building reading a small orange book. "Hey you. You live here right?"

The man looked up from his book. "Hai." Then silence filled the air as the man went back to his book. Zack sweat dropped a bit. What a stiff. "I'm from Shinra. Name is Zack Fair, 1st Class SOLDIER. Do you know where I can find the guide Tifa Lockhart? She is supposed to take us to the Mako Reactor."

The door opened and out walked a sexy young girl. Zack raised an eyebrow and smirked. Damn, maybe this village wouldn't be so boring after all. "Naruto, what are you doing out here?" pouted the girl.

Naruto pointed at Zack. Tifa turned her head to look at the handsome man with the large sword on his back. "Oh hi. I'm Tifa, who are you?" asked Tifa curiously.

"My name is Zack Fair. Member of SOLDIER 1st Class. If I had known this town had such beautiful girls I would have come sooner," Zack gave Tifa a charming smirk. Tifa blushed a bit and smiled. This would be a perfect opportunity to make Naruto jealous. "SOLDIER huh? Then that means you are from Shinra. I am Tifa Lockhart, your guide," smiled Tifa pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Really? Hey why don't you show me around town for a bit?" smiled Zack.

Tifa smiled, "sure. Naruto you don't mind do you?"

"I am fine," said Naruto reading his book. A hint of sadness appeared in Tifa's eyes but it quickly disappeared. She gave Zack a warm smile and the two walked off chatting.

Naruto looked up from his book. SOLDIER, the elite warriors of Shinra. That man, Zack Fair, from the way he moved and from the materia he sensed on him. There is no doubt in his mind that Zack is easily as strong as him. That would make Zack on par with an elite jounin/ANBU agent. Maybe even stronger due to the materia he carried on him. Glancing to the side, Naruto looked at the inn where that other member of SOLDIER had gone. Sephiroth, if he had heard the man's name correctly. The strength of that man had to be at least three times stronger then Zack. It reminded Naruto of Itachi-sempai but far more powerful. Not even the Hokage could compare to the powerful presence that surrounded Sephiroth. That in itself is scary. Naruto would make sure to keep a close eye on both men. They may be stronger then him in overall abilities, but that didn't mean a thing to a ninja. Naruto's true strength lie in his ability to catch his opponent's by surprise and strike them down before they even knew they were a target.

Break

The next day came around too fast. Naruto and Tifa waited patiently for Sephiroth, Zack, and a Shinra infantryman to show up. As expected, Sephiroth was first to show up right at the designated time. The silver haired swordsman walked emotionlessly up to them and stopped. "You are the guides," it wasn't question.

"Hai," bowed Tifa nervously. Naruto nodded acting casual. Best not to reveal any of his abilities if he could avoid it. Continue to let all those around him think that he is of no relevance.

"Yo sorry I'm late!" yelled Zack yawning loudly, as he ran over to them. "We ready to go yet?"

"Yep," smiled Tifa feeling a bit more comfortable seeing Zack. "We can leave whenever you two are ready."

"Lead the way," said Sephiroth coldly. Tifa nodded and took the point. Zack caught up to Tifa and the two started to chat while Naruto walked next to Sephiroth. Sephiroth glanced at Naruto who continued to read his book without a care in the world. Naruto kept a close eye on Sephiroth as they began their trek to Nibelheim Mako Reactor.