The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins...

Six months passed by since the young Uzumaki accepted training from his distant blood ancestor, the Sage of the Six Paths, along with his Tailed Beast partner. The training was severely intense with one session being more excruciating than the one previous, but it was worth it.

Naruto felt his power increase after every training session and was proud of himself and his partner. The Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beast's bond became stronger as they trained together under the older Sage's tutelage, of course they bicker at each other time to time and get on each other's nerves, much to the Sage's amusement, but that's how partners are.

The trio resided in the Six Paths' estate; a large house that could fit 10 families, three kitchen, two swimming pools in the back and lastly a 50 acre training ground with a forge and a blacksmith to create weapons. The estate was a gift from their deities, Kami and Shinigami, to the Sage for his heroic deed of defeating the Ten Tails. When Naruto first arrived at the palace-like estate, his distant blood relatives, the Senju Clan including the Senju Clan Ancestor, greeted him. He was happy to finally meet the powerful clan who founded his home village, Konoha and set the standards that kept the village alive for generations.

The Sage told his young descendant that there will be a final test to see how far he has come and if he's strong/powerful enough to start the journey for the four Sealing Keys. Naruto commented that he'd pass the test with no sweat. That time has come.

-(Training Grounds)-Sage's Estate-

The training ground was meant to endure the toughest and most powerful attacks, but when Naruto Uzumaki battles, all bets are off. There are multiple craters that 20 feet in depth, with smoke emitting from them and lightning seem to fill the atmosphere. The entire Senju Clan was watching the boy battling their ancestor with satisfaction that the Uzumaki Clan is just as strong as them, if not stronger.

An explosion occurred with smoke filling the area, two figures sprinted into the smoke from opposite soon followed by clashes of metal and sparks were seen. Suddenly one of the figures leapt up into air, getting out of the smoke, revealed to be the young Sage. He was no longer wearing his orange jumpsuit and changed his attire to standard Leaf ninja attire, keeping only his black headband with the Leaf symbol engraved metal plate attached to it, and was covered with scratches and bruises.

The young Jinchuriki looked to see the smoke cleared by the wind, revealing his opponent, the Sage with scratches on his attire only. The elder ninja made hand-signs, ending with both of his hands clamped together. "Water Style: Liquid Bullet!" He exhaled a highly pressurized water bullet at the young Sage.

"Okay then," Naruto clamped his hands, channeling chakra in his mouth, "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" He exhaled a highly pressurized air bullet at the incoming water bullet. The contrasting element attacks collided, causing the water to disperse and rain upon the training-turned-battle ground and estate. The blonde ninja was still high in the air when the Six Paths rapidly created hand-signs, making the boy's eyes widen when he recognized the jutsu.

"Oh, boy, I'm still too high. Better come with something fast" whispered Naruto to himself.

The Sage unleashed his attack. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" A fire dragon appeared from the elder ninja's mouth, rapidly heading towards the young ninja with hands clamped together again.

"Wind Style: Stream!" Naruto exhaled a stream of wind, rapidly pushing him out of the flame's trajectory, missing its target. The young Uzumaki landed on the ground softly, stood up, and stared at his opponent who had a smirk on his face. During the six months, the blonde ninja underwent elemental training once again to get stronger and as a result, he completely mastered his primary elemental chakra to the point that he no longer needs to do hand-signs to perform Wind Style Ninjutsu, but as for the other elements, that's a different story.

"You've really progressed, compared to our first battle. You tired yourself out easily when you used your Sage Mode, and your Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, trying to keep up with me," the Sage chuckled before continuing, "but now you're using the same amount of strength and speed without transforming or tiring yourself out. You should be proud."

Naruto smiled at the comment. "Thanks, sensei. It means a lot coming from you, but…" the elder Sage cocked an eyebrow, "I know you're not using half of your speed and power… neither am I." Naruto smiled at the Sage who smiled back.

"Very well, then. I'll shall push you and make you give up," declared the shinobi getting into his fighting stance.

Naruto readied himself and slipped into his Frog Kata stance. "Hehehe, you forgot one thing; I'm your descendant, meaning I don't know the words 'giving up'." With that, the two sages raised their chakra levels to fifty percent, surprising the audience, although the young sage's power is still low, compared to their ancestor's. The ninja stare at each other's eyes, waiting for the moment to strike. Then it happened.

"Now!" thought the two as they disappeared from sight. The two ninja made a beeline towards each other with their cocked right hands, ready to attack. As they got into strike distance, they launched their chakra-powered arms and collided. The contact created a huge shockwave that shook the ground, causing the audience to use chakra to stay steady and the two ninja disappeared again.

The battle went on for 10 minutes, eight minutes longer than the first battle at the beginning of the training. The elder sage and the young Uzumaki threw almost everything at each other; countering each other's attack with elemental ninjutsu, then genjutsu which didn't work on Naruto, thanks to Kurama and finally taijutsu. The two relatives countered each other's punches, kicks and so on, letting neither one to penetrate their defenses and finally they did.

Naruto and the Sage both punched each other's faces simultaneously, causing them to reel their heads back, and leapt backwards to get distance from each other. The young blonde had more bruises on his faces before, but is rapidly healing, courtesy of his partner's healing powers and his attire is starting to wear out, while his mentor has bruises and scratches on his face with his attire starting to wear out as well.

Neither of the ninja showed any sign of exhaustion, neither physical nor chakra-related, much to the amazement of the Senju. "I don't believe what I'm seeing; neither of them are tired from all that. I was expecting Naruto to, a least, show a little exhaustion by now," said a Senju Clan member.

"No, Naruto progressed far in his training and has become more powerful than he was when he first arrived here, " said a feminine voice. The clan turned around to find a beautiful woman in her early 30s with black hair, dark green eyes, and wearing a dark blue kimono with the stylized Rinnegan in the back.

"Ah, m-my lady Amari," bowed the same Senju Clan member, so did the rest of the clan. The woman sighed and walked closer to the one who bowed first. "I told you, all of you, that you don't need to do that to me or my husband. We are family, just as Naruto is family to us."

Everyone rose up with the Senju clan male saying: "Yes, madam, I apologize." The woman smiled at this and looked behind to see the battle and a smirk appeared on her face.

"I believe the battle is about to be over," said the wife. The clan turned around to see the Sage armed with a katana in his right hand and looked at Naruto with a katana as well with his right arm as his sword arm. Both of the ninjas' attires had been slice marks in critical areas, indicating they both dodged killing moves.

"Naruto, I'm proud that you've lasted this long. Much longer than I had expected, now let's see who shall emerge victorious in this battle," said the Sage pointing his sword at his protégé. Naruto readied his sword and closed his eyes, remembering all of his Kenjutsu training sessions with the old man and opened his eyes, knowing that this will determine if he pass or not.

The two Sages stared at each other once more, then charged at each other and with both yells of exertion; they swung their swords when they got in close range. Their swords clanged and the two ninja find themselves at the opposite sides where they stood before.

Moments passed by until the elder Sage fell to his left knee, using his right knee to support him. He clutched his stomach that was bleeding profusely, and Naruto walked towards him, stopping when he was in front of him. His mentor looked up at him with a black expression.

Naruto broke the silence. "So did I pass?"

"No, you failed," said the Sage coldly. Naruto widen his eyes in pain when he felt something pierce his stomach and looked over his shoulder to the Sage clutching his left side with his left arm with his sword arm connecting to his back. "I'm disappointed, Naruto. I thought I taught you to never let your guard down, even if your enemy is down."

The Uzumaki then smirked, confusing his teacher. "Well, sensei. I've learned back home in how to catch my opponents off-guard, even experienced ninja like yourself." The Sage widen his eyes when he suddenly found himself surrounded five katana-armed Narutos, sticking the blades close to the pressure points with two close to his throat. The Naruto pierced by the Sage's blade puffed in smoke after this.

The Sage started chuckling, soon laughing, which confused the Narutos. "Um, old man?" The elder ninja turned around slowly, while avoiding the blades, to face the one who was behind him who subtly gulped.

"You pass," said the Sage with an eye smile.

The Original Naruto blinked. "Uh, say what?"

"You pass," repeated the elder. The Narutos has smiles reaching their ears and cheered, not believing what they just heard. The clones dispersed, leaving the original laughing and cheering, with the Sage looking at the audience. "He passed."

"HUZZAH!" the collective outcry of the Senju as they sprinted towards their blood relative. Naruto cried out as he was carried and put on the shoulders of two Senju, cheering for him. "NARUTO! NARUTO! NARUTO! NARUTO! NARUTO!"

"Congratulations, Naruto," said the Tailed Beast.

"Thanks, Kurama," replied the blonde jinchuriki, letting his friend go back to sleep.

The sage looked at his relatives who looked at him. "YEAH!" Naruto replied with a fist into the air, making his relatives cheer louder. Amari soon joined her husband, both of them smiling at each other as they enjoy each other's company while looking at Naruto.

"Do you think he will do it?" asked Amari, looking at her husband. He was still looking at his protégé for a few moments until he looked at his beautiful wife and gave her an answer. "Yes, I believe he can do it…Ah, there is one final objective to be done."

Amari caught on what objective the Sage was talking about. "Honey, you don't know if it will work. You tried it and it didn't work, so what makes you think that Naruto can do it?" Her husband looked at her for a moment and said: "Because he is the one."

Amari was surprised by his answer, but smiled at the amount of trust and faith that her husband has for the boy. She walked with him towards the huddled group. Everyone stopped cheering when they noticed their ancestors approaching with Naruto stepping out in front of the group.

The Sage cleared his throat and said: "Naruto Uzumaki, you have grown exceptionally powerful since you've arrived in our humble home. You've grown closer to all of us since we are family. You've shown the strength of both Uzumaki and Senju, showing that the strong bond between our clans is stronger than ever. Your parents would be extremely proud of you."

Everyone cheered loudly, startling the young Uzumaki slightly. The Sage quickly raised his hand, cutting the cheering. "However this means that you are ready to retrieve the four Sealing Keys from the worlds that I sent them to and defeat the Ten Tails and save our world."

Naruto's anger rose when the Sage mentioned the demon's name and clenched his fists, but calmed down as quickly as his anger rose. He looked at the Sage and said, "Don't worry, sensei. I'll retrieve the Keys, defeat the Ten Tails, save the Tailed Beasts and our world. I'm more than ready."

The Sage nodded in agreement and continued. "However…" this caught everyone's attention, "there is one final objective that you must accomplish before you head on your journey."

Naruto, along with the Senju Clan was greatly confused by this notion. "Sensei, what do you mean that I have one final objective to complete? I completed your training and passed your test," asked a puzzled Naruto.

"You must rest, Naruto. You will start the objective tomorrow morning, you will need your full rest." The young Sage knew that he couldn't get an answer until the next morning and complied.

"Yes, sensei," Naruto bowed to his mentor. The Sage bowed as well and started walking back to the house. Soon the Senju clan followed their ancestors as did Naruto, noticing that it was already nighttime. "Wow, I can't believe it's night already," Naruto yawned and stretched his arms, "I should do what sensei said and get some shut-eye." With that, the shinobi continued to walk back to the house, preparing him-self for whatever he has to do to complete the objective.

Unbeknownst to the residents, a figure with a pineapple-shape hair was at the entrance, grinning.

-(The Next Morning)-

"You want me to do what now?" asked Naruto deadpanned. The young Jinchuriki was in a new set of standard Leaf shinobi attire with his headband and sandals. When he woke up, his mentor left him a note to meet him at the forge.

"You heard me; I want you to create a sword," replied the Sage.

Naruto was puzzled by this notion. "Um, Sensei, why am I making a sword? Better yet, I don't know how to make a sword, I'm not a blacksmith."

"You're right on that," said a voice behind the blonde. He turned around and his eyes widen when he saw a familiar face. The man looked exactly like his laid-back friend.

Naruto was at a loss of words. "S-Shikaku? Is that you?" He received a nod from the elder Nara. "H-how are you here? Never that, how are you?"

"I'm doing fine, despite being dead. The line at the check-in station for newly departed souls was a huge a drag. Just when I left the station, I heard about a living blonde whiskered kid being trained by the Sage of the Six Paths and I immediately thought of you."

Naruto smiled and rubbed the back his head sheepishly. "Yeah, thanks. So what are you doing here?"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at his mentor. "Naruto, Shikaku here is blacksmith and a darn good one, a prodigy. He made some of the best weapons in Konoha." The young Sage's eyes bulged out by this revelation and looked at the Shikaku.

"You were a blacksmith!?"

"Yeah, when I was in my youth," replied the Nara plainly.

Naruto was dumbfounded by his answer. "Does Shikamaru know about this?" Shikaku shook his head.

"No, but I will see him again pretty soon as well as the others." Naruto's ears perked up when he heard 'others.'

"Others? Soon? You mean-?" Shikaku nodded in anticipation of what the blonde shinobi was about to say.

Naruto smiled as hell. "Yes, I'm going to see my friends again. Tell me; how long until they get checked in?" Shikaku put his thumb against his chin, thinking about the time.

"Five days." Naruto cheered.

"Alright, that means I can see them before I leave," said Naruto happily. He soon noticed the frown on the elder Nara's face and looked at his mentor's face, having the same look. "What?"

"Naruto," the young shinobi turned to face his mentor, "the thing is that you must start your journey tomorrow and I want you to make your sword by tonight or tomorrow morning." Naruto was surprised by this revelation, but was more confused than before.

"Sensei, doesn't forging a sword take time like two days?"

"Actually two weeks," said the Sage simply, making his apprentice sweat-dropped at the tone. "You have an advantage going for you."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow in response. "What's that?"

The Sage responded. "Shikaku here will help you to forge your sword, but the process will be long."

"How long will it take with Shikaku helping me?" Naruto eagerly, wanting to get started.

"If you start now, you probably will finish by tonight or tomorrow morning." Naruto smiled after his mentor finished explaining.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started," replied Naruto, getting inside the forge, ready.

Shikaku chuckled and looked at the Father of All Ninja. "I will let you when it is finished." The Sage nodded in agreement and walked away, leaving the forge to rest in his house.

The elder Nara walked inside the forge, impressed by the tools and mechanics and he saw the young Uzumaki touched a tool that fell down and knocked over a few objects comically, making Shikaku sigh in response.

Naruto noticed Shikaku and sheepishly smiled while rubbing the back of his head. "Hehehe, my bad, so what do we do first?"

"First you must remove your torso," Naruto twitched his right eye when he heard this.

"Say what?" Shikaku sighed and pinch the bridge of his nose and looked at the Sage.

"Look, do you want to burn your attire while forging your sword?" Naruto stroked his chin as he thought about it.

"You're right." The young Sage removed his flak jacket, the dark blue long-sleeved shirt, leaving only his headband and pants on. "Okay, what's next?" He watch the elder ninja walk to a chest near the pit, prompting him to do the same. When Naruto was beside his friend's father, the latter opened the chest revealing seven glowing white rocks that filled the room, soon Shikaku closed the chest.

"Now, I must tell you about the material that we're using to forge your sword," catching the Uzumaki's attention, "the material is derived from the inside of a meteorite that fell out of the stars and crashed on our world."

Naruto widen his eyes in surprise as he heard of this. "Really? So… what's so important about the meteorite?" Shikaku glared at him, making the blonde to regret asking the question.

"The material from inside the meteorite was used to create the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths, which gave them their immeasurable power and abilities." As Shikaku explained, Naruto briefly remembered the two of the tools that he saw Obito summoned before reviving the Ten Tails.

"Okay, that sounds interesting, but I have a feeling that there's something else, huh?" asked the blonde, getting a nod from Shikaku.

"Yes, the material had mysterious properties whenever it was used to form weapons. It made the weapons lighter, stronger and more endurable than any other metal on our planet. We'll also combine the meteorite with the chakra metal that's used to create chakra blades, that way you would have a very strong weapon."

Naruto smiled. "Then, let's stop talking and start forging. Come on, help me get this thing starting." He looked at Shikaku still standing in the same place, making Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Old Man Nara?"

The elder Nara looked at the young Uzumaki. "I can't help you physically forge the sword. You must do it on your own." This surprised Naruto out of his mind.

"But I—"

"I will help you go through the process and the seven meteorite fragments are only enough for one more weapon. So you must be careful," declared Shikaku sounding so serious, causing the young Sage to flinch in response.

Naruto thought to himself. "Man, I liked him better when he was laid back." He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Shikaku call out to him.

"Naruto!"

The latter stammered. "Y-Yes, s-sir?"

"Let's begin. We only have tonight and tomorrow morning to complete your sword." Naruto stared at him with determination.

"Let's do this," As he opens the chest and picked up one of the glowing meteorite.

The entire day and night was filled with sounds of metal clanging, heat steaming and yells of pain from the blonde ninja as he accidently burns himself.

-(Early Morning)-The Following Day-

"Enough, Naruto. It is finished," said Shikaku as he commanded his temporary blacksmith protégé. The young Toad Sage had placed the newly forged sword into a huge tub of ice and water as the cold temperature will cool it down.

Naruto was covered with sweat and some dark powder-like bruises are present on his face, his chest and arms. His physique had changed greatly after the Six Paths' training; his arms are defined as well as his chest, six packs and his body is more lean than before.

"But, what about the cross guard? We haven't put that in yet?"

Shikaku raised his hand to silence the Jinchuriki. "Go to your room and rest. You will need all of your strength before you head out for your journey." Naruto was about to protest, but stopped himself as he knew that the elder Nara won't budge, so he nodded and left the forge.

The former blacksmith walked towards to where the sword is being cooled and stared at it. "Just maybe."

-(Later That Evening)-

Naruto spent the entire day, resting from the all-nighter he just went through. He was thinking about his newly forged sword but that was bugging him the most was the importance of the material that he used to forge the weapon. He was brought out of his thoughts and sleep when he heard a knock on the door.

"Naruto?" asked a voice.

"Yeah?"

"The Sage wants you in the training ground. He's got something important to tell you." Naruto groaned in response and opened his eyes.

Naruto yawned as he sat up. "I'll be there in 10 minutes." He heard footsteps walking away from his door and so proceeded to take a shower.

10 minutes later, the young Jinchuriki put on his Leaf Shinobi attire with his headband, the shuriken holster attached on his right thigh and a hip pouch worn over half of his lower back. He walked down the stairs and out of the house and he saw the entire Senju Clan, including Shikaku, sitting on their knees with the Sage of the Six Paths and his wife standing before them.

His mentor noticed him and gestured him to come over to them. The protégé complied and walked around his relatives and soon is standing before his ancestor. Naruto noticed a case on a table behind the Sage and realized that it was his sword inside.

"Is that-?"

The Sage nodded. "Yes, your sword is now complete. Here is your weapon," the elder ninja grabbed the box and opened it, hearing a gasp from his protégé.

He see a daito that has no cross guard. Alongside it was a black sheathe, but that's not all; the entire weapon is white; from the razor-sharp blade to the was in still in shock that he didn't hear his mentor call his name. After the fifth time, the Uzumaki snapped out of it. "What?"

"I said you may wield your sword," the Sage watched his protégé pick up his weapon and examined it. "Come on. I know you can do it."

Naruto stared at his newly forged weapon and felt a strange connection to it as if it's trying to tell him something.

"Naruto," The Sage catching the young swordsman's attention, "what are you going to name it?"

"Name it?" Naruto puzzled by this question.

The Sage nodded. "It is customary that we name our weapons once they're forged." Naruto looked at his sword again, this time closed his eyes. Time seemed to pass by as the young shinobi kept thinking about what name he should give until he opened his eye when he heard some form of chanting from the sword, that only he can hear.

Finally he found the name appropriate for his blade and looked at his mentor, who realized that he made his mind. "What is your blade's name?"

Naruto answered. "Tenkaichi." Suddenly the entire sword glowed brightly, making everyone present with Naruto covering his eyes as well while holding his sword. As quickly as the light came, it was gone with everyone looking at Naruto and gasped by what they saw.

The young Uzumaki opened his eyes and he was surprised by what he's seeing; his entire sword's color changed to black from the tip of the blade to the hilt and has a cross guard with four prongs that bent out to the shape of the manji. Then he noticed a short length of black chain linked to a small red circle dangling from the base of the hilt. He grabbed the chain to inspect the circle and realized that the circle is actually a replica of the swirl symbol of the Uzumaki Clan.

"Sensei, what does this mean? How did the sword change color, not to mention about the chain with my clan's symbol and the cross guard wasn't there before." Asked Naruto, demanding answers.

The Sage chuckled, confusing the blonde and his relatives. "The reason that I wanted you to forge your sword is because it is a part of you."

"Eh?"

"While you were forging the sword the entire time, the meteorite absorbed portions of your chakra and your soul. Therefore, your weapon is a part of you and you know your sword's true name. That is why Tenkaichi changed its color and the chain as well your clan's symbol and the cross guard appeared because this is its true form," replied the Sage. Naruto is shocked by this revelation and looked at his newly named sword, still processing that it's a part of him.

Naruto realized something else. "You knew about this, didn't you?" he received a nod from his mentor.

"Yes, because my blade was made by the same material but I didn't forge it," said the Sage placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. Naruto blinked his eyes as he didn't see it when he arrived.

"Am I really that dense to not notice his sword?"

His mentor continued. "One of the worlds that you're going to will have people, very powerful people, with abilities that rivals our people's abilites."

"Really? What can you tell me about them?" asked the excitedly Uzumaki.

The Sage shook his head. "That's for you to find out." Naruto pouted in response.

The first shinobi chuckled before a serious face appeared, causing everyone but his wife, to gulped loudly. "Now you must start your journey now. You are ready."

Naruto nodded as he sheathed Tenkaichi and slung it over his right shoulder. He turned right, walked for a few yards, then stopped. The Sage was a few feet behind him, both saying nothing to each other.

Finally the first Jinchuriki spoke. "Remember that there are four worlds that the Keys are located. To get to each of them, you first must pass through each Bridge World that connects the Four Major Worlds."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I know," the young Jinchuriki realized something else, "How do I know if I'm in the world where one of the Keys are located and how do I find them?" He saw the former Jinchuriki point at his stomach.

"Kurama?"

"Yes. Kurama was born when I used the Keys to help me split the Ten Tails chakra. He will be your compass and tell you if you're in one of the Four Major Worlds or one of the Bridge World." The Sage finished, receiving a nod from his young protégé. He smiled at his descendant, remembering the all time they spent together during the past six months. "Good luck, Naruto. I know you will succeed." He opened his arms with the young Sage complied, giving him a hug.

They soon broke the hug with Amari walking next to her husband. "Please stay alive and come back to us," said the beautiful woman, hugging her descendant.

Naruto broke the hug and looked over Amari's shoulder, seeing the Senju Clan walking over to their location. The Hero of the Hidden Leaf waved them good-bye, receiving waves of good-byes from them.

"Hold on for one moment," called out someone. Everyone looked to find a woman with bright red hair, a small diamond on her forehead, and she was wearing a bright green and blue kimono with a stylized Uzumaki Clan symbol on the back. Naruto smiled as he recognized the woman as his clansmen.

"Mito." The wife of the First Hokage smiled when she heard her name called. She walked over to her fellow jinchuriki and gave him a hug, which the latter hugged her tightly. The two Uzumakis bonded during the six months and Mito taught Naruto the history of their clan as well every unique fuinjutsu in their clan's arsenal. After a few moments, the Sage walked a few feet away from everyone, and closed his eyes.

"Kurama…" called out Naruto. The fox slightly opened his eyes, and growled a little for being woken up.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"It's time."

The Tailed Beast's eyes shot up, and raised his head slightly. "It's that time already? Very well, let's do this, Naruto."

"Yep, let's start the process." Naruto opened his eyes and started channeling chakra into his arms. Soon his regular blue chakra appeared in his right palm followed by Kurama's red/yellowish chakra in his left palm. He slowly put his palms together, creating a Rasengan-like sphere with yellow and blue chakra swirling.

"Now!" thought Naruto as he thrusts his arms forward, releasing the energy. The energy started to create a white portal that appeared in front of the young Uzumaki. The latter then stopped channeling energy as he felt that the portal was stable enough and started walking towards it.

"Naruto!" called out the Sage. The jinchuriki turned around to look at him. "Remember you must wait two months to open another portal to the next world."

Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "Got it… Thank you guys for everything and I promise you, I will not fail!"

The Senju Clan cheered and raised his fists high into the air with Naruto's fist in the air as well. The Toad Sage turned to face the portal and jumped into the portal before it closed.

The Sage of the Six Paths smiled at the spot where his protégé stood as he knows that his descendant will not give up in his quest.

-Unknown Realm-

Among a huge city covered by darkness, there lies a house with a satellite disk pointing to the stars in the sky, fences surrounding the roof and an odd smell of death filled the air. Suddenly, the atmosphere seemed to fill with electricity, then sparks started to appear and reacting with the area. Then a white portal appeared out of nowhere, causing the spot below to spider-crack followed by creating a small crater.

A familiar figure appeared, stepping out of the white doorway. As the portal closes, the figure sighed and looked up into the sky, staring at the moon.

"Beautiful moon tonight, huh?" Naruto thought to himself, then remembered the Keys, "I better check with Kurama to see if this is one of the Bridge World. Kurama!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Give me a moment…Oh, boy." Naruto became worried when he heard that.

"Kurama, what do you mean by 'oh, boy'?"

"This is one of the Bridge Worlds. I sensed around everywhere in this world, but no luck. That means one of the Keys is not here." Naruto hung his head as he and his partner needs to wait two months in order to travel to the next world.

"What am I supposed to do for two months?" He got his answer when he heard screaming coming from the side of the house, so he sprinted to the edge and was appalled by what he's seeing. Five disfigured and bloodied people, slouching with wide jaw distance, blank and rolled back eyes and have a pale skin tone. They surrounded a woman and quickly attacked her, feasting on her flesh.

"Well, you got your answer. You can kill those things," replied Kurama simply.

Naruto ignored his partner's answer while he was appalled at the sight of humans eating another human. "What the hell is going on here?" He noticed the cannibals turn around and started walking towards them, causing the Leaf shinobi to smirk.

"Oh, well," Naruto drawing Tenkaichi, "I might as well as try out my new weapon." He jumped down to the ground, landing in front of the disfigured humans and pointed his sword at them. One of them lunged at him with incredible speed, but Naruto quickly sidestepped to the left and swung his sword at his attacker's head, spilling blood across the area.

As the body dropped dead, Naruto looked at the rest of them and smirked at them. A second later, he was behind them with his sword dripping blood and the bodies' heads severed on the ground with the collapsed feasters. The Sage swung his sword to get the blood off and sheathed it, then he walked to one of the bodies, examining it.

"What are you doing, Naruto?"

"I'm checking to see if they can infect others by contact or something else," replied Naruto as he flipped one of the headless bodies face-up and noticed a bite mark on the shoulder.

"Soif they bite you, you'll turn into one of them." Kurama observed the bite mark and Naruto cocking his eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'them'?" I took them all out."

Kurama responded. "Take a look to your right." The Jinchuriki complied and his eyes widen in surprise when he saw a horde of the cannibals numbering around 50 or more, slouching towards him.

"WHOA! There's so many of them!" Naruto a little panicked. He heard his partner chuckle.

"This should be a cinch for you. You can take them out easily," Kurama replied, prompting his Jinchuriki to make a hand-sign.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough," said Naruto simply. A strong gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and headed towards the slow enemy. The wind technique collided with the cannibals, sending them back with great force until they're no longer seen.

The young Uzumaki sighed. "I better check for survivors, if there are any." He leapt high onto one of the houses next to him, then continued leapt across multiple houses while exploring the chaos-ridden city, looking for survivors.

As the Leaf Shinobi continued jumping from building to building, he started to give up hope of finding survivors until he heard a scream. He turned his head to the left and changed direction, heading to the origin of the scream and after a few minutes, he stopped on one of the buildings that were across the street from a building with lights on.

Naruto see a boy with an average appearance, spiky black hair, a slender but powerful build and was wearing some sort of uniform and was armed with a metal bat. He was a few feet away from an odd vehicle on two wheels standing next to a machine. The Sage noticed two more people standing on the opposite side from him and the sight was enough for Naruto's anger to rise slightly.

A man with dark skin, wearing strange attire was holding a teenage girl around his age hostage. The girl had reddish-brown eyes, long, light-brownish hair with bangs and two strands on sticking out of the rest of her hair and a slender figure with ample breasts. She was also wearing some sort of uniform as well. The dark-skinned man was groping the girl's left breast and declared making her his sex slave as their world was thrown in chaos.

The shinobi drew a kunai and reappeared behind the perpetrator, shocking the teenage boy with the former noticing his expression. "What the hell is with that look on your face? I told you to-"

"Let the girl go," Naruto in cold tone with his kunai near the soon-to-be dead man's throat. The man was in disbelief as someone got behind him and is preventing him from getting what he wants.

"You think I'm gonna hand over this bi-"he stopped when the blonde ninja pushed the kunai closer to his throat, almost to the point of piercing the skin.

The young Uzumaki glared at him coldly. "I'll say this one last time. Let…her…go…now!" The boy and the girl both felt the killing intent emitting from the stranger, except the perpetrator didn't what he was ordered to do.

"Ha, fat chance, blondie. I'm gonna kill you first, then the damn boy over there and after I have my fun with the slut here, I'll—"the crazy man didn't finish his sentence as his jugular and throat bleed profusely from the cut by a swift slice by the kunai. The man let go of the girl who ran to her friend, holding him tightly for comfort while the former grasped his throat, gasping for air then collapsed on the ground.

The two teenagers looked at the stranger fling his kunai to get the blood, then put the small blade in some sort of holster on the thigh. They see him wearing a very strange attire as well a black headband with a metal plate that had a weird symbol and a black katana slung over his right shoulder.

Naruto noticed them staring at him and smiled at the teenagers. "Are you all right, miss?" The girl reluctantly nodded. The ninja took a step forward, and suddenly the boy took out a weird weapon from his pants and pointed it at him.

"Really? I just saved your friend from getting raped by that crazy guy and this is the thanks I get?" The boy still pointed the weapon at him, soon shaking a little.

"We don't know if you'll kill us or betray us. After what just happened, I can trust nobody!" Naruto sighed as he understand what the teenagers went through and it is normal for them to react this way.

The Sage replied. "Look, if I wanted you to kill you, you'd be dead right now and you'd never find out how." The teenagers' eyes widen in fear when the stranger revealed he could kill them in an instant without them realizing what happened. The former then tried to calm the situation as he didn't want to try to take the weapon from the boy since he doesn't know what it can do to him or them.

"What are your names?" Both teenagers were surprised when he asked for their names and they did so reluctantly. "Takashi Komuro," replied the black haired boy. Naruto nodded and looked at the girl to give her name. "R-Rei M-Miyamoto."

The shinobi then gave his name. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He walked towards to both teens' ignoring the weapon in front of him since he'll dodge it or take it from Takashi before he knew what hit him. He stopped a few feet from them and extended his hand, smiling at them.

Takashi and Rei were surprised by Naruto's gesture and emotion as if nothing's happened and they were greeting for the first time. The former reluctantly lowered the weapon and extended his right hand, connecting with Naruto's and shook it for a few seconds before letting go.

"Sorry about just now, I-" Naruto raised his hand, stopping Takashi.

The Sage lowered his hand. "I understand completely as I would've done the exact same thing if it happened to me and someone that I know." The boy sighed in relief.

"Are you two the only survivors?" Both shook their heads.

Rei responded. "No, we got separated from our group and planned to rendezvous at the police station." Naruto nodded and looked around to see darkness surrounding them with the lights above them keeping it at bay. He looked back at the teens and asked what they didn't expect.

"Can I tag along with you guys? I can help you get back together with your group and find a safe place for all of you to live in." Takashi thought about it for a few moments as he observed Naruto. The blonde's appearance gives the impession that he can handle himself in a fight and could be a key member at fighting 'them'.

Takashi nodded in agreement as they heard groaning nearby. The trio looked to see 'them' everywhere, surrounding the building. "Come on, let's go," Rei as Takashi and her got on the motorcycle. The duo realized that it doesn't have room for Naruto and looked at him. "Sorry, Naruto, it's only meant for two."

The Leaf smirked, confusing his new friends. "Don't worry, I'll keep up." The high schoolers cocked their eyebrows and was about to ask how, but they noticed the undead getting closer and decided to ask later. Takashi turned on the engine and turned the knob, driving away from the station and Naruto. Rei looked back to see her rescuer disappear as they drive farther away.

"Takashi, what do you think he meant that he'll keep up with us?" Her childhood friend shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know but I hope he's all right."

"Ah, thanks guys," said Naruto. The two teens' eyes bulged out anime-style as they looked to their left to see Naruto running along-side them. The ninja chuckled at their reactions. "Don't worry. I'll explain everything about me once I get you back to your group, okay?" He received nods from them with Takashi watching the street as he drives.

Naruto continued running along-side his friends as he had something on his mind. "I'll get them and their group in a safe and secure place. That's a promise."o