Chapter One: Of Ghosts, Grumbles, and Grand Exits
There are many things one expects upon becoming "whole"—perhaps inner peace, a triumphant theme song, maybe even a parade if one is particularly optimistic.
Naruto, however, found none of those.
What he found was a blindingly white space, the sort that looked like it hadn't seen a dust particle in centuries. It was the kind of place where even shadows seemed too polite to intrude.
"What is this?" Naruto muttered, squinting as he looked down at what could only be described as himself, lounging below like an oblivious extra in a melodrama.
He waved a hand. Nothing happened. Tried stomping. Nothing. He even attempted a cartwheel, which went surprisingly well for a disembodied spirit—but still, nothing.
"I can feel the change in my mindset," he grumbled. "So why am I here? I mean, I merged with my dark side. That has to be worth at least a 'Congratulations' badge."
A voice, old and wispy like a particularly ancient teabag, answered before he could spiral further.
"You are here because of me, child."
Naruto blinked. "Alright, spooky ghost man, show yourself."
A gentle shimmer. A twinkle. And then—an old man in floating robes, beard long enough to braid and eyes so calm they made you want to confess things.
"I am Hagoromo Otsutsuki," the man said, hands folded like a kindly schoolmaster. "The Sage of Six Paths."
Naruto tilted his head. "You don't look like a sage. More like a guy who owns too many cats."
The sage chuckled, which frankly made things worse. Naruto took a defensive stance that was, regrettably, more dramatic than useful in spirit form.
"I brought you here," Hagoromo said serenely, "because you can no longer interfere with the world."
Naruto squinted. "You what now?"
The Sage waved a hand, and the scene below changed. His body—his actual, tangible body—was now walking away from a waterfall, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed like the star of a particularly sentimental anime.
Naruto scowled. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I apologize," Hagoromo said gently, "but the world needs that Naruto. The sweet one. The one with tragic optimism. You, my dear child, are far too… real."
Naruto blinked. "Real?! I am Naruto. What do you mean he's needed and I'm not? I bled for that village! I carried literal demons in my stomach! I earned everything!"
"I'm sorry," said the Sage, his voice like a soft rain on funeral bells. "You are human. Too human. Too angry, too bitter. The world needs symbols now. Not people."
"Well, I hope the world chokes on that symbol," Naruto spat, his voice trembling with rage. "Just send me to my parents or reincarnate me as a cactus. I'm done."
"I'm not killing you," Hagoromo said, looking genuinely distressed. "I just can't let you exist beside that Naruto. But I can send you to another universe. A fresh start. A new life."
Naruto eyed him warily. "What's the catch?"
"You'll have a body. Some small gifts. But I don't control where you'll end up. There are… a lot of universes. I'm not exactly a cosmic GPS."
Naruto was quiet for a while. Then he nodded.
"Fine. As long as I don't have to see that fake smile again. I never needed them anyway."
Hagoromo hesitated. "Do you want to leave a message for your friends?"
Naruto snorted. "They're not my friends. Konohamaru and the Ichirakus were the only ones who gave without expecting something back. Everyone else? A transaction. Just tell that fake me not to leave the Hyuga girl hanging. And if he chooses the pink one… I swear I'll find a way to haunt you."
The Sage smiled sadly. "I understand. Goodbye… Naruto."
Naruto looked away, heart bruised and eyes stormy. "Don't get all sentimental. Just do it."
And with a sparkle, a swish, and one last muttered insult about "overgrown moon priests," he vanished.
The Sage stood alone in the whiteness.
"What a sad child," he whispered to himself. "I only wish I could have done more."
-------------------
In a world brimming with magic, where dragons were not just bedtime stories and nobles still powdered their wigs on occasion, one very confused ninja stood in the middle of a very manicured garden.
Naruto blinked at his new surroundings—the air was clean, the flowers too colorful to be real, and there were fountains that actually sparkled. The garden, attached to a state mansion in the capital of the Baharuth Empire, looked like the kind of place where nobles whispered gossip and peacocks judged you silently.
He looked down at himself. His familiar orange and black jacket was back (thank goodness), but there was… a spear strapped to his back. And a gourd on his hip. The kind that practically screamed, "I am mysterious, possibly drunk, and definitely dramatic."
'What are these for?' Naruto frowned, tapping the gourd with suspicion. It sloshed.
"Old man gave me props like I'm in a stage play," he muttered. "Does he not know I've never used a weapon that wasn't sharp and thrown dramatically? I mean… a spear?"
He unstrapped it and gave it a few experimental swings. It whistled in the air, unnaturally light and disturbingly responsive.
"…Okay. This is definitely cursed. Or fancy. Or both."
The gourd, of course, didn't help. It jingled softly, full of something that definitely smelled alcoholic.
"Oh great, he wants me to drink my emotions," Naruto grumbled. "That old fossil is probably sipping tea and laughing right now."
But despite his grumbles, the ache in his chest hadn't faded. His gaze softened as he looked out across the strange garden.
'Even if they weren't always perfect… they became part of me. Gaara. Iruka-sensei. Konohamaru. They'll never know what happened. I didn't even say goodbye.'
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and activated Sage Mode.
And oh, did it feel good.
It rushed in with no resistance, like warm sunlight pouring into his bones. No frogs, no croaking, no puffing up like a balloon. Just clarity.
'Fast. Way faster than before,' Naruto thought with a small smile. 'Guess that's the Sage's parting gift—besides the emotional trauma and wardrobe upgrade.'
His senses expanded like ripples in water. Through the walls, over rooftops, down into the heartbeat of the city.
Thousands of lives, all fluttering like candles. Weak compared to shinobi, barely a flicker next to someone like Gaara.
'No chakra. Interesting. If they fight, it's with something else—magic maybe?' Naruto tilted his head, curious. 'Physical strength alone wouldn't be enough… unless they've got tricks.'
He began to walk toward the mansion like he absolutely belonged there, because let's face it, confidence was half the battle.
"I should check my chakra before doing anything flashy," he muttered, pausing mid-step.
With a quick breath, he pulsed his energy.
The result?
A small earthquake of chakra blasted out of him like a furnace opening in a library.
Birds exploded out of trees. A nearby gardener fainted. Somewhere, a cat probably had a religious experience.
"…Oops," Naruto said, not even a little sorry.
The reserves were vast—more than he'd ever had. Even without Kurama, he was overflowing.
'Kyuubi's restraint is gone. My control's sharper too. Guess even without the fuzzball, I've grown.'
He smiled. It wasn't smug—it was quiet. Determined.
No time to dwell. He formed seals, and with a familiar pop, eleven shadow clones filled the space like energetic staff members at a ramen stand.
"Alright!" he clapped. "Ten of you meditate, gather natural energy, charge up that sage goodness. Number Eleven—you're on scroll duty. I want these packages delivered like express mail to me when needed."
Clone Eleven gave a salute and zipped away, while the others immediately sat down and assumed dramatic meditation poses under a pear tree.
And just like that, Naruto turned back to the mansion gates and cracked his knuckles.
----------------------
"There are some disgusting filth living in this place… and two innocent souls."
Naruto's voice was a whisper, but it carried the weight of mountains. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dim light, his Sage Mode still active, the world painting itself in lines of life and intent.
Hatred.
It was not the kind that screamed. It was quiet, focused, sharpened like a blade long hidden in silk. It was the hatred of a protector—of someone who had seen too many fall, too many weep, too many suffer while the powerful played gods in ivory halls.
He moved.
Like a gust of wind, Naruto jumped through the open terrace, his body a blur of motion. The mansion was laced with wealth—silken carpets, glittering chandeliers, vases worth fortunes sitting in corners gathering dust.
But it all felt… hollow.
'Trinkets. Compensation for what they lack inside,' Naruto thought coldly as he stepped deeper into the estate.
His target was clear. His senses, trained and divine, had already marked the children—locked away, shivering in a room far too cold for their little hearts. And he had felt the ones responsible too.
The ones who had everything… and gave nothing.
He burst through the gilded double doors, into a room of velvet curtains and golden wine cups.
A man and woman turned to him, dressed in excess. Jewels hung from their bodies like ornaments on a tree—soulless, pretty, empty.
"Who—" the man began, voice heavy with authority.
But it never finished.
Pressure.
Raw, unforgiving chakra poured into the room. It struck them like a storm—bones groaned, knees buckled, and the man collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut. The woman choked, eyes wide with terror, hands trembling as if sensing that the very concept of mercy had just left the building.
'Filth,' Naruto's mind hissed. 'Those who abandon their own blood… who let children cry behind locked doors, deserve no place in any world.'
He didn't need jutsu.
He simply raised his hand—and the wind obeyed.
Like the breath of a god scorned, the air twisted into knives, slashing through flesh and silk alike. The nobles didn't scream.
There wasn't time.
They were erased—shredded, undone by a fury they could never understand.
Silence returned.
Naruto stood there, unmoved.
"My first kill…" he murmured.
He expected guilt.
He felt none.
"I thought it would hurt… That maybe something in me would scream. But all I feel is…" He paused, staring at the crimson flecks fading in the air.
"…Relief."
For the first time, he had acted on that quiet regret—that shadow in his heart he'd always ignored. He hadn't snapped. He had simply decided.
And it was calm. Cold. Clear.
"I looked away from it for too long," he whispered. "But it was always there. Waiting."
Without another word, he turned. No evidence. No footsteps. No scent. He was never here.
He moved through the mansion like a phantom, then toward the wing where the two children waited, curled up and afraid.
His face softened.
"…Let's get you out of here."
-----------------
The door creaked softly as it opened, letting in a rush of warm sunlight and a stranger unlike any the little girls had ever seen before.
He looked like a character out of a bedtime story—sun-kissed hair that defied gravity, eyes like twin pieces of a golden sky, and clothes that made him look more like a wandering knight than a man who'd simply walked in through the back garden. Slung across his back was a long, odd-looking spear, and a gourd at his hip made a quiet clink when he stepped forward.
The twins stared.
And then, in that solemn little way only very serious young girls could manage, one of them asked, "Mister, who are you?"
Naruto smiled at the little girl with the soft blonde curls and curious blue eyes. She couldn't have been more than five. He crouched down slightly, his voice warm and soft—like honey melting over toast.
"Hello there," he said kindly. "My name is Naruto. I'm here to help you."
The little girl blinked, then tilted her head with the kind of wisdom that only children seemed to possess. "I'm Ureirika," she said quite proudly, clasping her hands together. "Save us from what? Our older sister won't let anything bad happen to us."
Behind her, an identical pair of eyes peered from the bed—wide and cautious. Her sister hadn't spoken, but she had moved just a little closer, standing at the edge of the bed like a soldier watching the gates.
Naruto's smile never faded. He loved children—always had. Especially ones like these. Pure-hearted. Sincere. A little nervous, but impossibly brave.
"To save you," he said, lowering himself into a nearby velvet chair, "from the bad adults in this house."
There was a pause.
"Yes," said the second twin—her voice soft, almost dreamy. "They are bad… but our sister will protect us."
Naruto chuckled lightly. "Is that so?"
Both girls nodded in solemn agreement.
"Well," Naruto said, resting his chin on one hand and tapping his fingers playfully against his cheek, "then I suppose I'll wait for your sister. And while we wait… how about a magic show?"
Their eyes lit up like lanterns.
"Yes, please!" Ureirika clapped her hands excitedly, and even Kuuderika, the quieter one, sat down on the bed with a hint of curiosity on her face.
Naruto closed his eyes just a little, focusing.
He had only recently mastered this—not long ago, genjutsu had been like trying to juggle soap bubbles with chopsticks. But now, it came easier. The old man had taught him well… even if forgiveness might take a while.
He lifted a hand—and with a small flick of his fingers, the room changed.
The ceiling turned into a soft, swirling night sky full of floating lanterns and tiny dancing stars. The floor beneath them glowed like water lit by the moon. Cherry blossoms drifted gently down, as if some invisible wind stirred from a dreamland.
The girls gasped.
Ureirika spun in a circle, trying to catch the petals in her hands. Kuuderika's eyes widened like saucers, and a tiny, amazed smile crept onto her face.
"Magic!" Ureirika exclaimed, holding out her arms. "You're a wizard!"
Naruto laughed—a soft, easy sound. "Close enough."
And for the first time since he had arrived in this strange, uncertain world, Naruto felt something lift in his heart.
For just a little while… he wasn't a warrior, or a killer, or the man with darkness curled beneath his ribs.
He was just a magician, sitting in a room full of dreams, with two little girls who believed.