Author's Note: My latest chapters of Naruto: Maoyu inspired me to write this.

I figured, since I was drawing on historical figures to add to my fanfic, why not do a proper crossover with the series that started it all! Fate/Stay Night and all of its other titles, all pushed into one story.

Here's my attempt at a Naruto/Fate crossover.

NARUTO

Grand Order

Prologue

OOO

"The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by." – Felix Adler

OOO

(Seven years after Kyuubi)

Sadness, loneliness, and boredom.

These were three of the only words Naruto could come up with that accurately matched the sensations that he was experiencing at that moment. Despite the fact that he was currently walking down one of Konohagakure's busy main strips on a warm, Saturday afternoon, surrounded by dozens of people out and about with their families and friends, the blond still felt undeniably and unquestionably despondent. And it wasn't the first time he was experiencing this either.

By his count, this was probably the second longest stretch of isolation he'd had today. And this wasn't counting the previous stretches he'd had over the past week. At one point Naruto thought he'd managed to break the slump when he kindly attempted to return a ball to a little boy who'd accidentally dropped it while walking past him alongside his parents. The second he tried to approach them though, the group quickly hurried away from him as fast as they could without breaking into a full-on run.

The moment had left the youngster standing there feeling both bewildered and emotionally wracked, as not only did he fail to return the child's ball to him, but the parents had also fled while leaving behind a few parting and hurtful words in their wake.

"Stay away from that boy, son."

"Huh? Why, dad?" the innocent youngster had asked.

"Trust me. He's nothing but trouble," the mother replied. "You're not to speak with him or go anywhere near him. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes."

"That's my boy."

Though they'd initially thought Naruto had been well out of earshot when they said all of this, the blond was still able to hear the very mean whispers the parents had discreetly shared with their son.

Their words cut through Naruto's chest like a wave of kunai and left the youngster in a state of utter grief and melancholy. After dropping the ball and letting it roll off to the side of the road to be forgotten, the youngster then took to wandering the hidden leaf's crowded streets once again- with his hands in his pockets and an incredibly glum look on his face. All the while he was left contemplating to himself why things were the way they were, and why his life was so bad in comparison to everybody else.

Why did everyone in this village seem to hate him?

Why did everyone he tried to get close to push him away?

Why didn't he have any parents?

Why didn't he have any friends?

Why was he alone?

These were just some of the many questions that Naruto found himself asking every time he wound up walking the streets of his booming hometown. The words just spun circles around his head, repeatedly disappearing into the recesses of his head before reappearing at the very forefront of his consciousness- reminding him constantly of the unfortunate circumstances he'd been afflicted with.

Granted there were many who were probably far worse off than him in other parts of the world, all Naruto knew was that his situation was pretty damn poor… and he hated it.

He'd even sought out answers to the questions for himself on a number of different occasions. A few times Naruto had tried asking the villagers he ran into why they looked down on him and treated him like garbage. But despite all his pleading, crying and shouting, all he received in return were a collection of cold stares, cold shoulders, and the occasional careless shove to the chest. Heck, at one point, a shopkeeper had gone so far as to push him out of his store while he'd been admiring some of the festival masks that were on display. Naruto didn't even have the opportunity to ask the angry manager why before he was promptly warded away.

Thankfully this had happened only one time, which made the blond glad that being forced out of public areas and shops wasn't a regular occurrence. However, that didn't mean the rest of his existence wasn't a complete bundle of misery.

It'd been like this for Naruto for as long as he could remember. Understandably the entire experience had left him feeling incredibly jaded and perpetually broken up about living in Konohagakure, as everywhere he seemed to go he was always met with the same reactions over and over again. Either complete and utter separation or cold expressions of indifference.

It was like he was a piece of trash tumbling on the wind- a presence that nobody acknowledged or even cared about in the slightest. The thought of it brought a sickening sensation to the pit of Naruto's stomach, which only served to increase the displeasure and discomfort he was feeling in that moment.

For whatever reason, this particular period seemed several times gloomier for him than the last.

He was also feeling quite hungry, which made him feel even more under the weather.

Picking up the scent of something delicious hanging in the air, the spiky haired youngster in the white shirt and green shorts stopped in his tracks and craned his head across the road, where he quickly spotted the cozy little shop famously known all around the village as Ichiraku's Ramen.

Having visited this store a number of times before, Naruto was able to make out the distinct, intoxicating aroma of miso ramen broth seeping out through the cracks of the curtains hanging over the entrance to the establishment. The scent's caress almost lifted the youngster's body off the floor with its irresistible tang, with the pull from his senses also causing his toes to curl and his hair to stand on end.

Seeing that the seats were already filled with a number of adult patrons- with the exception of one stool at the end of the bar- the blonde's immediate thought and instinct was to go over there and join them for a late lunch. However, after checking his pockets and the allowance he had left over from the beginning of the week, which was only about a couple of ryo, Naruto realized that he didn't have enough for a single serving. The audible growl from his guts, punctuated by the clamor of the busy streets around him, caused the whiskered boy to slump forward in disappointment.

Figuring it would be best to save the money that he still had for tomorrow, the youngster slowly turned heel and jogged in the direction of the outskirts of the village- to the hills and forests resting alongside the Hokage Monument.

"Guess there's only one thing I can do, dattebayo," Naruto said to himself, his youthful face brightening somewhat with anticipation.

Since his options for purchasing food in town were extremely limited, the blond decided to go for the more affordable option instead. Whenever he was low on funds and scraping towards the end of the working week for his next payment, the blond would always run out to the woods, and go fishing and scavenging for his meals.

OOO

(Sometime later)

Naruto's occasional trips out into the wilderness of his village also gave the youngster the opportunity to brush up on the ninja skills he'd been practicing at the academy. Though his abilities overall were quite dreadful when compared to the rest of his companions, a fact that often brought about a great deal of frustration to the blond, he was still pleased with what he'd been able to accomplish thus far.

Really, the only tangible things he could take pride in out of his questionable repertoire of skills was his incredible physical strength and endless bouts of stamina.

It was these two aspects that the whiskered blond spent the remainder of his afternoon testing out in the woods. After sprinting through the golden grass fields lying just in sight of the village's main mountain, Naruto then began running the makeshift obstacle course that he had spent weeks forging through the forest. Hurtling over one boulder after another, as well as overcoming the numerous trees covering the landscape, the blond would intermittently pelt rocks towards the painted targets he had hanging from the branches and hidden behind bushes. From the way they were dented and faded in multiple places, it was clear he'd used them quite a bit, which became even more apparent due to how well he placed each shot.

The loud clacks of pebbles striking the circular boards rang true throughout the woods, adding an extra beat to the environment that could only be heard from a person hard at work.

Eventually, after performing his practice run of the vicinity and crossing the waterfall, Naruto eventually stumbled across a large grove. Here, the kid managed to get his hands on several mushrooms growing amongst the foliage, along with several other herbs and vegetables that were often found in this environment. Being able to tell the poisonous plants from the safe ones, the youngster was able to gather quite an array of flora in his arms, before then making his way over to the nearby stream.

Managing to find the rod and lure he had hidden away in an empty log, the blond settled in for a quiet afternoon of fishing. That hour he spent by the brook allowed him to pull up a whole swath of fish, which he quickly piled up and brought to the top of the tallest, rocky outcrop in the area. After gutting and deboning his catch with surprising proficiency, he then set them onto stakes and got a small campfire going, where he then positioned the fillets around the pit, and began cooking them for dinner.

The shroud of night soon crept over the horizon to replace the light of evening, and Naruto- feeling somewhat reinvigorated and refreshed following his little outing to the forest- was able to enjoy a good, hearty meal of river food and mushroom soup. From the way he was able to come up with all of this by himself, without the aid or assistance of any adults, showed just how capable he was at surviving out in the world on his own. Despite all appearances, the youngster was incredibly resourceful and bright when the situation called for it- though he often didn't seem like it in public.

In the privacy of his own personal space however, isolated away from the rest of the village, Naruto was able to show his true colors and his true strengths.

Of course, since he was still growing, there was still much about his habits and behavior left to be refined. Case in point…

Biting into his fish kebabs with a finesse comparable to that of a hungry wolf, the youngster with blue eyes and blond hair gorged on freshly cooked meat and herbal soup for the next hour. Sitting there, cross-legged in front of the open flames, while the sky above him darkened and gave way to the sparkling veil of night, Naruto soon found himself in a rather surprising, but familiar scenario.

Though the young orphan had often come out here to hunt, train and ponder over certain things in the past, as the boy sat there staring into the embers of his fire, Naruto was suddenly reminded of the afternoon Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had ventured out here to join him.

Having taken up the guise of an old hermit living in the hills, the village leader had stealthily approached the child with the intent of spending time with the orphan and checking to see if he was alright. After introducing himself as a kindly stranger and playing along with the role of a friendly villager, the pair then sat down together and spent the rest of the evening talking, sharing the fish Naruto had caught, and gazing up at the stars.

After setting down his empty bowl of mushroom stew and staring up at the vast, clear skies above him, the child couldn't help but smile as he replayed the entire scene in his head. It was one of the few memories that the youngster could fondly look back on without regret, as it was one of those times that allowed him to forget about most of the troubles he'd been experiencing in his life- if only for a short while. This wasn't just because of how surprising and enjoyable the moment had been, but because of how significant it was to the youngster and how deep the conversation became.

Naruto remembered how the Third had told him about the billions of stars floating through the cosmos above him, and how each of them was just like their world's sun- each one blazing as brightly as the other. Their lights wove an endless tapestry of infinity before them and stretched far beyond any known distances and futures.

"This world is boundless… both in scope and in possibility," Hiruzen's comforting voice echoed through Naruto's head, causing the youngster to blink as his eyes shimmered at the sight of the Milky Way belt floating over him. In that instant, his irises seemed to reflect the light of all those he could count within his gaze. "No matter how old or young we are… every single one of us are but infinitesimal specks in a much greater plain. The only question that we can truly ask ourselves is how much more brightly we'll be able to shine amongst the others."

On the morning following this chance encounter, while he was up on the Hokage Monument, Naruto had come to realize that if he wanted to be recognized and acknowledged by the people around him, to make a big enough impact in the world, and change people's perspectives of his character, he just needed to keep on trying and keep on being the best self he could possibly be. No matter what he did and no matter what waited for him in his future, he was always going to be him, and no one else. This realization had helped to cheer the youngster up and move forward from that day, bound by a newfound sense of strength and purpose.

Nonetheless, after the rather weary stretch he'd had to endure today, the child realized that the path to making his tiny speck of light the brightest of them all, was going to be a long and arduous one. Though Naruto was confident enough in his strength that he would be able to accomplish this someday, he just wished that he had at least one person in his life that could be there with him- to support him and encourage him.

Simply having the Third's words of wisdom, as well as Teuchi and Ayame's counsel in those brief moments of levity, simply weren't enough for him. Not by a long shot.

The loneliness he felt every day- at home, at school, and out on the streets- weighed so heavily on his person and spirit that it hurt. Even during moments of pure respite, when nothing particularly bad had occurred to him in the hours beforehand, the child couldn't help but clutch his chest or shed a lone tear of inner pain.

A saddened look remained on Naruto for a few minutes as he continued to gaze up at the stars. But as he watched them twinkle and gleam against the black shade of canvas upon which they were fixed, his frown slowly morphed into an expression of resolve and fortitude. Reaching up towards the shining curtain above him and clasping the heavens within the palm of his hand, the youngster inhaled.

Companionship. Friendship. That's what he wanted right now. That's what he needed more than anything. If he was going to start working towards a better future and making a difference in his world- to brighten his flame and become someone people could look up to and depend on- he knew it had to start there. To simply have the presence of another who could fill the void of loneliness in his heart, to help guide him along the right road, and make him feel like he was striving towards something just and true, would be just the kick he needed to make his first step.

It didn't matter if he had dozens of friends or just a few. If it was just one close friend… a good friend and a kind friend… someone who could be there for him in the best and worst times… that would be enough.

"Things will get better. I know it will. All I have to do is make it happen," the boy said to himself, at the same time allowing his hand to drop to the ground next to him as the fire in front of him gave a loud snap against its tinder. "I just wish I wasn't alone anymore…"

In that moment, the heavens themselves suddenly answered his call.

All of a sudden, Naruto's eyes widened when, up in the night sky, he saw one of the stars in the belt suddenly begin to pulse and brighten from the others surrounding it. At first the blond had to rub his eyes, as he thought for a moment that he was seeing things. But when he looked back seconds later, he suddenly saw the bright light suddenly intensify, before a massive explosion- similar to a supernova- suddenly went off in the sky directly above him.

At first the boy's jaw dropped when he saw the ring of multi-colored space dust ripple out from the source of the detonating star, which caused his head to crane around as the wave washed across the stratosphere and swept over the village like a freak aura borealis. After seeing the wave vanish over the horizon, Naruto quickly looked back towards the heart of the cataclysm where, amidst the bright, fiery clouds billowing out from the recently combusted celestial body, he saw a massive hole suddenly form.

This gravitational anomaly caused the burning clouds to separate with a loud boom, which ended moments later when the abnormality finished expanding. What inevitably resulted from the seemingly cataclysmic explosion in the sky was a massive hole in the sky about several kilometers across, an event that was only visible thanks to the fact that all of the clouds surrounding the object seemed to fallen into a gentle orbit of the variant- similar to the eye of a hurricane only much more defined.

To Naruto, it was probably the most bizarre and spectacular thing he'd ever seen in his entire young life. Though he could still see the stars glittering behind the anomaly, the sky itself looked like it'd been warped thanks to the appearance of the spatial hole. The entire thing had actually caused the boy to stand up and gape at the irregularity now resting amidst the heavens.

What followed next however would change Naruto's future forever.

As he gaped up at the hole in the sky, the youngster suddenly saw something gleam from the center of the wormhole in the clouds, which began coming closer and closer toward the earth. Watching the unidentified flying object for several seconds, the blond youngster then gave a loud gasp when he realized the ball of fire shooting down from the hole in the clouds was heading straight towards him, which prompted the youngster to take several steps back before running towards the edge of the hill.

Looking back after covering several paces, Naruto saw the shooting star was still plummeting towards his hill and seeming his very spot. His face reflecting a clear look of terror- as well as the light from the golden ball drawing ever closer to him- the blond gave a loud yelp of fright and ducked straight down. When he did, he covered his head with his hands in preparation for the impact to come, as well as his certain death.

A loud roar similar to a blast of wind filled then filled Naruto's ears when the small comet of light shot right over his head, before arcing down and dropping towards the grove at the bottom of the rocky hill. The whiskered-blonde's eyes blinked open in surprise when he realized he was still alive and, after glancing around his part of the rock, then turned his attention down to the clearing just in time to see the bolt of light settle atop the grass.

The moment it stopped, the bright sphere of light pulsed and vibrated on the spot, filling the dark forest with a warm, ethereal white glow.

At first completely baffled by the sight of the mysterious, unknown object, the previously terrified Naruto slowly stood up before cautiously making his way down the steps of his hill to investigate.

Of all the things he'd seen happen in the village in the last few years he'd been allowed to wander the community of his own free will- as it was typical for children living on their own- this was the most unique and amazing thing he'd seen. Obviously for a kid as curious and inquisitive as he was, there was no way he could possibly ignore the allure of such an interesting phenomenon- especially since it was glowing.

The fact that all of this just seemed to happen at his word made the situation all the more fascinating.

When Naruto managed to make it down to the clearing from his high spot on the hill overlooking the area, the youngster cautiously approached the shining aura. Drawing closer to it, the blond quickly noticed that the ball of light was actually ovular and very tall- about the same height as an adult male. The light it was also emanating seemed to generate a light wind from its epicenter as well, which could be seen from how the grass beneath the floating object seemed to blow and waft gently beneath it every time its form pulsed.

Stopping just a few feet from it, the whiskered-orphan swallowed nervously before attempting to reach out towards the tall object. Feeling the warmth emanating from it, Naruto stopped for a moment when he realized that the light may have had some mass to it. But before the child could confirm for himself exactly what kind of matter it was composed of, the child suddenly saw the surface of the light suddenly fracture and crack in multiple places, before crumbling away like the shell of an egg.

The shards cascading to the ground and disintegrating on contact caused Naruto to take an alarmed step back, as the boy unexpectedly found himself staring at the last thing he expected to come out of the husk of light.

From the crumbling shell, a beautiful young woman of average height and curvaceous build stepped out. However, unlike the adults Naruto remembered encountering before, this woman was completely white all over. She had white skin, long white hair like silk, and bright red eyes that seemed to glow just like the rest of her form. To compliment her regal appearance, the woman was also shrouded in a white dress with a short skirt that hugged at her body, exposing her midriff and the underside of her breasts, and a robe that hung from her arms and draped down her back like a cape. She also wore an impressive crown atop her head, which looked to be made of similar material to the rest of her garments.

To top it all off, the glowing sheets of fabric were decorated by red linings along the edges- particularly on the robe- and gold linings on the crown and her main dress. There were also a series of golden circles embroidered down the front of her uniform, with two red circles painted over her stomach- one over her solar plexus and another just above her belly button. This made it a total of seven circles.

Needless to say, she was probably the strangest and most mystifying thing Naruto had ever laid eyes on.

The instant the shell fell away and the celestial being stepped out of it, the blond orphan watched as her feet gently touched down on the grass. The funny thing was, she didn't even make physical contact with the green blades, as she seemed to float on air with the few steps she took. Stopping just a few feet in front of the boy, the woman seemed to take a quick survey of her surroundings, before her captivating red eyes looked down at the boy in front of her.

At first Naruto thought that he should run. A being coming down from the sky and appearing before him bathed in a heavenly glow didn't seem like something he would want to have a close encounter with. But for some perplexing reason, the moment he felt her eyes land on him, Naruto had a calm wash of warmth akin to serenity flood through him. All uncertainties and fears that he was experiencing in that very moment seemed to melt away, and were replaced by nothing but the unmistakable sensation of serenity.

In that moment, Naruto knew that this person didn't come here to harm him. Not in the slightest.

His beliefs were confirmed when, through the glow of her personal light that seemed to cause her robes to waft on a nonexistent breeze, the beautiful woman clad in white gave the whiskered youngster a gentle smile. Upon which she then brought up her right hand and held open her palm.

Naruto then watched in slight bewilderment as the young woman suddenly produced a golden ball of light out of thin air, which solidified and transformed into a golden sphere encased in stone, with what looked like a petroglyph of statues inside of it of several women surrounding a golden chalice. From what the boy could admire as he gazed upon the object, it was certainly a very impressive and captivating artifact.

All of a sudden, the woman spoke in a calm, soft voice that seemed to echo with many like her, "Take it."

Blinking as he looked up at the woman, the youngster glanced between her and the golden sphere a couple of times, before wisely deciding to accept it. Clasping it between two hands and feel the warmth of its glow radiate against his palms, Naruto then pulled the object closer and stared down at it.

After admiring the treasure for a moment, the orphan then looked back up at the woman. "W-Who are you?"

In response, the celestial being gave him a warm, serene smile, before leaning forward and gazing into his eyes. "You will be the one… to save us all."

Naruto blinked in confusion, "Huh? Save us all? What do you mean by-" He was unable to finish his question however, as the woman suddenly leant forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead. When the blond froze in shock from the sudden gesture, he suddenly saw the woman's body brighten into a golden light, before suddenly dissipating in a cloud of ethereal embers. These embers enveloped the whiskered youngster, leaving him standing there in a state of complete bewilderment.

Upon seeing the air in front of him clear, Naruto continued gazing ahead of him for several moments. He was eventually brought back to the real world when he realized that the woman was no longer standing in front of him. After looking back a couple of times to see where she went, he then had his attention brought back to the sphere he'd been handed, which he saw vanish in a golden flash, which seemed to sink into both of his hands. Jumping back with a start as the glow faded into his palms, the youngster tested his hands to see if they were okay, before then looking ahead of him again.

"W-What in the world just happened?" Naruto asked, clearly baffled by what had just transpired. Scratching his head after seeing that the woman and the thing she'd given him was nowhere in sight, the blond then looked back up at the sky. Unsurprisingly, the hole in the clouds was still there, glistening with the cosmos clearly framed within its center. The sight of its continued presence was enough to settle the blonde's rather troubled heart. Though it did leave him a bit suspicious. "Did I… Did I fall asleep at the top of that hill? Was this all just some weird dream?"

The kid tried pinching himself just to be sure. Sure enough, after a shot of pain bolted through his cheek, Naruto quickly realized that he wasn't dreaming when he saw that he was still standing in the same grove and the unnatural hole was still floating in the sky in the form of a ring of clouds. The sound of crickets chirping about him and the feel of the night breeze against his face also certified that he was still awake, and that everything that'd happened in the last few minutes, and certainly happened.

Figuring that maybe he should get out of there before any more balls of light started falling out of the sky to give him things, Naruto headed back to his cooking site, put out the fire, and quickly made his way out of the forest back into the village. As he did, he tried to put his mysterious encounter with the strange white lady out of his mind.

But even when he hit the edge of the village's administration district and started towards the main strip down the packed boulevard, the blond couldn't shake the feeling that something very significant had happened.

Exactly how important that moment was wouldn't become apparent until later that night. As soon as the boy stepped through the threshold of his lonely apartment at the edge of Konoha's West Residential district, and he was greeted by the dark, empty halls of his home, the youngster kicked off his sandals, threw off his shirt, and headed straight to bed.

XXX

(Naruto's Dream)

The taste of sweat and blood remained ever-present in Naruto's mouth. It was a sensation that seemed both foreign and familiar to him at the same time, as the vessel that was the blond in question stood in the middle of a seemingly barren wasteland, surrounded by dusty, towering mountains scorched black from flames, and a field covered in swords of all shapes, sizes, and origins.

The weapons were impaled in the ground like stakes and stretched across the battlefield from one horizon to the next, like a glorified field of grass. The quantity of weapons present was literally unaccountable, as it seemed like they stretched on forever. But of course, they were but a minor detail compared to the rest of the valley surrounding the exhausted, battle-worn Naruto.

Bearing the stature and appearance of a young warrior seasoned by years of battle- the orphan of blond spiky hair, whiskers, and adorned in an orange battle jacket and dark pants- saw the telltale signs of mountains the size of asteroids hovering in the distance, a dying sun hanging high above them, and a tree bigger than any he'd ever seen before on earth, lying fallen on its side across whatever mountains were standing on his furthest vanishing point.

There was only one word to describe the unbelievable sights that lay before Naruto. Surreal. That was the only thing that sprang to the young man's mind as he reached up with a bloodied hand and smeared the blood trickling down his chin across his face. This caused a very beastly print to form across his chiseled mug, which quickly became framed by a hungry and excited grin.

"You okay, Naruto?" a voice called out from the blonde's side, which prompted the young man to look across to his right flank. The moment the older orphan's eyes fell upon the hill next to him, he saw the distinct form of a young man with black hair and wearing grey battle robes with the Uchiha Clan symbol on his back rise up from the dirt and dust himself off- all the while clutching a katana in his right hand. "You still alive over there?"

In response, the wounded Naruto, after yanking a golden knife out of his knee, tossed it aside. "So far, so good, Sasuke!" After seeing the teenager smirk back at him, the blond then snapped his gaze to his left, where he saw a third person- a beautiful girl with pink hair and wearing a red kimono gi, kneeing beside him. "What about you, Sakura-chan? Are you still able to fight with us? Or do you need to take a breather?!"

The girl with short hair and green eyes, also bleeding from multiple wounds, grinned back at the boy and nodded, at the same time revealing a series of black tattoos running down her face from a diamond imprint on her forehead. "I'm always able to fight, Naruto-kun. These scratches are nothing that I can't manage… even if they were made by a shower of enchanted halberds."

Hearing this caused the fire in the older Naruto's eyes to light up, as he quickly turned to the battlefield ahead of him. Straightening up and taking a fighting stance, the youngster spat the blood from his mouth and called out. "Alright! If we're still alive and kicking, then let's get this golden bastard!" The moment he shouted this, all three teens leant forward, took a step forward, before launching themselves across the sword-covered battlefield at blinding speed.

They moved so fast and with so much power behind their legs that their respective take-offs caused the ground that they'd been standing on to explode from the force.

Darting across the battlefield, the trio split up and converged on a lone hill. On it, a tall man of average stature, yet sporting impressive golden armor and golden hair, stood with his arms crossed and a very annoyed look on his face. The instant he saw the three young adults move from their assembly point and begin approaching him, the mysterious individual clicked his tongue in displeasure, before suddenly conjuring in the air around him a wall of golden seals that rippled into view.

The circles forming a protective dome around him as the three shinobi dove at him from three different angles, the annoyed warrior gave an irritated grunt. "Unsightly mongrels. Fall to your knees and perish with the rest of your kin!" With that gutsy yell, the man suddenly unleashed a wave of golden weapons from the portals around him, which shot through the air like missiles towards his three respective targets.

A deadly, aerial ballet then took place as Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura sprinted around the man's position- dodging, ducking, and avoiding the weapons that shot across the battlefield around them and tore the ground to pieces. Hills and mountains in the distance ended up smashed and pulverized by the waves of weapons that overshot their intended targets, with many of the weapons detonating on contact and causing explosions akin to low-yield nukes. The entire countryside around them was peppered by the countless blades the man launched from his sealing circles, which seemed to appear out of thin air around him on command.

After watching the trio sprint around him for a few minutes, dodging his weapons and even deflecting a few of them, the golden haired stranger snarled irritably before spinning around, where he saw Sakura charging at him with her fist drawn back and a yell leaving her lips. "Damn, mosquitoes! You dare raise your fists to a divine being like me?" In the blink of an eye, the warrior then summoned another series of portals in front of him and launched several more weapons at the girl, who'd just managed to come to within a few yards of him. "Disappear!"

The blades shot through the air and seemed to impale the pink-haired kunoichi as she was sprinting towards the blond individual. However, much to the armored man's surprise, he saw his blades pass through an afterimage of her that continued running at him at full speed. When the weapons detonated against a cliff in the distance, the golden warrior took a step back in surprise.

"What?!" Eyes widening in alarm, the man then growled when an explosion right next to him destroyed several of the portals he'd produced to defend his flank. When a powerful flash of blue lightning struck the ground a few feet from him, the golden warrior looked up in time to see a massive, glowing, purple suit of samurai armor with wings swinging down at him with a massive sword, with clear intent of cutting the diminutive figure down.

Standing in the crown of the enormous titan, Sasuke had was glaring down at the man with one eye blazing red with a Sharingan and another with a ringed purple eye of a similar design. With a roar, the young man made his attack on the warrior in gold.

In response, the lone enemy gave a yell and conjured out of thin air a series of chains, which snapped around the purple titan and wrapped it up in the blink of an eye. A blast of wind rippled out when the armored warrior's chakra sword shuddered to a halt, as the chains the golden man summoned out of the air stopped its movements dead in its tracks. This caused the user of the energy suit to balk in alarm, as he saw the spiky haired male below draw back his free hand and conjure up another series of glowing portals beside him.

"Do you honestly believe your pitiful tricks and magics will be able to harm me? A being who resides amongst the heavens and stands above all of creation?!" the man barked furiously, at the same time tightening the chains binding the enormous Perfect Susanoo being wielded by the Uchiha, before preparing to hit it with another wave of enchanted weapons. "Well, you're wrong! Know your place, you miserable curs!"

"Know your place, you pencil-haired prick!"

The sleight towards his appearance caused the glowing warrior's eyes to widen in rage, as his gaze then snapped behind him. All of a sudden, a series of cloud bursts occurred throughout the air space all around him and across the entire battlefield. All of a sudden, an army of over a thousand teenage Narutos suddenly burst from the stratosphere of smoke and began raining down on their stationary target- all of them screaming at the tops of their lungs and all of them producing swirling blue spheres of energy between their collective hands.

As they swiftly approached the battlefield below, the spinning balls of blue chakra instantly grew to tremendous sizes and masses, with many of them crackling and sparking with different elements- including lightning, lava, magma, fire, earth, and water. The energy clusters appeared in the sky surrounding the golden warrior like a cluster of celestial bodies within a single sector, which then plummeted towards him like a barrage of oncoming comets.

Eyes widening slightly at the sight of the attacks, the man in golden armor roared as he spun about, waved his hand through the air, and summoned another wall of golden portals that protectively encompassed his position in a heartbeat. "Fool! Does your feeble mind think that your finite number of bodies can stand up to my infinite number of sacred treasures?! Come and try it, rabid dog! LET'S SEE HOW THAT WORKS OUT FOR YOU!"

A blinding flash of golden light then occurred as the thousand portals that opened up around the golden man unleashed a massive torrent of weapons. The spears, swords, arrow and other projectiles were fired in every direction imaginable at the exact same time, tearing not only through the army of oncoming Narutos, but also the towering titan of Sasuke's Susanoo. The sheer number of attacks fired in that instant created an explosion similar to a thermonuclear warhead going off right in the middle of the battlefield, which tore apart the ground around them, shredded the Susanoo, and ripped a crater a kilometer wide in every direction.

Rubble and smoke belched out across the battlefield in a blast that could be seen from orbit of the dead planet. Of course, within the confines of the battlefield itself, the golden warrior that'd launched this defensive attack stood proud and proper amidst the vortex of debris. His expression showing no amusement at all, he quickly scanned the battlefield around him to see if he had finally done away with the pests he'd been battling.

However, the moment he saw the first cracks in the wall of smoke begin to form, his expression then became one of shock when his eye caught the flicker of a light behind him. When he wheeled about to face the oncoming light, the man saw the wall of smoke in that area part, and a still miraculously alive Naruto come charging out with his hands drawn back and a long claymore glowing brightly in his hands.

"EEEEEEEEX-" the blond screamed as he sprinted right at the man in golden armor, who he saw take a quickly step back and reach out with his other hand.

"MUTT!" the man roared, a portal opening up directly beside him and quickly depositing a new blade in his hand- one that had a black, cylindrical blade and resembled the base of a golden lance. "KAIRI KEN: EAA-" (Sword of Rupture, Ea)

"-CALIBUUUUUUUUUUUUUR!"

Both blondes struck out at one another at virtually the same time. The moment they did, their blades seemed to clash and generated an impact that caused a blinding white light to rip from both weapons, before the roar of an explosion greater than anything that'd taken place beforehand, split the planet in half…

(End Dream)

XXX

(Midnight)

Naruto woke from his slumber with a start. The kid sat up from his pillow so fast that the blankets that'd previously been splayed out over him flew across to the end of his bed, leaving him sitting there with his eyes wide, mouth agape, and his body clad in only a pair of blue underwear.

Panting as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dull moonlight seeping into his small apartment, the seven-year-old youngster looked about his place in alarm, before quickly reaching up with his hands to pat at his body. Feeling a bit of sweat on him, the child ignored it in favor of seeking out the injuries he recalled having been afflicted with over the course of that battle that'd been raging on that far off world.

Of course, it took him about a few pats and several seconds of collecting himself before the whiskered-youngster realized that it'd all been a dream. Upon looking down at himself and seeing that he had no gaping wounds or injuries to speak off, Naruto then exhaled in relief and looked back up with a half-lidded, exhausted gaze.

"Man… what a crazy nightmare," the kid thought.

For some reason, his day had been taking a lot of unexpected turns and detours down the routes less travelled. First he sees a star explode in the sky above him in a technicolor display never before witnessed by a mortal man. Then a gravitational wormhole forms in the clouds, which then proceeded to spit out a small meteorite of energy that almost took him and his hillside out. When that didn't happen and the projectile of light touched down in the clearing next to him, a woman of unknown origins suddenly steps out of it and gives him a golden ball as a present- before both of them disappeared.

And then, after all of that happened, he was now having dreams involving him in a more grown up form, fighting battles in what he assumed was some sort of apocalyptic future against a Demi-God.

Being the grounded kid that he was, Naruto knew right away that these dreams couldn't possibly be real in any way. After all, the blond couldn't recall ever visiting a place even remotely similar to the one he saw in his dream- a barren wasteland covered in swords, with a collapsed tree the size of a mountain lying in the distance, and a red sun hanging over the land, which seemed to be literally falling apart and spitting tectonic plates into the vacuum of space. That was just complete and utter lunacy. A fantasy brought on by a probable fever or a bad case of stomach flu.

The absence of any ailments on his person though led Naruto to conclude that he wasn't sick or ill in any way. However, the events that'd transpired over the course of his working day did lead him to believe that he was probably suffering from some kind of post-adrenaline stress or excitement. Perhaps surviving a close-encounter with an energy comet and then a magical girl, was likely resulting in some very fantastical, unconscious imaginings on his part.

"I need more sleep," the orphan mumbled, figuring that maybe a few hours of extra shuteye could help calm the demons that were plaguing him. He then leaned forward to grab his covers, only to stop when he noticed something weird on his stomach. "Huh? What's that?"

Looking down at his abdominals, which he remembered always being bear up until this point, Naruto saw that a series of black markings had appeared around his belly bottom, all of which were composed of very muddled looking kanji surrounding a black swirl. In addition to this, there were also a series of strange red tattoos, which unexpectedly emerged around the black seals, forming a web of interwoven patterns that defied all logic and translation.

Baffled at the tattoos that'd appeared on his person, the young academy student slowly lifted a hand and gently touched one of the markings. The second he did, all of the red symbols suddenly lit up at once, transforming into a hot, burning marking that caused Naruto to recoil and scramble back slightly across his bed till his back slammed against the headboard.

"Whoa!"

Before he could comprehend what was happening a loud bang in the room over followed by a flash of blue light from down the hall. Spotting the anomaly via its aura, the alarmed Naruto sprang from his bed and sprinted towards the source of the phenomenon. Passing through the hall, which he found was flooded with a warm wind of mist and embers, the youngster then came upon his living room where his couch and book shelf was. When his eyes landed in the middle of his main room, his body froze and his breath caught in his throat.

Standing in the center of his room, surrounded by a whirlwind of swirling blue light and energy, he saw a tall figure standing upon his floor space. Unlike the figure he witnessed before, this curvaceous, luscious figure was that of a woman, clad in silver and blue armor that did not originate from anywhere in the Elemental Nations, a red flowing cloak, and a silver helmet forged to resemble a lion's head, complete with a mane of fur surrounding it and the visor resting beneath its top jaw.

At first she stood at perfect attention within the room- her short blue battle skirt and battle cloak waving on the winds of her calling, which slowly dissipated within the cozy space of the blonde's domicile.

When the mist lifted seconds later and the woman turned about, Naruto felt the stranger's gaze fall upon him, which caused him to take a cautious step back.

Before he could ask who this person was, the sound of metal clacking suddenly filled the room, as the woman's chest armor plating shifted back. Plate by plate, the layers of her helmet retracted and dropped past her collar and shoulder guards, shifting into positions amidst her beautifully carved and elegantly engraved body-plating. When all of her helmet retracted, leaving only her head framed by her lion's mane, the face protection revealed to the young Naruto a woman of long blonde hair tied into a top bun, leaving two long bangs framing an exquisite face, capped by a pair of sharp, emerald eyes that were filled with life.

Above her immediate, striking beauty that shone with a sword-edge beauty of a seasoned warrior, the golden haired maiden also wore a crown atop her head.

Naruto felt his heart literally skip a beat the moment he saw the cool beauty's gaze fall upon him, which caused his once stiffened stance to relax.

The moment she looked upon the boy, the tall woman suddenly brought forth the long, spiraling, silver lance she had concealed beneath her robe, before driving the tip into the floor in front of her and puffing her chest out, which remained covered by her knight's armor.

"I am Artoria Pendragon: King of Knights, Ruler of Great Britain, and warrior of the Lancer Class," the woman spoke in a calm, yet womanly voice, punctuated by a tone of pride and confidence. When she saw the shirtless Naruto blink at her, the woman with golden locks allowed a gentle smile to cross her lips. "Tell me young man… are you my Master?"

TO BE CONTINUED…