Demons. If there was one thing he truly hated, it would be them. They had corrupted and destroyed the perfect world he had built with his children. Lucifer, father of demons, mighty among the angels, had wished to create and lead beings of his own. To become a god in his own right and leave his Father's side. This ambition lead him to madness and evil.

One thing never changed throughout his time as an exile from Heaven: whenever he met a demon he killed it. Whether it be a sentient human-looking one or raving, blood-starved beast like the one he just killed. Their souls all held the same evil, it didn't matter what they said or how they looked.

"Us, demons? No, well, we do have some drops of demonic blood I guess but there haven't been any real demons in ages. Only the first inhabitants of Hell were called demons, all the others called themselves devils, I'm quite sure," she kept smiling at him. It was a nice smile and it would have fooled most, but not him. He could see the twisted ambition that lies beneath, she was after something. He could see the hunger in her eyes - it was sickening.

Devils, formerly named demons, who adored Lucifer to the point of adopting the title given to him in hatred and disgust. Although Naruto hated Demons the most, Devils came in at a close second. He narrowed his eyes at the group.

"... I understand. You are a group of devils," he turned his gaze to Issei. "Does that include you? Have you been corrupted as well? Are you one of them now?"

Issei raised his brows in surprise, though the action seemed to take considerable effort due to his exhaustion. This had most likely been his first time using the Longinus in battle, after all.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, Rias saved my life after this crazy fallen angel attacked me."

His heart clenched painfully at the mention of a fallen angel. Many of his children had taken the news of his apparent death… very poorly. Others fell after many years, unable to resist temptation or unable to care anymore. The Archangels did their best but they were missing some of their core members. Among them was Ramiel, Archangel of Hope, something Heaven was sorely lacking right now.

"As I told you before, you could potentially be very important for the future safety of all the worlds: Heaven, Earth and Hell. To realise this you will have to leave your group of devils and come with me," Naruto motioned towards the door, expecting Issei to follow.

Issei furrowed his brows and frowned, "Look, man. I'm not sure what kind of ideas you have in that head of yours but I'm not interested. Rias gave me a far better deal than your shitty 'you might help the world one day', so go away!"

Naruto took a step forward and gestured widely with his arms, "Even if your opportunity to save the world is not a sure thing, is it not a greater purpose than merely living as you otherwise would? It is true that you are not the linchpin on which the whole thing depends but what if it all does come down to you? What if the opportunity does arise and you are not there to take it? Would it not be worth sacrificing everything else, just for that one moment?"

Issei scoffed, "Why don't you just get it through that thick skull of yours, old man. Rias promised me my hearts desire. Once I become a Devil with high enough status I will have so many girls I won't know what to do with them all!" His expression turned lecherous toward the end of his little speech, then serious as he continued, "I care about that a hell of a lot more than I do the world."

Naruto's eyes widened. Had the System failed him? No, he made it himself after all. Only those with pure and strong souls should be gifted the Sacred Gears. What had happened here? Maybe there was something he could uncover at a later date. It would be best to leave them all alive, lest Issei became truly corrupted by evil.

"I won't let you take away Issei!" The red-haired one stated very firmly, as if she thought her voice carried some kind of authority.

Looking over at her, he said, "I must admit it was my plan to take Issei and leave this place." Her eyes hardened, the group seemed to get ready for a fight. They did not want to lose their Longinus, huh. "But, seeing him now as a Devil and… unlike the man I thought he was. I think I will leave him with you, for now." He turned around, preparing to walk out of the church turned battlefield.

"You best leave Issei alone forever, or else!" What was her name again… Rias? She was the one Issei had been talking about.

His already short list of reasons for keeping these demons alive was being eroded away by every noise they made.

He stopped and tensed, then let out a sigh. "... Or what?" He turned to meet the girl once more, though he knew this was a bad idea. He was upset, he had lost a great asset and even worse, he'd lost him to the demons. Now they were taunting him.

She smirked in a way so foul that only a demon could pull it off. Her entire aura reeked of arrogance and pride - again, it was sickening. "As the heiress to house Gremory, one of the 72 pillars of Hell, I wield a lot of power. I could have this church swarmed with High-Class devils so fast your head will spin. Or I could use political power to exile you from wherever you live." She flicked some hair out of her face then struck a pose, pointing a finger at Naruto. "Nobody messes with House Gremory! And even fewer messes with my peerage!"

Summon demons to punish and kill him? Not to mention the very idea of using politics to harm him… it was all beyond laughable. He actually cracked a smile and chuckled a little as he said, "Listen, girl. Your threats are meaningless before someone like me. I don't care if you are related to Lucifer himself, whatever power you have deluded yourself into thinking you have does not exist."

Her disgusting smirk just grew, "Not even if I'm related to Lucifer himself, you say? Well, are you sure about that? What if I am the younger sister to one Sirzechs Lucifer, formerly Sizechs Gremory, the current leader of Hell?"

Naruto's entire aura changed at that point. It was as if the previous, white-robed, kind saviour had disappeared. In his place stood a warrior with his blade at their throats, facing them, ready to destroy.

"... Answer my question, demon. If you do not answer truthfully I will kill all of you." His cold words cut through the battered and exhausted group like a knife. "Why did you turn Issei into one of you?"

Issei was nearby, she remembered. She was about to say that she had come across him dying and he wanted to continue living, even if it meant giving up his humanity. Issei had told her he did not remember much from that night anyway and telling the truth to this stranger… seemed like a bad idea.

Her mouth opened. Her vocal cords began vibrating with the intention of speaking, she was going to say it. "urghk-..." Her eyes shot open as she stumbled.

"Rias!" Someone yelled. It sounded like a woman, maybe Akeno. She could not be sure, everything was spinning.

"I will give you another chance, demon. I know telling the truth does not come easy for your kind but I know your own survival will always trump your schemes. You are all cowards before someone stronger." Naruto said, letting his aura, his killing intent, diminish.

After taking a few shaky breaths to compose herself, Rias once more looked at the man before her. He was staring her down, it looked like he was hoping she was going to repeat her mistake just to give him an excuse. Just so he could kill them. He looked surprisingly, or rather terrifyingly, confident that he could.

"Yes… I understand," she coughed. "I'm in an… unfortunate situation and need his help. It happened that he was dying and I was able to get there in time to turn him."

"Why were you able to get there in time? Were you nearby or were you keeping an eye on him?"

"I-…" She glanced at Issei, "I had been waiting for a good time to recruit him, yes."

Naruto scoffed, "There you go, Issei. That is what you abandoned your humanity for. The depravity, the manipulations and most of all the greed of the demons will now be yours as well. You, who could have risen above other Men and become a Hero among Heroes, will now serve evil as her slave." Finally, he turned and walked towards the exit. This time, nothing stopped him.

"I wish I could say that I hope you do not come to regret your decision, Issei, but I have no sympathy for demons."

He was back on square one. No, it was worse than that, he had wasted time. The person he had been placing some time and hope in had been a waste of time. Now he's a demon. Every second the enemy draws nearer without Naruto having found a champion.

Maybe his standards are too high. Maybe, instead of looking for a Hero, he should look for the ones with great heart but no amazing power. True power is not something one is born with, it is not a blessing or weapon, it is the will to push yourself beyond your limits for the sake of what you love. He knew better than most that even those without any real talent could become truly amazing if given proper guidance and motivation.

He thought back to the Old World, he thought of the faces he could still remember. It had been so long. No matter how powerful he became he could not bring them back nor turn back the clock. Those two aspects of reality are simply absolute and unchangeable by external forces.

No man can make that which is dead return to life, the soul is already gone. No man can travel to the past, it has already happened. It is beyond what even Naruto can do.

He only remembered a few names. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura. His team. Konoha, his village. Jiraiya, his teacher. And Kurama. He frowned. Kurama... He increased his pace. Kurama was a name he would never forget. No matter what.

He could remember a green-clad young man training harder than anyone else. He was born weak but become very strong. He was the sort of guy he was looking for.

He kept walking until he once more came across civilisation, it didn't take long considering the speed of one such as himself could move. It was a small rural village and he decided to stay the night. Maybe he'd be able to find something interesting here.

The sun was still high in the sky when he arrived. He felt like mingling with the men and women of the village and so walked around it for a bit, looking for a place to have dinner.

The village was true to his initial observation. There was not anything special about it, which was perfect for his needs. They had one restaurant and one hotel. The restaurant was more like a booth and the hotel was just big enough for a handful of rooms, but it would most certainly do.

"Hello sir, if you're hungry you've come to the right place!" A middle-aged man pointed to the menu above him. "What can I get ya?"

Naruto took a look at the menu, they didn't serve anything fancy. Chef's recommendation: Chicken and rice.

"I will have the chef's recommendation, please." He said, a bit displeased they did not serve his favorite food. He could have used some of those noodles today.

The man grinned and threw a towel over his right shoulder, "one chicken and rice, coming right up!" The chef retreated into the back of the booth to prepare the meal, leaving Naruto alone.

A familiar voice spoke up from behind him, "Man, you sure are fast! It took me a while to catch up. Though I am known to be a bit of a slacker." A familiar laugh sounded.

"I don't know what you have against devils… or how you know of their old name: demon." He took the seat next to him, facing forward. "But let me tell ya, heh. Those kids are actually alright. The brown-haired one is even a pervert!"

The newcomer looked to Naruto with a smile. As soon as he laid eyes on him they widened to ridiculous proportions, his mouth went fully slack and it felt like the inside dried up like a desert.

Wait...

There, sitting before him, dressed in a traditional white robe, was none other than The Dead God. Or, as some had been hoping for so long, The Missing God.

What the hell is going on...

There had of course been many impostors, thousands upon thousands of mortals tried their hand at naming themselves God. But that title was reserved for one being, only. They were quickly found out and, eventually, were not looked into any more.

This is...

This man was however clearly no mere mortal. He shared the same eyes as those of the true divine once had. It felt like you could see the entire Universe when looking into them, as that is what He saw. No other being had eyes like those.

If his eyes weren't enough proof then his aura convinced him. The way he sat, the way he moved. This man had clearly lived longer than mankind, than the air he breathed, than the water he drank and the dirt upon which he walked.

Only Michael, the first living being created, had even started to develop such an aura. And Michael was regarded as an old man even among the Angels. There had been a considerable gap between the creation of the first angel and the second. Michael was widely known as the oldest angel, and was sometimes even refrered to as 'old man'.

"D-dad?!" He yelped as he fell out of his chair.

The final piece of proof, though, came from the mouth of the man himself.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "Azazel?!"

The two stared at each other for a while before Azazel stood up. "Father! Why are you here?! Are you alright?! Where-... Where have you been?" He suddenly grew very conscious of his raven wings. The sign of his betrayal.

Naruto's face shifted into something mournful, longing, "Azazel. There are things in this world that are hidden, even from me. There is a great foe out there, amassing power even as we speak. He has invaded at least once. I am sure he plans to do it again."

"So you've been off fighting him somewhere? But you've been away for so long?"

"Forgive me for speaking in riddles but I have and I haven't." Naruto answered.

"Could you explain, I don't understand. Who is this enemy and why did you have to leave? We all would have fought with you!"

"Azazel, none of your brothers or sisters are as clever as you, now listen to what I will say. I was not gone because I was actively fighting the enemy, I had managed to defeat their leader by sealing him in the Moon."

"As expected of Father, well done-" Azazel was about to praise before he was interrupted.

"-It came at a heavy cost, however. I had to seal him away along with all of my divine powers. They keep on powering the seal. If I ever retrieve my powers, the seal will break and the enemy will escape."

Azazel could only gape. His Father, the most powerful being there is had not just sealed away his power, such a thing was believable since he'd been believing he was dead up until now. He had also met someone as strong as himself. Said enemy sleeps in the Moon, that's a scary thought.

"But Father… I still don't understand, why were you gone so long?"

"I had to stay on the Moon. I had to make sure he would not escape. Under no circumstances would I allow such a thing, even if it meant isolating myself completely from all other life for… a long time." He closed his eyes as he thought of the loneliness on the surface of the damned Moon. "You see, in the beginning, he refused to give in and rest. He would fight against the seal as hard as he could. I was unsure if it would hold. I had to stay nearby and be on guard to fix anything that might break. Of course, nothing ever did. Even today, I still check up on the seal every now and then, using my powers."

"And now you're here. In this little village. Because you have some kind of plan, I assume?"

Naruto smiled at his son with the hidden black wings, "Yes, you could say that. Will you help me?"

With teary eyes and a shaky smile he laughed, "Yes, Father!"

The grin he received in return was great but the hug was truly as if he was blessed by God.

"It has been a long time. It is good to see you, my son."

"Yeah, it sure has. It's good to see you too, Father."

It was night out. You could barely see your hand in front of you, the stars weren't shining and the moon seemed to have disappeared behind fog. Two men alone in the forest had no trouble seeing, however, as their world was lit by magical seals, cast by the former Archangel Azazel. Seals to anchor their position, so they could teleport back here in the future. Though he did not see the point in doing so, his Father insisted. He did not see what was so special about this village and when he asked his Father he merely replied with "Nothing. There's nothing special about this village, Azazel. That's why it's perfect."

He did not understand. But how could he expect to fully grasp to magnificence of his Father's, the Creator's, plans?

He laid down magical seals of light, so he would stand a chance at getting anything at all done.

He laid down magical seals of silence, so potential enemies would not overhear them.

All the while, his Father stood over his shoulder and watched him work. Like when he was younger, when Father would teach him how to draw magical seals. "You know, I am not a child anymore, Father. I have done a few of these over the years..." He said with a warm smile.

Naruto chuckled, "I just can't help myself."

Naruto watched Azazel stand up and pat his clothes to get rid of some dust before turning to him.

"You know that I am a Fallen Angel, right?"

"I noticed, yes."

"... And are you angr-"

Those eyes bored into him with such intensity that Azazel nearly fell on his ass, "Tell me Azazel, my son. Do you hate your brothers and sisters? Do you hate Heaven? Do you hate Mankind?" He paused. "Do you hate me?"

Azazel's froze yet again. This was becoming too much for one day. "N-no! I love My brothers and sisters! I love Heaven, the home we all built together! I love Mankind, they are like our children! And I love you, the one who gave life to us all, who raised us all, who loved us all, the one who started everything!"

"Then what do you have to fear, Azazel? You are no Lucifer!" The sheer determination with which those words had sounded really shook Azazel. Every Fallen had compared their betrayal to Lucifer's at some point. To hear the ultimate being say they are not the same was... relieving, to say the least. Redeeming.

Naruto stood tall, his back was straight and he seemed to exude a kingly aura as he spoke. "Listen well, Azazel. I will get back to Heaven, one day. I will sit with my children again and the world will be like it once was. When that day comes your wings will no longer be black. I made your wings, I can sure as hell change their colour." His Father clearly believed that his powers being sealed away was no obstacle in this quest. Or he had some other plan. Or... maybe he was powerful even without his magical powers.

Azazel laughed as his tears fell, eons of carrying the greatest of burdens leaving him. His Father wasn't disappointed in him, he wasn't angry with him. Fallen Angels weren't like Lucifer just because they had Fallen. When Father sits upon his throne again he will make everything alright!

For Father to reclaim his throne he'd ideally need his powers. But if he retrieves them the powerful enemy, whose name he still doesn't know, will break out. Maybe there was some way to retrieve his powers and keep the enemy sealed, replace Father's power with some other source? Hm, but what could replace Father's full divine Might?

His intelligent mind was working overtime, he knew that when it came to power Father was beyond every other being. Nothing in this dimension even came close. Only rumours of the Infinite Dragon and the True Dragon, but not even he knew much about their power. They appeared sometime, in the gap between the different dimensions Father had created. They kept to themselves and Father told the Angels not to disturb them, it was a rule that was never broken.

Even years after Father's apparent death he had continued to follow his rules. There was always some manner of wisdom behind what he said, even though none other could see it. It was often best just to do as he said.

If the two dragons prove to be powerful... they could put their power into the moon, thereby freeing Father! He gasped.

"Father, I have an idea. The two great dragons in the dimensional gap may have the power necessary to power the moon. We could replace your power with theirs!"

Naruto look to Azazel for a moment then rasied his eyebrows in surprise, "Yes, Azazel, they might. That was a very good idea. Those two dragons are quite powerful, actually. We just need to convince them to part with their power." He chuckled a bit. "I jest but it is a good idea."

The Fallen Angel grinned from ear to ear, "before we start gathering people for the upcoming battle, there's some people I know would really like to meet you."

"People who would like to meet me? I hope we are of the same mind, Azazel."

"I am sure we are, Father. They have been waiting for a long time."

A half-chapter, kinda. Just felt like getting this one over with. Not really happy with it but wanted to get on with the story. Next chapter we'll be done with the introductions and can sink our teeth into the real stuff. Hope you've enjoyed.

I've had 'a lot' of complaints regarding chapter 2. More specifically Issei's role in this fic. It was never my intention to have Naruto as a "Background-character" guiding Issei. I hope this chapter makes that 'very' clear. I already have the ending for this shitty story planned and this chapter was vital. Bye losers.

P.S Really tryharded by extending this chapter by around 2k to get to 20k in total on the fic. So if scenes seem drawn out, yeah they are.