Chapter 1-Sephroth's Apprentice

(A/N: I don't own Naruto. Nuff said!)

The Kyuubi was a nine tailed demonic fox, which had the power to destroy mountains with a single swipe of its tail, could smash through the trees just as easily as one could breathe, and fueled with the desire to kill everything in its path while destroying all that stood in its way.

Right now the Village Hidden in the Leaf was standing in its way.

Its Shinobi were standing in its way.

And the Yondaime Hokage of the Leaf was standing in his way.

With a child in his arms?

The most powerful of Demon Lord saw this with anger, as he found this to be insulting to his demonic pride, and the very notion of a mere child having the power to defeat him was almost laughable if it wasn't so insulting to the fox. The Kyuubi wasn't looking to see something laughable at the moment, but rather destroy all that the people of the Leaf held dear, and right now these two were a pretty good start.

"Prepare to die puny human!" said Kyuubi, as he saw the Yondaime on the giant Toad Boss Gamabunta, and saw the blonde haired man look down at the blonde haired boy with grave looking eyes.

"Forgive me son for what I must do. Forgive me Naruto," said the Yondaime, as he now kissed his son right on the forehead, and began making seals to prepare the boy for a life of burden despite his wish to have the boy seen as a hero.

The Yondaime was so caught up in this act of selflessness in sacrificing his own son, he failed to notice a man hiding in wait with interest in what was going to happen, and had some idea of what was about to happen. The figure's name was Zeon, a very powerful SOLDIER Commander of the Shin-Ra Corporation, and at the moment out of his own world.

Quite literally!

Zeon didn't know how it happen, but it was clear that his Wutai foes had done it to get rid of him in a more permanent fashion, and even then they failed miserably in trying to end his life. Still, the place he had landed was quite interesting unto itself, as the thriving life around him that was nature seemed to be in amass abundance here unlike in Midgar back home, and while this had no form of influence on him...it seemed rather...nice.

In a strange creepy way.

'Fortunately for me, my would-be banishers didn't complete what they did, and I sense a means to return home. However, there is time to watch, and observe this little marvel of a moment,' thought Zeon, as he watched with anticipation, and saw the blonde haired man in robes call out something after finishing his hand signs to summon the one being that Zeon was not one to cross so lightly given his slightly weakened condition.

Discretion was the better part of valor.

Besides, it wasn't like the Shinigami wanted his soul at the moment, and judging by the way things were going...the boy was going to have quite the house guest.

It wasn't long before the Kyuubi in all its defiance (however fruitless it was), fell to the stronger grip of the Death God pulling it into the body of the little boy, and seeing the man make seals all along the child's body. Soon after doing so, the Shinigami left with its prize, a man's body now soulless for that very same reason, falling down on his back, and the cry of a child filled the night.

Walking towards the crying child, Zeon knelt down, and examined the boy to find faint whisker like birthmarks of all things on his face. Zeon suspected this was a side effect of such a sealing, which meant that the instant people came here, they would know what happened to the fox, and would know that it was still alive in the boy.

Then the cold reality of humanity's true nature would settle in on things they do not truly understand and wish for the child to be killed if not have a life of misery. Even now Zeon could see this child had such potential inside of him and even then it was apparent before the sealing of the fox. Now the child had Godlike potential that would be stunted out of the fears of the village fearing a second coming of the fox that would be a self fulfilling prophesy if they had there way of doing things.

He couldn't allow that.

Picking up the crying child, now remembering the blonde's name was simply Naruto, the SOLDER Commander sensed people coming his way hearing the child's crying. With a quick sleeping spell, the boy was silenced if only for a time, and Zeon needed to find out how to get home while at the same time needing to stay away from these Wutai carbon copies in the area coming this way.

Vanishing quickly into the shadows, Zeon watched from a safe undetectable distance, as an aging man white robes now walking upon the battlefield of death, and had a look of sadness at the fall of his successor. Behind him were Shinobi of various ranks of Jounin, Chuunin, and ANBU looking around the area for anything out of the ordinary.

"Sensei is dead," said a young man in his teens with his headband slanted down covering his one eye, as he looked down at the man, who had raised him after his Father died, and taught the masked Shinobi nearly everything he knew.

"Yes Kakashi. He died a hero and will forever be remembered as one. Though what is troubling me is the lack of the Kyuubi's remains or the child used to defeat the demon," said the Sandaime, as he frowned at the scene, and felt that the boy's disappearance was the only thing wrong with this situation.

"What was the boy's name?" said the man now identified for Zeon as Kakashi.

"Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto," said the Sandaime, as he knew the Mother of the child, and was grieving for his late successor since the woman died in childbirth.

If the boy was found, the Sandaime would have to put him in an orphanage, and that was if the people on the Councils didn't wish the child dead for what the elderly man feared the Yondaime had done.

"So your full name is Uzumaki Naruto is it? Well then my boy, I think its time we depart this place, and show you to your brand new destiny," said Zeon, as he had found the hole needed to escape had been enlarged upon the fox's rampage, and the Death God itself now made it noticeable for him now.

Zeon found himself smiling at the way this now empowered boy seemed to smile when he said that and the SOLDIER Commander knew that Naruto was going to be one of the greatest among the SOLDIER ranks of all time.

(6 Years Later-Midgar-The Shin-Ra Corporation)

A single figure stood in the R&D Laboratory with a calm look on his face, but like many people in the world hated waiting for someone, and even more so when this person was completely beneath his rank. This figure was tall, in his early 20s, had white long hair that went past his shoulders, a handsome face that made women swoon if not faint at the sight of him, and had powerful eyes that spoke of being a master of the battlefield.

The man was Commander Sephiroth of SOLDIER under the employment of the Shin-Ra Corporation. His predecessor, Commander Zeon had past away some 3 years prior, and in doing so gave the title of Commander to Sephiroth with all the privileges that came with it. Along with those privileges, were all the dirty secrets Zeon may have had, but for the deceased warrior of SOLDIER there were none to be found, which is why Sephiroth was wondering what it was that the twisted scientist Dr. Hojo had secretly contacted him for, and what it had to do with Commander Zeon's past.

"Commander Sephiroth! How good of you to show up at my lab on such short notice," said Hoji, as the man greeted the SOLDIER Commander with an eerie smile, and for some reason was not effected by hard stare the swordsman was giving the scientist.

"This better be of some importance to SOLDIER Dr. Hojo or I will find someone to take your place regardless if they lack the expertise you do for creating your test subjects," said Sephiroth, as he meant it, and he knew that Dr. Hojo knew this too from the sudden pause in the man's face before it went back to smiling.

"Of course it is! Why would I ask you to come down here aside from the offbeat chance of forfeiting my life? Please follow me!" said Dr. Hojo, as he led Sephiroth through his lab of experiments, test subjects, lab rats, etc.

"Your message mentioned this had something to do with the late Commander Zeon and the attempt to remove him from Midgar by the Wutai," said Sephiroth, as he had read the report, but nothing ever came of it to suspect Zeon had done anything wrong, and that the place he was sent to was nothing to be concerned about.

"Yes. Since you took over for the man after his death 3 years ago, I felt I should inform you of something that was left out intentionally in his report, and told me to keep it a secret until now when it would be ready for you," said Dr. Hojo, as he opened the door to what he believed resided his greatest experiment to date, and his most profound project given to him by the late Commander Zeon.

"You sound quite proud of this little project of yours Dr. Hojo. For your sake, it better be, or my blade will taste your blood," said Sephiroth, as this was not the first time he had threatened the man, and if things went well it would not be the last.

"Oh I am quite proud of this test subject Commander. Behold, my experiment in all his glory, and the greatness that I have done!" said Dr. Hojo, as he revealed a naked boy in a tube floating in liquid, a breathing mask on his face, nutritional IVs were connected to his body, and electronic goggles that were downloading information into the boy's brain.

"You brought me down here...for this?!" said Sephiroth, as he was clearly unimpressed at the sight of this boy, and wondered if Dr. Hojo had finally succumb to that of certain unnatural desires outside of making experiments.

"This is not just any ordinary boy Commander Sephiroth. This boy was brought here by your predecessor after he witnessed the child being used to seal away a high level spirit that in the hands of Shin-Ra will be able to one day surpass even you! It was kept secret up until this point because Wutai would have learned of it before trying to infiltrate us to free the boy or kill him to make sure his progress never made it this far. The boy had been absorbing information at an astonishing rate, his power is incredible even without the beast sealed inside of him, and in the years to come will be unstoppable!" said Dr. Hojo, as he looked ready to go into a mad scientist moment of laughter, and probably would have if the SOLDIER Commander wasn't there in the room with him.

"Perhaps, but I sense there is still some kind of flaw you have yet to remove from the child's person, and that is why I am here at your request?" said Sephiroth, as he saw Dr. Hojo nod, and look down in shame at not being able to stamp out the preverbal weakness out of the boy.

"Regretfully yes. My test subject of a specimen has had no form of interaction with the outside world. I do not know how he will interact with people or if he even can for that matter without the chance of him doing something that will be frowned upon by the Shin-Ra higher ups. Since the specimen is supposed to be an agent of war, I thought the only one to teach him how to interact properly with those around him would be you, and to further develop his skills for battle," said Dr. Hojo, as he saw Sephiroth look at him, and then at the boy floating in liquid.

"Has the experiment gone under the necessary...injections?" said Sephiroth, as he referred to the Mako, and the seemingly mad yet still sane scientist nodded.

"Of course! I have done little to nothing that would hinder the growth of my most prized specimen," said Dr. Hojo, as he motioned for Sephiroth to follow him to a recording of the battle simulation recordings that had been saved show proof in the potential this child held.

"I see. These result are most impressive. When you are done with him being here, call for me again, and I will take him out of here to begin his necessary training," said Sephiroth, as he found himself looking at the boy, and what could only be considered a student in the art of battle in his eyes.

Soon the name Uzumaki Naruto would be just as infamous as the name Sephiroth.

(2 Months Later)

Naruto had begun his training under Sephiroth without question, as he understood that the chain of command had changed from Dr. Hojo to the SOLDIER Commander to further his development, and that was the end of it in the mind of the 6 year old. He was trained for the single purpose of ending the lives of others on the command of others with higher authority in the chain of command he was taught to follow. As Naruto learned to fight under Sephiroth, the boy had learned what weapon he preferred above all others, which strangely enough was that of a sword almost similar to that of Commander Sephiroth, and even the name of it Muramasa held a sense of kinship to Sephiroth's own Masamune.

Within the 2 Months of having the blade, Naruto took to swordsmanship like a fish did water, and proved to Sephiroth that Dr. Hojo's suspicions of the boy were indeed true. The vessel of the Kyuubi, which Dr. Hojo had told Sephiroth was a giant nine tailed fox that Commander Zeon had seen that day 6 years ago, was indeed proving to be a great fighter, and was learning to interact with others one person at a time.

Though many silently felt uneasy around the child then anything.

While Sephiroth himself was cold with a hint of sliver humanity in him, the child he was training to one day surpass him was without so much as that, and felt that this was one experiment that Dr. Hojo could not top if it was a success. Though Naruto himself had at one point wondered if he would if not could surpass the SOLDIER Commander, as he had seen the man slice through an entire building with one strike before it fell to pieces, and the boy's mind computed it would take many years of training if not intense battles to be on equal footing of his teacher.

Killing was another thing too that the boy thrived in, as Naruto had no problems with it due to Dr. Hojo's influence, and Sephiroth commanding him to take the life of people around him. By either magic or sword, Naruto was able to take life without guilt, and was gradually building up his kill count.

(2 Years Later)

"Why must we retrieve this person? His personality file indicates he is a disgrace to the way of SOLDIER," said Kyuubi inside of Naruto, as he like Naruto had been molded by the Mako injected into the boy, and lost all sense of his previous self to this new path before him inside the child.

The boy had long since been aware of Kyuubi inside of his body since he was 3 years old with the demon fox curious as to how he got sealed into the boy, but as it stood soon after their meeting, the demonic animal knew working together with his vessel was better then the opposite, and aided the boy in his training.

'Simple. We are doing this simply because we were ordered to retrieve this person before he does something stupid in this place that would embarrass Shin-Ra,' thought Naruto, as he sighed at being in this section of Midgar, and at the local tavern named "Safe Haven" where people went to relax after a hard day on the job.

"Come on you chumps! Come on and face the great SOLDIER of Shin-Ra that is Zack Fair!" said Zack, as he knocked a drunken man down already for taking up the challenge, and commanded some other patrons of the bar to try their luck.

"Let's get the asshole!" said one of the drunken guys at the bar, as he charged with a few others at Zack, but before they could even get close, Naruto appeared in-between them, and began crippling the fools with skilled precision.

Granted a sword could have been even more effective, but Naruto thought that would be called "overkill", and knew when to hurt someone to ending their life.

"Zack Fair, you are to come with me," said Naruto, as he turned his attention to Zack, and the young man looked at him like he was something out of a cheap monster movie.

"Why should I go with you? You're just a kid!" said Zack, as he had never seen the kid before, and wondered if someone from SOLDIER was playing some kind of prank on him.

"Because Commander Sephiroth wishes it so," said Naruto, as he saw Zack look at him in shock, and disbelief at the fact the master of disaster himself sent this kid to get him.

"He did?" sad Zack, as he would have still suspected this to be a joke, but the eyes the kid had of a soulless individual made him think otherwise, and the way Naruto took out those drunks proved the kid had the moves of a first class SOLDIER.

"Yes. The condition you were in upon being brought before him was not specified. If you refuse, I will resort to more...ruthless tactics to get you to comply, and bring you to him less then 100 percent healthy," said Naruto, as he saw Zack shiver, and if Naruto knew how to smile...he would.

"Okay! Okay! I yield to your reasoning. Just take me to him," said Zack, as he didn't want to deal with this kid if he was as good as he sensed the boy was, and it wouldn't help with the ladies if he got his ass handed to him by an 8 year old kid.

"Wise decision," said Naruto, as he walked over to Zack, grabbed his arm, and the two vanished to the intended destination.

(1 Year Later-Some Distant Battlefield)

"Why are we here again?" said Zack, as he hated this sweltering heat, and wondered how the two first class SOLDIERS in front of him could not be affected by this summer heat wave.

"There are a group of Wutai forces amassing here. Our contact is going to meet up with us before we kill them all," said Naruto, as he answered Zack's question for the thirteenth time, and had the boy been impatient as the womanizer...he would have gutted the man to remove the annoyance.

When Naruto brought Zack before Sephiroth, the SOLDIER Commander was looking at the man's file, and saw the pros that came with having Zack part of SOLDIER. It also showed the cons, which nearly equaled that many pros, but the cons Zack had could be countered with intense discipline if applied on the man.

It was also cheaper then removing and replacing him.

So rather then spend a good deal of time removing Zack all together, waste resources in training the replacement for the Second Class SOLDIER, it was decided by the powers that be to simply administer the discipline, and SOLDIER Commander Sephiroth was the one to administer it. Now Zack wasn't weak at all being the rank he was when Sephiroth became is "instructor" in the ways of discipline, but he might as well have been when the SOLDIER Commander trained him, and when the legendary warrior didn't...Naruto did.

In Zack's mind, those two were the most twisted sadists ever born, and wondered what he had done to deserve such hellish training?

Maybe he shouldn't have destroyed that chain letter after all.

On the plus side, Zack's tort-uh training allowed him to advance up to First Class, and send him into more battles against the Wutai. As things were regarding the war, Naruto was earning his title with ruthless efficiency along side Sephiroth, as his kill record now was in the thousands, and while nowhere near as high as the SOLDIER Commander's own...it was impressive for a 9 year old.

Scary too.

"Who is our contact out here?" said Zack, as he wasn't told the name of the man, and felt the whole "need to know basis" crap was just well...crap!

"His name is Cloud Strife, a Second Class SOLDIER, but shows promise in being a First Class SOLDIER all the same, and will most likely be promoted upon return to Midgar," said Naruto, as he had read man's file, and was pleased to know there was someone else in the world that had the same type of blonde spiky hair as him.

"Well hopefully this Cloud guy has a sense of humor like me. Not like you kid! I mean honestly, when I said 'bite me', I didn't mean for you to actually bite me, and at least then not with the intent of taking my whole arm off!" said Zack, as he seriously needed to teach Naruto the point of understanding humor, and not to literally do something that wasn't supposed to be taken seriously.

"It seemed the most logical choice in order to hurt you and effectively cripple you using my teeth," said Naruto, as his teeth had been enhanced by Kyuubi with them reaching a kind of feral appearance, and could be used like his sword or Mana with deadly precision that a true warrior of the battlefield would come to understand.

'Okay, note to self: teach Naruto about humor and when to act on it,' thought Zack, as they walked through the forestation, and soon heard the sounds of fighting.

"It seems our contact is being attacked," said Naruto, as he went to investigate the matter with his nodachi class sword appearing in his hand, and Sephiroth right behind him with a small smile on his face.

'Naruto is doing exactly what Dr. Hojo said he would do,' thought Sephiroth, as he had been told by Dr. Hojo early on that Naruto would show traits that would become filled with bloodlust, but was able to channel it, and would not let it overpower his being to put him in a blind rage.

Dr. Hojo also theorized to Sephiroth that this Kyuubi for its original intended purposes of causing destruction was assisting Naruto, to ensure its vessel would continue to live, and grow strong enough to destroy any enemy that stood against him. It was in a way the two living as one, acting as one, and almost thinking as one with a few difference on several occasions in the choice of tactics. However, the fox did not hate Naruto for the occasional differences when it came to fighting, which would have been different some 9 years ago before being sealed in the child, and instead learned from the boy just as the boy learned from the fox.

'Ah crap! Well...at least this won't be boring,' thought Zack, as he ran after the two, and soon found himself in the middle of an all out slaughter!

Cloud Strife was indeed strong like his file read, as he along with his entire squad had been ambushed by the largest force of Wutai forces ever assembled to fight against a squad of SOLDIERS, and while he himself was able to hold his own...his squad was not so fortunate. It was supposed to be a simple recon mission, which would require getting close to the enemy before reporting back to his superiors about what his squad saw, and hopefully go to the nearest bar for a drink.

Then this happened, as the Wutai had apparently sensed their Mana signature, and had used hand signs to secretly coordinate to surround them all. Now here Cloud was fighting for his life, as he killed one Wutai after another, and was finding the number of enemies to slowly overpowering.

He needed a miracle right about now.

"Firaga!" said Naruto, as he shot a blast of fire straight at a group of Wutai that were about to flank Cloud, and destroyed them in an instant.

'What the Hell was that?' thought Cloud, as he saw the boy walking towards him, and the Wutai forces did the same only they took several steps back when they saw the person behind the boy that they knew all too well.

"Damn! No matter how many times I see him do that, I can't believe Naruto is the one who caused it," said Zack, as he got ready for a fight, and saw the Wutai look at them with a more nervous look in their eyes since they knew that quality surpassed quantity any day.

This was that day.

Wutai knew perfectly well of Naruto's exploits for Midgar, as the boy had killed many of their kin during the war, and like Sephiroth was not one you fight alone or even in a group the size of theirs. Not only that, but Sephiroth himself was here with the boy, and made the chance for victory in this battle shift in the favor of SOLDIER.

"Kill them all Naruto. Show me just how much your skills have improved since I first started training you," said Sephiroth, as he had taken the invisible "leash" of his student, and let Naruto do what needed to be done.

"Yes Commander Sephiroth," said Naruto, as burst forward using his slowly growing ability to fly slightly in the air before gliding along the ground at the moment since he was still young, and his "wings" had yet to gain the strength needed for full fledged fight.

By this point, the Wutai forces began to flee back to much safer territory within Wutai, but even when they did Naruto was able to cut through a good portion of them with his sword. Those he missed, Naruto pursued through the trees, shooting spell after spell at his Wutai foes while picking them off one by one until he was down to one final, and elusive Wutai with his clothes indicating he was of a distinguished rank.

"Be wary of this one. He has the means to hurt you and possibly dispose of a piece of your body if you do not take him seriously," said Kyuubi, as he had been watching this high ranked Wutai avoid Naruto for some time, and that was no easy task unto itself.

Naruto silently nodded in agreement, as he had been on the receiving end of many attacks by Wutai assassins during the war, and had come close to meeting his end because of such attacks. Fortunately, Naruto had like any real strategist, brushed up on the history of his enemy that Shin-Ra had on file, and the attacks they used to fight against the might of SOLDIER. By knowing what types of techniques his Wutai attackers were capable of using, Naruto was able to devise a counter to them at the last moment with his own spells, and prevent his demise.

Naruto's prey soon stopped at a nearby cliff, which revealed a river that was some 60 feet down, and the other side past the river was too far away for the Wutai warrior to jump. Turning around, the high ranked Wutai looked at Naruto with burning hatred since he had seen the boy slay several of his dear friends, and had to tell their families of how they lost their loved ones because of this mindless animal had done the deed, and held no guilt in ending their lives.

"You made it this far Wutai. Your skills are indeed equivalent to your rank. Though this is where your time in this world ends," said Naruto, as he prepared to slice through his foe, and return to Commander Sephiroth victorious.

"The mistake is yours you freak of nature! 'All Creation!'" said the Wutai ninja, as he was surrounded by energy, and attacked Naruto with a powerful beam of energy.

"Barrier," said Naruto, as he called upon his defense to protect himself, which was in the form of a crystallized shield, and took the attack the Wutai shot at him before redirecting it back at the surprised man.

The Wutai ninja died quickly from his own attack and his ashes blew instantly into the wind with Naruto watching them fly away without some much as a feeling of guilt. Why should he? It wasn't like there was a reason to feel such an emotion.

Dr. Hojo thought him having feelings about anything at all was a form of malfunction on Naruto's part in being a cold ruthless killing machine and told the boy there was no room for it.

Turning around, Naruto left the area to go meet up with his Commander, and learn more about what one Cloud Strife had learned during his mission before being ambushed.

(Undisclosed Location-2 Years Later)

"We must do something about Commander Sephiroth and his apprentice Uzumaki Naruto before its too late. The boy is clearly showing the potential necessary to one day surpass the SOLDIER Commander and has helped Shin-Ra kill the planet further," said a former high ranked member of the Wutai Court now a member of AVALANCH, as he was a man in his late 30s, had a mustache, and a scar over his one eye.

It seemed like only yesterday that Wutai was a country, which respected the land, and its people only took what was needed without taking it for granted. However, the might of Shin-Ra, its prized SOLDIER units, and its prized Commander plus apprentice had paved the way for Wutai to finally fall. In its place however, was the resistance organization known to many as AVALANCH, which had used attrition based tactics to win

"I agree. If things keep up the way they are, we will lose this war, and become slaves to Shin-Ra long after they build their Mako Reactors anywhere they want," said another man with his face being half burnt from a battle and had an eye patch over the eye of the side that was burned.

"There is a way, but it won't be easy, and it will require the sacrifice of many of our warriors if we are to succeed," said the Leader of AVALANCH and saw that they were all ready to do their part to stop Naruto before focusing on Sephiroth.

"What is the plan?" said the former member of the Wutai Court.

(Village of Nibelheim)

"I can't believe were heading here of all places to check out the Mako Reactor. Why can't the local grunts do it?" said Zack, as he rode along in the jeep with Cloud, who elbowed him in the ribs, and glared back hard for that remark.

"For your information Zack, I was once one of those 'local grunts', as you so eloquently put it, and it is because this is where the preverbal 'heart' of the Shin-Ra Corporation is with the President herself here. Who better to make sure things are okay then us? Don't forget, we are the most powerful enforcers in SOLDIER, and ALAVANCH could well be planning to destroy Shin-Ra at the source," said Cloud, as he thought of Tifa Lockhart, who was also right here in the village right now, and how he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend when this was over.

"Your knowledge of terrain in this place will also be crucial in detecting any creature that have popped up along with AVALANCH," said Naruto, as he was looking at everything in front of him, and with his superior eyesight was making sure nothing came out at them while in the jeep.

"That too," said Cloud, as he wasn't looking at things from that point of view.

"Really? Sure that its not to see that girl you've been writing about in your diary? A Tifa Lockha-HEY!" said Zack, as he put in a headlock by an angry Cloud, and was chocking the life out of the dark haired SOLDIER.

"WHO SAID YOU COULD READ MY DIARY?!" yelled Cloud and began pounding his fist into Zack's skull.

"OW! No one did! OW! I'm sorry! OW! Naruto call off your older brother here! OW!" said Zack, as he struggled to get out of the painful grip of Cloud's arm, and fists while Naruto turned his head slightly so part of his left eye could see them.

In truth, the time that went by interacting between Zack, and Cloud had done wonders for the youngest SOLDIER since they had help the boy warm up a bit (if only by the smallest percentage) while explaining several things to the blonde. Zack while older then Naruto in terms of age, acted more like the little annoying brother that got on people's nerves, and Cloud acted like the older more responsible brother with the occasional need to cause mischief every so often. As for Naruto himself, it was clear he had the maturity of all the seriousness of an older sibling wrapped up in a Drill Sergeant's uniform, which in this case was similar to Sephiroth's own plus a special robes discovered while in Wutai before the end of the war known as the "Advent", and had could (according to Dr. Hojo upon further inspection) reduce the power of any elemental attack.

Zack thought and told Naruto it made him look like a Jedi or Sith from one of the Star Wars movies he saw before Cloud slugged in the face for being stupid.

"We're here. The Mako Reactor isn't far. We can walk to it," said Sephiroth, as he got out of the jeep, and the others followed behind him.

The instant they got to the gates of the Mako Reactor, they knew something was wrong, as it had been destroyed by an horde of unknown creatures, and the death about them with the guards being massacred did not show comfort either. Instantly, the SOLDIER team of four drew their weapons, and walked forward to meet this foe in the hopes of securing the facility before whatever it was that caused this destruction went after the Mako Reactor itself.

They were instantly greeted by a two headed serpentine dragon coming out of the ground with one shooting lightning and the other was shooting fire in all directions. Naruto was about to engage the creature when Sephiroth did it for him, as the SOLDIER Commander was in no mood to play with his prey, and ended the life of the dragon after stabbing it in the heart with lightning shooting from his sword causing dragon to suffer agonizing pain before falling to the ground dead.

To be sure, Naruto stabbed both dragon heads dead center in the skull, and followed his teacher further in with the other two picking up the rear.

"According to Kyuubi, that was no ordinary beast Commander Sephiroth, and the fox along with myself suspect a trap is being laid out for us," said Naruto, as he saw the man look at him from the corner of his green eyes that danced with an unnatural light in them.

"I agree. Cloud, you are with me, and Zack will follow you Naruto. Kill whoever resists, but capture any that may hold information on AVALANCH, and make sure they are not too badly damaged for future interrogation," said Sephiroth, as he walked off with Cloud behind him, and Zack was behind Naruto with his trusty Buster Sword in hand.

"Lead the way oh wise Jedi Master!" said Zack in a mocking voice before Naruto turned to him with a look of delivering pain to the SOLDIER in the nearby future.

"After this is over, I'm going to make it impossible for you to be with women, and have the means sire children," said Naruto, as he walked off to another section of the Mako Reactor with Zack going pale before laughing.

"Great joke Naruto! I almost believed you would do that. You were joking right? Right?! Hey man that's not funny!" said Zack, as he ran after Naruto, and began trying to sweet talk the blonde into sparing his manhood from being destroyed.

(20 Minutes Later)

Naruto watched with a bored expression, as he along with Zack were soon surrounded by a group of some 25 Wutai ninjas all wearing their traditional clothes, and weapons they used against SOLDIER in the past. Zack has his back to the blondes, as he got ready for a fight, and saw that most of their enemies were focused entirely on the blonde.

What was he chopped liver?

"Your time has come Uzumaki Naruto. We will remove you from this world and prevent your Commander from one day passing on his title to you," said the Wutai Commander, as he readied his sword, and the others prepared to attack.

"Such pathetic excuse for bravado to hide your fear of the impending death that awaits you," said Naruto, as he saw Zack looking around at his enemies, and then at his partner in crime.

"Hey Naruto! You don't mind if help you in this right?" said Zack, as he saw Naruto's lips twitch slightly, and the dark haired SOLDIER knew that was the boy's way of smiling.

God how Zack hated Naruto's creepy way of smiling.

"I don't. Why don't you shake things up a bit," said Naruto, as he saw Zack smirk, and turn to face his half of the Wutai forces.

"Sure thing buddy! 'Quake!'" said Zack, as he stomped his foot down hard after Mana surrounded his body, and the ground around him began to shake before making the Wutai collapse through the ground beneath them while Naruto engaged those in front of him.

The Wutai were skilled fighters, that much Naruto would concede about them, as they fought him despite being weak against his power, and met their ends with honor. The blonde Uzumaki was down to the last two Wutai in front of him when one took out a round metal object and through it on the ground before unleashed a blinding flash that made Naruto close his eyes. Seeing his chance to put their plan into action, the Wutai warrior who threw the object got behind Naruto, and attempted to slay him with his spear. However, just because Naruto was temporarily blinded did not mean his other senses had been disabled, and sensed his enemy behind him before dodging the attack aimed at his spine to counter it with a thrust of his own.

The blade hit straight and true right into the Wutai's skull before Naruto pulled out to let the spray of blood cover the area around him. At this point, Naruto's vision was back to normal from what the Kyuubi had informed him, and opened his eyes to see Zack taking down the last Wutai on his end before turning to the boy.

"Naruto! Behind you!" said Zack, as he pointed to the last Wutai that had yet to attack, and looked to be drawing Mana up for an attack the blonde had never seen before.

"You fell for it you monster. The whole plan was for us to distract you long enough to perform this spell to remove you from our world. I don't know where you will go, but I know that unlike the last time this was used...you won't be returning here like that man Zeon, and your Commander will just have to find someone else worthy of apprenticeship in his evil ways. NOW LEAVE US! 'BANISHMENT!'" said the Wutai, as he completed the spell, and was rewarded for his effort with being skewered by Zack's Buster Sword after the man through it hitting the man's chest dead center.

"Move your ass Naruto!" said Zack, as he saw the spell consume the boy, and instantly was gone from his sight along with that of existence in the world.

Sephiroth was so going to kill him.

(With Naruto-Time Passed Unknown)

Naruto felt himself floating through a void of light, as things were neither down nor up, left nor right, and he wondered if this spell was taking him to the Heavens...or into Hell? Kyuubi was surprisingly silent in all of this, as he seemed to have been knocked out by the spell rather then dazed by it like Naruto had been, and it also felt like something else was blocking the fox.

Though what exactly, Naruto did not know.

Naruto soon got his answer, as an old man appeared before him, and was holding three orbs of Materia floating in his hands. Before Naruto could ask the elderly figure any type of question that needed to be answered, the man put all three floating orbs inside of his body one at a time where his heart was, and smiled before sending the blonde on his way.

'That boy has the power to do great things. Great and terrible things with this power I've given him, as well as the power that is his own, but I know in my heart he will do what is right when the time comes,' thought the elderly man, as he saw the boy head through the void to his intended destination, and hoped that his beliefs in this matter were correct.

With that now done, the enigmatic elderly man turned back to watch over Midgar, to see Sephiroth learn the truth about himself, and his falling into madness.

(Unknown Moment in Time)

Naruto had seen only blackness shortly after that encounter with the strange old man right before he finally awoke from it, as if awakening from a dream, and saw himself lying face down on a bench in some vegetative area. His sword Muramasa was lying on the ground, but a few feet away, and Naruto felt drained from the experience for some reason that was beyond him.

Kyuubi was still with Naruto from what he could sense inside of himself, but was silent at the moment from intense ordeal the Banishment Spell put on him, and knew it would be a while before the fox awoke to speak again. From what Naruto remembered of such a spell being used, only the late Commander Zeon had been hit by it, and had come back to Midgar due to the spell being incomplete stage of development. Though where Zeon was taken at the time, Naruto did not know nor was he told, but it was because of the late SOLDIER Commander that the blonde was made into what he was now, and had become Sephiroth's apprentice.

Or was it former apprentice now?

Naruto realized at the moment of sitting up from the bench, that he was in fact without a Master/Commander to call his own, and was free to do whatever it was he wanted. But the real question was...what should he do now? He could freelance and be a mercenary? Provided of course, his skills were still up to par before he was sent here, and could still use Mana like before.

Picking up his sword before dispelling it back to the nether realm, Naruto headed toward the strongest source of Mana in this place hoping to find answers, and hoped to Gaia that they spoke his language.

It was time to see what this world had to offer.

(Hokage Tower-Hokage's Office)

Sarutobi Hiruzen, also known as the Sandaime Hokage let out a heavy sigh at the ever growing mountain of paperwork in front of him, and part of him wished he could name a successor to his title soon. With the fall of Kyuubi, things have slowly been going down hill in the Leaf, as the incident with Kumo a few years after, which resulted in the loss of Hyuuga Branch member Hizashi that created a rift within the clan, and then there was the failed attempt to wipe out all of the Uchiha Clan by one of its very own members with the little brother of the man responsible for the slaying being the only survivor.

'I should have let the Shinigami take me instead of the Yondaime. At least then he could deal with all the damn paperwork,' thought the Sandaime, as he leaned back in his chair, and let out a heavy yawn before opening his eyes afterwards to see the amount having tripled in that moment.

The Sandaime's eyebrow twitched angrily.

Oh yeah, Hiruzen was sooo going to hurt the Yondaime for this when he finally died, and making the blonde baka know just how much he hated paperwork.

"Hey! You can't go in there! Someone stop him!" said one of the guards outside before the sound of a scuffling was heard, the sound of bones being broken, and the door getting knocked off its hinges when one the ANBU guards outside slammed into it.

The Sandaime got up from his desk, narrowing his eyes, as he prepared for a fight, and was shocked to find a boy barely over the age of 11 years walking into his office.

Was someone seriously messing with him or did the Sandaime need to up his medication again?

"You are the leader of this village, are you not?" said Naruto, as he looked at the old man with calculating blue eyes that swelled with unnaturally green light from the power of Mako.

"I am. Who are you? Judging from how you defeated my ANBU, you are very strong, and yet you didn't come here merely try in the attempt in ending my life," said the Sandaime, as he felt uneasy when staring into those eyes, and decided to sit down to show he was willing to speak to the boy before doing anything drastic.

Besides, it got him out of paperwork, and anything is better then that!

"I will tell you, provided what is spoken here, stays here within this room, and you assist me while I am in this world," said Naruto, as he saw the Sandaime narrow his eyes at his choice of words, and sensed the man was suspicious of him because of it.

"That can be arranged. Do please sit down and we can begin," said the Sandaime, as he waved off the Shinobi that came into the room, and waited for them to fix the door before looking at Naruto to tell him everything.

(Konoha-Some Time Later)

Naruto walked into his new home of the apartment the Sandaime had given him, as he had become the Hokage's secret weapon (though the old man said partner), and would be given special top secret missions that would be for the good of Konoha. Naruto of course had accepted, which happened after some form of negotiation was done to ensure that both parties benefited from such a deal.

Naruto of course would be paid handsomely for completing his missions, which he would do solo to keep as many higher-ups within the village in the dark about his existence, and would keep whatever bounties he got from Missing Nins he killed. It was the same for enemy Shinobi from other countries too. In addition, Naruto was given access to the Sandaime's library to learn about the world he was in, and the techniques these "Shinobi" in this world use called "Jutsus" to further help survive in the world.

Knowledge was indeed power.

The Sandaime was in possession of the knowledge that Naruto had told him, though the old man knew there was more to it then Naruto being a SOLDIER from another world via another dimension named Midgar, and he knew better then to force it. The old Hokage had decided to let the boy keep a few secrets to himself at the moment since asking too much of the blonde could backfire. Still, the Sandaime knew more then Naruto suspected, as the name of the boy was enough for the old man to realize who this child was, and decided to also let that knowledge stay with him. After the Yondaime gave his life years ago, the Councils had been quite adamant to know what happened to the Kyuubi, as they had been told that the fox had been sealed away in a child, and there were some people among the Councils who believed the child did not die with the fox.

Fortunately, there was no proof to backup such empty (at the time) fears aside from the supposed cries of an infant in the area that night, and after finding no child in the area it was believed that the cries were people's ears playing tricks on them.

"This world is in for a big surprise when it is introduced to the new Angel of Death," said Naruto more to himself then the Kyuubi, as he walked around his apartment home, and found the bedroom before sitting down in it to sleep.

(A/N: YAY! I wrote a new fic like I said I would. Now if you've read Till Eternity's End, you will notice some similarities to it, and before you go all "PLAGERIST! YOU ARE A PLAGERIST!" before reporting me...stop! First off, I sent the author of that awesome fic a PM stating my intentions, and he has yet to send me a reply back saying not to what I have to do to get this fic out the door. And to further ease your troubled little minds, I am only making that part of my fic only remotely similar to his, and things will be different in the next chapter. Remember, this is ME were talking about, and I don't copy people's shit to pass off as my own. Besides, the author hasn't updated in about 2 years give or take a few months, and if he PM's me to change it...I will! I am a writer of my word! So until next time...PEACE!!!)