The Protector - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Summary: Death came for them all. The world was finally at peace, or it was starting to get there, it only needed a little push. It needed someone to help guide them along, in the wake of war they are forced into another. But, when the world is at its end, a new enemy invading their midst, there will always be someone who they can rely on, and his name is… (EOS Naruto)

Please leave me lots and lots of NICE reviews.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Bleach, or any other anime I use in this story. They belong to their respective owners Kishimoto and Kubo.

3/21/25

Chapter 1-

The morning sun rose swiftly within the village of the leaves, Konohagakure no Sato, one of the five great villages in the elemental nations of the earth, the greatest among the land. Shining bright throughout the populace as it lifted among the trees surrounding the area. The light cascaded down the mountains that overlooked the land, holding the likenesses of the previous leaders upon them. Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, Tsunade Senju, and most recently Kakashi Hatake, the 6th Hokage that reigned upon the village.

The sun crept into his room that day, through his blinds, as it reached his eyes as he rested. But slowly he awoke, the constant drumming of his mind rousing him from his slumber, as his blue eyes opened, revealing themselves to the world.

There he saw a familiar sight, that which was his old one-room apartment and childhood home— or at least a replica of it, that is. The people had offered to build him a better home, one that would come free of charge given that it was solely him that was the reason that they were still alive. However, upon the tempting offer of a large mansion he had declined, he always knew that sort of life had not called to him. This had been the next best thing, as the villagers had then offered to rebuild his old apartment building in their gratitude. Not that anyone else lived there, these days people had long since decided that the building would solely belong to him, even if he had no desire to collect the deed. Nevertheless, the fact that he didn't have to pay rent these days was a bonus, not that he had any shortage of funds given his proclivity to do missions.

Unlike his youth, he kept his room moderately clean, with a shortage of empty ramen cartons —him having developed an aptitude for healthy eating ever since his training trip with his master— not that he didn't have the inclination to eat his favorite meal every now and again.

The small apartment he resided in had largely remained empty and desolate, as he only favored taking care of plants— a hobby he hadn't found much time to do recently— and didn't have any real items he desired to collect.

Wiping his eyes free from drowsiness as he leaned forward, he couldn't help but remember exactly what he was going to do…

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Ah, that was it.

It had been the large ringing of the door that had roused him. As he rose from his bed the knocking continued, and from what he could tell, the maker of the noise was growing increasingly more impatient with each blow they struck.

The sound became irritating as he reached his front door, "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya!" As he angrily reached towards the door to his apartment, and turned it, revealing himself to the world. "I can hear ya, y'know!" he shouted, before blinking as he saw who was on the other side.

He was left to witness a familiar woman with pink hair that reached her chin sparkling green eyes, fair skin, and a slightly irritated look on her face. The girl wearing a sleeveless red qipao that reached her upper thigh tied with a black obi, and a pair of black shorts. She also wears a set of pink elbow and knee pads, and to top it all off a red headband that rests on her head, one that holds her forehead protector, and the symbol of her village.

She was a beautiful and exotic woman about his age, one that he had known for some time.

Sakura Haruno.

"Oh, Sakura, it's only you," he stated, realizing who it was. "What do you want?" he asked with an eyebrow.

His former teammate only laughed in response, putting a hand on her hip as she stated, "Well for starters, Naruto, maybe some more clothes would help," she said, pointing to his chest as he peeked out from the door.

But the blonde only grew confused at what she was referring to, before he looked down, seeing the state of appearance he had left himself in. Sakura had commented on the fact that he was without a shirt, as well as any pants to speak of.

As the pink-haired girl could see her friend in all his glory, to put it simply, he was like an adonis. presenting himself to his friend in only his boxers, which he had fallen asleep in earlier the night before. She had to admit, he was rather handsome, filling out quite nicely all things considered. Perhaps if things turned out differently, perhaps if her heart did not belong to another, she and her old teammate might've turned out to be something more. Or she might have at least taken him into her bed at least— kami knew that doctors needed time for stress relief every once in a while.

But for now, she was content just staring, looking at her close friend with a close eye. He was well-built, lean, and muscled, but not overly so.. A critical eye would say he would have a swimmer's body, built for speed and maneuverability and not just pure strength. He was built like a shinobi. Idly, her eyes lingered on his biceps, finding them particularly appealing as he could wrap any girl around them and they would feel a comfort not many could match. There were very few blemishes or scars across his body, short a few here and there that didn't take from his overall visage. And she didn't see any tattoos either, likely because of the fact his jinchuriki seal didn't remain visible without the use of his chakra, at least from what she could remember.

"Oh, right, sorry about that," he stated, as he quickly closed the door, Sakura quirked a small smile at his behavior as he did so, being brought from her less than admirable thoughts as quickly as they came. Their relationship was strictly platonic and she and Naruto were okay with that now.

Naruto quickly threw on a pair of pants and a shirt, he chose the usual shinobi outfit that he had gone with, that being a black jacket with an orange zipper and a pair of orange pants. As well as a set of black shinobi sandals, and a red armband that had a spiral design on it.

The last thing he had to add to his appearance was a black headband, one with the familiar leaf-like symbol he adored from his homeland. The headband was a gift from his instructor back at the ninja academy, Iruka Umino, someone he looked up to in his youth and one of the first people to believe in him. Now that he thought about it, it had been quite a while since he saw the man, maybe he should go check and see how he was doing lately?

As he reached up to fit the hitai-ate upon his head he realized how short he kept his hair lately, a far cry from the usual longer blonde locks he sported in his youth. Three whisker-like marks remained along each side of his cheeks. His skin was tanned, although an irregularity across his figure was evident, as his entire right arm was covered in bandages, a testimony to his late friend's handiwork just a few years ago.

Once he decided he was ready to present himself, he went for the door to his apartment once again, this time ready to show himself to his former teammate on team seven, and one of the closest people he had within his lifetime.

Opening it, Sakura seemed satisfied with his appearance, "There, that's better, I suppose I did wake you up pretty suddenly with all my knocking," she admitted. Which Naruto found a little surprising since he knew the old Sakura would have blown a fuse at what he showed her, likely beating him within an inch of his life.

He supposed Sakura had changed since then, but then again, so had he.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Naruto apologized, although if he were being honest he didn't care how he presented himself to her. He knew it wasn't like Sakura hadn't seen something like that before, being a doctor and all.

"Don't worry about it," she waved him off, it really wasn't a big deal, and she admitted she had been rather pushy with him opening, he likely just woke up, it was no wonder he would be a little dazed in the morning.

Naruto nodded, "So anyways, Sakura, what brought you here so early in the morning?" he asked, not expecting to see the girl.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you'd walk with me, I got to get to work soon, but I just figured it's been a long time since we got to do this sort of thing," his pink-haired teammate stated.

Naruto thought about it, before finally coming up with his answer. Yawning, he said, "Well alright then, I guess I can go with you. But hey, do you think we have time to get something to eat on the way? I'm starving," he said, clutching onto his empty stomach.

Sakura laughed at that, "Really? It's not even 10 o'clock right now. Kakashi-sensei really has been running you ragged with missions hasn't he?"

"Yeah, you have no idea…" Naruto commented with another yawn before a new idea caught him. "Do you think we have time for Ichiraku's?"

A smile formed on the medic's lips in fondness, "Oh Naruto, only you could want ramen this early in the morning."

XXX

A few minutes later.

As they walked through the village, a thought bothered him, like always, he wanted to speak on the matter. "Hey Sakura, did you only want to walk we me to your work today? Or is there something else you wanted to ask me?" he inquired, not that he minded the former only being true.

The woman at his side nodded, although she had wanted to ask him about it later she supposed she could ask him now. "Oh that, well I heard you were back this morning, so I came to ask you; Me and the rest of our friends decided that we're going to have a bit of a reunion this evening. You weren't here so we couldn't get a hold of you. But I came by to see if you would come," Sakura told him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Really, who's going?" he asked.

"Oh you know, just the rest of the Konoha 12, y'know, all the people that were in our first chunin exams back when we were all genin, plus Sai of course," she told him.

"Everyone?" Naruto asked, but he already knew the answer. So, deciding to ask on the subject, he went to ask about how everyone was doing these days. "So, it's been a while since I've talked with everyone, is there anything new that I should know about?" he asked, putting his hands along the back of his neck as they walked along the streets without a care.

"Hmmm, let me think…" Sakura stated, putting a finger to her chin as she became lost in thought, remembering everything there was to know about the Konoha 12. "Well, Shikamaru is apparently getting married, and his relationship with Temari has really progressed. I mean, there is even talk about her moving here, can you believe that? Kiba also has a new girlfriend, and I heard Ino and Sai are dating now, I couldn't believe it when they told me. Apart from that, Shino is starting to work at the academy and he's training to become an instructor, and then there's Hinata who…" Sakura paused, looking at Naruto with a nervous smile. "I guess there's nothing really up with Hinata now."

Naruto nodded, "Alright, that sounds awesome! I'm happy for them all! " He was grateful that his friends were progressing in life these days.

"Yeah…" Sakura said in thought, as a comfortable silence engulfed the two of them. One that was soon broken by the girl's voice, "Do you think… " she paused, hesitating. Naruto looked at her and she continued, "Do you think Sasuke is still out there, with the path he's chosen?" she asked.

Naruto looked at her, remembering all the pain and heartbreak Sasuke had given him, his other teammate who had been a part of their genin team so long ago. Before he had deserted the village they had fought, having an exchange of blows no conversation could have conveyed. Sasuke had stabbed him, and he had thrown the boy into several walls. He lost, but it wouldn't be for several years that they would once again meet, coming to blows at the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War after they had become easily the strongest ninja the world had ever known. Fighting the greatest battle ever known.

After he had won, words had been said.

Now Sasuke had found himself on the road to redemption, traveling every nook and cranny the globe had to offer to recompense for everything he had done. He hadn't talked to the man lately, with him always traveling. Last he'd heard, the dark-haired Uchiha had been halfway across the continent near northern cloud country these days.

"I think he's out there…" Naruto told her. "Waiting, wanting to go home…" he told her seriously. Sakura was surprised by words, she had always had her doubts about Sasuke coming home, even after how strong he was. But to hear that Naruto believed he would return would be enough.

Sakura smiled, "Thanks, Naruto."

"Don't worry about it," he said shaking his head, before he looked up to see their surroundings, seeing the familiar Ichiraku ramen stand in his view, a replica of his favorite restaurant as well, rebuilt to the very inch after Pein's assault. "Hey, looks like we're here," Naruto pointed out, as they both walked up to the stand the blonde lifted the flaps open, "Well, shall we go in?"

"Yeah… let's," she nodded, heading inside, still thinking about what Naruto had said, and the calmness she had felt from his words.

The atmosphere of Ichiraku Ramen Stand was like how it had always been— even if it was a replica that had been rebuilt. It was quaint, quiet, peaceful to be sure, especially during mornings like these when there wasn't anyone to be found. Naruto had spent many hours in a place like this, especially during his childhood because of the way the villagers treated him for what he contained, being the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no kitsune. The place was exactly how he remembered it, serene and homely, something he sparsely had in his life.

As he entered he was recognized by the familiar face of an older-looking man with brown hair and wrinkles around his face. He was wearing a traditional outfit that was all white with a hat across his head and eyelids that never seemed to open despite how long he had known the man. This was Teuichi, the owner of the ramen stand that he had owned for some time and one of the few people who treated him like he was human when he was a kid. It wasn't so long ago, but felt like a lifetime with how he lived, and yet, he still remembered all the man had done for him.

"Ah, Naruto, it's been a while, how have you been?" the ramen store owner said with fondness.

Naruto looked at him, entering the stand as well "I've been a fine, old man, how has Ayame been doing lately?" he inquired as he sat down, Sakura having done the same.

"She's been doing well, she's been going out with that Iruka fellow you introduced her to, he's a good man, word is she and him might be getting engaged soon," Teuchi said with a smile, happy that his daughter had found happiness.

"Really? That's good, I'll have to pay a visit and congratulate him some time," Naruto said, nodding.

"Yeah, and you should come around here too more often, it's been rather quiet around here without our best customer!" Teuchi laughed.

The blonde nodded, "I'll try."

"Good, so what can I get you, your old usual?" the ramen chef asked, happy to be treating his favorite customer after all this time. Given that the village hero endorsed his business, his stand had been doing so well recently because of Naruto. Now people from all around the world wanted to try his ramen, and it was all thanks to the young boy he offered a single bowl of ramen to out in the rain. Naruto nodded, "Alright then, and for you, miss?" Teuichi asked.

Sakura, who had previously been silent on the matter, being too engrossed in the voices of the two individuals, perked up. "Hmmm, oh, I'll just take something small, a little bit of the vegetable ramen I suppose." It was still pretty early, not near when lunchtime should be and she didn't want to spoil it.

"Alright then, one large bowl with everything on it and a small vegetable, coming right up!" Teuchi stated in delight as he headed to the back to prepare their respective meals. Sakura gave Naruto a flat look at the chef's statement to which the blonde just shrugged.

The two sat in silence, at least that was until Naruto looked at her, "So, how are your hours working in the hospital, Sakura?" he asked her, it had been a while since they had been able to talk like this, he figured he should at least try to catch up.

The pink haired sighed, "They've been exhausting," She said, as she leaned her head back on the stool. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love working there, but with Tsunade-sama retiring soon Shizune has been practicing how to run the hospital, and since I'm her other apprentice I've been picking up the slack. Today's really been my only day off, and I still have to put in a small shift to make sure everything runs smoothly," she complained slightly, unhappy that she had most of her free time taken up at the moment. Although don't get her wrong, she loved working as a doctor and a medical ninja, it was the passion she had discovered in her lifetime. But still, working as much as she did it was hard to love it all the time, the only thing that gave her solace was the fact that she knew she was making a difference in her line of work. From aiding in shinobi-related injuries, which seemed to be decreasing these days, thankfully, to the occasional civilian mishap, there was nothing that bothered her too much. That was discounting the occasional stupid injury she had discovered, like the woman who had thought contraceptive jam and strawberry jam were the same thing when she worked in the clinic.

"That does sound like a lot of work," Naruto agreed, he knew he could never do what Sakura did. He had never been all too good when it came to book smarts or things like biology and chakra theory, and he never had a talent when it came to things like Genjutsu or Medical techniques. He had always been good at destroying things, and sure, he had been able to restore people's body parts during the war, but that had been more of a 'feelings' thing, not something he couldn't recreate without Hagaromo's chakra.

"Oh please, as if you're not just as busy, being the village hero and all," Sakura stated, she knew how often Naruto was on missions recently. At this point, she barely saw him, and when she did it was only for a brief moment, honestly, she had been lucky to catch him in his apartment this time.

"That's not how I see it," Naruto stated, Sakura didn't know what he was talking about, and only looked at him confused. "I mean, I'm the strongest in the village, even stronger than Kakashi-sensei and he knows it, it's only natural that I handle the most burden when it comes to everything," he explained.

As his pink-haired teammate looked at him shocked, she was reminded of all the times Naruto had been like this, taking on the burden all by himself and she had been powerless to stop him. Their first mission was in Wave Country when a rogue-nin captured Kakashi and Naruto was the first to run to face him. Then there was when Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the sand village, captured her and Sasuke was taken out of commission. Naruto faced him, a fully transformed Bijuu, alone. Even when Sasuke left the village, she had entrusted Naruto to be able to stop him, he failed, but he had spent the better parts of three years making up for it, dragging their wayward teammate back kicking and screaming. Naruto had always been the one to take on the biggest burdens, he was a freaking Jinchuriki damn it! She felt like a kid again, back then she had been powerless, unable to handle the burdens Naruto carried.

It was at that moment that Sakura tightened her resolve, she realized she wasn't a kid again, and she had changed, but then again, Naruto had too. These days Naruto felt alot different than before, with an aura of maturity that she would never have imagined him having. Even so, she could also see that Naruto hadn't changed a bit as well.

Immediately her empty palms formed a fist, she had become a medical ninja for this very reason, to relieve even the slightest burdens Naruto faced over the years.

"But even still… you should take care of yourself more," she told him. "Why don't you stop by the hospital sometime, if you do I'll personally make sure to give you a full checkup once you get there."

Even so, Naruto still wanted to refuse her offer."Sakura, I don't think—" he started to say, shaking his head, before he stopped himself. Realizing that Sakura only wanted him with the best intentions in mind, and he knew he couldn't refute her. "You know what… I'll try," he told her, actually managing to muster a small smile, an expression his former teammate quickly matched.

"Alright then," she said, smiling, happy that he gave his word. Naruto had always been known for keeping his promises, and she knew he wouldn't fail her now, after all… Naruto was going to be Hokage someday.

They continued to wait for their meals in silence before they heard a faint whispering from outside the stand.

"Is that him?" "I think it is, I know I saw him!" "Really? Do you think we can get his autograph?"

As Sakura flashed Naruto a small smile, "Well Naruto, it seems we have a few spies in our midst…" she told him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?" as he looked over. True to her word, Sakura was indeed right, as he could see the outstretch of a few small limbs peeking from the curtain of the stall, as they spoke in a whisper, unaware that they could hear them. "Why don't you two come out now?" he called out to them with a smirk, shocking the two figures.

The owners of the voices, two children respectively, revealed themselves in their shock, and Naruto was softly reminded of Konohamaru when he was younger, and how the boy would try to hide himself poorly with a fake rock or a curtain he had painted to match his background. The young Sarutobi had been an academy student, in a much younger time when he had just become a genin. As time flew, he realized, even so, that these kids were much younger than they had been. One had black hair and blue eyes, and the other with much blonder/brown hair with green eyes.

They each looked nervous, scared that they had gotten into trouble like a kid in a candy jar, but that's when Naruto did something to them, something that surprised them… he smiled.

"Well then, what were you two doing over there," he stated, as the two felt relieved by the blonde's expression.

The brown-haired kid bumped his companion, nearly tripping him in the process. "Oh, I uh… are you the real Naruto Uzumaki?" He asked nervously, not sure of whether or not he truly had found the hero's identity.

"Well, I don't know…" Naruto said in an unsure manner, before he smirked, "Could any fake Naruto… do this? Rasengan!" he said loudly, holding his hand out towards the two children, effortlessly forming his famed jutsu for them all to see. A large blue spinning orb of chakra within Naruto's fingertips, grinding, gnashing, and clashing against itself to form the A-rank jutsu that had helped defeat countless foes under his control.

"Wow!" they both chanted. Needless to say, the children were amazed, with stars in the two's eyes as they looked at his technique.

"That's the Rasengan! You are the real Naruto Uzumaki!" the black-haired boy shouted.

"Yeah, that's the technique you learned from Jiraiya-sama, one of the three Sanin! The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, created it!" the brown-haired one realized.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, it was a technique made by my Father, he was a genius like that after all!" he said with no small pride for his lineage. Sure, there were times when he was angry at him for sealing the Kyuubi within him, but at the end of the day, he cherished the time they had together, no matter how short it was. His father had given his life for him after all.

The children looked at the orb in wonder, to the point one of them tried to reach out and touch it, leading Naruto to stop the technique, as it quickly unraveled itself and dissipated into nothing but air.

Both of them looked at Naruto, surprised. "Hey, watch out, this jutsu could grind your fingers clean off. We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?" the blonde shinobi warned.

The kids paled, both of them shaking their heads vehemently, to which Naruto laughed.

"Alright, good! Say, why aren't you two at the academy, shouldn't classes have started now?" he inquired.

"Well…" the brown-haired one said nervously.

"We aren't old enough yet, we want to enter next year but… he's a little scared he won't get in," the black-haired one answered for his friend, to which the other nodded, affirming his statement.

"Really?" Naruto said, looking shocked. "But you seem so capable, y'know. I'll bet you'll pass the entrance exams no problem! Right Sakura?" the blonde said to the kids, before calling attention to his pink-haired friend.

Sakura, who had previously been watching their interaction silently, agreed with Naruto. "Yeah, the fact you already know so much about Naruto's Rasengan shows you know alot about Konoha's history, so I'm sure you'll do great," the doctor affirmed.

Naruto nodded, "Uhuh! Only an idiot wouldn't bother to learn any of the village's history before taking the entrance exam!"

Sakura's sweat dropped, Umm… sure, what Naruto said," she agreed, not bothering to refute his statement, remembering their time back at the academy when Naruto would always bail out or fail tests because he never studied any of the history or material.

"Yeah, so I'm sure you two will be great shinobi! Don't worry about it too much!" Naruto assured, flashing the children a smile in hopes of easing their tension.

The two kids smiled at each other, happy that their hero had acknowledged their dreams. "Alright!"

"Good, now why don't you two get back to your parents, I'm sure that they're worried about where you are right now," he told them, as he placed his hand on the brown-haired kid, ruffling his hair lightly.

The kid beamed, as they both nodded, but before they left, the brown-haired one shouted, "No, my parents aren't worried at all, because they know Naruto Uzumaki is here in this village!" he shouted.

Naruto smiled at his words, watching the two of them go that was until Sakura spoke, looking at her friend's expressions, analyzing him, and seeing this new side she had not quite seen in him before.

"You know, Naruto, you're pretty good with children," she commented, being surprised slightly.

"Huh? Am I really?" The blonde asked with a raised eyebrow. "I guess hanging out with Iruka teaching some of the academy students has rubbed off on me," he said, not thinking it to be a big deal.

Sakura disagreed "No, that was some real talent, have you ever thought about adopting a genin team?" she asked. Given that they were both Jonin with a considerable amount of experience, the two of them were eligible to help teach a team of three how to become proper shinobi. She had thought about the opportunity, and weighed her options, finding the task to be too much for her schedule given she was needed in the village to help at the hospital.

Although she could see Naruto taking the opportunity come the next gradation, he did seem to have the knack for it.

But Naruto only shook his head, "Honestly I haven't given it much thought, I doubt I'll be able to with the number of missions I'm taking. But…" he answered her, lost in recollection. Before starting, "It's just… when I see someone like that, I guess I get a little nostalgic. Y'know, it's like what Shika said about who the real 'King' for us shinobi is, it's not the Hokage or the daimyo, it's them, the children, the future." He thought back to his time as a kid, and how he looked up to Hiruzen and the other Hokage, how strong they were, he just had this tendency to feel safe when they were around. He wanted to convey that message to others as well, to let others know they were safe when he was around, and that the village had nothing to fear.

Getting a little embarrassed, he returned to his old habit of rubbing the back of his head as he looked at his teammate, "Sorry, I might be rambling a little," he apologized, he did tend to do that sometimes.

Sakura only stared at her former teammate, before she snapped out of her daze and shook her head, "No, it's just… I'm just realizing how much you've grown since our genin years," she stated.

Naruto nodded, "well, you didn't expect me to stay the same since back then, I mean all of us have changed a little," he told her, to which she agreed.

It was then that Teuchi, the chef, made his way back to the front of the stand two bowls in hand, placing down their orders respectively. "Alright then, time to eat up!" the old man stated.

Naruto looked at him, grateful, "Heh, thanks old man!"

Teuchi smiled, "It was no problem for my favorite customer, be sure to come back when you have the time!" he said.

To which the blonde nodded, "Yeah, you bet!" he said, and soon as the two gave a quick 'itadakimasu' as Teuchi went toward the back to work.

The two didn't say more than that, their words had been spoken, and at this point, they were more than content to stay within each other's company.

XXX

It wasn't long before Sakura had finished eating, taking off with a quick goodbye of 'see you later' as she paid for her meal as well. Telling him the details of their little meetup they were having.

Naruto took his time while eating, something he hadn't quite been used to considering his pension for eating ramen quickly in his youth, but he managed. Immersing himself in the environment was something he hadn't done in a while, so he ate briskly. The crisp air of Ichiraku's felt homely, which was more than he could say about his apartment these days, which he used more or less for sleeping.

But alas, he realized he would have to go sooner or later, and once he finished he pulled out a few stacks of ryo, quite a bit more than the usual price. A reward for the old man treating him so nicely in the past, besides, it wasn't like he spent alot of his money, or had really any expenses that he used it on.

Without a word, he got up and left the establishment, lifting open the flap as he disappeared into the streets.

Walking along the dirt road, he saw many patrons walking about along the roads, his hands in his pockets as he traversed alone. Yet he could tell, as alert as he was, that people around him started to converse, several mentions of his name along their conversations.

"Is that him?" "That's Naruto!" "I didn't know Naruto-kun was in the village!"

And other shouts of amazement from the villagers, even a few fangirls littered the area, something he wasn't quite used to with all the attention. Yet he tried to ignore them, or at least act as nonchalantly as he could given the entire street was speaking his name.

Amid everything, a lone voice called out to him, a woman he had noticed before but chose not to pay attention to given her aged demeanor. "Excuse me, young man, you wouldn't happen to be Naruto Uzumaki, would you?"

"Huh? Oh… yeah, I am," he told her, wondering why such a woman would come up to him.

"I just wanted to tell you, thank you, my son was a chunin in the war, and it was thanks to your efforts he was able to make it back okay," the old woman told him, before looking down. "I don't know what I would have done without him. You know his father died just a few years ago and… I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you all this. I just wanted to thank you, I appreciate you giving me your time, let me know if there's anything I can do to repay you."

"I-I…" He wasn't sure what to say, sure, there had been many people who went up to him to thank him for his efforts in the war. But this was probably one of the first people who looked at him with such sincerity to open themselves up to him.

He honestly didn't know what to do.

"I-I… I'm glad your son is okay, and you don't have to worry about thanking me," he said, rubbing the back of his head slightly.

"I see…" The aged woman said with a slight frown, wanting to convey her gratitude for her son's savior. "Very well then, just know, if you ever need help from an old woman like me, I run a clothing shop, you can just find this address and I'll take care of you, free of charge," she offered. She reached into her purse and pulled out a slip of paper as she wrote down her address and phone number.

"Ah, well… I don't think—" Naruto said, trying to refuse, but the old woman only shaved the note into his hand.

"Oh please, just take the note, I know you're much too good of a person to want to take it," she told him, promising to help him if he ever needed it.

"Alright, thank you… I guess," the blonde stated, rather awkwardly, as the older woman went off with a smile.

Naruto didn't know how to feel about the whole ordeal, but what he did know was that he didn't exactly feel he deserved the woman's praise. Sure, he might have saved her son in the war, but truthfully back then everything was a blur. He knew he saved people, but he also knew that he hadn't been able to save even more. It was the combined efforts of all the people who had been around him that they had managed to pull through, the kages, the konoha 12, the shinobi from all the other nations, and everyone who didn't make it back that day.

He was bitterly reminded of Neji Hyuuga, a dear friend who had changed for the better and given his life for him back in the war. There were others like him, people that didn't make it back. Even if 50,000 shinobi fought on the front lines only about half made it back. The cost had been great, and yet in the end he didn't really feel like they had truly won. Managing to stop the infinite tsukiyomi with barely enough effort.

Naruto crumpled the note that was within his hand as he threw it off into the wind. He didn't feel he deserved praise, he had done his duty, just like every shinobi did.

He had just been more capable than the rest.

The murmuring of the streets continued as they looked at him. He figured he had spent enough time in the spotlight, as within an instant he leaned down enough to allow him to jump high into the air, just out of view of the common people as he landed along the rooftops.

Using his vast experience of moving along the city to traverse around, the noon light sun still cascading off of him. But even so the people down below marveled at his speed like they would do any shinobi, easily spotting them from a distance and realizing they were safe.

Things had changed quite a bit since the war, he realized.

Now, the threat of other shinobi nations attacking was very slim considering the five great nations had formed an alliance during the war, which is still standing strong today. It wasn't quite on the level of true peace yet, but it was a start, one that his old sensei Jiraiya would agree was the right path. A shame it had to be after his passing, he had really hoped Jiraia would be able to see a time like this.

Now, that wasn't to say there wasn't any conflict, if there wasn't shinobi wouldn't be out of business, but times had changed, certainly for the better.

He only hoped things would lean more in the right direction.

Jumping along the rooftop with practiced ease, not even bothering to pay attention to where he was going because he knew every inch of this village by heart, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. And so he stopped, jumping down to an alleyway that seemed abandoned.

He instantly heard the sound of a man's voice, "This can't be… this can't be… I don't understand…"

Naruto's eyebrow raised in confusion, wondering just what was in this alley, as he saw a hunched-over figure, one in full white clothes that were as white as snow. It was a man, one that seemed to be disheveled in appearance, as blood seemed to be marring his clothes. His skin was also unusually pale as if he hadn't spent nearly enough time in the sun, his bones were showing, an indication of some kind of malnutrition.

"This can't be…" He heard from the man once again.

Not knowing who this man was, he walked up to him, his look filled with concern, "Hey man, are you doing okay? You seem to be pretty out of it." he inquired, trying to find out who this guy was, and why he was in such a state.

Instantly the man's mutterings stopped, as he looked up, revealing his face. "Don't touch me!" He shouted, trying to swipe at Naruto at speeds not many would be able to match.

Unfortunately for him, Naruto wasn't like most people, as when the man swiped at him he merely stepped back.

"You shouldn't even be able to see me! I don't know what's up with this human world or what those bastards did to me! But I'm not having it!" he shouted, his crazed and distraught gaze staring at him.

Naruto raised his hands forward, "Look I don't know what's up with you, but you should try to calm down, someone might seriously get hurt" Naruto said, trying to placate the situation.

But the man seemed even more angry at the fact he dodged his attack. "Grahhhh!... I'm a spirit, a human-like you shouldn't be able to even see when I strike, what the hell is happening!" He shouted, charging at Naruto, the blonde adopting a serious expression.

But even with his above-average speeds, the shinobi was much too fast for him, as when he tried to launch himself forward Naruto sidestepped him. As he grabbed onto his outstretched arm and sent a powerful, yet still retrained kick towards his backside, sending him flying.

The man crashed out of the alleyway right in the middle of passing ongoers as he landed along the dirt road in a heap. Naruto followed right after and to the man's credit, he still remained conscious, although he hadn't been using his full strength, lest he become a puddle on the ground.

"Owww~!" He drawled, remaining dizzy, as blood seemed to spill from his mouth, he quickly whipped said liquid, or he tried to anyway, as he he did he found several of his bones had been broken.

But that's when he did something, something that naruto truly hadn't been expecting. The lunatic laughed," Hahahahaha!" First it came out small, almost inaudible, but then it began to grow louder and louder, to the point Naruto wondered how he couldn make so much noise with his injuries.

"You have no idea what's coming! They'll be here, and when they are, we all are going to pay! All of us!" the injured man yelled out in a crazed state.

Several civilians closed around them to see the commotion taking place. The crazed man looked towards them all, staring at them like a harbinger of some sort of dark prophecy.

"Heh~ of course you don't, shikai, bankai, whoever you people are you won't stand a chance, all won't. Not in the face of the shinigami–!" he said before he was cut off from his ranting by a quick chop to the back of his neck.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto said coldly, as he appeared right behind the man's back. The man had said too much, and even if he didn't know what he was saying, he could tell his words seemed to spell unease amongst the people here. He couldn't allow that, and with a quick motion, the man slumped onto the ground.

Suddenly, a group of masked men with dark black and grey armor surrounded him, and the three of them kneeled in front of him. "Naruto-sama, we came as soon as we heard a disturbance," the leading ANBU stated, addressing Naruto with the utmost respect.

The blonde nodded, as he quickly gave out his orders for the three. "Go, take this guy to Ibiki, I want to know who he is, and what he's talking about."

"Hai!" The ANBU stated as they grabbed the unconscious man, as used a quick shunshin to go to the T department of Konoha, where they sent the criminals they wanted to get information out of.

Naruto didn't know who the man was, or what his intentions were, all he did know was that whatever this guy was saying, for whatever reason it put him on edge. Shinigami? Shikai? Bankai?

Perhaps they were just the words of a crazed person, in that case, Anko Mitarashi would have a field day with him. But if there was some truth to his words, well… he didn't know what to think.

All he did know was that he felt a weird sort of chakra from the man

… and that he had a bad feeling that something was going to happen in the near future.

End Chapter.

An: Alright, it hasn't been a month yet, and there is already another update which is strange. What am I even doing here? Who knows.

But anyways, this was a little concept I came up with while I was watching the last Cour of bleach that came out a while ago with a friend, and this idea just sort of stuck with me.

Obviously, this is a Post-Shipudden story Naruto where the events of Naruto:The Last haven't exactly happened yet, and I don't really plan on them. Naruto won't fight Toneri, and he won't exactly end up with Hinata. But who knows, maybe that could happen? Depends what yall want.

I think this story has a bit of potential, seeing as how i've kinda always wanted to write a EOS Naruto fic with my own little twists. Here, Naruto will be alot more mature than he might otherwise be, its enphasized a bit, but I hope to keep alot of the major aspects of him so as to not get too many reviews about him being too too OOC.

This chapter was really a bit of a slow burn, and that's how I feel alot of this series might end up being. Although, don't get me wrong, I plan for there to be ALOT of action later on, but I also want to focus on a few of the characters and the world in general after the start of the series, at least my interpretation of it.

With there only being hints as to what to come.

There was also a House M.D. reference, which I forgot I put in but I guess it was what I was watching when I was writing this.

This story was started around two months ago, but with everything it took some time to get out. But do not fret, there is more to come, I already have 2 more chapters of this lined up and ready.

This story might be a bit different as I plan on it being a SINGLE PAIRING fic, so no Harems.

Who the lucky lady will be? Well, that will come in time. But if yall have any suggestions, I'd be okay with hearing them out, with a good reason of course. It'll likely be a bleach girl.

I posted a Naruto/Hela Marvel fic not too long ago if you want to check it out.

Anyways, next chapter will be soon.

Let me know what you guys think.