"Sweet Celestia..." Naruto mutters, looking up at the still terrifying glass statue, its arms outstretched and sneer still present on its face.
"Yes?" She said, floating gently down next to him. She was wearing that grin, as if she's just played some monumental joke.
"Gaara was up there!" He yelled, realizing the implications of what she had done.
"Oh he's completely unharmed I assure you." She says casually.
"How can he possibly be unharmed after all that?" Naruto gapes.
"I simply superheated all of the sand within the monster into glass, and then dissipated the heat by converting it back into light. All while redirecting any harmful effects away from the child. Or, in layman's terms... Magic." She said, seeming sincere, and yet Naruto could not shake the feeling she was being smug. "Shall we go and fetch the child?"
Naruto merely nodded along dumbly, and took a cloud up to the top of Konoha's latest monument. He could only imagine how the village would react to its presence, but at least there would be undeniable proof of his efforts to protect the village.
Gaara was, as Celestia said, unharmed, still standing in his sleep upon the forehead of the glass monstrosity. Naruto gave him a cautious shake, but he did not stir. "He likely has chakra exhaustion, and will not wake up for several days."
Naruto nodded to her, and threw the boy over his shoulder, they'd get him treatment back in Konoha. "Uzumaki..." Came a quiet mumble from the boy, apparently he had a bit of energy left after all. "How are you... so strong?"
"I fight for my friends, for my village, for all of my precious people, it gives me the determination to keep going, and in return my friends fight for me." Naruto said, floating down towards the ground.
"This world... will never accept monsters... like us."
"We don't have to be monsters Gaara, I've seen it, even you have been making the effort lately. I know it's hard but I believe you can do it. As for the world not accepting us, I plan on becoming Hokage someday, and then changing this world, so its a better place for everyone, even people like you and me." Naruto said. He was met with only silence, either Gaara had passed out, or he had no response.
Along the way back to the village he was confronted by Gaara's siblings, both injured but determined. "Hand over our brother." Temari said, managing to keep the trembling out of her voice.
Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. "No. Your village has done enough don't you think? Between what you've done to him, and what you tried to pull today. I'm taking him in to get treated for chakra exhaustion, you're welcome to join me, since you both look dead on your feet."
"He's our brother, you can't expect us to just let him be captured!" Kankuro shouted.
"If you truly cared about him, as a family should, you'd let me take him. I promise he'll come to no harm, but if you wish to stay at his side, you can surrender as well. The battle is over, and it's a long way back to Suna." Naruto replied, moving once more towards the village. The two siblings shared a look, before relented and followed along.
O~O~O~O~O
A day after the invasion, a meeting took place in the council's chamber to discuss the state of the village.
"The Hokage, at this time, is still in the hospital, they have managed to treat his wound and slow the progress of the poison, but without someone as skilled as Tsunade present, hope of recovery is bleak. Thus is falls to us as the council to make decisions in his stead regarding how to proceed." Said one of the councilmen, to the agreement of everyone present.
"The damage to the village itself, as well as the number of casualties on our part is not as high as it could have been. The merchant district lost several buildings, the village walls will certainly need to be fixed, but all in all we got off lightly." another council member stood to give his assessment.
"On the political front, Suna has sent word that their Kazekage has been found dead. They claim Orochimaru impersonated him and ordered the attack." one of the councilmen added.
"A likely story." Scoffed one of them men. "More likely they knew going into this that Orochimaru was leading the way, but they kept this as a backup in case they lost."
"We have prisoners, do we not? The jinchuuriki and its siblings. Surely those are significant bargaining chips. I'd hate for Suna to get away with just saying 'Oops, our mistake', simply because we cannot retaliate." One of the council members grumbled.
"Executing them would cause more problems than it solved, and we lack the talent required to move the Biju to one of our own shinobi. The best we can hope for is to sell them back to Suna to ensure reparations are paid. Shall we move on to promotions? Although we only got through the first round we did have some talent shown." The obvious leader of the group said.
"First up, Neji Hyuuga, a real prodigy that boy, shame he was put up against the Kyuubi brat really, still his talent alone may warrant-" His thought was interrupted by the loud Bang of the doors opening. In strode Jiraiya, pushing a very weak looking Third Hokage.
"Need I remind you all... That the 'kyuubi... brat'... is the reason we are in this situation?" The third wheezed out.
"Lord Hokage! You should be resting!" One of the council members stammered.
"Well he can't very well rest while there's a coup going on now can he?" Jiraiya remarked, the council reacted predictably to the accusation.
"We're merely acting in the villages best interests while the Hokage recovers." One of them said defensively.
"I notice there are no ninja clan heads present." The Sanin remarked, seeing the numerous empty chairs.
"We sent them the message, but they are likely busy with clan duties."
"No doubt you planned to make decisions on their behalf, and push them through while neither the Hokage nor the Clans can object. Talk of executing prisoners, and handing out military promotions, all of which is outside of your jurisdiction. The lot of you should be thrown in prison." The Toad Sage scowled.
"Need we remind you all that Naruto Uzumaki, that is the Name of the Kyuubi's Container, proved to be a key player in the defense of the village. It was his summon that aided the Hokage in his battle against Orochimaru, and likely saved his life. It was his summoned Airship that helped to support our troops, and took down two of the larger summons, alongside many promising genin. It was he and Sasuke Uchiha, who fought against Suna's Jinchuuriki. It was his summon who defeated it, one of the biggest threats to this village, you can still see it from Konoha!
And yet you all sit there bad mouthing him, speaking of denying him his due promotion, as if you don't all owe him your lives and livelihoods, many times over." Jiraiya growled out, honestly infuriated at Konoha's corruption laid bare before him. The Third Hokage remained silent, glaring at everyone present.
"As you say, Sanin, it was the boy's summons who did all the heavy lifting. I'm not certain we should reward the boy for merely calling upon the... ponies." Said one of the braver council members, smug look upon his face.
"Enough!" Called the Third Hokage, looking sad at the turn of events. "Anbu, arrest those present for treason. It is obvious that despite their claimed intentions, they serve only their own interests here."
There was much arguing and struggle, but within seconds the six present councilmen were detained and removed from the room, the Third was wheeled back to the hospital, amid a heavy attack of coughing. Tomorrow they would hold another meeting, this time in his hospital room, with all of the clan heads, and the civilian members who were not present at the unofficial meeting. Jiraiya could only hope it would go better.
O~O~O~O~O
Later that day Naruto stopped by the Hospital, to visit Gaara. They had a long conversation, sharing life stories, and Naruto now had a better idea of the redhead's life. It was amazing really, how similar their backgrounds were, it made Naruto wonder if every Jinchuuriki had such a life, if they were all tied together by their upbringing. It made him smile, thinking of how much his pony friends had changed him, and it made him sad to wonder what he'd be like without them.
He left Gaara to rest, promising to come visit again, and bring some of the ponies that wished to see him. They had discussed the Ichibi, the monster sealed within Gaara, and how despite the physical manifestation of it being glassed, it still remained within Gaara, alive and well, as Biju were indestructible. Already there were talks of the Academy teachers taking a field trip to see the great glass Tanuki, and he was certain the ponies would want to see it as well. The Konohamaru corps and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were already arguing about what to name it.
On his way out of the hospital he stopped by the Hokage's room, noting that the security let him through. He was pleased to find that the old man was awake, and Jiraiya was with him. "Hey old man, how are you holding up?"
"Hello Naruto, it's good to see you, the village is abuzz with all your accomplishments during the invasion. I likely owe my life to Princess Luna, despite my best efforts I'm not as strong as I once was." The Hokage said, he spoke slowly, as if strained to do so, but made no sign that he wished to stop.
"I'm glad you're okay though, I'm not ready to take your hat just yet old man." Naruto said, approaching the bed. "I just came back from visiting Gaara, he's had a harder life than I ever did, but I wonder if I could have turned out like that."
"Jinchuuriki are often treated harshly by their villagers, often treated as pariahs, or forced to become living weapons." The Hokage admitted sadly.
"There are others then? How many? Where did they come from?" Naruto asked, and Jiraiya stepped in with the answers.
"The legend goes, that long ago the elemental nations was at the mercy of a terrible monster known as the Juubi. It would appear at random, destroying villages decimating the countryside, until one day a man stepped forward to fight it. He was known as the Sage of the Six Paths." Jiraiya spoke, as though reciting a bed time story. "Using his powers he fought the Juubi, and managed to seal away its power within himself, and then trap the Juubi's body within the moon. This lead to a long period of peace, until the Sage died of old age."
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on!" Naruto interrupted, "Sage of the Six Paths, Six, sealing away a being of chaos, and banishing it to the moon to bring about an era of peace? Really?"
"Yeah, what's the big deal kid, I'm not even done yet." Jiraiya said, ticked at the interruption. Naruto ignored him and summoned Celestia and Luna, as well as the Elements of Harmony. The hospital room was now a bit more crowded.
Naruto quickly filled them in on the situation, and Jiraiya repeated the story so far. Immediately the ponies saw the connection. "So this Sage of the Six Paths was like Celestia or Luna, able to use all six of this world's 'Elements of Harmony', to both seal and banish this world's 'Discord'." Twilight put together.
"Right well, on his death bed, the Sage split the juubi's chakra into 9 smaller parts, creating the tailed beasts. Since then they have appeared at random, attacking villages and sowing destruction, unless they are sealed within a Ninja." Jiraiya shrugged.
Naruto focused a moment and drew upon a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra, opening communication with the fragment of Discord within him. "You said I was an Element of Discord, right? Is that because I have the Kyuubi inside me?"
"Hmm, yes and no. Twilight is the Element of Magic, even without the tiara on her head. You were an Element of Discord even for the brief period before the Kyuubi was sealed, the furball is just the physical representation of it, and all of its power. Call it destiny that you were brought together."
"So this world has nine Elements of Discord running about?" Rainbow Dash asked, slightly spooked by hearing the Draconequus' voice coming from the blonde ninja.
"Yep, think of it as a mirror of your world. Where your world's spirit of Harmony split into 6 separate elements, in this world it was forcibly done to the spirit of Discord. All of the pieces are on the board now and the stakes are the fate of the world. A True wielder of Harmony, like the Princesses, looking to seal away Discord again, and keep the world the way it is. Nine Elements of Discord, altering the world around them. A True wielder of Discord, like me, looking to change the whole world."
"So I should be looking for this true wielder of Discord then?" Naruto asked.
"The reason Celestia cannot use the Elements of Harmony, despite being a true wielder is because they are already bound. If she wanted to get the Elements back under her control, and use them herself..."
"I would have to sever the bond, which would kill the pony, and leave the physical representation available to bond to me. To even suggest such a thing is monstrous." Celestia finished for him.
"So someone out there is looking to kill all of the Jinchuuriki? To collect their power for himself? What about the true wielder of Harmony?" Twilight asked.
"He wants to keep the world the way it is, harmony for this world is currently perpetual conflict. Even during peace times there is death and murder, starvation and sickness. Discord must win for this to change, either for better or worse."
"So the only ones truly on my side are the other Elements of Discord?" Naruto complained.
"And your friends." Celestia said, as the ponies pulled him into a group hug.
"As I've said, the pieces are all on the board, and the first moves are being made on each side. This is going to be an entertaining game to watch." They were left with laughter, slowly fading into silence.
"Ahem." Jiraiya coughed, getting the attention of the ponies pressed in around his apprentice."Not to break up the moment, but my spy network has been telling me about several S rank missing ninja who have been inquiring about Jinchuuriki lately, all of them wearing black coats with red clouds."
"You think they're these true wielders?" Naruto asked.
"More likely they are working for one or the other. I'm still looking into it, but we'll need to keep an eye out."
O~O~O~O~O
The next day Naruto met up with his team for missions, for the first time in over a month. There was plenty of work to do repairing the village. As they worked he informed them of what he had learned the previous day.
"So there's some big scary ninja in black coats and red clouds looking for you?" Sakura asked, shivering at the thought.
"Apparently, so far they're only looking for information, but whoever they work for, it means bad things for me." He shrugged, lifting another plank of wood. He had several clones out, helping them build a new building in the merchant district. With all the practice he had gotten in the past few years, carpentry was becoming a major part of his skill set.
"Well that sucks. Any word on when we find out who's getting promoted?" Sasuke said, changing the topic.
"After that fiasco with the 'council' trying to usurp control, nobody wants to make any major decisions until either the Hokage recovers, or a new one is chosen." Naruto replied.
"Naruto! I have a letter for you!" Came a familiar voice, the orange wearing genin's eyes widened in realization.
"Derpy don't land there!" He yelled, but it was too late, the pegasus in question alighted on an unsecured beam above the team, which wobbled once, twice, and came tumbling down. With a crash a large section of the building landed in a heap, dispelling 15 shadow clones.
"You okay Naruto?" The grey pegasus called, hovering above the disaster area. Naruto groaned and created more clones, sending them to get to work fixing the mess.
"I'm fine Derpy, no one was hurt. What's this about a letter?" He asked. With a smile the mare reached into her pouch and pulled out a letter, disappearing as he thanked her.
"Who's it from?" Sakura asked warily, she had heard the results of his last mysterious package.
"Pinkie Pie..." Naruto replied. Sasuke immediately leapt away as if it might explode, and returned to work putting up a wall.
"I just saw her yesterday, couldn't she deliver this herself? That pony is so scatterbrained." Naruto grumbled, taking a seat and pulling out the letter.
Dear Naruto,
Sorry about the building, Derpy can be a bit accident prone. I just wanted to tell you I've been reading some of the Toad guy's work. No not that work, he's a terrible writer, I showed Twilight one of those books and she set it on fire! I've never seen her treat a book like that! Anyways, Apple Bloom says the Ixion will be grounded for repairs for a few weeks, if you can spare the time to go help her fix it she'd appreciate it. Oh and Rarity is designing a new outfit for you, for when they officially make you a chuunin. Flutters wants you to summon her sometime soon, I think she misses hanging out with you. And Rainbow Dash doesn't know what else to teach you, since you don't have wings. You really should get to work on learning to fly.
Okie dokie lokie, best wishes Pinkie PIe.
Naruto sat back with a sigh, folding up the letter and placing it in his pouch. Figuring he could get one thing out of the way right then and there, he summoned Fluttershy. The shy pony seemed a little startled by her sudden change of location, but calmed down upon seeing Naruto.
"Hey Fluttershy, Pinkie just sent a letter, that said you wanted to hang out. We're just about done for the day here, so maybe the five of us can grab lunch?" He said, looking up at where Kakashi sat on the roof of a nearby building 'supervising' their work.
"That sounds lovely." Came her quiet response.
After a long lunch at Ichirakus, vegetarian ramen of course, filled with stories and laughter, the team returned to the construction site to finish up. Naruto had left some clones to work through lunch, and the building's frame was nearly complete. "Oi, Kid! We have a mission!" came a familiar voice.
"I'm on a mission you old pervert!" Naruto yelled back, causing everyone to look up at Jiraiya, where he perched on a nearby rooftop.
"Oh, um... you're the writer?" Fluttershy asked, as the Sanin hopped down and approached the group. She had met the man before, but hadn't realized he was the 'Pervert with terrible writing skills' that Naruto often complained about.
"Ah, are you the 'friend with a closet full of smut'?" Jiraiya joked, and was rewarded with Fluttershy letting out an adorable squeak, seizing up, and toppling over in a faint. "What? It's often the quiet ones." He shrugged at Naruto's glare.
"Well, you certainly have a way with the ladies." Naruto facepalmed. "I already told you, I can't say who has the collection, so let it drop."
"Not till you tell me which of those ponies is a better author than me!" Jiraiya argued.
"A school aged foal writing with its mouth is a better author than you!" Naruto argued back.
"I'll have you know I have thousands of fans all over the world." Jiraiya boasted.
"That just proves that thousands of people wouldn't know good writing if it bit them." Naruto countered. "Now, is there a reason you are bothering me and my friends?"
"I already told you, we've got a mission. We need to find Tsunade so she can fix the old man, and take the hat from him so he can retire. I know what you're thinking kid, you'll have to settle for being the Sixth Hokage instead, the old man can't keep this up." Jiraiya said. "Meet me at the East gate tomorrow morning, and be prepared to be travelling for quite some time. Tsuanade doesn't want to be found."