Edited on 1/9/16

Riku: And now it's time for the true prologue! Now this story will really get on its feet. That's right, last chapter was just what I'd like to call a Pilot Episode and is now non-canon to this story. Now that I know more about the founding of Fairy Tail due to reading Fairy Tail Zero, I know how this story should REALLY get started.

Naruto: For the convenience of the readers, Riku has forced me to create a short timeline to explain where we are at this point in time, and where the first chapters of the Manga started. It also contains a few elements that are exclusive to this story.

BFGSW = Before Fourth Great Shinobi War

016BFGSW: Naruto is born

000BFGSW: The Fourth Great Shinobi War starts

X000: Fourth Great Shinobi War ends and Naruto becomes the Shinju's Jinchuriki

X000-X003: Naruto trains with the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokages

X003: Naruto seals himself and the Shinju away on what becomes Tenrou Island

X391: Dragon Civil War begins

X673: Mavis Vermilion is born

X679: Mavis Vermilion is orphaned and finds "Northswain"

X686: Mavis discovers the Shinju's Sealing Grounds and meets Precht Gaebolg, Warrod Sequen, Yury Dreyar, and "Medic"; Fairy Tail is founded

X696: Makarov Dreyar is born and Mavis Vermilion is named his godmother

X700: Mavis Vermilion vanishes and is presumed dead, her grave is built on Tenrou Island, Precht is made Fairy Tail's second Guild Master

X772: Cana joins Fairy Tail

X774: Ur seals Deliora, Gray Fullbuster joins Fairy Tail

X776: Erza escapes the Tower of Heaven and joins Fairy Tail

X777: Dragons disappear from the eye of modern society being viewed as "Fairy Tale" creatures from hence forth, Natsu is found by Makarov Dreyar and joins Fairy Tail, Mystogan enters Earthland through the Anima

X781: The Alvarez Empire attempts to invade Ishgar in order to capture Lumen Histoire, The sealing and relocation of the Shinju is completed, Naruto awakens and joins Fairy Tail

X784: Lucy joins Fairy Tail

Riku: As you can see, I have a lot of ground to cover before the main plot starts, so this chapter is going to cover Mavis' new history and this continuity's take on the events of the Fairy Tail Zero manga. Now, Mavis, if you would be so kind as to say the disclaimer.

Mavis: Riku Uzumaki does not own Naruto or Fairy Tail, which is good because I founded Fairy Tail and the Naruto of this story will be a part of it!

Riku: We're talking about the Mangas and Animes, not the person and guild…

Mavis: Oops!

"Fairy Tail" – Modern Language will be in quotation marks.

[Naruto] – Ancient Shinobiese will be in brackets, that's right, I'm not going to use Japanese words unless at least one form of the English translation also uses the Japanese word for a particular technique as well (ex: Rasengan – literal English: Spiraling Sphere, I will use the word Rasengan because the English translation also calls it the Rasengan and everyone knows what the Rasengan is). This rule of mine however, due to the language difference between Ancient Shinobiese and the Modern Language this story takes place in, can be bent a little for locations (ex. The Village Hidden amongst the Tree Leaves = Konoha). My reason? Konoha is shorter and every reader probably already knows what it is due to how many people write fanfictions on this site in gratuitous Japanese (Authors adding gratuitous Japanese to their stories may be a pet peeve of mine, but I may as well use well known names to my advantage).

'Fairy Tail' – Thoughts will be in apostrophes and italicized.

Naruto – Summon creatures, dragons, and tailed beasts will be bold.

Prologue

Part One

Descendant of Shinobi

Just because history has forgotten something does not mean it no longer exists. The Shinobi live on through their descendants, and it is the duty of those descendants, no matter how few, even if it's just me, to make sure that the shadows of that dark era do not invade the era we live in now. I cannot allow history to repeat itself! – Mavis Vermilion

Several hundred years ago, the world was controlled by a power known as Chakra. Those who used chakra were called Shinobi.

In the early days of the Era of Shinobi, clans of Shinobi waged war against one another for contracts from Feudal Lords for centuries. It was an era of perpetual bloodshed, an era of nonstop war. Children no older than five years of age were thrown on the battlefield and expected to fight and die like the adults.

It was an era of darkness and suffering.

Only in the final century of this era did the constant warfare stop. Shinobi changed from a clan system to a ninja village system, where a village of ninja served their country's leader. However, this did not put an end to war. It only created brief decades of peace before war broke out between the ninja villages again.

A total of four great wars broke out in that century, each more bloody than the last. It was the Fourth Great Shinobi war that finally broke the cycle of perpetual warfare that drove the Era of Shinobi.

In that fourth war, a great beast known as the Shinju was unleashed upon the world by a villain named Madara Uchiha. The beast's might was so great that it drove the Shinobi to the brink of extinction. However, in the final hour of the war, when all hope seemed to have died, and the hour of doom appeared to be at hand, a hero emerged from the ranks of Shinobi and defeated the beast, sealing it away.

Both the hero and Madara vanished without a trace upon the war's conclusion, the end result of their battle remaining a mystery, though it is believed that the villain, Madara Uchiha, escaped with his life. Upon the war's conclusion, a true lasting peace was finally granted to the world.

Unfortunately for the majority of Shinobi, the only peace they gained was the peace of the dead.

Centuries passed, and a new form of power known as Magic rose to prominence, and Mages controlled this power. A new form of power, Magic, now controls the world. While war does not happen as often in this Era of Magic, unrest is all too common with dark guilds and evil cultists worshiping the Black Mage Zeref cropping up every now and again.

The Era of Shinobi may have faded into myth, but it still happened. Proof of its existence continues to be found by archeologists and historians.

The name, Madara Uchiha, crops up from time to time throughout history. He is now known as history's most powerful villain, and believed to be immortal. He is just as feared as the Black Mage Zeref. To this day, his name still holds power.

Strips of rusted metal with a symbol carved into it attached to what was once cloth are found on what was believed to be the site of the ancient war's final battle.

Scrolls containing an ancient language and pictures of martial arts forms and hand seals are occasionally found in old libraries.

Odd weapons that react to a form of power other than Magic sometimes fall into the hands of folk heroes and criminals alike.

A more recent discovery was an island protected by whirlpools. It is believed to be a treasure trove of ancient Shinobi knowledge. The doors to some of its buildings are reinforced and closed off by ancient seals. Leaving any knowledge they may contain locked away from all whom lack the right.

The Era of Shinobi may be over, but its legacy lives on.

In the year X673, a child named Mavis Vermilion was born. This child is one of the last few surviving descendants of Shinobi. She is living proof that the Era existed, and that its legacy lives on to this day.

February, X686: Uzushio

A small dinghy with an intricate array of seals attached to its lone sail drifted towards an island surrounded by vicious whirlpools. However, Mavis, the thirteen year old girl steering the boat, was not worried at all as the current of one of the whirlpools grabbed the boat. If anything, she was excited if the look on her face was any indication. She formed a hand seal and a perfect copy of her appeared in a puff of smoke and took the job of steering the boat.

She then jumped off the side of the boat and defied the laws of physics by running ahead of the boat on top of the water and towards the nearest whirlpool, her white haori with a blue flame-like motif decorating the bottom waving in the wind. She then bit her left thumb, drawing blood, and slammed it down on the water and incanted, "Whirlpool Guardian Seal: Release!"

The water current immediately died down and the whirlpool subsided and vanished as Mavis jumped back onto her boat. She then looked towards the island as she said to herself, "Good thing Mom's maiden name wasn't just for show, otherwise I would have had to take drastic measures to escape that whirlpool. I don't think Gamatoshi would've liked hopping over a whirlpool in the ocean. He broke out in a rash last time I summoned him in saltwater, and then launched me halfway to the moon in retaliation… and now I'm rambling…"

"We need friends." Mavis's Shadow Clone stated as it continued to steer.

She then sighed and moaned out in depression, "I know…"

xxx

Mavis dragged her boat ashore with the help of her Shadow Clone and then told it to split up with her so they could search the island twice as fast.

It took Mavis only an hour to find what looked like the remains of a town that was split in half by a river. The side she was on looked like what used to be a residential district. She could find nothing but the remains of houses and the occasional rusted weapon and kitchen utensil everywhere she looked. She then sat down on the time worn remains of a destroyed fountain and thought, 'It looks like a battle happened here when this place was destroyed. At least, that's what the old weapons indicate. Nothing secretive is here either since there are no hidden trap doors or blood sealed scrolls in any of the houses, so this must be the residential district.'

Mavis then looked past the river and thought, 'Which means that side should be the Shinobi district.'

As Mavis walked across the river and gave the remains of a bridge a passing glance, the memories of her Shadow Clone returned to her. Her eyes brightened as she broke out into a run and said to herself, "This has to be important it it's still intact and locked by a blood seal!"

She bolted down the road, careful to avoid any stray rusted weapons so as to not cut her bare feet. She quickly came up to what her Shadow Clone found, a massive cathedral-like building with no windows. At the front of it all was a giant door with the Uzumaki spiral emblazoned in the center. Mavis placed her hand on the door and channeled some chakra into the door, revealing the sealing array keeping the door closed. "Yes, this is definitely important." she said to herself.

Mavis bit her recently healed left thumb hard enough to draw blood again and pressed it against the sealing array. The seals glowed and vanished. Mavis then backed away as she heard, and then saw, the giant stone doors opening on their own power. She looked inside and saw the atrium of the building. She entered and looked around in wonder as lights hung from the ceiling turned on one by one.

'The lights must operate on chakra.' Mavis thought as she walked towards the nearest door. What she saw when she entered the room was a LOT of bookshelves filled with scrolls. She grabbed the nearest one and opened it without bothering to look at the title written on it. As expected, given when the scroll was made, all the writing was in Shinobiese. 'I will never take Mom and Dad's language classes for granted ever again. I might never have to speak Shinobiese to anyone except the older Toad Summons since it's a dead language, but I'll definitely have to read it if I plan on learning what's in these scrolls.'

Mavis read through the scroll and learned that it was a scroll on the basics of the sealing arts, also known as fuinjutsu. 'Mom already taught me this stuff.' Mavis thought to herself as she rolled the scroll up and put it back. She then grabbed the scroll next to it and bothered to look at the title this time. It read, [Intermediate Level Fuinjutsu for Dummies]. Mavis grinned sheepishly to herself and thought, 'This must be the sequel to the scroll I just looked through, which would explain why I already knew the stuff in the last one. Mom did say that every descendant of the Uzumaki clan should be well versed in the Sealing Arts… while she was drilling this stuff into my head, so I guess I won't need this scroll either. Since I'd like to see as much of this place as I can as quickly as possible…'

Mavis made her current most frequently used hand seal and created a Shadow Clone. She then told it, "Find something interesting. I'll keep exploring this place."

The Shadow Clone gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up and wandered deeper into the room. Mavis then left the room and continued to explore the massive building. After an hour of exploring, she managed to figure out the general layout of the place.

'Each room is dedicated to a different branch of the Shinobi Arts. The first one is fuinjutsu, and then there are the rooms with scrolls on ninjutsu and genjutsu. The room with scrolls on taijutsu forms has scrolls on weapon techniques mixed in with it, and there is even a room filled with normal literature from the Era of Shinobi. It appears my ancestors were great at hoarding knowledge, and were just as good at preserving it since none of the scrolls in this place show any signs of falling apart. The archeologists were right when they suspected this place to be a treasure trove of ancient knowledge. Now I'm really glad that Northswain sent me here to continue my studies in the Shinobi Arts. This place has everything I need to complete my Shinobi training… well, everything short of an actual teacher…' Mavis thought to herself as she walked towards a larger than average door with the Uzumaki spiral embedded in the center of the door.

"This is the only room I haven't been in yet, let's see what's inside." Mavis said to herself as she went through the same motions that she did to open the building's main doors. Just like the main doors, this door opened by itself upon activation, and upon entering, Mavis quickly learned why the building was so large. This room was massive, yet mostly vacant. There were a few book cases filled with scrolls, but mostly nothing else.

Mavis examined one of the scrolls and noticed something different about it. Unlike the rest of the scrolls she saw today, this one had the Uzumaki spiral printed on it. 'These scrolls must be for clan exclusive techniques' Mavis thought as she looked up at the odd patterns on the wall. 'If this room was locked behind a blood seal, and this place was open to the public back when this island was populated. Then this room should have all sorts of information on my ancestors since only people with Uzumaki blood can access this room.'

Mavis put the scroll back and ran up to the nearest wall to get a closer look at the patterns. Upon closer inspection after running up the wall, the pattern was actually a bunch of lines connecting names together like some sort of family tree. She observed and noted that the names she read had dates next to them, and some of the names that were connected had a description of the nature of the relationship between the two people.

'This is a family tree.' Mavis thought. 'These two were married and had three children, according to the three lines connecting those three to their parents. These two had a random fling that resulted in a child. This woman had a child through rape… How the heck does this family tree know this stuff?! The dates I just read are from LONG after this town was destroyed, and there's certainly no way all these people bothered to travel here and record this information.'

Mavis searched the room from her vantage point and noticed two podiums on two opposite sides of the room. She jumped from her vantage point and then walked towards the closest podium. Upon reaching it, she observed that the podium had a sheet of paper nailed to it. At the top of the paper was the words [The Podium of Answers].

Mavis thought, 'The "Podium of Answers"? Is this thing supposed to answer questions?'

Mavis channeled her chakra into the podium and saw that every inch of the podium was covered in seals that quickly faded away the moment she stopped channeling her chakra into it. She thought, 'Huh, maybe it can answer questions, or at least do something. Mom always did say that the Art of Sealing is only limited to the imagination and ability of the user.'

Mavis brought a pen out from… somewhere in her black, knee length, dress and wrote the question, 'What is this building?' on the paper. The ink vanished and nothing happened. Mavis waited for a few minutes before trying again, this time writing in Shinobiese.

[What is this building?]

The ink vanished again, but this time was replaced by the words, [The Great Uzumaki Library].

'So that's the name of this building. Now for something about that family tree…' Mavis thought.

[How is the Uzumaki family tree able to record such descriptive things about the people it records?]

The podium answered, [The family tree was created by the first head of the Uzumaki clan and the mechanics that operate the family tree is a seal so unbelievably complex that even the genius that created this podium could not figure out how it works.]

'Hmmm, it looks like the questions this podium can answer are limited to the knowledge of its creator.' Mavis thought as she started to write another question.

[How can I find my name on the tree?]

Her answer was, [Write your name on the Podium of Navigation, and if you are a member of the great Uzumaki Clan, you will be taken to your name on the family tree.]

'That must be the other podium I saw earlier' Mavis thought. 'One more question before I go look up my entry on that tree…'

Her final question for the podium was an impulsive one, [Where do the fairies live?]

The answer she got was disappointing, [The genius that created this podium never bothered to look into the existence of fairies, so this podium lacks the knowledge needed to confirm or deny the existence of fairies. Therefore, this podium cannot tell you where the fairies live.]

A cloud of depression hung over Mavis as she silently cried and thought as she walked away from [The Podium of Answers], 'At… at least it didn't deny the existence of fairies…so… so I might still be able to see the fairies if I look real hard and never give up!' She then shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes as she resolutely looked at and then began to walk towards [The Podium of Navigation] across the massive room, 'No! No crying! Dad said that the fairies do not reveal themselves to crybabies!'

When she reached the podium, she confirmed that it was titled, [The Podium of Navigation]. She wrote her name on the podium as the Podium of Answers instructed and the ground she was standing on began to move, much to her surprise.

Mavis quickly regained her wits and noticed that the ground she was standing on, podium and all was now levitating itself and floating towards a specific section of the lowest end of the Uzumaki family tree. The platform Mavis was standing on melded with the wall upon reaching it, allowing her to examine her name on the family tree.

She then looked up from her name and saw the names of her parents, [Dezel Vermilion] and [Raine Uzumaki-Vermilion]. She also saw the nature of their relationship, married, and their dates of birth and death. Curiosity then slowly crept its way into Mavis's head, she decided that she wanted to see just how far she could track her ancestry, even though she knew that there was no way she could possibly recognize the names.

Mavis crawled along the wall as if it were the ground and followed the line connected to her mother's name upwards. 'It's a good thing that the upwards lines represent the Uzumaki bloodline and connect only those immediately attached or directly contributed to the Uzumaki bloodline.' Mavis thought, 'Otherwise I would be getting myself completely lost. Hmmm… This one was born in X120, and this one was born in X102. I'm getting closer to the conclusion of the Era of Shinobi since I'm currently looking at the conclusion of the void century. I always did wonder what happened back then. Chakra was almost completely dead, though still more prominent than it is now, and Magic didn't become a dominant source of power for another few decades-Ah! Here we are! The date of birth of these two is written differently, but the date of death of this [Shion] person is X030. Looks like this person doesn't have a surname and the nature of her relationship with this [Naruto Uzumaki] is listed as [Complicated, let's just refer to this as an impulsive promise and comfort sex that somehow resulted in a child]. Well, these two did survive the war that ended the Era of Shinobi, so something like this would probably be pretty common for survivors.'

Mavis's eyes then drifted over Naruto's entry and then noticed something that made her eyes widen in shock. She then shook her head and rubbed her eyes to make sure she saw it right. She looked at her ancestor's entry again and saw that her eyes were not deceiving her, 'No date of death… this guy is STILL ALIVE?! HOW?! He'd have to be nearly 700 years old! Nobody lives that long! Well, the Toad Summons do… and Northswain… but that doesn't apply to humans! Is this some sort of malfunction?'

Mavis created a few Shadow Clones and had them look over every entry to see if what she just read was an isolated incident. While her clones were busy, Mavis looked up the entry just above Naruto's. '[Kushina Uzumaki] she died the day her son was born, she married a man named [Minato Namikaze] and it looks like he died on the same day… wait, what's this extra bit?[Raised as an undead warrior by the Impure Resurrection Technique on October 9, X000]?! What the heck?! Are this guy and his son still somehow wandering Earthland as an immortal and a zombie? I think I'm done looking at this family tree for now…'

Mavis quickly stood up and ran down the wall. She also decided that she would examine the scrolls in the room at a later date as she headed for the door.

When she exited the room, her clones dispelled and relayed their gathered information to her, 'Okay, it looks like Naruto Uzumaki's situation really is an isolated incident, so that means he probably really is somehow still alive. Did he put himself in suspended animation? I think I'll just save that question for later. However, the situation with his dad, Minato Namikaze, is not an isolated incident, though it only happened to one other person. Hashirama Senju, married to Mito Uzumaki-Senju, is also a zombie that is probably still wandering Earthland to this very day… I should probably ask Northswain about this when I get back to the caves under Crocus, or the Elder Toad Sage Brother Gamakichi next time I visit Mt. Myoboku. Those two know just about everything so I wouldn't put it past them to know a thing or two about this. I'm starting to think that Chakra might be some sort of supernatural weirdness magnet… but that could also be a good thing! It might help me meet the fairies since fairies might be supernatural too!'

With that random thought brightening her day, Mavis continued to explore the Great Uzumaki Library.

That Night…

Mavis found an intact house in the Shinobi district of the town that she could use for the night. Mavis was honestly surprised when she discovered that some of the houses in the Shinobi district were not only intact, but nearly perfectly preserved. The only damage to be found being battle damage. After all she had seen in the Great Uzumaki Library, however, she decided to chalk her findings up on the Uzumaki clan using their sealing techniques to build things to last.

Mavis decided to look through the house a little before going to bed. On the walls, she saw pictures of a family of redheads. She looked at the table under the pictures and saw a picture of just the little girl that was with her parents on the pictures on the wall. The picture was falling out of its frame so Mavis decided to take it out of its frame to get a closer look. During her examination, she noticed that there was writing on the back.

[Kushina Uzumaki, age 5]

'Kushina Uzumaki? That's the name Naruto Uzumaki's mother. I wonder how she would have reacted to finding out that her son is some sort of immortal. I don't see any more pictures of her at a later age, so she must've escaped whatever conflict that destroyed this town.'

Mavis decided that she was done exploring the house of her late ancestor and went to bed. However, a few hours after she had fallen into a deep sleep, Mavis experienced something she had learned to both expect and dread. She had a vision, a terrifying prophetic vision.

xxx

Mavis saw an island with a massive tree under a starry sky. What she saw quickly moved to a cave under the tree.

She saw a blonde haired man wearing a white haori similar to her own, only it had a higher collar than hers, had a red flame pattern on it instead of blue, and it had the name [Fourth Hokage] written vertically down it in Shinobiese. His hands were pressed against a door, desperately trying to keep it from opening and unleashing the evil energy that Mavis could somehow feel leaking through the door.

Mavis heard him speak, [Dammit, why did one of the Transfer Gems have to be stolen while I was gone? This remote island just HAD to be attacked by a dark guild while I was sabotaging that superweapon the Magic Council was foolish enough to create, and they just HAD to find this chamber and somehow managed take the Transfer Gem without being corrupted by the Shinju's power.]

Mavis's eyes widened when she heard that name. 'Shinju? As in the beast from the myth? The one that Elder Gamakichi helped the hero fight against? THAT Shinju?'

The Shinju's power was now visibly leaking from the door. The man pushed against the door even harder. A sealing array appeared on the door and glowed brightly, blocking off the evil energy. [NO! You're not getting out!]

Unfortunately, the Shinju did not agree with him. Mavis heard something that sounded similar to cracking glass. Cracks appeared on the seal, and then, the seal shattered. A mighty force blew the door open and sent the man flying out of the chamber, and Mavis followed as if the force hit her as well.

The next thing she saw was the man getting back up while missing an arm. However, instead of leaking blood, the arm was reforming as if an invisible force was putting him back together like a paper mache project. Now that Mavis could get a good look at him, she noticed that a few cracks ran along his face, and the whites of his eyes were pitch black. This man looked as if he were "undead".

Before Mavis could even mentally comment on her observation, the ground shook, and then the area surrounding the giant tree, and the tree itself, exploded upwards.

Towering over the undead man stood a ten-tailed beast with one eye, one mouth, and one ear, each on a different part of the head. The beast was massive, easily taking up two-thirds of the island. The Shinju glared down at the man, opened its mouth, and unleashed a deafening roar that would forever haunt Mavis's nightmares.

xxx

Mavis awoke in a cold sweat with a terrified scream. She panted and shivered in terror as she recalled her vision.

'That was just like when I saw Mom and Dad die in my dreams, and they died for real a few weeks later. Their wounds perfectly matched how they were killed in my dream. Was this dream another one of my visions of the future? Mom and Dad's deaths were just the first time my dreams became a reality. My visions of the deaths of others and then trying to warn them before they become a reality are the biggest reason why I have no friends. Now I've just foreseen the release of a monster powerful enough to destroy the world. Is it even possible to stop this from happening?'

Sleep eluded Mavis for the remainder of the night….

She devoted the remainder of the month to searching for and learning large scale sealing techniques in the Great Uzumaki Library, preparing herself for the possibility of her vision becoming a reality.

While studying one of Uzumaki Clan scrolls, Mavis thought to herself, 'I managed to get a good look at the stars in that vision before I woke up. A few of the constellations I saw only appear during the months of April and May. This means that I have at least a month and a half to prepare, gather as much information as I can on the Shinju, track down this island, and find a way to fix the seal that man was holding together. This is one vision I absolutely cannot allow to come true. The fate of the world now depends on me defying fate… never thought that would happen…'

On the last day of February in the year X686, Mavis disembarked from the island of her ancestors. Determined to locate the island the Shinju was sealed on. She resolved herself to find a way to defy her vision and save the world from the release of the Shinju.

March, X686: Mt. Myoboku

Mavis had decided that if she was going to ascertain where the Shinju was sealed, she was going to have to consult the only being she knew that had encountered the beast. The only issue she had to overcome to obtain the information she seeks is the simple, yet annoying task of helping Elder Gamakichi find his senile younger brother, Gamatatsu.

The small, orange, and wrinkled toad wearing a dark blue vest ground out while using his staff to help him walk, "I swear, if that senile airhead forgot how to swim in the middle of the pond again, I'm just gonna let him drown."

"Umm, can frogs drown?" Mavis asked.

"Do I have gills?" Gamakichi asked rhetorically.

"No"

"Then yes, we can drown. It just takes a very long time for it to happen since we can absorb oxygen through our skin. It's not a substitute for breathing, but it does help stave off drowning" Gamakichi explained.

Mavis then asked, "Wouldn't Elder Gamatatsu remember how to swim before that happens?"

"Considering how flighty that senile airhead is, I wouldn't put it past him to forget, panic, sink like a rock, and then keep panicking until he finally passes out and drowns." Was Gamakichi's immediate response.

"How often does this happen?" Mavis asked, silently hoping that Gamatatsu's possible situation is not as bad as the old toad is making it out to be.

Unfortunately, it was as bad as Gamakichi made it out to be, "On a good week? Every other day. A bad week? Once a day."

"That bad?"

"Yep"

Then, a high pitched voice cried out in the direction of the Toad Oil Fountain, "Help! Big brother! I forgot how to swim! I'm drowning in the Oil Fountain!"

Gamakichi's response was to sigh in exasperation and mutter, "I hate it when I'm right. Why do I have to be my senile brother's keeper?"

"If you're the older brother, how did he go senile before you?" Mavis asked, suddenly in her annoying question asking thirteen year old girl mode.

Gamakichi humored her by answering, "I ask myself that same question every day."

xxx

"Thanks big brother, you save my life!" Gamatatsu, a wrinkled yellow frog wearing a vest just like his older brother exclaimed in his dream-like voice, as if his mind was not completely there.

"Next time I'm just gonna let you drown!" was the elder brother's response.

Gamatatsu, however, was not perturbed by his brother's declaration, "Aww, you always say that every time you save me from drowning."

"And I'll keep saying that until you stop being senile!" Gamakichi argued.

Mavis decided to throw her two Jewels in at this point from atop her perch on a Toad Statue and added, "Then you'll probably have to keep saying it because I heard that once you go senile, you never go back."

"Guh, yeah, whatever…" the older Toad Sage brother bemoaned before saying, "Anyway, what did you want to ask me, Mavis? You don't really stop by all that often since I already told you that I won't teach you the Sage Arts until your body has matured enough to handle it."

"I'm not here for that" was Mavis's response, "I'm actually here because I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about where the Shinju was sealed."

Gamakichi went silent for a few long seconds. Then he took a deep breath and exhale. Even the hilariously senile Gamatatsu was silent, though he did look back and forth between his older brother and Mavis. Finally, Gamakichi responded, "Let's continue this conversation at my house."

Mavis nodded and followed.

xxx

Mavis and the Toad Sage Brothers were now sitting around a small table clearly designed for amphibians the same size as the brothers. The grave atmosphere was set by Gamakichi slowly taking deep drags from a cigarette. The older sage finally spoke, "Why do you want to know where the Shinju was sealed? That place is best left undisturbed."

"I'm asking because I think someone has already disturbed it." Was Mavis's reply, "I had another vision, and it's been repeating itself about two nights every week."

"What did you see in these visions?" Gamakichi asked.

"I saw a massive creature with ten tails escape an ancient seal on an island with a massive tree. It was nighttime, and a man that looked undead was trying to hold the seal shut. By the way he looked; it appeared he was holding it shut for a very long time." Mavis explained.

"Ten tails… that's definitely the Shinju. Hmm… you said this was taking place at night, correct?"

"Yes?"

Gamakichi continued his question, "Did you get a look at the stars during your vision?"

"No, I was more concerned about the giant monster preparing to bring about the end of the world as we know it." Mavis replied.

"Then we'll just have to take another look at it together. Tatsu! You're paying attention, right?"

"Yes, big brother" Gamatatsu replied.

Both Toad Sages hopped over to Mavis and stood on her shoulders. Mavis turned her head repeatedly, looking at the two sages and wondering what they had planned until both sages placed a webbed hand on a side of her head.

Gamakichi explained, "Now, Mavis, I need you to close your eyes and focus on your visions. Gamatatsu and I will take care of the rest."

Mavis closed her eyes and concentrated…

Xxx

Her vision began to play out again. She saw the island and tree under a starry sky. She saw the undead man trying and failing to hold back the seal. She saw the Shinju burst free from its confinement and unleash a terrifyingly triumphant roar. She looked to her left shoulder and saw Gamakichi observing the stars, or more specifically, the constellations.

Then, right before the memory ended, Mavis heard a muffled voice. It sounded almost like the voice of a woman. Mavis couldn't quite make out what she was saying. All she heard was, "Do… have… power? You… free…?"

Xxx

Gamakichi stroked his chin in thought while Gamatatsu said, "Wow, that was scary! I hope Minato is okay. Losing his arm must've hurt real bad…"

The name Gamatatsu said drew Mavis's attention to him and she asked, "Minato? As in, Minato Namikaze? That's who that undead person is?"

"Yep!" Gamatatsu replied in his dream-like voice, "He's one of our summoners! His son Naruto is too! Gamakichi and I knew him because he summoned us a few times back when we were young! He gave me candy sometimes… Gamakichi, can we get candy?"

"Dammit, Gamatatsu! How many times do I have to remind you that you can't eat candy anymore?! You'll just give yourself a heart attack!" Gamakichi replied irritably while trying to retain his train of thought. Gamakichi then hopped off Mavis's shoulder while his younger brother remembered and lamented his inability to eat sweets. Gamakichi then spoke up, "Now if we can get back on track for a minute. I can tell the little lady here that we still have about a month, give or take a week, to fix this mess."

Mavis spoke up, "How did you figure that out?"

Gamakichi answered, "The stars. Some of the constellations I saw in your memory are only in the sky during late April and stick around for about a week into May. We have about a month to find that Transfer Gem and return it to that island."

Mavis gave a sigh of relief, "Good, so we have some time to find this island and the gem."

"The finding the island is the easy part, just give me a modern map and I'll point it out to you. I've been there before so I know where it is. Also, Gamatatsu, you can get off her shoulder now." Gamakichi explained.

Mavis reached into her haori and pulled out a storage scroll while the younger sage brother fell off her shoulder. She then started pulling random books, ranging from an instruction manual on Illusion Magic to tactics books, there was even a book on Holy Magic, out of the scroll in puffs of smoke, "Nope… That's not it... Still need to get around to reading that one… Northswain said this Holy Magic will help supplement the magic he taught me so I'll read up on it and practice it while looking for the island… why do I still have this? Aha! Found it!"

Mavis slapped the map down on the table and waited for Gamakichi to point out the island's location. She only had to wait a few seconds before he pointed at a very small landmass between Hargeon Port and a larger landmass that was considered a part of the Kingdom of Fiore. "There, that's where Naruto sealed himself and the Shinju away."

Mavis thought to herself out loud, "I see, so that's how my ancestor survived for so long. He sealed himself away with the Shinju."

Gamakichi chose to respond to Mavis's thought, "Yeah, that was kinda the best option out of a list of bad options we had to choose from at the time. We couldn't just wait for Naruto to take the monster with him to the grave by waiting for him to die of old age because the Shinju would just reform after his death. We didn't want to have him sealed away forever either because that would just be a fate worse than death. So we decided to set up a vast sealing array that would slowly and non-fatally transfer the Shinju to a prison specifically designed to restrain it forever in its weakened state. I also worked in and amnesia seal into the array so that Naruto would forget his past after awakening because, quite frankly, he was starting to get a little too emo for my tastes during the time after the war and before the sealing. Granted, he had the very good excuse of losing just about everything he ever cared about to Madara and the Shinju, but that doesn't change how annoying it was for me to see him like that. With any luck, he'll be back to his old self once he wakes up, minus his memories. Also, how did you find out Naruto is your ancestor? I knew because I met the woman you inherited your foresight from, but how did you find out?"

Mavis answered, "I found out when I investigated the Great Uzumaki Library"

"Yeah, that would do it. That family tree is frighteningly accurate. There's no way the ancient Uzumaki could have created that with chakra based fuinjutsu alone. There's a limit to what chakra and seals can do by themselves…" Gamakichi mused.

Gamatatsu blurted out, "Maybe they mixed the seals that made the family tree with Rune Magic?"

Gamakichi almost rebuked his brother on how it was impossible to mix Magic and Chakra together like that until the facts of what the power sources were made of dawned him, "Tatsu! You airheaded genius!"

Mavis was lost, "What? How is Elder Gamatatsu a genius?"

Gamakichi answered, "Okay, time for a short lesson. What is Chakra made of?"

"Physical energy and Spiritual energy" Mavis answered automatically, as if reading facts from a textbook.

"And what is Magic made of?"

"Spiritual energy and Ethernano"

"What is the ancient name for Ethernano?"

"Natural Chakra"

"And how does one enter Sage Mode?"

"By taking Natural Chakra, or Ethernano into your body and controlling it by… by mixing it with your… Wait, are you saying that the person that made the Uzumaki Family Tree was a sage?!" Mavis asked in shock.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. It is possible to use Chakra and Magic at the same time, but only if you're a sage because only sages possess all the necessary forms of energy needed to use both at the same time" Gamakichi explained.

"You know, this is only going to encourage me to hound you for lessons on how to use Sage Mode…" Mavis said coyly.

"My answer is the same as always, not until your body has matured enough to handle it!"

"Aww, come on! Please!" Mavis pouted.

"No!"

"I'll be your best friend?"

"You could give me all the sake in the world and prance around the mountain in your birthday suit all day for my amusement, and my answer will still be no!"

April, X686: Tenrou Island

Mavis spent the remainder of the month of March training with the toads and frogs on Mt. Myoboku. Further preparing her for the trials she is about to face. She even received a warning from the Elder Toad Sage, Gamabunta, that he had a vision showing that the events that are about to take place will decide if the future will be one of despair, or hope.

It still amuses her that out of the three Toad Sages of Mt. Myoboku, it was the youngest that went senile first.

Upon leaving Mt. Myoboku, Mavis made her way to Hargeon Port, the closest port to the island Gamakichi directed her towards. From there she modified a dinghy by adding wind based seals to its sails and left for the island.

With the speed she had her boat travelling at, along with the calm weather; it only took her a day and a half to reach the island. She did not like what she sensed upon landing. Malevolence. A barely restrained storm of malevolence was radiating from the giant tree at the center of the island. She thought to herself, 'I'm definitely running out of time. I know where to take the Transfer Gem now, but I don't know where it was taken. I'd best start by looking for clues about who took it. I need to get in and out of here as quickly as possible, every minute wasted is a minute towards the Shinju's release.'

She searched the island and came across what appeared to be the ruins of a town and guild hall. Mostly decomposed skeletons littered the area. If her visions had not already desensitized Mavis to death, she would have run away screaming in horror. Instead, she just shivered in discomfort and did her best to ignore the deceased, taking note that the clothing on many of the corpses bore the symbol of the Red Lizard guild. However, she also noted that the clothing of a few of the corpses bore a symbol that looked like a blue skull.

'I need to check the chamber my ancestor, Minato, is holding together before leaving. By the looks of these ruins, it looks like a guild war happened here between Red Lizard and a guild that wearing the symbol of a "blue skull". Considering how few "blue skulls" are lying around, Red Lizard lost and was wiped out. The victors must have taken the Transfer Gem, but I better check with my ancestor to make sure.'

Mavis bolted straight for the giant tree, getting away from the ruins as quickly as she could. When she reached the tree, she began to circle it, looking for anything that looked like a tunnel. She found it in little over a minute and descended into the tunnel. She quickly learned that she was not alone when she heard voices echoing through the cave. She followed the sound and came to the chamber that she saw in her visions, however, instead of just seeing her undead ancestor holding the seal together, she saw three men in their late teens. The one that appeared to be the leader wore a high collared black jacket and had slicked back blond hair. There was another blond in the group as well, though it appeared to be a bit spikier and a darker shade. The last member of the group looks like a tree, a black haired tree.

"So let me get this straight" the leader said, addressing the undead man, "All the legends about the Era of Shinobi are true, the monster responsible for ending it all is sealed right behind that door you're holding shut, and the door started to visibly leak evil energy when the Tenrou Jade was removed from its spot on the door?"

"Yes" was Minato's response.

The other blond asked, "And we should believe this… why?"

Mavis decided to join the conversation by saying, "Because Chakra users like me are living proof that the Era of Shinobi actually happened, and the malevolent energy visibly leaking from that door should be proof enough that we don't want whatever is behind that door walking freely."

The three men spun around in surprise, not expecting a little girl to eavesdrop on their conversation with the very unhelpful undead man. They were just treasure hunters looking for an S-Class treasure known as the Tenrou Jade. They did not sign up for a mission to save the world from an ancient evil. Unfortunately, the undead man was being very insistent, and the evil energy that even potential mages that know nothing about Magic can feel was proof enough that something had to be done.

Their day may have gotten weird the second they met the undead Fourth Hokage, but it looked like the mysterious girl from nowhere was determined to make their day even weirder.

Riku: That should do for part one of the prologue. Now to get to work on part two! I WILL meet my deadline! I will get that Christmas Special done on Christmas!

Precht: Good luck.

Yury: You'll need it.

Mavis: I know you can do it! I believe in you!

Riku: Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now if you'll excuse me, I have more writing to do.