Chapter 1: A God Gifted Redemption

There is now an audiobook for this chapter located on my YouTube channel with a link on my profile. Enjoy!

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The Following is a Non-Profit Fanfiction Crossover.

Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and One Piece are owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Eiichiro Oda, and their respective studios and publishers.

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For the longest of times, I have loved the character of Nagato. A man who did so much wrong, yet only did those things because of the pain thrust into his heart. It was only in his last moments that he saw the light, an ending that was ultimately bittersweet. Because that light would only live for mere moments... before death snuffed it out.

But...

What if he could've lived? Would he have fixed his mistakes, or would he ultimately repeat them? That is the goal of this story!

A Definitive Story!

To See What Would Happen To The Man Seeking Justice,

If He Was Sent To A World Ruled By Corrupted Justice?!

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"Every sunset, is an opportunity to reset."

"Every sunrise, begins with new eyes."

-Richie Norton

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"Ah… so this is the end," voiced his Deva Path, looking up to the planetoid of his own creation.

The battle between him and the Nine-Tails was a brutal brawl between beasts and deities. After the Jinchuriki had transformed into a red marrow cladded version of himself, Pain decided to lure him away from Konohagakure and out into the opening. From there, he used his apex of divine abilities, {Planetary Devestation}, to trap the Nine-Tails within the growing satellite of earth. However, despite all his might, the planetary prison proved ineffective as the Jinchuriki transformed into an Eight-Tailed Fox with no fur to speak of.

He planned to pour more chakra into Planetary Devastation to contain the beast, but then, the Nine-Tails transformed back into a human, standing outside the sphere. With that, he released the jutsu causing the giant sphere of earth to crash down. Noticing the Jinchuriki not only survived the fall, but was back in Sage Mode, he opted to end the fight quickly.

Unfortunately, due to his overuse of chakra, the Nine-Tails was able to slam a Rasengan into the Deva Path before he could finish him, cutting off his connection to his last path, to his friend. However, he did not panic, even when the boy used the chakra rod to locate him, he did not panic, he would dare not panic. He would convince the boy to turn himself in for the sake of peace, somehow.

Yet with every distant step the boy took towards his main body, the more a primal fear took hold of him. The same paralyzing sensation he felt when his parents died before him. The last time death was ever so close to claiming his life. For he knew when that boy entered his and Konan's hideout, it would either end in a quick or excruciatingly long death for both of them.

Upon the beast entering the fake paper tree, Konan rushed between them to protect him. He quickly dismissed her, telling her that it would do no good. Seeing the true form of Pain, the monster named Naruto asked if it was really him. Nagato didn't bother with his question, knowing full well that he already knew it was the real him, and instead asked Naruto if he hated him and if he would destroy him, kill him.

He could sense the anger and hatred brewing inside the Jinchuriki. Konan added that killing him wasn't going to solve anything. Hearing no response, in a hail mary, he offered the boy to surrender himself and let him be taken by the Akatsuki. He then launched a black receiver at the boy in a desperate effort to subdue the Jinchuriki. However, the power of the Nine-Tails proved to be even stronger than he anticipated, as he merely brushed off his attempt with a wave of his hand. He awaited the Jinchuriki to rip him and Konan apart in a blind rage, but surprisingly, Naruto allowed them to live.

He then began reciting similar words and phrases that once belonged to their late sensei, Jiraiya. The Jinchūriki would later reveal that Jiraiya would pass down his mission for peace to him and finally understood what he meant.

But no. His words still wouldn't change anything; he could no longer forgive him for all he's done. He goes on to say how Jiraiya's words were from a different era long ago and how reality is too different. He would mock Naruto, saying how the Nine-Tails would take him down and bring peace to the Shinobi World. Those were just empty promises and all Naruto wanted was to kill him to exact personal vengeance.

Now that Naruto sees the same reality he does, Nagato asks if he still believes in his late sensei's ridiculous words and ideals. The blond remained silent until asking the two of them why they weren't like the rest of the Akatsuki. Nagato then told Naruto the whole story of his life, from when his parents died, to now.

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"I told you my story just as you asked." Nagato finished speaking. "Now then, let's hear your response."

Before answering him, Naruto pulled out a book from his jacket. He stared at the book briefly before speaking. "You may be right. Truth is, I think the same way you do."

"I see," Nagato muttered.

"But even if I understand you now, that doesn't change how I feel. There's no way I can forgive you. I still hate you."

"Then you want to settle things with me?"

"I do." Naruto's response surprised the both of them, "Pervy Sage believed in me and wanted me to continue his quest. And for those reasons, I choose to believe him and to follow what he taught me. So that's it, that's my answer. That's why I'm not going to kill you guys."

"After everything that has happened, you still believed in Jiraiya Sensei's useless teachings?" Nagato grew annoyed at how the Jinchuriki was so stubborn. "Very well then, you've given your answer. And you expect us to wait? To wait till you somehow magically transform this wretched world into a peaceful place?"

The vibrant image of Yahiko, both in life and death flashed before his mind's eye. So vivid the image, he felt the weight of his kunai…his words… his spilled blood.

"No! Never! You wish us to just stop! When we already have so much blood on our hands! Our goal this close!" For the first time in a long time, Nagato became truly angry. "How can I believe in Jiraiya's words after all of this?! There will never be such a thing as true peace! Not as long as we're forced to live in this accursed world! Peace is impossible!"

"Well then," the stubborn Jinchuriki argued, "I'm going to break that curse one day! If there's truly such a thing as peace in this world, then somehow, I'll find it. And I'll never stop searching for it."

"Those words..." He was dazed by long buried memories, "It can't be..."

"That's right," Naruto knew exactly what Nagato was thinking of, "you know them. All of those words were taken right out of this book."

The two Uzumakis looked down at the book. "The very first novel that Pervy Sage ever wrote. He was dead serious trying to change the world with this message."

"In the back of it," he flipped to the last page of the book, "he wrote about a student who helped him provide inspiration for his work. It was you, Nagato. You fueled his dream."

"But..." Nagato was in disbelief, taking in every single word that the Uzumaki had just said. He couldn't even say a single word; his mind drifted back into his memory, remembering saying those exact words to Jiraiya after coming up with a solution for hatred in the Shinobi World. It might sound foolish now, but, Nagato couldn't believe that Jiraiya had kept those words and wrote them in his novel.

"My name is... my name is..." Nagato remembered when Jiraiya told him that he was a reincarnated version of the Sage of Six Paths and that one day, he would bring a great change to the entire world. It was also that day when his sensei believed in him. It was the first time he had ever smiled so brightly, so truthfully.

"And for those reasons, I choose to believe in him and to follow what he had taught me."

Nagato had finally figured out the name of the hero in Jiraiya's novel. It wasn't him, it was…

"His name is Naruto." Naruto pointed to himself. "Listen, my name is a precious heirloom thats been handed down to me by our sensei. There's no way I'm giving up and tarnishing his gift to me. I will become Hokage and I will bring peace to not only the Hidden Leaf, nor the Hidden Rain, but all of the shinobi villages. All I'm asking is for you to believe in me."

"No… Why should I?" Nagato argued shaking his head, "How can you stand there and tell me that you would never change your mind? Do you really think you'll never stray from that ideal? No matter how much pain falls on your shoulders? Do you think you'll always believe in yourself? Are you sure of it? How can you possibly have that much hope that life won't change you?!"

After brief seconds of silence, Naruto responded. "I felt pain too. You're not the only one." He gripped his stomach, "There's still pain buried deep inside me. And there's no telling what kind of pain I might face down the road. But! If I stop believin' just because things get difficult. If the hero in the book changes who he is, then, it would become a whole new story. And it wouldn't be the same story our master left behind. And it wouldn't be about Naruto!"

"I can't write a book like our master did, and so, any sequel has to come from the life I live. That's why no matter how much pain my own path brings, I'll keep walking. Cause that's who Naruto is!" He finally ended loudly, giving the redhead a triumphant look.

Nagato was stunned. Naruto's will was even greater than his. And when he gave up trying to find peace, Naruto just kept on going. It had amazed Nagato so much that he actually began believing again. It will not be in his hand to deliver peace, but Naruto's.

"Naruto," whispered Nagato, "I finally see what I must do," he shakily clasped his hands together.

"N-nagato," she recognized the sign. "W-what are you…"

"Konan. Don't stop me," he voiced to her before turning to Naruto. "You are fortunate Naruto. You are fortunate to sway even the gods to your cause. I may not be able to repent for every sin I've caused. But with the power of the rinnegan, I can bring back what you thought lost.

"Now…{Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!}" he shouted as he summoned the King of Hell into Konoha. From the King of Hell's mouth, the souls of those who had died during his invasion of Konohagakure were returning back to their original owners.

However, Nagato's chakra was completely drained; his crimson red hair turned into an ash white. This would kill him, that he was sure of. Nagato breathed in deep heavy breaths as Naruto gaped at him, "You..."

"War inflicts death, injury, and pain to both sides. The death of someone dear to you is hard to accept. We convince ourselves there's no way they could die so suddenly." Small blood drops leaked from his mouth, "It especially can't be helped with your generation. You simply don't know war."

"You may try to find meaning in death, but there is only pain. An unbearable hatred..." He stared at the ground,

"And a pain that does not heal. That's what war is." He then looked up at Naruto as the young shinobi had a somber look on his face. The pale and skinny shinobi then told him, "Naruto... This is what you will be facing in time. But at least now, you will have your village to help you achieve our dream."

Nagato closed his eyes, responding with a faded but true smile.

"I wish I could live only a little bit longer to see our Sensei's dream become reality, but I believe you can bring true peace...and bring the dawn of… a new era."

After whispering his final words to the two of them, the tale of Nagato The Dreamer ended.

He died with a smile on his face, knowing his will…would live on.

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Nagato's journey to the afterlife was hazy at best. He only remembered bright colors all around him before only darkness replaced it. For what seemed like days, months, years, maybe even centuries, Nagato neither floated nor flew in this never ending void of darkness.

But, he didn't mind the void, the emptiness. He knew that Yahiko, Jiraiya, his parents, and the original Akatsuki members were waiting for him on the other side. Nagato could even feel the warm embrace of his close friend, Yahiko. He was close to him, so very close. He longed for Konan to join them soon, so at last, all three of them could finally find peace.

Yet, he could feel someone lightly pushing him from behind. He didn't know what was going on, he couldn't look behind him to see, but wherever this force was pushing him, it was starting to get brighter. Brighter still, until it looked like he was being sent into the blazing sun itself and began gravitating towards the light with one final push.

As his soul hurdled into the sun, he could finally see who had pushed him here this whole time,

It was a man... with eyes like his own.

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Lulusia Kingdom

The Paradise Side of The Grand Line

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And then… he felt warm. He heard the soft sounds of waves crashing against the shore and felt small grains of sand beneath him. It was calming, yet a different calmness than the infinite void that he felt before, it felt more…alive.

When the leaves of the palm tree above him moved to shed sunlight upon him, he slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. And saw a crystal clear sea with marble like sand blanketing its shore.

He marveled at it, never seeing such a pristine place in his life. "Is this the afterlife?" asked Nagato out loud to himself, still taking in this gorgeous paradise. "If so, where is Yahiko, my parents, or hopefully Jiraiya-Sensei? I'd like to apologize for not heeding his will and to let him know Naruto is alive and well."

Standing up, Nagato walked towards the ocean, noticing he was still wearing an Akatsuki cloak, which he hadn't personally worn in a great many years. But this is the afterlife, so he decided not to put any real thought into it. That was until a few seconds later, when he walked to the waters and saw a reflection, a reflection of orange spiky hair that made his heart freeze solid. He recognized this hair, for he had known this color for almost all his life. This was Yahiko's hair and he saw Yahiko looking back at him, the ringed eyes of his rinnegan boring into him.

"W-what is this? Where am I? Is this some kind of joke?!" he shouted to someone, anyone who would do something so sick. "What… what even am I now?!" he screamed horrified by his new reality, touching this face… feeling his hands on this face!

This body felt strange, terrifyingly strange! He felt cold despite the radiant sun above, he couldn't hear a heartbeat despite his head pounding in panic. He looked down, using these foreign eyes to peer through his flesh to check his chakra network and saw that his chakra veins were gone?! His face paled in fright as every new discovery led him to only more and more questions, more fear as to what had happened to him.

"Not in the arms! Not in the legs! Not even in the heart either!" Nagato growled in dismay to himself. "A test, yes, a test must be in order, {Shadow Clone Jutsu!}" shouted Pain, making his fingers into a cross to summon a clone, yet nothing appeared.

"Damn it! Work! You cursed eyes! {Almighty Push!}" chanted Nagato causing the unseen force of the Rinnegan to carve through the ocean's surface for a brief second before the waves rushed back down to fill in the air. He inwardly cried in relief that his Rinnegan paths were still with him, they would be incredibly helpful for wringing the life out of whoever did this to him.

But… where was he? All he knew was that this wasn't any sort of heaven. Possibly hell?

Although, he did remember faintly the darkness that happened before he arrived, that still didn't exactly prove what plain of existence he was on. He clenched his chest, willing his body and mind to calm down, he needed to think. He took a deep breath in… and then out… then back in, repeating this cycle till he had calmed himself.

He ultimately concluded that his main mission was to explore this new land and deduce where he was in terms of the elemental nations, at the moment the land of water would be his first guess.

Trudging his way back to the shore, Nagato held his hand up to the sun to measure what time it was, "Mmm, seems to be just past three in the afternoon. I need to find shelter at some point before it gets too dark," he told himself. Pain then began his trek through the foliage of the palm trees, which soon led into a thick forest of pine trees, the sand being replaced with damp soil. The forest seemed to hold basic animals of the food chain that he was used to, such as insects, small rabbits, and even a slumbering bear hidden in the darkness of a cave. Would an afterlife need a food chain? Hm, it didn't look like it, but strangely enough, he didn't feel any hunger himself.

After walking for a long while, the forest sloped down into a sizable river with a town on the other side. Once he spotted the town, Nagato hid behind a tree so as to not be spotted by any passersby. Turning his head around the corner he looked at the buildings, roads, and bridges that lay across the river.

"I don't recognize the style of any of these buildings. I had thought I was bordering the Land of Water or Fire because of the coast and forest, but the style of architecture doesn't match any major cities I know of," thought Pain, analyzing now the people walking and chatting on the streets. "The style of their clothing is also mysterious. From here, their clothes are vaguely of the kind that merchants would wear, although even from my vantage point, I can see the telltale signs of their clothes being patched together." Learning all he could from his position, Nagato began to weave hand signs.

"{Summoning Jutsu!}" Nagato clapped his hands together uttering his Animal Path's Summoning Jutsu, bringing forth the Rinegan's Giant Snake-Tailed Chameleon. He then ordered the large green chameleon to open its mouth, with him then stepping inside his summon as the large reptile cloaked itself, now becoming completely invisible.

Finding a comfortable place to sit on the beast's tongue, he closed his eyes to focus on the shared vision he had with the Chameleon as he made it dive silently into the river, and swim ever carefully downstream. He passed by several houses and shops that resided on the river, getting a better understanding of how this village was run. People were dining outside of restaurants, flower shops advertising to customers, and children running and playing on a bridge that helped people cross the river. He noted from a sign, that the river system he was using was called "Pasta Lake", a strange name that he would take note of.

Using the summon's hearing, Nagato was able to faintly catch a conversation between two residents who were talking about an interesting topic. They were up higher on the actual road, so he sneakily sulked out of the river, climbing with ease on the side of a house thanks to the chameleon's gripped feet.

Now in better range, he could see two men talking to one another. One was a young man with dark messy hair holding a paper, while the other, a slightly graying man, wore white with a baker's hat perched on his crown.

"Hey Hudson," said the first man waving a newspaper at the baker running his shop. "Have you heard the news about Alabasta already!?" he asked with a mix of excitement and amazement.

"Yeah of course I have Ford! Biggest headline of the year for sure. I always knew that Crocodile guy was a crook, the man always gave off those mafia don vibes, y'know. I'm tellin yah I bet he never had a good bone in his body to begin with. I can't believe the government put him in charge of protectin Alabasta."

Nagato shifted inside the mouth of the chameleon. These words and characters weren't registering in his head in the slightest. Sharpening his summons vision, he quickly scanned the paper, and what he saw was something that blew his mind. The main title of the paper read, "The World Economy News Paper". Could the world really have united under one nation, or was it some sort of catchy name to sell the news?

"I'm just glad the Marines finally locked up that pirate bastard," said Ford, clenching his fist. "Now that he's gone, maybe we could finally get some good trade deals from there again," Ford mused wistfully, dollar signs floating through his mind.

"Pft, you stupid or something," whack!

"Ye-Ouch!" yelped Ford from the received hit to the back of the head.

"They just got outta a civil war. If anything, our heavenly tribute taxes are gonna go through the roof to fix that place up," sighed Hudson in defeat, rubbing his eyes.

Satisfied with this newfound information, Nagato's mind wondered what more he could learn from this town down by the sea. Using the graceful movements of its master, the summoned reptilian leaped and bounded softly across the tiled rooftops, its cloaked eyes catching more sights, more information for its lord to process and use.

They went to the docks to watch the ships come and go, exchanging cargo and crew. They went outside a bar, observing those who had already decided to intoxicate themselves before the sun even touched the horizon. With a few more places visited, the shinobi was satiated, clambering his summon across the roofs when he heard something faint.

He made his summon stay still and focused his hearing. A breaking of glass… jeers of malice… the whimper of someone defenseless. Without any further hesitation, he and the summon galloped to where the sound was coming from, positioning themselves on top of a twin set of five-story buildings, looking down at the scene below.

Peering down into the alleyway, there was only one way out the otherside blocked by dumpsters and a brick wall. However, the entrance was blocked by a group of five thugs, all tall and burly, knives drawn as a deterrent to those wanting to intervene. At the end of the alley was a young small bespeckled brunette in her mid-twenties being corralled against the wall by three of the men. They held knives, ropes and a burlap sack.

"Easy missy, don't try and fight us alright. We wouldn't want to hurt that pretty face of yours, it'll make yeah ah good sell at the market. Maybe even the King will want a sip of yea," drooled the brute, salivating at the payday they would have as he took a step closer, rope at the ready.

"p-please, you don't have to do this. please," whimpered the woman, falling down on her rear, crawling as far back as she could, yet the vagrants continued their advance.

He sighed as the summon opened its maw for him to exit, with him standing on its outstretched tongue, seemingly floating on air. Taking only a single glance below, Nagato leaped boldly below, leg outstretched cleaving through the air…

"Nowhere to run missy,hehehe, come to pa-ORG!" groaned the hunter of man, as a leg swung down like an ax so hard that the man's jaw broke the cement below, killing him the moment he made contact.

Before the lady got to gaze upon her savior, the man threw her his red and black cloak, covering her eyes from his contorted visage. Her adrenaline rush was so great, that instead of removing the cloak, she clung onto it more as if it were a lifeline, waiting for this storm to pass.

Nagato raised his foot from the dead man's skull, keeping his gaze forward at the four pale men, their faces matted in sweat. "I hate the likes of you," spoke the god, creeping towards them at a slow pace. "Those who wish to not only hurt others, but to force them to become slaves!" He roared, glaring at them with his divine eyes, making them shake and shudder from primal fear.

One of them snapped, the fear within him so great he chose to fight instead of run, sprinting at him with a mere pocket knife. Nagato hardly acknowledged him, yet didn't hesitate to make sure this man would die as quickly as he wanted to.

The muscles on his back bubbled and burst to birth a metallic arm covered in skin to grasp the crook by the neck, the man choking and flailing like a fish out of water as he was raised into the air. "Perhaps hate was too soft of a word for you scum," he squeezed, the man going blue in the face. "To clarify... I Despise You," CRACK! he growled in hatred as he forcibly crushed the man's neck, his knife clattering to the floor along with his corpse soon after.

The remaining three, after seeing another one of them dead, ran for their lives to the exit of this cursed place. Yet with one blink of their eyes, this man with most foreign of eyes stood between them and freedom, looking none too pleased.

A black rod of unknown metal came into the hands of the pierced one, with him holding them close to his face, smiling with the look of a killer. "So cowards, how would you like to be Just. Like. Me."

They screamed…

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After the screaming stopped for a few minutes, the bespeckled woman who hid under the cloak of red clouds peered up from its protection. She looked and saw no sign of her close to be kidnappers, only a dent in the ground and the blood splattered on the walls.

She was still shaking, scared out of her mind. She stood up, still clutching the cloak and booked it out of the alleyway running as best she could.

"I need to tell someone! I need to tell Ford!" She cried out loud, as she ran past people and shops, people giving her confused looks, none the wiser to this plight of hers.

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Satisfied by the pain experienced by those monsters, Nagato and his summon climbed back over to the river, diving in and floating further downstream. Using the current to go into a pseudo autopilot, he breathed a sigh of relief allowing his mind to think further about what has happened today.

"So, it seems that this world is controlled by a so called world government. One which has many nations apart of its structure, like that of a federation. Along with that, the conversation earlier was centered around someone the government hired as a protector of this Alabasta, this Crocodile person, going rogue and causing a civil war.

Sigh, As to why they would hire a pirate, a criminal, is simply beyond me," Nagato sighed, it seemed this cycle of hatred lives on even this other plane. It seemed like wherever humans lived, there would always be greed and death soon to follow. At the very least, he stopped an innocent person from being taken away into a slave market and disposed of the trash.

He pondered further. It seems more likely than ever that he was reincarnated to another world that was similar, yet different from his own. If so, what cruel god would give him redemption, yet torture his very soul by putting him in the body of his deceased friend? Was this his punishment? Or perhaps he was brought back to life in this place to take what he learned and gift these people with the peace he should've given to his own people.

But how? He was directionless. What force or authority did he have to remove in order to make the world a better place? The pirates, this World Government, or some third party he didn't even know about yet?

Moving the summon's eyes to the heavens, he saw that the sun was now sinking into dusk. He made his reptilian boat get out of the water and dismissed it in a puff of smoke. It seemed that they had drifted for quite some time as the town that he scouted earlier was nowhere in sight. Luckily, it was not entirely barren. With the reeds on the river bank leading up to dry land, he saw a farm with cattle grazing and lying down with a cottage not far from the fields.

Making sure to hide in the shadows, Nagato peered into the windows for signs of people residing here. There were none, the lights all off inside this place. Nagato then made his way to the door, reaching his hand out to the doorknob, but, he hesitated.

"No," he said to himself, staring at the door. "I… I can do better than this. I can do better than potentially committing a robbery right after being revived," he said remorsefully, walking away. Looking around, he saw that not far away was a deep patch of woods.

"That's where I'll go. I will make my own base, my own home, and then I will learn the ways of this world. And with that knowledge, I will change this world for the better." he thought while walking towards the woods. Being bathed by the falling sun, now a crimson purple barely being seen above the horizon, He declared…

"Let Us Begin… This New Dawn."

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Chapter One Complete! It's so nice to finally begin writing this story and sharing to you all!

Also as to not confuse you as to how he is using his paths without a chakra network? This was my way to keep him both balanced and with keeping what makes him unique, his paths. Think of his new skill set as if he ate the Rinnegan Rinnegan fruit. Similar to how the Ope Ope no mi works, his powers will be using his strength and endurance instead of actual chakra.

Before I conclude I would like to add a small description at the end of each chapter. Think of it like One Piece's chapter covers but with Naruto characters instead. You (Yes you reading this), can recommend me some to put at the end, just like Oda Sensei!

Finally, as to why he is in the body of Yahiko… hehehe, why that's a secret you must find out later.

Thank You And Read On!

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End of Chapter Serial P.1

Sasuke is looking out in the distance at different points in his life.

Unbeknownst to him, his parents hug him no matter the time. They are unable to reach him, but they will always love him.

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Editing Number: 1/1/2024- 1/1/2024

Credits: Thank You Titosch For Beta-Reading This Chapter.