In that moment, when they both jumped at each other, the smaller one allowed himself to feel impressed.
Even lost in his rage, even lost to the absolute need to kill, drunk on the power that coursed through his veins. Even with all that…
It was something so secret that he kept it a secret even from himself. He admired the jackass. The guy had trained so much, had always put so much effort into everything ninja, that he couldn't help himself in respecting the guy, at the very least, for that. His respect only grew when he noticed that despite having lost all semblance of coherent thought by this point, Sasuke still fought like a skilled ninja.
Which was why Naruto wasn't entirely shocked when, despite being a roaring lunatic by that point, Sasuke's abilities allowed him to twist himself in the specific way that would not only allow himself to dodge Naruto's Rasengan almost entirely (it'd graze his right side slightly), but to also shove the raging, snarling Chidori in his hand straight through Naruto's chest.
He only gasped when he felt his life drain along with his blood, flowing out of the hole in the middle of his chest.
By the time he saw the horrifying monster that had become Sasuke throw his head back and let out cackling laughter, his vision was already mostly covered in black and he had already started to lose all grip on his consciousness.
The blond's eyes snapped open. "Tch… Again with the same dream…" He mumbled to himself, standing up from his sitting position. The childlike figure stood up and sighed, running a hand through the spiky mess of blond hair on his head, suppressing a shiver when his hands brushed his ears. He trailed the edge of his right ear, up to its pointy tip.
Even to this day he was still surprised by them.
"Welcome to the land of the living." Said a mocking voice not too far from him. The androgynous quality of the voice made him blink and search the room for where it came from. Seeing the room empty, he closed his eyes and sighed.
"Show yourself." He commanded. His raspy voice sounded much like a child who had smoked a whole Marlboro factory at some point in his life. His eyes narrowed as a greenish, blurry silhouette made itself apparent in the room. "What is it?"
"I am merely a messenger. As they say, don't shoot the messenger." The androgynous voice continued. A white form that seemed to be made of smoke formed underneath the green blur, which rapidly turned into a long, flowing green cloak.
"What the hell does Pram want this time?" Asked the blond, pointy eared individual.
"Lady Pram requests your presence at once." The ghostly creature informed the boy who was still standing in front of his throne. The boy merely raised one eyebrow. "This time, it's actually important, too."
The blond chuckled. "Fine, I'll go." He informed the ghost.
The little creature seemed to be looking intently at him and remained doing so for more than a full minute.
"Are you not aware? Master dismissed you, beast. Return to your master, creature of sin." Informed a voice with a clearly defined feminine gender. There was no response from the ghost. With a noticeable flare of power, a feminine form wearing what could be described as a positively ridiculous outfit, seemingly composed of feathers over most of her body flashed into sight in front of the ghost. Her outfit always managed to draw a curious glance from him. It kind of resembled a doublet made from the remains of a pillow. It was odd. The blue ribbon in front didn't quite combine with the rest of it. "My master dismissed you. Leave at once."
This provoked a sigh from the blond. "Reo."
"Master, with all due respect-"
"Reo." The boy reiterated. "I am quite capable of taking care of myself." He explained, looking pointedly at the feather covered female. He sighed when he saw the tight grip kept on the shaft of the jeweled staff in her hand.
Nevertheless, she bowed low, and his eyes were drawn to the golden, glowing halo that floated above her head. She turned around and he watched, fascinated as the thick braid that her own blonde hair, a significantly darker shade than the boy's own, had been woven into swayed back and forth. Ah, always so expressive in everything but her face. His eyes lingered, for an instant, on her rounded ears.
"You should put a leash on your pets." The ghost stated nonchalantly.
The blond boy frowned. "You are dismissed, messenger."
The ghost disappeared, roaring its amusement in loud barks of laughter.
"Reo." The blond spoke, folding his hands over his chest as he sat on the throne again. The blonde woman walked inside the throne room once again, her expression carefully schooled into a scowl that would've sent men running for their lives.
"Master."
The blond frowned again. "I have a name."
The woman nodded. "You called for me, Lord Naruto?" Reo spoke, raising one delicate, blond eyebrow.
"You already know the drill. Chances are that Zetta did something ridiculously stupid again. I might be busy for a few weeks. Can I trust the Senate to run this place competently?"
"Of course not, Lord Naruto." The angelic figure said.
"That's what I expected. Regardless, there isn't much I can do about this. Deal with them in my absence, would you?" Naruto ordered.
The woman nodded, watching as her lord stood from his seat and cracked his neck. The black and red ensemble the boy wore began to move under invisible wind and in a flash of power, the boy was gone.
"Actually, no, this doesn't have to do with Zetta." The girl in the puffed up white dress informed him.
"For once?" The blond questioned.
"For once." She confirmed. "Remember the one favor you asked of me two years ago?"
Oh Naruto did remember it. Two years ago, he was weak. So incredibly weak, in fact, that he'd only managed to survive because he'd managed to invoke Pram's curiosity. No matter how hard he might try to deny it. Pram had seen something in him that no one else had. She had taken him under her wing and nurtured him to bring it out.
She, the Prodigious Oracle, the youngest demon to ever obtain the title of Overlord, had seen something in him. It still made him feel fuzzy inside and was the ultimate reason why he accepted to meet Pram now. He owed her his very existence. That and if it didn't go, well, Pram didn't bitchslap people. She wore a pair of manacles on her wrists that she used to smack idiots. She was fond of using them on Naruto's own abused skull.
He noticed her stare. He must have zoned out. "What of it?" He asked.
Pram smirked evilly. "I taught a polite apprentice, didn't I?"
Naruto snorted. "I'm not your apprentice anymore, Pram." He said, grinning. "And I've never been polite! Anyway, you said you had something to tell me?"
"No, I didn't say that. Anyway… I found it." She said, smirking widely. "Persuading Trenia wasn't easy at all, so you better be grateful-"
Pram couldn't ever finish her sentence before she was tackled to the floor "Thank you thank you thankyouthankyou!" Squeaked a child's voice as Pram blushed bright red. There was another squeak as Pram delivered a devastating uppercut towards her Apprentice's chin, sending him flying away. "Owie!" yelled Naruto as he sailed through the air. Er... Vacuum.
"Consider it a birthday gift." Pram stated, getting back to her feet. How she had been knocked to the nonexistent floor of the space between netherworlds she'd never know, but then again, Trenia had managed to plant a cornman there so who knows how the hell it worked. "As well as a late graduation gift."
Naruto smiled widely. "Thank you, Master."
Pram snorted. "You've said that a lot." Pram noted. "Anyway, go do whatever it is you do when I'm not training you." She said, waving him away. "I've got to see what trouble Zetta's gotten in this time. Haven't seen him since he went to challenge Tyrant Valvatorez."
"How does he get into so much trouble?" Asked Naruto randomly. "He is the most powerful overlord alive, even without Salome's power."
"Well, from what I've heard, at his peak, Tyrant Valvatorez was one of the most powerful beings in the universe." Pram said, resting her red-on-black eyes on the far distance. "Zetta's body might be the most powerful in the universe, but as long as his head is empty, he'll continue getting in trouble. For instance, he's one of the most powerful, if not the outright most powerful fire mage in the universe. He's not even aware of it." Pram said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It took me years to get past the intense heat of the fireworks he uses to show off and the ice spell I used wasn't even powerful enough to nick his skin!"
Naruto laughed. "Maybe you're not as good as you think you are." He said.
"Get out of here before I turn you into an ice statueand chuck you at a sun." Pram snarled, glaring at the disappearing form of her apprentice.
"I'mgoingtoahumanworldtogetasou rceoffearenergykthxbye!" a black and red humanoid blur spoke really fast.
Reo sighed. At least this time he was going to do something productive. Maybe.