A/N: This is so altered it isn't even funny. And I plan to mess with it extra hard when it comes to logic, hehe. I started this before I thought of the character for Wolves, so sorry for the double red haired MCs. I must be on some kinda red vibe atm. I've set it to M rating in case I feel like getting spicy, but mostly because I spew forth swears like a fountain sometimes. And yes, I am blatantly abusing the Gremory adaptive bloodline. Don't expect a fight in this first chapter, unless you count a random throwaway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Highschool DxD so, you know, whatever.

Also, sorry to a certain someone. You know who you are. This doesn't count, it's based there. Ha!

Chapter I: Birth of the Fox

(Zekros Gremory POV)

It was times like these that I, Zekros Gremory, cursed my stupid ideas. Sure, stealing a second Evil Piece set and fleeing to another universe with some obscure spell was a brilliant trick, but the fact was I didn't need to. I'd only actually used a single Knight, to reincarnate a werewolf named Krueger. The mute german man carried a massive zweihander and truly only joined me because I had helped him gain vengeance against a particularly nasty Fallen Angel that had killed his wife and daughter. It was the simple fact that I'd only used one of my pieces that caused an uproar among the Devils after the theft, but I had escaped pursuit quite handily and was sure even my legendary relative Sirzechs would be unable to find us.

And what was the first thing I did upon arriving in this world? I went and absorbed a giant ass fox demon by interrupting some sort of ritual an idiot blonde was trying to perform. It wasn't like I'd asked to be dropped in the middle of it, though the fact that I found a woman strong enough to be a mutated Rook right there was pleasing, the problem was she was recently widowed and now a new mother. And to top it off, I'd just have to take the brat, Naruto, along with us as we fled the area. Apparently people didn't like foxes around these parts, and becoming a kitsune was guaranteed to be trouble, so after a quick conversation with the redhead woman named Kushina Uzumaki, we set a quick pace towards a land she called 'Wave'.

These humans were odd compared to the humans from my own universe, but considering those fools were just starting to use muskets properly it wasn't bad. Truthfully, they were rather similar except for those things called 'radio' and 'movies'. Those were interesting, if confusing, but pleasant regardless. This woman, Kushina, spent a week recovering from her wounds and explaining this world to myself and Krueger. It was irritating, but necessary, to learn all we could of the nations around us.

The only true issue that cropped up was the lack of funds we had. While Krueger and I had made sure to bring some pure gold with us, and it was simply stored in a magically enhanced bag I carried under my black kimono, it was likely that Krueger and I would have to sell our services because gold was a bitch to spend. Kushina was certain we'd be safe to return to Konoha, but even she admitted I'd likely have to cover my two new tails and my fox ears. I could hear Krueger giving a near silent snicker when he'd heard that, and my glare just seemed to amuse him more. I could never figure out if he was mute from choice or injury, but it seemed too impolite to ask him about.

"And just how are you going to explain your son not housing that fox demon Kushina-san?" My question seemed to stump her for a moment.

Her hand came up to scratch at the back of her head, and froze midway as her eyes widened. "You said your family tended to mutate bloodlines they bred with didn't you?" I nodded, not quite sure where this was going. "Then it's easy-Dattebane! We'll just tell them you absorbed him, because that is what you did, with your bloodline! We'll tell the Hokage in private before it goes public, so you won't have to hide your cute little tails long," she snickered as she said this.

In the week and a half we'd spent near each other since I stumbled upon that battle and sealing ritual, I'd been getting adjusted to my new sense of balance with my tails. It took most of my time just to learn how not to hit things with my tails, and my blasted Rook had seemed to devote all her time into her son and teasing the hell out of me about my tails. She was way too chipper for a new widow, and I was completely bewildered by her behaviour for the first two days until Krueger tapped my shoulder and pointed to himself. I came to the correct conclusion that the woman had seen way too much death to react in any way other than 'happy' and it was disturbing, but I wouldn't bring it up because that was her way of dealing with grief.

I had unfortunately joined the club of sensitive hearing with Krueger, and we both could hear the woman cry at night. It was getting softer lately, but we males weren't going to make it worse on her at all so we never spoke of it. I honestly thought the bloodline thing would make perfect sense, but I also believed it was way too damn early to go back to Konoha like this. Those people would get all that grief and anger back instantly on my return, or on Naruto's since we were certain the Sandaime Hokage had been told about the sealing beforehand.

My musings about her request was interrupted by Krueger passing me a note. "We could write to the Hokage," I read aloud. "Request he comes here, and brings the healer you talked about, Tsunade, to check up on the kid."

"That might work," she replied with a finger on her chin. "We could see if he'll bring 'Kashi-kun with him too. He'd be perfect for a Pawn piece."

I gave a hum as I ran through it all in my mind. "I definitely would like to recruit Tsunade Senju as my Queen if all you said about her is true. I feel however Kakashi may need more time among his friends before his grief over his teachers death will abate."

Kushina looked sad as she glanced at Naruto, "Can we at least have the Hokage tell him we're alive?"

"Of course," I nodded. "But get to writing that letter, I'm off to find a proper haori."

She gave a light chuckle as she reached for paper, and I headed off into the town. Truthfully, my new kitsune magic and 'chakra' were practically screaming at me to go somewhere. I'd have to wait on the haori to find the source behind my distress. It took only minutes to realize it wasn't coming from inside the town, and so thanking Kushina in my mind for teaching me the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I created four copies of myself.

Ordering them to dispel themselves if they couldn't find anything, we quickly spread into the forest. The trees here were nothing like the Land of Fire, but that was to be expected from a small island like this. It took me twenty minutes before I finally came upon the source of the magical calling.

Laying there on the forest floor was a young two tailed fox. It was breathing steadily, but it was wounded and clutching a scroll to itself. I wasn't quite certain what possessed me to approach it, but upon hearing my footsteps its head snapped in my direction.

"Lord Kurama!" It cried out when it saw me. "I found you!"

I blinked at hearing the fox actually talking to me. "My name is Zekros Gremory, not Kurama," I replied, even as I bent down to inspect the injuries.

The fox tilted its head to the side. "But you smell like Lord Kurama. And you have his chakra."

"I absorbed a giant rampaging nine tailed fox recently, if that's who you're referring to," I told him, deeming that the wounds weren't life threatening at all, just minor surface cuts.

"Ah, Lady Yasaka will want to know the fate of her grandfather," he sighed. I twitched, 'Yasaka of the Yokai? Her damn dimension is connected here? Well at least she's young and not likely to tell Sirzechs.' The thought was only partially comforting. "But that explains my need to bring the Fox Summoning Contract here. And let me tell you the journey was awful. Here you go." With that he plopped the scroll into my hands and disappeared in a pop of smoke.

I stared down at the scroll in my hands before shrugging and putting it into my shirt until I could show Kushina. Dusting my hakama off, I slowly made my way back to the village, pondering my haori design. Black with a deep crimson two tailed fox on the back might work. It'd go well with my hair and tails at least, and would be rather distinct.

With a shake of my head I dispelled the Shadow Clones, finding one's curiosity with butterflies a little odd. Must be the fox instincts, but whatever. Now I had the find a damn tailor in this place, and I barely had any idea of where to start. 'Ugh I need more servants, just so that I can have servants to do things like this.' I gave a long suffering sigh as I continued my search for a tailor.

Later that evening, when I showed Kushina the scroll I was given, her eyes went wide. After explaining my encounter in the forest, she showed me how to sign the damn thing and then walked me through seals until I could make them by reflex. When I performed the jutsu a small white fox kit appeared, only to give a single yip and pop away again.

Kushina giggled for a moment before turning to Krueger. "Can I ask you to deliver this Krueger-san? It's probably better if I stay here with Naruto and Zekros-san." I watched in amusement as Krueger sighed before accepting the letter from her.

"Hey Kushina, you want to sign this summon contract?" I ask her.

"Maybe later, once you can summon them properly," the womans snickers were irritating, and I could practically smell the smugness wafting off Krueger.

With my loyal Knight off towards Konoha the next morning, I had nothing better to do than practice summoning foxes and waiting for my haori order to come in. I actually managed to summon a black furred fox named Bane, and he was quite good conversation. His explanation that because I did not originally have chakra coursing through me I'd have to rely partially on my magic until my chakra finally settled into my new form made for some interesting experiments.

My attempts at blending my chakra and magic were highly amusing to him, since the clearing we were in blew up several times because of it. It was after yet another explosive attempt that Bane and I glanced at each other, feeling that we were being watch. I proceeded to grumble to him even as we both casually scanned the area around us.

Bane suddenly let out a surprised yip, "Behind you!"

I'd barely processed the words before I heard a weak, "Can you h-help me," from behind me. I spun around in time to see the bloody body of a teen girl collapse to the ground in front of us.

"Whoa," I let out as I lifted her head up. She had three deep gashes along her side, along with a hole in her shoulder. "What's your name girl?" There was no way I was going to get her a healer any time soon, I'd need an Evil Piece to save her.

"M-Mei Terumi," the bloody auburn girl whispered.

I brought out an Evil Piece from my bag, one that was reaction strongly to her, a Queen piece. "Well Mei-chan, the only way I have to save you will bring you back as one of my servants. Are you okay with living on in service to a new master?" I raised my Queen piece in front of her eyes, watching her focus on it briefly.

"Yes," the word was practically sighed, but the moment it hit my ears my glowing Evil Piece was resting on her chest.

"Mei Terumi, by order of myself, Zekros Gremory, I bid you live. Live and become my loyal and beautiful Queen," my ceremony was shit, but it worked as the piece was quickly absorbed.

The girl slipped into a deep sleep even as I picked her up and rushed back to town, Bane hot on my heels. Luckily for us, the hotel we stayed at wasn't too far from the forest and I was able to slip in unseen.

"Kushina," I called as I laid the girl down on my bed, "I need a bit of medical jutsu here."

She poked her head in before her eyes went wide and she was nudging me out of the way. Her chakra control had apparently sky rocketed without the fox in her gut, so I was content to leave them be even as I checked on the blonde brat. Naruto Uzumaki was a quiet baby, but if he didn't see someone every so often he'd freak out. We'd learned that the hard way when we had left the room to speak as he was napping.

Kushina approached me near silently a short time later. "She'll be ok now, though I suggest rest. Can I assume by the slightly self healing wounds she's our newest member?"

I nodded, "One of my Queens apparently, the girl must have some serious potential."

"I wonder who did all that damage to her. And why was a Mist ninja here anyways?"

"Who knows," I shrug. "We'd best keep our eyes open though, wouldn't want someone sneaking up on us."

"I can send some clones out," she suggested. "They can keep watch easily enough."

With a grunt I left the room heading for the shower, wondering at how easy it was to find worthy peerage members. It seems this world would be far more interesting than I thought.

(Krueger POV)

I honestly thought my leaders new tails were hilarious. Seeing the graceful man stumbling over himself had been most relaxing. Plus werewolves tend to get along with kitsune fairly well, because of the whole canine thing. 'At least I won't have to learn those jutsu,' I thought. Truly I was lucky not to have chakra, and those stupid illusion things Kushina-san explained to us wouldn't affect me at all.

The trip back to this 'Konoha' was much more relaxing than the sprint away. The boat trip was smooth. The trees were absolutely massive, and the peace and quiet among the branches was near perfect. As I was leaping along the branches I heard a quiet thump sound, well it was quiet to anyone not a werewolf. The sound of blades clashing followed immediately after, and I turned to investigate.

It only took me a minute or two before I found the fight, and there among the trees I saw three figures engaged in a deadly duel. It was obvious to me that the two smaller figures, likely females, were being overwhelmed by the larger opponent. In fact, the man seemed to be playing with his opponents as he threw one off him and charged the second.

"Die you trash!" The man had a short blade and raised it to cut down on the girl in an odd bandage dress.

I gave a silent snarl even as I rushed forward, sending the man flying to the dirt with a backhand before any of them could react. I'd seen too many useless deaths over the course of my life, I wasn't going to witness more. I'd also confirmed that these two were of the village I was going to, judging by the forehead protectors they wore.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Apparently I didn't hit the man hard enough. "Just for that, I'm gonna slaughter you too!"

The man was clearly delusional, and he continued ranting even as he dodged the snakes the purple haired girl sent after him. I sighed at the human, even as I leapt behind him with my sword ready. To my surprise he managed to mostly dodge my attack, only recieving a shallow cut along his shoulder. I increased my speed with my second attack and took off his left leg below the knee.

The purple haired girl whistled at the screams of the annoying man, even as she stepped forward to finish him. "Nice work there pal, I'm Anko and that's Kurenai, what's your name?"

I blinked at the woman, briefly wondering how I was going to get my point across. It took me a moment to remember the note I had written to introduce myself for this annoying mission. I retrieved the note and handed it to the bandage wearing girl, who I noticed had interesting red eyes.

"I am Krueger," she read off, eyebrow rising. "I have been asked to deliver a letter to the Hokage of your village." Both girls blinked before they turned to me with curious eyes. "Excuse me Krueger-san, but are you mute?"

My brief nod seemed to surprise them, but I am unsure why. Maybe they thought I was a ninja like they are, but before I could continue my thoughts were interrupted by the purple one, Anko.

"Well ya might as well come with us then, we're heading back to the village anyways," she said, somehow putting the other mans head in a scroll.

I took my note back from Kurenai, but before we could leave Anko and I turned back around on hearing a pained gasp. Kurenai was wrapping her ankle in bandages, looking mildly embarrassed.

"A light sprain," she said, "Nothing too bad."

Before she could try to stand I'd already picked the silly girl up, face entirely blank. Anko howled with laughter as the girl in my arms blushed, demanding to be put down. I simply stared her down until she looked away before I sprinted off in the direction of Konoha, hoping to end this annoying trip as soon as possible. The sound of laughter trailed behind us for miles, until Kurenai threw a few of those kunai back, and we heard a snort of amusement.

Unfortunately, the girl took to chanting after that. "Kurenai-chan has a crush, Kurenai-chan has a crush!" My patience only lasted a few minutes of this before I spun around with a snarl on my face, the wedding ring on my necklace and the one on my hand glinting in the sunlight. "Oh..." she whispered, eyes locked on my necklace. I gave an irritated huff even as I turned and continued on.

"I'm sorry about her," the girl in my arms said lowly, eyes cast towards our destination. "It's just her personality, she didn't mean anything by it."

The silence after that stretched from minutes to hours as we traveled through the forest, and my irritation slowly died as I enjoyed the calm of nature. This land was oddly peaceful, even though it had been through a few wars from what I had learned. That was rather remarkable in its own way.

The sun was getting low in the sky before we finally arrived at a walled... city. 'That is way too big to be considered a lowly village.' I was so distracted by the size of Konoha that I completely missed whatever it was that Anko said to the two guards on duty, but I dutifully followed as she led me through the gate.

In a few short minutes we'd arrived at a tower that overlooked the entire village. Perfect place for the leader to work from, in truth, but I couldn't help but find it amusing that they were so open and obvious about everything.

"You can let me down now you know," Kurenai said with a blush. "I can walk to the Hokages office myself, and besides you won't be allowed in as we make our report."

I shrugged and gently let her down, figuring I'd likely have to wait a bit before seeing their leader anyway. As I sat in the waiting room outside of the office, I couldn't help but see the reconstruction efforts underway across the village. 'Zekros-sama is correct, he would likely not be welcomed here so soon,' I thought, absently wondering how these people could proceed to repair the damages as if it was a common occurence. A shiver ran down my spine at that thought.

Finally the door opened and the two girls came out. "Your turn," Anko said as she waved her hand at the door. "Try not to irritate the guards, eh?" She snickered as she dragged Kurenai off, presumably to rest.

I made my way into an office with an old man behind a desk, and four guards stationed at the corners of the room, along with two holding to the ceiling. I observed that all of them carried weapons, and from the way they held themselves these were trained killers. I was interrupted in my thoughts by a cough from the old man.

"You can see my Anbu?" The question was rather odd, so I just nodded. "I see, I shall have to have them up their training it appears." The tightened stances of those 'Anbu' upon realizing that I was actually watching them was amusing.

I snickered lightly before I retrieved the letter Kushina-san had written, along with a notepad and pencil. I quickly scribbled a note, even as I glanced at the guards with more amusement than strictly necessary. Handing the note and letter to the Hokage, I took a relaxed stance in the center of the room, hands far from my weapon.

"I have no doubt your illusions won't work on me," the aged Hokage read off, eyebrows rising. "And even if I couldn't see them, my sense of smell is far stronger than you'd believe, along with my hearing. I can hear the heartbeats." All seven non-devils in the room twitched at that information.

I gave a well deserved smirk at one of them who had increased their heartrate after that, and I just knew they understood it by the figures twitching fingers.

"Now Anko and Kurenai said you had a letter for me, so I assume this is it?" At my nod he proceeded to open it, blood quickly draining from his face as he read. I could hear his quickened heartrate far above the others, and as his eyes danced around the paper his coloring slowly returned. "So it would appear," he stated after putting the letter down, "That my former student and I are in for an interesting trip."

I gave another nod and recieved a sigh in return. "This is certainly... interesting news, but you can see the problems that this will cause can't you? Or should I ask, can your master see the problems?" Another nod and the old man lit a pipe he had pulled from... somewhere. I could easily tell it wasn't tobacco he was smoking, and the look in his eyes told me he was glad I couldn't comment on it.

An obnoxiously slow release of the smoke and a sigh later the man rubbed his forehead. "Anbu," he called, and one of them dropped from the ceiling. "Take a team to find Tsunade Senju and order her to travel to the Land of Waves. If she refuses, tell her I shall lock her out of the Senju accounts entirely." The fear rolling off the man standing before the Hokage was intense. "And don't give me that look, your entire team is getting hazard pay. Just don't stand in arms reach and you'll be fine."

The hotel they set me up in was rather nice. It was just a shame that I'd have to wait to travel back with the Hokage, but at least I could explore this place. Not the worst job I've been assigned.

(Zekros Gremory POV)

Being a devil with the sin of Avarice was awful when one was looking for Peerage members. I'd noticed a wandering swordsman that would have made a decent pawn, except the man was absolutely vile. If those fools were as common as I'd been led to believe, less noble intentioned devils might actually do some insane damage to this world.

Lucky for them I was of the noble intent or with my mind I could create absolute chaos. In the two days since Krueger had left and Mei had stumbled across me, I'd been educating both Kushina and Mei in what it means to be a Devil. There was a lot they'd have to learn, but at least they both had the potential to properly use devil magic. Apparently large chakra reserves will indicate powerful magic stores as well, and that was a most useful discovery.

Mei had seriously taken to the duties of a Queen, going out and picking up my haori, organizing my notes, and keeping track of where everyone was. She'd also displayed a rather puzzling attachment to me, and while it was very sweet, she was a few years too early to be forming something as strong as she had. By the Maou I may not look it but the girl is half of my years, there was absolutely no way I was accepting a fifteen year old into my bed, no matter when they were 'considered' adults.

That was odd in itself, apparently most of these Hidden Villages consider their rank and file Genin, even at extremely young ages, to be adults. That could create so many potential issues that it wasn't even funny, and I was almost certain the Kakashi boy that Kushina described fit most of the painful stereotypes perfectly. It was a shame but until he stabilized I couldn't risk reincarnating him.

We didn't get much out of Mei regarding how she come to us, but from what we could tell she'd had a run in with a particularly nasty nuke-nin, or missing ninja. To be entirely honest, once I'd been assured she hadn't been assaulted I let the matter drop. If I didn't need to go destroy someone there was really no reason for us to dwell on an uncomfortable subject.

Wave was a calm little place, I'd like to invest in an estate here I do believe. It was just a shame I'd have to wait until after Krueger returned, I had found this area to be most amusing. I wanted a base to use, and I wanted to train. My elemental magic wasn't the greatest around, but it worked differently and more quickly than ninjutsu so it would be my fallback option.

"We've recieved a messenger bird," Kushina said, drawing my attention away from my notes on chakra metal. "The Hokage wrote that he had ordered Tsunade to head this way, and to expect them in a few more days once the preparations are done."

"What preparations?" I ask, idly noting her face turning pink.

"I asked from some money from my accounts," she looked a little sheepish. "I didn't want to burden you with trying to supply all of us, my family left a lot of money behind."

I sighed. "Kushina, I was an Ultimate-class Devil back home, even in the lower ends of that spectrum we still made a lot of money." At her inquiring look I continued on, "I may not look it, but I can throw Krueger around as if he was a toddler. His sword skills are far superior, but my raw power made me outlast most opponents."

That was a fact. I had huge magical strength for someone who never properly trained their magic. To be entirely honest, I mostly did business but every so often I'd need to unleash my magical pressure to get my point across, and boy did it. Seeing someone centuries older than yourself fall to their knees because of your power did great things for your ego, let me tell you.

"Krueger and I haven't even started selling any of the gems we brought along," this surprised her, did I not mention gems? Probably not. "I was actually thinking of buying out a couple of those merchant ships to start up business here. Unfortunately my knowledge of ships is mostly theoretical, Krueger is needed to actually inspect them for me unless I want to have them built."

"You rely on Krueger-san a lot, don't you?" The question seemed rather odd to me, but I couldn't place why.

"Yes, he has been with me for several years now and I have come to respect his abilities." That was true, the man had dabbled a little bit in almost everything before I'd come across him.

Oh no, my senses were screaming Danger! to me. "And you've had Mei-chan helping out as well..." Quick, abort, abort!

"Kushina-chan... I can call you chan right?" She smiled and gave a happy nod, oh Maou protect me from silly women. "Well anyways Kushina-chan, you've got a new baby to care for. Not to mention... Well Krueger and I just silently agreed to give you your time. There's no reason to push yourself."

"But I feel useless-Dattebane!" She retorted, slamming her hands on the desk. "Even desk work would be better than no work, and I'd still be able to take care of Naru-chan while I was at it."

I will never understand women, or ninja. I sighed as I inspected the piles of paperwork she had disturbed. Was there at least something in there I could distract her with? Wait a moment...

"Kushina-chan, I may have just the thing." Whoever came up with that damn puppy dog eyes trick should be reincarnated and then tortured for eternity. "I was actually looking to purchase land here and build an estate."

"Yeah? What do I get to do?" I sincerely hoped her son took after her husband.

"Well you get to talk to people about it obviously, purchase it for us, and find an architect and construction team." I could see the look of horror on her face, heh, be careful what you wish for. "It's more exciting than it sounds, honest. And you get to meet interesting people."

"Well I guess..."

"And take Mei with you when you leave the building. You two can bond or something."

I returned to the notes on chakra metal, wondering where I could get enough of the stuff for a proper weapon and gear for us. I wanted to make some shin guards and vambraces, maybe a tonfa and or katana to add a little more variety. The metal was apparently highly attuned to chakra, and just from the knife Mei-chan had I could tell it would conduct devil magic fairly adequately as well.

According to the information I was given, no one group was able to trade with every country equally. A neutral trading company with the skills to protect their own mechandise and the willingness to cause mayhem when insulted may just have some profits. It was something else I'd need to look into more. Oh the paperwork...

I'd also have to get Krueger to help with building a ship that could transport a double Peerage comfortably. That's going to be a hassle, maybe it should be two separate ones? Hmm yes counting the crews, if we make them with extra living and storage space they could be large merchant ships or transports at will. I knew I'd want at least two galleys and a true galleon eventually, you could do so much with them. Maybe some caravels when I get employees.

Oh but the visions I have boys, the visions I have. Given ten years I could be the strongest merchant around. With the fighters to back it up as well, yes. The future was looking bright indeed for me, that it was. Now if only I could recruit that Tsunade. Medics were damn near essential, especially with kids.

I hear Tsunade is quite the looker, and only a few years older than myself. It would be nice to have some respectable conversation with someone once in a while. Krueger could listen, and write rather brilliant responses, but it just wasn't the same. Now I just have to wait.

(Zekros Gremory POV)

Three days later found me rushing through the hotel, pulling on my geta and haori. One of Kushina's clones had popped to tell her Tsunade was enterring town, with an apprentice. People stopped to watch my twitching tails as Kushina and Mei giggled at my hastened exit. They'd taken their sweet time informing me, so now I needed to rush and greet the guests. Thankfully Mei had reserved an extra two bed room for them.

And there they were, walking up the street. The woman I could only assume was Tsunade had an obviously irritated look on her face, but I calmly smoothed my clothes as I walked to meet them.

"Greetings," I acknowledged them with a slight bow. "Can I assume you are Tsunade Senju?"

A near perfect eyebrow twitched. "You may."

"I am glad to see the rumors are true, Tsunade-sama." Oh this was going to be entertaining. I think my new fox instincts like to tease people.

"And what rumors are those?" I could see both she and her apprentice were confused about this conversation start.

"That your legendary beauty was matched only by your gambling and care for family, of course."

"Wh-What?" Ooh and there's the spark of annoyance. "Just what are you saying?"

"Now, now," Kushina appeared and interrupted. "It isn't polite to tease Tsunade-sama, Zekros-san."

Tsunade obviously hadn't been informed on Kushina's status, if the shocked look was anything to go by. "They told me you were dead." She stated flatly. "You and your kid, along with the blonde brat."

Kushina and I both winced. "I was briefly," she explained. "Zekros-san rescued me and Naruto."

"How do you have tails?" This came from the teen by Tsunade's side.

"I absorbed a giant fox," I deadpanned. "I've got the ears too." My ears twitched to prove my point, drawing a gasp from both women.

"Well come on then Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san," Kushina turned and started walking back to the hotel, effectively ending that conversation.

Baby Naruto naturally enchanted all the women with his chubby little fists. As Tsunade ran some medical jutsu over Kushina, Mei, and Naruto she pronounced them in perfect health. Then she got an unholy gleam in her eyes before grabbing me and forcing me to submit to diagnostics.

She confirmed that I truly was a kitsune, as far as chakra could tell. My chakra system and reserves were rather large and still growing it seemed. I'd probably become a ninjutsu monster in the future, and this pleased me. Nothing says fun like being capable of wholesale destruction.

She also took great, twisted, pleasure in congratulating me for having a fertility count twice the average man's. I am ashamed to admit I froze in shock at that, totally unprepared for a jutsu capable of reading that let alone hearing it. That was a damn logic buster, considering I was a pureblood devil before becoming a kitsune-devil.

It wasn't a secret that Devils, as a whole, had terrible fertility. Especially the male Devils, who even with large harems would be lucky to be blessed with a third child. Two children was almost a rule to our society, because you really couldn't expect more unless your bloodline was extremely fertile.

It's terrible to say, but the fertility bonus was almost worth my hijinks when it came to the Devilkind. Even if Sirzechs himself came to haul me back to the Underworld for my theft, let alone the stolen magic I used to get here, he'd take pause at hearing of my fertility boost. Our people had just gotten out of a damn civil war, our numbers were at an all time low.

Oh sweet merciful Maou, they'd treat me like a breeding stud! Kept pampered, but chained and restrained, never to do proper business or truly enjoy my time, forced to mate with whoever they threw at me. It sounds amazing to some idiots, but that was terrifying to someone with Avarice like mine, I was even greedy with control, no matter how I acted.

I think I may have blacked out for a bit, considering the last thing I remembered was Mei-chan and Shizune catching me as I fell. My shock turned to sleep, and my dreams turned into visions of baby-making. What, I'm a Devil, it's expected of me.

The next morning found me sitting in the common room between our rooms, sipping tea as I calmly reordered my mind. My sin had come back in full force, and plans to expand my Peerage took a backseat to my plans to expand my influence. A proper base here, and proper merchant channels and eventually potential members would come to me. Yes, my greed was strong this morning.

"Good morning," I heard Tsunade greet me as she entered.

I barely glanced up before I replied, "Sorry for my episode, that was news to me."

"So I've come to be told." At my questioning glance she continued, "Kushina told me a little backstory. Full wings and all. She honestly has no tact, and somehow managed to escape your little Queen and her attention just long enough."

"Oh great," I groaned. "So what is my new position in these unannounced discussions?"

"I quite like the longevity bit, and those medical texts Kushina showed me are definitely worth it..." Oh god what is this going to cost me. "But I can't just up and leave Shizune like that, and watching her grow old and wither would be terrible." Tsunade looked rather horrified at the thought. Fuck, her mask was perfect.

"I was planning to make her a Bishop," I supplied helpfully. "I was also going to request you set up a clinic for the town. They don't have a med-nin around here, and the local doctor is getting along in years and prefers to work from near his home on the outskirts."

And like that, my sin was calling to its match. The gleam in her eyes was strong, terrifying in its mad potential. "Shizune too, eh? And a place to set up and practice?"

"Plus food and board," I smiled, knowing how to play this game.

"And sake, can't forget the sake." Her tone was deadly serious, and almost made me laugh.

"Yes of course, the sake." Too bad for her I have demands. "You'd have to accept my summons when it comes to meetings, you know. There's also paperwork involved, but more management than anything, because a Bishop is a fair decent paperpusher. Rooks and Knights are sent to do most work, taking Pawns with them to help carry it along."

Her astounded look made me smile again as I sipped my tea before continuing, "My Peerage is fairly similar to business and your own Hidden Villages in operations. I provide, I command, we all respect each other."

"Are you trying to be the Land of Waves' Daimyo?" She asked.

"If that occurs through legitimate business and supplying of honest protection I have no problems assuming such responsibilities." She suddenly burst into laughter upon my words.

"You do want to be Daimyo!" She accused me. "You want it as bad as I want sake and money, I could see it on you the second I said it."

"I can neither confirm nor deny those accusations upon my person," I replied with a smug grin.

She sat down and set a jug of sake next to her on the table. She could apparently sip sake from it as I could a private bottle of wine on a late evening.

"Well hand me the piece then," she put her hand forward in request. When I handed to her she pulled it back and placed it on her chest. "Don't think I don't see you looking, you get one freebie, I'm not going to sleep with you."

"That's what they all say," I shot in reply. "Tsunade Senju, by order of myself, Zekros Gremory, I bid you rebirth. Join our home and heart, and watch over them all as Queen," I gave her a little ceremony this time, to nice and all.

After the glow died down two devil wings popped from her back, sending her falling forward slightly. "Not a word," she growled at my grinning face. "These are more annoying than they seem."

"I've got tails, ears, and wings Tsunade-san. You won't feel weird unless you get some yourself." I laid my twin tails across the table briefly, catching her attention before I curled them away from her grasping hands. "No way Tsunade-san, you'll have to buy me dinner first, I'm not that kind of fox."

It was my great pleasure to see Tsunade Senju with a full cleavage blush, and the slight nap and mild concussion her fist caused was well worth my time. I awoke around lunch to reincarnate Shizune into the Peerage. Mei-chan brought me several ship builders a few hours later to begin discussions into building myself a pair of merchant galleys. I asked for their opinions on captains for the ships, especially ones with knowledge of the merchants in foreign lands.

The haggling took a while, but two of the ship builders stood tall and proud before me at last. The two promised the best prices and speeds, leaving both ships to launch at fairly the same time. They'd both also worked with several captains, and apparently were both familiar with a pair of brothers that were looking for work.

These two brothers were apparently retired genin from Kiri who'd migrated here over a decade ago and made their names plying trade between Kiri and Konoha in a way that would make both sides happy. The fact that they'd married daughters of merchants in Konoha kept the ties to both villages firmly aligned, so that they could ply a neutral trade.

They'd recently had the ship they were borrowing recalled, and were on shore until they could find a new vessel or two to ply their craft with. I wanted them almost immediately. I asked the ship builders to get in contact with the men and send them my way, and tell them to guarantee multiple positions in offer.

After the men left I took a short tea break, knowing Kushina-chan had found the only man who knew the various places for sale, and had the willingness to do proper business. He was bringing me files on several locations of land around the island, which I was going to use to find a place to set up a compound. Once I had this, and Kushina found architects and laborers, I'd be well on my way to settling in.

The man that came before me surprised me by his sheer size. His arms spoke of well used muscles, and he was almost as tall as I was. Being used to most fighters more compact muscles, I instantly knew the man for a craftsman of some kind.

"Welcome, I am Zekros Gremory." I politely stuck my hand forward.

He shook it with an amazingly gentle grip. "Derrick, town blacksmith."

I blinked in shock at the touch, and looked at him with a new interest. "Blacksmith? Aren't you the man I need to see about land purchases?"

He shrugged. "They trust me with their tools, and I get a bit from both sides of land sales, it's not bad. I've just gotta make sure the money goes to the right people on both ends, threaten to smash anyone trying to pull a fast one, and the village council let's me do business."

"I'll be damned," I laughed out. "Know anything about chakra metal?"

"Enough to make repairs, and a few places to buy it. That's beyond my normal fair so I never put much practice in, you'd have to see someone else about forging something," he replied.

"Good enough for me, any information on where to buy chakra metal and the ore is needed. Ask Mei about purchasing the information needed, she's got more fine details needed than I do."

We sat down and he passed me the first file, which had a portion of sea front along the northern shore. The place was fairly flat, but apparently was heavily wooded and would require me to chop the woods back.

"So what about this one?" I asked, glancing at him.

"The land itself is pretty good, sadly the trees are terrible lumber. The waves on that side of the island are weaker, but its also fairly shallow for a good distance." His notes about the need for extended piers in the event of larger ships was a down side. Those were a bitch to maintain properly. "The next one is a bit better if you want something on the shoreline, especially when it comes to ships."

It was true, the land was better suited for a port. It had a wide and deep cove, with a mild forest covering the land. The notes behind it noted the wood was useful in both construction and shipmaking, and this parcel of land was bordered in the north by a denser forest that I could buy later if I wanted.

A bit inland the land rose up to form a soft but rising hill. If one were to stand atop a tree on that hill, they would be able to see the entire area. It was a square mile of land on the south shore of the island, a fair distance to a civilian but a short run away for anyone with any training. The previous owner had died and left it to the town, so this would be a straight deposit right into the town treasury.

"Have a look at the third one. That might interest you if you do most of your porting from the town." He handed me another file, taking back the first one.

The third option was a square mile as well, but owned by the town and two others. They apparently reside in town and didn't see the need for that land any more. Several rivers ran through the area, forming a lake in the center. The borders of the lands were only a mile from town, out into the heart of the forest on the island.

The pricetags on these made me realize I was definitely going to have to sell some gems if I wanted to have any gold on hand. I gave him a nod as he left, leaving me to think the decisions over. The benefits to both were plain as day to see, but it really came down to preferences. The southern one was much further away, even though it gave me my own land to build a dock on.

However, when one had a dock, they needed housing for the people working at said dock. And that just created a whole flow of requirements. Living inland would allow me to simply wall off and bridge over parts of my land, creating a pretty decent defensive screen. Our compound could potentially be a little mini-Hidden Village of its own, as silly as it was.

Ugh the paperwork involved was going to give me nightmares. Money filled nightmares, but still. I needed Krueger to do more legwork for me when he got back. At least he'd enjoy it, mostly.

(Krueger POV)

Traveling with the Hokage and his guard was quite peaceful. The forward team kept watch and was rotated every so often, and the guys in the rear kept vigilant for security issues. Of course, I was kept in sight by all of them, but they were at least polite about it. We'd be arriving at Wave soon, and I looked forward to the return of my normal duties.

Konoha had been an interesting experience. Even half destroyed, they carried on with their daily lives. The little silver haired kid named Kakashi had been most demanding when asking about Kushina-san and Naruto. If I hadn't had a separate letter addressed for him that might have caused issues.

I hadn't expected much in way of necessities when it came to the trip, but traveling by cart with an armed guard was certainly relaxing. Of course, that could have to do with whatever the old man driving the wagon was smoking, and I was certain he knew just how easily I could smell that. I wasn't stupid of course, Devils had thousands of years of narutal life, they'd found uses for more than a few herbs the humans still hadn't discovered the existance of.

The Hokage had given me a wink when he started to smoke, so I could only assume he was blocking the scent from his guards somehow. If they couldn't tell that their boss was having a little fun, I wasn't inclined to inform them, it was too much of a hassle.

I'd actually be looking forward to this job being over with, except for the fact that I knew for certain my master had been up to mischief while I was gone. I could feel three separate reactions that occured with my Evil Piece while I was gone and I could only imagine what kind of craziness had been born. I'd likely spend the next few weeks running around Wave completing whatever he had cooked up, so I just hoped Kushina-san had managed to reign him in a little... Oh who am I kidding, she probably got just as excited and he did and fed the nonsense.

"A beautiful afternoon, isn't it?" The Hokage asked.

Seriously, what's the point in a conversation with a man who can't speak. I put up with my King and his antics because he was my King, and his madness held more than a spark of brilliance to it. This man was obviously brilliant, but I had no reason to amuse him.

"You never did explain how you could smell my Anbu," he was blatantly being a politician, it was just unfortunate for him I worked for a businessman.

My raised eyebrow seemed to chagrin him slightly, as he took a moment to cough out some seriously potent smoke.

"My apologies, old habit," he smiled at me.

I snorted lightly and pointed up the road, where it ended at the ferry we would have to take. The journey had been one long vacation compared to what I was used to, as I was usually the 'muscle' of the group when it came to work. I wouldn't begrudge Zekros-sama that, he may have some muscles but I was a werewolf, we were naturally stronger than others.

Loading onto the ferry took longer than expected. Apparently the cart was loaded with a bunch of chests and crates that had to be carefully handled and properly tied down. I helped out a bit, wondering what the old man was bringing along. I knew I should have read the letter before Kushina-san sealed it, she probably caused even more nonsense. Well at least she'd fit in.

The trip to the island was short, and then we had to offload the cargo. The old man seemed thoroughly amused by the glares he was being sent by his guards. Maou protect me from silly supreme leaders.

"Greetings," I heard from behind us. "You must be Krueger-san."

I turned to find an auburn haired teen girl and a buxom blonde woman smirking slightly.

"Sensei, get over here!" The blonde woman called, and to my astonishment the Hokage turned from directing his men and froze.

"Tsunade, you made it already?" Oh, Tsunade. Huh, she feels like a devil, so Zekros-sama had obviously gotten to her.

Speaking of which, the teen gave off a similar vibe, so she must be the same piece. When the Hokage made his way to us, she gave a bow of respect and introduced herself.

"I am Mei Terumi, Hokage-sama. Zekros-sama has sent myself and Tsunade-san to escort you to our temporary residence."

Well that was news to me. Then again, you can only stay in a hotel for so long. Oh well, I tuned them all out and followed along, wondering what was going to happen next. Of course I really shouldn't have, because standing in front of a merchant village was my King, Zekros Gremory, with his tails swaying in the wind and a smirk upon his face.

'Oh hell, he's about to make my head hurt,' I sighed in resignation.

End.

A/N: I wasn't going to get my new Tossed to the Wolves chapter done today (considering it's barely started), or even early tomorrow so I thought I'd give you this while I get to work. I'll try to get it out tomorrow but I'm not going to ruin it with impatience. I'm definitely going to have to take my time writing so that I don't leave myself without pieces written just because I wanted to sleep all day :)