Fate/Zero Shinobi Chapter 3: The Meeting of Warriors! An Eight Servant?!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Fate series, Fate/Zero included. They are the respective properties of Masashi Kishimoto and Gen Urobuchi/TYPE-MOON.
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[Underground Laboratory, Land of Sound]
Current Time...
The many hidden laboratories of Orochimaru could be described in two words: drab and spartan. The room that he and Caster were in was mostly bare. In it was a bookshelf filled with notes and journals, a small table that had surgical tools and a tape recorder on it, and lastly, an operating table with an experiment subject on it. Said subject was a middle aged man. The man was vivisected, the skin of his torso stretched out and pinned to the table. The man's breathing was slow and his eyes stared at the ceiling, waiting for the sweet release of death.
"Interesting, very interesting," Orochimaru mused as he took in Caster's information about the Holy Grail War.
He had been taken by surprised when the mysterious, fish-eyed man had appeared in the Kazekage's office. He was then intrigued when Caster had proclaimed that he was his servant for the Holy Grail War. The Sannin had decided to wait for questions once they got out of Sunagakure. He initially thought that doing this with Caster would be difficult. However, the Servant of the Spell had demonstrated the ability to take on an invisible, incorporeal form, which made the escape go smoothly.
Orochimaru put his fingers to his chin as he thought about the Holy Grail War. He had never heard of a ceremony taking place every 60 years in which seven heroes fought for a single wish. However, this war could help him achieve his goals. If he won the Grail War, then immortality be within his grasp. It would make up for those years of fruitless searching and experimentation. He chuckled in glee at this realization.
Caster, meanwhile, blinked at the Sannin's laughter.
"What do you find so funny, master?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing," Orochimaru said as he dismissed his servant's concern. He then cleared his throat.
"Now, let's get down to business. I'd like you to demonstrate some of your abilities."
"What for?"
"It's simple: in order to win this war, I need to know what you are capable of."
"Very well," Caster said as he approached Orochimaru's subject. He then opened his tome and placed his finger on one of the pages. Caster then uttered a phrase from an ancient, alien language:
"R'lyeh wgah'ngal fhtagn."
With that, Caster closed his tome and gestured towards his master.
"Well, go on."
Orochimaru eventually understood what his servant wanted him to do and walked over to his experiment. He picked up a scalpel off the medical stand and twirled it in his hand. The Sannin leaned over him and began to cut out the man's heart, slowly cutting each artery. The man struggled and his eyes began to dart back and forth. He didn't even have the relief of screaming. Orochimaru had cut out his tongue, since he had found his cries of agony distracting.
After a minute or two, Orochimaru had finished cutting out the heart. He then picked up the organ and placed it on a kidney dish. The Sannin expected his subject would die quickly from the removal of his heart. However, to his surprise, the man was still alive.
"So that's what your spell did," Orochimaru commented as he turned to Caster, who had a small grin on his face.
"Indeed. I admit that I am fortunate to receive such an understanding master like yourself."
"Kukuku. You know... I have a feeling we'll get along swimmingly, Caster," Orochimaru commented as he went back to work on the subject.
The man's eyes widened as he saw the Sannin approach with a scapel. He now knew that he was in hell... and that there would be no escape.
[Hokage's Office, Konohagakure, Land of Fire]
Meanwhile…
Naruto, Saber, and Jiriaya were now standing outside of the Hokage's office after getting back to Konoha. The walk through the village had been uneventful, except for Saber getting a few curious looks from the villagers due to her strange attire. Naruto and Saber stood by a wall as the Toad Sannin addressed the two.
"Alright, you two wait here. I'm going to explain things to the Hokage, and I'll bring you in when I'm done."
"Very well," Saber said simply as she stood still, ever vigilant. Naruto, meanwhile, crossed his arms as Jiraiya walked into the office. After a minute or so of silence, Naruto began to grow restless and then turned to his servant. She was staring out into space. The young shinobi decided to talk to her in order to kill some time.
"Hey. I have a few questions for you."
The Servant of the Sword then looked at the boy.
"Yes, master?"
Naruto's expression quickly became one of annoyance before he spoke.
"Ok, before I ask my actual question, would you quit calling me Master? I have a name, you know..." Naruto said rather bluntly.
Saber let out a sigh at this.
"Very well, I shall do as you ask. Your name is Naruto, right? Yes, I think that sounds most pleasing to me," she began rambling... to which Naruto narrowed his eyes to the point that they looked completely shut.
"What the hell does that even mean?" he asked, to which Saber shook her head before speaking.
"Never mind, Naruto. So what was it you wished to ask me?"
"Well, since you aren't going to tell me what your real name is for now, and don't think I'm giving up on that, than can you at least tell me who you were in life? Where you're from? What you did? Why you're here now?"
Saber pondered on these questions for a bit. According to the information that she had received from the Grail, her legend did not exist here, so Naruto would not know who she was. Therefore, unlike in her actual world, there was no one outside theother Servants who could learn about her possible weaknesses. Even then, they wouldn't know the identities of other Servants were unless they saw their Noble Phantasms or they learned it through other Servants and Masters telling them. So there was no harm in telling him a little bit about herself. In any case, she knew he'd probably learn sooner or later during his dreams. It was best to tell him some of her story now, especially given the clear trust issues already plaguing their partnership.
She took in a breath as she looked down at her master.
"Very well, then. I guess I can tell you some of the basics about myself. In life, I was the King of a land called Briton. I was the leader of a group of warriors called the Knights of the Round Table. Do you understand so far?"
"Mostly... so where is this Briton located? Is it far from here?"
"Not exactly, you see... Briton is no-"
Saber suddenly stopped when she noticed something near the end of the hallway, and looked towards it. Naruto followed her gaze and spotted it as well. At the end of the hallway were Sasuke and Kakashi, but there was a third person who Naruto was drawing a blank on. It was a handsome man who appeared to be in his twenties. He wore a dark green, sleeveless outfit, while his hands grasped two spears, one in each hand. A red spear wrapped in a purple cloth in one hand and a golden spear, also wrapped in a purple cloth, was in the other. Like Saber, he also appeared frozen in place, his gaze fixed on Saber as if he was taken aback by her presence as much as she was by his.
As the gears began to spin in Naruto's mind, Saber's mind was filled with alarm bells once she shook out of her stupor. Her mind began to race with thoughts.
"Impossible! How did I not sense a Servant so close by?!"
"Get back, Naruto!" Saber shouted as she suddenly got in front of the blonde shinobi.
Saber suddenly grasped her hands around the air, holding nothing but the wind. Lancer, meanwhile, had recovered from his shock at the exact same time as Saber. After positioning himself in front of Sasuke and Kakashi, the Servant readied his spears. Naruto blinked in confusion at Saber's weapon before snapping back to reality.
"Saber, what are you doing?!" he suddenly asked as the Servant of the Sword stared down at her opponent. She then gave a quick look back at her master before turning her gaze back to Lancer before answering him.
"It's an enemy servant. Stay back so I can engage him."
"Are you nuts?! We can't fight here; we're a bit crammed in here! And besides, my friend and sensei are with that guy, so they're not our enemies!"
"If that is the case, then my enemy is not your allies, but the servant. I promise that no harm shall come to them, but I must eliminate the Servant. Besides, a knight such as myself would never lower their weapon in front of an enemy," Saber said in rebuttal.
"Oh, so she's is a fellow knight," Lancer, who was silent during the argument between Saber and Naruto, thought to himself before arching his spear back.
He didn't expect to find another knight among the servants, much less finding one minutes after being summoned. While also troubled by the fact that he didn't detect his fellow Servant's presence until he was right in front of her, however, he considered this a blessing. As with any true knight, which he was though-and-through, he wanted to face a fellow knight in combat, and, regardless of the circumstances, a golden opportunity for such a battle had presented itself. He planned to make the most of it.
Lancer let off a smirk as he addressed Saber.
"Hm, I didn't expect to encounter another servant so soon, given the circumstances. It seems as though fate has brought us together, wouldn't you agree?" he said, to which Saber was quick to respond.
"Indeed, servant. Am I correct to assume that you're the Lancer-class Servant?"
"Yes... and, based on your stance, am I to assume that you're the Saber-class Servant?"
"Indeed, Lancer. You're quite perceptive if you can figure that out... all the more reason to settle this now," Saber replied as she braced herself for a fight.
"Very well, then. Let us engage." Lancer declared as he began to charge at Saber...
...only to stop dead in his tracks when he and Saber suddenly found themselves being blocked by their respective Masters, with Naruto facing Saber and having formed a hand sign while Sasuke stood before Lancer and holding up his hand as if to tell Lancer to stop.
"MASTER?!" was the only response, one that was said simultaneously, from both Servants.
Before this clusterfuck of a situation could get more tense, however, the standoff ended when a voice was heard from the other side of the hallway.
"Oho? What have we here?"
Everyone else turned their attention to the other side of the hallway. At the end were Hinata and her sensei Kurenai. However, what caught their attention was the person with them. He was a giant, standing at seven feet tall, with a muscular, chiseled body. He had a red colored hair and beard, and wore a strange looking bronze armor, which he complemented with greaves, cuffs, and a pair of sandals. On his belt in a scabbard was a short sword. However, the most notable thing about his attire was the red mantle he wore around his shoulders. It was majestic looking, with fringe along the mantle's collar and edges. Rider let out a huge grin as he looked at the two servants.
"Ha! I did not expect this! Servants, and two of them at that! An opportunity has presented itself!"
"R-rider-san, you aren't going to fight here, are you," Hinata asked hestitantly as the giant servant peered down at his master.
"Fighting them? Who ever said anything about fighting them?" Rider said as he looked back at the Saber and Lancer.
Hinata looked on in confusion at her servant's response. Rider then held up both his beefy arms as he addressed Saber and Lancer in a loud, hammy voice that Kakashi found all too familiar.
"Both of you, sheath your weapons! For you are standing in the presence of a king!"
"…this guy was a king?" Sasuke thought to himself as he looked at Rider who continued speaking.
"My name is Iskander, King of Conquerors! In this battle for the Holy Grail, I am participating as the Rider-class Servant!"
Naruto, his fellow genin, and the other two Servants look on at the towering man in sheer bewilderment. Kurenai, meanwhile, looked on in curiosity while Kakashi let out a sigh at this display.
"Good god, this guy is just like Might Guy..." Kakashi thought to himself, the man be unsure whether to feel at ease or to mentally groan in exasperation.
However, before Rider could go on and speak further, the door to the Hokage's office opened. Everyone turned their attention to door as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, stepped out into the hallway. Alongside him were Jiraiya and his two advisors, Koharu and Homura. Sarutobi looked over the scene before him. He simply let out a sigh before addressing the three servants and masters.
"Hm, from what Jiraiya told me, I had a feeling that this would might happen." he said before turning his focus to the three Servants specifically.
"I assume you three are the Servants Jiraiya described?" he asked. Rider was the one to respond.
"Indeed... and who are you, sir?"
"I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage and leader of this village," he answered as he turned to Saber and Lancer.
"Now then, I'd appreciate it if you would cease with these hostilities before you end up destroying my office..."
Saber and Lancer looked at Sarutobi and then at each other. Realizing that, in this case, discretion really was the better part of valor, the two Servants reluctantly lowered their weapons.
A Few Minutes Later…
Sarutobi sat at his office desk, smoking his pipe. In the room was Koharu, Homura, Jiriaya, Kakashi, and Kurenai, while Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, alongside their respective servants, were waiting outside of the office. When his former student had arrived at his office and told him what had happened when he was training Naruto, he had trouble believing what was heard. It sounded absurd, with a mysterious girl in armor being summoned to fight in a battle royale that reoccurred every 60 years. However, when he went outside his office to see Naruto, he found the armored girl his student had talked about. Besides the girl were two other odd looking people. That had been enough evidence to convince him that the story was real. Now he had to decide what would happen to the servants. He puffed out a ring of smoke as he considered the available options...
...though, for one reason or another, he didn't take nearly enough time to consider those options if his next few sentences were any indication.
"Hm, this seems like far too dangerous for the three genin to handle. Perhaps we should just have the three order the servants to kill themselves," he said, scratching his chin as he did so, only for Homura and Koharu to immediately protest this idea.
"With all due, Hokage-sama, that is very foolish idea! Given the circumstances, it's too much of a risk to take such measures," Koharu said.
At this point, an unlikely person came to voice his agreement with the old advisers.
"I never thought the day would come where I would have to say this, but I agree with Homura and Koharu," Jiriaya said as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Really? Explain your reasoning," Hiruzen said, an eyebrow raised at this turn of events.
"The fact is, we only know of these three Servants. According to Saber, this Holy Grail chooses the Masters either at random or, at least, using its own criteria, regardless of who they are. There are four other possible participants whose identities are unknown. Not only that, Naruto and his friends there are probably better off with those Servants at their side given their circumstances," Jiraiya explained.
Hiruzen was about to question this before his old student, who already guessed the Hokage was going to say, beat him to the punch as he continued his explanation.
"For starters, Naruto is currently being targeted by the Akatsuki, that group I came here to warn you about, who seek the Nine-Tails sealed inside the boy. Sasuke, from what Kakashi told me, was just branded by Orochimaru's Curse Mark, meaning he's has taken a dangerous interest in him. And Hinata, while she doesn't have any immediate threats to worry about, is the Hyuga Heiress and is a possible target for some, like Kumo if the Hyuga incident is any proof. And that's not even going into the very real possibility that Orochimaru, a member of the Akatsuki, or any other of Konoha's enemies might have been chosen by this Holy Grail as Masters. All things considered, these three Servants might be useful allies for both dealing with these threats and for helping to better protect those three kids from those who would seek to harm them, whether those people are part of this Grail War or not."
"Jiraiya-dono is correct. You would do well to heed this counsel, both his and ours, Hokage-sama," Homura interjected.
After a few minutes of silence, Hiruzen finally spoke.
"Very well, then; you've made your point. So what did you have in mind, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked as his eyes, and those of everyone else in the room, turned their gazes towards the Toad Sage.
Just Outside Of The Office...
As the adults discussed what they should do about this new situation, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, along with their servants, stood outside of Sarutobi's office. They were all waiting for him to come out. The three genin stood together with their servants. Naruto, wanting to break the silence and make the wait shorter, decided to speak up.
"So... where were you when your guys appeared?" he asked as both Hinata and Sasuke looked at him.
The Uchiha clansman was the first to respond.
"I was taking a break from training with Kakashi-sensei when Lancer appeared."
"I-I was still resting in the hospital when Rider-san appeared," Hinata said before Sasuke asked the obvious follow up question.
"And where were you when it happened?" the Uchiha asked, to which Naruto, who began rubbing the back of his head, gave his answer to the other masters.
"I was falling down a ravine that Ero-Sennin pushed me into. He was trying to get me to learn to use the Summoning Jutsu under pressure. I tried to do it but instead of summoning a giant toad, a large smoke cloud and bright red light formed before she appeared. She then carried me to the top," he said rather sheepishly.
"…I had a feeling your answer would be something like that," Sasuke said with a sigh, though inwardly several thoughts raced through his mind.
"If what Naruto says is true, then it's possible he might kick-started this whole thing, albeit accidentally. Lancer said this war took place every sixty years but, since no one seems to have heard about it and since it's obvious these guys are from another world, even if Lancer hadn't confirmed it when I asked him. That means someone or something, possibly this Holy Grail, choose to use Naruto's attempts to learn the Summoning Jutsu to allow these Servants to show up to fight here. If that's the case... why did it do that? What could this mean?"
Sasuke's speculations were cut short, however, when he was shook out of his thoughts by Rider when he yet again spoke in his usual boastful tone.
"Anyways, while we wait for your leader to answer, I suppose now is the best time to give you my generous offer."
"Generous offer?" Lancer questioned as the Rider spread out his arms as if he was going to embrace everyone else.
"Yes, Lancer; I was meaning to make my offer anyways and, since you and Saber are here now, it only makes sense that I make proposal now. My proposition is this: what say you relinquish the Grail to me and join my glorious and invincible army? If you forfeit your claims to the Grail, you would be treated as honored allies, friends, and brothers in arms! Together, we shall share the joys of conquering this brave new world!"
The three genin, yet again, looked on at the King of Conquerors in sheer bewildered confusion in response to the Servant's bold declarations. Lancer, on the other hand, simply shook his head before giving the Servant his answer.
"I'm afraid I must decline your offer, Rider. I admit that your offer is very tempting, but I made an oath to Master Sasuke that I would serve him and bring him the Grail."
"Even though I never asked you to do so," Sasuke thought to himself.
Saber, meanwhile, sighed before she gave her answer.
"Honestly, Rider, is that all to your proposition, mere promises of glory and boasts?"
"I'd be willing to discuss compensation," Rider said, deciding to compromise with his offer. Saber ignored this and continued with her rebuttal.
"Furthermore, I am the King of Briton, and not simply a knight of the realm. No matter how mighty a king you are, I would never lower myself to a retainer."
"Oh, you're the King of the Brits? What a surprise! I'd never expect the King of Briton to be a mere girl."
Saber tightened her fists and frowned at Rider's comment. As much as she'd love to give the King of Conquerors a taste of her blade, she knew that Naruto, and it seems everyone else in his village, would forbid it.
Thankfully, it Rider seemed to took notice of Saber's irritation and was quick to alleviate the tension before it led to any unpleasantries.
"I meant no offense to your office, King of Knights. Of course, seeing as how you are not inclined to accept my offer, might I ask why it is that you se-"
Rider was unable to finish his question before his, and everyone else's, attention turned to the door to the Hokage's office which just opened. Hiruzen stepped outisde along with Jiraiya and the genin's respective teachers/squad leaders.
"So you finally decided what we're going to do, old man?" Naruto asked as Sarutobi stood in front of them. A frown formed Saber's face, the girl being less than pleased with her master's rudeness, as Sarutobi gave his order.
"That I have. Naruto-kun... Sasuke-kun... Hinata-chan... for the time being, the three of you, along with your Servants, shall be allies for the forseeable future."
"Huh?!"
"After some insights provided by Jiraiya, I have reasoned that the best course of action is that the three of you will remain allies in this Holy Grail War."
Hiruzen then turned as addressed the three servants.
"As for your three, under no circumstances are you to attack each other. Once the four other servants have been defeated, we will decide what to do then. Do you understand?"
"Fine by me," Naruto said with a shrug.
"I-I do, Hokage-sama," Hinata said as Sasuke gave his answer.
"I understand," he said simply. The Hokage's thinking made sense. While he had a rather mixed opinion of his teammate, his servant, along with Hinata's servant, seemed rather powerful. Given the circumstances, this was the only way to prevent the three Servants from killing each other, their respective Masters, and possibility anyone in Konoha who might get caught in the crossfire.
Rider suddenly clapped his hands together.
"Splendid! It's not how I expected this to go, but it's better to fight alongside worthy comrades! Now that we are allies in this war, shall we get to know each other?"
Before any of the servants or masters could answer, all of them were suddenly bombarded with images, causing all of them to close their eyes.
When Naruto suddenly opened his eyes, he did not find himself in the Hokage's office. Instead, he founded himself on top of a stone pillar with Saber. They were in a void with a cloudy sky that seemed to stretch on forever. They were in a group of seven stone pillars that formed a circle. Sasuke and Lancer, along with Rider and Hinata, were each on a pillar. Standing on each of the other pillars were two people, totaling eight other people. Naruto couldn't make out any features on them, as their appearances were blackened out and obscured by shadows. Standing in the middle of the circle on a pillar was a blonde-haired girl dressed in an armored dress and an "M"-shaped headpiece, her left hand resting on the hilt of her sword while her right hand grasped a large banner. Naruto then turned towards Saber.
"So... what's going on? Where are we? Who is that girl? And why does she look so much like you?" he asked his servant, who seemed to be just as confused as he was.
"I do not know, Naruto," a stunned Saber said as the girl in the center began to speak.
"Greetings, fellow Servants and Masters. I am the servant Ruler, and I have been summoned by the Grail to act as mediator for the Holy Grail War of this world."
One of the servants covered in shadows began to speak up and addressed the now named Ruler.
"You dare call yourself Ruler in front of me, the only true King?" the shadow servant said accusingly. His voice sounded mixed and distorted, so Naruto could not make out what he truly sounded like.
"I see that your arrogance was not over-exaggerated by your legend. To be fair, while I am given the title of Ruler, I was not one during my lifetime; I was chosen by the Grail due to fitting the requirements for the class. I shall let your behavior slide this once. But be warned, Servant Archer, while many have tolerated your attitude in life and beyond, I shall not." Ruler said, causing Archer to scoff at this.
"You dare order me around, mongrel? You best pray I don't find you first or you will learn the consequences of your defiance."
"We shall see..." Ruler said rather ominously... only for Saber to interrupt with a question.
"Hold on, I have not heard of a Ruler-class Servant. Why appear now?" she asked, to which Ruler sighed before answering.
"Well, to answer your question, Servant Saber, normally a representative of the Church would act as an impartial mediator during a Grail War. Therefore, my class was not needed. However, there is no Church in the dimension that this War is taking place in. Because of that, the Grail has summoned me to act as the mediator and judge for this war."
"I see... so where are you currently located, Servant Ruler?" Lancer asked as Ruler turned her attention to the Servant of the Spear.
"I cannot tell you, Servant Lancer. However, if you are defeated in battle, I shall provide your Master sanctuary if they seek it. For now, I will leave clear marks of my presence wherever your Masters are based; should you or another of you fellow Servants fall, they only need to activate that mark to appear before me should they choose to seek sanctuary with me. I was going to explain the situation with the Grail in full but, from their silence, it's clear that you Servants have done well to explain what is going on. One more thing I must inform all of you, though... I am only the judge and mediator for the Grail War, but do not think me a mere spectator. Should I find it necessary, I will intervene against those who pervert the sanctity of the Holy Grail War," Ruler explained rather ominously, her eyes casting a stern glare towards two other shadows, who had been among those silent during the proceeding. She turned her body back to it's previous position and lifted her banner into the air above her.
"To all of you, Servant and Master alike. I wish you the best of luck in the Holy Grail War. I pray for the Lord to guide all of thee in this fight, whatever may come. Until we meet again, I bid all of you farewell," she said before slamming the bottom end of the pole holding the banner to the ground.
With that, a bright flash of light consumed them, causing both Naruto and Saber to cover their eyes.
When Naruto, uncovered them, he found himself back outside of the Hokage's office with Saber, Sasuke, Lancer, Hinata, and Rider. Both Jiriaya and Hiruzen were looking at the blonde in concern.
"Naruto, what just happened?" the Toad Sannin asked in concern. Naruto looked up at his teacher and answered him.
"We… just got contacted by another servant, Ero-Sennin. She calls herself Ruler."
[Underground Laboratory, Land of Sound]
Elsewhere...
"Hm, that was quite unexpected. I see we have already earned the ire of this Ruler character," Orochimaru commented as he placed his bloody scapel down on his tray of surgical tools.
He and Caster were busy conducting an experiment on his test subject when Ruler had contacted the two. He found it strange that Caster never mentioned a Ruler class servant when explaining the Holy Grail War to him. He looked back at his servant, whose arms were at his side.
"You didn't say anything about a Ruler-class servant, Caster. You were silent even when she turned her gaze towards us," he said as the Servant of the Spell mumbled something, not paying attention to his master.
"Can it truly be? Has my wish come true?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Caster turned towards the Snake Sannin. Tears were leaking down his bulbous, fish-like eyes. He started to whimper before it turned into full blown shouting of ecstasy.
"IT IS HER! THE ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS! HER EXTRAORDINARY FACE! HER STRONG AND NOBLE BEARING! IT IS HER, THE MAIDEN OF MY DREAMS!"
"You know Ruler?" Orochimaru asked in curiosity, as Caster continued his gleeful ranting.
"I DO! SHE WAS FORSAKEN BY GOD! DIED IN ABJECT SHAME AND TERRIBLE LONELINESS! AND AT LAST, SHE HAS COME BACK TO LIFE! IT IS A MIRACLE!"
That ranting then turned into one of anger, as his fists tightened.
"AND THAT VILE ARCHER DARED MOCK MY HOLY VIRGIN, EVEN WHEN SHE SHOWED RESPECT TO HIM! HE WILL PAY FOR HIS ARROGANCE! HE WILL RUE THE DAY HE WAS EVER BORN!"
Caster's then devolved into a low whisper.
"Oh, my holy virgin, Jeanne. Soon, after I rain justice down on that fiendish Archer, I shall find you, and we shall be reunited."
Orochimaru smirked at this and let out a low chuckle.
"Kukuku. What an interesting development this is."
Next Time - Settling In
A/N: And here is another chapter of Fate/Zero Shinobi!
I apologize sincerely about taking this long to update. I've been pretty busy with college, as well as working on some of my new fics. Seriously, I think George R.R. Martin writes faster than me. I've also been turned off from the Fate fandom as of lately, since I've discovered that a lot of cunts can be in it (although to be fair, all fandoms have their fair share of cunts).
I admit that it was really fun to write the scenes between Orochimaru and Caster. Hell, Orochimaru himself is a pretty fun villain to write for. It just depresses me that a great villain like him is either the first person to get curb stomped in a Naru-Stu fic, or he ends up getting turned into a pedophile because of his canon creepiness (this is in spite of the fact that I view Orochimaru as asexual).
And I admit that the scene of Ruler contacting all of the servants was inspired by the last scene of the first episode of Future Diary. Namely, the part where all of the other diary holders are contacted by Deus Ex Machina.
And here is one of the few times that I address a review from the previous chapter. Namely, that of Thunder Dragon:
First of all, why would Naruto learn all of his canon abilities in this fic? That's just boring. As for Saber training him in swordsmanship, that is a definite, but is is still a long way off. However, when the sword training eventually comes, I'm going to portray the training process in a realistic light. Naruto isn't going to become a swordsman on par with Jaime Lannister after a few spars (like how I have seen in some fics). And as for Naruto getting a harem "in true Fate/Stay Night fashion", I have only three words to say about that: NO, NO, AND NO!
First things first, Shirou never had a harem in the original visual novel. He only had a different love interest in each of the routes. Secondly, I have seen harems done in fanfics. Nine times out of ten, they are done poorly, and are just a sign of a power trip. And I don't mean to offend those who are fans of the harem genre. If you are, then more power to you.
Like I have said, earlier, I have worked on two new fics: White Wolf and Red Hood, and Into the Great Wide Open. If you would be so kind to check them out, then that would be splendid.
I shall see you all next update, and I promise that it will be soon.