London, the capital of England.

It was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. No less than 30 million visitors from other countries came to visit this place each and every year. Although about half the number of visitors came to visit Buckingham Palace, many other interesting places could be found in London, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Thames River, and St. James's Park. Other than those mentioned before, there were also some other places seemed to be overlooked by the tourists.

One of them was St. George Cathedral. Although it was called like that, it was but one of the many churches in the heart of London. Even though it was not considered small, it could not be compared to the Cathedral of Canterbury, the origin of Puritanism in Britain.

This cathedral was one of Necessarius's secret bases.

It was still very early in the morning, but a person with blonde hair had made all of the long journey to come to this place. A pair of blue eyes wandered around the place for a while. It seemed someone was supposed to come here but had not showed himself yet, though the appointment time had already passed.

Waiting was a boring thing to do, especially when it was the time when normal people were still sleeping soundly in their beds. However, the person looked at this situation as a job which must be done, so waiting a little longer should be alright.

As long as it could still be tolerated, anyway.

Before long, a red-haired man clad in a black priest robe entered the cathedral. Despite being a priest, the man wore earrings on both ears. He also bore a silver ring on each of his ten fingers, and to top that all off, he had a barcode tattoo right under his right eye.

His name was Stiyl Magnus, the British Puritan's magician who excelled in fighting using fire and rune magic.

"...Thou art late. Whence comest thou?"

"I know I'm late, but you don't have anything to do anyway," Stiyl said in a carefree manner before continuing. "I just arrived at Heathrow Airport thirty minutes ago and came here immediately. What do you want from me?"

Upon hearing Stiyl's words, the figure frowned. Speaking with that manner was not something a person who was late should do. Of course, there was no need to apologize profusely; however, was it that hard to say "I'm sorry"? No, it was an easy thing to do - though, not many people were willing to do that.

Although they had the same hair and eye color, the figure with Stiyl Magnus was not Naruto. Who knew what that boy was doing at that moment? Academy City, which was located in Japan, was 8 hours ahead of London, so it was already past noon there. Perhaps the boy got himself involved in another problem like he did two days ago.

The woman with Stiyl Magnus was Laura Stuart. At this moment, she held the position as the Archbishop of Necessarius and Anglican Church. However, despite having such a high position, Laura looked like an eighteen-year-old girl with long blonde hair that was 2.5 times her height. Of course that was not her real age, since she had been in this position for more than ten years already.

"Hmph, canst thou wit what I wilt ask once thou cometh hither?" Laura said that with a pout on her lips. It was hard for Stiyl Magnus to understand what she was saying.

Stiyl frowned, silent, then asked, "Before I answer that, can I ask a question?"

"Where's thy durst? Ask away."

"Why does your Japanese sound so stupid?"

...?

The Archbishop of the Anglican Church looked like someone who had been told that her shirt was buttoned wrong. She initially froze, and then her movements stopped completely. She blushed while saying,

"Ah...eh...? Is...Is it aberrant? Is 'Japanese' not supposed to sound like that?"

"Pardon me, but I don't really understand what you are trying to say. You are trying to speak the ancient language, but it just doesn't feel right. Why didn't we speak in English from the start, anyway?"

It was fortunate for them; they were inside a church with no other visitors at this hour. If there were any, Laura's embarrassment might become doubled or even tripled.

"Ehm...I learned my Japanese from many sources, such as literature and television programs. I even asked a real Japanese person before..."

"Eh, may I know who that 'real Japanese person' was?"

"Uh... I think his name is Tsuchimikado Motoharu..."

"Please don't consider that dangerous guy an ideal Japanese person. He was someone who lustfully lets his own stepsister wear a maid uniform," Stiyl told her before continuing. "If I may ask, did you also use that language in an important meeting with, let's say, the Japanese minister?"

Laura could not answer Stiyl's question. Her mouth hung open. The color of her face changed due to embarrassment. One could say it has become red like a ripe tomato now.

"You did, didn't you?" Stiyl let out a sigh. Who would have thought that his superior actually had this side of hers? Knowing their conversation would not go anywhere if he kept this topic, Stiyl chose to drop it. He repeated the question he had asked before. "What do you want from me?"

"Ah, yes." Laura patted her pink-colored robe a few times. Once she was done doing that, she looked as if she had changed into a completely different person. The clumsy atmosphere around her was all but gone. She had a serious expression on her face now. The blonde woman's gaze met Stiyl's brown eyes as she began to speak.

"I wish to hear the details of that last mission from you."

Upon hearing her words, Stiyl knew it was better for him to start explaining, so he told her all that happened that day. He told her about how he distracted Index and Kamijou's blond friend that afternoon. He told her about the method he and Kamijou used to sneak into the building without being known. He also told her they found out that Deep Blood did not want to be saved. Stiyl explained all the information he had gathered from Aureolus, including his way to complete the Ars Magna by making use of Gregorian Chant replica. Stiyl finished his explanation with the event that happened after he regained his consciousness. He told Laura that, when he woke up, he saw Index and Deep Blood being held by Kamijou's blond friend from before. He was the one who faced the strange dragon that was coming out from Kamijou Touma's right hand.

"I think that's all I can say about what happened that day. I don't know what exactly happened when I was unconscious, but I think Kamijou and that blond boy worked together to defeat Aureolus," Stiyl said. Then he threw a question to his superior. "Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

Laura hummed as she processed the information she got from the priest. She really could not understand what was in that man's head. She was sure he was the one who did all those things in the name of science. That alone was something she could not tolerate. He had made hundreds, if not thousands, of experiments using human bodies. He was the one who created espers in the first place.

"And who is this blond friend of Kamijou Touma you mentioned before? I'm sure you have collected some information about him."

Stiyl nodded his head. He had indeed done a short investigation about that person. After all, he was the one who endangered Index's life by bringing her along to the battlefield. He was also the man who put the end to that troublesome dragon, though Stiyl did not know as to how he did it.

"I can't get any information about him. Even our spy in Academy City doesn't know anything about him. It seems like his data was classified or he doesn't have any." Stiyl paused for a moment before continuing with, "I only know his name. It's Naruto."

...!

The last information from Stiyl stunned Laura. He just said the name she had not heard for long time. It was so long she had forgotten that name ever existed. The last time she heard that name was twenty years ago. She could not believe her ears. Maybe Stiyl made a mistake? Yes, that must be it, she thought.

"Are you sure about that? You didn't make a mistake, did you?"

"Yes, his name is Naruto. A boy with blond hair, blue eyes, three whisker marks on each cheek, around sixteen years old, wearing orange and black jacket over a white shirt combined with long orange pants. That Naruto," Stiyl told Laura, who showed an expression he had never seen before. As he described the boy's appearance, the magician remembered something. It was the short conversation he had with the boy on that unfortunate day, "Do you know him? Because he seems to know you. That night, he asked me if there is 'Laura Stuart' in Necessarius."

The Archbishop could not hide her surprise anymore. No, it was not that. It was a shocked expression on her face.

How could this be?

Memories from her past flooded into her mind. She needed some time to think about this. It was something she had to do alone. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to calm herself. Once she felt better, she opened her eyes and told the magician before her, "That's all I want to hear from you. Thank you very much; you may leave now. I have something urgent I must do."

She said that without leaving any option left for Stiyl Magnus. As expected, he followed her orders. The magician left the church and his Archbishop alone. No one knew where he was heading for. However, that was not important. The rune magician would come again when another job required his help.


Academy City, a city with 2.3 million people. It was only about third the size of Tokyo, but this city had the most advanced technology in the world. It was the only place where esper powers could be produced. No one knew what method they used, but the result was clear. There were thousands of espers scattered around the city, all ranged from level 0 to level 5.

The classification of esper powers in Academy city was something like this: level 0 had no powers, level 1 had weak powers, level 2 had unusual powers, level 3 had strong powers, level 4 had very strong powers, and level 5 had incredible powers.

At this moment, a level 0 boy walked under the hot summer temperature.

His name was Tsuchimikado Motoharu. Today, the tall boy was wearing stylish sunglasses and a loose t-shirt combined with black trousers.

Tsuchimikado walked briskly to his destination. He looked at his wristwatch and realized the time was 12:59 P.M. It was only a minute before the meeting with his client would start.

He stopped in front of a building.

No matter how many times he had come to this place before, the building still looked strange to him. It had no doors, windows, corridors, or even staircases. Not many people knew the purpose as to why such a building was built in the first place. However, he was a lucky person to know the secret about this place. Actually, perhaps it was more unlucky to know about it.

"Please don't give me that look. I didn't come late, did I?" Tsuchimikado said to the person before him.

"Hmph. If this isn't some kind of 'work' that's going to be given to me, I would rather spend my time elsewhere than wasting it to talk with you."

"You're still as cold as usual, Musujime," Tsuchimikado said to the girl. She had long, dark red hair which she put into two low ponytails. He then continued to talk in a carefree manner, ignoring the girl's death glare. "Come one, bring me in, nya~"

A second later, they were inside the windowless building.

Musujime used her esper power to let Tsuchimikado Motoharu enter the building. Her esper power was called Move Point. It was a long-distance teleportation ability which allowed her to move any objects without touching them. At this moment, her power was still at level 4, but there was a possibility for her to grow into the next level 5 esper of Academy City.

"I've brought him in," Musujime said while looking at the third person among them. "My job is done, right?"

"Thank you. You could normally leave, but I need your help to bring him outside once I finish this meeting."

The girl with teleportation ability said nothing. She nodded her head and vanished into thin air.

A voice came from a large glass cylinder in the middle of this sealed room. The cylinder was 4 meters in diameter and 10 meters in length, and there was red liquid inside it. Thousands of cables and tubes were scattered around the spacious room and connected to the cylinder in the center.

Inside this cylinder, there was a person in a green surgical gown floating upside-down. This person looked like a man, yet also a woman; like an adult, yet also a child; like a saint, yet also a criminal. This 'human' let the machines handle all its life function. His entire body, including his brain, was in a hibernating state and all his thinking processes were assisted by the machines.

He was the founder, leader, and general superintendent of Academy City: Aleister Crowley.

"What are you planning now?" Tsuchimikado asked the floating figure before him with an impatient tone. He was not Aleister's direct subordinate, so he did not even try to hide his annoyance at his employer. This Tsuchimikado Motoharu was working as a spy for both magic and science side. No one knew where his allegiance truly was.

Facing the boy who looked unhappy, Aleister just said casually, "It's no problem. I'm completely aware what I was doing."

Tsuchimikado could not believe it that he started to doubt his own hearing. How could this person act so loose after something like that happened right under his nose? And it happened not even two days ago. Tsuchimikado had never heard that as being one of Aleister's plans before. The appearance of a being that resembled a dragon inside Misawa Cram School was completely a new thing for him.

His purpose for being a spy for both sides was to ensure a war would never occur again. It was all thanks to Tsuchimikado who manipulated the information leaked outside of Academy City so that an understanding term between the two sides would still have its effect. If he did not, the chance that a war between science and magic faction to happen was almost certain.

"You are 'aware' of what you are doing? I truly want to believe that, but I can't." Tsuchimikado paused for a moment. "Don't you know that the appearance of that being was even more shocking than the grimoire library's seal being released by Imagine Breaker?"

"So this is all about your classmate's well-being?"

Tsuchimikado Motoharu and Kamijou Touma attended the same school. They were both classmates. They had become good friends since they were in middle school, together with another boy named Aogami Pierce. Although he did not show it, Tsuchimikado felt worried about his friend's condition. The black-haired boy had not regained his consciousness and was hospitalized ever since that night.

And Aleister saw through this all.

The "human" then spoke again in his usual calm tone, "Don't worry about him. It'll shorten plans 2082 to 3277, that's all."

Tsuchimikado looked at the person before him. He was aware it might not be Aleister's real body. The figure inside that glass tube probably was only a hologram image made by super-computers. He did not even know if all those cables and tubes really functioning as it seemed to be. All those life support systems most likely were just a feint made to fool others. After all, what was the need to build such a big building if this amount of machine was all Aleister needed to prolong his life force?

"You always say that when I ask you about it. What are plans 2082 to 3277 anyway?" Tsuchimikado hoped this time the person would actually give him an answer for his question. However, Aleister's reply confused Tsuchimikado even more than he had before.

"If Deep Blood proves the existence of vampires, what do you think does the Imagine Breaker proves?"

After it all, Tsuchimikado got nothing from his meeting with Academy City's general director. All he got from him was a headache. He decided to change the direction of their odd conversation into something else.

"Hey Aleister, do you really believe you can avoid a war?"

"The one who should have belief is you. You are the one in charge of the work behind the scenes." Aleister said to him before continuing, "Don't worry too much, if you work hard enough, we could end this conflict without anyone losing their lives."

That was the time when the air beside Tsuchimikado rippled. A second later, the familiar figure of red-haired girl appeared beside him. It was Musujime Awaki, the level 4 teleporter. It seemed Aleister had somehow contacted her from the outside to pick him up.

Damn it. Why did it always end like this?

Tsuchimikado cursed it all. He could only hope what Aleister said was true. All he could do for now was doing his best to prevent a war from happening.


In a foreign country, an elderly man with long, white beard frowned. By doing so, he made the wrinkles on his face became more patent.

His name was Matthai Reese. However, no one called him using that name anymore. He was not sure if people even knew his real name nowadays. Almost everyone around the world addressed him with his position.

He was the leader of Roman Catholic Church, the Pope.

Calling me at this hour? I hope this is not a social call like last time.

He looked at the spiritual item on his hand. It was a communicating device that worked exactly like a phone. However, since it used magic to operate, it was much safer. No one who was not connected with the magical item could hear what the conversation was about, even if they were standing right before the user.

"Good morning," the Pope said to the person who called him. "May I know for what reason the Archbishop of Anglican Church is calling me at this hour?"

"Why does your voice sound so wary? Do you think I'm calling you only to say 'hello'?" the woman on the other side of the line asked before continuing, "There are two important things I need to discuss with you."

The Pope did not give her an immediate reply.

He stroked his beard as he listened to Laura Stuart's voice. She said there were two things she need to discuss with him. That statement was something he had never thought would come from her, ever. Matthai Reese had gotten himself in his current position even before the name of Laura Stuart was heard of. He knew what kind of a person Laura Stuart was. If his memory served him right, the Archbishop of Necessarius would always do everything on her own. She would never ask anyone for advice, nor would she seek help from others.

There was only one possibility as to why she called him this morning. She was going to convince him and try to steer his course of action regarding these "two important things" she mentioned before.

The Pope could not let her do that. He was aware of the Archbishop of Necessarius's true nature. He knew that no one was better than her in manipulating human feelings: rationality, interest, ethics, and necessary values. She would not hesitate to use anything and everything in her disposal to gain her goals, even if that might cause another world war.

One perfect example of this was her way to gain the Archbishop position. She was only a normal magician back then. She did not have any political power nor did she have a special ability which could make her rise to the top easily. How could she get herself to the top then? It was not an easy task for an average person to do. All the previous leaders of Anglican Church were either had great influence or invaluable virtue.

In the history of British Anglican, Laura Stuart was the only one who was able to achieve that position despite having no such things. That was why she was called the hidden dragon among magicians. She was somehow able to get to the top, and it was not done cheaply. It was impossible to tell whether she was good or evil. She did as many good things as she did evil things. She kept an intricate balance between the two.

"Hmm, it's rare to hear that from you," the Pope said to Laura, "but I think I could spare some time to talk with you about this matter. What are these 'two important things' about? To make an Archbishop of Anglican Church call an old man like me so early in the morning, they are really important, aren't they?"

"It depends on how you look at it," Laura said. "The first thing is about Kamijou Touma."

"And who is this Kamijou Touma? Is he a new Japanese idol who had become heretic or something?"

"...I really want to say your joke is funny but that would be a lie. Please act like a Pope should and be more serious, because this is not something you can laugh at. I know your spy in Academy City had informed you about what happened two days ago."

Hmm, so it's about that. Let's see if I can get some information from her.

"Oh? But I haven't got any good report yet, can you explain what exactly happened that night to this senile old man?"

"Finally you admit you've grown senile. I'll make sure to write this down on my diary - the day when Roman Catholic Pope makes his confession. Hmm, that sounds good, maybe you should consider to give up your position to someone younger?"

The Pope let out a sigh. It was always like this when he talk with her. He probably would never know what was going on inside her mind. No wonder she could keep that position for more than 10 years already.

"Why can't I win a battle of words with you? Alright, I know a little about him. He is the boy who has Imagine Breaker at his right hand. He also lives with the grimoire library, Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Also, at that night two days ago, your magician was spotted sneaking into a school together with the Imagine Breaker boy and an earthquake happened not long after." The Pope paused for a moment before speaking again. "That's all I know, and I don't see anything so important about it. Will you start explaining it to me now?"

"How old are you?" Laura asked, completely unrelated to their discussion. She, once again, made the Pope sighed on the other side of the communicating device, "Sorry if it sounds rude of me, but I don't have that intention. I only hope you don't have a heart disease at that age. After all, I don't want to be charged for the crime of killing the Pope by words."

"...Just tell me already, what's going on?" the Pope asked, ignoring the sound of giggle from the other side.

"You're no fun." The Pope could not see her, but he just knew she was pouting right then. However, despite appearing like that, the Pope knew better than anyone else. She was someone whose personality and looks could easily deceive others. He should be extra careful whenever he talked with her. "That Imagine Breaker suppresses the existence of another being inside his body."

Upon hearing her explanation, the Pope raised an eyebrow. What did she mean with another being inside that boy's body?

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you lost me there. Can you be more specific and explain what happened that night?"

"Stiyl Magnus, the name of Necessarius's magician whom your spy had seen that night, reported there was a dragon coming out from Kamijou's Touma body once his right arm was cut off." Laura did not give the Pope a chance to interrupt her. "I'm sure he is the one responsible with this problem."

"Crowley?"

"Yes. There's no one other person in this world who would do something like that. I can't understand what he's thinking."

Same goes for you, the Pope thought.

"But that's not really a problem. Even if he tries to use that boy and the dragon to start a war with magic side, we have plenty of ways to deal with it. Why do you sound so riled up, then?"

"Because the problem is not only that," Laura replied. "As I said before, there is a second problem which is even greater than the dragon's appearance."

Matthai Reese was confused. A dragon inside one's body was not something he had ever heard of. It was the first time probably anyone heard of something like that. However, Laura said there was something more important than that. He thought that, at his age, he would have heard about any extraordinary things happening in this world, but that one statement he heard just now was something he had a hard time believing.

"And what is the second problem? I want to know what is more important than a dragon inside a boy's body."

"I hope despite your becoming of a senile old man, you still remember what happened twenty years ago."

Matthai Reese remembered. He probably would never forget it for the rest of his life. That was the time when a war between science and magic faction happened. "Yes, I remember that moment very well. What are you getting at?"

"Project NARUTO. Academy City has started it again, despite the agreement we had with them."

"You don't mean they're breaking the peace treaty between both sides, do you?"

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case, although it's not official yet. That's why I said I need to discuss things with you; this is not something I should take care by myself. We must take action and deal with this matter as soon as possible before the history repeats itself. I don't want bad things to happen like how they did twenty years ago," Laura said. "I've already informed Queen Elizard about this matter, and I will immediately call the Archbishop of Russian Orthodox Church after our conversation is done."

"Wait a minute, Laura." For the first time since they started the conversation, the Pope called the Archbishop with her first name. It was not because they were familiar or something, but because he had something urgent to ask her. "What happened to you? Weren't you the one who are against the idea of shutting down that project twenty years ago? You are the one who said there's another way to deal with the matter. Why do you act this way now? Shouldn't you be happy, since this means that person is still alive even after all these years?"

There was a short pause before the Anglican Church's leader gave her response.

"...Yes, I did that before. However, that person had already died twenty years ago."

"What if he hasn't?" the Pope interrupted before muttering in a low voice. "Not that I regret choosing the option to end that boy's life twenty years ago, though."

"Have you not heard the term of 'clone'?" Laura asked.

The Pope did not know what to say right then. His spy had informed him there was a person in Academy City whose appearance was the same with the person from twenty years ago, but he had dismissed it. However, his name was also the same with that monster from twenty years ago. Even his choice of clothes and accent were the same.

"I don't think Crowley would go as far as that to start another war with us. What makes you believe he had done so?"

This time, Laura was able to give an immediate response. She had thought this line even before she made the decision to call the Queen, the Pope, and the leader of Russian Orthodox. She believed there was no other possible explanation other than this one she had thought up.

"If he has the heart to make 20,000 clones from 'The Railgun' only for them to be slaughtered by just one person, what makes you believe he won't be able to do the same with that project? That's why I suggest an immediate action from the magic side regarding this matter. It would be easier for us when there is only one clone of him. If Crowley makes ten of thousands or even more, what do you think will happen then?"

"...Somehow, that doesn't sound good anymore." The Pope paused for a moment. "As the Pope, I can't make hasty decisions. However, I'll make sure to pay my full attention regarding the two matters you told me of. If it proves to be like you said before, I'll glad to take part and deal with the problem accordingly."

Just like that, the conversation between the two ended. The connection line via magical device they used had been disconnected. In the end, they did not come into a mutual understanding. However, it might become the other way around if things did not progress smoothly. No one knew what would happen next; only time would tell.


A/N: (DBZ Style)

Finally, the leaders from magic and science faction showed themselves. What's Aleister plan? How will the Pope react after hearing two shocking news? What's exactly the relationship between Naruto and Laura?

Until next time :)

This chapter has been beta read by: Mon Esprit Libre