Naruto, The Dark Flash

by KenzoXShuyita

Of the 10,000 players in the most anticipated game of the year, Naruto is the only player given the gift of chakra. However, everything quickly goes down to hell when instead of being the game that everyone was expecting...all players receive something they never asked for. Everyone's life is at stake, and there are 100 floors to complete. Strong/Smart Naruto. Naruto/Silica Pairing

4. Chapter 3: Silica's First Quests

Chapter 3: Silica's First Quests and Goodbye

Happy New Years! Or…New Year's Eve! Whatever…but seriously! Here's to you all with a new update to Naruto, the Dark Flash!

I made it! It's not New Year's yet! Screw that! Yea!

Don't hurt me please. I'm begging you. I edited the chapter slightly because the food thing made the characters seem...out of character.

I'm going crazy! 197 followers? 137 favorites? 34 reviews? Over 6,000 hits? Thanks so much guys for reading my first fanfiction! Thank you all so much and a Happy New Year's to all of you. Just stay in bed and enjoy the warmth while you read your FFN stories. :D You guys are the best.

Holy crap…this chapter took forever. I had to think about this chapter for a while, and then think some more on how to write it. I think that it was pretty good, but that later chapters will be better.

OK, whatever.

So, this isn't going to happen yet, but how does "Kokuei Senkou" sound for Naruto's name nickname?

Well, to the review Responses!

Mrz90: Thanks again! I still haven't given Naruto any real specialty, and I put some limiters to Naruto. While he has some benefits to chakra, he will not have some abilities that all the others players in the game have, as you will see in this chapter. I hope you enjoy this and thank you very much for your review! Happy New Years!

Vandenbz: Man, when I heard about Naruto's Kage Bunshin ability, I was like…'dude, all that time and ability wasted'. If he just spammed clones to practice and train, he would've been so much stronger. You're idea about Lisbeth is actually really good! Thanks for the idea and I think I may use that. And woot! All the grammar mistakes! Thank you soooo much! I'll go back to those chapters so readers won't be like 'gah, my eyes! They burn from za grammar!' Thanks man! I try to make things funny…and it's great you liked the Omake! I don't that I'll do those too often, though.

Dragon and Sword Master: Yea…I gave them mana because I wanted the players to have some kind of energy source. Naruto has chakra, which is kind of like mana, which can still strengthen the players, only that chakra is a lot denser. Mana, like chakra, can speed up players and increase their strength. Just so that Naruto wasn't too overpowered, I had to add that small detail.

Flaming Kyuubi: Thanks man! I appreciate that you reviewed and read my story! Naruto will be stronger than all the other players, but he will not be so overpowered that he will be like a god to them. They have mana, which they could use like chakra to strengthen their attacks and speed up their movements, but they can't do anything elemental with it. Because Naruto does not have mana, he can't do certain things that the other players can. Just a small precaution to make him not too overpowered.

Eniox27: Hehe, meh…I ate all the ramen, sorry…thanks for the review and I appreciate it much…yo, the appreciation is real. Sage mode? Hmm…you're just going to have to wait and see. Why? Because…hehe…that's…hehe…a secret! Boom. Again. Haha, I used that almost every time in your responses I think. Sorry.

Ahlerot: Agreed. Haha. I tried, so I'm thankful you think that way.

Hyrulian Hero Akai: Thanks! I don't know, I think that having an idea and just writing it down will surprise you. I just had an idea, and this came out of it! Imagine my surprise! Yea! Swapping ideas sounds great! We can make both of our stories better and more believable, ya!

Hiei-Uchiha: Here's your update and thank you for the review! I tried and I hope you like this chapter. :D

.bailey: Thanks man! Nah, it wasn't insulting. If anything, that made me want to try harder to make it slightly slower and keep a constant pace, but try and keep the attention of the reader, you catching my flow? You know? Cool. Haha, here's your chapter, matey.

Adiermartrus15: OK, when I first saw your review, I was like…'wut? I don't even…' and then I got it. Yea, I'm going to do all 100 floors. Or at least, I'm going to try.

DraconicElf: Cherries for the win! They taste so good and…OK…did not mean it that way. But still! I'm glad you think my story came out as a success. I'll be working hard to try and keep up with everyone's expectations.

Tsukiko Ryuu: Thanks man for the review! Oh…pistol wielding sounds…more like Gun Gale Online. I think throwing pebbles with throwing skills would work just fine but…I'm not going to do that. Just dagger, haha. Sorry. Trusty dragon though, I'm totally cool with.

Seductive Apple: Awww…don't say that! You're story was one of the reasons I decided to write a SAO/Naruto crossover. It was new and I liked it, so I was like…'yo, I gotta try this or else I'll always be life…what if'. So thank you! And thanks for the compliment.

And special thanks to Tama-Saga! Thanks much. The appreciation is real.

Whew…wow that took a while. Didn't know there was that many. Am I supposed to go through all of them, haha?

Disclaimer:

Naruto: Don't you know? This fool doesn't own me, any characters from Sword Art Online, or the world of Aincrad or anything to do with Sword Art Online.

Me: Why did you say that so cruelly?

Naruto: …I'm sorry, did you say something?

Edited slightly. No more food rants, sorry. Too out of character. Also, made miscount on Naruto's level, so I had to do it again.

Chapter 3:

Naruto and Silica were walking through the streets of the town, enjoying the new sights and feel of it. The NPC's all wore different clothing from the second and first floor. The houses were based off a different era, most likely the Japanese dynasty period. The stone pavement was replaced with a long concrete pathway, beautiful sakura trees adorning the sides of the roads.

Naruto had both of his hands on the back of his head as he whistled a wistful tune. Wild…flower blossoming. I beg of you… (A/N: This is Euterpe from Guilty Crown)

Kurama had somehow gotten out of Silica's deathgrip and was now walking and 'yipping' at everything he saw. Silica's eyes were wide with wonder as she turned and gaped at all the new styles and changes to the third floor.

"So, what do you want to do?" Silica turned to Naruto when he asked the question. Naruto was turned the opposite way as he stared at a quest board. It had one request paper stapled on it.

"I don't know. What do you want to do in this floor, Naruto-san?" Naruto turned his head and poked Silica on the forehead.

"Ah~, so mean."

"No –san, or anything formal attachments to my name; It makes me feel old. Besides, you're not even that much younger than me." Silica stopped rubbing her forehead and pouted at Naruto. He just smiled back. "My goal on every floor is to finish every quest. There might be some rare items, and they're always a good source of EXP and col."

Silica nodded her head in response. "So, where can we get quests?"

"Usually, they're all over the place. On the second floor, when I was walking on a forest path, I suddenly was forced into a quest without my own consent. But it wasn't too bad; I just had to survive in the forest by myself for the whole night." Silica gulped.

How strong is he?

"Could you quit during the quest?" She asked curiously. Naruto nodded his head.

"I could have…but the quest description and results were appealing enough for me to keep it. Eh…whatever, let's just get a quest. There's a request board back there; we just passed it." Naruto and Silica both turned around to check the board.

On a green board with golden trims on its side, there was a single request stapled onto the board. Requesting Waiters and Maids.

Oh hell no, I'm not doing this.

Naruto turned swiftly away from the board and began to walk away. Silica, however, grabbed onto his arm to stop him. Naruto glanced back and saw Silica glaring up at him. We are not doing this. No, I will deny it!

"Where are you going?" Naruto waved his hand over his shoulder, acting as nonchalant as possible.

"We don't need this quest. Someone else can do it." He tried to walk away, but Silica's hand was somehow preventing him from moving. She's a lot stronger than she looks.

"Didn't you just say that your goal was to finish every quest on every floor? So, are you already giving up on your goal?" Silica's eyes narrowed as she increased her glare. Naruto just stayed silent and kept a completely ignorant face.

Finally, he opened his mouth to respond and said –

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Silica, however, didn't know about Naruto's antics and quirks, so she repeated herself.

"Ah, no. I'm just saying I'm not going to be a waiter." Silica turned around to look at the paper, assessing the rewards and results. Then, she turned back to Naruto.

"You said that quests are a good source of EXP and col. This quest rewards plenty, so why don't we just do it. Besides…" she began to pucker her lips and her eyes widened comically wide. Shit shit shit! No, don't look…fuck!

"I want to do this quest. I've always wanted to try to serve people." Her eyes began to sparkle while an illusion of sparkles and a sunset glowing orange, reflecting its light on a vast ocean crashing on a beach played behind her.

I'm not going to do it, I don't care. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to…

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: One hour)

"Welcome to Kevil's Restaurant and Bar!" A blonde teenager with spiky hair walked up to the entrance and walked the two customers to their booth. He handed them two menus, gave them a quick smile, and walked away.

As soon as he turned around, he dropped his smile and frowned. I'm going to the employee's room. My Kage Bunshin is probably still meditating. Naruto walked past the cashier box, walked down to the end of the walkway, and pushed open a door that said Employees Only.

Naruto looked around. No one was inside. He walked across the room and went into a random bathroom stall. Inside, however, was a clone of Naruto meditating on top of the toilet bowl. Disperse! The clone 'poofed' out of existence, sending all of its experience and chakra control to Naruto.

*Congratulations! You have leveled up!*

Huh? I thought that clones couldn't…oh wait…they couldn't do the last hit on monsters. But, they're sending their experience and knowledge to me. So that means…since the clones meditated and I gain all their memories, the game assumes that I meditated for an hour.

"He he he….hahaha!" Naruto began to laugh and cackle. This is such a cheat! Hell yes! Naruto ran out of the stall and bumped into another employee that gave him a strange look. Understandably, he was probably confused by why a person was laughing manically in the stall.

Naruto rolled up his sleeves as he ran out of the restaurant and through the streets. After five minutes, Naruto reached the exit of the town. He turned around to check for another other players in the vicinity.

Don't think anyone's over here yet. It's only been open for an hour, and the Teleport Gate will open in about fifteen minutes. Kage Bushin no Jutsu!

Fifty clones 'poofed' into existence, all looking at the original. Every one of them was dressed in the same clothing. A white collar button down shirt with black dress pants with a belt buckle.

"I want you all to go to the woods and meditate for five hours."

"Hai, Boss!"

Naruto waved his hand through the air, and all the clones disappeared, looking for their own quiet spot in the forest.

Naruto turned around to continue his 'quest'. He sighed. This is so stupid.

Naruto began his run beck to his 'quest'. Five minutes later, he was back at the restaurant and opened the entrance. He covered his arms with his sleeves and prepared to serve again. As he walked back to his station, he passed by the bar and saw Silica smiling at some players drinking alcohol. He didn't have anything to do at the moment, so he went over to talk to her.

"How are you doing, Silica?" The new bar maid turned to Naruto and smiled.

"It's actually a lot of fun! A lot of the customers compliment me a lot and give me a lot of tip!"

Geh, just because she's a girl. Whatever, I got some tip, too.

"Do you actually know all of the alcohol? You seem pretty young to know beer and stuff like that." Silica pouted, but a triumphant quickly replaced it. She began to point at each of the bottles and drinks on the counter.

"The one that's bubbly is Coor's Life; that blue one is Samuel Ages; the one that feels strange over there is Hard Limeade…" and so Silica went on and on, pointing out alcohols by their strange appearance or texture.

Naruto sweatdropped. There's labels on them, Silica. Just read them.

He patted her on the shoulder and went back to his position. He sat on a chair, his legs crossed and his hands behind his head. And…just another five hours to go.

The entrance to the building opened again. Two people came in through the door, but the sunlight made it difficult for Naruto to see.

"Welcome to Ke…what?" Naruto immediately got up when he saw the two people. It was Kirito and Asuna.

The two both cracked a smirk. Kirito raised his hand to chest height and brought up two fingers.

"Table for two, please." Naruto grunted while he grabbed his menu.

"Follow me…asshole." Kirito just chuckled while Asuna smiled at the two boy's relationship. Naruto quickly placed them at a booth and gave them two menus.

"I'll come back in five minutes later. Please be prepared to choose your food." Naruto turned and walked away from the table.

Damn you, Argo. I know you gave Kirito the information.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 1 hour)

"I hope you enjoyed your meal…now leave." Kirito and Asuna had just finished their lunch. Kirito had ordered a hamburger with fries while Asuna asked for steak and pastries.

Of course she did.

"Is that how you talk to your customers, Naruto? How do you get any tip?" Naruto just scoffed.

"Please…when you're sexy like me, you don't need to even talk. Just hand them a menu and grunt." Kirito smirked and Asuna playfully stuck her tongue out at Naruto. Their playful banter continued for another minute before Kirito began to walk away, his hand waving over his shoulder.

When Kirito had left the restaurant, Asuna began to giggle to herself, her hand over her mouth. Naruto turned to her.

"Now what, Asuna? And what were you doing with Kirito?" Asuna raised her eyes to Naruto and smiled.

"We just came to bother you. Interesting quest you're doing, Naruto…never imagined seeing you as a waiter. It suits you." Naruto grinned and pointed his thumb at himself.

"That's just 'cuz I'm sexy like that." Asuna giggled again.

"Of course you are, Naruto. And what was I doing with Kirito? Is someone…jealous?" The two of them had walked out of the restaurant. Every hour on the quest, Naruto was allowed a five minute break.

Naruto began to laugh and bent his head, his face looking up at the sky. After about twenty seconds, Naruto calmed down enough to speak with only a small trace of amusement in his voice.

"Of course I would miss you guys if it had been a long time, but it's only been a day. And no, I'm not jealous. Not when I have a pretty girl in my own party." Asuna perked up at this and whipped her head to face Naruto.

"You partied with someone? Who is it? Will you show me? Do I know her?" Asuna began to gun off questions without taking a breath. Naruto raised both of his hands to try to stop and placate her. Asuna took the hint and closed her mouth.

After a moment, Naruto answered.

"Yes, I partied with someone. Her name is Silica. She's the bar maid inside the restaurant; don't even know why she's working at the bar in the first place; she's too young. Haha, but she's stubborn, really stubborn… and determined. She even forced to me do this quest when I was about to walk away." Naruto scratched the back of his head while he laughed sheepishly.

"I see…well, I'll see you later, Naruto. When we meet up again, introduce us, OK?"

"Sure. See you, Asuna." Asuna winked with one eye and walked away. Naruto just waved and walked back inside the restaurant.

And…crap. This sucks. Another two hours.

Naruto turned his gaze to the bar. Silica was still smiling and laughing as he handed out drinks to the customers. It was a lot more busy over at the bar than the restaurant. A dark cloud seemed to appear over Naruto as he began to sulk.

Just because she's a girl…

However, just as Naruto was about to trudge over to the restaurant counter and sat with his legs crossed, a bar fight ensued.

"Hey, she's mine!"

"Hell no, man! Back off the new bar maid!"

"I just ordered tenth glass from her! What do you guys think - ow! Fuck you, take this!"

And the fight continued, gradually getting larger until every guy at the bar was fighting. Silica was shivering, her hands shaking as she held onto the glass of alcohol. She was freaking out at the fact that she had possibly caused the bar fight.

Naruto grinned sadistically as he walked over to the bar.

Finally, SOMETHING to do on this quest!

He punched the closest person in the stomach, knocking him out. He continued to guide his way through the mass of fighting men, just punching and constantly knocking people out with a grin on his face the whole time. Only two minutes later, all twenty three men were on the ground, knocked out.

Silica's face paled even more. What was Naruto thinking?

"Naruto! We can't do that! And why did you knock them out! Kami, all of them are knocked out!"

Naruto just turned to her lazily while he cleaned out his ear with his pinky. Then, he pointed at the men on the floor.

"They're not knocked out." Silica stared at Naruto, then the men on the floor, then back at him.

"They're...not? Then what are they?" Suddenly, a sadistic smile replaced the bored look on his face as he turned his back to her.

"I don't know...BUT THEY'RE 'KNOCKED OUT' NOW! Naruto proceeded to kick each person on the floor, sending him flying out the entrance of the building. Silica just cried while Naruto continued to kick every person at the bar though the entrance.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 2 hours)

Finally. Let's see…the clones should send their experience to me about…now.

Right when Naruto thought it, constant jingles went off in his head.

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

Naruto smirked and was about to open his stats menu until another message registered into his menu.

*Due to a patch, the player will gain EXP from only one clone. All other parameters to gaining EXP will remain. Only the original can gain EXP by performing the last attack. However, he can still gain the mental and chakra benefits from clones.

Thank you and enjoy your day and the rest of your stay in SAO*

Naruto stayed silent a moment, his finger hovering over his holographic menu.

"Biiiiitch…I hate you, Kayaba Akihiko. Whatever, I got what I wanted." Naruto closed the message and went back to his stats menu.

Character: Naruto

Level: 28

Stats:

Points: 28

Strength: 67 (+8)

Defense: 46(+6)

Agility: 120(+4)

Intelligence: 55(+4)

Luck: 155(+0)

Chakra Pool: 1299/?

Chakra Control: 1000/1000*

Academy Chakra Control: 87/1000

Sword: 352/1000

Dagger: 321/1000

Abilities:

Horizontal: 1000/1000*

Horizontal Square: 0/1000

Slant: 0/1000

Vertical: 1000/1000*

Vertical Square: 0/1000

Kawamiri no Jutsu: 932/1000

Henge: 12/1000

Bunshin no Jutsu: 102/1000

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: 543/1000

Tree Walking: 931/1000

Water Walking: 243/1000

Kunai Spin Chakra Control: 0/1000

Dynamic Entry: 5/1000

Leaf Whirlwind: 4/1000

A Lost Art: ?/?

Special Abilites:

Points: 26

Hear My Roar: 2/9

Becoming the Flash: 0/50

Naruto focused all of his new stats points to Agility, pressing it twenty-eight times. He scrolled through his abilities, noticing the asterisks next to the abilities that had 1000/1000.

The'rey probably chained onto something. Explains why I have new abilities right below them. Wait…what the hell is Academy Chakra Control…don't tell me that…oh hell no. I'm reading the description.

Naruto sat down on a bench inside the employee's rest room and narrowed his eyes in concentration as he read the description on each of his new stats and abilities.

Academy Chakra Control:

After the basic Chakra Control has been completed, the player continues his way to gaining perfect chakra control. Academy Chakra Control is the next step towards gaining perfect chakra control, but still a far cry from perfection. However, the basic Chakra Control stats can no longer be affected in any way. A sudden surge in Chakra Pool can possibly bring the current Academy Chakra Control down to 0/1000, but it cannot affect the basic Chakra Control.

Naruto sighed as he closed the description box. Damn, if I'm only at Academy Chakra Control, how far am I from perfect control? He ignored the Kunai Spin Chakra Control and continued to scroll down to the abilities and pressed on Horizontal Square and Vertical Square.

Horizontal Square:

This is a four-hit combo skill. The first hit is a horizontal swing from left to right, followed by another horizontal swing from right to left. At this point, the user spins their body in a full circle and unleashes a third horizontal strike from right to left. Finally, the sword suddenly springs right and up. After the skill is completed, a 2D sky-blue rhombus, drawn by the sword, flashes and then scatters.

Vertical Square:

This is a four-hit combo skill. Vertical Square is activated with a powerful stamp. The first strike of this Sword Skill is a vertical slash without a backward motion, similar to the 1-hit Vertical. However, instead of finishing after the first swing, the first slash is followed by a left to right swing from below and then a vertical slash down. Finally, the skill is concluded with a full-power overhead slash (uppercut). Similarly to the Horizontal Square, a square is drawn with the 4 hits of this skill and continues to spin as it dissipates.

Naruto rubbed his chin as he read the new Sword Skills he gained. Interesing…I'll just use the Sword Skills and master them to see if they chain off to something else. But I don't really need them on this floor until the boss.

Naruto closed the two descriptions boxes and scrolled down further to check out his Special Abilities.

There's no way to affect my Basic Control now, so why don't I just finish Hear My Roar.

Finding no flaw in his logic, Naruto pressed on Hear My Roar seven times, and then checked his chakra stats. As he had expected, his Academy Chakra Control went straight down to zero. But his Chakra Pool…

"Holy shit! It went up to 9,999! But why would it stop right there?" Naruto pressed on the ability to see if there was any additional information he had missed since the last time he had seen it. At the bottom of the description box, he found it.

Hear My Roar:

Player had completed first level of this special ability. Until player reaches Genin Chakra Control, his chakra capacity cannot increase.

"Great…another limiter. Let's see…what's Becoming the Flash?"

Becoming the Flash:

This special ability is a passive ability that will permanently increase the player's speed by a certain percentage. When all of the points are completed, the player's permanent speed is doubled.
Can only be unlocked by: Agility stat of 125.

"Well…that's nice. I'm definitely putting all of my points into that instead of Hear My Roar when I get the second level of it. I've never actually had to use all of my chakra until this morning." Naruto pressed Becoming the Flash eighteen times as he got up from the bench.

"Let's see if Silica is ready to go." Naruto changed his clothes and walked out of the employee's room. When he reentered the restaurant, he turned his head from side to side to search for his new party member. Then, he saw her.

"There she is…" Silica was sitting at the bar counter, sitting on a chair by herself. Her fingers were intertwined, her hands on her lap. Her face was looking straight ahead of her, obviously lost in her own thoughts.

Naruto walked over her and put his hand on her head. Silica woke up from her trance and looked to up Naruto. Then, she smiled.

"Ready to go?" Silica nodded and jumped off the chair.

"Oof…Okey dokey, let's go!" When they walked out of the restaurant, it was already evening.

"So…was it worth it?" Naruto put both of his hands in his pocket as he turned his head to look at the setting sun looming over the mountains. The shadows danced over the mountains as the sky became tan and colored orange. It was…picturesque at the least. Beautiful.

Silica turned to Naruto and was about to answer until she saw him turned away. She noticed he was staring off into the distance. Wanting to know what he was looking at, she looked off to the distance and saw the sunset. It immediately captivated her. The two of them stayed like that for a moment, captivated by the beauty of the sun setting, the lights reflecting off their eyes.

"Sometimes…I don't feel like we're in a game. I wish every moment was like this…" Naruto whispered to himself. If only…

"It was worth it…" Silica began. Naruto turned his head from the sunset to look at her. She was still staring at the sunset. Then, she shifted her gaze to Naruto.

"…to walk out and be greeted by something like this…it was worth it." Naruto nodded his head.

"Did you level up?" Silica's mood suddenly shifted as she broke out a huge smile and brought up two fingers in the victory sign.

"Yup!" Naruto smirked and began to walk through the streets. If only she knew how much I leveled up…screw you, Kayaba Akihiko.

The sunset continued to light the town, captivating all its viewers until it disappeared nearly an hour later. Naruto and Silica sat in an outside bench, calmly eating their hamburger and ice cream, staring at the sunset until it disappeared from sight.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Next morning, 8 A.M.)

Naruto was leaning against an alleyway wall. He tapped his foot to an imaginary song that was playing in his head. After about another five minutes, a girl with two pigtails on each side of her head ran into the alleyway, panting and out of breath.

"Haa…haa…so-sorry, Naruto…I-I'm…haa…" Silica was bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Naruto turned his gaze on her and just smiled calmly.

"It's fine. I'm not really a morning person myself. I just told you to wake up early because most people don't go out to the fields until nine. Did you eat breakfast?" Silica managed to nod her head, but she continued to pant.

"Hmm…let's go. If you walk, the game system should take care of your physical fatigue. That way, you won't slow down during any strenuous movements out on the field." Naruto shifted his feet and began to walk away.

"Haa…wait for me…haa…" Silica got off her knees and walked quickly to catch up Naruto, her short legs moving faster to keep up the blonde.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 3 hours later)

"Good job! Instead of stabbing though, you should've slashed with the dagger. Even though the dagger has a shorter reach, you can still slash and do considerable damage. It doesn't hurt that a single prick from your dagger can inflict poison." Silica turned and smiled at Naruto as he complimented her.

"OK, let's keep going." Silica's smile dropped. They had been farming and grinding for three hours. Before they had begun to farm and grind, they had spent an hour picking a quest, walking out of town and just walking around the fields looking for a place with no other players. When they had found their empty field, they began to grind EXP for three hours straight without a single break.

How much stamina does Naruto-san have?

"Can we please take a break?" Naruto stopped walking and looked back at her. Then, he looked at the sky, as if to check the time. The sun was at its zenith, its hot rays beating unmercifully on every person beneath its radiance. He looked away from the sun as he swiped in finger downwards through the air. When his menu opened, Naruto checked the map.

"We're about five minutes away from the quest location. Sure, let's take a small break." Naruto sat down on the grass and checked his inventory for food. He had an abundance of pastries in case he partied with Asuna again in the future. Scrolling down further, he found what he was looking for.

"Ramen!" Ten bowls of ramen flashed into view, all of them landing on the ground next to Naruto. Naruto picked up one greedily and was about to take his first bite until-

"Is that…healthy? How can you eat all that ramen?" Naruto jerked his head at Silica's remark. How dare she…speak such a thing about Kami's gift to mankind!?

"How can I? Ramen is Kami's gift to all of mankind! It was brought down from the heavens and…"

XShuyaX

(Location: North Mountaintop)

A swordsman with black hair and a frail face shivered.

"I don't know why…but I feel like Naruto is giving one of his ramen speeches again. I sympathize with whoever is at the receiving end."

Kirito gave a bow in a random direction, and then continued to walk up the path at a leisurely pace, destroying monsters calmly as he walked.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 2 hours later)

"…and when ramen first entered the world, the daimyos of the worl-" Silica just got up and Naruto straight in the face.

"Baka, ENOUGH! I don't even know how I kept up with you for two hours." Naruto fell to the ground. When he looked at Silica and shivered in fear. Her hair was defying gravity as it flowed upwards, her eyes glowing red. She palmed her fist.

"Naruto…any food other than ramen is fine. Anything! Ramen is extremely unhealthy. It has preservatives, a lot of sodium, lots more of fat, and plenty of MSG! You really should be eating healthier food. Anything, but not ramen. Even smoothies are better. They are so smooth and creamy; they leave such a great aftertaste…"

Naruto's face paled more and more as he listened to the blasphemy spoken from this heretic woman.

How dare she?

"No!" He interrupted Silica. "Ramen is Kami's gift! She personally brought it down to the cavemen hundreds of thousands of years ago! She brought fire to mankind and gave ramen as the first cooked food!"

Silica gained a dangerous gleam in her eyes as she turned to Naruto.

"What...did I just say?" Naruto ignored it. He was stronger in the game, so what can she do?

"Ramen is the gift from Kami above! There's no mistake - WOAH!" Naruto dodged an incoming dagger that flew at his face.

"What the hell! That was dangero - Hey!" Silica charged at him with her sword, the blade gleaming blue.

Naruto defended himself against Silica's wild attacks. Eventually, he began to laugh as he fought, enjoying the moment.

"Swing that a little to your left next time."

"Your overstepping all of your stabs."

"Make sure than you right hand isn't gripping the hilt too tightly."

Silica was still completely focused as she yelled and charged at the blonde, throwing swings and Sword Skills at him.

The two fought, or one fought, until sundown, while the other just laughed, their quest completely forgotten.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 11:28)

"Damn it. We got too caught up in our argument." Naruto and Silica were walking through the streets of the town. They had barely finished their quest in time. Thirty minutes before the quest timer ran out, the two received a notice stating that they were running out of time. The two-man party made a temporary truce on their beliefs on Kami's gift to mankind and barely finished the quest in time.

"It's not my fault. You were the one that brought up ramen and spent two hours telling me about its so called greatness. And then you didn't even try to stop me from fighting. Well...eat something healthier than ramen, Naruto...smoothies at least." Naruto's head creaked to the side, his blank eyes staring down on Silica. His face was shadowed by the darkness, giving his a ghostly appearance.

"Did…you…say…something?" Silica immediately gained the same complexion, her eyes becoming a black, dull void, and her face becoming just as shadowed.

"Ramen…"

"At least smoothies…"

"Kami's gift is ramen…"

"Rice...pork...meat...bacon...

"RAAAMMMMMMENNN!" Silica's eyes gleamed red as she suddenly appeared next to Naruto and shut him up by bashing him on the head.

Naruto, however, did not stop and continued screaming his favorite food in the world.

"RAAAMEEEENNNN!"

"SHUT UP!" All the people in the neighborhood somehow yelled in unison at Naruto...who was outside with a girl past their curfew. Naruto and Silica jumped in surprise at the sudden outburst by all of the people in the vicinity.

"Go to sleep or something!"

"Get a room!"

"Scream somewhere else!"

A moment of silence passed between the two after all of the neighbors became silent. Naruto then began to laugh uncontrollably, his head thrown back as he held his sides. Silica joined him, giggling and laughing.

After about a minute, the two managed to gain control of their sniggers and began to walk again.

"My place is over there. Where's yours?" Naruto pointed to a hotel down the street in the west.

"Huh? The inn I'm staying at is right next to it. I'm that one right there." Silica pointed at an inn that was just across the street from the hotel.

"Oh…OK. Well, that makes things much easier." The two walked together until they were both in front of their respective places for the night.

"See you."

"G' night."

The two opened the entrance to their respective places and walked in, neither looking back.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 3 days)

"Mm…Silica. What level are you now?" Naruto and Silica were walking through the streets of the town lazily, just enjoying the sun and resting. They had gotten into a certain routine: meeting up at 9 A.M., finishing three quests during the day, and going to sleep at around 10 P.M. The whole day, they would be out on the fields farming monsters for experience and completing quests. Naruto always left a couple Kage Bunshin in areas that couldn't be seen so that they could either meditate or work on their chakra control.

Silica opened her menu. She pressed her chin with her index finger as she stared down at the holographic menu.

"I'm Level 15 now. That's good, right?" Naruto smiled and nodded his head.

"Yea, that's good. On this floor, you'll be able to solo easily now. You'll gain more EXP from every monster soloing, too, so your leveling up process will speed up as well."

Silica seemed to catch the meaning behind Naruto's words.

I'm going to dissolve this party.

Her face drooped and shifted into a downcast look. Despite not knowing Naruto for a long time, he was a fun person to hang out with. The past four days of being with him were some of the best days of her life. She did meet her friends and schools and have sleepovers, but the sleepovers were far and few in between. As for parties, she wasn't really a party person. So hanging out with Naruto, a completely upbeat and funny person was a completely new experience…even arguing about Kami's gift was funny in retrospect to her, despite still believing he was completely wrong.

"So…will I see you again?" Naruto caught the slight sadness in the way she spoke. He placed a reassuring smile on his face as he turned to face her.

"Of course you'll see me again. I'm not going to do die, and I'm at every boss meeting and battle. If you want to see me, become strong enough to join us. Besides, we can always party up later and team up during boss battles." Naruto placed his hand on top of her head and grinned wider, his eyes squinting.

"Be good and be careful of strangers, OK, Silica-chan?" Silica blushed at the suffix added to her name and looked down at the floor. She stayed silent for a moment, but after five seconds, she raised her head to face Naruto. She was smiling again.

"OK, Naruto. Goodbye." Naruto's grin dropped slightly, but he was still smiling.

"I don't believe in goodbyes. It makes me sound like I'm leaving for a long time or you won't see me again. So I always say "See you" or something like that. This isn't goodbye, OK."

Naruto patted the top of her head again reassuringly. His grin widened again, forcing him to close his eyes.

"I'll see you again." Silica's eyes widened. Then, she smiled too, her eyes closed due to the size of her smile.

"See you soon."

Naruto patted her head one more time, and then let his hand drop to his side. Naruto swiped his hand downwards through the air and pressed a few buttons in his menu. He looked up at Silica and smiled reassuringly.

*The Party has been dissolved*

He then turned around and walked away from her, becoming one of the few thousand people walking animatedly in the bustling town.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 1 hour)

"Haa…haa…haa…hell…yea! Haa…haa…" Naruto wiped the sweat off his brow and got off his knees. He had just fought against his clones to train his Sword and Dagger skill level, taking his training to the maximum.

He was back on the second floor on the mountaintop with the Old Master. The old man was currently sitting to the side, sipping on a cup of tea as he assessed Naruto's strength.

"Hm…" The old man never stopped drinking his tea as he began his criticisms. "It seems that thou have gotten much stronger and faster since the last thy have last seen you. Also, thou seem to be more aware of the world around thou, although I am certain thou dost not yet understand what I mean by this."

Naruto nodded his head, the sweating dripping off his face due to the jerky motion. Yup, don't know what you're talking about by that last one, gramps.

"However, thou are still wasting some movements in thou strikes, and thou always stutter thou steps when thou are perplexed or think too much during a battle. Thou must empty thou mind, but be completely aware at the same time. To not waste a single movement is to be graceful, yet deadly. That…is the pinnacle of any art form."

Naruto turned his head to face the old man. He opened his stats and scrutinized them for any changes. Other than the Sword and Dagger stats, nothing else changed. He did leave a few hundred Kage Bunshin near the river to work on his chakra control and Water Walking. No matter what, Naruto always left a few clones somewhere training and meditating, whether it is on the mountaintop or in a random forest.

"How much longer until I can learn what you want to teach me, gramps?"

"Gramps…ho ho ho ho…interesting. Well, I will teach thou…when thou can best me in combat." Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. However, he quickly realized how daunting the task really was.

If he's anything like my grandfather…well shit. That's going to be impossible. Screw breaking the rock, THIS is really impossible!

But Naruto was Naruto, and he never gave up, no matter what the odds. He promised to himself that he would save everyone, and nothing would stand in his way. If he had to fight an impossible to defeat Master of Arts and fight with the chance of winning being zero to a hundred, he would somehow make a way to win, despite the fact it was 'impossible'.

Impossible…is just an idea. That's not really true…because humans can always become better than other humans.

"He he he…HAHAHA! That sounds great, gramps! Just wait! I'll be your successor before you know it!" The old man chuckled, his body jerking with the movement. Suddenly, he disappeared from sight.

Naruto's eyes widened when the Master disappeared. Where did he…BEHIND ME! However, it was already too late for Naruto to respond. A hand placed itself onto Naruto's shoulder to prevent him from moving. Naruto's eyes got even wider with shock.

I couldn't even move…even with my Agility Stats. What kind of monster is he?

Naruto turned his head to see the old man staring at him, his narrow eyes opened.

"It would be wise not to underestimate thou opponents, no matter how far away the battle may be." Naruto dropped his shocked expression and smirked.

"I never underestimated you. However, that display of speed you just showed…I'm getting all fired up now. I can't wait to fight against you." The old man let go of Naruto's shoulders and smiled slightly, his wrinkles increasing, showing his age.

"That…will be quite a time coming."

'But I will wait and enjoy the day we can fight' The old Master thought.

Naruto bowed and walked away to go to the river. When he entered his favorite spot at the river, he saw all of his clones practicing his chakra control and chakra pool by Water Walking, or meditating, which also improved his chakra control.

He dispelled all of them except one, taking in their memories and experience. He would dispel the clone that was meditating later to garner as much EXP as possible by the end of the night. Then, he summoned a hundred clones, all of them standing on top of the water. They were all staring the original with bloodthirsty grins, knowing where this was headed and what the original was going to do

Pulling out his Baroque Blade and Anneal Blade, Naruto shifted into his battle stance. All of the clones followed suit, pulling out their pair of blades and shifting into their own stance, the water barely rippling at the movement. At an untold signal, all of them let out a war cry, charging at the original.

Naruto returned in like, jumping straight at the hundred clones, a feral grin on his face.

"LET'S GET WILD!"

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Two days)

The room was large but quite dark, lighted only by a few torches and a small chandelier on the ceiling. There was only one guild at the meeting with one table to seat the commander.

Naruto was standing against a pillar, out of sight and separated from the rest of the clearers. Kirito was leaning against the pillar next to him with his arms crossed and eyes closed. All of the players gave the Beater a wide berth, content to stay away from him and give him dirty glances.

Asuna was standing on the other side of the room, away from Kirito, eating her pastries. Even though she had discarded the cloak that had covered her face and body, she still had a somewhat cold attitude to most players that introduced themselves to her. Plenty of men cried every day.

Kirito and the rest of their group had agreed to be separated in public. Although Naruto and Asuna had disagreed with the idea, Kirito eventually forced the two to stay away so as not to damage their reputations as well. The two eventually relented, albeit extremely reluctantly. However, for Naruto, if they couldn't see him…now that was a different story.

Silica was near the middle of the room, standing in the middle of a large crowd of players. She had decided to join the boss raiding party since she had become Level 17. She and Naruto shared a few quick words before they separated to wait for the meeting to begin.

"Alright, let's begin the boss meeting. We thank you for joining us today." Naruto and the rest of the clearers turned to the deep, resonating voice. It was the leader of the Heavenly Dragon Alliance, the first guild in the game. The guild had a large number of players, but Naruto assumed that most of the players in the guild joined because it had a kick-ass name.

I can probably make a better one, so who cares!

"If we defeat this boss, we shall be one step closer to finishing this cursed tower and being free." The players in the room all nodded their heads in consent, agreeing with the statement whole-heartedly.

"Our scouts have gone into the boss room and discovered some valuable information. The boss is a giant Minotaur. It is quite slow, but it is capable of dishing out heavy damage with its axe. So, our guild has formed a plan: the players should split into two groups, one with tanks, and the other with attackers. This way, the tanks can defend the heavy hitters from the boss's attacks while the attackers damage the boss."

I guess that could work. Better than I was thinking…hahaha. Yea, that wouldn't have been a good plan.

The rest of the meeting went along 'swimmingly, but it was so boring'. Sometime during the meeting, snoring sounds were heard in the back of the room, but no one could locate exactly where and who was making the disturbing noise throughout the meeting.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 2 hours)

"Naruto, what are your Hiding skill stats? No one was able to locate you…" Even I couldn't.

Naruto looked up from his meal and saw Kirito standing nearby. Kirito had changed his clothing slightly, wearing all black clothing to go along with his Coat of Midnight and his black hair.

Naruto pointed at the seat opposite him from the table, motioning for him to sit down. Kirito complied and waited while Naruto continued to eat his ramen. He knew now to not disturb Naruto's ramen time.

"Hmmm…Hiding skill, you say? Are the Sprint skill, Searching skill, and Tracking all related to that?" Kirito nodded. Naruto put his chin on top of his hand, his elbow resting on the table.

"Yea…I don't have any of those." Kirito's eyes widened in shock.

"What!" Kirito's voice rose enough to garner some attention to themselves from nearby players. Naruto just waved his hand at the people that stopped, motioning for them to move along.

"Stay silent, Kirito. Yeah, I don't have any of those abilities, and I don't know why. You're the only player that knows this now, other than me." Kirito managed to calm down and return his face to his normal calm façade. He understood what Naruto was saying.

I'm trusting you with this information, so don't tell anyone else.

"When did you realize this?" Naruto looked up at the ceiling, thinking about how to respond to Kirito's question.

"Actually, I realized this at the very beginning. Ever since the game started, I thought something was wrong. I knew about most of the abilities and passive stuff in the game since I read all the guides from beta-testers and from online information sources. So, when I saw that I had none of those things…"

Kirito nodded his head, but he was still confused. Then, he remembered how he had first met Naruto.

"Does it have something to do with how you first met me?"

Your clones…

Naruto looked back down from the ceiling and looked at Kirito. Kirito was calmly keeping his gaze on Naruto.

"This is only between you and I. None of this information gets out, understood? If anyone else knew…they would treat me the same as you, and just because I have something they don't. I want to able to help them without worry on my part for as long as possible." The two stared at each other for a moment. Kirito eventually nodded again, but much more slowly this time.

"Alright. So…are you ready for the boss battle?" Naruto's demeanor suddenly shifted, going from serious to nonchalance and boredom.

"Meh." He raised his hand and dropped it lazily on the table. "The bosses from the first ten floors are meant to be like a tutorial, aren't they? At least, that's what I heard from online sources before this game was actually released."

Kirito remained silent, his mood become somewhat darker. He knew that Naruto was speaking the truth. During the beta-test, he had cleared the first eleven floors. The game had been exponentially more difficult after the first ten floors had been cleared. In fact, the eleventh floor boss took twelve tries by multiple clearing groups, and the twelfth try resulted in three quarters of the players dying. However, in this game…they didn't have the luxury of a second chance.

"We'll think about it later…when we're there. For now…we'll just think about the present, the most important part of our life. Right?" Naruto turned his head to the side and looked out the window, staring at the sun setting, crawling down the sky, the edge of the circle barely touching the top of the mountain.

Kirito stared at Naruto at shock. Even though he's the same age as me…when did he become so mature?

"Yea…"

Naruto looked away from the window and looked back at Kirito. Then, he grinned widely and suddenly got up from his seat and began to run out of the small restaurant. As he got farther and farther away, Naruto turned around, his eyes closed and his face lit up by a wide smile.

"Thanks for the free meal!" With that, Naruto turned around and continued to run away.

"Huh? What does he mean?" Kirito asked himself.

A moment later, a waiter dropped a check on the table where Naruto and Kirito had just talked. Kirito picked up the check and looked at it. Then, his face paled. And just like on the bakery incident on the first floor…Kirito screamed as loudly as he could.

"DAMN YOU, NARUTOOOO!"

Somewhere else in the town, a wild cackling could be heard from a spiky haired blonde.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Next Day, 9 A.M.)

"Let's go!"

The leader of the clearing group opened boss's door. It opened wide enough for every person to walk through. Upon entering, Naruto noticed that, once again, the room was vast and tremendously large, almost the size of the first boss battle against Illfang the Kobold Lord.

The ceiling became luminescent as the boss raiding group walked into the room, lighting it up. A blue Minotaur was standing on the other side of the room, breathing heavily, steam coming out from its mouth after every breath. It was ridiculously muscular, its muscles bulging and ripped. The Minotaur ignored all armor and was shirtless, wearing only some baggy, furry shorts that covered its lower body.

Its hooves scraped against the ground, making a piercing, screeching sound. Naruto and the rest of the clearers winced slightly. Suddenly, the boss roared, the breath of the boss reaching all the way across the room, knocking some players off their feet.

"What… the hell?" Naruto had easily managed to stay on his feet, but that was because he stuck to the ground with chakra. The boss shouldn't be this strong! What's going on?

The Minotaur began to charge as its sentinel minions began to flash into the large room.

Wonderful…more Minotaurs…how do you want them? Rainbow, please.

Smaller Minotaurs of all different colors flashed into the room next to the charging boss, each wielding a double-edged sword or axe.

"Charge!" The leader of the Heavenly Dragon Alliance ordered. All the clearers were on their feet again. They let out a loud war cry as they ran forwards to meet the boss and its sentinel minions at the middle of the room.

"Go go go!"

"This is it!"

Naruto and Kirito were once again grouped up with Asuna, ignored by all the other player and tanks. However, Silica was a new person in their party that joined only the day before. So, Asuna filled in Silica about Kirito and Naruto's team attack, the Reaping Whirlwind…after they became acquainted.

XShuyaX

(Flashback: Night time, Day before Boss Battle)

"Naruto, is that Silica?" Kirito turned to look when Asuna had soken. Asuna was pointing at a young girl next to Naruto, almost a full head shorter. She had two pigtails, one on each side of her head. Her eyes were ruby red, and her face was pale, but it didn't make her seem in any way unhealthy.

Naruto put his hand on Silica's shoulder and smiled.

"Yup! I told you I would introduce you, right?"

"No, you didn't. I had to remind you, remember?" Naruto just waved it off and scratched the back of his head with his other hand.

"Details…who needs them when they aren't required, right?"

Asuna deadpanned.

"Everyone except you, Naruto."

Asuna shifted her gaze from Naruto to the young girl next to him. She held out her hand for a handshake and bent over, leaning towards the girl.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Asuna!"

Silica shyly took her hand and shook it.

"I-I'm Silica." Asuna made a girlish squeal, surprised by the cuteness of the girl. She stood up and pointed at Naruto accusingly.

"I'm just wondering…how do you deal with that idiot?" Naruto coughed and choked slightly. Kirito just patted him on the back sympathetically.

Silica demeanor changed. She closed her eyes and then sighed in despair.

"I know…he thinks that ramen is the food gifted by Kami…"

"I know right?"Asuna nodded her head sagely, agreeing with the young girl.

"…and everyone knows that it's smoothies." That got Asuna's attention, and not exactly in the best way, either.

Both of the boy's began to shiver uncontrollably, knowing perfectly what was going to happen next.

"…What?"

Silica ignored the sense of danger tingling in her head, assuming that Asuna wouldn't be too dangerous. Girl to girl talk, right? So, she continued with her eyes closed, speaking as if everything was perfectly normal.

"I mean…smoothies are amazing! Kami gave them to all of mankind when she first introduced fire so that the cavemen could cool down when the fire became too hot for them. Don't you agree?"

Asuna's face became shadowed, both eyes disappearing under the darkness. Then, her eyes began to glow a dangerous red as she began to somehow tower over the little girl.

"Heretic…you dare blasphemy against pastries!?"

'Ohhhh no…' Kirito and Naruto thought in unison.

Silica's face changed as well, becoming shadowed and ghostlike, just like when she had argued against Naruto.

"Huh…did you say something? Who eats pastries? Fat people like you?"

Asuna poked Silica's forehead with her finger repeatedly as she said 'pastries…pastries…PASTRIES'.

"Don't you know that pastries are better than smoothies?"

Silica began to push Asuna away.

"SMOOOTHIES!"

'Oh dear Kami…please no!' The boys thought again in perfect unison.

"PASTRIESSSS!"

"RAAAMMMMENNN!" Naruto decided to join in, not believing that these girls would dare to ignore the real gift from Kami. However, both girls turned on him and punched him in the face at the same time.

"NOT RAMEN!"

He slid across the ground on his face, steaming and bruised. Two large lumps showed the spot where Naruto was hit simultaneously by the girls.

Asuna turned her head to glare at Kirito, but her face quickly changed into a wide smile...a deviously wide smile. It was one that promised pain if he didn't agree with her. Kirito began to sweat and backed up a step.

"Oh...Kirito-kun, don't you think that pastries are the best food?" Kirito was crying mentally.

I'm not getting in that! And you two just punched Naruto! That smile...why does it look so demented? And her eyebrow is twitching!

Kirito raised both of his hands and kept them in the 'X' formation.

"Don't try to get me involved, Asuna. I'm not going to - NOOOOO!" Asuna, during Kirito's response, pulled out a rapier and began to throw Linear's and fast jabs, which Kirito was barely dodging.

Naruto flicked Asuna's forehead to stop her. She was going too far and Naruto's didn't need any cranky people in the neighborhood to show any animosity towards them.

"Ladies…that's not OK. We're in the middle of town and everyone's staring at us. Besides, it's night time, so let's be a little quieter, OK?"

And that was how to party met...although they did have a somewhat civil late dinner afterwards...and the girls did not let Naruto get even close to ramen. Every time he was about to order it, they would 'accidently' kick him under the table. If he got it, they would 'accidently' slip and make it fall to the floor. Even when he tried to get it to-go, they somehow knew. It was as if they were trackers from hell.

Naruto didn't get any sleep that night, going through ramen withdrawals, twitching and fidgeting under the sheets of blankets.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Back to battle)

Yea…that sucked. Why am I the only normal person in this group?

Kirito gripped his Anneal Blade as he jumped into the air. His sword glowed white as he slashed down with a Vertical on the sentinel Minotaur.

"Take…THIS!" His sword cut through the wooden handle of the axe and continued its harsh arc to slash through the body of the golden Minotaur, completely blowing through its Health Points. It shattered into blue polygons and made a breaking glass effect.

Naruto ran past Kirito as he went charged multiple Minotaurs at once to keep them off of the clearers fighting the boss. Kirito quickly joined in, Asuna and Silica following soon after.

There are fifty Minotaurs…OK…so sentinels always come in the same number as the raiding party. We need to quickly take care of these cannon fodder so we can focus on the boss.

"Raaahhh! Leaf Whirlwind!" Naruto jumped and spun twice in the air. His leg suddenly straightened before he kicked a pink Minotaur in the chin. The sentinel went careening into the air. Naruto blurred from his spot on the floor and appeared above the airborne Minotaur.

"And…here's my special move for you…NARUTO SMACKDOWN!" Naruto kicked the Minotaur in the stomach, sending it crashing into the ground. Its health quickly depleted down to zero, and the sentinel disappeared into nothingness.

Kirito, Asuna, and Silica sweatdropped.

What a gay name.

Naruto turned and smirked at the rest of his party members.

"Come on, let's GET WILD!" He pulled out a dagger with his Baroque Blade as he sprinted into the fray once more.

As the battle continued, constant orders were heard over the sounds of battle.

"Group A, help group D!"

"Groud G, switch with Group B! Make sure to keep the boss busy!"

"Group C! Get the hell out of there! Medics, get them potions!"

The guild leader of the Heavenly Dragon Alliance was organizing and moving the groups around to keep the battle flowing smoothly and prevent as many deaths as possible. So far, there had been no deaths, and that's how he wanted to keep it. Somehow, despite the boss's absurd strength and ability to quickly take care of the attacking group, the clearers were still able to take out chunks of its health before they had to run back and heal up. However…they were quickly running out of available potions.

Suddenly, the boss roared, its voice reverberating throughout the room. The clearers that were fighting against the boss stumbled and fell back from the heavy impact of the boss's breath, falling harshly on the ground.

Naruto quickly dodged a sentinel's axe swipe, flipping over the blade. As he flipped in midair, he checked the boss's health and status. It was in its last bar, but a strange sign was next to its health.

What is…wait…THAT'S BERSERK MODE!

Berserk Mode was a status that increased any enemy or ally's strength significantly, but it also made whatever that was affected by it more animalistic and instinctual in battle. In this case, since the boss was alone against nearly fifty clearers, going berserk was perfect for it…and extremely dangerous for the clearers.

"GUYS GET BACK NOW! IT'S GOING TO GO BERSERK!"

The group that was fighting the bossd heard Naruto's warning, but they were still on the ground and wouldn't make it time. The Minotaur roared, its axe arcing down at a searing speed towards the players grounded on the floor in fear.

Shit! I won't make it time!

Suddenly, a figure jumped in front of the boss and blocked the axe swing, albeit barely. The small figure fell to its knees, defenseless as the boss began its second swing. Naruto immediately recognized the figure from the back.

Fuck! That's Silica!

Naruto grabbed a pebble, an item that he had a plethora of, out of his Quick Slot and threw it as hard as he could at the boss. Then, he prepared his Sword Skill, Horizontal on his blade. It began to sheen a bright blue.

Make it in time! Kawamiri no Jutsu!

XShuyaX

(Perspective Switch: Silica's POV)

"Hah!" Silica slashed a green Minotaur, hacking away at its health. Eventually, its health bar depleted and the sentinel shattered into polygons, dispersing into the air into invisible streams of game codes.

Suddenly, the boss roared. Silica turned her head and saw the group fighting the boss fall to the ground. The boss began to swing its axe down on the grounded players, unable to move.

I can make it! I can save them!

Silica was nearby, so she began to use Sprint, charging towards the boss. She leaped and flew, closing the distance in the blink of an eye.

"Hah!" Silica's dagger began to glow a toxic purple as she deflected the boss's downward strike. However, she misjudged the strength of the boss, not knowing that it was under Berserk Mode. Her dagger arm fell and dangled uselessly to her side, her shoulder obviously dislocated and out of its socket.

At least…I saved these six people. The axe began to come down again, its shining edge coming closer and closer. But…

Everything seemed to slow down. Silica glanced at the six people on the floor. All of them were screaming at her.

"Get away!"

"Look out!"

But she couldn't. She had just used Sprint, and that has a cooldown time of at least a minute, especially at her low level. And not only that, but she had just used a Sword Skill and was frozen in place.

…I want to live. I want to survive!

Silica looked up as the axe came closer…and closer. Suddenly, a pebble flew above of her head.

What? A pebble wo-…

The pebble suddenly disappeared, a figure flashing into view, his sword glowing brightly.

"Urrraahhhhh!"

The unknown player swung his blade and deflected the boss's second strike in midair. He used the momentum from the boss's strike to flip and land on his feet. Silica turned to see who it was.

It was Naruto…and he looked pissed.

XShuyaX

(Perspective Switch: Narrator's POV)

Naruto gnashed his teeth together. He seethed as his breath went in and out through his closed teeth.

"You…"

Every time at a boss battle…why do I have to get so pissed?

Naruto's eyes seemed to glow blue, his long coat flipping in the air. His hair began to rise as his killing intent exploded.

"RaaaaAAAHHHH!" Naruto disappeared from view, appearing behind the boss. He jumped into the air, his blade already shining. He slashed down on the large Minotaur, his sword cutting through the thick muscles on its back. The boss roared out in pain, thrashing and swinging axe randomly in the air, hoping to hit the suddenly unknown foe. It turned to try and grab Naruto, but the blonde had already disappeared, now in front of the boss by switching place with another pebble he dropped on the ground.

"HORIZONTAL SQAURE!" Naruto swung his blade from left to right, slashing across the Minotaur's legs. Then, he reversed the swing and slashed across the chest, a bright red mark indicating the slash. He jumped into midair, ready to slash at the jugular and neck, but the boss had already recovered from its surprise.

"RRROOOOOAARRR!" The Minotaur punched Naruto in the face, sending him away like a rocket.

Guh! Shit that hurt! My Health Point is…54%! Holy crap that boss is strong!

Someone caught Naruto right before he hit the ground, preventing any more damage from harming Naruto. He looked up. It was Kirito.

"You idiot…what the hell were you thinking!" Kirito yelled at Naruto as he dropped him to the floor. Naruto gracefully landed…on his ass. Naruto patted his butt to get rid of the imaginary dust on the back of his pants and got up.

"Hey…I got the job done. All seven of them are safe now." Kirito glared at Naruto.

"And you could've died. Why couldn't you just wait for us to help you?" Naruto shook his head as he turned to glare at the boss. He activated a Potion as he stared at the ground around the boss, where the seven players were about to be killed. It was empty, indicating that all seven of the clearers had gotten away safely, most likely healing safely behind the lines of the clearers.

"Then I wouldn't have made it in time." Kirito scoffed, but he didn't rebuke it either.

"Whatever…let's just finish this." Naruto smirked, his blood pumping with excitement as his health bar reached the green.

"Now we're talking, Kirito." Naruto pulled out his Anneal Blade from his inventory, gripping the hilt with his left hand, and held his Baroque Blade with his right in a loose grip. He bent low into his stance, his eyes zoning in on the boss.

"Let's GO WILD!"

Kirito and Naruto burst into action, closing the distance between them and the boss within five seconds. Asuna joined them during their sprint, already understanding what the plan was.

Naruto charged in first, jumping into the air with his sword shining white. However, instead of deflecting the attack…he struck at the handle of the axe that was completely open and unprotected.

Hey…if I have to fight unfair, then so be it!

His blade cut straight through the handle like a hot knife through butter. The double-edged axe dropped unceremoniously to the ground, making a 'thud' sound when it hit the floor.

"Moo?"

Naruto then righted himself in midair, flipping and straightening out his right leg as the distance quickly close. He then kicked the Minotaur harshly in the face with a –

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" –and landed behind the boss. Kirito quickly followed up with a Vertical Square, slashing the boss deeply in the stomach four times.

The boss is in the red…15% health!

"Switch!"

Asuna charged forwards just as Kirito jumped back. Her rapier glowed green before it disappeared, striking the boss right in…the spot where 'the sun don't shine'. It roared…but it was two octaves higher than normal.

"Moooooo!"

Ouch…

Every guy…pretty much every clearer in the boss room cringed as they dropped their hands near their jewels. They all felt some sympathy for the boss, despite being the enemy. They knew the pain it was going through.

Asuna stabbed the boss with a Linear again, pushing the boss back. The Minotaur tottered and stumbled backwards, it's back falling towards Naruto.

"TAKE THIS!" Naruto stabbed his Anneal Blade through the chest of the Minotaur, using the boss's own weight against it. The blade pierced the back and went through the stomach, going through the whole body. Then, he slashed through the boss's neck, landing a critical strike and performing the last attack. Right before the boss's decapitated head fell off its neck, it shattered into blue polygons.

*Congratulation! You have defeated Galvurus the Minotaur*

*Congratulation! You have leveled up!*

*Congratulations! You got the Last Attack Bonus! You have obtained Black Boots!*

"…"

"HELL YEAH!"

"ONE MORE FLOOR DOWN!"

"WE CAN ACTUALLY FINISH THIS GAME!"

The clearers cheered loudly, their voices echoing in the slightly darker room. The ceiling had lost some of its luminescence when the boss had been defeated.

Naruto stood still, staring at nothing. Then, he sheathed his Baroque Blade and placed his Anneal Blade back into his inventory mechanically. His face looked blank, bearing no emotion.

He began to walk towards the group of clearers…and zoned in on one person in the large group. Silica was being thanked and congratulated by a group of players, most likely the group that she had saved. Kirito knew what Naruto was thinking, so he didn't stop him when he had passed him without a look or word.

Naruto walked straight in front of Silica. Before she could even say anything, he grabbed her elbow, knowing full well that the game had already healed her dislocated shoulder.

"Huh? Wait…Naruto, what are you doing?"

He ignored her and turned, but before he could take another step, a person grabbed his wrist. Naruto whipped around to see who stopped him, then snarled aggressively.

Kibaou-teme!

"What do you think you're doing, huh?" Kibaou sneered at Naruto. Naruto glared back at the cactus-haired player, pissed and seething once again, except his ire was rising and getting out of control.

"Look, I'm not in the mood. Just get out of my way, Kibaou-teme." Naruto took another step forwards, but Kibaou help firmly onto Naruto's wrist, preventing any more movement.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Naruto turned and yelled at Kibaou, his patience shot and temper breaking out. Silica began to tremble, scared at Naruto's anger and strange demeanor. Naruto had never acted like this around her. Where had the fun and happy Naruto gone? Where was the one that always complimented her and made her smile?

Kibaou pointed his finger at Naruto accusingly with his other finger.

"I want to know…how did you move like that! No player can do that, and they can't disappear like that! You must be a Beater, just like that basta-"

Naruto didn't let him finish that sentence, bashing Kibaou's skull with his forehead in a headbutt. Kibaou yelped in pain and fell on his ass unceremoniously. He began to rub his forehead and then opened his eyes to look up at Naruto.

Naruto was looking down at Kibaou in a way that brought fear and dread in his heart, making him tremble inside. One of his cold, blue eyes was shadowed and out of sight, while the other eye looked down at him condescendingly. It wasn't the fact that Naruto was looking down on him that made Kibaou feel weak and powerless, but it was how Naruto was looking down on him, as if he were better than him and that Kibaou was just the dirt to his feet.

"Kibaou…this is really getting old. We've only done this twice, and I'm already getting tired of this. I just need to talk to this girl."

"But how did you move like that!" Another voice from the clearing group, not Kibaou, yelled out. Naruto turned his eyes in the direction of the voice, his ice cold eyes boring into the person.

"When you have enough Agility stats, you can move that fast."

That revelation earned a lot of surprised and shocked glances and gasps from the players. Naruto's statement implied that his Agility stats were absurdly high and most likely much higher than everyone else's and…that he was a much higher level than everyone else to have those kind of stats. In fact, everyone was that his speed was superior to that of Asuna, The Flash.

Naruto turned and walked away from the clearing group with Silica trembling in tow. Finally, no one had stopped him or prevented his leaving with any words or actions...or so he thought.

Asuna was standing directly in front of him with her arms crossed, her expression cloudy and annoyed.

"What are you doing with Silica?"

"Look, I'm just talking with her, Asuna. I really don't have the patience right now, so please move." Asuna shook her head, not compmlying with Naruto's request.

"I'm worried what you're going to do with her...just like everyone else in the room is." Naruto's face became shadowed, his bangs covering his eyes.

Why...even you, Asuna?

"I vouch for him." The voice was Kirito. Naruto looked up and stared at him. So did all the clearers...before they got pissed.

"Screw you, Beater."

"No one trusts you in the first place."

"Why are you still here?"

Kirito stood there calmly with his arms crossed, not batting an eye at the outbursts directed at him. When they had died down, Kirito continued.

"I know you that don't trust me...but you have no reason not to trust Naruto. He's saved plenty of people and has no reason to not be trusted. So...if you can't trust me, at least trust him."

This seemed to get some reaction from the clearers. Naruto gave a curt nod of his head at Kirito in thanks, Kirito returning with a smaller one, a frown on his face.

I trust you, Naruto.

Naruto walked past Asuna. She turned to them as they walked, ready to say something again until Kirito grabbed her arm to stop her. She turned to him, confused and angry.

"What are you thinking, Kirito? He's pissed, and not only that, but he's taking her to the next floor where there's no one up there. What if he-"

Kirito stopped her by tightening his grip on Asuna's arm. His eyes flashed for a moment with some emotion before they returned to a calm and analytical gaze.

"Asuna...do you really think that Naruto would do that? Ever? And for Kami's sake, he's fourteen...we're fourteen. Silica is twelve! What the hell are you thinking they're going to do?"

Asuna dropped her head in shame. She did think that Naruto would do something based on the way he was acting. She looked to where Naruto and Silica were walking away, their footsteps resounding throughout the room as they ascended the stairs. Naruto opened the door to the Fourth Floor without care, ignoring the congratulatory music that played for him. Silica gave up on protesting; she had stopped tugging and pulling on her arm. Now, she was just shivering and afraid of what Naruto was going to do.

He no longer was walking quickly or gripping her elbow tightly, but his face showed contained anger, and that made her afraid.

He held her elbow lightly now, just leading her through the streets of the new town. Silica just followed timidly, her face showing nervousness. Her eyes constantly flicked from Naruto, to the right…to the left…and back to Naruto again.

Finally, when Naruto had reached an alleyway, he stopped and pushed Silica to the wall. She made a small sound from the impact. Silica was going to ask what Naruto wanted, but she stopped when she saw his eyes. He was absolutely livid and seething.

"What…the hell were you thinking?" Silica bit her lip…but she knew she was in the right.

"I-I-I was t-trying t-to prot-t-tect the group t-that…t-that was…about to be-be killed by t-the boss." Silica barely stammered her words out, her face looked down at the floor as she said her words. Naruto suddenly slammed his fist on the wall next to her head. Silica cringed inwardly, the violence of her trembling increasing, bringing her almost to tears. The building creaked and shuddered slightly, showing the strength behind the punch.

*This building is Immortal*

I don't give a shit!

"The attack the boss used was a four-hit combo! If I didn't deflect the second hit, the boss would have kill you AND the six players on the ground!"

"But…I just…I thought I had helped…I just wanted to help!" Silica looked up at Naruto, her eyes scared and pleading for Naruto calm down.

Naruto's face lost its rage and his eyes became full of concern and worry.

"Don't do that…that was stupid, Silica. Your will to save people is amazing but…you can't just jump in without thinking. If I didn't stop the boss…"

You would've died.

Just like on the third floor, Silica's mood became somber when she caught the untold message. She dropped her head and looked at the floor. Naruto put his hand on the top of her red hair and kept it there. Naruto had done that action constantly when they were a party. Now, he was doing it again to try to calm her down, to tell her he was just worried for her sake.

I don't want to fail…I don't want someone to die in front of me again…not like Diabel.

"Just…be careful next time. You'll never get a second chance in this game…this game is now every player's reality. OK, Silica-chan? And I'm sorry if I scared you but…you need to understand this."

Naruto dropped his hand from her head and stayed still for a moment before he turned and walked away, his footsteps pounding loudly against the floor in Silica's mind.

Kami…I hate doing this. I feel like such an asshole.

Naruto looked up at the night sky. The clouds covered the quarter full moon, making the stars shine even brighter. To Naruto, however, it was just a dark night.

Kami, this pisses me off. Not even a full moon tonight. Why does it have to be so dark? Heh, ironic. Just like the mood…it's probably going to rain tonight.

Naruto continued to walk aimlessly through the town with no direction, just walking to get rid of his thoughts…but they continued to plague him.

With Silica back in the alleyway, she hadn't moved an inch. A droplet of water…no, a tear…hit the ground.

"I…*sniff*…I just…*sob*…wanted to be strong…like you."

Then, all the dams broke loose. She slid down her back and sat down, hugging her legs close to her chest as she cried to herself, her tears cascading down her face and dripping on the floor.

I just wanted to be strong like you, Naruto.

I'm sorry, Silica-chan.

End Chapter!

Omake: Kami's Gift to Mankind

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 3 hours)

"…and that's why ramen is the greatest food of all time!" Silica just stared at Naruto. And stared…and stared.

You know…some of his arguments were really convincing…until I remembered that smoothies are Kami's gift to mankind.

"Naruto…smoothies are Kami's gift to all of mankind, not ramen. Smoothies are so smooth and creamy; they leave such a great aftertaste…"

Naruto's face paled more and more as he listened to the blasphemy spoken from this heretic woman.

How dare she?

"No!" He interrupted Silica. "Ramen is Kami's gift! She personally brought it down to the cavemen hundreds of thousands of years ago! She brought fire to mankind and gave ramen as the first cooked food!"

"That's not true! Kami brought fire and a smoothie. Hot and cold have to go together!"

The two argued until sundown, their quest completely forgotten. It wasn't until much later in the game that they realized that their argument could have been easily avoided if either of them realized that ramen was a food and that smoothie was a drink and dessert.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: 11:28 P.M.)

"Damn it. We got too caught up in our argument." Naruto and Silica were walking through the streets of the town. They had barely finished their quest in time. Thirty minutes before the quest timer ran out, the two received a notice stating that they were running out of time. The two-man party made a temporary truce on their beliefs on Kami's gift to mankind and barely finished the quest in time.

"It's not my fault. You were the one that brought up ramen and spent three hours telling me about its so called greatness. Smoothies, Naruto." Naruto's head creaked to the side, his blank eyes staring down on Silica. His face was shadowed by the darkness, giving his a ghostly appearance.

"Did…you…say…something?" Silica immediately gained the same complexion, her eyes becoming a black, dull void, and her face becoming just as shadowed.

"Smoothies…"

"Ramen…"

"Smoothies…"

"Kami's gift is ramen…"

"SMOOTHIES!" Silica began to scream at Naruto. Naruto vigorously responded in like, his voice slightly louder than Silica's.

"RAAAMEEEENNNN!"

"SSMOOOOOOOTHIEEES!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" All the people in the neighborhood somehow yelled in unison at the two teens that were outside past their curfew. Naruto and Silica jumped in surprise at the sudden outburst by all of the people in the vicinity.

"Go to sleep or something!"

"Get a room, you two!"

"Scream somewhere else!"

A moment of silence passed between the two after all of the neighbors became silent. Naruto then began to laugh uncontrollably, his head thrown back as he held his sides. Silica joined him, giggling and laughing.

After about a minute, the two managed to gain control of their sniggers and began to walk again.

"My place is over there. Where's yours?" Naruto pointed to a hotel down the street in the west.

"Huh? The inn I'm staying at is right next to it. I'm that one right there." Silica pointed at an inn that was just across the street from the hotel.

"Oh…OK. Well, that makes things much easier." The two walked together until they were both in front of their respective places for the night.

"See you."

"G' night."

The two opened the entrance to their respective places and walked in, neither looking back.

XShuyaX

(Flashback: Night time, Day before Boss Battle)

"Naruto, is that Silica?" Kirito turned to look when Asuna had soken. Asuna was pointing at a young girl next to Naruto, almost a full head shorter. She had two pigtails, one on each side of her head. Her eyes were ruby red, and her face was pale, but it didn't make her seem in any way unhealthy.

Naruto put his hand on Silica's shoulder and smiled.

"Yup! I told you I would introduce you, right?"

"No, you didn't. I had to remind you, remember?" Naruto just waved it off and scratched the back of his head with his other hand.

"Details…who needs them when they aren't required, right?"

Asuna deadpanned.

"Everyone except you, Naruto."

Asuna shifted her gaze from Naruto to the young girl next to him. She held out her hand for a handshake and bent over, leaning towards the girl.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Asuna!"

Silica shyly took her hand and shook it.

"I-I'm Silica." Asuna made a girlish squeal, surprised by the cuteness of the girl. She stood up and pointed at Naruto accusingly.

"I'm just wondering…how do you deal with that idiot?" Naruto coughed and choked slightly. Kirito just patted him on the back sympathetically.

Silica demeanor changed. She closed her eyes and then sighed in despair.

"I know…he thinks that ramen is the food gifted by Kami…"

"I know right?"Asuna nodded her head sagely, agreeing with the young girl.

"…and everyone knows that it's smoothies." That got Asuna's attention, and not exactly in the best way, either.

Both of the boy's began to shiver uncontrollably, knowing perfectly what was going to happen next.

"…What?"

Silica ignored the sense of danger tingling in her head, assuming that Asuna wouldn't be too dangerous. Girl to girl talk, right? So, she continued with her eyes closed, speaking as if everything was perfectly normal.

"I mean…smoothies are amazing! Kami gave them to all of mankind when she first introduced fire so that the cavemen could cool down when the fire became too hot for them. Don't you agree?"

Asuna's face became shadowed, both eyes disappearing under the darkness. Then, her eyes began to glow a dangerous red as she began to somehow tower over the little girl.

"Heretic…you dare blasphemy against pastries!?"

'Ohhhh no…' Kirito and Naruto thought in unison.

Silica's face changed as well, becoming shadowed and ghostlike, just like when she had argued against Naruto.

"Huh…did you say something? Who eats pastries? Fat people like you?"

Asuna poked Silica's forehead with her finger repeatedly as she said 'pastries…pastries…PASTRIES'.

"Don't you know that pastries are better than smoothies?"

Silica began to push Asuna away.

"SMOOOTHIES!"

'Oh dear Kami…please no!' The boys thought again in perfect unison.

"PASTRIESSSS!"

"SMOOOTHIES!"

"PAAAAAASSSTRRRIEEEEESSS!"

"SMMMOOOOOOTHIII-ACK!"

Naruto flicked Silica's forehead to stop her. She was going too far and Naruto's didn't need any cranky people in the neighborhood to show any animosity towards them.

"Ladies…that's not OK. We're in the middle of town and everyone's staring at us. Besides, it's night time, so let's be a little quieter, OK?"

The two girls glared at each other with lightning sparking in between them, but they nodded their heads in unison. Naruto nodded his head with his eyes closed, acting all wise and powerful. Then, he continued and said-

"Good…by the way…RAAAAMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEN!"

'WHYYY NARUTOOOO!' Kirito screamed mentally.

The group didn't get much sleep. They continued to argue most of the night through in one room in an inn. Kirito was forced to stay with them and couldn't fall asleep due to the constant yelling. Thankfully, rooms in the game prevented noise from escaping, so there weren't any angry neighbors that night.

End Omake

A/N: Woah…I did not expect the ending to be like that when I typed this. And this thing is long!

I know it seems like this happened a bit early…but things are going to speed up a little bit.

Yes, I know this is the only the Fourth Floor, but don't worry. The first 25 won't take that long, only about two months. Things will slow down again from there.

Oh yea, question! What two elements do you want Naruto to have? Say that in your comments, and I'll count up the amount for each element.

Thanks to you all for reading this chapter and a very happy New Year's to everyone!

Character: Naruto

Strength: 14th

Defense: 143th

Agility: 1st

Intelligence: 34th

Luck: 1st