A/N: Ahem... yo... waddup?

Amma just leave this chapter here and slowly back away...

-FORTITUDE-

Devil Got My Woman (Part 1)

Training was something he has always been fond of. The excitement of learning something new, a powerful set of deadly moves, some outstanding new sword techniques, some flashy and extremely powerful jutsus, it never really mattered to him as long as it was something that could help him grow even stronger.

Some used to call him just a really hyperactive kid back in the day, and while to some extent they were indeed right, he always thought that it didn't cut it, that there was another reason for his incessant hunger for knowledge and power.

Turns out it was his nature as a dragon.

"Come on…" His whisper was barely audible to the only other soul accompanying him in this beautiful lake they were in, his blues solely focused on the kunai laying on the ground right before him, both of his hands wide open, palms aimed at the killing object.

There was also a downside to his dragon nature however, not everything can be wholly good he'd guess. The drawback was quite simple.

Lack of patience.

Dragons were not patient creatures, like at all. They were inheritably active, full of energy, which makes sense as most of the original dragons are literally a condensation of interstellar energy. It was extremely rare to find a dragon that was patient.

Ddraig was most definitely one of those rare patient dragons, as he spends most of his days just lying on the beach within his own mindscape, just occasionally requesting Naruto to let him use his body to 'stretch' his legs. But the silver-haired Namikaze could easily counter that the god's patience was more a testament of how old he was than anything else.

Naruto on the other hand, has never truly been a tranquil child. Add to that the fact that he was still essentially a 'hatchling', or baby dragon in human tongue, it was safe to say that patience was not something he could count on.

"You've been doing… whatever it is you're doing… for the past hour…" The feminine voice of his newly acquired companion, Shizuku, sounded from some distance away from his spot, earning a tired sigh from the jinchūriki as she tilted her head, sitting on the grass, adding, "I don't see how this is training." The brunette pouted slightly, confused.

Naruto blinked a couple of times, surprisingly feeling slightly drained after his effort, "I have a bloodline that allows me to manipulate the minerals of the earth…" Shizuku's eyes widened a little bit, listening as the male continued while he rubbed his chin, "But apparently, there are different levels of my bloodline…" He rolled his eyes to look at her, "You can call them something like upgrades, I guess." He massaged his temples, a little headache present at the moment.

"And?" Shizuku asked, still somewhat confused.

"And…" He replied, smiling slightly at her as he continued, "One of those upgrades, supposedly allows me to manipulate metal…" Now she was impressed, as she gaped when he continued, "I'm trying to get it right but…" He looked back at the kunai, frowning, frustrated at his impasse, "The difference with this ability and most other jutsus, is that this one's more about the mind than anything else…" He then looked back at the brunette and smiled sheepishly, saying with an aloof tone, "That part has never really been mah thing, ya know?"

Shizuku couldn't help but smile at the man's childishness, slowly coming to accept those strange sensations he made her feel in her belly.

She has been with Naruto for a whole week now, leaving Eddy behind to head towards Moon where they spent three days resting. She also had the chance to meet two of Naruto's women, the Queen of Moon herself and an information broker known as Rosalia. She was most definitely surprised to find out that Naruto was the lover of someone as important as Piña Co Lada, the leader of one of the wealthiest countries in the continent. But she was more surprised about Piña's and Rosalia's genuine happiness, as the sparkling in their eyes when they saw Naruto was simply something impossible to fake. Even someone as inept in social interaction as her, could see the genuine love he had for them and vice versa.

It certainly put her more at ease.

She was also glad to have the chance to talk to them in private, hear their stories and opinions. The fact that none of them pressured her to give in to Naruto's charms was something that told her she was okay to trust them for now. And much to her happiness, she was able to get herself her very first friends. Going as far as to admit that she wanted to stay longer in Moon to know the two women better.

Naruto had sensed that and he actually told her to stay in Moon if she so wished, Piña also offering her own home for her to stay in. Shizuku was most definitely tempted but Naruto still needed to go and while Shizuku wanted to stay with her new friends a little while longer, she wanted to see if Naruto was honest with her even more.

Thus, here they were, waiting for Naruto's godfather to appear in order to report on Naruto's mission and to listen what's next on his journey.

"You're focusing on the wrong thing, brat…" Another masculine voice suddenly sounded and earned their attention, Shizuku deducing him to be Naruto's master and godfather by the fact that the silverette didn't even flinched at his surprise appearance, the tall large white-haired man adding with a confused look as he observed her, "Don't focus on the kunai itself, focus on its surroundings."

Naruto tilted his head, face scrunched, confused, looking at Jiraiya as he questioned, "What'cha mean, Pervy Sage?"

Annoyed by the stranger's giggle, Jiraiya ignored her for the moment in order to explain, "For what I read in the scroll, you're not exactly manipulating the metal itself, you are supposed to manipulate the surroundings of the metal by creating an electrical field around it…" He crossed his hands, looking at the boy as he added, "Think of the process of making a rasengan but instead of condensing energy in a ball, create a magnetic field around the kunai."

Naruto's eyes widened after he understood the elder's words, immediately focusing on the kunai again and once he put both hands on top of the weapon, he shut down all of the environment and focused solely on the surroundings of the kunai, feeling the air passing between his hands and the ground.

He narrowed his eyes, his breath beginning to rag slightly as he felt his chakra surrounding the kunai.

It then happened, like a cold object suddenly reaching his senses, he could feel the metal beneath his palms, faintly, but it was there.

And just like that, he got to work. Slowly focusing on the natural magnetic field that the earth emitted and as if in a moment of enlightenment, he finally grasped the way to go.

Shizuku leaned on to have a better look at Naruto, there was a calming silence as a gentle breeze passed by them, but then a faint pulse of energy made her eyes widen as she saw how, if just for a single second, the kunai below Naruto's hand began to levitate.

Jiraiya was astonished as well, as his eyes locked themselves to his godson. He could feel a shift in the energy around them, his Sage senses allowing him to feel a deeper connection with earth and thus, he could feel how Naruto was faintly manipulating the magnetic field of the area.

"Damn…" Naruto muttered as he stopped, shocked to feel himself sweating. He was so into his trance that he couldn't really see anything he was doing, but even if it was just a millimetre, he could tell that he had in fact moved the weapon.

"Whoa…" Shizuku whispered, really impressed. She has never seen that kind of power in her life. His exhaustion was easy to see, but she could feel his chakra reserves practically filled, meaning that the jutsu was more mentally exhausting than chakra draining.

"Did it worked then?" Naruto asked, panting slightly, leaning back on the ground until his back laid against the grass, a small pang in his head but besides the mental exhaustion, he actually felt okay with everything else.

Jiraiya smirked, crouching to grab the kunai and as he observed it, he stated, "For a second it did…" He then looked at the boy, who seemed genuinely tired, Jiraiya putting said exhaustion in the back of his mind, reminding himself to take a look at the technique again when he gets free, "But I guess it's still too early for you to use it effectively." He kicked the boy lightly, chuckling as Naruto whined.

"No shit…" Naruto murmured, opening his eyes and slowly sitting up, taking a deep sigh before he looked at the white-haired pervert and added, "My head hurts like a modofaka… never used it this much in mah life, fam…" He chuckled as he scratched his scruff sheepishly.

Jiraiya chuckled along with the boy, shaking his head until he heard the chuckle of the third person present with them, his eyes going towards the beautiful young lady.

Shizuku felt nervous as Jiraiya eyed her up. She had heard from Naruto about his godfather's infamous perverted ways, but what made her nervous was not that lecherousness, it was that Jiraiya was most definitely not looking at her with lecherous eyes, those narrowed eyes were filled with scrutiny and mistrust. Even she had heard of the legendary Toad Hermit, the man was a walking legend that few dared to trifle with.

Naruto sensed the look and just as he was about to say something about Shizuku, Jiraiya looked at him and spoke, "Now Naruto, I doubt this beautiful lady here is an illusion…" He crossed his arms, looking at the jinchūriki and with stern eyes, added, "I take it you have a good explanation here?"

Naruto knew that the Toad Summoner was not joking around right now, it was still somewhat weird for him to hear Jiraiya in his serious-mode, as it was too scarce, but when it came out, he knew the Sannin meant business.

"Right…" The host of the Absolute God of End whispered followed by a sigh, looking at Shizuku with a reassuring smile before he focused on the older man again and said with equal seriousness, "You better sit down Pervy Sage, we got a lot to talk about, my fam."

Jiraiya felt equally surprised by hearing the seriousness in the usually aloof boy, but heeding Naruto's word, he sat down and prepared himself to hear Naruto's tale about his journey.

"Mmm…" She hummed, eyes narrowed at the offending objects before her, laid on the table, an almost mocking silence as she struggled to use them properly.

Her fingers twitched before she approached the metallic objects with reluctance, an urge to completely forgo the utensils and just go back to her natural habit of burying her face in and devour the foods with animalistic glee.

But she refrained herself from doing so.

"You are Maō now…" She whispered to herself, slightly frustrated as she gingerly grasped the fork and knife, grabbing them with an unnecessary strength, adding with a deep breath, "Not Kurama, no longer a fox, no longer a Tailed Beast, but a human…" The new version of the recently released Nine-Tailed Fox focused on getting accustomed to live as a regular human, but fighting off her animal instincts was turning out to be harder than she originally thought, "I wonder how Naruto does it…" She thought of the young man she had, reluctantly, fallen in love with, wondering how Naruto, a dragon by all means, could fight off such strong habits common to an even fiercer creature such as a dragon.

"I was under the impression you were already accustomed to human behaviour…" Another feminine voice sounded from behind Maō, forcing a sigh out of the redheaded Tailed-Beast as she recognised the tone of the Village Hidden in the Leaf's leader, Tsunade Senju, "You know, with you being inside Kushina and all" The Senju female added once she sat on the chair opposite to the redhead, the blonde's demeanour seemed reserved, but not hostile, even slightly open.

The woman once named Kurama sighed, leaning back on her seat as she gently put the utensils down, cracking her neck a little bit before her blues focused on Tsunade, saying a little bit frustrated, "I know the actions and how to perform them…" She massaged her temples, "But taking it to the practice is turning out to be quite the endeavour."

Tsunade nodded at that, understanding the difference between knowing the moves and actually doing them, "I have to admit, it leaves me somewhat pleased to hear that."

Maō narrowed her eyes, there was no real hostility coming from neither of them, but she still said with a dry tone, "Really now… and why is that?"

The Fifth Hokage didn't even flinched as she shrugged nonchalantly, replying honestly, "Because, you still are the legendary Nine-Tailed Fox…" The redhead closed her eyes, "I trust Kushina's judgment and so far you have kept your word…" Tsunade rested her elbows on the table, her chin on her fist as she added, "And I can see that you genuinely care for my daughter… and Naruto…" Maō caught the intrigue in that specific name, an intrigue the redhead was sure Tsunade will inquire about in a moment, "But still, you can't fault me for being cautious."

"I guess not…" The vixen replied with a tired whisper, once again leaning back on her seat before she focused solely on the buxom leader and asked, as politely as she could, "But putting all that aside for now, to what do I owe your visit, Lady Fifth?"

Tsunade prepared herself, she didn't wanted to rile the powerful being or cause any reason that may change the fox's mind regarding her promise to Kushina. But ultimately, the legendary Sannin chose to simply be honest, as she had a feeling that the woman was somewhat like Naruto, in that she could easily detect lies and manipulations, thus, the busty blonde spoke, "I have your papers right here…" She showed a folder, adding, "Your new identity, a short background and your status as an official citizen of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the Land of Fire."

"But…" Maō trailed, knowing well that there was no need for the leader of the village herself to come all over to the Hidden Oak just to deliver the documents, rather, she was surely here to interrogate her in a more relaxed scene.

"But…" Tsunade nodded, continuing after a brief pause, "Before I give these to you, there a couple of questions I have…" Tsunade narrowed her eyes, showing that she was dead serious as she said, "And I want the full honest answers, I'm not here to judge your past or your actions from before you were sealed, but I have to be absolutely sure that you are not a threat to my village, my daughter and godson specially."

Maō sighed, crossing her arms below her bust, giving it to the Hokage as she whispered, "Fair enough…" The redhead then inhaled, preparing for the interrogation before she spoke again, "What is it that you want to know?"

There were most definitely thousands of questions the medic-nin had for such an old and legendary creature as the Nine-Tailed Fox, but Tsunade knew that she couldn't really go too deep without risking earning a negative reaction from the vixen, thus, she thought of a set of crucial questions, wording the first one out, "Alright… why are you friendly to Kushina?" Tsunade's brown eyes were locked on her blues, ready for any sign of deceit.

The chakra being sighed before she replied, eyes locked to her counterpart's, "Throughout my life, there have only been very few times were I was treated as a living creature rather than a weapon…" Maō couldn't deny that she felt a slight pain in her heart as she recalled her life, "One when I was created and my father still lived…" She said after the pause, adding then, "After that, it was centuries of fighting against your kind, until your founder imprisoned me in his wife…" Tsunade nodded, listening as the redhead continued, "My first jail wasn't really bad, barely even talked to the woman at all… but it was Kushina who first treated me like my father used to…" She smiled a little, looking at the side as she thought of her friendship with the fiery Uzumaki, "It was rough at the start, both of our personalities are similar and obviously, that made us clash constantly…" She looked back at the Senju, continuing, "But she was genuinely the first one to not use my power, to grow strong on her own and I came to respect that… I guess it all started from there."

Tsunade was most definitely intrigued, the woman once known as the Nine Tails, was acting as a real human being, a person with a painful past that slowly managed to overcome it and it's now in the process of healing, moving on, "You said 'father'…" Though, she was also quite surprised, Tsunade never even considered the Tailed Beasts to have someone they called 'Father', "I never thought you had a father."

Maō closed her eyes as she sighed, leaning back on her seat. For a moment there, she considered shutting down the course of the conversation, as she didn't really felt compliant enough to relieve such information to someone she barely knew. But, she gave in as she knew she had to be in the good grace of the Hokage, otherwise she would be risking her stay in the Leaf, and thus, her proximity with her best friend and knucklehead, 'The things you make me do, Naruto…' She though with a small chuckle.

The redhead then focused back on Tsunade to reply her inquiry, "Not too surprising, your kind has never bothered to understand us…" Tsunade frowned, conceding the point, though the blonde was surprised when Maō also added, "But I guess, neither of us gave you a reason to in the first place, we attacked you at first sight, and you reciprocated the action, so I guess we're both to blame…" The redhead then sighed, going back to the original question, "But to answer your question, yes, we had a father of sorts, the man who created us as we are."

"May I know who he was?" Tsunade asked tentatively, greatly intrigued. She had a thought in mind, a possibility that at the moment seemed too out of this world, but she could only think of one man capable of creating such powerful creatures, a man set in the stones of time and history.

"The same man you're thinking of right now…" Maō replied with a small teasing smile, clarifying to avoid any confusion, "The Sage of Six Paths."

"Amazing…" Tsunade said, genuinely surprised. The Sage was such a gigantic figure in their history, essentially the God to all shinobi, a man said to have fought the dreaded Apocalypse Beast at the beginnings of humanity, creating the continents in the process due to their gargantuan fight, "He's real then."

Maō chuckled, nodding as she mumbled, "Indeed he was, he was the man responsible for your Ninshū, the father to all shinobi."

Tsunade wanted to probe further into the subject, but it was easy to see that the vixen was not comfortable with the theme, thus, Tsunade decided to respect her privacy, for now at least, in order to say, "Okay then, onto the next question…" Tsunade fixed her posture before she asked, "Why stay here? You could walk away, find a new life away from humans, but yet here you are, in one of the biggest cities in the continent, the very place that imprisoned you…" Tsunade crossed her arms as she stared at the vixen, "So, why stay?"

'Wonder what you'd say if I told you it is because Naruto's here…' Maō chuckled, shaking her head as she added in thought, 'Having a hard time digesting it myself…' It was most definitely such a strange sensation for the woman once named Kurama to feel such an attachment to a man, a romantic one at that, one that kept her in a place regardless of how uncomfortable you might feel.

But knowing that she couldn't say any of that, since as far as Tsunade knows, the vixen hasn't really had any contact with the next God of End, the redhead had to say something else instead, "I won't tell you that the anger I have towards your kind has faded, even with Kushina's friendship, I've went through much in my life to simply forget it during my stay in Kushina…" Tsunade nodded, understanding, "But…" She hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she should reveal something she hadn't even revealed to Naruto yet.

"But?" Tsunade leaned on, intrigued, sensing the discomfort. There was also something that genuinely threw the Senju off guard, genuine fear.

"What…" Maō struggled, but at the end of the day, her love for Naruto was enough to make her give in and request for help, knowing that she won't be able to grow her strength to protect Naruto against his grandfather, if she didn't have the Hokage as an ally, "What I'm about to tell you, stays between you and me…" Tsunade felt troubled, more so when Maō released some of her aura to prove her seriousness as she added with cold dead eyes, "Naruto and Kushina cannot know about this, especially Naruto."

That set off some alarms in Tsunade's head, enough to make her a little nervous as she replied, "I understand."

Maō stared at the Hokage for a moment before she took a deep sigh, biting her lip before she mumbled, "Is about Naruto…" At the distance, she could feel the darkness of her one true horror, the only creature that has ever instilled any sense of despair in her heart, "And his true lineage…"

Tsunade felt a certain chill in her skin that never in her life she's felt before.

"So…" Shizuku uttered as she continued jumping from branch to branch, following the jinchūriki of the Twelve-Winged Dragon closely behind, "This 'Sakuya' lady…" Naruto turned to look at the brunette over his shoulder, listening as the Uzumaki female added with a tinge of something, "Is she one of your… 'ladies'?" She still couldn't really come to terms with the world she got thrown in.

Naruto chuckled, his eyes going back to the front before he answered, "Not really…" He sighed, remembering the Madame of Sun Village's brothel, the woman he had told to try and move on. He didn't really know what to expect once he sees her again, he hadn't talked to her ever since his mission in Sun and thus, has no idea whether she moved on or is still waiting for him as he promised a year and a half ago, "She was interested… but at the time I…" He stopped for a moment to be able to say more calmly, "At the time, I hadn't made love to Ayame, my first lover…" Shizuku landed next to him, listening as he added after a sigh, "Also, I was still really coming to understand what I'm doing, the full extent of it…" He focused back on the brunette, finishing, "And so, I didn't really felt confident to protect her at the time."

Shizuku nodded, biting her lip while she asked, "What's you not making… umm… love… to Ayame got to do with anything?"

Naruto chuckled, leaning against the tree trunk as he replied her inquiry, "Well, Sakuya wanted me to make love to her…" He paused for a moment, "But I had promised to Ayame, who was the very first woman that supported me from the beginning, that no matter who I convince to join us, she was going to be my first and me hers…" Shizuku's eyes widened a little at that, finding his reasoning quite chivalrous, "I promised Ayame my virginity and I wasn't gonna let her down." Naruto smiled at Shizuku then.

The brunette couldn't help but feel charmed by that smile and action, she could tell he wasn't lying and the fact that he had kept his word despite the fact that he was so young and an older woman was willing to bed him, it was indeed something quite rare, akin to those love stories she'd read in her childhood.

Before anything else could be said however, there was a sound not too far from them that drew their attention, both ninja putting their guards up as they crouched, eyes narrowed at the origin of the sound.

Something akin to growls were slowly getting louder as they felt a weak signature approaching their location, apparently belonging to a civilian.

"Ow…" Shortly after, an old man appeared from within the foliage, his travelling clothes tattered, some stains of blood coating them as he limped towards the nearest tree where he could rest for a moment and catch his breath.

Sensing no threat from the man, Naruto and Shizuku jumped down to meet the man, who was easily startled by the sudden appearance of the two ninja, backing away, afraid of them.

"Whoa whoa…" Naruto said as he waved his hands, trying to ease the man's worry, Shizuku at his side, looking as calm as she could, "We ain't here to hurt ya, mah dude…" He and his companion relaxed as the man seemed to be okay now, adding, "We were travelling when we suddenly found ya limping, just wanted to check out if you were aight."

The man seemed relived after hearing them, resting his back on the trunk again to take a breath. The man was wearing a travelling merchant's attire, his dishevelled hair was somewhat similar to Naruto's, though grizzly, a statement of his age. His eyes though, were a vibrant blue, his skin white and still quite smooth, few wrinkles staining it. Though the clear bruised state of the man along with the lack of items for sale, told the two ninja that he was probably robbed pretty recently.

"Thank the Maker…" The man wheezed out, taking some moments to compose himself before he added, "I was afraid you were part of those… brutes… and had decided to come back and finish the job."

Once being in the clear to help the man, Naruto and Shizuku approached him, with the silver-haired boy crouching and after a nod from the injured man, he began applying some of the healing jutsus he knew, saying as he did so, "So you were robbed."

The man opened his eyes, nodding while he replied, "Indeed, young man…" He painfully pointed towards the east, adding after, "Mere minutes ago, a bunch of savages ambushed me…" He sighed, clearly affected as he concluded with a whisper, "Took all of my stuff and left me to die…"

Shizuku frowned, commenting as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, it'll be okay." She smiled at him then, trying to cheer him up as best as she could.

Naruto added as he finished healing him, "Yeah old man! I can go and take care of those fools right now!"

Before the young man could do his word, the old man chuckled, already feeling better thanks to his healing jutsu, shaking his head as he said with a small smile, "It's okay, young man, it's not worth the hassle…" He inhaled, adding with a grateful smile, "But I thank you for the offer."

Naruto sighed, crossing his arms and with an eyebrow raised, he asked, "Ya sure?…" He smirked fiercely then, adding gleefully, "I'll have ya know, I thoroughly enjoy kicking ass."

The man chuckled, saying, "I don't doubt that…" He thanked Shizuku as she helped him up, still resting on the trunk before he inhaled and continued, "Instead, I would appreciate if you could help me get to Sun Village, I…" He winced as he tried to walk, chuckling bitterly before he added, "I still c-can't quite move on my own."

Naruto smiled, saying, "We're actually heading there, grandpa!…" He was a little confused by the strange glint that suddenly appeared in the man's eyes, but the jinchūriki ignored such thing to continue speaking, "So dontcha worry 'bout that! We got ya!" Shizuku just smiled beside him.

The man bowed, as best as he could with his still fresh injuries, and thanked the two ninja, "Thank you, is good to see the youth willing to help an old man."

And with that, the old man threw his arm around Naruto's shoulder, eeping when the young man threw his entire body on his back instead. Smirking and with a nod to the female who smiled back, the two ninja and injured merchant resumed their trek towards Sun Village, an eager smile on Naruto's face, wishing to see Sakuya again.

Ddraig didn't reciprocated the smile though, in fact, he could barely contain himself at the moment.

"Damn…" Naruto uttered as they finally reached Sun Village, a wave of nostalgia washing over the silverette as he remembered how he met Akeno for the first time, smiling slightly when he whispered, "Good to be back."

Shizuku looked at him while the man on his back smiled as well, taking in the air of Sun as he commented, "I get your feeling, young man…" He eyed the ninja to add, "It's been a while since I've come to trade here."

"Where are you from, Mr…" Shizuku was asking before she trailed off, just now realizing they hadn't even introduced themselves yet.

"Oh dear, we haven't even introduced ourselves… ufufu…" The man chuckled, with Naruto and Shizuku chuckling as well before the man added, "My name is Riz, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Naruto and Shizuku bowed, with the brunette taking the time to introduce herself and her companion, "M-My name is Shizuku and he is Naruto…" She bowed as she walked, adding, "A pleasure to meet you as well." Naruto had been pushing her to be more outgoing in order to tackle her social ineptness, thus, the jinchūriki had warned her that he was going to let her do the talk occasionally, just so that she could work on those social skills of hers. She was still quite nervous, but she took it as just another test to overcome, using that fire that characterised all Uzumaki to prevail and be better.

Naruto rewarded her with a small smile that caused some tingling in her belly.

"Ah how wonderful…" The man said with a smile, adding after a grunt, "Now, answering your question, dear…" He focused on the beautiful brunette, saying once their eyes met, "I am from the Wind Capital."

Naruto whistled, saying, "Damn old man! That's really far!…" He eyed the old man in question as he continued their trek towards the hospital, adding a query, "You must have been on the road for a while, nah?"

The grizzly-haired man chuckled, nodding as he replied with a really tired tone, "Of that, you can be sure, young one…" He groaned, fixing his posture, Naruto allowing him to get off his back and once the man threw his arm around Naruto's neck, they resumed their walk as he added, "Three months to be precise."

"You still had many places to go?" Shizuku asked with a small frown, feeling it for the old man. Poor bastard had been stripped of all of his wares, she couldn't imagine what he must be feeling with losing it all after such a long and tiring travel.

The man smiled, answering, "Not really, this was actually my last stop before going back…" He sighed as he looked at the front, adding with a whisper, "I'm just gonna have to explain to Hiro why his stuff's gone… ufufu…" Shizuku was somewhat taken aback when the man laughed and scratched his scruff sheepishly, specifically because for a moment there, he looked exactly like Naruto.

"Well then, this is the hospital…" Naruto then said after some moments of more walking, now in front of the medical centre of the village, turning to face the man to add, "We're going to be in the village for a few days, so if you ever come around and want me to search for them thieves, you just let us know, aight!?" He flexed on the old man.

Riz chuckled, amused by Naruto's behaviour, replying, "I'll be sure to consider that, if not to at least repay you once I feel better."

Naruto and Shizuku just shook their heads in synchrony, with the silverette saying, "There's no need, mah man! We tight."

Riz just chuckled, muttering, "What a funny way of speaking you have…" He then bowed gratefully, stating, "But please, do let me repay you some way…" Before the two ninja could refuse again, he simply turned around and said with a cheerful tone, "I'll look for you once I'm better! Good luck!"

"What a strange man…" Shizuku whispered once the man limped into the hospital, tilting her head as she looked at her companion.

"Tell me 'bout it…" Naruto said as he sighed, turning to face the woman to add with a grin, "But anyways… we gotta job to do, so let's go!"

Shizuku nodded and with that, the two ninja continued their way towards the 'Red Lantern'.

As they walked through the streets, Shizuku found herself perplexed by the amount of people that were constantly saluting the silver-haired boy she was travelling with, with the young man in question paying them back with a small wave and a grateful smile, nodding at those he could while he purposely sped up the pace, knowing that Shizuku would feel nervous being surrounded by a big crowd.

"I-I see you're q-quite famous here…" Shizuku whispered, subconsciously gripping Naruto's coat while she stepped a little closer to him, her anxiety appearing as the crowd seemed to recognise the Leaf ninja more and more.

Naruto smiled bitterly at that, replying, "Yeah, these people were quite frightened by the…" He frowned, "Raven Witch…" He despised that nickname, but for the sake of the citizens, he had to keep up the charade, "So they were very grateful when I… took care of the problem."

"O-Oh…" Shizuku whispered, knowing about the truth of his mission here, as he had spent all of their free time telling her about his life and some of the occurrences in it. Still unaware of her hand holding his jacket.

Since Naruto had fastened their pace, they managed to arrive to Sakuya's brothel quicker than expected, Naruto wanting to get out of the streets so that Shizuku could take a breather from such large crowd. The only other place filled with people she's been was Moon, but she barely walked outside of the castle and spent most of her time talking to Rosalia or Piña, so this was essentially her first time in the streets of a town with thousands of citizens.

"Welcome to the Red Lant…" A feminine voice drew Shizuku's attention back to the real world, her eyes travelling to the origin, finding a beautiful young lady acting as receptionist of the place she knew served to sell pleasure to travellers. The receptionist however, lost her voice when her eyes settled on the Leaf ninja, widening and saying with a blush, "L-Lord Namikaze! It is s-such a pleasure to see you again, Hero of Sun!" She was most definitely starstruck.

'Damn… what's with all these 'Hero of this and that' shit…' Naruto thought with an awkward smile, scratching his scruff sheepishly, still somewhat embarrassed by his own fame, "Hehe… c-come on now… there's no need for so much…"

Before the receptionist could say anything else however, there was a voice that interrupted the scene, belonging to the woman Naruto's been wanting to see after almost two years of his last visit.

"Airi, what's the commotion…" None other than the Madame herself, Sakuya, suddenly entered Naruto's field of vision, the woman's mouth parting as she saw the young man that months ago had stolen her breath, whispering almost unbelievably, "N-Naruto… i-is it… you?"

Naruto smiled widely at that, happy to see the beautiful middle-aged woman again, replying to her question, "Of course it's me, Saku!…" The woman smiled widely at the nickname, with the silverette adding, "It's so good to see ya again!"

Sakuya wanted to jump at the man, stating with a wide smile, "I-It's so good to see you again too! It's been so…" She trailed off, her happiness falling like a decaying building when she finally noticed the female beside Naruto, the pretty brunette still grabbing his coat, very close to him, breaking Sakuya's heart in a fell swoop, the woman barely able to whisper out, "l-long…"

Even Shizuku could tell that something shifted so suddenly in the Madame, but neither the receptionist nor the Uzumaki female could understand what had happened.

Naruto did though, and he cursed himself silently.

"I a-assume Lord Jiraiya sent you for my request?" Having nothing else to say right now, least she risks breaking down in tears, Sakuya did her best to muster a friendly smile, her mind now coming to a conclusion for why the boy hadn't come back in the past year and a half, thus, she just wanted to deal with this quickly so she could move on.

Sighing, berating himself for not thinking on at least send a couple of letters to the beautiful Madame, Naruto decided to put the issue aside for a moment in order to focus on the mission that brought him here, "Yeah, he said that you were having some trouble lately."

Smiling a little bitterly, Sakuya nodded, replying, "Indeed, but I think we should discuss this in my office…" The two ninja nodded, with Shizuku finally letting go of the boy, the owner of the brothel biting her lip as she turned around and once she began walking, said, "Please, follow me."

The trio walked into the brothel, some of the girls and patrons immediately recognising the jinchūriki, waving at him with cheerful smiles, Naruto returning the acknowledgment with a couple of nods.

After some moments of walking, Sakuya lead the pair to what Naruto remembered was her bedroom, though as he entered, he could see that she had adapted the room to fit a small office in, separating her bedroom with a smooth velvet curtain.

As she sat on her desk, she gestured to the couch in front of her, saying, "Please, do sit down…" The pair did as told and once the two sat, she turned around to a small cabinet beside her desk, filled with bottles of various alcohol, "Do you wish anything?"

Shizuku shook her head, saying, "N-No thanks." She's had an experience with sake before, and that one time was enough for her to know that drinking was not her thing.

Naruto however, was about to say something when Sakuya gave him a slight melancholic smile as she guessed, "Whisky?…" Naruto scratched his nape, chuckling sheepishly. Sakuya then proceeded to serve him the same whisky she had served him the day they met, handing him the glass as she whispered softly, "Of course…"

Naruto took the glass with a grateful nod, taking a sip of the dizzying beverage, moaning as the hot liquid travelled through his throat, "So…" He began saying once he finished his drink, adding, eyes locked at the woman, "What's happening here?"

Sakuya bit her lip, frustrated that seeing his blues again still caused those butterflies she actually loved. But focusing on the topic, she sighed and as she crossed her arms below her bust, replied, "Well, to put it simply…" She rested on the desk, "There have been some disappearances lately."

Naruto nodded, having already heard as much from his godfather, scratching his chin as he mumbled, "I read as much from your letter…" He eyed her again to ask, "I take it they were all your girls?"

Sakuya however, confused him when she shook her head, explaining, "At the beginning, yes…" She massaged her neck, "Two of my girls went missing two months ago, so we all thought that there was someone, or a group even, kidnapping women for human trafficking…" The two ninja nodded, listening as the greenette continued, "But then, five weeks ago, a man went missing as well, young, relative to the girls' age…" She looked back at the young man before her, concluding, "During this past month, there have been four more disappearances, the daughter of one of the main merchants here, one of the Leaf ninja stationed in Sun, an adventurer and just four days ago, another of my girls."

Naruto nodded, with Shizuku remaining silent as she didn't really had a clue on how to act on this kind moments, she was essentially a rookie in training. Thus, Naruto was the one that hummed in thought, remaining pensive for some moments until he finally asked, "Were they all around the same age?"

Sakuya nodded, replying, "Indeed, all of them between the ages of twenty and twenty three."

"I see…" He nodded, commenting after a pause, "It still sounds a little bit like human trafficking, but the fact that so many people have disappeared in such a small window of time, puts a damper on that theory, it's too risky on their part…" He leaned back, greatly intrigued by the case, "More so when even a Leaf chūnin was taken as well."

Sakuya nodded, uttering, "Lord Jiraiya told us as much, he argued that there was something more… sinister… going on."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, thinking, 'A cult perhaps?… a serial killer?…' The options were simply too many at the moment, he needed to filter the theories by gathering evidence, "Are you privy of the personal lives of the girls that worked for you? Something that you can tell me to begin investigating."

Sakuya shook her head with a small frown, answering, "We talked once in a while, but I try to stay away from my employees' private lives…" She bit her lip, thinking on a solution, "You can have more luck asking the other girls, they've been working together for a while so they all know each other quite well, if there is someone who could tell you something about the missing girls, is one of them."

Naruto nodded, whispering, "Aight…" He sighed and then added, "I guess I'm also gonna have to talk to the merchant, the chūnin's teammate and whoever had contact with the adventurer for further clues."

Sakuya tilted her head, placing a finger on her lip as she said, "Mmm… there is an Adventurer's Guild here in Sun…" She looked at the male, adding, "You can gather information there about him for sure."

Naruto nodded, turning to look at Shizuku to say, "Alright then, Zuku…" The brunette replied with a stuttered 'yes', prompting the silverette to add, "Why don't you go and ask the girls downstairs about the missing women? You and I can head to the others later."

Shizuku felt nervous, as it would be the first time she interacted with someone on her own, without Naruto being there with her, "M-Me?…"

Naruto found Shizuku extremely cute when she showed such shyness, but knowing that Sakuya was intently watching him, he said with a comforting tone, "Come on now, Zuku, you can do it!…" Shizuku looked at him, the boy adding, "All you gotta do, is approach them and ask for details about the missing gals, there's something I have to talk about with Sakuya…" Sakuya's eyes widened, her belly tightening at those words, "So do your best, alright? I won't be long."

Shizuku kind of wanted to stay and see how Naruto moved on the woman, but she could understand that Sakuya seemed to be somewhat put off by her presence, so gathering courage, she nodded, stating with a shaky smile, "A-Alright… I-I'll do my best!"

Naruto just chuckled as the brunette stood up and bowed at Sakuya, the Madame smiling at her, both looking at the Uzumaki as she left the room, leaving the two behind in an awkward silence.

"Umm…" Sakuya mumbled, her demeanour now nervous, looking down at the floor while gently biting her lip, fiddling her fingers as she added with a slightly loud whisper, "Y-You don't have to e-explain anything to me…" She mustered courage to look at him then, smiling slightly, unable to hide the sadness but still saying, "I understand t-that… things happen…"

Naruto sighed, standing up from the couch and walking towards the woman, who shrunk as he stood before her. The silverette the cupped her cheek gently, brushing her cheekbones with his thumb as he asked with a husky whisper, "What are you talking about, Saku?"

The woman continued biting her lip, looking aside to avoid those beautiful blue eyes of his as she whispered back, "You said y-you'd come back in a year or so…" Naruto sighed, disappointed in himself, "That was a-almost two years ago…" She suddenly got a rush of anger that forced her to look at him straight in the eye, grabbing his coat, her grip tight and angry, adding in between gritted teeth, "You didn't even sent me a l-letter! I knew you w-were just like ev…"

Her eyes went wide and body stiff however, when she was silenced by a ferocious kiss that despite her earlier protests, she soon found herself holding him close, reciprocating the hungry contact in kind.

"I know…" Naruto whispered once they broke the lip-lock, still caressing her cheek as she looked aside, blushing, "And I don't have excuses for that… or…" He scratched his nape, "I do but…"

"But?" She whispered, her eyes looking down at Naruto's chest.

Naruto sighed deeply then, stepping back a little before he went back to the couch and sat, Sakuya now looking at him as he grabbed the glass of alcohol and drank it full in a sip, groaning before he said, "I need to know first, if you're still wishing for something with me… something strong, not just physical."

Sakuya's eyes widened a little, looking down at the ground as she blushed again, her heartbeats increasing like crazy as she took a moment to compose herself, "Y-Yes…" She finally said after a couple of silent moments, taking a deep breath before she looked at him straight in the eye and continued, "I d-did tried to… you know… meet other men…" Naruto nodded, prompting her to continue, "But none made me feel like… like you… I…" She sighed, looking at her fiddling fingers as she concluded with a husky whisper, "I d-don't know why but… I… I think I fell in love… with you…" He could see that it frustrated her, "Just like that…"

Another moment he could add to his 'asshole moments' book. Back then, Naruto wasn't capable of fully controlling his own attraction, he was ill-used to being around kunoichi, who because of their training and chakra, were capable of resist him on a regular basis, unless he actively targeted them, they usually only saw him as a really handsome young man. But with civilian women it was an entirely different talk. Because they were usually just simple humans with no training, barely carrying any reserves of chakra, just enough to survive, but they weren't accustomed to protect their bodies against hidden threats.

Thus, when Sakuya was subjected to his full presence, as a woman who's never really had any experience with men, despite being the Madame of a brothel, she was more susceptible to her natural instincts that urged her to mate with the strongest male present, instincts awoken by his own draconic divinity.

But now, all he could do was mend those wrongs and thus, he focused on her to say, "Then, if you truly want that and also want to know why I hadn't come or write you, take a sit and serve yourself enough alcohol, 'cause I'm about to tell you one heck of a story…"

Sakuya could feel the seriousness in the boy's voice, earning a small nervous nod from her and with a tiny gulp, she walked towards her cabinet, grabbed the whole bottle of her favourite wine and walked towards the couch, sitting right next to Naruto and preparing herself for the tale that was about to come, one that she had no idea how immensely would impact her whole life.

"Sigh…" He sighed deeply once he sat on the stool, leaning against the bar, eyes closed, massaging his temple as his mind replayed the tense meeting he just had with Sakuya, who was at the other end of the brothel, carrying her regular Madame face, but the silverette and those who knew her well, could tell something was bothering her, Naruto knowing exactly what that something was, "Dammit… could've gone worse, I guess." He whispered to himself, exasperated.

Putting the disaster aside for now, Naruto sensed a female approaching him, said female being his companion Shizuku, who sensing his mood, closed in on him with a timid step, saying with a whisper, "Umm… are you okay, N-Naruto?" She could tell by the connection she shared with him, that he was troubled and actually sad. Also, a look at the Madame told her that Sakuya felt down as well. Their meeting probably went wrong.

Naruto sighed deeply again, looking at Sakuya who sensed his eyes, thus, she turned aside to avoid the stare, biting her lip, eliciting a small frown from the jinchūriki who replied after a moment of silence, "No, but there's little to nothing I can do right now anyway…" Shizuku was genuinely surprised with how much it saddened Naruto, whatever it is that happened between him and Sakuya seemed to put the silverette in an off mood, "But we gotta job to do, so…" He then added, shaking his head to put his worries aside for now, focusing on the brunette to ask, "What could you gather?"

"Okay…" Shizuku whispered, uncertain but complying, not saying anything of how it made her a little happy to see that he was genuinely affected by being rejected as she believed he did, it told her that at least right now, he respected Sakuya's decision, whichever that might've been. But going back to the matter at hand, she shook her thoughts and focused, relying everything she managed to gather from the call-girls in the brothel, "W-Well… ahem…" Naruto found her 'all-business' change quite endearing, but knowing that she was already struggling enough, he kept silent, listening as she continued, "For w-what I could gather, none of the three girls who worked here appeared to have issues with someone…" She sighed and sat next to her companion, "The three spent most of their time here, no family in the town, just friends, most of them within the Red Lantern…" She looked at the other girls, working, the patrons smiling as they chatted with the prostitutes, unaware of the grim conversation, "The only out of character behaviour they all seemed to share, was that they started talking about dating."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, seemingly consolidating a first clue, "A lover?"

Shizuku shrugged, looking at him as she explained, "None could tell, they all said that the women seemed to be talking about seeing someone outside of work…" She sighed, crossing her arms before she continued, "The weird thing though, is that one of them was apparently dating a woman, not a man… so…" She trailed off.

"That rules out a single person then…" Naruto muttered, scratching his chin, intrigued by the information, "We could be dealing with a group… but to what end?"

Shizuku bit her lip, looking down at the ground before she sighed and added, "I really don't know… I'm no detective…"

Naruto looked at her and chuckled, patting her head as he said, "You're doing excellent so far, Zuku, don't feel down…" Shizuku did smiled slightly, a light blush on her cheeks for the praise, listening as the silverette continued, now serious, "But this is almost nothing… we have a connection between them all, which is that apparently they were all seeing someone outside of work, but beyond that… damn…" He frowned, frustrated at his current impasse.

"L-Lord Namikaze…" A feminine voice was suddenly heard from behind them, right inside the bar, earning both of the ninja's attention, seeing a pretty black-haired girl wearing a bartending attire, biting her lip as she continued, somewhat timidly, "I-I'm sorry but… I couldn't help but listen to your conversation and…"

Seeing her struggling, Naruto turned to face her and placed a comforting hand atop of hers, smiling at her while using his pheromones to ease the woman's nerves, urging her to continue, sensing that she had something important to tell him, "Please, if you know anything about the case, I would be immensely grateful to you."

The girl stared at those beautiful blues of him, feeling strangely calm under his presence, smiling with a small blush, looking down and nodding when she stated with a whisper, "I do… actually…" She took a deep breath then, gathering courage to look up again and say, "The thing is… I… umm… I knew Chika…" Naruto nodded, recognising the name of one of the missing girls, "K-Knew her very… umm… you know…" She blushed, looking aside to avoid embarrassment, "W-Well…"

Naruto had to stifle his chuckle when he saw Shizuku's clueless expression, innocent to what the bartender was implying. But returning to the main subject, he leaned on and said, "I understand, you were lovers, right?"

Shizuku's expression further embarrassed the bartender who just nodded dumbly, whispering, "Yes…" She sighed, sadness reaching her as she continued, "We didn't had anything really serious, we were just… t-trying…" Looking at the silverette, she found strength in his presence so kept saying, now more composed, "We were seeing each other for over six months now, but were never really… exclusive, if you know what I mean…" Naruto nodded, Shizuku still dazed by the talk, "So I wasn't too surprised when Chika began to show signs of seeing someone else."

Naruto nodded, asking with a soft tone, "Do you happen to know anything about the man or woman she was seeing?"

She shook her head, saying, "We never discussed those things… usually when one of us found themselves another partner, we just expressed it to the other but spared all details…" Naruto nodded, prompting her to speak after a brief pause, "But, there was something only I noticed."

"Which is?" Naruto asked, intrigued.

"She looked thinner…" The bartender said, forcing Naruto to narrow his eyes as she continued saying, "And paler, not by much… but I could definitely tell because… u-umm…" She blushed then, not wanting to be open with such intimate details to someone she didn't know well.

Naruto smiled a little, patting her hand, calming her nerves again with his pheromones as he uttered, "I understand…" Once the girl looked at him again, he asked, "Did you noticed those same details on the other two girls?"

She tilted her head, recalling the last time she saw the other two missing ladies, "Actually… I couldn't tell you with full certainty but…" She looked at him again, "I do believe they seemed thinner and paler, also, they seemed to run out of energy faster than before."

'Alright, this ain't no normal kidnapping…' Naruto thought to himself, his eyes lost in the bottles of liquor at the back of the bar, massaging his chin. It took a moment of silence for the jinchūriki to focus on the bartender again and say with a charming smile, "Thank you for telling me this, milady…" He kissed her hand, earning a cute blush from her, "I promise you, I'll do my best to figure out what happened to Chika and the others, if need be, I will deliver justice."

The female server smiled and bowed gratefully, saying, "Thank you so m-much, Lord Namikaze… you are really a gift from the heavens to this community."

Naruto just smiled and bid farewell to the girl as he stood from the stool, Shizuku copying the action and once the jinchūriki walked away, she asked as she followed, "What now?"

"It's clear that we're dealing with something other than just someone kidnapping random people, there's indeed something more… sinister behind this…" He looked at her over his shoulder, adding with a grim smile, "But right now, we need to focus on interviewing the people close to the other three missing persons."

Shizuku just nodded, her honey-coloured eyes now falling to the woman standing beside the exit door, Sakuya, who the moment she saw Naruto approaching, looked down, avoiding eye contact with the male while she squirmed, silent. She could feel tension coming from the two.

Naruto sighed deeply, looking at Sakuya with a saddened expression before he whispered once he stood next to her, "I'll solve this, Sakuya, I promise."

Shizuku was surprised that with those words, Naruto continued walking and exited the room, the Uzumaki female gulping as she followed, whispering a shy, "E-Excuse me." And with that, she exited the brothel as well, falling into step with the jinchūriki who didn't looked back.

Sakuya for her part, managed to control her tears while still looking down, unable to stop the small smile that reminded her belief in the man, whispering to the air, "Thank you… Naruto…"

"Alright then…" Naruto began uttering as he walked through the streets of Sun Village, Shizuku closely next to him, still nervous at all the attention they were getting. But the jinchūriki was proud of the brunette that was not shying away and was doing her best to endure, she needed to get out of that shell and she knew it, and so far, she was doing just great, "We gotta interview the merchant about his daughter, the Leaf-nin's partner and go to the Adventurer's Guild to ask about the other victim."

"A-And how are we dealing with the parents?…" Shizuku suddenly said, earning Naruto's attention to hear her add, "I mean, I imagine is something completely different to talk about a missing person when it's the parents, instead of the boss."

Naruto sighed as he nodded, cracking his neck before he replied, "And you assume right…" He looked around, trying to find the store that belonged to the girl's parents, adding as the two ninja walked, "In these cases, you have to be very careful with what you say…" He focused on the Uzumaki then, who was looking at him as he continued explaining, "You need to make sure to not get their hopes up, never promise anything other than doing your best to find their loved one, anything other than that is just a big mistake… especially if you promise to bring the person back."

Shizuku nodded, looking down at the ground, gently biting her lip as she asked with a whisper, "Do you… do you think she's dead?… all of them?"

Naruto sighed, genuinely wanting to say that he believed they were, if maybe just to not throw Shizuku into the dark world of the shinobi so suddenly. But she needed to, if she wanted to accompany him on his journey, she needed to be prepared to the terrors they will face as they go, thus, he looked at her and replied with a grim look, "It's the more likely scenario at this point…" Shizuku winced, nodding as the silverette continued, now looking forward, "We're talking about weeks now, and about a series of disappearances, I highly doubt we're dealing with a ring of human traffickers, my guess is either a cult or a serial killer."

"I see…" Shizuku whispered, keeping the victims in her prayers as she focused her mind back on the task.

Finally, the pair reached a small store that matched the name Sakuya had given them, both ninja taking a deep breath before they walked towards the closed door, with Naruto whispering to Shizuku before he knocked, "Remember, don't say anything about their chances, if they ask you anything, keep it as vague as possible, no promises."

Shizuku gulped but nodded, mustering her best calm façade and observing as Naruto turned towards the door and knocked a couple of times.

The pair remained standing outside for some moments, the two considering that perhaps, there was no one home as they waited for almost two minutes for a response. But just before the Leaf ninja was about to knock again, the door was slowly opened, the face of a middle-aged man appearing from behind it, his eyes tired and sorrowed, sadness increasing when he saw that his daughter was not the one behind the door.

"I-I'm sorry, but we are closed for the moment… I-I…" The man tried to politely ask them to leave, but was interrupted when the young man spoke.

"Mr Higuchi?…" Naruto slightly put his hand on the door to stop the man from closing it, adding once the man nodded at him, "My name is Naruto Namikaze, I'm a Leaf ninja sent to check on the recent disappearances the town has suffered."

The man's eyes widened as he immediately recognised the man, opening the door fully as he asked, "You a-are the ninja that killed the Raven Witch, right?"

Naruto winced at the nickname, but remained composed as he nodded with a small smile, replying, "Indeed, sir."

The man shook his head, looking at the woman accompanying the ninja before he stepped aside and urged them to come in, saying, "A-Apologies, please do come in…" He closed the door once the two ninja walked into the house, leading them to his living room, gesturing a couch as he said, "Please, take a sit… is there anything I can offer you?"

Naruto and Shizuku both shook their head with small polite smiles, with the Namikaze stating for the two, "No thank you, we would like to tackle the investigation as soon as possible."

As if remembering his daughter all of a sudden, the man sat in the lone couch in front of them, his eyes displaying the immense worry he had for his child as he asked, "Oh god… my beautiful Machi…" He couldn't hold back some of his tears, gripping his trousers tightly when he added, "I-It's been almost a month now since… s-since she…" He inhaled, trying to calm himself down to continue, now looking at the two ninja, "To be quite frank with you, Mr Namikaze, I… I h-have lost all hope…"

Naruto and Shizuku frowned, feeling it for the man. But the jinchūriki said, "I understand…" Once the man looked at him, he continued, "If it isn't much to ask, could you answer some questions for me?"

The man nodded, whispering defeated, "O-Of course."

Naruto took out a small notebook from his pocket along with a pen, looking at the merchant as he asked the first of his inquires, "Thank you… on the days prior to Machi's disappearance, did you or your wife happen to notice behaviour out of the ordinary from her?"

The man tilted his head, his eyes going down as he pondered on the young man's question. It took the merchant some moments to hum and narrow his eyes, as if remembering something, stating as much when he looked up, back to Naruto to say, "Now that you mention it, she did acted weirdly on the last few days she was here…" He looked at the side, still thinking of those days as he continued, "But I had chalked it up to just the mood swings of a young girl being in love."

Naruto and Shizuku narrowed their eyes, the first coincidence appearing, with the silverette asking, "Was she seeing someone?"

Mr Higuchi looked back at the ninja, nodding slightly while he said, though not one hundred percent convinced, "While I cannot assure you she was, because she always denied it, I do believe she was seeing someone…" He sighed, missing his daughter dearly, "She has never been rude or rebellious, always d-doing her chores, studying and being home at an early hour…" He bit his lip, "But on the days before she… disappeared… she had become less cooperative and spent more hours outside than in the house."

Naruto nodded, writing down all of the information the man was giving him, commenting after a brief moment of silence, "Do you know anything of the person she was seeing?"

The man frowned, shaking his head as he replied, "No… and neither does my wife…" He sighed, desperately adding with a whisper, "As I s-said… she refused to say anything to us… almost as if… as if s-she didn't trusted us anymore…"

Feeling that the man was nearing the end of his composure, Naruto smiled slightly as he reassured with a whisper, along with his divine presence to quell his sorrow if just a little bit, "I know this is hard for you, Mr Higuchi… but I only have two questions left…" The man nodded, wiping some of the tears that escaped his control, looking at Naruto again when he asked, "During those days, did you noticed if she looked unhealthy? Paler, thinner, weaker and so on."

The man tilted his head, nodding as he replied, "Actually, y-yes…" He took a moment to recollect his memories before he continued, "She looked paler and seemed to always be tired… like… I-I don't know how to explain it but she seemed… lost…"

'Drug addiction?… or some kind of mental manipulation perhaps?…' Naruto thought while writing down, slightly finding a pattern in all of this mess. When he turned back to the merchant, Naruto nodded and asked his final question, "And do you happen to have an idea of where your daughter hanged out? Mainly on those last days you saw her."

The man struggled to recoup his memories for a moment, but after a pause, he looked at Naruto, though his eyes were glassy, as if focusing on the past while he replied, "She never mentioned something specific… though, I h-heard her talk a few times about a lake and how much she enjoyed swimming in it…" He focused on the ninja before he looked down, whispering almost to himself, "But that makes no sense… there's no lake here in Sun."

Naruto though, kept the information as another big clue, sighing as he closed his notebook and looked to his side, to Shizuku, the female nodding with a small frown, understanding the message.

Thus, the two ninja sat up, the man looking at them as Naruto said with a gentle smile, "That's all the information we need to continue our investigation, Mr Higuchi, I thank you very much for helping us out."

The man stood up, groaning as he did so, grabbing Naruto's hand as he asked, with just a tiny bit of hope left in his heart, "Of course, Mr Namikaze… anything to find my baby girl… but… do you think… s-she's still…?"

Before he could say anything, Naruto placed his other hand on top of the man's, using his divinity to once again quell the sorrow from the man, stating with a comforting smile, "I cannot promise you anything, Mr Higuchi… but I assure you, I will do my best to find out what happened to your daughter and if need be…" He placed a hand on the merchant's shoulder to conclude strongly, "Deliver justice to the responsible."

The man still could understand that the chances of finding his daughter alive were pretty slim, but he couldn't destroy the last drop of hope he had, so he chose to nod with a grateful smile at the silverette, thanking him for doing his best to find his little girl, "I t-thank you, Mr Namikaze… regardless of how it ends, you have brought many blessing to our lives."

Naruto genuinely felt it for the man, he couldn't even imagine how he'd feel if Emi suddenly went missing. But putting such thoughts aside, he replied simply, "It is my joy and duty, Mr Higuchi."

With that, Naruto and Shizuku bid their farewells and left the merchant's home, walking away with a downed mood, product of talking to such a despaired man, "What's next?" Shizuku asked in an effort to keep them both focused.

Naruto took a deep sigh before he shook his head and faced the brunette Uzumaki, replying her question, "To the Leaf's outpost…" Shizuku nodded, listening as Naruto uttered while he made way to their next destination, "Let's see what the partner has to say…"

Naruto and Shizuku waltzed into the Leaf's outpost in Sun Village, a house that seemed to have been refurbished to accommodate a simple centre of operations in the outskirts of the town.

Currently inside, they could see four Leaf ninja, all of them preoccupied with various tasks. Thus, Naruto approached the woman he knew was the jōnin in charge, saying, "Yo."

The kunoichi looked to her side to face the newcomer, her eyes widening slightly as she recognised the jinchūriki of her village, bowing slightly in respect, action repeated by Naruto and Shizuku, before the woman greeted them, "Ah, Lord Namikaze, we've been waiting for you."

She urged them to sit on the visitor's couch inside her office, the woman walking right after them and once the two travelling ninja sat down, the jōnin rested her butt on the desk's surface, crossing her arms as she added, "I was surprised to receive the message from Lady Fifth detailing your mission here, though, knowing of your previous exploits in this town, I find it reasonable as well."

Naruto scratched his scruff, a little embarrassed by the respect the kunoichi was giving him, stating as much as he said, "Thank you and p-please, there's no need for formalities, Naruto is fine…" He chuckled a little bitterly then, muttering under his breath, "I'm technically still a genin…"

Chuckling a little at the boy's reaction, the female in charge smiled at the two, saying, "Then please, call me Kei…" Receiving smiles from the two, the Leaf jōnin continued after a brief sigh, "I take it you have interviewed the Madame and the Merchant?"

Naruto nodded, leaning back on the couch as he spoke, "Yeah, we gathered some clues that left me thinking that we are definitely not dealing with human trafficking…" The woman nodded at that statement, with the silverette adding his theories, "I think we're either dealing with a cult or a serial killer."

Kei sighed, cracking her neck as she uttered, "We arrived to similar conclusion…" She focused on the jinchūriki, adding with a frown, "Especially after Taichi disappeared as well."

Naruto and Shizuku frowned too, with the brunette female asking with a whisper, "W-Was that the name of the Leaf ninja who went missing?"

The woman nodded at her fellow female, sighing before she explained, "Taichi was a really talented chūnin, a couple of more missions and some months of waiting, and he would've been able to take the promotion test…" She looked through the window of her office, adding after a wistful sigh, "He would've made a fine jōnin, of that I'm sure."

Naruto and Shizuku remained silent for a moment, allowing the woman to recover herself before the draconic male inquired, "Could you point us towards his partner? I'd like to ask him or her some questions regarding Taichi's last known days."

Kei turned to look at her comrade, shaking her head as she explained, "I'm afraid you are confused, Naruto, we do not employ in partnerships during our stays in Sun…" Massaging her neck, she further elaborated, "What we do is work in a four cell team, a Commander, a chūnin and two genin, each make individual rounds around the village, but we're not supposed to go beyond the outskirts of Sun, and we're not allowed to meddle with internal affairs in the city, we're simply limited to ensure that no enemy shinobi tries to enter the town, being a hub of gambling usually attracts the wrong kind of people, but those are issues we leave to the local police…" She sighed, fixing her posture as she concluded, "The Samurai do something similar as well."

Naruto nodded at that, saying, "So you're saying that Taichi was on his own most of the time?"

"Indeed…" Kei then added, "Everyone besides me, usually stays from six to eight months, then goes back to the Leaf and a new ninja fills the vacant…" She bit her lip, adding after a pause, "Taichi had been in Sun for around two months before he went missing…" She focused back on her fellow shinobi, "So I doubt he had the chance to connect with anyone in more than just a casual way."

Naruto nodded, leaning forward, massaging his stubble, pondering on the information before he asked, "What about the local police?…" Focusing on the woman, he sneaked a personal question, "Isn't Captain Orimura on the case?" He had wanted to see Chifuyu again, since it's been a while he's heard from her, they have kept in touch through letters, but his own obligations, as well as hers, have kept the letters pretty far in between.

Kei shook her head, explaining, "Captain Orimura was transferred to the Capital…" Naruto's eyes widened, listening as the jōnin continued, "The populace was told that she had been promoted, and she was indeed promoted by the Fire Lord himself, to Vice Captain of the Capital's Police, but there's a rumour that the promotion was pushed by the local mafia, the Captain had always been a thorn in their side and it wouldn't surprise me if they convinced the Feudal Lord to call on some favours to remove the Captain from the board."

'Damn…' He thought, disappointed, keeping a mental note to go and find Chifuyu, to at least ensure that she was okay.

"As for the police…" Kei continued talking, earning Naruto's attention as she spoke, "Captain Orimura's transfer was fairly recent, just three months ago… so the station is still in transition and the new Captain is focusing on settling the department as he wants…" She cracked her neck, adding, "They have dispatched some officers and a detective on the case, but since crime has risen up in the last few months since Orimura's departure, the new Captain requested the Leaf for assistance…" She pointed at him then, saying with a small smirk, "You are the assistance."

Naruto sighed as he laid back on the soft surface, nodding, stating with a tired whisper, "Then, I take it you can't tell me much about Taichi?…" He focused his blues on the woman's browns, continuing after a silence, "Where he hanged about, who he usually talked to and that?"

Shaking her head, Kei replied, "I'm afraid not…" She sighed, "The genin he used to speak to the most, has just finished his stay here in Sun a week ago, his replacement is already here…" She crossed her arms below her bust, continuing, "We already did our own investigation with all of those who interacted with him, but none really knew much about his likes and what he did outside of work hours."

"Never went to a pub or something like that?" Naruto asked.

Kei shrugged, saying, "Not with us at least…" She then tilted her head, as if remembering something, stating as much after a moment of pondering, "But, I do remember seeing him slacking off on his duties…" She looked at Naruto who was now narrowing his eyes, listening as she concluded, "It wasn't a huge dip in performance, but it was certainly noticeable and for the look on your face, I take it that's a common case in the other victims."

Nodding at her deduction, the jinchūriki explained, "Indeed, all of the missing people showed signs of weakening, paler, dazed, like losing energy faster than normal…" He looked at the woman, finishing, "That's what drove me to my theory that we're more than likely dealing with some sort of cult."

"Makes sense…" Kei agreed, nodding and as she bit her lip, added, "Unfortunately, there's nothing much left that I can give you…" She sighed, "I can't provide support either, as we're already stretched thin with our current duties, I think your best bet is to investigate the last case."

"The Adventurer?" Naruto asked.

Kei nodded, saying, "They call him 'Don'…" She rubbed her forearm, continuing, "He's an A-class adventurer, that roughly translates to a jōnin, so that he also went missing, speaks of a bigger menace than we might believe."

Naruto nodded to that grim theory, if someone was able to take two strong warriors like it was nothing, then they were surely playing with a dangerous opponent, one that definitely knew what they were doing.

But standing, Naruto sighed and stretched his body a little, Shizuku following his action and as Kei approached, Naruto shook her hand with a smile, stating, "Thank you for your help Kei, I will keep you posted on our investigation."

Kei returned the smile, shaking his hand as she returned, "Please do, it's nice to work with someone of your renown, hopefully, we can have a talk later on."

Naruto and Shizuku smiled, with the jinchūriki promising, "You can count on that."

With that, the two travelling companions bid their farewells and exited the outpost, looking around the streets for a moment before the silverette said to the Uzumaki, "Aight then, all we have left is the Adventurer's Guild, so we should head there now."

Nodding, Shizuku walked behind the jinchūriki, whispering, "I hope we can find something solid."

The silverette hummed his agreement, this investigation was turning out to be something more complex than what he originally thought. He only hoped that things won't get out of control.

"Naruto…" The voice of the Absolute God of End reached the silverette's inside ears, earning his attention as he walked towards the Guild, "I'm shutting off your divinity and mine…" Knowing that his host was confused, the beast further elaborated, "Have a sniff."

Naruto's eyebrow raised in confusion, not really getting what his predecessor was pointing at. But doing as told, Naruto used his heightened sense of smell to grasp all the scents around him.

There was none in particular that may warrant the god shutting his presence off, but Naruto knew that Ddraig wouldn't have done it without a good reason, thus, he focused even more and as he walked into the Guild, he caught a scent that made him narrow his eyes.

"Smells like Akeno… but stronger…" He said to his partner after he managed to focus solely on the scent that reminded him of his raven-haired mate.

"And what is she?" Ddraig threw him a cryptic question then.

It took Naruto a few moments to finally caught on to what the Red One was implying, his eyes trained on the receptionist, but his senses spreading across the Guild to try and find the source of the scent he could now easily identify, "A Fallen Angel." He mentally replied the god's question.

Ddraig nodded within the Namikaze's mindscape, laying on his beach as he warned, "Indeed, a presence of one means that this case of yours might be related to the reincarnated…" Naruto pouted, knowing that if what Ddraig theorised was true, then things will turn out even more difficult than he imagined, "I advise you keep your divinity hidden until you figure this out, they'll immediately recognise my power and your divinity, and that could hinder your progress… facing off against fully trained reincarnated is equivalent to you going toe to toe against your father at full strength…" Naruto gulped at that, knowing full well how truly strong Kakashi was, "They are trained to apprehend rogue divines, remember that." Ddraig concluded with that warning, ensuring to plant his point in Naruto's brain, being reckless will do him no good against people capable of actually hurting him badly.

"R-Roger…" The jinchūriki replied and made sure to follow his draconic partner's advice, focusing his mind back on the now, realising that he was right in front of the male receptionist who smiled at him.

"Hello sir, welcome to Sun Village's Adventurer's Guild…" The receptionist greeted, adding once Naruto and Shizuku greeted him back, "What can I do for you today?"

Naruto sighed before he replied, "My name is Naruto Namikaze…" The man's eyes widened as he recognised the silverette, but the young man continued, "I'm here to investigate the sudden disappearances going around lately."

The receptionist shook his head, saying once he composed himself, "O-Of course… I take it you want to talk about Mr Don?…" Receiving a nod from the Leaf-nin, the receptionist cleared his throat before he continued, "Then please, follow me, I will take you to the Administrator of the Guild, he can tell you what you need to know for your investigation."

Naruto and Shizuku nodded and waited for the man to get out of his post, going around the desk and as he nodded, he began leading them towards the stairs, the two travelling ninja closely behind.

As they moved through the Guild, Naruto was surprised to see quite a few adventurers in the Guild, some chatting amongst each other, other checking out some contracts posted on the tabloid, many looking at him with a recognising gaze.

But one caught his eye more than the rest, a rather beautiful raven-haired woman, sitting on her own in the bar, glancing at him with a critical eye. The woman was wearing a black jacket on top of a purple blouse that hugged her impressive curves quite well, a set of leather trousers covering her toned legs, her outfit completed by a pair of black boots. Her long black hair was loose, two strands of hair resting on her collarbone. He could tell that she had a pair of beautiful violet-coloured eyes. Overall, she looked and felt like a strong warrior.

But there were two things that struck him the most about the woman. One, she looked a lot like Akeno, the resemblance almost made him clear his eyes to ensure he wasn't seeing Akeno herself. And two, the Fallen Angel scent he caught, definitely came from her.

"There's the crow." Ddraig commented within his mind, confirming his suspicion.

Naruto just kept walking, ignoring the woman for now but still keeping his guard up, not knowing what to think of her at the moment.

"Please…" The receptionist's voice brought Naruto back to the real world, making him realise that he was already in front of the administrator's office, the male receptionist saying with a small smile, "Mr Toyo is waiting."

Naruto and Shizuku nodded with a small smile, walking into the office once the receptionist opened the door and stepped aside.

"Welcome, welcome!…" A cheerful masculine voice greeted them within the office, both ninja observing as a rather bulky and hairy man approached them with a friendly aura, grasping Naruto's hand to give him a strong handshake, doing the same with Shizuku before he added, "It is good to finally meet such an accomplished warrior as yourself, Mr Namikaze."

Shizuku smiled as she found it quite endearing to see Naruto being genuinely embarrassed by all the praises he received. To her, it was a testament of the good intentions Naruto really had, as he was never really looking for a reward other than making this a better world for those he cared for.

But focusing back on the now, the Uzumaki female barely heard as the administrator said, "I only wish we could've meet under more pleasant circumstances." Mr Yoko frowned, massaging his temples as he thought on the current problem his hometown was enduring.

Naruto sighed and nodded, taking a sit on the couch in front of the man's desk, Shizuku placing herself next to her, "It is unfortunate, to be honest, I didn't really knew there was a Guild of Adventurers…" He smiled at the larger man, adding, "Always thought the adventurer's life was long forgotten."

The large man laughed at that, offering the two something to drink, Naruto accepting but Shizuku refusing. Yoko then served himself a glass of sake and said, "And you aren't too far off on your assumption, young one…" He sipped his liquor, sighing contently as the hot liquid travelled through his throat, "There used to be over one hundred Guild's all across the continent…" He sighed wistfully then, his eyes melancholic, thinking on the past, "But now, only sixteen remain…" He focused on the two ninja again to say, "There's approximately around three hundred certified adventurers left… but most are getting old and recruits are lessening… I presume that within the next decade, our fine career will disappear."

Not quite knowing what to say, Naruto and Shizuku looked at each other awkwardly before the jinchūriki cleared his throat and spoke, "Right… well, I hope that doesn't happen…" Receiving a grateful nod from the large man, the Leaf ninja went all business as he leaned on and asked, eyes narrowed, "Now, I believe you are aware of what I'm doing here?"

The buffed guy nodded, crossing his arms as he replied, "Indeed I am, I received a call from the police Captain, telling me that I should expect your visit to inquire about the adventurer that went missing…" Resting on his desk, the man continued with a question, "I take it you are also investigating the other cases?"

Naruto nodded, answering, "We are, you are actually our last visit regarding the interviews…" He massaged his temples for a moment, sighing before he added, "We haven't really found anything that can point us towards a certain direction, but we do have some clues that allowed me to form a theory."

"A cult?…" Sensing the surprise coming from the ninja, the administrator said, "I believe you also found that all the victims seemed to weaken during their last days…" Naruto nodded at that, prompting the large man to conclude, "While I cannot claim to have been a friend of Don, I did spoke to him a couple of times and those last days he was seen, he was indeed weaker, I heard something similar from Sakuya and the Captain regarding the other victims, so I theorised that they might have been drugged, or hooked on a narcotic of some kind."

Naruto nodded, scratching his chin as he said, "Indeed, I also came to a similar conclusion…" He sighed as he focused on the large man, adding, "Something that appears to be a common factor as well, was that they all seemed to have recently begun dating a person…" He leaned back, pausing briefly, "I originally thought that we were dealing with a serial killer, but I learned from one of the girls at the Red Lantern, that one of the victims was seeing a woman, so that derailed my original theory."

The large man nodded as he too scratched his neck, uttering, "I see, I do not know if Don was seeing someone, he did seemed to be out at late hours during those last days…" He sighed, fixing his posture before he added, "But never thought much of it, I always believed that the companion he had was his lover."

"Companion?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at that, leaning on to listen well.

Yoko nodded, saying as he walked towards his desk, "Yeah…" Opening a drawer, he rummaged through his documents, talking as he did, "The two arrived six months ago, they're travelling adventurers that wanted to settle for a while in one place, so they chose Sun, comfy town with still a lot of work for adventurers…" He pulled a folder out, walking towards Naruto and handing it to him, speaking again, "I assumed they were a couple, but to be honest, I never once saw them act as one, so perhaps they were just companions."

Naruto opened the folder, his eyes widening if just for a moment as he saw the picture of the woman in question, the very same one he saw down at the Guild's bar, "Ray…" He read her name, finding no surname or anything that could shine a light on her background. Though, he knew that she was a fallen angel, if the woman had been a companion to that man, then it also meant that he too was a fallen angel, "What could two fallen be doing here?" He asked his partner.

Naruto could picture Ddraig shrugging within his mind, replying his question, "I doubt they actually wanted to settle in town, if you ask me, I believe they were more than likely hunting a rogue."

That set off alarms in Naruto's brain. If two fallen angels had come to Sun in search of a rogue, then it meant that the responsible of the disappearances was either a rogue devil, demon, fallen or an angel, 'Or worse… a god…' He gulped at that thought, he was absolutely not ready to face a god, more so when it was one that had broken the rules and went on their own to do Great Red knows what.

That was, of course, if the 'adventurers' themselves weren't the real rogues. Either way, spelled trouble for him, enough to feel worry about Shizuku accompanying him on this investigation.

"Not much information on their background." The silverette then commented once he focused back on the now, looking at the Guild's administrator.

Yoko shrugged, explaining, "It's part of the job, we do not ask questions, most of the adventurers are people who didn't made it into the ninja or samurai ranks, they're not being paid by the government either, so there isn't much regulation…" Scratching his nape, he added, "If they can do the job, they get paid by the client and that's it, no paperwork needed."

Naruto nodded, looking at the woman's file, surprised by the accomplishments he could see in her file, in Don's as well, "Seven bandit lairs raided, five kidnappings thwarted and two rogue A-rank ninja killed…" He looked at Yoko, adding, "They sound strong."

"They are…" Yoko conceded, adding, "That's why Don's disappearance is so concerning…" Taking a sip of his sake, the large man continued, "Those two were A-rank adventurers, they seemed to have much experience and were quite popular with the clients as they dealt with the job efficiently and quickly, if someone was able to take Don out just like that…" He sighed, genuinely worried for the one behind the disappearances, "Then that spells trouble for all of us."

"Indeed…" Naruto muttered, closing the folder and as he handed it back to the administrator, the jinchūriki asked, "I take it you don't know much about Don, then?"

"No…" Yoko shook his head, adding after he placed the folder back on the desk, "But Ray is still here, you should talk to her, if someone knows about Don, is surely her."

Naruto nodded, saying as he stood up, "Aright then, I'll do that right now…" He then shook the man's hand, saying with a small grin, "Thank you for your time, Mr Yoko."

"It's nothing…" The man returned the shake and smile, adding as he did the same with the brunette, "Please, do let me know how the investigation goes and if you need my assistance, just come see me."

Nodding at him, Naruto and Shizuku stepped out of the room and proceeded to go downstairs to the bar, with Naruto saying to Shizuku, "Zuku, I caught a glimpse of this Ray when we came to the office and I honestly don't know what to make of her…" Shizuku bit her lip, understanding the warning before Naruto worded it out, "So let's just be careful around her, aight?"

Shizuku nodded, following behind Naruto as he continued his way towards the victim's companion. To be honest, Shizuku wanted the investigation to be over already, as she had a bad feeling about the whole thing that was testing her control over herself.

"Excuse me…" Naruto said with a small polite smile to the black-haired woman drinking on her own, the adventurer looking at him out of the corner of her eye, nodding at him to continue, "My name is Na…"

"I know who you are…" The woman said, sipping her whole drink before she turned on her stool to face the jinchūriki, smirking a little as she continued, "Naruto Namikaze, Leaf-ninja, A-rank in the Bingo Book…" She eyed his companion for a moment, sizing her up before she added with a more serious tone, "I guess you're here investigating the disappearances?"

Naruto and Shizuku both sat on the stools available next to Ray, with the silverette replying with a confident smirk, "My, aren't ya well informed?"

The woman returned the smirk, a certain tension between the two as she whispered huskily, "It is my job to be informed…" Sighing, she fixed some strands of her hair, her violet eyes roaming the Guild as she added, "I suppose you want to ask me about Don?"

Naruto nodded, stating, "Your guess is correct, there are some questions I have reg…"

He was interrupted again however, when the woman turned to face him and leaned on him, too close in Shizuku's opinion, "I'll answer anything you want…" She titled her head, mesmerising Naruto for a moment as he got a close up to her beauty, supernatural in every regard, "If…" She brought a finger to his chest, pushing it slightly as she finished with a sexy smirk, "You let me tag along in this investigation."

Naruto raised his eyebrow, alarmed but also intrigued, slightly narrowing his eyes and as he asserted some of his presence on her, he asked, leaning on as well, "And why would I allow that, Ms Ray?"

The adventurer couldn't help but show the surprise on her face, surprise stemmed from the fact that she actually felt intimidated by the young man. But thanks to her years of experience, she managed to keep a cool exterior as she replied, uncaring of how close they were to each other, almost kissing, "Because…" She pushed him playfully then, a masked attempt to get herself under control again, his presence being far more intoxicating than what she originally thought, "Don is my partner and I'd like to know what happen to him… plus…" She flipped her hair, fixing her posture as she released some of her power, impressing Naruto slightly in the process, "I can help you, I'm an A-rank adventurer, we're rare to come by."

"That may be…" Naruto looked at Shizuku for a second, who looked unsure, "But I don't think having the lover of one of the victims along, would be a wise idea."

Ray smirked at him, tilting her head as she said, "What gave you the idea that I am his lover?…" Chuckling slightly, though Naruto could still tell that there was indeed genuine worry in the woman as she added, this time, in a more sombre tone, "You can say we are… siblings…" Turning towards the man, she continued, "We grew up together, I'm older than him, so I always took on the 'big sister' role…" She sighed, balling her fists as she finished, "I… I just need to know what happened to him… and find the responsible."

Sensing the boy's reluctance, Ddraig suddenly intervened, "Take her with you, hatchling…" Knowing that Naruto was about to ask why, the dragon elaborated, "We're more than likely dealing with a reincarnated, Akeno was a half-fallen, so she doesn't count as experience with full-fledged reincarnated."

Naruto nodded, but still argued, "I get it but… what if she turns out to be the problem?"

"Then you deal with it…" Was the god's dry response, adding with what Naruto could tell, was a small smirk, "Besides, she's interested in you, so you could use that to your advantage if need be."

Still having some doubts about it, Naruto none the less decided to go along with his predecessor's plan, but he still made it a little difficult, just so that she wouldn't suspect anything foul, "I don't know…" He leaned back on the bar, Shizuku silent as he dealt with the adventurer, "That's still an emotional attachment that can make this personal for you…" He looked at Ray and made her shiver when he narrowed his eyes and concluded with a commanding tone, "I don't have time for 'personal'."

Composing herself, Ray looked at the front and sighed, saying after a moment of silence, "I understand…" Still though, she was equally stubborn, so she turned to face him again and said with a challenging smirk, "But if you wanna know anything about my brother, then you're taking me with you."

Naruto sniggered at that, massaging his temples as he whispered, "You do know I can just charge you with obstruction of justice, right?…" He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, smirk in place when he added teasingly, "You'll be in jail for a while."

Far from being deterred, Ray's smirk widened as she shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Then I'll be in jail and you'll be without a clue about my brother…" She turned to look at him, and Naruto could detect that there was a sense of pleading in those gorgeous violets when she said with a small smile, no longer challenging nor teasing, just terse, "Your choice, Mr Namikaze."

He had to give it to her, the fallen angel didn't back down, "Alright then…" Naruto finally conceded after looking at Shizuku who just shrugged, the boy standing up from the stool and after he fixed his coat, said with a genuine serious tone, "But let me be clear, you do as I say, if I detect the slightest sign of rebellious attitude from you, you'll be dealt with, understood?"

Both Ray and Shizuku were surprised by how their bodies felt at that specific tone of voice, it was incredible that such a young man, way younger in Ray's case, could make them nod their heads in submission. Even when Shizuku didn't had to, she still felt as if the warning was aimed at her as well.

There was a tense silence after that, with Naruto finally cutting off his aura to ease the atmosphere, bringing his hand forward to Ray and saying, "Then, welcome to the case."

Ray shook her head and with all of her experience, pushed aside her current thoughts in order to smile lightly and shake the man's hand, stating, "I will cooperate, you have my word."

With that done, Ray stood up and fixed her clothes, leaving some bills behind to pay for her drink, turning to face the two ninja to say, "Then let's head to a more private setting, we've much to discuss."

The two travelling ninja nodded and then, started following the adventurer as she led them to where she was staying at.

Naruto had his eyes glued to her and she could feel it, but while she was of the mind that he was interested in her as she in him, she failed to realise that Naruto's interest was in fact, more of a cautious one than anything else.

A/N: Hope you liked the chappie! Shout out to those who figure out who certain characters really are! Thank you for reading and I'll see ya lads soon, cheers!