"What in the world happened here?!" Jeanne gaped in surprise as she looked towards the sky above her.
She had never gotten the location of the Red camp from its members, so she had decided to simply track them by sensing where the biggest group of servants in the area were gathered. What she hadn't been expecting, however, was the massive fortress that loomed overhead and the gaping crater that had opened up in the earth.
It was a magnificent city of overwhelming beauty. Unlike the buildings of her time, these looked to be of much older origin, but lacked the texture and age that would come from such an old city. Rather, it seemed like it had been built using nothing but earthly materials alone.
But it still excluded a tremendous aura that was unmistakable to any magus or servant who gazed upon it.
"This... is a noble phantasm?" Jeanne muttered as she stared at the fortress in wonderment. "How can something as powerful as this be hidden from my sight?"
"I assume the wielder of the phantasm had only activated it just a few hours ago. And judging by the fresh looking materials, it seemed to have been built using magecraft to ascend it to the level of a noble phantasm." Naruto said as he observed the island. "To think that someone would have something like this as a noble phantasm! I haven't seen a floating island since I was a young boy!"
"You can show the creator your admiration later." Jeanne chided. "How are we supposed to get up there?"
"That's easy. We just jump!" Naruto said with a grin, causing the young saint to turn ghostly pale.
"N-naruto, you know that you're the only one who can possibly make that jump, right?" Jeanne asked, slightly scooting away from his fellow blonde who was frowning in confusion. "I'll have to find another way to get up there since I can't fly."
"Eh? But there isn't any other way up there." Naruto said with a stare. "If you're worried about not making the jump, don't worry! I'll be the one doing all the work."
"That's exactly what I'm so afraid of..." Jeanne muttered as she remembered the last few times she had let Naruto carry her anywhere. Sure he was fast, but he was a little bit too fast for her tastes. Imagine exploding from zero to a hundred in the span of a millisecond.
If you do, you can imagine just a tiny bit of what her stomach felt like when he carried her.
"Jeanne, don't be such a baby. Last time, I was running across the land. This time, I'll be jumping upwards. It'll be less stressful on your body, and much more comfortable." Naruto said with an amused smirk at his master's fears.
"That still doesn't change the fact that I'll feel sick afterwards!" Jeanne argued with a cross of her arms. "I know that you think there is no other way, but there must be! There is always another way for someone willing to-"
"Ara ara, Jeanne. Enough of the Chitchat. The thing looks like it's about to move any minute now." Naruto cut in. Quickly sweeping Jeanne off her feet and carrying her in his arms before she could finish her sentence, he pushed chakra to his legs and exploded upwards like a missile, cracking the pavement underneath him.
Jeanne's speech suddenly switched from serious, to complete and utter terror. Letting out a loose scream of terror while Naruto just roared with laughter, Jeanne clung to Naruto's shirt for dear life as they flew upwards, all trace of her normal cool composure gone.
It would have taken a plane several minutes to make the trip directly upwards. Naruto, however, made it in only several quick seconds, much to Jeanne's relief. At least she wouldn't have to deal with a really sick stomach.
Hitting the pavement of the island feet first, he could feel the entire floating fortress shudder and groan at the sudden explosion of force that Naruto had delivered the second his feet touched the pavement full force.
"Is it over?" Jeanne muttered, eyes shut tight as she clung to Naruto's shirt. Looking around, Naruto couldn't sense the presence of any familiars or clairvoyance magecraft, finding it kind of creepy that the beautiful buildings that make up the fortress were empty and devoid of life.
Looking around once again to be double sure of his surrounds, Naruto nodded in content and lowered Jeanne gently on her feet.
"No one is around. I can't sense any familiars or any other sort of surveillance around the area. However, it is only safe to assume that the owner of this noble phantasm has already been informed of our arrival the second we touched down on its soil." Naruto said as his old shinobi instincts kicked in. "We should probably stick to the shadows until we locate the priest."
"Agreed." Jeanne said with a nod as she took several wobbly steps around to steady herself. "Just remember that we're not supposed to be killing the priest. It would be best if we simply called him out and interrogated him on it, preferably in front of everyone else to see if the others are in league with him as well."
"Of course. Innocent until proven guilty like usual." Naruto said with a small smile as he began walking off. "Let's go ahead and figure out where the rest of them are at. My little impact may have shaken them up a little, so make sure you stick close to me. I wouldn't want to be separated from you if you were attacked by the other Red servants by mistake."
"Got it."
The two of them continued on their way, sticking to the shadows and keeping themselves mostly out of sight. He had been expecting more trouble from Jeanne due to the fact that sneaking around isn't the style of a knight, but she seemed to be keeping up just fine.
The last time he had been in a flying fortress, most of the activity happened at the heart of the base. Due to the sheer size of the place, most of it probably wasn't even going to be used. As such, the center would be the meeting place between servants and masters.
Still, it was odd for the remote places to not be monitored and stationed with sentries. Perhaps they hadn't been expecting anyone to get up here without them noticing, but it showed that the person who built this place was completely confident in their own abilities to deal with any threat.
"I sense the presence of the Red servants up ahead." Jeanne announced quietly. Casting his own senses outwards, Naruto could indeed confirm that the entirety of the Red Faction seemed to be gathered together in one room, possibly having a strategic meeting to figure out what they were going to do now.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them suddenly trembled with a small groan for a moment before they suddenly found a small shift in their feet.
"It seems they're beginning to move." Naruto said. "I assume they're planning to settle this Grail War quickly as possible."
"The Black Camp won't last long against a fortress like this." Jeanne said with a small amount of concern. She didn't see anything that could be considered a turret or cannon while they went through here, but it was only safe to assume that the fortress possessed some kind of offensive force that complimented its large size. "We must question the priest as quickly as possible before they get their hands on the Grail."
"Right. Let's get moving then." Naruto said as they continued moving forward. As they neared the location on where the servants were at, they came upon a large ornate door with some kind of writing on it in a language he didn't know.
"Are you ready?" Naruto asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jeanne said with a nod.
"Alright then." Naruto said as he turned towards the door. Raising his foot and channeling chakra, he launched a kick towards the door, smashing it to pieces effortlessly. Stepping inside, he was greeted with the shocked looks of several servants and masters.
Looking around, his eyes landed on a young boy in priestly garbs and a calm look on his face. By his side was a beautiful woman dressed in black who was eyeing him with wariness.
He had to compliment them for not running away immediately upon seeing who he was. Running after people was such a pain sometimes.
"Hey there, boy." Naruto said with a grin as he stepped into the room. "One of us is in deep shit right now."
Everyone remained quiet as they processed what he said. For the time being, no one made an attempt to move from their spots. They had just came here to discuss another attack at the Black Camp, damn it! They hadn't expected Ruler's servant to break in here with some secret agenda that no one knew about!
Well, everyone except Shirou that is.
Upon having his name called out, everyone turned to look at the young priest. Steeling his nerves, he kept his face blank and stared back at the Blonde man and the young saint as she entered the room.
"Saint Joan of arc," Shirou muttered before turning to regard Naruto. "And her loyal dog. Tell me, why is it that you two are here?"
"Cut the shit. You know why we are here." Naruto said as he crossed his arms. "We have questions that need answering, and you just so happen to know all the answers."
"Is that so..." Shirou muttered, exchanging small glances with Assassin.
"What is going on?" Waver demanded as he stood up from his seat, despite the amount of pressure in the room. "What have we done to warrant your attention?"
Naruto sighed. "Not you, magus. None of you did anything wrong. The only one we're after is the young man over there." He pointed towards the Catholic. "I have received a warning to meet up with this boy to receive some answers regarding the strange events of this war. Now that I am in front of him, I understand what is going on."
"What?" Whispers and glances were exchanged between the others in the room while Shirou and Assassin continued to remain silent.
"What are you saying, Uzumaki?" Rider asked with a frown as he glanced towards the priest.
"Do you not sense it? The aura of power that comes from the boy even though he is only human? It is buried deep, but it resembles that of the heroes of old."
"Power compared to a heroic spirit?" Lancer muttered as he turned to face the boy. Focusing on him, they could suddenly feel the small difference in him that they have overlooked before. It was quite small, but it was something that no hero would ever mistake.
It was the presence of another hero.
"It seems I have been caught." Shirou muttered as he stood up, causing Jeanne's eyes to widen as she found that her True Name Discernment skill worked on the young man in front of her. The only way that could be possible was for the boy to be a servant just like her! It should have been an impossibility with a body of flesh, but the truth was definitely in front of her.
"Ruler class servant, Amakusa Shirou..." Jeanne muttered in shock while everyone's eyes widened at the revelation.
"Wait... You're a servant?!" Reines exclaimed in shock, suddenly not feeling safe being near the boy.
"Correct. I am not from this war, however, I was the Ruler class servant of the Third Holy Grail war, which had been stationed at Fuyuki city." Shirou said evenly.
"But then you being here should be impossible... how could you have survived?" Grey quietly asked, hands drifting towards her mystic code that she kept sealed away.
"By obtaining a body, of course. Granted, it was purely on accident, but I can hardly complain." Shirou said with a smile devoid of warmth. "Tell me, do any of you know when that particular grail war took place?"
"The eve of world war II." Waver muttered, having researched the particular subject before.
"Correct. You know your history." Shirou said with a small clap. "During this particular time, the clan known as the Einzberns were particularly angry about not having won the previous wars. Due to this, decided to try and tip the scales in their favor by attempting the summoning of either an Avenger or Ruler class servant. As such, they rigged the system to their advantage."
"Avenger class servant?" Saber asked with a frown. That sounded interesting.
"It's a class that holds servants that are spirits of anger and vengeance. They're not so different than berserkers, but you can think of them as cold anger rather than fearsome rage." Shirou explained with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, they attempted to summon Angra Mainyu, a god of evil in Zoroastrianism, and succeeded in that effort. Doing so, however, also triggered a Ruler class servant to be summoned by the grail as a defense against such a being. Therefore, I was brought back into the world."
"Typic magus." Naruto muttered under his breath.
"However, despite getting the person known as Angra Mainyu, he wasn't the god that they were hoping to get. Carved upon his skin was all of the sins of humanity, but he was the weakest servant in the war. His noble phantasms and stats were trash, leading him to die almost immediately." Shirou said, having remembered the man getting torn apart by a very vicious berserker. "Upon his death, however, his soul entered into the Holy Grail and began corrupting it from the inside out. A wish placed upon it now would most certainly end in destruction."
"And how is it that you have survived the war?" Jeanne asked.
"By touching the Grail, of course. A curse as solid as that was able to give me the body of a mortal, allowing me to live without a master as I did in life. If it had been anyone else, they would have most certainly been corrupted by the sins of humanity, but I had been able to purify myself through a painful process of baptizing." Shirou said with a smirk. "After that, I made it into the Church and got a position in the Assembly of the Eight sacrament as an excuse to continue looking for the Grail after its disappearance."
"Disappearance?" Reines asked with curiosity, having heard about something like that.
"You may not know this, but the head of the Yggdmillenia, Darnic, was a participant in the War, wielding Heracles as his Berserker class servant." Shirou said, making their eyes widen. "At the time, he was a soldier in the Third Reich of Germany and led the military to send asset to assist him in gaining the Grail. Of course, they met resistance from the Imperial army, turning the entire area into a literal war zone unlike any Grail war to this date."
He gave a smile once he finished. "Now you know the truth. Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"
The air suddenly seemed to turn colder at those words. It was almost like he was issuing something final or direct. If no one said anything, something bad was going to happen.
"I believe I will speak regarding everyone here." Naruto said as he stared unflinchingly. "What is your wish, saint of the east? It is only logical that you want something from the Grail, even if its cursed."
"Ah... That's a simple question. I simply want what everyone in the world wants." Shirou said with a smile. "I wish... for the salvation of humanity."
Everyone went silent and stared at him like he was crazy. To their surprise, however, there was not a single amount of insanity in his eyes. Instead, it was filled with seriousness and conviction.
It reminded him like a certain man that he had fought a long time ago, a man who fought for eternal salvation for every human on earth.
"You must be joking." Kairi said with an incredulous look. "That's not something you can just wish for! If there was such thing as peace on earth, it would have been achieve by now!"
"I agree, that's simply a fantasy that can never be completed for as long as humanity lives." Waver said in agreement.
Even Jeanne herself could only agree with what Kairi and Waver said. It was a goal that could never be reached as long as there was hate in the world. Even Christianity or any other Religion could ever hope to create an ideal world like that. What got to her though, was the fact that this priest was going to use the Grail for such a world.
Christians firmly believed that death was only the first step to reaching eternal happiness with their God in heaven. Their time and life on earth was simply a test to see if you could enter the promise land with God. As such, a catholic shouldn't be worried about not having a perfect world on earth. They could certainly help to make the world a better place, but it would never be perfect.
"What you wish for goes against the wishes of God! Would you dare to trample on everything our Religion stands for?" Jeanne asked, causing the man's smile to drop.
"We shall see. If I succeed, then it only proves that this is what God wants from me. I won't let anyone stop me, not even a pagan god like your servant." Shirou said as he snapped his fingers. On cue, the walls began moving and several dark shapes darted into the room. When they grounded to a halt, at least 13 new figures appeared in the room. They were dressed in dark trench coats and face masks. Pinned to several of them were badges and medals of the sort that you would find in a world war two museum.
Each of them carried a different weapons, ranging from bowie knives to WWII submachine guns, each having a purple aura to show that they had been enchanted in some way. The ones with the guns stepped forward, pointing at the masters and servants in the room.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Rider growled as he stood in front of his master.
"Bastard! He plans to betray us!" Saber growled as she materialized her armor and sword.
"I've been planning this for a long time. The Grail only has enough energy to grant one wish. As such, I already had plans to betray you." Shirou said with an annoying smile as the unknown minions began surrounding them.
"Hah! And do you think these measly foot soldiers will be able to stop us?" Lancer boasted as he swept his spear out as a warning to them to back off. Surprisingly, none of them reacted with fear and just continued to point their weapons.
"These aren't some measly foot soldiers, Lancer." Shirou said with a sigh. "These are the dead apostles of the late german army. Put under a secret magus experiment to turn most of their soldiers into powerful vampires and assisted in the effort to taake the Grail. As of now, they are now under contract from me in exchanged for me not to destroy them and give them sanctuary from the Church. My baptismal sacraments are quite powerful, you know."
"Oh? Dead apostles?" Naruto said with a chuckle as he stepped forward. "They may pose quite the challenge with their numbers, but you know I could crush them all in an instant, right?"
"Indeed, Maelstrom." Shirou nodded in agreement. "Which is why I brought another playmate for you."
Suddenly, a massive amount of killing intent filled the room. Eyes widening in surprise when he felt a heavy presence bare down from behind him, Naruto spun around just in time to see a massive sword cleaved towards his face. Reacting quickly, he leaned backwards and avoid having his head cut clean off as the sword swept past his head from mere inches.
"Impressive. To think you were able to avoid my sword. It seems it takes an assassin to know an assassin, after all." A garbled voice resonated from the person who had just attacked him. Regaining his bearings, Naruto calmly turned to face his attacker.
It was a skull.
No, seriously. The guy was practically a skull. A suit of armor decorated with skulls, and a helmet that was a skull, covered his entire body. Blue misty aura leaked from the body beneath the armor, showing nothing but a dark covering that hid his skin.
Immediately, Naruto could tell that this man was unlike any other servant in this war. He leaked out a powerful aura that was practically visible around him. And despite the huge sword, hulking armor, and presence, he hadn't even sensed him until he had made a move to attack.
Only the highest class of shinobi were able to hide their presence briefly from him. But to wield a sword and armor of that size? This man trumped all of them in terms of sheer stealth skills. He couldn't even remember the last time someone had managed to sneak up on him in a combat situation.
The last Ninja he remembered that could move that stealthily and fast with a huge sword like that was Zabuza, but he had to use the hidden mist jutsu to scramble his target's senses and create a blind spot.
"How intriguing... I have never been caught off guard quite like that before. Who are you?" Naruto asked with a curious look.
"I am... the original Hassan-i-Sabbah. The first from which all the others derived from." The assassin rumbled, causing everyone's eyes to widen in shock.
"The first?" Gray muttered as she eyed the Assassin.
"He speaks the truth. This man is the first leader of the assassination organization, a compound being built up from the legacy of the other Hassan that have taken the same title as he did." Shirou said with a nod. "He is the grand assassin, one of the candidates that could be considered the strongest in their class. And now..." He swept his arm, causing Hassan and the dead apostles to charge forward.
"Clear the room! Throw them off this base!"
Immediately after he said that, Rider was the first one to respond. Drawing his sword and cutting the space in front of him, he summoned his chariot and hopped on. Grabbing the rest of the masters roughly and placing them inside of the Chariot, he quickly took off before anyone could react.
Luckily, the red servants were quicker to react than the dead apostles, running after the chariot as fast as their feet could carry them.
"Let us go, Jeanne!" Naruto yelled.
"Right!" Jeanne exclaimed as she quickly ran out of the door, easily keeping pace with the other servants. Before Naruto could run after them, however, he was forced to block a sword strike with a truth seeking ball as Hassan quickly appeared in front of him at a speed that could be compared to teleportation.
"It seems you just won't quit." Naruto gritted as he felt himself actually having to TRY and stop himself from being overpowered by the Assassin. As they were deadlocked, the dead apostles rushed past them and gave chase after the retreating servants.
"I apologize. I am being forced to kill you with a command spell. No hard feelings." The assassin said with a tone that carried a scent of an apology. Disengaging and twisting around, he sent Naruto flying backwards as he struck with force that should not have been found in the Assassin class.
Crashing through several buildings, Naruto quickly rolled to his knees and recovered just in time as Hassan slammed into him again, keeping up the pressure and not giving him any opportunities to launch a counterattack.
"Zabaniya: Cyber Phantasy!"
Ducking as Hassan's free hand suddenly flew towards his head, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the hand struck a pillar and engulfed it in a massive explosion big enough to engulf it and completely destroy it. Jumping back to gain some distance, Naruto observed the destruction with an impressed look.
"Quite interesting. Was that your noble phantasm?" Naruto wondered out loud as he watched Hassan emerge from the smoke unscathed.
"The deeds of those who have carried my name have bled into me. It is only natural that the person they named themselves as to possess their knowledge and techniques." Hassan rasped as he charged forward once again.
Dodging under a slash, Naruto quickly created a Rasengan and smashed it straight into Hassan's chest, sending him flying backwards.
"Zabaniya: Febrile Inspiration."
There wasn't a single scratch on him. True, a quick rasengan wasn't as powerful as a regular one, but it should have been powerful enough to nearly crack ribs and damage internal organs. Yet, the man still remained standing without a scratch.
"You're going to have to try harder than that." Hassan rasped as he hefted his sword.
"Tch... It seems you are correct." Naruto said as he decided to release more of his power.
Even in the seriousness of the situation, he found himself with a nostalgic sense of excitement. It had been ages since he had fought a being of this level that could push him into his more powerful form.
Deciding to release a few of his limiters, he decided to show this man just exactly who he was messing with.
"Rejoice, old man of the mountain. It has been many years since I have revealed a fraction of my true glory. Recognize your defeat with such knowledge."
And with that, Naruto's body exploded into ethereal light.
"Remind me again, why I decided to hitch a ride with you?" Saber muttered as she rode with Lancer and Jeanne on the back of Lancer's own chariot.
"Do you want to waste your time running?" Lancer grumbled as he held the reigns.
"Why would I run when I could tear those vampires apart limb by limb?" Saber growled in response, but nevertheless didn't step a foot off the chariot.
"Would you two quit fighting? We have bigger problems to attend to. It seems that the vampires are following us." Jeanne scolded, causing both to quickly shut up and listen to her.
A second later, a bullet impacted the side of the chariot, making Saber and Jeanne flinch at how close the shot had managed to land.
"Damn it... Let me at em!" Saber growled as she prepared to jump out of the chariot and intercept the attackers, who were off in the distance and were firing shots from their guns.
"Don't be foolish, Saber of Red." Jeanne said as she quickly grabbed Mordred and prevented her from engaging. "Those are dead apostles equipped with enchanted weapons. Even if their abilities pale in comparison to yours, they are still dead apostles. They're not like the homunculi and golems you fought at the black camp."
"That doesn't matter! I'll slaughter them all! Father would never loose to such weaklings!" Saber roared, struggling to break out of Jeanne's grip. Jeanne just sighed and turned to regard Achilles, who was too busy paying attention to the road to focus on the vampires behind them.
"Make a straight line for the Black camp. We must warn them of what is going on."
"You do realize that they'll treat us as enemies, right? Plus, we're still in a war." Lancer said he casually swatted a bullet away that would have struck one of his horses.
"It doesn't matter. This is no longer a war between masters and servants. This battle could dictate the future of the entire world! If Shirou decides to use such a cursed artifact for something such as world peace, there's no telling what kind of destruction will happen!" Jeanne declared with absolute conviction that such a thing was not allowed to happen.
Lancer's face was grim, but he nodded nevertheless. "Fine, but if we die because of the Black Camp, I will be sorely disappointed."
"Don't worry. If that doesn't happen, we'll all be dead either way."