"The girl's time is almost up."
Dr. Roman flinched as he was stared down by Naruto. Over the course of the few weeks he had been there, Roman was surprised that an ancient god of Japan acted like a normal human being. He had expected someone on the level of Gilgamesh but Naruto was a walking charity giver, the complete opposite of the golden king.
They had acclimated to the circumstances rather easily, already having acquainted themselves with nearly the entirety of the Chaldea personal staff members. They even commanded quite a bit of respect from all of the other servants, especially those who were of Asian descent.
Fun people to hang around with, until you get one of them angry. And right now, Naruto was as close to angry as Roman had ever seen him.
He had pulled him into one of the vacant offices and locked the door, effectively making sure that their little conversation didn't reach the ears of the public. Chaldea right now had only stayed alive this long because of the bonds between them. What happened behind closed doors could effectively destroy whatever shred of percent they had to work together.
He swallowed. He had to tread lightly. A passive person he may be, he can still vaporize the entire place if he decided to get angry enough at him. And if this was anything like that Gilgamesh incident, they won't have anyone around to dig the holes.
"Yes." Roman admitted sadly, confirming he knew what Naruto was talking about. "How did you figure that out?"
"I've hanged out with Mashu for a while." Naruto shrugged. "She may try to hide it, but even she knows that she's dying. I didn't tell her that I know, but I bet she suspects I do anyway. You can't hide many things from me." He paused for a moment, his stern voice back again. "Tell me about it. I'm not a licensed doctor, but you are."
Roman fidgeted in place nervously as he thought about how he should word his next few sentences. After all, they could be his last if he didn't tread carefully. Before he could speak, however, Naruto held his hand up.
"Also, don't give me that Hippocratic oath excuse. I'm not in the mood."
Well there goes his first excuse.
Roman sighed in defeat. "Mashu is... special patient. Unlike the other staff members, her past is very... complicated."
"I've got all day. Lay it on me, doc." Naruto said, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Mashu was a designer baby." Roman continued, having the go ahead from Naruto. "She was the product of a successful experiment conducted by the first director of Chaldea; Maris Billy Animusphere." His hands began rapping against his seat nervously. "He was a very successful man, and an even more successful magus. He built Chaldea from nothing, you know? Got himself acknowledge by magi both far and wide. A very brilliant man, incre-
"Get back on track, Roman."
Roman coughed, slightly embarrassed with his ranting. "Right... Sorry." He paused to recollect where he left off. "Maris was a brilliant man, but he was also very ambitious. He created Chaldea to be the ultimate defense of humanity, and like any defense it needs soldiers to protect it. As such, he put us to work in order to create the ideal soldier."
"The fusion of heroic spirits." Naruto whispered, putting two and two together. Mashu had told him that she was bonded with a heroic spirit that she didn't know the name of, giving her the abilities of a heroic spirit despite being only human. She was able to lift by the tons, run faster than an athlete with a shield, and survive situations no human being should be capable of surviving.
"Exactly. Though to be honest, we had scrapped that project years ago. Her becoming a demi-servant was due to luck."
"Luck you say?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You played a dangerous game, Roman. Housing a heroic spirit is beyond idiotic. Not even the dead apostles would ever think of attempting such a thing."
"I know." Roman mumbled. "No human being could possibly contain such a thing because their souls were fragile. Any volunteers we had suffered brain damage and became vegetables. As such, we created designer babies with the purpose of holding heroic spirits inside of them on the theory that a fresh soul would be able to acclimate and accept the soul of a heroic spirit."
"And Mashu was the successful byproduct."
"Correct." Roman nodded sadly. "She was our greatest creation, but it came with a terrible cost. Despite successfully hosting a heroic spirit, she couldn't tap into its power. It effectively refused to cooperate with her. As such, the project was scrapped. Human beings just couldn't control the power of forces as old as history."
"And yet she eventually became a servant." Naruto said, earning a nod.
"Yes. It was only when she attempted to save Gudao that the heroic spirit finally decided to surface." He smiled, but it wasn't a happy one. "I was proud, you know? She was like a daughter to me, and she has done what no other human being could ever hope to achieve."
"But she has a time limit, doesn't she?" Naruto asked quietly, his voice ringing clear in the quietness of the room.
Roman closed his eyes. "Yes... yes she does. Even with the heroic spirit, she's breaking down at a rapid pace. She was expected to have only a lifespan of 16 years, but we have just managed to push it to 18. Even then, we can't prolong the inevitable." Roman suddenly opened his eyes with a pleading look. "But you can. You're a god, Naruto. You can fix her if you wanted to, can't you?"
Naruto stared at the doctor, seeing the face of a hopeful man instead of the idiotic doctor that everyone loved. He wanted to say yes, he truly did, but...
"I'm sorry." Naruto muttered as he turned away. "There are some things even gods cannot fix. She's dying because of how you created her. If it was a cut or a slash, I could definitely heal her. This condition isn't like that, though."
Roman bit his lip, but he didn't speak. He should have seen this coming. He had hoped that Naruto would have been able to save her with a simple wave of his hand, but it seemed like that wasn't the case. Mashu's life was predetermined before she was even born. Predetermined in a way that would inevitably lead to her death. Not even Naruto could go against that.
"Have you told the others about this?"
"No. If I did, it would ultimately lead to more problems. Right now, we can't afford something like that."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "If you don't tell them now, it'll still lead to more problems down the road. Most likely problems that you won't be able to fix. Trust me when I say that it's easier to get it off your chest sooner rather than later."
"Gudao and Gabby would butcher me if I told them." Roman moaned, earning a small smile from Naruto as he walked towards the door and unlocked it.
"That should be the least of your worries, Doctor. If you're not going to tell them, then I will." Naruto threatened, causing Roman to pale as he shot upwards and began frantically speed walking.
"I'll talk to them." Roman mumbled in a hurried manner as he nervously walked out the door. Before he could go though, he heard Naruto call out to him.
"Roman."
Turning around, he saw Naruto give him a small genuine smile. "I'll think of something."
And just like that, Roman's mood lifted.
Perhaps there was a chance for her to defy fate after all.
Kakashi whistled to himself as he sat atop one of the pillars that littered the training ground. He found that this part of the training grounds regularly went unused and often came to this spot for some peace and quiet with his Icha Icha book by his side.
Speaking of Icha Icha, Jiraiya has since rekindled his spark for writing and had published a rough draft in the first two days he had been there. While most of the women hadn't even touched it due to the fact that it was Jiraiya who had written it, most of the men had exchanged copies and read it occasionally when they felt like nobody was watching.
Except for Blackbeard. Like him, he constantly read the books in public. Unlike him, however, he loved to read out loud without a care in the world, which was something that he himself was always embarrassed to do. Needless to say, Blackbeard had soon found himself confined to a special hospital bed that was reserved with his name on it.
Even Shakespeare had gotten in on the action, praising Jiraiya as a splendid author for such an incredible piece of literature even if it wasn't in the universal language of english that the playwright had grown up with.
"I never got why you'd read that book in public. If you had learned anything, you would know that most women don't hold any love for that book."
Kakashi felt the the pointy tip of a spear touch his back. Unconcerned, Kakashi calmly looked up and craned his neck a little bit to see a familiar purple clad warrior standing behind him with a familiar thorny red spear in her hands.
The person who stood behind him was dressed in a snug purple battle suit which showed off her very athletic figure perfectly. If one looked closely enough, they could see small faded designs decorating the suit. Any expert in runic magic would tell you that they were highly complicated sets of runes, long since lost to humanity years ago.
Except for one who was old enough to wield the primordial runes.
"Hello, Scathach." Kakashi greeted calmly, earning a grin from the queen of shadows.
"You're no fun. At least I get to see Setanta scream like a little girl whenever I sneak up on him." Scathach complained as she dissipated her spear and sat down next to him. "Though I guess our sparring sessions more than make up for that."
"It's always fighting and competitions with you. It's getting more frequent, and you're still only the second most hot-headed person I've ever had the pleasure of talking to." Kakashi muttered, the image of a familiar man in a green jumpsuit and a bowl haircut appearing in his mind.
"Aw... I guess I'll just have to try harder then." Scathach said with mock disappointment.
"Please don't."
"I feel like I've been issued a challenge."
Kakashi groaned while Scathach just gave a hearty laugh. Ever since Kakashi had managed to beat her in a drinking contest, albeit the fact he was cheating, the goddess had taken an interest with him and eventually asked for a friendly spar. He had declined at first, but she continued to pester him all day until he finally gave into her demands and agreed to meet her at the training ground the two were at.
She wasn't at all disappointed in their fight. In fact, she considered it even more enjoyable than her fights with Setanta. In such a short amount of time, the man had figured out how to adapt to her fighting style and actually managed to make her work for the win. He didn't fight like a samurai or knight, forcing her to test the waters for over an hour before she figured out how to safely deal with him. She still won in the end, but the man didn't seem bothered by it at all. He simply sighed and returned back to reading his book. Still, a victory was a victory for her.
Although she had to admit that his ability to go intangible was an absolute pain in the ass.
"What are you even doing here anyway? I'm not in the mood for a spar if that's what you're here for."
"What, I can't spend some time with my best sparring partner? You make it seem like I only care about fighting!" She gasped with mock hurt, earning a roll of the eyes from the scarecrow.
"You do. But if you aren't, then this is a nice change of pace." He paused. "For real though, why are you here?"
"To bring good news." Scathach said as she stood up. "A massive singularity just popped up, and I'm not talking about those regular singularities that we get George and Blackbeard to do. I'm talking about an EX ranked singularity."
"EX ranked singularity?" Kakashi intoned, finally looking up from his book, his interest peaked.
"Yeah, or at least that's what the doctor says." Scathach shrugged. "They're getting the strike team ready and are about to head out in a few hours. And guess what? You and the toad are going to be coming with us."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Scathach nodded. "Really. Our masters wanted a flexible team so we can adapt for any possible situation that may occur. And if it's anything like that one singularity in America, they have good reason to do so."
She remembered that singularity like it was yesterday. It was an absolutely stupendous mess for all parties involved. Her student turned evil with his evil queen stalker, and she nearly got herself killed by said student when he performed a technique that she knew she hadn't taught him. Then there was also the fact that the stupid girl decided it would be a good idea to summon twenty-eight demons in an attempt to take everything with her. By the end of it all the singularity was pretty much gone.
Most of the servants from that singularity had already been summoned by Chaldea, uniting them under one banner for the sake of humanities future. Still, some old grudges still lingered. While they had mostly quelled after some constant therapy with Jeanne, she still didn't feel comfortable with her past foes and vice versa.
She shook her head. Now was not the time for such trivial thoughts. "So what do you say? Care to join?"
Kakashi closed his book and stood up, stretching himself out before turning towards Scathach with a determined look normally found on the most heroic of individuals.
"Count me in."
Gudao rubbed his eyes with a tired expression as he stared at the notes he had just written down. It was known to most people that he was sort of a workaholic, but he wasn't as bad as people like Tesla and Edison. Still, everyone was starting to get concerned with how much strain he's been putting on himself considering he had been pulling several all-nighters.
He'd always assure everyone that he's feeling fine and that he enjoyed working, but in truth he was feeling rather conflicted right now regarding a small problem regarding his closest friend and partner.
He remembered when she had collapsed at the end of the America singularity. The facility had been in a state of panic for several hours as they had brought her to see doctor Roman, who calmly took her in as if it were natural. He had always assumed that it was the doctor acting calm for their sake, but he always thought the doctor had been acting a little bit too calm.
He didn't think about it, but the doctor had to go and pull him and Gabby aside for a 'little talk' as he put it. What came next was a pile of information that nearly made him throw himself out of his seat and bash the doctor in with his chair.
He knew. He knew about Mashu's condition but didn't tell him, any of them, about it! If it wasn't for Gabby being rational enough to hold him back so Roman could explain, they might've been short one doctor.
Any rational person might have held the grudge of a lifetime, but as the talk went on his anger for the doctor began to fade. He was still irritated with him, but he could understand why he kept it a secret from them. He didn't want their personal feelings to be their downfall, theorizing that they would have run themselves dry trying to figure out how to save her.
That theory wouldn't have been wrong.
He rubbed his forehead and cleared his thoughts. Roman had said that Naruto promised he would try to come up with something for Mashu so he should just focus on the task at hand. He needed a team right now.
His first thoughts had been for a team full of Berserkers. Unfortunately, he had shot that idea down as quickly as it came. It just wouldn't be efficient enough if they were dropped in the middle of a warzone like last time. If they wanted to succeed, they needed rational boots on the ground. He wanted a few tactical minds to be there, people with experience leading others and coming up with plans on the fly.
Picking up his pen, he began writing a few of the first names that he thought of immediately. Surprisingly, the list was actually quite small. It didn't matter to him, though. They were enough. All he needed now were some heavy hitters to seal the deal.
He frowned. His natural thoughts went towards the Sabers, but very few of them were actually available thanks to most of them having been deployed to fix a dozen minor singularities a few days ago. They weren't in peak condition for such an important event. Only two of them were fully operational since they had skipped out on the last few.
He internally winced when he realized the only eligible choices he had could end up possibly as the worst choices he could have made. Unfortunately, they were the only ones available.
He picked up his pen once again and began to write. He had to finish this quickly. They had to suit up in the next hour before heading out. If there were any problems, he'd just wing it.
Or he could just hope nothing would go wrong, but that would just be asking for too much.
Gabby frowned in slight displeasure as she walked with Gudao. The source of her displeasure coming from a slip of paper she held in her hand with scribbled handwriting in black pen scrawled all over in a neat manner.
Gabby: Kakashi, Scathach, Artoria, Oda, Jeanne, Medea.
Gudao: Jiraiya, Mordred, Mashu, EMIYA, Medusa, Robin.
"I can't believe you thought this would be a good idea." Gabby muttered as she and Gudao walked through the hallways towards the leyshift room. "The rest of them I can agree with, but those two specifically?"
"I know they have their problems, but they're the only ones in fresh condition that we can depend on right now. We needed a strong frontline so that's where they come in." Gudao replied calmly, already having expected this response from his partner. "Listen, if things get hairy we can always let Scathach rein both of them in. She's great at that kind of thing. We can also send them back after we re-establish a proper link with Chaldea."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean she can do it forever. The two of them together are like a volatile bomb that could go off at a moments notice. They're not ready to start working together yet, much less be in the same squad!" Gabby argued.
"Would you rather have Karna and Arjuna instead?" Gudao retorted, causing Gabby to bite her lip.
"No... But they have an entirely different level of issues."
"But they're still basically the same, right? Then I'm not changing the decision." Gudao said with a firm tone before sighing at the look on Gabby's face. "Look, I know how concerned you are about this, but we don't have a choice. We can't just go into this singularity without a solid team. If it even goes well, it might actually be able to solidify a relationship with Arturia and Mordred."
Arturia and Mordred, known properly in history as King Arthur and the Knight of Betrayal. Despite their titles, the two of them were actually female instead of Male despite the fact that most historians were one-hundred percent certain that they were male. It had been a surprise with Artoria since she was one of the first servants they had summoned, but it turns out that many other heroic spirits had been female as well despite being solidified as a male in their legends. It was kind of bizzare, but they quickly learned to deal with it.
"You know their relationship is complicated. It'll take delicate work for them to bridge the gap between them. Throwing them into a situation like this could strain it even more." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Everyone gets nervous when the two of them are near each other. I don't want the two of them to get shadowed behind everyone else because of their problems."
"That's why I brought Jeanne along. She's the kindest servant in Chaldea and she'd gladly hang out with the two of them. With her there, we'll be able to hopefully keep the problems to a minimum."
Gabby stared at her friend for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "This wasn't your first idea, was it? Someone suggested it to you." She accused, causing Gudao to flinch. "Knew it. Even you are too nice to risk straining their relationship. Who gave you that idea?"
Gudao mumbled something under his breath.
"What did you say?"
"...Naruto." Gudao said in a louder voice, earning a sigh from the redhead.
"Figures. Only he would suggest something like this."
The blonde was a walking radiator of happiness. Pretty much anyone who came into contact with him had nothing but positive effects happen to them. People had avoided him for some time due to his status as a god, but they began to socialize with him once they saw Jeanne hanging out with him. Despite his ditzy demeanor, he was apparently wise when it counted.
"He's not entirely wrong, you know. They need to sort things out sooner or later. Plus, he's been around for a really long time. I trust his judgement on these things."
"We can only hope." Gabby muttered before her face turned into one of annoyance. "You know... These battle suits could be more comfortable. It sometimes gets really clingy when I sit down."
"That's how Medea designed it. Take it up with her when we get there."
The mystic code battle suits that Medea had designed for them were pretty phenomenal from a magus' point of view. Covered with many runes and blessings from numerous Casters, it amplifies the use of magecraft while forcing less stress on their bodies. It's defense is also stronger than steel and uses shock absorption to disrupt as much damage as possible from physical strikes.
Still, Gudao couldn't help but agree with the female when she said that it could get uncomfortable. It was sometimes tight in several areas, got a little bit too hot, and could get extremely clingy after a workout.
Not to mention the fact that it was a full on bodysuit like the ones Cú, Diarmuid, and Scathach wore. While he get the fact that it was supposed to provide increased combat abilities, he wished it was a little bit more modest. Though that was just him personally. Any other magus would gladly forsake their dignity if it allowed them to get stronger. Increasing your knowledge by any means necessary is a law all magi hold above all else.
A dumb rule, but it was a race for everyone to reach the root before anyone else. They'll use any underhanded tactic to pull ahead and reach the center of the universe, even if it could possibly doom the world.
It didn't take long for Gabby and Gudao to realize that the modern magi were incredibly misguided.
The summoning room was more active than usual with the newly formed strike team having already gathered and milling around as they waited for the ley shifting to begin.
The tension in the room was awkward, however. Arturia and Mordred seemed to not be paying each other any mind, but the rest of them knew better. It was clear that they were trying their hardest not to acknowledge the others existence, too awkward and prideful to even approach each other.
The rest of the servants on the strike team had a mixture of worry, concern, impassive, or calculating looks depending on the person as they did their best to put themselves between them without making it seem too obvious. Most of them didn't exactly agree with this kind of matchup, but didn't attempt to vocalize or argue against it. They trusted their masters enough to at least see how this goes.
Other than that, the team looked good to go. Emiya was making small talk with Arturia to try and draw her attention away. Mashu and Medusa were tending to Fou and spoiling him with pets and scratches. Oda was cleaning her rifles next to Mordred who was doing the same with her sword, and Robin was smoking a cigar much to Medea's annoyance and Jeanne's discomfort as the smoke blew in her direction.
Unfortunately, there was one piece of the picture missing; a familiar grey-haired scarecrow and his orange book.
"What did you mean you lost him?" Gabby asked with a raised eyebrow as she stared at Scathach who had just arrived at the room without the residential scarecrow she had been sent to collect.
"He ditched me on the way here." Scathach shrugged, obviously just as confused as Gabby. "He said something about bringing a few stuff but he didn't specify what."
"Would you like me to go check on him, Sempai?" Mashu asked Gudao, who looked equally concerned about the tardiness.
"Yes, plea-"
"Don't worry about it, Missy." Jiraiya spoke up from his meditating position on the floor, the hermit surprisingly quiet and calm. "Kakashi has a bad habit on showing up late for meetings even if they are important. He'll be around in the next few minutes or so."
"Huh, no wonder him and Hector get along so well." Gudao thought out loud. The legendary hero of Troy was known to be a lazy bum who would just spend the entire day in the Salon. Despite this, him and Kakashi could often be seen around each other early in the morning at the Salon casually reading a book to pass the time. If it wasn't for the fact that they were of different descent, he would have assumed they were related.
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the entrance as Kakashi appeared with a small bag slung around his shoulder and a complete outfit change. Instead of his regular white hokage garb, he now wore a dark green flak jacket over a long sleeve shirt that was tucked into dark blue combat pants. On his hands were combat gloves that had a small metal plating plastered onto them, possibly meant to be like a brass knuckle of some sort.
He gave them a cheery wave. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late but I got stuck on the road of life." He said, causing everyone but Jiraiya to sweat drop at the sorry attempt at an excuse if it could even be called one.
"Where did you run off to?" Gudao asked with a frown as he recovered. "What was so important that you had to leave?"
"Lots of things, actually. You kinda caught me at a bad moment. I didn't want to get my hokage garb dirty so I went back to my room to change into much more appropriate gear. I also had to get my sword, some knives, paper bombs-"
"Bombs?" Oda looked up from her guns.
"Yeah, you never know when you'll need to blow a hole in something." The warlord gave him a thumbs up before returning back to her guns. Kakashi just shrugged before looking around. "So are we ready to begin? This is everyone else, right?"
"Yes, this is it. They were the only ones I could get in such a short notice." Gudao said as he followed Kakashi's gaze which was fixed on the two blonde sabers. "And yes, they are part of this as well."
"You sure? This seems like a really bad idea." Kakashi said in a lowered tone as to not let the two sabers overhear.
"That's what I said." Scathach and Gabby said at the same time, causing Gudao to sigh.
"...Just deal with it." Gudao muttered in a tired voice as he walked off to check on the other servants. As he walked off, Kakashi couldn't help but voice his opinion.
"He seems way too tense."
"Gudao always gets like this before we start our missions." Gabby said with an exasperated sigh. "He's the brains of the organization, so he constantly works to improve our chances of winning. Unfortunately, he thinks that working overtime is going to increase his chances of coming up with anything groundbreaking. He needs to be like me and relax more, maybe a trip to the hotsprings."
"You speak the truth, Gabby. He does tend to overwork himself. However..."
Gabby suddenly yelped and held her arm left shoulder as Scathach gave her a small tap with her fist.
"What the hell was that for?" She whined as she nursed her arm.
"You're too brash. Unlike Gudao, you tend to rush in headfirst and take the most direct route in all situations. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm your advisor you wouldn't be able to come up with anything resembling a plan." Scathach said with a scolding tone as Gabby's expression contorted into a pout.
"That's not true... I can come up with my own plans." Scathach's eyes narrowed. "...fifteen percent of them."
"Sounds about right." Scathach nodded, satisfied with getting her point across. Kakashi and Jiraiya just simply traded looks and a simple thought passed between them.
That woman might be more dangerous than Tsunade.
"Ley shifting will begin in approximately five minutes." Roman announced from his spot near the controls as he flipped the numerous switches and levers, causing the room to hum with energy as the machine powered up in preparation for the ley shifting to begin.
The room had been significantly remodeled and improved after the Fuyuki incident, with Chaldea now having many famous inventors, scientists, and Casters with them to help elevate the facility to new heights. Even though Da Vinci had been with them for a few years and was the lead designer of Chaldea, there was so much a single inventor could do.
Speaking of inventor...
He twisted in his seat so that he could address the inventor to start the next part of the ley shift, only to find Leonardo's usual spot to be vacant. Confused, he looked around the room and blinked in surprise when he saw her talking with the Masters. At first, he was going to berate her for slacking off as usual when he realized that she wasn't just near them, but standing directly IN the ley shifting circle.
"H-hey, Da Vinci! What do you think you're doing? You need to get out of the circle!"
Da Vinci just gave him a smile that somehow made his blood run cold. "Hm? I'm just going with them to Jerusalem. I mean, can you believe it? A walk through the promised land is too good of an opportunity for me to pass up. Besides, this is an EX ranked singularity. They're going to need someone like me to survive in such a foreign land."
Unfortunately, Roman didn't seem to be convinced. "Y-you idiot! None of you will be able to return until the singularity has resolved itself! What will Chaldea do if something happens to you? You've revolutionized Chaldea beyond anything we've ever seen, like the chocolate fountain and coffee machine in the cafeteria-"
"You can just get Emiya to fix it."
"What if something happens to him too?!"
Leonardo's eyes narrowed in growing annoyance and looked like she was about to spit fire while the rest of the people in the room looked back and forth between them like a tennis match. Before she could mouth off back to the doctor, a familiar voice popped up from behind a bunch of computers.
"Ah... Just let her go, Roman."
Everyone turned towards the sound of the voice and found Naruto rolling towards them in a chair without a care in the world, having emerged from behind the terminals without anyone else noticing he had been there all this time.
"Sup."
"Naruto!" Everyone exclaimed except Kakashi and Jiraiya, who simply remained indifferent and continued remaining engaged in their reading.
"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Jeanne asked, being the first one to come down from their shock.
"Yeah, what are you doing here, Naruto-sama?" Oda asked with a curious look until she realized that she was gathering looks from her fellow servants. "What?"
Naruto seemed to ignore the 'sama' part and simply smiled. "I'm just here to see you guys off. After that, me and Roman are going to be monitoring your progress as you go along."
"What, you think solving the singularity yourself is beneath you?" Mordred asked with a gruff tone, earning troubled looks from several servants and masters, along with looks of anger and displeasure from Oda and Arturia.
And despite the obvious jab at him, Naruto's eyes seemed to twinkle in amusement. "Well, if you want the entire singularity to implode on itself the second I touch down then you can be my guest."
That shut Mordred up pretty fast.
"Hold up, is that even possible?" Robin asked with a questioning look.
"Certainly possible. With a sudden variable like him entering the picture abruptly through the leyshift, the fragile singularity might destroy itself even faster." Medea said, musing on the thought and having been told that it had almost happened in a past singularity thanks to a younger version of her.
"Well there you have it. A person like me would just make your lives harder down there. Since I can't be there in the flesh, however, I decided to take over Da Vinci's spot so she could go with you instead!" Naruto said with a grin as he pushed himself towards a lever. "Anyway, you guys better buckle in. This is the lever I need to pull, right Da Vinci?"
"Yes Naruto, that's the safety release. We went over this before." Da Vinci giggled in amusement.
"Now hold on a min-" Roman began protesting, starting to get a little bit upset that nobody seemed to be listening to his opinion, but he was soon cut off as Naruto and Da Vinci gave him a deadpan look.
"Are you seriously doing this right now?" Was what their looks conveyed. After a few seconds passed, the doctor finally realized that he was outvoted two to one and decided to just give up. Sighing, he just made a 'go ahead' gesture with his hands as he admitted defeat.
Da Vinci smirked, obviously pleased with her victory while everyone else just had amused looks at the doctors expense. As Da Vinci joined them in the center of the circle, welcomed by the friendly banter from the rest of the servants, Naruto pressed his hand on the lever in preparation to send them off. Before he did, he gave the masters a single look with a clear message.
"Are you absolutely sure about this?"
The response he got was in the form of determined looks that couldn't be mistaken for anything else. They were the looks of warriors who went into the field of battle, ready to do anything for their cause.
Naruto smirked. Why did he even doubt them?
He shoved the lever down, and the group disappeared from the room in a flash moments later.
Hey guys. As you can see, the story is about to pick up the pace in action as the group gets sent to the Camelot singularity. If you haven't followed on the events of the Grand Order game, you should do so as to get a basic understanding of what will happen.
The game is only in Japanese, but there are translations on the reddit forums that you can find with a little bit of digging. They shouldn't be too hard to find.
As always, there are going to be some changes to the story, but it will ultimately end with the same conclusion as the game. Some of the changes may be minor, but there will be also several major changes.
Also, I might include some potential Omakes in the future. They'll mostly be revolved around the Ninja's time in Chaldea before they were sent on their mission.
And that's about it. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
-baloshua