It's the same as with Ten Steps to Stealing the Dragon's Heart.
Kamui Candy will be updated tomorrow, Friday. Also, don't think I wrote this in this week. I wrote this, and some other chapters for stuff, WAY back. We're talking YEARS ago.
~NRK~
"Ahhhh, Dood!"
"We're screwed for the rest of our lives!"
"Dood!"
Penguin-like creatures ran about screaming their heads off, their peg legs clopping every time they ran.
They were blue in color with a large white belly where small satchels were wrapped around their waists. Their eyes were black while their large beaks were yellow and they had small devil wings on their backs.
This was the Netherworld, the land of demons, ghosts, and creatures of Hell.
And these… were Prinnies. Hell's lowest citizens, souls of human sinners who have to work off their debt down here to find the sweet true release from this realm.
"He's a menace, DOOD!" said another Prinny, covered in soot, as it ran by another with an assortment of towels in his arms.
"Jeez, you'd think these guys have never seen a brat before. Dattebayo~" he grunted as he walked in the opposite direction of the running Prinny, his orange color different from the other Prinnies as he rounded the corner to peek out with his blue eyes. "Laharl-sama! Please stop terrorizing the help!" he shouted as his teal pendant hung around his neck.
"Never!" came the shout from somewhere in the castle. "If he wants to be MY servant, he should be prepared for battle!"
The orange Prinny closed his eyes as he stopped in his place, red lines forming over his eyelids.
"Ah, there ya are! Dattebayo!" the orange Prinny rushed past the corner, quickly forming a towel pyramid in a passing closet before dashing off to another portion of the building. "Found you!"
"Ah! So the only one of worth finally shows up!" said a blue-haired child with antennae of hair sprouting from his head. "Now, will you finally face defeat?!"
"You mean let you win, Dood?" the orange Prinny said with a scratch of the head. "Dude, if you were sore ya coulda just told me."
"What?! No!" the child said as he crossed his arms, his large red scarf flapping in the nonexistent wind. "This day I'm going to win! I will not allow myself to be beaten by a Prinny!"
"Whatever you say, Laharl-sama, dood, the orange Prinny shrugged mockingly.
"Naruto I swear to Satan I WILL DEFEAT YOU!"
Ah, yes, you didn't know did you?
Hi, name's Naruto Uzumaki. Resident Prinny and servant to Lord Kircheskoi okay that name is way too damn long.
We'll call him, Boss.
Anyway, I work for Boss and this is his kid, Laharl. Turns out, Laharl's dad, Boss, runs the Netherworld. Think the guy that runs Hell but… isn't Hell, I'm honestly not sure how this whole place works.
Turns out, when ya die, you can go to Heaven or Hell. I thought there were just the Pure Lands but it's whatever.
Sinners become Prinny and we work out way out, though I wonder how long that takes for most.
"Naruto are you ignoring me?!"
"Oh, sorry, internal monologue," the orange Prinny, Naruto, said as he focused on the pouting Laharl.
"I hear you do that a lot when you're a grown-up," the little demon said as he stared at the Prinny. "How old are you?"
"Well, I should be 18 now in human years," the orange Prinny shrugged. "I mean, I just started working here."
Yeah, as it turns ou-
"Stop that!" the boy said with impunity. "Do you do that whenever I'm not around?"
"It comes and goes, dood."
"Geez, why are you the weirdest Prinny we have?" the young boy said as he scrounged around his room for something. "Whatever! Let's get down to business."
"To defea-"
"Don't you start!"
The bratty demon came back to the Prinny with a large greatsword in hand.
"Come on, we'll go and take potshots at the strays in the garden," the young-looking child said with a grin that the former blond shinobi wished he could return but simply nodded along as he removed a pair of knives from that deceptively small satchel on his stomach.
They were simple in make for something that came from his being. Grey with a white serrated edge, they were a foot and a half long with small ovals for guards.
Holding them in a reverse grip, the two made to leave through the door until an annoyed-looking girl appeared.
"Wuh-oh," the Prinny said.
"Etna? What do you want?" Laharl asked rudely as he tapped the floor repeatedly with his foot. "If you can see, right now, I'm trying to teach this Prinny a lesson." He gestured to Naruto to who nodded.
Etna was a demon not unlike Laharl, the two were very human-looking, baring a long devil's tail, red eyes, and just as red hair that was set in two twin-tails.
She dressed like a demon at least, though she lacked the curves for being what she thought she was, in her short skirt and bat-shaped tube top along with her boots, all black. She stood a head over Laharl and two over Naruto in his current Prinny state.
"King Krichevskoy wants you, Prince," she said with a saccharine sweetness that melted people's teeth on contact. "You should be paying more attention to your work than your servants." She said as she shot Naruto a tilt of the head.
"Didn't you get sent to fold some towels?" Naruto shrugged at the question.
"Did those a long time ago then I found Laharl-sama over here burning Prinnies."
"Not my fault most of them can't handle a little heat."
"Right, whatever, will you just go and see your dad already?" Etna said flatly, getting a frown from Laharl.
"What could my old man want? Fine, fine," he waved her off before turning to Naruto. "We'll do this tomorrow, there shouldn't be anything coming up then."
Naruto nodded. "Alright, dude. Tell Boss I said 'hi'." Etna shot the Prinny an unimpressed look.
"Really? YOU want him to notice you?" she shot the orange being a strange look as he shrugged.
"Nothing really to it. Dattebayo," the Prinny said while he stashed his weapons. "Boss is one of the kindest demons you'll ever meet. I was lucky to end up here when I got to the Netherworld. I'd think you'd know best, right?"
She blinked at him before shying away a bit. "Whatever Prinny."
"Naruto," he corrected getting a flat glare from Etna. "Fine, I'll get you to call me by name one day."
"..." she stared at him like he was insane before turning away from him. "Pft! Whatever! Go and make yourself useful." she left him like that.
The former shinobi shrugged as he went about the young prince's room, tidying up the space.
This was his life now and he wasn't against it, wasn't sure what he'd done to be labeled a sinner but he would just work his way out of it.
After all, he had a long life ahead of him and the people around him weren't all bastards.
It could be worse.
~NRK~
He frowned as he watched the demon king tighten his cloak.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Naruto asked as he handed Boss his ax weapon. "Surely you're not going to do this all on your own. I can help-"
"That's enough, Naruto," Kirchevskoy ordered getting the orange Prinny's eyes to narrow as the overlord smiled. "Please, I understand what you might think of this but I have to."
"That doesn't mean you have to," came the voice of a pink Prinny that stood beside Naruto. "My Liege-"
"To protect my family, my Netherworld, my vassals," the tall demon male said as he settled his large red cape. "I can see in your eyes, Naruto, you understand well." he turned his gaze to the red one and let out a relaxed smile.
She turned away his gaze. "Please..."
"When you have something to protect, you'll become so much stronger," the orange Prinny recited, his blue eyes closing in acceptance. "You have to come back. As a Prinny, as your vassal, as the demon who's probably going to have to explain to Laharl his dad died."
"Come back."
Krichevskoy smirked at the determined young man, that overlaid image of determined blonde standing over the Prinny.
The red one didn't speak but he knew, she knew.
"Of course."
~NRK~
His time away was noticed by all in the manor.
Naruto had never seen Laharl so… out of it at times, the demon teen didn't really go about things as rashly as usual.
He'd still propose things for them to do but he'd wait an hour before they did. Last time the Prinny saw him, the prince was going down for a nap.
Then, Etna looked the most miserable he'd ever seen her. When he asked her what the deal was, she'd give him the worst possible reaction.
"Why do you care?!"
"You're just a Prinny, go do your job!"
"What. Do. You. WANT?!"
He didn't understand the change in attitude from her usual, the King was gone for a bit that's it. She'd typically humor him if not because she was bored but because she seemed curious.
Now? It seemed like she didn't even care about anything.
As he traveled around the castle, he came upon a familiar pink Prinny.
"Big Sis?" the former blonde asked, getting no response. "Yo! Sis!"
She didn't respond, just sitting in a corner of the room he'd entered.
Alone. He'd need to change that immediately.
Walking over, he plopped down next to her, still getting no reaction.
"..."
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"... I'm worried," she finally responded, getting the blond to sit up straight. "Naruto-kun, do you know who the King is fighting?"
"No?" the male Prinny shook his head. "All I know is that he was super serious about it, he never usually looks like that."
"... The one who King Krichevskoy is to fight is a demon lord known as Overlord Baal," she tightened her flippers. "An overlord that conquers overlords."
The orange Prinny froze. "And he went by himself?!" the Prinny shot to his feet and pointed at her. "We have to go, now!"
"Stop! Please!" she said, getting him to turn back to her with narrow eyes. "You don't know how strong he actually is! Baal has the power to conquer Netherworlds Naruto-kun."
The male's eyes were determined. "And every little bit counts, come on!" he grabbed her flipper and dragged her along.
"Naru-"
"No!" he interrupted. "If I didn't do anything while knowing it with this bad, I'd never forgive myself!"
She was quiet after that as they ran through the halls before coming to the Dimensional Transporter.
The Cleric, the one who did the transporting, looked at them in confusion.
"Listen," Naruto began as he let go of the older Prinny's flipper. "A month ago, did Boss come through here?"
"Who…?"
"... King Krichevskoy," the pink Prinny explained, getting a small gasp from the cleric. "A month ago he left, I'd believe he went through here, yes?"
"Hmmm," the transporter thought to herself. "Yes, he did."
"Good! We need to get to where he is, immediately!" the orange Prinny asserted, getting a frown from the cleric. "He's in danger-"
"I know," she said plainly, getting a shocked look from both Prinnies that she returned with sadness. "I know. He told me so."
"He said not let anyone come after him, it'd be too dangerous," Naruto growled at that.
"And you're just going to let him go off on his own?!"
"I have no say in the matter, I'm to do as I'm told my Lord," she reflected. "You should follow his orders all the same."
"If I'm told my Boss is telling me to leave him to die, you can bet your ass I'm not following that bullshit!"
She scrunched her face up in annoyance. "You're a Prinny, why are you so insistent? Lord Krichevskoy made sure you'd be paid in hi-"
"I don't care about money!" he shouted, shutting her up. "I'm trying to make sure my Boss is alright, why is this so hard to understand?!"
"He's an Overlord!"
"So what?! Does that make him invincible!"
"You-?!" the transporter made to respond rather harshly but the two's argument was halted in its steps when the portal flashed.
The trio stared at the flashing portal, its normal green color shifting to red as a figure unceremoniously fell through it.
"Boss!/My Liege!/Lord!"
~NRK~
The Clerics were moving in and out of the room, Krichevskoy's condition steadily decreasing as they tried to keep his wounds closed.
Naruto stared from part of the room along with the pink Prinny and the newly arrived Etna, the girl looking pale and terrified.
"This..." the pink Prinny started but trailed off.
"Is messed up? Yeah, it is, tsk," Naruto stared at the lone constant in the room.
Boss looked like crap and was dealing with a ton of injuries: A burned body, nerve damage, missing his antennae, he had cracked bones and muscle damage is what he'd heard thrown around the room.
"You said this was Baal, yes?" Naruto turned to Big Sis. "That's who did this?"
"..."
"Sis!"
"... Tyrant Overlord Baal," she said finally, getting the orange Prinny to narrow his eyes as Etna stiffened. "The Lord of Terror, Conqueror of Overlords and Netherworlds alike."
"A demon above all else, one could even say he's the progenitor of the word 'Overlord'."
Naruto turned from her to the ground.
"Where is he found?" he asked but got no answer. "Sis!"
"I don't know!" she shouted back, getting him to flinch. "I do not know where he is! He's not some stationary target, Naruto, he travels the Netherworlds of the cosmos!"
"To find him, he'd have to come looking for you," she said, getting the orange Prinny's eyes to widen. "That's why Lord Krichevskoy had to fight him."
"Were he to not, we'd lose everything we held dear."
Etna's hair shadowed her eyes as she clenched her hands into fists.
Naruto stared at Big Sis before turning back to their injured overlord.
"I'm not letting him get away with, Sis," he said determinedly. "I'll get strong enough to deal with this bastard."
"That's a promise!"
The beeping of equipment caught all of their attention, the three rushing to Krichevskoy's side as the demon groaned, his eyes opening slowly to look at them.
He shot them a shaky smile. "I-I guess this is what you m-meant, huh?"
"Boss!" the orange Prinny shot him an irritated look before sighing. "At least you could follow the hope of a subordinate." he ignored the slap from Big Sis.
"Lord Krichevskoy!" Etna exclaimed as she stared at him, horror in her eyes. "L-Lord?"
"E-Etna?" he blinked as he looked at the red-haired girl. "Kaugh! I-I guess this s-sorry state, isn't what you were e-expecting," he got out, the teen devil looking like she was about to break into tears.
His hand came to rest upon her head, tussling the crimson locks. "Please… Keep Laharl safe… He must become a fine overlord."
The beeping machinery was quickening, Clerics and Clergy bursting into the room as healing magic pulsed about, the king's eyes turning to the pink Prinny.
He smiled at her and she did her best to not look at him, tears falling from her eyes. "N-No, please."
"Thank you for always looking over u-us," Boss grinned as she grabbed his outstretched hand. "You've been doing this for so l-long, I'm sorry..."
"Please! You've been the best you could have!" she trembled. "Laharl needs you!"
"Haha, Kaugh, kaugh," the overlord laughed for a bit, giving a shaky smirk. "I could have said the same…" his gaze turned to Naruto, the orange Prinny's eyes narrowed as he looked at everything around the room.
"Naruto… please, take care of them for m-"
"No..." the former blonde said as he stood straight. "I'm not letting this be, nothing like this is going to happen again on my watch!"
The Prinny fluttered above the overlord, staring at him before his eyes closed as red outlines formed around them.
He burned yellow, the glowing flames catching Etna's attention. Black marks ran throughout his body as a black orb floated above him.
"I… I don't have a lot of this left," the blond said as he lowered onto the staring demon lord. "But! I refuse to stand by when I could do something."
He pressed his flippers against the demon's forehead.
"Just know, you have way too much to live for."
Those gold flames transferred from Naruto to the overlord. Above the orange Prinny, a counter ran down from 500.
"Naruto..."
"Hmph, I won't be around him like you will. Just..."
The counter hit '0'.
"Get some rest."
~NRK~
She watched the Prinny collapse almost immediately, his form falling over the side of the reeling as the quick beeping of medical equipment slowed.
She turned from the more easily breathing overlord, to the closed-eyed Prinny and walked over to it.
She kicked its pegleg and it didn't get up.
She slapped him and he didn't get up.
She shook him and he didn't get up.
She stared at him with wide eyes.
He didn't move.
She wasn't sure if he ever would.
The sound of the nurses, Clerics, and Clergy, stopped as all in the room stared in the lifeless Prinny.
It was slow but the Prinny deflated, her hands grabbing hold of nothing but a hide of Prinny.
Naruto the Prinny had died.
~NRK~
He gasped as he shot up, his breaths coming out like a machinegun as he blinked and held his throat.
He slowly caught his breathing, eyes blinking as he stared at the white floor.
He didn't hear any hospital equipment… As a matter of fact.
He didn't hear anything.
Wait, he looked down at his hands. At his hands and not flippers.
He looked past them to see his legs and jumped to his feet, the billowing white cloak over him flapping around.
"What?"
"Hello, young man," he heard behind him, causing the former ninja to whip around and see…
A long teal-haired man with calm grey eyes. He was taller than the blonde by a large margin in his billowing clothes, a large white robe with teal accents and tassels strung about.
Oh? Did the blonde forget to mention the huge ass wings on this guy's back?!
Forgive him, he wasn't used to dealing with an… "Angel?" the blonde asked as he watched him.
"What's an angel doing in the Netherworld?" the man looked amused, raising an eyebrow with a smile on his face. "What?"
"Young man, I believe you are mistaken."
"This isn't the Netherworld… This is Celestia and you have died."
…!
"I'm DEAD?!" the blonde shouted, mouth dropped open and eyes wide as he looked at this guy.
Why the hell was he in Celestia?!
"You died in your great deed to Overlord Krichevskoy," the angel said with a small tilt of the head, a mirror of clouds forming next to the blonde.
The now blonde human looked in and saw a familiar set of people. "Boss, Sis, Etna?!" he stared before looking back to the angel and back at the mirror.
"What the hell?!"
"Your giving of life force to the overlord ended your life," the angelic man said. "When you did, you used the entirety of your LVs, your power, your very life, to bring the overlord back from critical condition." the blonde stared at him.
"So… he's alive?" the blonde asked, grinning as he did.
The amused angel smiled back before nodding. "Yes, though comatose, Overlord Krichevskoy is alive."
The blonde stopped smiling. "Comatose?!"
"The power needed to heal such grievous wounds didn't bring him back to full health, barely at all, really. But, your lifeforce is potent, plus it came not just from you but from the Netherworld itself, young sage."
The blonde blinked at him. "Okay, but when's he going to wake up?" at the question, the angel frowned a bit. "What? What's wrong?"
"That's a more complicated matter," the angel said as he brought up another mirror, this one showing the overlord in his entirety before changing vision.
Naruto could see the internals of Krichevskoy's pathways, a dark red body frame with pulsing purple energy pathways obstructed by several sparks of dark purple.
"What's wrong with his body?" the angel shook his head.
"While you reinvigorated his organic state, his spirit is a little bit more complicated," the long-haired man pointed to the clusters of purple. "His demonic energy is trapped within his body and slowly killing him."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "WHY?!"
"Overlord Baal's power is nothing to sneeze at, it's why your overlord sealed him away instead of killing him." The angel answered, getting the blonde to frown.
"You said he was dying?" the spiky-haired one looked miserable. "So I couldn't save him?"
"Now, no one said that," said the older-looking man, causing Naruto to look at him. "You've done something I wasn't expecting."
"You gave him time, Naruto-kun," he continued. "He can still be saved but it's going to require power beyond that of yours and my own."
"What do I need to do?" Naruto asked immediately, on his feet with a fire in his eyes. "I will not let him die. I can't!"
The angelic being smiled at the blonde. Yes, pulling the boy to this world had been the correct decision, Krichevskoy.
"To start," the angel began. "You need to be stronger, much stronger if we're to remove Baal's virus." The human soul nodded.
"So I need to go and kill a lot of monsters?" the blonde asked but blinked when the angel wiggled his hand. "Huh?"
"It's going to take a little bit more than that, Naruto-kun," the angel's hand came up, balls of light gathering into his hand before an orb of light appeared.
Naruto was instantly entranced by it. "What's that?"
"This, Naruto-kun, is your soul," the older man said, getting the blonde's eyes to bug out. "You have to understand something, Naruto."
"You are not of this world's heaven or hell," seeing the blonde's confused look, he explained. "We… I brought your soul here."
"You WHAT?!" Naruto looked alarmed. "What do you mean?!"
"Surely you noticed this isn't your Hell or Pure lands? I… I brought your soul from your plain of existence to my own." The blonde looked confused.
"Why?" he had to ask. "Why me?" the angel shot him a solemn.
"In the coming future, Naruto-kun, there's going to be conflicts I'm worried my people won't be able to handle. I needed a strong soul to help them face it but not just strong but pure." The blond looked confused.
"But I kill people for a living," Naruto started. "I've killed at least ONE person, how the hell am I not in, well, Hell?"
"Understand Naruto, sometimes, even killing can be seen as acceptable depending on conditions surrounding it." The angel said. "There are few people who justify killing but there are even fewer who despise it. You sought world peace in a world of bloodshed and war."
"You felt sympathy for your opponents who were led down the wrong path, you turned them to the better path just in time for them to do good once more. Naruto, you're a spectacular young man who didn't deserve to die so young."
Naruto blushed a bit, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "He, he~ Dattebayo~"
"And that's why I've sought you out, to have you would be a boon in the future development between the Netherworld, Human world, and Celestia." The angel nodded to the soul in his hand. "We've gotten off-topic, though. Naruto-kun…"
"To take on the task to help your overlord, you have to make a decision. To allow yourself to be locked to this world and its rules or be able to reincarnate back in your realm."
"Huh?" the ninja blinked at the choices. "W-Whoa… So, there's a chance I'll be reincarnated into the Shinobi world?" the angel nodded. "B-but! That means-"
"You won't be able to help Krichevskoy," the angel finished, getting the blond to slump. "This is a big choice Naruto-kun."
"Throughout your life, you've had to deal with many hardships put upon you without your knowing. You've had to give and give, I can understand if you want to be selfish-"
"It's fine," the blond said with an accepting smile, that caught the angel off-guard. "I… I get it, I know I should try to achieve my own happiness but…" he looked back at the mirror holding all the others, Etna's grip on his Prinny Hide was something he wasn't sure about how to translate.
"I'm happy when my precious people are happy. I haven't been around them long but I consider a few in that castle as precious to me," the blonde said resolutely. "I'll give up on the Shinobi world because they don't need me anymore."
The angel's eyes shifted as his smile tilted slightly even as he began concocting something else in his head.
"Let me help Boss, please."
"…" the angel's smile was one of the most beautiful things Naruto had ever seen. "Yes, a truly beautiful soul."
Then the blonde's soul moved towards him, its colors changing from white to gold to silver to red before sinking into his flesh.
"That is the beginning," Naruto looked back up at the angel who now held something in his hands that caused the blonde to chuckle nervously.
"Different place, same result, huh?" the blonde said as the Prinny suit floated over to him. "Huh? It's white and got angel wings, gotta fit the part?" he shot the angel a raised brow.
"Simply aesthetics," he said as the blonde zipped down the back.
"So, how does th- Whoaoooooo!" the blonde began to speak but was interrupted by the wicked suction of the back of the Prinny Hide, taking his soul in an instant.
There was a flash of gold light as the zipper disappeared and the Prinny Hide inflated with the blonde's soul. "Mmph! Mmph! ORA?!" he blinked his blue eyes as he looked around before taking a look at his flippers.
"Huh…" he flexed his flippers, curling and uncurling, before looking back up at the amused-looking angel. "This'll be a long trip, I'm thinkin'."
"Hmm, yes," the angel held a hand out to the white Prinny, a gold light emitting from its being before it died down. "You're going to need to do a lot, Naruto-kun." His smile faded as he got down to business. "We've already established Baal as a threat but his essence can be just as deadly. It's full of his being and will follow his will of conquering and destroying. That's why it seeks to destroy Krichevskoy."
"Huh, so how do we do this? You said I have to get strong but you didn't seem to mean levels."
"Correct, what I mean is that you need to enhance your new container," the twice former blonde tilted his head. "Hmph, your current attire is to do more than house your soul. I've customized it to hold both angelic and demonic energy."
"Huh? How? No offense but you're still an angel," the Prinny scratched his head. "This is weird."
"Quite," the angel held up a hand, a ball of light formed but Naruto could tell it was different.
The angel's hand pushed it towards the Prinny who held it in his flippers once it reached him. "Huh? This feels… different."
"That, my young Prinny, is 'Authority,' it's a special ability that angels have. That was mine, a portion at least. It allows me to control angelic energy. For demons, this would be called 'Evilities' and they follow the same function."
"What you need to do, Naruto-kun, is find other Abilities like this," the white penguin turned to the angel. "That was to control angelic energy but you also need two other abilities. One that holds control over souls and another that of true demonic energy."
The Prinny blinked at him, forgetting the Authority in his flippers that pushed into his body.
"Whoa," the Prinny said as the Authority sunk into his hide. "It feels strange like I'm super hyper and happy." The angel smiled at the description.
"Wait, what about the Humans? Don't I need one for them?" the question got a chuckle out of the angel.
"Naruto, you already have it," the former shinobi's jaw dropped. "You being a Sage is the farthest natural ability of mankind. You've fought to keep your soul numerous times and have removed others', which will help against Baal's influence."
"Alright… Yeah, I got this!" the Prinny posed, flipper jutted out to the sky. "I'll find these Evilities and make the Boss open his eyes once more."
"… Naruto-kun, I have to say, you don't have much time," the blond turned to him in panic. "I said it before, no? That Baal's influence will destroy him eventually. Originally, you had four years but due to your soul's re-emergence taking longer than expected, you've lost a good two years."
The white Prinny's eyes went white as he began to panic. "What?! I'm WHAT?! Why didn't you wake me, dood?! What the hell?! I gotta do this in two years?!"
"Be calm, Naruto-kun," the angel held up a hand in confidence. "While two years might seem small there's a large amount of influence that an overlord can get you."
The Prinny stared at him before it hit him. "Oh right! If I can get Boss's influence to look for the demons who might have these Evilities, I can get this done in no time!"
The angel didn't have the heart to pop the former blonde's parade.
To find such Evilities was one thing but to get them was going to be difficult.
"Naruto-kun," the Prinny stopped his dance of joy. "Understand, to get an Evility isn't going to be easy, what you seek is going to come from powerful individuals. Such beings will likely be unwilling to part with such abilities easily."
"But can't they give me a bit just like you did?" the white Prinny asked, getting a raised brow from the angel.
"Naruto-kun? How likely is it that these people will give you anything?"
"…"
"…"
"… Fuck my life, dood."
He tightened the satchel across his light blue chest, the satchel more like a bag compared to the normal version.
He reached into the bags on his sides, retrieving a pair of knives that were white in color with silver edges and a knuckle guard.
He flipped them into his flippers before storing them away and looking at the angel.
"Alright, let's do this," the angel nodded as they looked at the large monolith of a gate that separated Celestia and the Netherworld.
The angel's hand came up and the sound of a large lock being undone reached their ears.
Nodding to the angel, Naruto began to walk toward the large door before stopping and turning around.
"Ya know, I can't believe I didn't get your name," the Prinny said getting a smile from the angel.
"For now, just call me... Christo."
Naruto nodded as he walked forward and disappeared into the monolith.
The angel hoped the teen would do well, Flonne could use the extra influence.
"Sir Lammington!" came the shout of a mustached angel that floated towards him. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Where did you go off to… is your hair different?"
Lammington, Seraph of the angels, smiled.
"I was simply watching the souls go by, come Vulcanus," he gestured to the angel. "We'll go and you can tell me about your recent escapades. And I was just trying something different." The other angel perked up at that.
"O-Oh! Well! I will!" he puffed out his chest. "Come and let me regale you of my many tales!"
They flew off, the two angels looking back on the door with differing intentions.
~NRK~
He was falling!
He frowned as he looked down, where he was currently aiming to hit. Ice and dirt as far as the eye could see… Was this Jotunnheim? He didn't know much of the places in the Netherworld but this place reminded him of the Land of Spring.
Was that the courtyard? No, that wasn't the one he knew!
He could make out details now, the more he fell, there were demons down there.
He thought he saw humanoid shapes and tails + wings, so Succubus? Hmmm? Were there also Nekoma-
"Gah!" he hit the floor, an eruption of dirt, snow, and dust filling his landing zone. "God, who put the ground in my way?!"
"Yes," the Prinny froze. "That is a good question~"
He didn't need to look up to know what awaited him, the sultry voice alone tipped him off.
"Great," he muttered as the sound of more flapping wings reached his ears. "Just great."
"Ya know, this could be a bit more comfortable."
"Shut it, Prinny! Who sent you?!"
That was basically how his entire time here was spent, wondering who the hell this guy was and why he got capture- Okay, he could think of a couple of reasons about the second one.
Being Lv. 1 wasn't doing him any favors right now.
"You are a Prinny, it is your job to obey your superiors!"
"Dood, the only thing superior about you is that mileage on the back of your head, what the hell! That's a lot of hair!"
"Urrrgggggrrrr! You-!?"
"Sir~" came the wispy voice of a Succubus who was waiting at the door of the interrogation chamber. "You said you would make time for me~"
The demon pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing and turning away from the trapped Naruto, the white Prinny wrapped in chains. "Yes, yes, I'll get right to it." He turned back to the former ninja.
"You will rue the day you defied ME! Maderas!" his dramatic shout done, the demon followed after the giggly succubus, leaving the Prinny to his lonesome.
"Now," he thought as he turned on his head, the chains easily sliding down his body before he sat back on his rump. "What am I going to do?"
The best thing to do was probably make his way back to the castle.
First things first, he had to get outta here.
He looked around, the keys hanging on the wall by the entrance too out of his physical reach.
Maybe it was time to test out the Authority that Lahmu had given him.
He focused inward, his soul's energy was being orbited by a familiar glowing orb.
Opening his eyes, he reached a flipper out and his magical energy reacted. It shot out from his fin at a moderate pace, angling around before it hit the keys.
He grinned as it receded and landed in his hands, flippers. Reaching around and unlocking his cage, Naruto tasted his first steps of freedom as the door opened.
"I forgot my-!" Maderas came back in, eyes wide with rage as he spotted Naruto mid-step out the cage. "You cretin! Get back in there!" he lunged at the white Prinny.
"Nope!" the penguin demon leaped over the long-haired demon's lunge before kicking him into the cage.
Maderas, upside down, looked on as Naruto closed the cage and locked it, twirling the keys on his flipper.
"He, he, dood," he dropped the keys and stepped on it, breaking them. "Later, ya bastard!" he took off.
Maderas's shout of rage was something he barely heard as he hauled ass away from the Interrogation Room.
Hiding up the rafters was the best place to be as he saw another unit of female demons running past underneath.
He'd scanned the upper stories and, thankfully, found zero demons hiding up here with him.
'Thank god there aren't any Kunoichi here,' the Prinny thought as he leaped from beam to beam. 'Now, where's m- hm?'
He stopped, something familiar tickling his senses.
'Etna?' he looked further into the castle.
He'd found himself in a set of hallways, each one decorated with overblown pictures of Maderas.
"Man, this guy has a hell of an ego. Which kind of fits," he said to himself as he traversed the halls, that energy signature pulling him into the recesses of the large manor. "Why is Etna here?"
He hoped nothing bad had happened to anyone else at the manor. Knowing them, they should be tending to Boss but the white Prinny couldn't be sure.
He stopped at a large painting, Maderas sat in a large throne with succubuses and nekomata draped over him as he looked down on the person viewing it.
It made the Prinny want to punch him in the face.
Ignoring that notion, for now, he felt the presence behind this painting. He pushed his flipper against it and applied force.
There was a large rip for his efforts and he peered inside to stare at what looked like a pulsing ball of color.
"What?" he touched it.
She felt him rub her head with his normal smile.
"You've done well making it this far, Etna," he said with soft eyes that had her looking away.
"I just wanted to make sure everything went well."
He blinked the memory fading away as he held the ball in his grasp.
W-Were these? Were these Etna's memories?!
Heat built from his core to head and the Prinny felt the strongest urge to go and destroy Maderas's entire face!
He let out a shuddering breath and stored the ball in his backpack.
Now to get out of here before he killed something.
He made it past the walls of the manor, the icy architecture working to his advantage as he leaped from outcropping to outcropping.
He could still hear the shouts of the scattered guards and female demons searching for him. Maderas's shouts had long since been muffled by the distance from where he was.
"Now, where to go from here," Naruto thought as he hid underneath a hanging ice cliff. "I need to get to Krichevskoy castle."
"Oh? You're also trying to take the title?" he heard from below, startling the Prinny.
"Wha?! Who's there?!" he said as he jumped to his peg legs, knives in his flippers.
"Why me of course!" he heard once more from below, causing him to look over the edge of his little spot. "Hiya!"
He found a strange-looking demon, it seemed.
It was a salamander sticking to the side of the ice cliff the Prinny was on. The blue skin and large body not matching the youth in her voice was a little off-putting. With her medium-sized wings and small horns, she was a moderate sight.
Not scary at first glance.
"What were you saying about an overlord castle?" her large mouth curved at his question.
"Oh yeah! Turns out King Krichevskoy is out right now! All his retainers and vassals are in disarray and demons are lining up for the throne title!"
The Prinny's eyes bugged out. "What?! Seriously?!"
"Yup? So are you tryin' to take a shot? You seem kind of weak though," she asked as she observed his level.
The Prinny had forgotten that! He was level 1 and, if what this demon was saying was anything to go by, there were a large number of strong demons heading for the castle.
He needed to get stronger but he also had to get to the castle quickly!
"Hey, how strong are you?" she pondered before letting out a squawk at his level.
"Level 1," she seemed alarmed. "I was involved in an incident with a demon who stole my levels somehow," the teen lied.
"That sounds so hax! Where are they?!"
"They dropped me off here and I got captured by Maderas," he pointed to the castle in the distance. "I just escaped."
"Huh, sounds rough."
"Yeah, yeah, so about that leveling I need to do."
"Not my problem."
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that, dammit."
"... Well, say if you'd do me a favor in the future, I can point you in the direction of the castle~"
This was so much better.
His knives carved into the golem's arm, lopping off the appendage with an arc of angelic power.
"AH!" the golem ran, leaving Naruto to wipe his brow.
He shrugged as he did, stashing his weapons away and moving around his current battlefield.
He'd reached level 10 from facing all these higher-level demons, pushing his previous level 1 status.
He had made sure to dodge as many as he could but those he couldn't dodge took long battles of attrition that he usually was knocked out for a bit after to get rest.
While he didn't get as much experience from sparing them, he still made it to level 10 with the number of battles he'd been in.
Thinking about getting stronger, he thought back to his overall mission before checking his status and Skills List.
If he was going to get those Evilities, he'd need something to help him do so!
Now, did he get something for- Oh!
"Yeah, I did," the Prinny answered with upside-down U's for eyes. "It seems like the answer to a lot of my problems."
Angelic Language: Sealing Designation- Can use seals of a variety of effects ranging from paralyzing, capturing, level degradation, and to gain Evilities.
"Yeah, I'm gonna be going strong for a bit."
~NRK~
He'd been traveling for a couple of days now, fighting off the stray demon every so often with the Prinny sparing most of them.
"Hey, what has been going on as of late? I'm out of the loop," he asked the latest demon he encountered and was riding on, another female Salamander who was wheezing from the various cuts on her body.
"Kaugh! Mmm, well, the prince seems to be going around and regaining power," her craggy voice made out.
"Laharl-sama?" the Prinny asked, getting a pained nod from his enemy. "Huh but wait, doesn't he have the entirety of the castle at his disposal?"
"Ha! Hell, no!" she laughed hoarsely. "That brat's been doing nothing but running his mouth two years AFTER his father fell out of power! Who'd rely on someone like that? His vassals have been leaving left and right."
The Prinny's eyes narrowed at that. That couldn't be good for the boy's mental situation.
"I've heard rumors about an angel aligning with him but that's impossible! Plus, why?"
Naruto froze at that fact. "An angel?"
~NRK~
He was level 12 now.
Naruto split the roaming tentacle in half as he sent out a wave of Wind.
Getting across the ocean was a no-brainer seeing as he could water walk the whole way. Though dealing with the strays who thought he was an easy snack could be annoying.
He came down on the squid demon with the back of his knife.
He landed on the water and watched his opponent collapse.
Now… Wait, he had an idea.
"Hehe, I knew this was a good idea!"
The squid demon whimpered as he took the Prinny across the cold ocean.
~NRK~
Level 15 and he was noticing a slow crawl of EXP as they got further away from Maderas's estate.
"I hope the others are okay," he thought as he used a roaming stray chimera as a ride, the beast sporting several painful-looking lumps. "I'll be there soon, dood. Just hold on. Dattebayo."
The chimera groaned as it ran.
~NRK~
He didn't gain a level as he came upon an unfamiliar view.
"Yeah, let's-"
"I wanna go home! Why is it so hot?"
"Quit your whining!"
"Snappish as always, huh?"
"I think he's more snappish than normal."
"No one asked you, Flonne!"
Naruto froze. No… It couldn't be...
"I'm gonna kill you if you tell me angels don't sweat or go to the bathroom."
"N-No… The medicine that a Prinny gave me seems to be helping."
"Huh? Most Prinnies aren't that nice."
"Will you two stop talki- Huh?"
The twice former blonde cursed in his head as attention was presented on his head peeking over a crag.
"... Crap"
Red eyes met blue and Naruto figured this was the point where he'd just get it over with and ask to be back in Laharl's servitude.
But… the boy's stare turned from annoyed and impassive to narrow-eyed confusion.
"A Prinny?" the others turned from their conversation to Naruto. "What the hell?"
"..." He stared at Laharl.
"..." the boy demon stared back with growing aggravation.
To hell with it. "Sup, Laharl-sama."
"..." the demon prince's mouth dropped.
"Dood?"
"What did you just call me?" the boy ran over before he was in front of the Prinny, eyes wide and fists clenched. "What. Did. You. Say?"
Naruto stared him in the eyes before his eyes turned into U's.
"I see you still haven't grown an inch in the time I was away, dood."
The boy demon's body froze at the Prinny's nonchalant comment about his height.
Naruto's wings fluttered a bit. "Yeah, dying is kind of rough, let me tell ya."
Red eyes shook as he stared at the Prinny showing him his angel wings.
"Turns out I still have stuff to do down here, no more leaving for this sinner."
He was grabbed and turned around, Laharl's eyes moving all about the Prinny's form.
"N-Naruto?" he muttered, voice quiet.
The Prinny pat him on the head.
"In the flesh, sort of. Dattebayo!"
The boy just stared at the alive Prinny, eyes shadowed by his hair as demonic energy exploded from his being.
"NARUTO!"
Hot air blasted away from the prince, Naruto watching the proceedings as he slowly retrieved his knives from his side pouches.
"I should have known this was going to include a boss battle, dood."
His last word must have tipped the prince over the edge as a ragged wave of demonic energy dashed at the Prinny.
His daggers were crossed in front of him to meet Laharl's charge, the boy's large sword slamming against the Prinny's guard.
The penguin monster's dagger swung out, disengaging their weapons and knocking Laharl off balance. He moved forward before planting his peg leg in the boy's stomach.
"Guoof!" Laharl bent at the waist before sailing past Etna and Flonne, the two girls blinking as the prince soared back in seconds to engage with Naruto in battle.
It was a faded memory, from three years ago when Naruto had first come to work for Krichevskoy.
The orange Prinny wiped around the portrait as Laharl and his father stood in front of it.
"Tsk! Why am I here?" the tiny child grumbled as he turned away from the portrait to stare at Naruto. "You!"
"Me, dood?" the Prinny asked as he looked at Laharl.
"Who else?! Whatever! Do a trick!"
"Ha?" Naruto let out a sigh at the demand. "Dude, come on, that's not why you're here."
"What'd you just say to me?!" Laharl shouted as he stomped over. "I'm your master, you should stop talking back, ya flightless bird!"
"Seriously," Naruto squeezed out his rag and began wiping the corner of the large portrait. "IS this the place you really want a distraction?" Laharl glared.
"This is a sacred time for you and Boss, why are you wasting it like this?" the Prinny asked, walking over, as Laharl's eyes went wide. "It's obvious you're hurt, it's hard to know they're gone but that's just it."
He turned on the prince who stepped back. "They're not," Naruto pointed a flipper at Laharl's chest. "They're never truly gone, not if you remember them always in your heart."
Krichevskoy peeked out the side of his eye at the Prinny with a small smile as the pink Prinny holding his wine bottle stared.
"You loved her, never forget that," Naruto tapped on the wide-eyed teen's chest. "And she did you, she brought you into this world because you were the most precious thing she'd ever known."
The boy flinched as the Prinny's determined stare turned soft.
"Remember that, dood, some of us didn't really get to know ours."
With that the Prinny left with the bucket in hand, the audience of the royal family left silent as he did.
Laharl stood there confused, cursed under his breath, and turned to the picture.
Krichevskoy wanted his son to learn at his pace but he wouldn't say no to little nudges here and there.
Especially if they came from a Prinny.
Etna peeked around the corner of a hallway, eyes lowered as her tail hung limply behind her.
Etna's mind finally caught up with the situation and exactly what Laharl had said.
"Wait, Naruto?" she frowned as she watched the Prinny and prince go at it.
The white penguin sinner spun, wind uplifting and meeting the demon prince's charge. The force of his demonic charge repelled by the Prinny's rotation.
"Remember, there's more than a couple ways around brute strength!" Naruto said as he brought his rotation to an end with an uppercut. "And turn it into your own power!"
Laharl righted himself mid-air from the hit, eyes glowing as fire appeared in his hands. The prince mashed his flames together, the fireball growing to the size of a large dog.
Naruto's eyes narrowed as the teen demon chucked it at him, his daggers glowing, as he swung twice, once horizontally and another vertically, splitting the flames.
There wasn't a blue-haired boy in front of him anymore and Naruto smirked.
He spun one knife in the air in front of him as the free flipper reached back and grabbed Laharl by the scarf.
"Wha-Gurk!" the demon was surprised all the way up until the Prinny headbutted him away, the child bouncing backward before cratering the floor beneath him.
The reincarnated human soul caught his knife and flourished both about before putting them back in his side sacks.
Walking over, he heard Laharl coughing as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees.
Their eyes met once more as the boy looked up at him, the Prinny.
Naruto pat him on the head. "Not bad, you're getting a lot better. Now, come on, get up, dood." he held out a flipper.
The demon lord's progeny looked at it like it was some foreign animal before grabbing it and allowing Naruto to pull him up.
"What the hell?!" came Etna's scream as she and Flonne slid down the embankment of stone to reach them. "What's going on?! Why'd a PRINNY beat you?"
"Aw, this wouldn't be the first time," Naruto said, Laharl rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Just the first in a LONG time."
"That voice… Who are you...?" the demon girl uttered as she stared at Naruto, the white Prinny noticing a long, ragged, dark orange half skirt over her normal black one. "Huh?"
They all stood there, awkwardly, as she said this.
"I don't think we've met," said that blonde angel with wide white eyes. "I'm Flonne!"
"Nice ta meetcha!" said the Prinny as he nodded to her.
"I've never seen a Prinny from Celestia before," the angel trainee said, getting curious looks from those around them as well.
"It's a long story and speaking of long stories..." the Prinny said, catching the trio's attention. "Etna… I think this is yours," he said as he reached into his backpack.
"Mine? What… are… you?" she stared at the pulsing orb in Naruto's flippers as he held it out to her. "... H-How… I-"
"It's fine," Naruto nodded to it. "I was asked to take care of you and Laharl, even if Boss worded it badly. So when I got captured by Maderass I found this." he pushed it out to her once more, urging her to take it.
"These are yours after all," Naruto said as she gently took them, her memories. "Try not to lose 'em again, wouldn't want to have to make another trip."
She just stared at the memories and, as she closed her hands around them, they exploded.
She knew it wasn't everything but she had a feeling they'd all return.
She looked at the Prinny as he nodded to her.
"Finally looks like you actually recognize me," he said as she held onto one arm and looked away. "Ah, come on, none of that."
"I'm alive, so is Boss, that's all that matters right now," the Prinny said. "Besides, I still need to fix the Boss." the two of them looked at him.
"You know?" Etna asked with a sigh. "We don't know what's wrong with him, he won't wake up."
"Tell me about it, the old man's supposed to be way tougher than this," Laharl said as he observed Naruto who was scratching the back of his head.
"That's the other thing I have to do, I have to fix him, no matter what. I gave up reincarnation to fix him and I'll be damned if I don't." the demons looked at him like he was insane. "What?"
"What'd you just say?" Etna asked looking at him wide-eyed. "What do you mean you gave up reincarnation?! That's the whole reason you're a PRINNY!"
Laharl's eyes narrowed on the alive Naruto. "I don't get it, you gave up the chance to become human again?"
"... When I died, didn't mean to do that by the way but things happened, I went to heaven I think," Naruto started ignoring the flinching of the two at his 'when I died' bit. "I was freaking out for a bit but..."
And so he told them, erring on the side of caution and explaining it was another strong soul who'd seemed to know Boss.
"Evilities?" Laharl asked as he closed his eyes. "Angels have Authorities and demons have Evilities, sounds like it could be true but that doesn't explain the whole reincarnation thing."
"I'm not from this world of yours," Naruto said, getting skeptical confused looks. "Like, this dimension, I got pulled here and that's how I ended up a Prinny."
"I come from a world of war and bloodshed, a world of shinobi," he said.
"That's so cool!" said the blonde angel next to him, startling Naruto. "You were a ninja?!" she had a fire in her eyes as she said this.
Naruto spoke up. "Ya know, Laharl, I've heard you don't have too many vassals right now, so..."
"How about we increase that number?"
"I mean, I went through a whole lot of demons on our way from where I got caught," Naruto said with a shrug. "They had way stronger demons over there, so I had to rough 'em up a bit before lettin' 'em go."
"Sparing demons?" Flonne shot the Prinny a curious look that he responded with a shrug. "Hmm, I didn't think anyone other than Laharl did that."
"FLONNE!" she let out a nervous chuckle at Laharl's yell. "Don't go telling people that! You'll ruin my street cred!"
"Yeah or you're already at rock bottom," Etna quipped. "Can't do anything but go up from here."
"ARGH! Can you two at least try to be good vassals?!"
"Hmmmmm, who knows?"
Watching all this from the side, Naruto smiled.
He was glad to see them doing so well and to get along with an angel? That was a mark of change.
"WE FORGOT MY PENDANT!"
… Change all the same.
~NRK~
He growled as the searches came up with nothing to find.
He was thankful to have succubi on hand, the mounting stress would have made him make mistakes.
Leaving the chambers of one such visit, he was of clear mind now.
"Where did that Prinny run off to?" he wondered, scratching his chin in worry. "Where did he come from?"
"Lord Maderas, nyah!" came the voice of a panicked nekomata that ran up to him.
"What?" he asked, confused as to why she was bother-
"There's a hole in your big portrait!"
Everything clicked at that moment.
The strange Prinny that didn't look like it was from the Netherworld.
The ease in which it got around his manor and tricked him!
And the stolen memories!
"ETNA!"
"NYAH!"
~NRK~
That's chapter 1 of this series.
Like I said at the top, this story is more for diversity and made due to the fact it's far more brainless to write for me. Disgaea's simple in execution and I'm beyond thankful for that.
Words: 9.8k+
~NRK Out~