Arifureta Offline: An Irregular in a Commonplace

by SoulEmbrace2010

Some high school students were spirited away to a world that can only be found in the fantasy game of Arifureta Online. Exposing students from a peaceful world to a violent one tend to have varying consequences. After falling into the abyss, a transformed Naruto Uzumaki with new allies aims to give the world and its Gods hell on Tortus. Lot of Crossovers; Strong Naruto/Xover-Harem

4. Picking up Girls in a Dungeon

Author's Notes: It took us a good while to do this, but we got it done. It also helps that I keep reading Arifureta to sate my boredom at work. Not much to plug, except that I changed up my profile a bit, showing possible future stories. I'll write in the plot bunnies for those stories later.

NS: eh, I wouldn't say it took THAT long. At least not compared to my own stuff.

Soul: Yep. Next update is Evolution Geass. After that, I'm updating a couple of my hentai stories before going back to other recent stories like this one. But updates may slow down a tad to being in the process of securing my independence.

Oh, and there'll be a SPOILER regarding Yue's true name that's revealed in a later volume of Arifureta. You have been warned, that is if you care.

-Review responses

Dasgun - You've been using dots in the reviews. Are you trying to make emotes or something?

Keyblademaster 21177 - That might happen, so we'll see.

Gundam Meister Uzumaki - You know me too well.

Have a Little Feith - NSG and I have our gripes with Arifureta, and you won't be seeing them here. But there's nothing wrong with having a bit of comedy here and there.

Vongola Ninja - Tamaki will be getting her human form too, complete with her character perks. Naruto will be giving Kouki a piece of his mind. And I have something special planned for Cattelya.

Raidentensho - Soul: Nah, the time-freezing Devil Breaker would be possible to create, and Maki is the witch character that I decided on. Yun-yun's great, but she'll be used in another story that is currently active. NS: 'Eyyyy! Someone who remembers Eon Kid! That show kicked ass back in the day!

9m4re - NS: You're gonna have to go back and reread, then, because Tenma ain't goin' away anytime soon. Soul: What he said.

Bigdaddylongstrokes - Great name lol. Naruto's weapon is the Blazefire Edge from Final Fantasy 13.

bednarczykmiki - Probably not all of them, but yes.

MDM11 - A couple of those names have been chosen already.

On with the story!

---

[Orcus Labyrinth, with Naruto and Maki]

The day after Naruto defeated the Claw Bear that had taken his arm, he headed down to the next floor with his new companion, Maki. After a breakfast of Twin-Tailed Wolf meat, Maki had also gained Lightning Field, which enhanced her fire spells, evidenced by exploding a swarm of Kickmaster Rabbits that came at them. For Naruto, her presence was a boon to his mental stability, as he was no longer alone. It still didn't remove his bad mood that there was no way up. At the moment, he had crafted and attached a green glowstone lantern to his stump, making it somewhat useful for the duo.

"It only gets dangerous from here," Maki said as they stepped foot on the second floor. "So be careful, ne?"

"It's fine," Naruto replied and licked his lips. "I'll eat whatever comes at us."

The two got along well, as Maki was really friendly, accommodating, and courteous. She was also a kid at heart, creating little fire creatures that danced around them. Such a sight helped warm Naruto's heart, as she made him feel like he was home. After hearing Naruto's story on how he'd ended up in the abyss, she was moved to tears and started acting somewhat like a big sister to him. While it irked him, it kept the blonde grounded and helped him remember who he was as a person.

The duo continued walking through the dimly lit caves, keeping silent to listen for any sudden noises or indications of attacks. In addition to Naruto's stump that had the glowstone, Maki also had her little sentient Pusu-Pusu and Mera-Mera fireballs floating around them, giving them more light. It's what helped them spot a small lizard in their path. As soon as it spotted them, it glared at them.

"Huh?!"

Naruto suddenly felt a strange and unpleasant sensation in his stump. He looked down to see the glowstone going out and his arm slowly turning to stone.

"Basilisk!" Maki yelled while throwing fireballs that made the creature swiftly dodge her assault. "Naruto?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Naruto quickly assured her; pulling out a vial of Ambrosia and splashing it on the stoned area, restoring his flesh. "A little goop juice here," As extra insurance, he downed the bottle, feeling a lot better. "Blasted little-!"

In retaliation, he threw a flashbang where the Basilisk had landed, blinding it. This time, Maki managed to make contact with the Basilisk, frying it with a Lightning Field-enhanced fireball until Naruto shot it dead.

"A waste of ammo if you ask me," Maki noted as Naruto picked up the corpse. "It was already dying."

"Sorry," Naruto replied with a cheeky smile. "I had to make it pay, dattebayo."

…

After getting some more meat, raw materials, and some new ore, Naruto found a spot and created a new base with Transmutation. He also created a table for food and used glowstones to light up the space.

"Tonight's menu: Grilled Basilisk, Charbroiled Six-Legged Cat, and Stir-fried Gatling Gun Owl," Naruto declared while holding up the huge manastone. "With some potions to wash them down. Itadakimasu!"

"Woo-hoo, let's eat!" Maki cheered while Tamaki happily mewed in agreement.

Before they left Naruto's previous base, Maki was amazed that there was a huge mana crystal that made Ambrosia and urged Naruto to take it with them. It didn't take much convincing, especially since Naruto transmuted his backpack to be bigger and taller than him to carry more things. He also skinned the Claw Bear, whose fur he used to cover himself and Maki when they rested together.

As for the crystal itself, it didn't turn up any result or information via Appraisal; but its effects are wondrous to the point that it might as well be a wonder drug. From what Naruto could tell while testing it, it restores mana and stamina, counteracts poisons, and cures status effects. It also dims the pain, which is needed to get through their meals despite being used to the pain.

"Thank you for the meal."

Naruto leaned back to lay on the ground, only to find the back of his head resting on Maki's lap, with Tamaki leaping down and laying on his chest, purring.

"You know we just met, right?" Naruto drawled, partially seeing Maki's face that was obscured by her boobs.

"I don't hear you complaining," Maki giggled as they checked their Status Plates. "Oh!"

"Enhanced Sight with Night Vision and Far Sight. Precision Hearing. Petrification Gaze with Petrification Resistance, and Sense Presence." Naruto read off the new skills. "This will make navigating the labyrinth much easier since we can now see monsters coming," he noted and sighed. 'Kurahime, please seal my Petrification Gaze so I don't accidentally use it.'

"Already done. Don't wanna turn those big, bouncy, boobies into stone, don't we?"

'Stuff it, vixen.'

"Buy me dinner first!"

"Hmm, I don't see a use for Petrification Gaze, but Petrification Resistance will be useful," Maki mused before pocketing her Status Plate between her breasts. "Shall we continue on?"

"Might as well," Naruto agreed as sat up and gazed at her. "We have no time to lose. Besides, I would rather not spend another week in this dank labyrinth if I can help it. At least…" he smiled as Tamaki hopped onto his head. "We have each other's company."

"Indeed. The more we adventure into this abyss, the more glad I am that I ran into you. Maybe…" she paused with an awkward look. "It was a blessing that you were sent down here and survived."

Naruto shrugged, never losing his smile. "It's all right. I made peace with what happened to me. To be honest, it's the perfect revenge against that douchebag that got me into this mess. Now then," he stood up, with Maki doing the same. "Let's see what other surprises this labyrinth has in store for us…"

---

Chapter 03: Picking up Girls in a Dungeon

---

[With Tenma]

Several floors above, in a large cavern, sat a dark lake. The area was lit only dimly by the glowstones, but the water itself was inscrutable.

Suddenly, the surface began to churn and roil as something thrashed about furiously in its depths, before several decently-sized fish were flung out onto the shore, where they flopped about uselessly. They were quickly followed by a large shark, which smacked heavily into the rock, a long, thrashing, crackling eel, and even an octopus. The octopus quickly attempted to crawl back into the water, in the slithering, floppy way that octopi out of water would. However, one of its tentacles crept over a tiny piece of paper, which flashed with a magic array. A long, spire-like needle of ice blasted up from the ground, instantly spearing through the cephalopod's central body. Although its central brain was frozen over instantly, the distributed nervous system in its tentacles continued to thrash about and writhe, until they inevitably touched more papers, which emitted electric shocks that stunned them into stillness.

A moment later, Tenma came wading out of the water, his bare arms bulging with corded muscle as he slung two more snarling, writhing eels onto the shore. He spat out a mouthful of water, grumbling irritably. "Your unlucky day, fellas," he grunted, stalking towards the pile of fish, "I need to check n' see if eating you aquatic monsters'll give me abilities just like the land dwellin' ones."

The shark heaved itself around, before launching itself clumsily at the man, only for him to smash it to the ground with a single punch, knocking out a bunch of its teeth.

Laying off to the side of the pile of fish was a gigantic Mole with huge steely claws, its body cleaved nearly in two.

Tenma grumbled as he conjured another sheet of paper, slapping it onto his chest. The spell inscribed upon it began drawing the water soaking him towards itself, leaving him totally dry. Tossing it away, where it splashed back into the lake, he began putting his clothes back on, eyeing the pile of fish distastefully. "Man, what was I thinking, taking on that many?" he sighed, "If they're anythin' like the last beasties, it ain't gonna be any fun eatin' 'em…"

Groaning, he conjured more wind-infused papers and got to work skinning and deboning his catch. Crafting himself a simple fire pit, he began roasting the fish on many, MANY skewers.

Then, grimacing, he began to eat them, one by one, gagging at their intensely bitter taste. It was slow going, and the pain was starting to nag at him to the point that he had to take a break. As he continued to eat, he noticed that the meat was getting easier to chew and swallow, but it didn't make it any easier.

Eventually, though, he finished up, packing away enough fish to feed a family for a day or two, and sat back, groaning. "Fuuuck. Definitely shouldn't have caught so many! But...if it helps me get strong enough to help the kid, it's fine!"

Collapsing onto his back and waiting wretchedly to digest it all, he pulled out his Status Plate to check on it.

Name: Daisho Tenma
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Race: Human
Level: 35

Job: Scribe

Personal Attribute: Enhanced Magic/Magic Defense

Strength: 1100
Vitality: 1300
Defense: 1000
Agility: 900
Magic: 4200
Magic Defense: 2650

Skill: Language Comprehension — Transcribe — Stationary — High Speed Penmanship — Eidetic Memory [+File Storage] — Magical Affinity — Paper Manipulation — Meditation — Mediation — Diagnostic [+Identify] — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Crystallization — Bladed Limbs — Rough Skin — Lunging Stab — Strong Jaw [+Crushing Bite] [+Tooth Regen] — Water Breathing [+Amphibious] — Hyper-flex — Color Change [+Texture Change] [+Camouflage] — Spit Ink — Lightning Coating — Digging Claws

He sighed. "Yeah, alright...that was pretty much worth it." Mumbling, the man climbed to his feet, stretching, and began chucking the monster bones back into the lake, before moving on.

All the while, he could only hope that he wouldn't be too late.

---

[With Naruto and Maki]

"Ugh…"

"Eww…"

Naruto and Maki were on the third floor, where it was dark and the ground felt slushy. The deafening silence didn't help and increasingly unnerved them, especially with his enhanced sight skill, which included night vision. For Naruto, it was like being in a horror movie or playing a game like Five Nights at Freddy where one had to be wary of jump scares, and that sucked!

"A swamp. Great." Naruto grumbled, pulling his feet out of the pool of mysterious liquid to keep himself from being stuck. He managed to catch Maki who slipped and landed on his back.

"Even the walls are sticky," Maki noted, holding her nose while Tamaki slipped into her witch hat. "And it stinks!" she complained and was about to summon a Pusu-Pusu when Naruto suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Don't! This is Flamrock!"

"What?! Shit!" she yelped and immediately canceled her spell.

"Yep," Naruto nodded while looking annoyed. "That means I can't use my Umbra or else we go boom…"

Flamrock took the form of a tar-like liquid that could easily ignite when it was heated over 100 degrees, and would burn three times as hot. In conclusion, if Naruto were to use Lightning Field or Maki used a fire spell, they'd explode and burn on the spot.

Maki gritted her teeth. "Now what do we do?"

"Total stealth, maximum effort," Naruto suggested while taking out a glowstone he'd carved; scratching it on the nearby wall to leave a glowing mark. "I'll mark our progress, just In case we get turned around," he said and turned towards Maki. "Ain't you glad to have me- DUCK!"

He quickly pulled Maki down with him, dodging a row of sharp teeth that nearly took Maki's head off. Maki gasped as she found herself underneath Naruto, who was looking around in alarm, unknowingly groping her breast.

"What was that?! Why didn't Sense Presence detect that monster?!" Naruto yelled, missing Maki's blush. "Wait, it has to be Hide Presence! That's the only ability that can counteract it!" he growled, recalling what a pain-in-the-ass that ability had been when it came to PvP players in Arifureta Online. "Keep your head on!"

"I know!" Maki yelled as they pressed their backs against each other and circled around. "Dammit, if push comes to shove, I'll-"

"Won't blow us the fuck up- MOVE!"

The duo dove away from each other as their assailant shot towards where they were. Naruto focused his eyes on their attacker. It was medium-sized, shaped like a fish with a fin, and had rows of sharp, rocky teeth.

"Well, that explains it. It's a fucking Tar Shark!" Naruto shouted and kicked it away when it shot towards him again. "Dammit! Just as we get new skills, there's an enemy that counters it!"

"If only I could use my fire spells!" Maki yelped and rolled away, dousing herself in Flamrock. "Ah, curses!"

"Grr, that's it! I didn't sign up to be in a Jaws movie!"

Naruto shot up, his eyes trained on where the Tar Shark had last dived, and used Menace to taunt it. He got into a stance and reared his right arm back, ignoring Maki's calls for him to get down. He steadied his breathing, flexed his biceps, and increased his focus, watching for any sign of the Tar Shark popping back up.

'Before I met Maki, I managed without Sense Presence before.' He grinned and cracked his knuckles. "C'mon. Come to daddy…"

Soon enough, the monster shot towards him from his left, intent on sticking its teeth into him. His eye flashed before he swiped his arm outwards, with a trail of orange energy from his fingers, and slashed through the shark monster's flesh, killing it dead.

"Thank you, Claw Bear, for your generous contribution of Gale Claw." he mused, wiggling his fingers of blood. "So this is what it feels like to be a killer in Dead by Daylight."

"Whoa, nice strike, Naruto!" Maki cheered as he grabbed the corpse. "Now let's get the hell out of here before more of its friends show up!"

"Hmm, agreed," Naruto nodded after grabbing a bit of the shark's meat and chewed on it, wincing at the pain. "Blegh, it's soaked in blood and tar!"

Maki giggled. "Serves you right. I'm sure it'll be fun chewing through that mess."

"Hmm, I can only hope we don't get any more unpleasant surprises," Naruto grumbled as he heaved the corpse over his shoulder as they quickly got out of the tar swamp.

…

Name: Uzumaki Naruto
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Level: 70
Race: Human-Monster/Demon

Job: Mechanic (Synergist)
Personal Attribute: Vessel (Transcendental Type)

Strength: 2000
Vitality: 2300
Defense: 1900
Agility: 2500
Magic: 1900
Magic Defense: 1500

Skills: Diagnostic [+Reinforcement] [+Analysis] — Crafting [+Blueprint] [+Fabrication] - Magical Affinity [+Spell Duration] [+Darkness] — Transmute [+Ore Appraisal] [+Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception] [+Ore Desynthesis] [+Ore Synthesis] [+Duplicate Transmutation] — Chakra Manipulation — Mana Manipulation — Iron Stomach — Barrier Break — Lightning Field — Menace [+Intimidate] — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs] — Poisonous Breath — Sense Heat Source — Body Armor [+Diamond Skin] — Paralysis Breath — Sticky Thread [+Steel Thread] Sonar [+Ultrasonic Wave] — Gale Claw — Enhanced Vision [+Night Vision] [+Farsight] — Sense Presence — Detect Magic— Sense Heat — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Telepathy — Healing Factor — Language Comprehension

Name: Oze Maki
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Level: 55
Race: Human

Job: Pyromancer
Personal Attribute: Enhanced Strength (Stat-type)

Strength: 7200
Vitality: 900
Defense: 800
Agility: 900
Magic: 4000
Magic Defense: 1800

Skills: Fire Magic Affinity [+Speed Casting] [+Chain Casting] [+Multicasting] — Mana Manipulation [Body Strengthening] [Partial Strengthening] — High Speed Mana Recovery — Limit Break — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Enhanced Vision [+Night Vision] [+Farsight] — Sense Presence — Detect Magic— Sense Heat — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Body Armor [+Diamond Skin] — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Arms] [+Steel Legs] — Telepathy — Language Comprehension

For the next several days, Naruto and Maki continued ever downwards into the depths of the labyrinth, taking out every single monster that got in their way. With each battle, Naruto gained more experience and got used to fighting with his single arm. It was still a pain to reload his gun though, which was why he'd had a sword integrated into it. In addition, he even acquired more Deviate Skills from his already existing skillset. He'd also found and collected various ores and material like the Flamrock, the latter of which he crafted into grenades.

For Maki, Naruto was a boon for her quest to conquer the labyrinth. She was strong herself of course, but she would've been dead several times without Naruto. Over time, she appreciated his presence, as it helped with her own mentality. Even Tamaki slowly began to take a liking to the blond, occasionally resting on his head. They covered each other's blind spots as a team, with Naruto handling close-to-mid-ranged combat, and Maki excelling in mid-to-long-ranged combat with her spells; only resorting to melee when she had no choice.

As they went further down, both could sense with Sense Presence that someone or something powerful was above and heading their direction. The unknown presence was getting closer each day, unnerving them and prompting them to speed up their exploration.

With the 15th floor right in front of them…

---

[With Tenma]

Walking down yet another corridor, the older man glanced all around him. Every few feet, he would create a new spell paper and slap it onto the floor or walls, where a magic circle would spread out from it.

Even as he kept his gaze mobile, he plodded onward steadily, heading downward whenever possible. He was keeping an eye out not for any monsters, but on the off-chance that he spotted Naruto. It wasn't like his blond hair would be difficult to notice. His golden eyes glowed in the darkness as he walked, not even bothering with a light source.

By this point, most monsters knew to avoid those eyes. For the past few hours, any beast that had attempted to savage the strange interloper had found itself utterly butchered and devoured. With each kill, of course, he would grow stronger, more deadly, until finally the monsters realized that it would be better to just let him be if they knew what was good for them.

Of course, some didn't.

One of the magic circles behind him gave a pulse, and he immediately sidestepped.

With a screech, a black-furred creature with razor-sharp claws and black eyes burst out from the wall and took a swipe at him. However, due to his shift in gait, the attack whiffed passed him entirely.

Tenma's eyes flashed, and he stabbed brutally at the monster without hesitation, his fingers morphing into silver, dagger-like claws. They pierced the beast's black hide, killing it instantly; a combination of his new Spearing Lunge and Digging Claws skills.

Grunting, he barely even paused in his stride, lifting the small creature to his mouth and chomping down, his Crushing Bite skill shearing through flesh, bone and hide in an instant.

His eyes gazed ahead, piercing the darkness. 'There's a big area coming up. Maybe there I'll find some clues.'

More spell papers appeared in his hand, were quickly inscribed with motion-sensing spells, and stuck to the surfaces around him as he delved deeper into the Dungeon.

---

[15th Floor]

"A hundred floors, they say. Just how deep does this labyrinth go?!" Naruto groaned as he and Maki walked down the corridor. "Man, I need sunlight! Rice, ramen, anything~! So many missed pranks…"

Maki sweatdropped while looking amused. "As long as you don't start asking 'Are we there yet?' we're good," she giggled, Tamaki meowing in agreement.

"C'mon, I'm not that much of a kid…"

Soon enough, they found themselves in front of a set of huge dark-blue and silver doors. There were also several statues of giant cyclops in the path leading up to it. On the doors were five grooves around a single groove in a star formation. Upon closer inspection, they looked as if items in the shape of orbs could be placed in them.

"Think the exit's through there?" Naruto wondered as he looked around.

"It's worth a look," Maki shrugged. "Why don't you set up a base here, just in case?"

Naruto nodded and crafted the usual circular base made of Taur Ore and Glowstones. He set his large bag on the ground and got the necessary weapons and gadgets. With a nod to Maki, they exited the makeshift base and headed to the door.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" Naruto asked, getting a negative response, "Well, I'm stumped. I've done a whole lot of studying, but I've never seen anything like this. It must be pretty old."

"Hmm, we haven't come across any items that fit in here," Maki added while examining the door. "It must be a treasure room of some kind, or even a rest area maybe?"

"Whatever the case," Naruto said as he placed his hand on the door, with Maki stepping back. "Let's find out, shall we? Transmute!" The magic seal on the back of his hand glowed, but just as his magic activated, he let out a surprised yell as his Transmutation was suddenly repelled with a flash and spark. "What?!"

"Get back!" Maki yelled as she and Naruto jumped back a ways from the door. "That can't be a rest stop!"

"Which means that whatever's in there must be valuable-" Naruto started to say before seeing live eyes pop open on the statues. "Of course, I should've expected that damn cliché, dattebayo!"

The ground rumbled as the stone on the statues gave away, revealing the bodies of the armored, muscled cyclops that roared and flexed; but it was the color schemes of the cyclops that threw Naruto for a loop. The lead cyclops was red, with its companions colored blue, yellow, green, and even pink.

"Super. Sentai. Cyclops. Ginyu. How, why…" Naruto groaned, looking horrified.

"They're similar to those warriors that came after the age of the Liberators," Maki noted while looking fascinated. "But like the Liberators, they fell against the Gods."

"Hmm…"

The cyclops were posing and flexing while unleashing their Menace skill in an attempt to intimidate them. Their prey were unfazed as one of them pointed a strange object at them before unleashing a flash of light. To their shock, their red leader's eye and head exploded before the rest of its body crumpled to the ground.

"First blood." Naruto sneered as he switched to Umbra's Sword Mode.

"Let's hurry up and get started!" Maki said as her violet eyes glowed, with her cute Pusu-Pusu and Mera-Mera fireballs turning downright monstrous with sharp eyes and teeth.

Naruto charged forward and swiped at the blue cyclops, who raised its arms and erected a barrier that knocked Naruto's attack back. Naruto scowled, switching back to Gun Mode, and opened fire, the Lightning Field-enhanced bullets crashing against the barrier. As soon as his gun clicked empty, the green cyclops tried to flank him with a punch, but Naruto used his Sticky Thread to swing away to cover.

"Defensive spells, huh?" he muttered as he manually reloaded and went over the engagement in his mind. "There's gotta be a limit to that like in the game…"

Meanwhile, Maki had her Pusu-Pusu and Mera-Mera hold off the yellow and pink cyclops as she channeled a fire spell.

"Calamity Flare!" Maki yelled, creating a wall of flames that rushed towards the cyclops and forced them to unleash their battle spells, keeping them back. "Burning Strike!" she chanted, firing her Mera-Mera fireballs into the cyclops, making them explode on impact. She frowned as the yellow cyclops started advancing while withstanding the barrage. "Ignite Photon!" she shouted, sending a single Mera-Mera streaking towards the cyclops, where it exploded and cracked its barrier. "Finally, a straight-up battle!" she cheered as she prepared to cast another spell.

Back with Naruto, he finished reloading and peeked behind his cover, seeing his targets advancing towards his position.

"Oh well, only one way to find out!"

He leaped from behind his cover and opened fire, increasing the voltage of his Lightning Field in his bullets. The bullet exploded against the barriers, making them crack. The blue and green cyclops roared in unison with the green one trying to punch him. Naruto smirked as he leapt up and bounded off the arm, firing on the blue cyclops, who quickly raised its arms to defend itself, but Naruto's last bullet destroyed its barrier spells and wounded its arm.

"Damn arm is in the way of that headshot," Naruto noted as he backflipped away to keep distance, "What's wrong? Come and get it, dattebayo!" he shouted at them, but frowned when the cyclops didn't take the bait and roared back in response. "Can't get too far from the door," Naruto noted as he emptied his empty shells, "Now what could be behind those doors that is that much of a secret, eh? Now I gotta have that treasure that's inside!"

"Flare Vortex!"

Naruto looked to see Maki conjuring a fiery tornado around herself when her two cyclops got too close.

"Now you're dead! Come forth, Bobobo-bobo-bobooooo!" Maki declared as she materialized a massive, white-hot fireball with a scarecrow-like face over her head. "Blitz Bomb!" The giant Bobobo fireball descended on the cyclops and engulfed them in a torrent of fire that bypassed their barriers and seared their skin, making them roar in pain as the spell exploded.

"Yeah, I'm going to stay away from that," Naruto mused, feeling the heat of her spells from where he was.

Focusing back on his opponents, he planted his feet on a midair platform using Air Step, then yanked himself out of the way of the cyclops' attacks with Sticky Thread. Channeling Lightning Field around him, he switched to Sword Mode and slashed wildly at the green cyclops, keeping him on the defensive. Sense Presence pinged in his head, and he quickly zipped away again with a thread, causing the blue cyclops to accidentally punch its own comrade, shattering its barrier. Before they could react, Naruto shot forward and beheaded the green cyclops with one swift stroke.

Shifting back to Gun Mode, he fired on the enraged blue cyclops, who swung wildly at him. Naruto grinned and flicked a flashbang at the cyclops instead, which detonated and blasted its single eye with searing light. Using Sticky Thread once more, he swung on top of its head and stabbed the blade directly through its eye and head. Its life leaving it, the corpse fell back like a giant puppet with its strings cut and crashed on the ground, where Naruto rolled off of it.

"I see you're done here," Maki observed, walking up to them.

Naruto nodded and looked over her shoulder, seeing the charred remains of the other cyclopes and sweatdropped. He then noticed yellow and pink Mana Stones in her hands. "Where'd you get those?"

"They were in the bodies of the guardians here. They're the same size as the grooves on the doors." Maki replied, gesturing to the other bodies. "We should be able to open the door with them."

After digging in the corpses, Naruto retrieved the red, blue, and green Mana Stones from the other cyclops's bodies. Together with Maki, he went to the door and inserted the stones.

"Hmm, nothing's happening," Maki noted and groaned. "So this last groove has to have another orb in it as well."

"Perfect," Naruto groaned in frustration. "Where are we supposed to find-?"

A loud crash from behind the duo made them jump, making them look around to see a silver-colored cyclops with gold armor and a giant club. The debris from above fell around it as it used Menace by roaring at them to scare them.

"You gonna be fucking joking with me!" a peeved Naruto shouted as he readied his Umbra sword. "Silver and gold?! This is gonna suck!"

"Then we need to hit it with anything we got!" Maki said and summoned another giant fireball with the scarecrow face. "Bobobo-bobo-!"

"SEVEN TO THREE!"

Suddenly, with the sound of metal ringing and flesh being sliced, the golden cyclops let out a bellow of pain as its tree trunk-sized arm was hacked clean through at the wrist, clutching at the stump. The severed hand crashed to the ground with enough force to make the room tremble.

"Eh?!" Maki squeaked, her Bobobo fireball fading away. "What the?"

Naruto only shrugged, "Works for me!" he said, switching to Umbra Gun Mode and shooting the final cyclops in the eye, finishing it. "But who, what the hell?"

After the cyclops collapsed to the ground, the duo were able to see who had attacked the beast from behind. Naruto narrowed his eyes as the figure walked around the body, and then widened when he recognized the gray sweatshirt, causing him to drop his weapon, to Maki's surprise.

"...Tenma?"

The man gave Naruto a grin, his usual laziness replaced by relief. "Ah...I made it in time," he commented, sweeping back his hood to reveal white hair, similar to the streaks that Naruto had acquired. "Been a good minute, hasn't it, Naruto-kun?"

"You're…really here," Naruto muttered absentmindedly, feeling awfully lightheaded from the storm of emotions welling up within him. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not," Kurahime assured him. "Is he your friend?"

'Y-Yeah…kinda.'

"If anyone's dreamin', it's me. You're missin' an arm! An' yer hair's goin' white," Tenma pointed out with dismay. "What happened to you?"

"A lot. So you were the one we've been sensing… You realize that your hair is white too, right?" asked Naruto, his voice barely above a whisper due to the storm of emotions within him.

"Really?" Tenma checked a lock of his hair, looking surprised. "Well shit, you're right!" he laughed, "Though I don' think this's my style." Right before their eyes, a brown color bled back into his hair. "Much better."

"How did, how the heck do you do that…I," Naruto swallowed as he tried to keep his emotions in check. "Did…is anyone else with you? Maybe even catching up behind you?"

"Sorry, boyo, but it's just me. Shirasaki-han got knocked unconscious after what happened," replied the man, crossing his arms with a wry frown, "And your girls Pansy and Ayana were both rarin' to come down with me, but I told them to let me handle this. After all, they're better off protecting Shirasaki-han from that Hiyama chap. Don' think too harshly on 'em, okay?"

"Hmm, so this must be the mysterious stranger you told me about," Maki noted, gazing at him warily. "Exactly how long have you been down here going after Naruto…without so much as a scratch or a missing limb yourself? Judging by how long Naruto's been down here, how'd you get here so fast?"

"Y' can call me Daisho Tenma. An' I got down here by not draggin' my feet," he replied, shrugging, "The monsters were pretty damn annoyin', so I made sure ta fight 'em as fast n' efficient-like as possible. I mean, I took some time ta eat 'em, an' they tasted like shit, but it looks like y'all don' need me to tell you that." Then he paused, cocking his head at her. "Who are you, by the way?"

"...Oze Maki," Maki said with a tip of her hat, Tamaki meowing. "And this is Tamaki. I'm one of the last few survivors of a sect that's dedicated to the defeat of the God that runs this world. And Naruto and I share a common interest, since he can't get home until he deals with Ehit, who summoned you all to this world."

Tenma's eyebrows rose, and his eyes opened fully, making both Naruto and Maki start in surprise at his black sclera and golden, rune-lined irises. "No shit? I tagged along with that summoning spell 'cause I thought it was pretty big an' flashy, but I didn't think that a god woulda' been behind it- oof!"

He was suddenly wrapped in a one-armed hug by Naruto, who was holding back tears. "I…I've had bad luck with so-called best friends in the past, but you, Tenma…" Naruto stepped back and wiped his eyes with a smile. "You're all right. Thank you for coming after me. I owe you big time, dattebayo!"

Tenma blinked down at Naruto, clearly taken aback, before giving a smile of his own. "Well, what kinda guy would I be if I left a kid like you alone?"

Maki giggled. "A kid? His age doesn't match his body, but I understand."

"Shut it, you," Naruto grumbled, to which Maki whistled innocently while Naruto used Umbra to dig into the corpse of the last cyclops. "But yeah, I'm happy that you're here, but according to Maki here, you're stuck down here with us, and the only way out is to conquer this labyrinth. We're taking a detour into this treasure room," he finally pulled out the silver Mana Orb that had a gold aura.

"Careful now. You know it could be a trap." Tenma warned him.

Naruto hummed. "Don't worry, it's not my first rodeo."

"I'll say," Maki chuckled.

When all three convened at the door, Naruto inserted the final Mana Stone that instantly snapped into place, and was satisfied to hear a click. "Now, let's see what these guardians were protecting here." The doors rumbled a bit before partially opening. Naruto took the lead, Umbra at the ready, and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

It was pitch black at first, but when the three walked through the doors, there suddenly came a golden glow with stars all around, like a miniature galaxy that lit up the room. Another glow caught their attention, turning their attention to the back of the room, where a golden cube was rotating in place on a platform. As the trio walked deeper into the room, the galaxy-like lightning faded away, as multiple green tendrils from all around them slithered back, retreating to a point beyond the cube. Simultaneously, several large, blue glowstones began to ignite, lining the path leading up to it.

"Either we hit the jackpot, or we got another monster." Maki mused while holding her hat.

"Well, lookit Miss Pessimist over here!" snorted Tenma, "It's clearly both!"

"Who's…there?"

Everyone's attention was turned back to the cube, where the green tendrils were retreating to. In a flash of light, the cube took on a diamond shape and revealed its true form: pink mana stones encased in a black cube. And partially within the cube…

"What the…" Naruto gaped in shock.

There was a nude young girl trapped in the cube, her limbs and the lower part of her body encased by the stone, leaving her head and upper body exposed. Only her long, golden-blonde locks draped over her body, preserving her modesty. Slowly, ponderously, she lifted her head to gaze at them hazily with an extremely pale, haggard, and gaunt appearance, her eyes blood red.

"Huh. Looks like we both lose out," murmured Tenma, "This just feels tragic."

"Okay. I'm definitely living a light novel life," Naruto breathed, facepalming. "Blonde hair, pale, red eyes. Obviously, you're a vampire, sealed down here for who knows what you did-"

"No, I…we…" the mysterious girl coughed, her voice horse from underuse. "We were betrayed! We…did nothing wrong!"

"We?" Maki repeated. "Who's we? There's only you we see-"

"Wait," Naruto pointed towards the bottom of the cube prison, where a coffin lay along the floor. "Is someone…in there?"

The girl nodded jerkily. "My half-sister. Please…help her. Help…us."

Naruto suddenly flinched as his newfound instincts told him to leave them and go on his merry way with his comrades. However, he mentally beat that idea into submission. Sure there were times where he might be an asshole, but he wasn't that much of an ass. It wasn't in his nature, regardless of his transformation.

"Well, count your lucky stars I'm no edgelord in the making," Naruto announced, before walking up to examine the cube prison. "Tenma, look at her sister. Maki, keep an eye out for any unpleasant surprises."

Maki nodded. "Understood," she said, turning around and summoning her living fireballs.

"Aiyo," acknowledged Tenma, jogging to keep up with him. As Naruto put his hand to the stone encasing the girl, the older man knelt by the coffin, flaring his eyes open to gaze at it. "Well goddamn. This shit's made of MITHRIL! Whoever made this thing really didn't want it getting opened," he commented, glancing up at the blonde girl, "Why were you two imprisoned differently?"

"It's just as…he says," she rasped, eyes roving hazily over to him, "We are…vampires. Specifically one of the original, atavistic vampires… Between the two of us, I was the strongest of our clan in magic… so I was chosen to lead the people. But one day, my ministers decided they'd be better off without me… My uncle wanted the throne for himself. I was fine with it, but my power was a threat to him… I can't be killed, so he settled on sealing me away down here." Tears welled up in her eyes. "M-My sister tried to stop him… but even with the power of her artifact, they trapped her in that coffin, to prevent the relic from choosing a new host."

"Can't be killed, huh? Care to elaborate?" Naruto inquired as he knocked on the cube.

"My Personal Attribute is to always heal my wounds…whether I want them to or not. Even if my head… would regrow if you chopped it off," the girl admitted.

"Holy shit, you're Deadpool!" Naruto exclaimed, drawing confused looks from her and Maki. Tenma snorted, however. The blonde cleared his throat before continuing. "Sorry about that. But healing from everything doesn't sound threatening to that uncle of yours…"

"Not just that. I can also manipulate mana directly without incantations or magic circles. If you free me, I'll lend you my strength. I'm sure my sister will as well! So please…help!"

"The incentive isn't necessary, you know," Naruto grumbled, Appraising her prison. "Damn, this thing is gonna be a tough consumer!"

"Yeah, someone with serious skill put a ton of effort into crafting these," Tenma commented, gazing at the coffin and running his hands back and forth along the surface, "There're spells written into every corner, an' someone seems ta have Transmuted the Mithril here to make it all one seamless thing. Not ta mention a ton of spells for subduin' bloodlust, weakenin' destructive power, suppressing the 'host's' power ta call on…oi, does your sister have some kinda parasite livin' in her or somethin'?"

The girl looked confused. "Parasite…? Ah…yes, O-Ophelia was the host of the legendary Ego Sword passed down through our bloodline, the Witchblade…"

"The Witchblade?!" Maki yelped, rounding on them. "Then, that means-!"

"We'll talk about it later! Right now, we're getting them out!" Naruto said and pressed his palm against the cube. "Hope I have enough magic for this… Brace yourself. Transmute!" His blood orange-colored mana traveled down his arm and into his spell. The blonde then grunted when he felt some pushback as the shape remained unchanged.

"It's not going to be as simple as you think, Naruto," Kurahime commented, but he ignored her in favor of focusing on his Transmutation. 'Oh well. But, I'd be disappointed if you stopped now…'

Simultaneously, Tenma's scanning of the many lines of spell-script laying throughout the coffin finally allowed him to notice a critical junction. "Aha!" He swiped his finger through it, a smudge of mana distorting the text and causing the spell to begin decaying rapidly. "There we go!"

A moment later, lines of light traced themselves around the corners of the top edge of the coffin, and he wasted no time heaving the newly formed lid off. His grin of triumph slid off his face as he gazed into the coffin. "Oh…Oh no."

"Ah, what is it?!" Naruto asked, concerned by his friend's saddened voice, and took a glance. "Wah?!"

Lying in a bed of velvet was a mummified corpse. The skin was taut against the bones, dry and leathery, and the lips were pulled back to show a set of vampiric fangs. A halo of dried-out white hair fanned out around the skull, and her arms lay off to the sides, as if she'd attempted to claw her way out and finally stopped from exhaustion. A tattoo of sorts marked her right hand, faintly resembling an eye, and that arm seemed slightly bulkier than the rest.

"OPHELIA!" the girl screamed in dismay and despair, tears welling up from her red eyes.

"I'm so sorry," murmured Tenma, whether to the girl in the cube or in the coffin no one could be sure.

"Hey wait!" Naruto suddenly called out as he poured more mana into his Transmutation. "This may be another chiche, but what about blood?! In movies where a vampire is found like that, they're usually revived through a drop of blood! Use your blood- GAH!" he yelled out, his arm hurting as he encountered more resistance. "This thing really doesn't want to let go! It's tough, but I'm not so weak anymore!"

"Naruto, stop!" Maki shouted at him as the ground started to shake. "You're channeling six verses worth of mana! If you continue, you'll drain yourself completely-! Wait, what?"

As Naruto set his shoulders and powered through the prison's resistances, his face set in wild determination, cracks began to spread through the structure of the prison cube. "I'm not giving up, no matter what!" he said as he increased his output, smiling at the girl who stared at him with tear-stained eyes. "And neither will Tenma with your sister! That's a promise!"

Tenma watched him for a moment intently. Then, turning his gaze back towards the other, dead vampire, he noticed something peculiar with his eyes. 'The Parasite in her body…its power is keeping her soul bound to her body. If her body can be rejuvenated enough, then…' He gave a wry grin. "Well, you heard the kid!" he declared, morphing one of his fingers into a Digging Claw and dragging it across his palm. Crimson blood dripped onto the corpse's desiccated body, particularly around the mouth.

The corpse twitched.

"I'm not done yet! Turn to ash, and let her go!" Naruto yelled, lightning dancing about as his mana veins on his eyes shined bright until he looked as if he was enveloped in an orange light; overloading his mana to the point that the cube finally started liquifying and disintegrating. "RRRRAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Soon the prison holding the girl was no more, and she was freefalling until Naruto used his remaining strength to catch her; allowing himself to be used as a cushion as they fell on the ground next to the coffin where Tenma worked his magic. He panted, quickly grabbing a phail of Ambrosia and downed it, restoring his mana and stamina.

"That was reckless, Naruto!" Maki snapped at him, stomping up to him.

"But worth it!" Naruto countered with a thumbs up. "But damn, pulling that off took all of my mana."

"And Ophelia?" the girl whispered hopefully, turning to look at the coffin.

"Whoa there!" A withered limb shot up and grabbed Tenma's arm, much to his curiosity as the other limb latched onto his other arm. "We got somethin'! Looks like that blood idea work- ack."

"Tenma!"

The mummified vampire launched herself up from her prone position and attached herself firmly to his throat, sinking her teeth into his flesh. However, mystifyingly, Tenma just gave Naruto a dry look. "Thirsty, ain't she?"

"Well, according to the books, it's been…years," Naruto slowly said while looking warily at the girl, who looked confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head.

"There's no easy way to say this, but it's been 300 years since the vampires were wiped out," Maki told her, looking sympathetic.

"...Oh." the girl said, her expression unchanging. "I see."

"Are you going to be okay, buddy?" Naruto asked with a sweatdrop, seeing Ophelia draining Tenma six ways from Sunday. "That's a lot, and I mean, a lot of blood."

"Eh, I'll be fine. I've been through worse," he assured him, doing nothing to ease everyone's worries.

"I'm scared to ask for the context of that…" Kurahime commented.

"Yeah, I think you're going to need this." Naruto drawled, handing him a phial of Ambrosia, which Tenma accepted. As he withdrew his hand, a pair of small hands enveloped it.

"You're warm," the girl murmured, leaning into him. As she did so, the blond young man was made very keenly aware that not only was she warm as well, but she was also quite soft, voluptuous, and currently nude. Her wide, round hips pressed against him, soft, silky thighs rubbing together, her long hair draped in almost feathery locks over her huge, round, supernaturally perky, creamy breasts, barely covering her nipples.

"You're welcome…uh…" Naruto scratched his cheek. "Sorry, but I never got your name."

"If her story checks out, then that makes her Aletia Galdea Vesperitio Avatarl, the former ruler of the Avatarl vampire nation; and her sister is Ophelia Anastasia Mevoritio Avatarl, her sister from one of her father's mistresses," Maki revealed, making Naruto raise an eyebrow, and the girl looked annoyed.

"How did you know?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"In the group I was a part of, there is an old book that existed during the age of the Liberators, passed down from generation to generation. Written in it are the true events of Tortus' past, from the Liberator's defeat to the story of your nation," Maki explained, unfazed by Aletia's glare and keeping her sunny disposition. "I've read it of course before relinquishing it in the hands of the remaining Dragonborn."

"I see, but I'd rather not be referred to by that name," Aletia said with sadness in her eyes.

"Why not? It sounds unique and beautiful, just like you," Naruto said while rubbing her back, his mind not even registering how she was currently in the nude.

"You're kind, but I don't want it anymore," she insisted softly, shaking her head. "I'd rather you give me a new one…Naruto, right?"

"Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto at your service. Hmm…" Naruto looked deep into her red eyes and stroked her golden hair, amazed at how it was so soft and silky like her skin. He finally noticed how busty and voluptuous she was and blushed. "Kinda putting me on the spot here…Gingetsu Yue." he decided spontaneously.

"Gingetsu…Yue?" Aletia repeated slowly, tilting her head and pursing her soft lips cutely.

"Yep. In the language where I'm from, Yue means "moon" and Gingetsu means "silver moon". When we first came into this room, your golden hair and red eyes reminded me of the moon in the night sky, and…someone similar named Tsukihime. Not only that, but the surname comes first, and the first name last. How about it? If you don't like it-"

Aletia nodded her head excitedly. "Gingetsu Yue. Yes! From this day on, I'm Gingetsu Yue! Thank you!" she cheered, giving her fellow blonde a big hug.

"No problem!" Naruto replied, returning it with his arm. He then turned to his friend. "Yo, Tenma, how's her sister- No, scratch that! How are you surviving that blood loss, dattebayo?!"

"I second that!" Maki yelled as all of them saw Ophelia was still latched onto Tenma's neck and drinking his blood.

More bizarrely, the older man still seemed barely phased by this, holding her to him and stroking her hair, which was indeed starting to return to a more lively state, longer, more silky and shiny, though it remained snow white. "Eh, I've got my ways," he replied airily, "Anyway, she's coming along nicely. Whatever that Witchblade thing is, it's been keeping her...well, not really alive, but in a state where she could be revived. It's pretty hardy for a parasite. You called it an Ego Sword? I think I saw a mention of 'em in a book somewhere…" He narrowed his golden eyes in thought, even as the flesh on Ophelia's body began to swell, life returning to her mummified body and putting some meat on those bones.

"That's amazing. Normally a human would be dead, but…" Yue was looking grateful that her sister was being restored to normal. "Whatever you're doing, keep going," she requested before Naruto suddenly handed her the fur cloth he was wearing around his waist.

"Here, put this on. I assume you would rather not stay naked all the time in your newfound freedom." Naruto said with a smirk. "I only had it on in case it got cold."

Yue looked down, her face turning red before snatching the fur away. "Naruto, you pervert!"

"Gak! Really?!" Naruto was starting to feel embarrassed but promptly squashed it. Sure, his adventure had the makings of a light novel, manga, and anime, but no way was he falling into a harem protagonist's cliche where they get flustered at a perverted situation. He clapped his cheeks and shook his head. 'Nope, not doing that. If Naruko gets wind of this, I'll never hear the end of it.'

By this point, Ophelia's body looked to be fully restored. Tenma chanced a glance downwards, with some difficulty owing to the fangs in his neck, to see lily-white, soft, plump flesh, and the curve of a large, full, juicy breasts pressing into his chest. Of course, her clothing had long since turned to dust inside the coffin, so she too was nude.

Suddenly, the suction at his throat slowed to a stop, and the girl slowly, laboriously withdrew her fangs. She lifted her gaze up to see his face, her eyes fluttering open to reveal dazzlingly blue eyes. She stared into Tenma's rune-lined, golden ones for a long moment, before her eyes rolled back and she slumped against him, unconscious. The red marking on the back of her hand pulsed once, as if satisfied.

"Well, if you two are done with the vampire princesses, we should-" Maki started to say before her eyes widened; a flash of light suddenly glinted from the ceiling.

"Look out!" Naruto yelled, also spotting it and pulling a dressed Yue and Maki out of the way.

From the darkness came a hail of large spikes from above, shooting down towards the group. Naruto managed to get his body between the girls and used Diamond Skin to harden his skin. However, it wasn't enough, as the spikes stuck deep into his back.

"Gah!" Naruto yelled out, throwing up blood.

"Naruto?!/Naruto!" Maki and Yue cried out in horror.

"Fuck, that smarts!" he growled as he got off them. "Why didn't Sense Presence trigger?! Is everyone alright?" As he asked, he took another phail of Ambrosia and splashed the liquid on his back. The girls then moved to pull the spikes out of his back. Grunting in pain, he turned to the side before his eyes widened in horror. "Ten…ma?!"

Tenma had managed to shield Ophelia, but the spikes stabbed through the back of his head and heart. He knelt on the floor, hunched over and unmoving over a resting Ophelia's body.

"Tenm-!"

"Dammit! Look!" Maki yelled, pointing up at the ceiling.

Their assailant dropped to the ground, the lighting in the room revealing its appearance: it was a huge black scorpion-esque monster that was five meters long, had four arms with razor-sharp scissor claws, and noisy eight legs scuttling about. It also had two tails with stingers at the end.

"And there's the real guardian of the room," Naruto murmured, looking at Yue, who didn't take her eyes off him. "Seems that it doesn't want you or your sister to leave, but we are. All of us," Naruto said before looking sadly at the prone body Tenma. 'I can't be that cold-hearted not to cry, but his words…the way he shrugged off getting drained…there's no way he could survive that…could he?' he wondered with hope in his heart.

"Naruto, focus! The Scorpion is about to attack!" Kurahime warned him as the monster roared.

"Right. Maki, Yue, we're killing this thing," he declared, pulling out an open phial of Ambrosia and putting it to a surprised Yue's mouth. "Come on, up you go."

"Something tells me that this one won't be a pushover like those cyclopes out there," Maki noted as Yue hopped and latched onto the back of Naruto, who shifted about so that she could get a good grip on him.

"No matter. We'll take this one down and eat it just like the others." Naruto assured her as he readied Umbra, with Yue looking curiously at it. "So come on, you big bastard! If you want Yue, come and take her if you can!" he yelled, activating Intimidate to taunt it, before telling her, "Hang on tight, and don't fall off!"

Yue nodded. "Okay!" She squeezed her slender arms tightly around his neck.

Naruto struck first, aiming Umbra in Gun Mode and opening fire, but all the shots bounced off. Maki cast her fireballs that exploded off the monster, but it was unharmed. Both nodding to each other, Naruto and Maki ran around opposite sides of the Scorpion firing and casting, but still no effect as they were forced to dodge purple beams that came from the stingers. Maki took cover behind a pillar while Naruto leapt away. The Scorpion fired spikes at him, but Naruto used Steel Legs enhanced by Air Step to kick them away.

"Let's go, Bobobo-bobo-bobooooo!" Maki yelled, summoning her signature monstrous fireball once more, only this time with Lightning sparking off of it thanks to Lightning Field. Making a throwing motion, she directed it at the Scorpion. "Crimson Flare Voltage!"

The Bobobo fireball floated above the Scorpion, slowing to a stop once it was directly above it. Then, a flare storm with lightning in the shape of a pillar bombarded the monster, but it used its tails to smack it away.

"Oh come on, I just made that spell!" Maki complained before being forced to flee from a series of lasers that fired from said tails. "Eek!"

"It's not even budging! This guy's way stronger than those other monsters we fought!" Naruto shouted and threw a flashbang, blinding it and allowing Maki to get away unscathed. "We just need to break its shell! Aim at one spot on its body! Its durability there should be weakened from repeated blows."

"Then let's go for the head!" Maki decided as she prepared another spell.

"Got it!" Naruto replied after reloading Umbra.

After it recovered from the flashbang, Naruto leapt out of his cover and opened fire at the Scorpion's head. After emptying his bullets, he held Umbra by his teeth and grabbed a grenade from his pocket. "Got a present for ya!" he said, throwing it at the Scorpion. It exploded against its shell, the flames from the grenade licking at its body.

"What was that?" Yue inquired.

"Flamrock grenade. Upon experimentation, I learned they burn 3000 degrees-" Naruto started to explain, before grunting irritably. "Ya know what, it's really scorching hot. Hopefully, it'll weaken the integrity of that damn carapace-"

'They're not using incantations or magic circles. Naruto and Maki, they're like me. They control mana directly.' Yue noted in amazement.

"Yeah, this is going to take a while…" Naruto sighed as the Scorpion roared. "Oh man, hold on!"

The Scorpion fired a barrage of beams and spikes that Naruto weaved in and out of using Air Step, hopping back and forth frantically. "Maki, a little help, please!" he wailed.

"Blitz Bomb Barrage Storm!" she chanted, throwing several huge fireballs that bombed the Scorpion, burning and zapping it, causing it to flinch. "Flare Storm!" she shouted, using the flames around it to turn it into a violent vortex. "Crimson Flare!" she yelled, resummoning the monstrous fireball that fired everything below it. "Dammit, this is going nowhere!" she growled as she replenished her mana with Ambrosia. "We need something bigger and I don't think my Mystic Arte will do the trick!"

"I got nothing! All I have are my Skills and Umbra!" Naruto informed her as he Transmuted a domed wall to protect himself and Yue.

"Naruto." Yue suddenly jumped down and hugged him from the front.

"Yue?"

"Trust me."

With that, she suddenly clamped her jaws down on Naruto's neck and began to suck his blood, the loud slurping sounds audible only to the two of them.

"Drink all you need," Naruto said as he Reinforced the dome structure protecting them. "Maki, hold it off- uh?!"

"Naruto, Transmutation won't work! It's able to manipulate the earth around it too!" Maki called out from her position.

"Yeah, I got that, but it's my specialty!" Naruto declared, engaging in a war of earth manipulation with the Scorpion while Yue drank his blood.

"Hey, big ugly! Over here! Searing Flames!" Maki chanted, creating a sea of flames beneath the monster. However, it ignored her, choosing instead to focus on Naruto. "Oh come on!" she complained.

But it was enough as Yue withdrew and licked her lips. "Thank you for the meal."

Just like her sister, she took on a healthier appearance as she licked her lips and caressed Naruto's cheeks. Her red eyes were full of life, and her once pale and gaunt skin was now fair, glowing, and full of vitality. All in all, her appearance looked really seductive, especially combined with her barely-clothed voluptuousness.

She then spun around and brandished her hand towards the Scorpion. Suddenly, mana poured out of her body and enveloped her in a golden glow, lighting up the room. The force blew the wind about, her golden-blonde hair flowing around her.

"Azure Blaze!"

A bluish-white fireball formed above the Scorpion, and with a single downward swipe of her finger, the Azure Blaze fireball spell slammed into it. The creature roared in pain as the fireball grinded into the top of its head before exploding in a brilliant flash of blue flames. The Scorpion scuttled around in pain, its shell making a hissing sound from the heat that was seared into it.

"That was…supreme-ranked magic!" Maki breathed in shock as Tamaki meowed under her hat. "She truly is a monster like us…!"

"It's even hotter than my Flamrock grenades! I can feel that heat from here, woah!" Naruto caught Yue, who fell backward into him. "Are you okay, Yue? Nice work, by the way."

"Mm…just very…tired…" she murmured.

"Makes sense. You've been down here for a long time, and using such a high-level spell can be taxing." Naruto said and looked at the recovered Scorpion. "Still alive. The materials better be worth it, dammit…" he frowned, observing the Scorpion before snapping his fingers. "Yue, can you use Azure Blaze one more time?"

"I can, but it'll be small…"

"Good enough. Maki! When Yue casts her spell, use your own strongest spell! I'll handle the rest, got it?!" Naruto called over to her.

"Understood! I have just the spell to do it too! Just keep it off our backs!" Maki said and got into a spell-casting stance, "Ready wherever you are, Yue-san!"

Naruto took a shot at the Scorpion, getting its attention and ran to the side. "Hey, asshole!" The Scorpion followed and fired a hail of Naruto that he danced and weaved around with Air Step. He gritted his teeth as some of the sharp spikes glazed and scratched his skin. As soon as the barrage was done, Naruto tossed a flashbang and shot it in front of the Scorpion's eyes, blinding it. "Now!"

Yue materialized her Azure Blaze spell, albeit smaller in scale. As soon as the Scorpion turned its attention to her, she threw her hand down, her Azure Blaze pressing it down to the ground on the spot.

"Logi's Accel!" Maki chanted, surrounding the Scorpion with a tornado of flames. "And now, burn! LOGI'S EATER!" she yelled, summoning an even greater flame that violently spiraled around the Scorpion, charring its shell and weakening it's structure.

The result was the fire absorbing the Azure Blaze and transforming into a spiraling firestorm that engulfed the Scorpion, making it screech in pain and wail around. As the fire slowly died down, Naruto landed on the top of its back and shot it with Umbra, with all six shots cracking down its shell and exposing its flesh. Switching to Sword Mode, he stabbed the blade into its back and twisted it around, holding on tightly as the monster flailed about. He then grabbed his final Flamrock grenade on his person, ignited it with Lightning Field, and stuffed it into the wound as he yanked Umbra free. With seconds to spare, Naruto jumped off and rolled on the ground as the grenade detonated, blowing the creature's back out.

Joining Maki and Yue, he looked around towards the corpse. "Nothing to it- it's still moving." he groaned, seeing the Scorpion trying to reach its remaining claw out towards them. "You gotta be fucking… Hold on, lemme reload-"

"ORA!"

A familiar voice made everyone freeze, as the impaled Tenma suddenly leaped up from where he lay, lunging up over its back as his fingers morphed into silver claws. "Digging Claw! Lunging Stab!"

His hand RAMMED down into the scorpion's flesh, making it screech some more, weakly. "And now, LIGHTNING COATING! MAXIMUM!"

A flash of light lit up the room like one of Naruto's flashbangs, making everyone shield their eyes. The Scorpion twitched, thrashed, and writhed as lightning coursed through its body, and its carapace popped and steamed around the joints as its blood was flash-boiled.

Finally, it fell to the ground, dead, as Tenma drew his arm out of it, casually reaching up to pull the spike from his head. "Ah, by the way, I'm not dead," he announced, grinning cheerily.

Naruto groaned, flopping onto his back. "Somehow, I knew you were going to pull something like that! Make that TWO Deadpools in our party!" he declared, holding up two fingers. "But man am I glad you're not really dead."

"How…just how are you alive?! You got stabbed through the head! Seriously, what the hell are you?!" Maki demanded, pointing a shaking finger at him. "Are you a vampire like Yue and Ophelia here?"

"Nope," answered Tenma, who was trying to reach around behind him to yank out the spikes lodged in his back, "Ahh, fuck, that hurts…well, basically, I'm immortal. Might as well get that outta the way. Can't die of old age, can't be killed. Ah, but I can't regenerate exactly. I just shapeshift back into what I wanna be. Hoo boy, have I been gettin' some practice with that on the way down here! Do you know how many times I got gnawed by a shark or had m' guts ripped out by a giant mole? Growin' 'em back ain't easy or fun!" He managed to grab a spike and yanked it out with a grunt, whereupon the hole left behind rippled and then sealed up. "Nngh…Maki-han, ya asked how I got down here unscathed? Here's the answer: I didn't."

Maki gasped, her hands on her mouth as Naruto nodded in understanding. "Seems like we're not the only one who went through dead straight hell down here." Sitting up, he smiled gratefully at the older man. "Thanks again."

"Geez, you both are crazy. Then again," Maki gazed down at her scars. "So am I."

Naruto gestured to Ophelia as Yue helped him up. "C'mon, let's check on Sleeping Beauty."

The group went to Ophelia, who had just begun to awaken. Her eyes fluttered open as she let out a cute yawn. "Good morning," she mumbled and sat up, not aware of her nude form. Then she stilled. "I'm…dreaming?" she murmured, looking down at her hands. "This isn't the coffin…it can't be. Am I…?"

"Ophelia!" Yue cried, collapsing on her sister and hugging her. "Don't worry, you're okay. We're both free!"

"And you were thirsty as hell. You nearly drained my buddy here," Naruto added, jerking a thumb towards Tenma, "But yeah, welcome back to the land of the living. Can't believe you slept through all of that." He glanced at the Scorpion.

"After all this time…?" Tears welled up in Ophelia's brilliant blue eyes before she squeezed her sister back. "Oh, Ale…it was so dark! All that time, I could barely move! I tried to get to you, but…!"

"Shh, it's okay. Uncle and everyone else are gone now, and we have a fresh start." Yue looked at Naruto and the others. "With them. And I've been given a new name. Yue."

"What? But why, Ale? I don't understand." Ophelia said softly.

"I just wanted a new lease on my life. Naruto helped me with that by granting me my new name that I don't want anymore." Yue said with a smile towards Naruto. "I'm sure Tenma can do the same for you."

"Nnn…" She squirmed for a moment, biting her lip. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to lose the name my mother gave me," Ophelia decided and glanced shyly at Tenma. "You don't mind, right Mr…Tenma?"

He scoffed, waving a hand dismissively, "Yeah, don' worry 'bout it, girl. Names're super important; it ain't somethin' you should change unless you're absolutely sure 'bout it."

She nodded, smiling expectantly up at him.

Naruto smirked. "Seems like she's taking a shine to you."

"Probably because of his blood," Maki guessed as she sipped some Ambrosia, "But you're one to talk, Naruto."

Naruto blinked, before looking down to see Yue holding his hand. Despite being expressionless at the moment, she was genuinely happy that she and her sister were free from their shared hell. He smiled and patted her head.

"So…" Naruto nodded towards the corpse of the Scorpion. "Who wants to help me carve this bad boy up?"

…

After taking at least an hour to harvest the flesh and material parts from the Scorpion and the cyclopes. The former was even cooked all the way through, thanks to Maki and Yue's fire magic and Tenma's lightning, with Naruto having the idea of making jerky strips from it. Yue and Ophelia even helped carry the materials after drinking more of their saviors' blood. Naruto had wanted to make the room their base, but the vampire sisters stamped out that idea, since for them the room held nothing but pain and traumatic memories, and were overjoyed to finally take their first steps out of the room.

After modifying the base to accommodate the new arrivals, everyone was eating dinner (at least Naruto, Tenma, and Maki were), talking, and getting to know each other. In addition to the cyclopes and Scorpion meat, they also dined on monster meat that Tenma brought with him that would grant Naruto and Maki the same Skills he acquired in the labyrinth.

"I see. So it's been 300 years…" Ophelia murmured sadly. "Mother, Father, everyone really is gone…"

"So that would make you both at least 300 years old, right girls?"

Both vampires looked miffed while Maki coughed into her hand. "It's rude to ask a girl their age, Naruto."

Tenma grunted. "If men can be asked their age, so can girls."

"Yeah. Even so, I didn't think that custom existed in another world," Naruto mused as he continued to examine a piece of the shell that came from the Scorpion. "According to the books we've read in the library, a war broke out among the vampires that wiped them all out. Still, do all vampires share your lifespan, or…"

Yue shook her head. "No, because I'm special. My healing ability from my Personal Attribute keeps me young. My powers awakened when I was twelve, and I physically stopped aging when I turned seventeen, the same age when I was crowned Queen of the Vampires. But Ophelia here…was…"

Ophelia shuddered. "I was…I was dead. It's only because of the Witchblade that I could be brought back…" She rubbed the back of her right hand.

"Hmm…so a vampire girl with crazy healing, and another with a curious artifact. An otaku's wet dream," Naruto said before taking a bite of his steak. "What exactly is the Witchblade, and what does it do?"

"It's a family heirloom, an ancient, sentient weapon passed down from generation to generation. There wasn't anyone worthy…until Ophelia came along. And ever since this, she stood on the edge of ruin and ecstasy." Yue explained.

Ophelia poked her fingers together. "Long ago, my ancestor on my mother's side wielded the Witchblade. Some call it the righteous sword of God, others the hand of the Devil."

Tenma hummed, eyeing the marking. "The truth is probably something in between."

"Yeah," said Maki, nodding, "The vampires back then might not have known how to identify it, but these days, more weapons like these have been discovered. They're called Ego Swords; weapons that choose their wielder and take on forms and abilities that suit them."

"Ahh, yeah, I read 'bout those," he agreed, "There're quite a few types, ain't there? The Witchblade's probably a Symbiotic type, binding itself physically to the host."

"Sounds powerful, which begs the question," Naruto digested his steak piece before pointing a knife at them. "How the heck did you two get subdued? You could've easily dealt with your captives."

"Our family bonds were strong, so it was a shock that my uncle betrayed me, while Ophelia was out on a mission that turned out to be a trap for her. In the end, he stole the throne and tried to have me executed, but thanks to my healing powers, I didn't die. Ophelia tried to save me when my uncle tried to seal me away, but they did something to her."

"He was ready for me. I was trapped in a magic circle that robbed me of my mana and stamina, before being forced into that coffin once Ale- Yue, awakened. I couldn't get out, and could only fade away," Ophelia said, looking crestfallen while leaning into Tenma for comfort. He wordlessly wrapped an arm around her, making her sigh at his warmth as he stroked her upper arm.

"You're out now, so your uncle can suck it," Naruto said with a grin as he gathered some materials next to him. "None of us are going to regret saving you both. So, anything else you two can do?"

"I can cast powerful spells without magic circles or incantations. I have an affinity for every element too!" Yue said proudly with a twinkle in her eye.

"With my Witchblade, I can summon adaptive, shapeshifting armor. It gives me superhuman strength and endurance, physical resistance, and a healing factor, the latter not as powerful as Yue." Ophelia said sheepishly, "And blades. Lots of blades."

"Blades for days?"

"Um…yes. Blades for days."

"The more the merrier, I say. With the three of you, we actually have a full party!" Maki with a grin before turning to Tenma. "But you mister, what's your story because I'm still processing how you managed to survive that deathblow through your head."

"What she said. I did want to ask about your story, but I didn't want to pry back then. But after seeing what I've seen, and how you survived while looking for me, I'd like to know how." Naruto said, looking Tenma dead in the eye. "Where did you come from, and what made you come along for the ride during the summoning."

"What happened?" Ophelia asked curiously.

"When the Scorpion attacked after we freed you, he shielded you with his body, and had a spike through his skull," Naruto deadpanned while Ophelia looked at Tenma in shock. "And no, he's not a ghost."

"Could probably find a way to turn into one if I try hard enough," he replied casually, shrugging, "As for where I came from…well, as far as most origins, mine is actually pretty simple and boring." He leaned back for a moment, directing his gaze towards the ceiling. "To start with…I'm just a guy who got lucky. A goddess of Comfort decided to bless me with a place to call my own. A place where I'm able to live my life in total relaxation, eternally, with absolute freedom, and the ability to wander the multiverse."

'Sounds like a Choose Your Own Adventure build come to life.' Naruto thought. 'I wonder if this is my own beginning of such a thing?'

Maki frowned. "If such a goddess exists, it's certainly not in this world. Ehit would never allow it."

Tenma shrugged. "Probably not. But given how many times I've been 'killed' in the past few weeks, there ain't much that he can do to stop me. As long as I can keep throwin' myself at any kinda danger, it will always give way 'fore I do."

"Throwing yourself in danger does not sound healthy, even with a healing factor," Naruto pointed out with a hint of worry. "Protecting those you love is understandable, but you shouldn't do it so carelessly. One should always value their life, whether mortal or immortal."

To their surprise, the older man nodded readily. "I agree. The goddess's blessing was meant for me to enjoy life as much as possible. But y'know, it's pretty hard to enjoy life if it means not doin' everything I can to make sure the people around me are alive ta enjoy it with me." He reached out and ruffled Naruto's white-streaked hair. "I value my life just fine. It's just that I can't lose it, so I'd rather use it ta make sure you don't die first. Still, 's not like I go outta my way ta take the hits. As for why I came to this world, well…I sensed a big ol' summoning spell bein' sent out across the multiverse and thought, eh, what the hell? Might as well tag along an' help out where I can. Make some new friends. When yer immortal, ya tend to go from moment ta moment with these decisions."

"Wow, well…" Naruto looked bashful. "You've got a friend in me and vice versa, dattebayo! I've had rotten luck with friends for the past couple years."

"What happened?" Yue inquired curiously.

"Taiyo "Sun" Oga, a once best friend that ended up being jealous that the girl he was after was interested in me. While he didn't take it so well, there was zero excuse for him to threaten to rape her when he thought no one was around. Hazuki "Hose" Yasuo was a seemingly nice guy who I thought I could be best buds with. Turned out he was interested in the exact same girl, and worse, he turned out to be an asshole who was aware of other girls loving him, but never cared, with those girls helping him just for him to be happy." Naruto growled darkly while clenching his fists.

Tenma whistled. "Damn, she must be some gal."

"You've met her," Naruto said with a smirk. "Pansy-chan."

"I'll be damned. Well, looks like she ended up gettin' with you after all, so that's a happy endin' right there."

"True, but the only reason she came with us is because she made a surprise visit to my school," Naruto admitted while rubbing the back of his head. "But back when I transferred schools, I thought I could make some friends as well, but that proved to be impossible thanks to one guy making a really bad impression on me, and the assholes who were jealous that the school sweetheart was interested in me. You've met them as well, Amanogawa and Kaori in short order."

Tenma nodded, narrowing his gold and black eyes thoughtfully. "Aye. That Amanogawa kid…even I can tell that there's somethin' off about 'im. I didn't interact with Shirasaki-han very much, but I know she woulda come down ta find you as well."

"That would've been nice, but I'm glad she didn't. I don't think anyone in the Hero Party can withstand the horror of the abyss down here." Naruto stated while digging in his backpack. "Sure some of us came here with so-called overpowered stats, but…"

"I've seen them, and you, when I passed by to conquer this labyrinth. Some of them looked strong, but the rest would've been lunch." Maki commented thoughtfully. "After everything we experience, I doubt they would made it all the way"

"Oh, definitely not," agreed Tenma, "Especially if they didn't try eating monsters like us." Then he paused. "Granted, I was actually pretty OP 'fore I came along ta this world."

"See Naruto? Being all-powerful isn't that bad," Kurahime poked at him. "Take hints."

'Thanks…' Naruto rolled his eyes. "That's amazing, and that's something I aim to become in order to defeat Ehit and get back home, dattebayo. But how are you OP? Your Status Plate wasn't all that impressive in the beginning, right?"

"Ah, that's because I edited my Status," Tenma replied, pulling out his Status Plate, "I didn't wanna steal all you guys's thunder from the beginning, so I decided ta streamline my skills. Technically they're still true, but…" He swiped his finger across the card, which glowed for a moment, before holding it up.

Name: Daisho Tenma
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Race: Human?
Level: 66

Job: Scribe
Personal Attribute: Enhanced Magic/Magic Defense

Strength: 2500
Vitality: 2740
Defense: 2100
Agility: 1975
Magic: 12000
Magic Defense: 10000

Skills: Language Comprehension [+Babel's Peak], Transcribe [+Skillbook Creation], Stationary [+Book Creation], High Speed Penmanship [+Image Composition][+Text Manipulation] [+Rune Scribing], Eidetic Memory [+Cognitohazard Protection] [+File Storage], Ritual Magic, Paper Manipulation, Meditation [+Dream Training][+Somnternet], Mediation [+Transcendent Bargaining] [+Binding Contract], Diagnostic [+Identify] [+All-Seeing Eyes of God] [+System Read], Ratio, Cursed Speech, Mana Manipulation, Iron Stomach…

The skills continued on, though it was clear that like Naruto and Maki, they were skills that had been taken from other monsters. However, as Naruto read through the early ones, his eyebrow twitched as he realized that Tenma's seemingly simple, boring Scribe abilities actually had some seriously bullshit-sounding subskills tacked onto them.

"Are you…joking with me?" Maki uttered with an exasperated smile and a sweatdrop.

"I think I believe your story now," Yue added with a cautious glance.

"Okay buddy, I know all the Skills from Arifureta Online, the game that this world was based on, but Ratio? Cursed Speech? These're Skills I have never seen before, even in the datamined notes," Naruto said flatly before glaring at Tenma with a notable twitch in his eye. "These have to be from other worlds that you traveled. And not only that, you're 27? These look like Skills that would take you years to get! And that level?! I have a higher level and you got more numbers than me! Power levels really are bullshit!"

"Yer definitely on the right track. Ratio an' Cursed Speech are techniques that ya can't just learn. Ya need ta be born with 'em," Tenma admitted, "But my power as a Scribe comes with some pretty great perks. Fer instance, my ability ta understand any language I come across. But the real kicker is Transcribe." He held up his hand, and motes of light gathered in his palm, forming up into a small book. "Basically, I can take any skill, ability, quality, whatever, an' put it into a book, which'll let anyone who reads it gain that same thing. I can also Transcribe those same qualities from other beings, includin' their Race, Personal Attributes, Divine Blessings…'course, the harder it is to see in action, the longer it takes ta write down, so it's not somethin' I can just do in the middle of a fight. Ah, an' once I've made a new book for the first time, I'll be able to make more copies."

"You're amazing!" Ophelia breathed out, looking at Tenma in awe.

"...Why aren't you the Hero instead of that wet-behind-the-ears kid with the dazzling armor?" Maki deadpanned.

The man shrugged. "Well, if I wanted I could Transcribe a copy of his class. Dunno what all that'd get me that more specialized classes wouldn't have, though." He pointed at his eyes, with their black sclera, golden irises, and runes, "I copied these eyes from another world as well; they're super helpful for lettin' me see just about anything I wanna look for. Mana, illusions, night vision, movements…though I gotta admit, my combat experience is still kinda ass."

Everyone stared at him in deadpan, recalling how he'd finished off the Scorpion with ease.

"If you're saying what I see you're saying, then together you and I have a way of breaking the system there. With my Crafting and Transmute, and your Transcribe, we can craft artifacts not found on Tortus. The unknown variable will give us the edge." Naruto said with a determined look.

"Oh, probably. Hm…y'know, I could probably find a way to embed a Skill into an object, now that ya mention it…"

"Heh, let's test it tomorrow!"

Maki nodded in agreement. "Ehit will never see it coming."

Tenma grinned. "Well, as much as I love my goddess, I can never say no ta showin' up a god."

"You'll have to make it through this labyrinth first." Yue pointed out. "It was built by one of the Mavericks."

"They're actually called Liberators," Maki interjected.

"Hm? I read about the former, but it sounds like the church was keepin' some facts hidden," commented the older man, looking at the Witch, "Care ta fill in the blanks?"

"According to the stories we've heard, they're descendants of deities who rebelled against their creators during the Age of the Gods. Legend has it that they tried to destroy the world, but the gods discovered their plan and drove them to the seven corners of the world," Yue explained, but Maki shook her head. "Leading them to building these labyrinths."

"Yes, and no. The truth is that the Liberators are an organization dedicated to defeating Ehit. It was formed after the founding member discovered the truth of the world and Ehit. She gathered thousands of like-minded comrades who had suffered like she did, and decided to fight the world itself. Eight of its members are able to use unique Ancient Magic, and were its most valuable members." Maki then grimaced. "But despite all of their power and numbers, Ehit used the Church to turn the people against the Liberators, who couldn't fight against the people they swore to protect."

"Even with all that power, they wouldn't spill innocent blood, even when they were manipulated. They have my respect for that," Naruto noted with a grunt, holding up a piece of Taur Ore and another ore. "So if we make it to the end, we'll find some artifacts wielded by them. Hell, maybe a way to, I don't know, learn their ancient magic?"

"That's what I'm hoping for. Rumor has it that a demon conquered this labyrinth and was able to create monsters for their army." Maki said thoughtfully.

"Creation, huh?" Naruto said, grinning as he threw up the new ore and caught it. "All the more reason to make it to the end and find the lair of this labyrinth's creator and their stronghold, eh? But for now, we should all get some rest. It's been a long day."

"Aye. I can't even remember the last time I had a proper sleep," commented Tenma, blinking, "Fuck, if I could head back to my Apartment, that'd be great." Then he grimaced. "Ah. Ever since I got to this world, there's been somethin' keepin' me from heading back there. Must be Ehit's influence."

"We'll worry about finding a loophole around Ehit's interference later," Naruto stated as he put his stuff away and climbed into a sleeping bag made from the furs of the Claw Bear and Twin-Tailed Wolves. "For now, sleep time."

"I do have a question," Yue piped up as she hovered over him. "How did you wind up down here to begin with?"

"It was thanks to a jealous prick controlled by the power of boners knocking me from the bridge into the abyss here. From there, a Claw Bear ate my arm, I nearly gave into the pain and madness, but I overcame and ate some monsters while accidentally drinking demon blood, I got stronger and avenged my arm, before finally meeting Maki here." Naruto replied and yawned. "That's more or less what happened. Honestly, I'm amazed that I'm even still alive. Sometimes, I think I'm still dead and this is a dying dream."

Maki reached over and pinched him hard. "Awake yet?"

"Ow." Naruto drawled, before seeing Yue and Ophelia both tearing. "Oh come on, not you too. It's not even that much of a tear-jerker."

"You poor thing."

"It was heartbreaking!"

"No matter how much you abridge it, it'll be one hell of a tear-jerker," Tenma chuckled, before turning serious. "What will you do about that Hiyama brat? I coulda cursed 'im somethin' fierce topside, but decided ta leave it up ta you."

"Thanks for that, but nothing, really. He's already been punished," Naruto said with a foxy grin at Maki and Yue. "I know Pansy is using her wiles to keep the prick away from Kaori. And I picked up Maki and Yue in a dungeon!"

"Eh, I feel like there's a joke in there somewhere," Maki muttered with a blush, even as Tenma gave a bark of laughter.

"But if he misbehaves, well, I always did want to test how Team Rocket's Jessie and James of Team Rocket always survive being blasted off. Heh heh heh," Naruto commented, rubbing his hands together.

"What are you talking about?" Ophelia asked with a question mark floating above her head.

"Anime- well, uh…'motion stories' if you will. Think of them as pictures that can move. You'll see what we mean when we go back to Earth," At Yue and Ophelia's confused looks, Naruto continued. "I mean, you no longer have a home, right? I'm extending an invite to you both; hell, even Maki and Tenma. What say you?" he offered, with Yue and Ophelia looking at him in surprise.

"Oh, I'd love to, after Ehit is defeated of course," Maki said excitedly.

"O' course," replied Tenma easily, "An' lemme extend one back to ya: when we get outta this, I'll hook ya up with the multiverse community that my Apartment's connected to." He paused for a moment. "Ah, and my Transcription would lemme give you my immortality if ya want it."

"Thanks for the offer on the immortality front, but let me think about that. That type of decision shouldn't be decided lightly on the spot. But traveling the multiverse?" Naruto said with a thumbs up from his position. "Sign me up, dattebayo!"

"Hell yeah! There's this one place that's got food like ya wouldn't believe…"

"Speaking of food…" Ophelia suddenly interjected, sneaking behind him. "I'm hungry, Tenma~"

"Uh-oh," Naruto murmured before seeing Yue crawling ever so closer to him, looking so sexy and seductive with only the coat on. "Oi, you too, Yue?"

"I can't help it, Naruto. Your blood…" she straddled him, effectively trapping him in his sleeping bag. "Reminds me of a wonderful meat stew. So rich, so creamy, so unique!" she murmured, cupping his cheeks with her soft hands.

"And me living off monster meat made me a full-course buffet," Naruto groaned, unable to escape. "A little help?"

"Mmm, Tenma~" cooed the white-haired vampire sister in the older man's ear, "My body remembers your blood so well…like the coolest water, bringing life back to a desert…" she kissed his neck, her fangs lengthening and grazing his skin.

He grunted at her touch. "Nn, what, that supposed to be a vampire pickup line? I'll give ya a six outta ten- urk!"

Her fangs bit into him, and her eyes fluttered, a muffled moan vibrating through her body as she pressed her voluminous breasts against his chest. Looking down at her, Tenma gave an exasperated sigh and began stroking her hair once more, making her shiver, hearts blooming in her blue eyes as she practically melted against him with a mewl of bliss.

"Hah…just don't drain me too much. Just 'cause I can't die of blood loss doesn't mean I don' have other things ta do."

"Ku ku ku, he's a little busy nourishing my sister. But you Naruto, you're all mine~" Yue's eyes shined as her own fangs elongated, pressing her own mounds against him. "Dinner time~"

"In my world, we say itadakimasu- augh~!" he yelped, his shaking hand reaching towards the ceiling as Yue chomped on his neck, moaning cutely as she began feasting.

'Something tells me that these two Princesses are more dangerous than we thought…' Maki mused with a small laugh. 'At least leave some for me, Yue-san…'

In the world Tortus, it was just another normal day with people living their lives. But unbeknownst to the masses, a powerful force was being born within the bowels of the Great Orcus Labyrinth that could shake the world to its core. It was a superpower thousands of years in the making, the legacy of the Liberators slowly blooming beneath Ehit's nose. And by the time the ambitious, formless cruel god realized it, it'd be too late…

---

END OF CHAPTER 03

---

The newly formed party ventured through the labyrinth, defeating and eating through any monster that crossed their path. Only at the end do they encounter a boss that puts everyone's abilities to the test. It won't be a one-shot and done, but a battle to gain great strength and experience, to overcome their limits.

Next time - Chapter 04: To Clear the Labyrinth (tentative title)

---

[References and Explanations]

"Goop juice" is Markiplier's thing from his Resident Evil 7 playthrough.

"Maximum effort" is one of Deadpool's motivational quotes.

Given how much things are different, Yue's chambers needed extra cyclopes. They had poses in the manga, so I decided to give them Power Rangers/Super Sentai colors. Naruto also references the Ginyu force from Dragonball Z.

Maki uses various Fire elemental spells from the Tales of…series, mostly from Zestiria and Xillia. And I switched between the Japanese and English localization names.

Tenma comin' in for the save like Nanamin!

After everything he's been through (and before the dungeon incident), Naruto needed a friend in Tenma.

Yue's powerful healing ability has been reconfigured into her Personal Attribute.

Her sister, Ophelia, is based on Anastasia from FGO.

Yue and Ophelia are half-sisters of different mothers. Ophelia is the older sister.

Yes, Yue is much more bustier and curvier here than her canon counterpart.

The Witchblade comes from the comic/anime series of the same name. Does that mean that we're gonna see the Darkness in this fic? Inconclusive.

Ego Swords come from Hardcore Leveling Warrior. They are, as explained, evolving weapons that develop into something that suits their chosen wielder.

It bothered me that Yue was never given a surname. 'Gingetsu' was suggested by NSG. Means Silvermoon.

Maki's current, only known powerful spell is the Mystic Arte, Logi's Eater, which sounds way better than the genetic Pyro Storm.

Tenma's abilities come from the Essence Meta CYOA (Essence of the Scribe) and the Comfy Apartment CYOA. Doesn't sound like much, but is definitely OP. The latter alone gives him immortality and the freedom to explore the multiverse, among other 'quality of life' things. What's that? Immortality makes a character boring by removing tension of whether he'll die? Well, nuts to that!

Also, his All-Seeing Eyes of God are taken from the ability from Kekkai Sensen, combined with his ability to comprehend all languages, hence their different appearance.

On the Oresuki side, Naruto doesn't replace Joro, as the latter was 'kinda' a friend. He is sour with Sun and Hose for good reason, and by extension, the other girls like Cosmos and Himawari, albeit to a lesser extent. I will write out those scenes…or just make a really short story or one-shots over the more important scenes.

Yes Vegeta, power levels are bullshit, but soon that won't matter.

The food place Tenma talks about is Toriko.

Preliminary Statuses

Gingetsu Yue
Job: High Priestess
Personal Attribute: Absolute Recovery (Skill-type)

Ophelia Anastasia Mevoritio Avatarl
Job: Dancer
Personal Attribute: ?

Current Harem

Naruto: Maki, Yue

Tenma: Ophelia

---

Released: Thursday, July 15, 2021

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[Tortus, unknown location]

A hooded Hinata stalked into the ruins of a village, wearing a blue sleeveless tube-top with silver corset armor, shoulder-length fingerless gloves, a miniskirt with thigh-high leggings, and brown leather boots with open toes.

Since the ruins were from ancient times, it was in a state of disrepair due to being thousands of years old, but the land itself was untouched, thanks to a barrier that kept it hidden from prying eyes. For the bluenette, it was nostalgic, reminding her of happier times.

"Well well, guess who came back from her time on Earth." a voice echoed around the ruins, followed by the notch of an arrow. "Enjoy your time with those backwards, violent humans?"

Hinata looked over her shoulder with narrowed eyes. "Not everyone's violent there, Hibana. And it wasn't all for naught."

"Oh really?" the voice scoffed, before there came the sound of an arrow being fired, which Hinata caught with two fingers.

The one holding Hinata at arrow point revealed herself. She was the spitting image of Hinata, albeit with sharper facial features. She wore a silk crop top that crisscrossed over her bust and connected to a golden choker, showing off some cleavage and her navel. She also had on a pair of lavender, detached sleeves, a pair of baggy chaps and brown leather boots with open toes.

"And how is that, my dear sister?" an amused Hibana asked, "Is it more important than being with us?"

Hinata shook her head as she removed her hood. "Naruto-kun has returned."

Hibana blinked. "...You're joking with me. Are you serious? He really reincarnated?!"

"Yes! At first, I thought it was a trick, but it's really him! He was born on Earth and his parents are the same! They must be reincarnated too!" Hinata said with growing excitement.

"How is that possible- Wait…" the gears clicked into place before blushing. "You bitch, no wonder you were gone that long! You were getting ahead of us!"

"To be fair Hibana, he's only 17. I was only on Earth for at least a thousand years, and I've only known him for 10." Hinata admitted with her tongue out.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go find the others and meet up with him!" Hibana said with giddiness. "So what's he doing now?"

"He's here on Tortus with his classmates, training. Since I was an assistant teacher at his school, I was caught in the summoning with Afureya-sama." Hinata explained.

Hibana looked alarmed. "So Ehit summoned more fodder after the last batch perished. I wonder if he knows about Naruto?"

"He doesn't."

Both twin sisters jumped and whipped around wildly to see the goddess Afureya descending down to the ground. With a flourish of her golden hair, she turned it back to her long brown hair, and her eyes shifted from blue to green; resuming her Hasegawa Chisato guise, but still wearing her white dress with gold chains.

"Afureya-sama!" Both elves chorused and dropped to one knee in a bow, but the goddess shook her head.

"I changed back into this so you two wouldn't do that," Chisato said dryly, with the girls shooting upwards. "Your beloved Naruto has indeed returned, but he's in a bit of a bind right now."

"What happened?!" Hinata demanded.

"One of the students tripped a trap within the Great Orcus Labyrinth that took everyone face-to-face with a Behemoth, with the same student knocking him down into the abyss while they were trying to escape," Chisato said solemnly as she walked past them. "Naruto's been down there for two weeks."

"What?!" Hibana shrieked.

"It's Hiyama Daisuke. It has to be. He could never handle that Kaori-chan was infatuated with Naruto-kun." Hinata said before perking up. "Two weeks, so he's-"

"Yes, I sense he's still alive. I suspect that he'll meet with one of my followers who also went into the labyrinth. Time will tell if he can escape from that place." Chisato looked up at the sky contemplatively.

"Well, if he's truly the Naruto we know, he'll escape from that place," Hibana decided as she put away her bow.

"He will. I know he will. Chisato-san, what do you need for us to do?" Hinata inquired.

"How about shoving a few arrows up that one kid's ass for what he did?" Hibana suggested aggressively, cracking her knuckles.

Chisato shook her head. "Tempting, but no. Instead, there are two individuals that I need you to retrieve from that kingdom: Mash Kyrielight and Miwa Kasumi."

Both sisters furrowed their brows. "I…don't recognize those names," said Hinata slowly.

"Never heard of 'em," agreed Hibana.

"Just do it. They'll be important to Naruto and his friend Tenma-san in the future. When Naruto conquers the labyrinth, they'll end up in the Great Reisen Gorge."

"Huh, who's Tenma?" Hibana asked.

"That strange man who appeared alongside us." Hinata clarified. "He's in that labyrinth too?"

"Yes. Take Mash and Kasumi there and have them protect the exiled Rabbitmen. Given Naruto's habit of getting into trouble, I have a feeling they'll cross paths soon enough," Chisato instructed them. "Don't worry about Pansy-san and Ayana-san; they still need to be close to Kaori-san for…entertainment purposes."

"Right. We'll do that once we retrieve Hanabi and her apprentice," Hibana added, motioning Hinata to follow. "C'mon, sis."

"Hanabi teaching someone? That sounds like a disaster." Hinata joked as she followed her twin.

Chisato watched them go before taking off herself. "Now for the hard part…keeping Ehit busy…I hope you're alright, Naruto."