The first things the accessory trader taught me was how to process precious metals, use the tools required, craft gems, and imbue them with mana. I even managed to learn more spells from getting used to this mana stuff. I even tried experimenting with imbuing with chakra instead of mana for some interesting results. This includes using imbuing with my compounding.
With this new knowledge and some of the skills from my shield, I started a new business venture: crafting gemstones and accessories.
It seemed gemstones weren't as valuable as they were in my old world, but imbuing a bracelet that would cost normally 30 silvers could jump the price to around 100 silvers. With my clones, it made it profitable to do both compounding and crafting.
Then I got into trader's grapevine of contacts. It was through these vast connections that I finally heard some concrete rumors on where the other heroes were and what they were doing.
It seems Motoyasu saved a famine-stricken village to the Southwest by introducing some kind of legendary crop. I bet that royal pain in the butt of a princess came up with the idea. As far as I have seen, Motoyasu was worse than me when it came to planning things. It made me glad I had Iruka-sensei and Matthew to help me out on that. Matthew was a whiz with budgets and running a shop.
Ren, the Sword Hero, was apparently moving South. He's looking for strong monsters to slay. There was even a rumor he took down a dragon. I was further behind the others than I thought if Ren did indeed manage that feat considering how Lial was.
However, it was the information on Itsuki, the Bow Hero, that was confusing. It was all over the place. Some say he was training up in the mountains. Some say he went into something called a dungeon on a quest for treasure. There were even tall tales like him joining another country's resistance. In the end, I couldn't tell what was true or not, so discarded the information as a loss.
Still, the trader wasn't kidding when he said he was going to give me knowledge and connections. But there was one thing he offered that helped me more than anything else.
"I can't believe this, but this deed must be the real thing." The chief miner said as he looked at the paper I offered him. We were in a thriving mine town and the accessory dealer gave me a deed to this mine. "I'm amazed that grumpy money grubber actually gave this to you."
"Guessed he liked me a lot," I said with a chuckle.
"Anyways, if there's a gemstone you want, I can arrange for you to get it. At a discount, of course, goes without saying. What are you looking for, Sir Hero?" The chief miner asked.
"I'm looking for the gemstone you have to use to make thread from magic." The chief miner looked at me in shock.
"But, sir, right now the only area I know… is filled with dangerous monsters." The chief miner sighed, "We are still looking for a new-"
"Don't care. Just give me the location." I pulled out a sack of coins. "I'll pay you for that location and being allowed to mine my own minerals here."
"I see." The chief miner took the bag of coins. "Let me show you the richest vein first. It will take me a little bit to get the exact location of the magic gemstone you need."
"No, thank you." With my mining skill, I collected a good bit of ore and materials. I even found poorer quality ore near the surface. Didn't unlock any shields, though, due to levels. Once the chief miner got us the exact location of the gemstone we needed, we headed straight back to castle town and picked up Aunt. She could identify the gemstone we were looking for.
"What surprises me is how you managed to find that gemstone so quickly!" Aunt chimed in delight.
"Well, it's not all that simple." I crossed my arms with a pout. "It's in a rather unsavory location."
"Master Naruto," Raphtalia got my attention from Filo's carriage as I was driving Lial's cart. "Look." She pointed ahead and we saw some ruins built into the chasm's walls. We turned just before reaching the temple and found a cave nearby.
"Alright, let's get ready."
"Right!" I went to our storage scrolls as the others unhooked Filo and Lial from their reigns and straps.
"Huh?" I accidentally touched the wrong character and found my old clothes. Just looking at them gave me mixed emotions… Mostly a throb in my heart, urging me to go home… Sadly, a home I may never see again. I wonder… if Kaus wanted to go back to his hometown?
"I wonder if I should have that dressmaker make me some clothes, just in case." I hummed in thought.
"Naruto, you got the torches?"
"One second!" I put the clothes down and unsealed the torches we had bought. I hopped out of the carriage and we lit the touches.
"A long time ago, this temple was once a notorious evil alchemist's base of operations," Aunt said as we entered the cave. "Strange, though. I never heard of anything about a tunnel being here."
"According to the chief miner, no one dared to approach this place ever since monsters started nesting here." I signed as I sensed life deeper in the cave. "Keep your eyes peeled." Everyone nodded at me and kept there hands close to their weapons. The tunnel quickly turned into a room. We found an opened chest at the end of the room.
"It's empty?" Matthew looked at the interior of the chest. Then he noticed the slab next to it. "I think… That's ancient writing?"
"It is," Aunt got closer to the slab. "We fervently pray that this seed never makes it out of this tunnel. It is the horribly twisted manifestation of our wish that nobody feels the pangs of hunger ever again in this world." She read the writing aloud.
"Sadly, it seems some thieves already released it." Iruka-sensei sighed, "This world sure has its share of problems similar to our world. I can just imagine the mission report now."
"Yeah. I heard of some crazy missions from the older ninja." I listened into their stories at the bars to learn anything I could. "Well, it's not our problem."
"Father! Look down there!" We turned to see Filo and Lial pointing. "There's a path over that way."
"That way, that way," Lial added.
"Good. Let's go." I did sense life over there… But I also sensed a great deal of mana. That had to be the gemstone we were looking for. "Filo, Lial, hurry!" I shouted to my monsters who seemed distracted.
"Father!" Both ran over to me. "We might-"
"Stop right here." So Aunt felt it too? I felt a lot of little sources of life, monsters. Then I saw Aunt looked down.
Oh boy. There was a big footprint on the ground. "A monster footprint. A big one at that."
"Just our luck," I felt this was similar. However, where was this monster? I gained quite a range due to training with Iruka-sensei and messing with mana… But I couldn't detect any large monsters. "We're just going to have to keep going till we get what we came for. Just remember-" The torches blew out. I sensed a strange aura engulfed us.
"Genjutsu!" Iruka-sensei shouted.
"Right!" Raphtalia and Matthew shouted and I felt their chakra burst through their bodies. Damn. I needed to-
"Master Naruto, I've been only using you," Raphtalia? "I pretended to become a slave again to gain your trust, but it was all an act. I could stab you right now from behind and kill you. I wanted to kill you with my own hands."
"I hate you, Naruto. You're the Fox, after all. I'll kill you." Iruka-sensei? My stomach dropped. "And you took my chance to be the hero! If it weren't for you, I would be the Shield-"
"Naruto! Calm down!" I felt something in my side and chakra went through my body. "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah." Right. I still had the crests on everyone. "This is a damn nasty genjutsu." I glared towards the monsters. "Matthew, fire a spell just before us! In the air!"
"Right. All Zweite Aqua Shot!" His spell struck true and we heard the beasts hit the ground. We re-lit the torches and found them to be some kind of bat. I absorbed it into my shield.
Voice Gengar (Bat Form) Shield conditions met.
Voice Gengar (Bat Form) Shield
(ability locked) equip bonus: sound wave endurance (small)
Equip Effect: Megaphone
A megaphone? Really? Well, I could use it for our peddling. But, why did it say bat form? I tensed as we pushed forward. However, with not moving that far into the cave… Everything went pitch black even with a torch in my hand.
"Master! Prepare yourself!" Matthew's voice and I felt a sharp pain in my hand.
"Raphtalia?!"
"Naruto! Are you alright?!"
"Please die!"
"No! No!"
"Calm down, this is the work of the enemy! They've used magic to darken the passage." Aunt shouted. "The monsters are trying to get us off our guard! Don't let them fool you!"
"Easier said than done," I changed my shield.
"Father! Feed me!" Filo?
"Tasty!" Ouch! Something got my shoulder.
"Tch. Look how weak Boss has gotten." Kaus?! "Maybe I did waste my life to save you. How are you gonna repay me!"
"No… It was a trick!" I blocked the attack and heard a squeak when my Two-Headed Black Dog Shield activated its Dog Bite.
"As the source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and restore our sight! Faust Anti-Bind!" Aunt shouted and I was blinded by a bright light. It came from Aunt's wand. I looked down to see a great number of small, rat-like monster scurrying at my feet.
I was okay with scratches, but looking at the others, they were pretty badly beaten up. Nasty buggers to attack in the dark.
"That was a tough genjutsu," Iruka-sensei grunted as he looked over his arms. Bites were all over his arms. "And that was from a monster… I really hope we don't face something like that in the Waves."
"Yeah, I am the Shield Hero, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them! Faust Heal!" Raphtalia glowed green as my healing magic engulfed her.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Genjutsu ain't my strong suit." I sighed as I healed the others. I used healing salve on myself to save on some mana.
I fed some of the monsters we defeated into my shield and unlocked the Voice Gengar (Rat Form) Shield. It also had Megaphone for it's equip effect, but it's equip bonus was Blindness Endurance(small).
I am so unlocking both these shields when I have the chance. Anything to better counter my weaknesses. I activated my skill Alert Shield even with being able to sense the monsters. They were still surprising Iruka-sensei and me.
"Let's keep going." I picked up the torch I dropped.
"Excuse me, Father?" I looked up to see Filo and Lial teary-eyed. "You won't abandon us, will you?" Filo asked fearfully, as Lial hugged Filo out of fright.
"No. You're my daughters. I'll never abandon you two." I sighed. I mean, I have grown up without parents… I wouldn't want anyone, even monsters, to experience the same thing I did. "Let's hurry before the monsters regroup."
We continued down the tunnel and then Filo's feathers ruffled. "Something's there," Lial said and I put the torch down as we reached the end of the tunnel. The room was filled with crystals beaming with mana… And now I could sense it.
Across the room was a monster sleeping.
"That's it." Aunt pointed at the crystal. "And lots of it."
"You. But…" The monster I saw was strong from my senses. It… felt like the Wave… And reminded me a bit of the Chimera boss. It had a monkey's head on a raccoon body with tiger legs and a snake for the tail… A tail that looked right at us.
"That's a Nue. A little on the small size, but still dangerous." Aunt whispered, "But what is a beast from the East doing here?"
"Probably the same situation as that black dog." I sighed out as I prepared my Chimera Viper Shield. "This might be rough." It took awhile for the other heroes to take down the Chimera with their shitty teamwork. "The gemstone is right there for the taking."
"Let's go!" Raphtalia shouted and charged forward with her blade drawn. Filo and Lial followed her into the cave.
"Crap! You guys!" I turned to Aunt and Matthew. "Cover us, please!" I shouted as I launched myself into the cave.
Raphtalia thrust her sword at the Nue and it dodged and gave her a strong kick to her back. The Nue tried to attack when Raphtalia hit the ground, but Filo blocked it with a kick and Lial got a tail whip in on the nimble beast.
"Zweite Fire Blast!" Aunt shouted and unleashed a fire blast on the Nue.
"Zweite Aqua Slash!" A blade of water shot from Matthew and grazed the beast's shoulder. I got before the beast and took its enraged attacks with my shield.
"Potion Efficacy Up," I whispered and smirked as the snakes of my shield bit into it. Yes! He glowed, so it took effect. However, damn this thing was heavy.
Could I hold it back with this shield?
Wait… Were those sparks?
"Yahoo!" Filo landed a kick right in the monster's face.
"Awesome JOB!" I yelped as I was yanked back off my feet, somehow going into the air. "Hey!" I looked up and found Lial had grabbed me. The Nue unleashed a roar and with it lightning covered its body. Filo jumped back in time to avoid it.
"Damn, that was close." We needed to avoid the lightning attack. I felt its strength even with being farther away. But… How can we attack it?
"Fireball Jutsu!" Iruka-sensei got closer and launched a concentrated ball of fire at it. The Nue batted it away with its claws… But I saw Raphtalia case Hide Mirage and try to sneak up from behind.
Tap Tap.
Shit. I saw that the Nue twitched to the sound.
"Stop! Raphtalia!" I shouted out and the Nue shifted. "Look out!" The snake tail lashed out at Raphtalia and forced her to drop her illusion to dodge the quick strikes.
"Sound echoes in here." I went wide-eyed. "Is it sensitive to sound?"
"Maybe. It sure is noisy in here." Filo said.
Noisy… No! Perfect!
I changed Tate-chan to the Voice Gengar(bat form) Shield. It was a shot in the dark to try and was so hilariously ironic considering how I was before.
"Everyone! Cover your ears!" I shouted and pushed chakra into my throat. If it could be used make the air in my throat to fire, couldn't I turn it into wind?
"BAAAAAASSSSSSTAAAAAARD!" I howled through the megaphone with my voice amplified by chakra. Ow! Ow! My eardrums were killing me!
Yes! I did damage! Blood streamed out of the Nue's ears and it staggered from its eardrums being wrecked.
"Kill it now!"
"Zweite Fire Blast!"
"Zweite Wind Blast!" The two spells seemed to merge together, turning into an inferno that engulfed the Nue.
"Hah!" Iruka-sensei and Raphtalia charged and both got it through the stomach. Lial bit into the Nue's neck and knocked it into the ground.
Filo… Did she start gathering her strength and scratching the ground? What was that sound-
Ba-Boom!
Holy shit! Filo launched into the air and she landed a kick to its head as the Nue knocked everyone off it. It was so powerful, I could have sworn I heard the beast's skull shattered and blood and brains splattered as it slammed into the wall behind it.
Wow. Puke time. Dammit, Filo!
"We won!" Filo cheered as she landed. And I tried my best to stop heaving.
"Are you two okay?" I walk up to Raphtalia and Filo once I calmed my stomach down. Lial I already saw escaped the battle with few wounds, if any.
"Yep!" Filo chirped.
"How about you?" Raphtalia asked, but I yanked her arm and found a wound from the Nue's claws.
"I'm fine, but you guys can't be so reckless!" I scolded as I gathered mana. "I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them. Faust Heal." The wound knitted itself back together.
"But I'm-"
"Seriously? What if you were badly hurt? You could be scarred for life." I know that was a big fear amongst the female students at the academy.
"You mean you worry I could have-"
"Got it? I don't know how much my skills and magic can do." I mean, I don't know if my healing back at Lute left the villagers with scars. They had been bedridden from fatigue, so I tried to let them rest.
"O-oh, okay." Raphtalia looked away with flushed cheeks.
"Well, we've won. It seems to have been a child Nue. I think there has been a rich family somewhere that kept it as a pet, but it escaped and become wild."
"What?!" I looked at Aunt in horror. "That's just a child?!" How freaking dangerous was an adult? And why the hell would someone want this thing as a pet?
"Again… I can already imagine the mission report for finding such a beast if it's anything like Lady Shijimi's cat, Tora." Iruka-sensei shuttered. "What is with rich people and run away pets?"
"Wow! So pretty!"
"Pretty, pretty!" Filo and Lial chirped as we all looked the shining crystal formation. "Want, want!" Lial purred on some of the gemstones.
"They're so beautiful!" Raphtalia chimed out.
"And gonna get us a lot of money." I made my cross seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I formed several clones and we went to work harvesting gemstones.
"You're going to take all of it?" Aunt asked in horror.
"No, just a good bit as there is a need for it, as you said before." I chuckled at Aunt. "You're getting your crystal for free in exchange for a discount for making the thread. It's the least I can do as you helped us out so much."
"I see. Thank you." Aunt bowed before she saw Iruka-sensei sealed the gemstones into a scroll. "How did you do that?!"
"It's a technique from our world." Iruka-sensei explained, "It uses a seal to seal away an object into the ink."
"A seal? Like sealing magic?" Aunt's eyes lit up.
"Yes, though seals in our world use chakra instead of mana. I've been experimenting with mana, but haven't gotten far with it." Iruka-sensei sighed. "It's like it unbalances the seals made to be used with chakra.
"Oh ho! You have just given me my next research project!" Aunt slapped Iruka-sensei in the back. "I'll gladly share my research if you share yours."
"Sure. If we can make mana versions of customer storage scrolls, it could be a nice product to sell."
"Indeed! Do you realize how inconvenient it is to take my research materials on the road? Any magician would pay their weight in silvers for such a convenient tool!"
"I know. It made traveling so much easier with how much Naruto makes from just about everything we find."
"Hey! That was an insult, wasn't it!" I puffed my cheeks at Iruka-sensei as I gave him more gemstones. "We can't waste anything! Anything that can be useful to us has to be used."
"Yeah, but you became quite a pack rat due to your sheer volume of producing power." Iruka-sensei gave me a sly smirk. "If not for our scrolls, we might not be able to ride in the carriages."
"Jerk." I huffed.
"So that's why the carriage was so light!"
"No fair… Makes pulling too easy."
"Hey, you two want heavier carriage?!" I looked at the two monsters.
"Yes, please!" I shook my head at both monsters. I could understand Filo with being a Filolial, who go into tantrums without a carriage to pull… At least, that was what the local farmer told me… But Lial was a dragon. Did she see it as a challenge with Filo or is she wanting to copy her Filolial sister?
"Tasty!"
"Tasty! Tasty!"
"What the- No! I haven't butchered it yet!" I scolded Filo and Lial as they tore into the Nue. Both pouted, but they were happy when I fed them some meat after I absorbed some of the beast into Tate-chan. I got some good shields, but not as good as the Chimera series. Still, I will use anything I get.
It was starting to become a motto.
I looked at the crystals in the cave. "Kaus… I will get stronger. Just you see." I whispered as I touched the scroll containing his ashes.
"I think we got plenty." Matthew sighed as Iruka-sensei stored the scrolls he made into a single scroll. "What are you going to do with all these gemstones?"
"Some I will sell, but I want to experiment with that mana thread," I said as we exited the vein and into the tunnel. "It might be useful for my compounding and crafting. Heck, I wonder if I can make accessories out of those crystals."
"What creative thinking… Wait, you can process gemstones?" Aunt asked in shock.
"Yes. I plan to process yours, too." I said before I stopped in the tunnel.
"Mas-" I held up my hand and quieted Raphtalia and the others.
"There's four of them," Iruka-sensei whispered as he got next to me.
"Yeah… And they are chakra users." I added. I had noticed a difference to my party compared to others in this world due to our chakra usage. Now that I felt mana, chakra seemed like a flame to me, the life of a being, while mana was the aura around that flame helping to fuel it. It was why even with a number for my HP and MP, I had excessive regeneration of it as my chakra, HP, and mana seemed to feedback into each other in a strange way. A beneficial way, but still abnormal compared to others.
Yet, back to the problem at hand, I felt four strong flames with small auras. These guys didn't use magic as their mana stuck close to their chakra. They were in the room with the chest from how they were spaced. Wait, there was one other flame, but smaller...?
"We can't surprise them, but we do have an advantage," I got ahead everyone. "Stick behind me. Prepare to use magic if we need it."
"But what about you?" Raphtalia asked with worry.
"Don't worry. I'm the Shield Hero, after all." But just in case. "I'm the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and protect them! Faust Guard!" I cast the defensive magic on myself and we proceeded toward the room.
The flames noticed us and backed away from the tunnel. Good. It might give us a chance to get into the open.
At least, that was what I thought before a barrage struck me. The attack wasn't enough to harm me, but when I looked down… Shuriken. To think I would see this weapon here.
"Ninja!" I shouted and thrown the torch into the room. I saw them barely in the shadows thanks to the light. "Stay behind me Raphtalia, Filo, and Lial. They are on a whole different level than you!"
"What?" One of the ninja tossed a kunai at me and I caught it. And let it go with seeing my first ever explosive tag.
Boom!
I shielded everyone from the blast, but boy did a number on the tunnel and my ears. One of the shadows darted forward and took out a short katana. He struck out at me and I blocked the attack with my shield.
"A shield?" He sounds confused before the snakes of my Chimera Viper Shield came alive. "The hell?" Crap. The ninja was too quick and dodged the snakes.
"Faust Fireball!"
"All Zweite Aqua Shot!" A ball of fire and orbs of water shot past me and boy did that freak out the attacker.
"Shit!" He dodged most of it, but one of the water orbs got his arm good. He backed off back into the shadows. "They can use jutsu."
"It must be Umino Iruka. He is known for his Water and Fire jutsu."
"What the?" I went wide-eyed. How did they know of Iruka-sensei's surname? As well as his affinities?
Now I wanted to know.
"Aunt, Matthew, cast fire magic on this oil." I pulled a small glass bottle from my back and popped the cork. I learned I could make this flammable stuff called gunpowder with a grass called Snappy Grass. Curious, I had carefully extracted oils from said grass and had gotten a potent oil. It was too potent for cooking, but it did unlock a shield with the Fire Resistance (Medium) for me. I didn't know if I could hit the torch, so magic will work as I tossed the bottle and it shattered into pieces on the floor.
"Faust Fireball!" Matthew and Aunt cast the same spell and hit the oil. It lit into a blaze and filled the room with light.
My heart froze as the four ninja lost their shadowy coverage. They wore white animal masks with various markings on them. They all wore the same attire of black clothing, a grey flak jacket, and metal arm guards.
It was the exact uniform of Konoha ANBU.
How? Was there a ninja village in this world?
"I smell both that Uzumaki kid and Umino guy." The fifth flame showed itself… as a talking dog? It looked like a pug… And atop its head was a Konoha headband.
"That's… Kakashi-senpai's dog-nin!" Iruka-sensei hissed with wide eyes. "How?"
"Remember the Voice Gengars." I looked at Aunt. "Cast that spell, now."
This had to be some kind of illusion. It couldn't be real.
"Faust Anti-Bind!" The light shimmered around my sides… But the four ninja and dog didn't waver. I pulled out my knife and cut myself.
"Master Naruto!" Raphtalia cried out, but I looked back at the tense ninja.
They were still there.
This was no illusion.
Just to make sure… "Who is the Third Hokage?" I barked out as I braced myself.
"Did he just-"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen," The ninja in a fox mask spoke up.
"How many faces are on the Hokage Mountain?" Everyone but Iruka-sensei looked at me oddly.
"Four." The fox masked ninja answered again.
"What's the best ramen stall?"
"Naruto! That's completely based on the person's tastes!"
"If you are speaking on the terms of Uzumaki Naruto and Umino Iruka, it would be Ramen Ichiraku," The fox ninja chuckled. "Though, I agree that they make good ramen."
"Smart ass," I sighed. "You four really are from Konoha." Iruka-sensei and I looked at each other in the eyes and nodded. "Iruka-sensei and I, Uzumaki Naruto, are willing to give up if you stand down!"
"Oh? You don't want to fight?" The fox ninja stood up from his crouching position. "What were those attacks before?"
"We thought you were…" How to phrase this without sounding stupid? "We thought you were ninja from elsewhere."
"True… The lighting is poor." Wow, this fox masked ninja was sure a comedian. "… Come out of the tunnel and then we can talk."
"Okay, but no attacks!" I growled out and walked forward. "Everyone but Iruka-sensei stay behind me."
"What's going on, Master?" Matthew asked as we walked into the lit room. "Do you know these people?"
"In a way," Iruka-sensei said as he put his hands up as he walked to the side of me. "I, Umino Iruka, surrender myself." Wow. It's getting hard to tell which language Iruka-sensei spoke.
"What about the Shield?"
"We have a client behind us that we would rather not get hurt." I answered, "If you promise to let the people behind us go, we will surrender peacefully."
"Master Naruto!" Raphtalia gasped out. "What do you mean?! Why are you giving into these foreigners?!"
"Raphtalia… Can't you tell from listening to them?"
"What do you mean?" Aunt asked, "All I hear is a language I can't understand."
"I see, we caught you in the middle of working." One of the other ninja said. This one with a cat mask. "Sadly, we cannot let go. Not without knowing what you have done with the Forbidden Scroll."
"It's right here." I pulled the scroll out from under my mantle. "We wish to return it to Konoha and the Hokage."
"Really?" A wolf masked ninja scoffed. "After you stole it and went on the run, you want to-Wait, who are you? Why do you have-"
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
"Lies." A bird masked ninja snorted. This one was the wounded one. "Uzumaki Naruto is a child."
I pulled down the cloth mask I've been wearing. It was much easier to use than my mantle and was easier to breathe through. "I am Uzumaki Naruto."
"Prove it." The wolf masked ninja snorted.
"Let's see. There was this one time I managed to stink bomb the Hokage Office." That made the ninja flinched. "Or, how about that time I cherry bombed all the toilets at the academy."
"So that was you?!"
Oops. Forgot that was one of my pranks I got away with it.
"Do you realize what we had to go through to fix that?" Iruka-sensei grabbed my head when I tried to further myself away from him. "My sandals smelled like sewage for two weeks!"
"Sorry." I squeaked out at the teacher's devil eyes Iruka-sensei gave me.
"Cherry bomb? Sounds delicious."
"No, Filo. It's a bomb. An explosive." I sighed out at my daughter.
"An explosive?! You blew up someplace?" Ouch?! Raphtalia, my poor eardrums were still recovering.
"You really are Uzumaki Naruto." The fox masked ninja let out a sigh. "Drop the transformation."
"It's not a transformation." I sighed as I, too, held my hands up. "Trust me. You wouldn't believe anything we say right now."
"It's true. I bet you will have to have a Yamanaka member see our memories to prove how crazy the last few weeks have been." Iruka sighed. He then went wide-eyed when the bird masked ninja appeared before me and punched me in the gut… Or, at least, he tried to.
"Holy… kunai…" The poor guy cradled his hand as he doubled over. Guess his attack stats were lower than my defenses.
"I am the Shield Hero and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and heal them. Faust Heal." I targeted the bird masked ninja and he glowed. Hoped that would be enough to fix both his hand and arm.
"What the? Medical jutsu?" The bird masked ninja starred as his arm knitted back together
"Magic, not jutsu," I sighed out. "As I said, it's a long story."
"Will you allow us to restrain you all?" The fox masked ninja walked up. Still, he was cautious from how delicate his steps were.
"Are you really going to take all of us prisoner?" Iruka-sensei narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. Sorry, but we are under orders to do so. If possible, don't resist."
"Fine." I turned to the others. "Don't resist. That's an order… In fact, Filo, Lial, transform."
"Why?"
"Do it or no dinner."
"Waah! Okay!" Both puffed into their human forms. I pulled out their dresses from my pack and threw it to them.
"Did… that bird and… thing…"
"Yep. They did."
"And that's just part of the crazy stuff we've been through." I laughed as the ANBU pulled out a rope and tied us up. "Would you believe I got those two from a lottery?"
"That has to be a joke."
"It's not," Iruka-sensei sighed as when found our hands tied to prevent hand seals… Well, outside Matthew who got … the weirdest hands tied position due to his bad arm. We were patted down and all our weapons removed… Well, most weapons.
"The hell? What's with this shield?" The cat masked ninja tried to pry Tate-chan off my arm.
"Trust me. You don't want to know," I growled as he twisted my arms in weird ways. "Could you stop? It's not coming off even if I wanted to take it off." I shocked them as I changed Tate-chan to the Voice Gengar(bat form) form.
"That… is an interesting Shield." The fox masked ninja said with some confusion? Skepticism? Dammit. It was hard to tell their emotions with those damn masks on their faces.
"Yeah. I get that a lot." I turned to Aunt as we were lead out of the cave. "Sorry Aunt. You got pulled into my troubles."
"It isn't a problem, dearie. I just want to know what is going on." Aunt smiled at me.
"Iruka-sensei and I are being… arrested for our crimes." I think arrested is the right term.
"For murdering Kaus?" Matthew gasped more than asked.
"No. Me for stealing a dangerous scroll and both for treason due to it." Raphtalia gasped in horror.
"They are from your world?!"
"Yes." We flinched as we got back into the sunlight.
"So, how will we return? By foot?"
"No. We might be in enemy territory." The fox masked ninja sighed. "We are returning the same way we got here."
"But none of us-"
"I can… Just not to the degree those three got theirs to work." The fox masked ninja let out a sigh. "Give me a few minutes to write out the seal. I guess we will leave the carriages here and-"
"Noooo!" Filo cried out as both Lial and she ran over to their carriages. "Filo can't leave her carriage behind! No! No! No!"
"Don't separate Lial from her cart!" Lial rubbed her cart with tears, "Lial's beloved carriage!"
"Is… that normal?"
"Sadly yes," I sighed, "Could you please bring the carriages with us? These two get anxious without them."
"Guess we can use them to make it down to two trips compared to a bunch of little ones." The fox masked ninja groaned as he pulled out a pot of ink and a brush from his storage scroll. "I guess - and hope - the seal in the ANBU base is still functioning. I would rather not explain why two carts appeared on top of the Hokage Mountain."
"Thank you," I watched carefully as the fox masked ninja painted a complex set of characters onto the chasm wall.
So… A seal got them here? How did they manage that when there were no such seals in the Forbidden scroll detailing such a jutsu?
"Father, I'm hungry."
"Hungry, hungry."
"You two just ate that Nue!"
"Can you make us something to eat?"
"No. My hands are kinda tied right now." How are these two gluttons thought of food at a time like this? I turned to Raphtalia and Matthew to find both morose and with worry in their eyes. "It's going to be alright."
"Master Naruto, are… are you sure?"
"Not exactly, but… At least for you guys, I think I can say yes."
"Seal!" I felt the fox masked ninja's chakra flared up and looked back at the wall. The script glowed and came alive as it pulled into itself till only a few characters remained on the wall. "Alright. Bring the carriages over here. I'll do everyone in one carriage and then come back for the other one."
"Promise?" Filo and Lial did puppy-
Wait… Wait wait wait!
"You can understand them?!" I gaped at my daughters.
"Aren't they speaking like you, Father?" Both Filolial and dragon cocked their heads in confusion.
"Yes, but… No. I'm not going to try and figure this out." I was too tired from the fighting with the Nue. Maybe Filolials and dragons have translation magic along with their transformation magic?
"Alright, load up." We were helped into the carriage and I tensed at the chakra pushed into the carriage and then-
"Oh, fuck!" I managed to bolt to the end of the carriage and puke my guts out, again. Note to future self: do not EVER try to sense how someone tries to move from location to location ever again.
"Alright, come… You alright?" The cat masked ninja asked me as I heaved.
"As… alright… as one… can be…" My eyebrow twitched at the ninja.
"Well, come with us." We were taken from the carriage and I gulped at seeing ourselves in some kind of bunker-like building. My stomach dropped even further when the ropes were replaced with special cuffs that I felt restricted our chakra and put into a cell with seal papers on the bars.
… Maybe giving up wasn't such a good idea after all.