The team gathered in the room and congratulated each other for winning the lottery. Even though Candlemon was a common weak digimon compared to the other three, none thought that Naruto got bad luck and didn't ask him to prove their conjecture.
Just comparing the stats, Asura was stronger than all of them except in speed where Luna surpassed all of them.
Asura was special among its species now and seemed to be a mutation. His form was bulkier and he had higher control of the wax, the wax itself was stronger.
Asura also seemed to have Naruto's techniques as part of his nature, so the system had updated Asura as a new variant.
Candlemon (Uzumaki Variant)
Asura had sealing capabilities and could utilize fuinjutsu seals. He also had sensing ability unlike a normal Candlemon.
He could even form smaller versions, clones using the wax.
Moving on, Asura was the strongest followed by Arthur and both their final forms were very close in power. It was a shocking moment as Takato's partner showed potential to stand equal to Naruto's partner.
It was a surprise but work would need to be done since there was always stat and skill difference between equal level digimon.
The current situation was a clear reminder of that fact.
The group finished up the short talk and sat down facing the front where Mitsuo stood with his team. His expression was cold as usual and none knew what he was feeling.
He was in his forties but looked to be in his early thirties. He was married but had no children that anyone knew off.
He seemed to like kids so it was surprising that there wasn't one. Many thought it was because one of them had a problem and couldn't have kids.
Regardless of his family life, Mitsuo was a disciplined person that was best at his job and was a powerful tamer in his right. He was a defender of humanity and would do anything for their survival.
He was a stickler for rules and regulations but could bend them and interpret them in his own way when needed.
He was not black or white but a grey person that did good and evil deeds according to the situation.
His partner was Reapermon, a digimon that specialized in hunting down other beings. It was a mid-level Mega level digimon, making it exceptionally powerful.
Mitsuo looked at the group gathered in the room. He was satisfied with the results as it meant that they had gained a team with potential to bring a big increase in the power of humanity.
The number of mega digimon on the human side weren't big and the nightmarish creatures of the digital world at the top were too strong that most mega level digimon were turned to fodder.
In front of such beings, only digimon of similar level could do something. Right now, there were four such individuals.
Two Royal Knights and two with the Zero Unit, and could be considered close to Royal Knights.
It was good news for humanity but Mitsuo was a pessimistic person that believed in cold hard facts, meaning not all Tamers lived to their potential because of various reasons.
"Good morning, I congratulate you for the great fortune and hope you all have an excellent future." Mitsuo opened up with a calm tone and congratulated them.
The team thanked him and let him continue.
"I can see that all you are one team and all of you seem to have a goal in mind. That is great, never forget to have ambition to grow or your partner will stagnate. The bond is good and bad for both of you. It can cause the digimon to lose its way but it also works the other way around.
You are aware of it but it is my duty to give you a reminder." Mitsuo said and looked at them. They were intelligent children and knew such basic information but some people forgot along the way and made mistakes.
"You are now officially Tamers and can receive missions from us. We will provide you with the necessary data according to your rank if you need it and provide you with assistance when you need it.
As official Tamers you are free to do anything you want except breaking the rules. You are not obligated to take a mission but it is better for you to take one, unless you wish to adventure freely in to the digital world without a guide.
But there is an exception, when an emergency takes place the tamer is obligated to help or receive a harsh penalty. The punishment can be a death sentence depending on the situation and the extent of the crime." Mitsuo gave the standard information and looked at their expression. He was satisfied that they weren't selfish little pricks. Not all Tamers were inherently good people, as some didn't care what happened to others and just wanted to do their thing.
These people took for granted what society gave to them and when Society needed them, they ran way like cowards or in some cases even watched while doing nothing.
The law had come down from above as Emperor Greymon roared with rage and cut down swaths of scum that had refused to help in an emergency and tried to give excuses when faced after the disaster.
With the burning sword, all of them were turned to ash along with their digimon.
Even after that there had been repeats of the situation as people could be extremely selfish and Mitsuo hated such people with prejudice.
He took pleasure it torturing such scum with his digimon.
"You have all seen your potential and none can deny that it is exceptional. You all have the makings of S-Rank Tamers and we want that to happen.
This information will be classified but people can make conclusions from just looking at your partners. People will know and they will target you.
For you future, your team has been granted a place inside this base and you will be assigned a personal assistant and guard. Yoon Sook Yeong has been taking care of you all and from now on she will handle only your team.
For your protection we have assigned one of our top tamers, Mai Shiranui." Mitsuo explained in a serious tone as this was one of the biggest problem. Humanity could never seem to work together and always created problems for each other.
There were many criminal gangs that would nab the kids or kill them to avoid confrontation in the future.
Digimon groups were already a headache but human problems were also a thing, making it hard for people to relax.
It wasn't easy for the Leaders to take care of both sides and watch over the small things. They only took part in the big events and let others handle the small details.
The team understood what he meant and it was fortunate that they had the backing of three powerful families along with the connection to the Task Force and the association.
The thing about Yeong was good but having someone follow them along would dampen their adventure. Mai Shiranui was from a clan of shinobi. She was a beautiful and powerful woman.
Her partner was Hanzomon and specialized in espionage and assassination.
"You do not have to worry about Miss Mai's presence disturbing your adventure. She is an expert at keeping it silent and invisible. It is your choice in the end, but I want you to know that your life will be in danger." Mitsuo explained and he knew that they could use the family guards or maids but he wished to have someone on his side following them.
He had a personal interest in their growth and wanted to guide it. If there was a need, he would give them a real personal reason to struggle and seek power.
While the group was thinking, all of them felt something touch them and found a woman standing beside Mitsuo.
She had fair skin with long brown hair tied into a tight high topknot style waist length ponytail with parted bangs and amber eyes.
She wore black two-toed shoes with red linings. She wore a sensual and very open red kunoichi dress that was sleeveless, as well as two red and white tassels at the back containing orbs of the opposite colors, and circular ropes around her shoulders.
Her long legs were open for view as she looked at them with amusement clear in her eyes.
Shiranui clan specialized in seduction for digimon and humans, so it was very natural for Mai to act like that and the result was obvious.
Every male except Naruto and Mitsuo was unable to look away.
Rika glared at the woman and held Naruto's hand, she really hated when such woman looked at Naruto. She could feel the woman eyeing him.
Naruto on the other hand was impressed by her skills, as she had actually been invisible to his senses. His senses were not at full power yet but he was still too much for these mutants or new Types.
Her looks were exceptional but Naruto wasn't the type to lose his mind to such things or he would have been drooling for his wife when she bloomed into a beauty or Ino or some other women around him.
There were many beautiful women around him now as well but he barely gave them a glance. He was enjoying playing around and exploring the world.
This nonchalance made Mai raise an eye brow since no one could act so casually with her, as even gay men couldn't resist her looks.
Mitsuo had already met her many times so his reaction was expected unless she did her magic on him. It was also the affects of Mitsuo's ability and bond.
"How was that? With me around, you won't even feel it and I will only take care of the human problems. This is a short contract that will only last a year or two." Mai spoke as she licked her lips and walked closer, her gaze fixed on Naruto.
Naruto didn't understand what happened and why she was looking at him with a challenging expression.
Her acts did make him give her his attention but his eyes were pretty much clear of any desire. Mai was shocked. She had never seen a man with such a clear gaze.
On the other hand, she could feel Rika's glare and smiled. It was always amusing to see girls flare up.
"I will have my maids accompany us." Naruto decided that it was best to avoid Mai as she was too distracting for everyone else.
Ruri, Hilda, Morrigan and Roberta could join them alternatively since it would not do for all them to come along with rookie tamers and they were needed elsewhere.
"Really, you won't have me?" Mai pushed up her bust with her arms hugging her sides and her voice so sweet. For the finale, there was the smell. She smelled so sweet and irresistible.
"Thank you for the offer, but you are too distracting." Naruto replied calmly
Mai smiled at his words as he acknowledged that she was beautiful. She obviously knew him since her father talked about him.
The age difference between them was 8 years but Naruto was the best fighter in the world form the age of 12.
Her father had talked about seducing him and this had been the opportunity so she accepted but it seems this wasn't going to be easy.
"I can be accommodating." Mai muttered as she shrunk her assets and she was wearing a full suit that covered her body leaving only the eyes.
"We will go with his maids. We know them and trust them." Rika muttered coldly and Mai looked at her but turned to Naruto for the final answer.
"She is right. I am impressed by your skills so I would love to have a spar later and maybe you can join us in the future, but not now." Naruto finished up and Mai didn't make a scene. She knew it would ruin her image to do such a thing.
She had her ways, she would get through them and Mitsuo wasn't easy to shake off.
"Thank you for taking consideration of my advice and finally I would recommend getting to know your partner for a week before entering the digital world. Take care and I look forward to your bright future." Mitsuo said without showing any signs of disapproval or approval, calm like always.
Finishing up with his words, he left the room and the only occupants were Naruto's team and Yeong.
With her superiors leaving, Yeong looked at the team. She was their personal assistant from now, meaning no other team or tamer was her responsibility.
Her duties were now focused and the progress of this team would increase her reputation. This was an honor and she had been granted it for just acting normal.
She just did her job normally and ended up being close to Naruto. Na So Ri appealed for this position once it was announced but she was rejected.
Yeong could tell that her colleague was angry and felt that it was unfair when she was better. Hopefully she didn't bear a grudge was her only thought about that matter.
This was like a dream come true as she could witness the wonders of life through this team once they matured.
Yeong had 100% confidence in Naruto's growth, he wasn't someone that would waste his time and stagnate.
Maybe she could finally reach a new level as a tamer. She had reached a bottleneck at the champion level with her partner Apemon.
Both of them were friendly and chill people but that seems to have caused her partner to stop at that point. It was made worse by the fact that she chose a desk job instead of adventure like other tamers.
She just didn't like fighting and exposing herself to dangerous situations.
But, maybe she could send her partner with the team and have them take care of him while she could watch from the screens.
"Congratulations Guardians, you have been announced as S-rank potentials in the top circles. It has its bad points but there are many good things from this detail. You will have the attention of very important people and have the opportunity to befriend them.
Majority of the top rankers go out of their ways to make contacts so that they can work together in serious situations.
It is best for you to always be social and never instigate fights with other Tamers outside the coliseum. My name is Yoo Sook Yeong and I am a humble tamer but I will do my best to provide the team with the necessary help." Yeong collected herself and walked to the center as she spoke to the team.
"Yeong, you can relax. We are all friends here, no need to be so formal and we are also happy to work with you." Naruto smiled as he got up and told her to loosen up as her body looked stiff.
"Nice to meet you Miss Yeong, we all look forward to working with you. Do you have any advice for me?" Takato asked as he stood up and tapped his digivice, patting Arthur. Digimon were not allowed to roam freely in the human world without permission.
It was the reason why there weren't so many digimon everywhere. This was especially true for giant ones as those were banned except for emergency situations.
"Thank you, Guilmon is a combat species. It would be best to have him keep fighting to satisfy his hunger and allow him to grow. Guilmon is also very sensitive to the tamer so it would be best to never let hate or rage take over your mind.
Arthur will grow best in a positive environment or he could become a violent beast of rage. The Coliseum will satisfy those conditions for now and you can teach your partner new fighting tricks so that his build will move towards Gallantmon." Yeong replied, it was useful and some of the things all of them knew.
Yeong's main role was to take care of them from the human world, watch over them and act as their link. She could manage their missions.
She could find information for them. She could arrange meetings for them.
She could help in the management of the Digital storage. She could help them find the right equipment and guide them to the right places.
She was like their secretary.
"Thanks Miss Yeong, can you gather up information about the Guilmon evolution line and transfer it to me?"
"Yes, I will send data for all of your digimon by tonight." Yeong responded confidently as these were things she did most of the time.
"No need to rush, we can wait for two or three days. Just need something actually useful." Rika said as she looked at Yeong and Naruto.
She had the urge to face-palm.
No matter where they went, Naruto seemed to have charmed someone somehow.
She didn't care about the maids since it was normal in clans to sleep with them. She didn't count them unless it got emotional.
It was the reason she was okay with them and not Mai, there was also the trust issue.
"Work is important but we can postpone it and celebrate this grand day. You are part of our team from now Yeong, so would you care to join." Naruto used to be the first one to always say work first, enjoy later.
But that was part of his regret so he avoided such situations in this life. Work when necessary but don't overdo it.
The team had already planned to party all day with their new partners and show them around the city before joining the celebration at the Uzumaki clan.
All three families would be gathered along with other important friends and individuals. So the night part was slightly official and not some family gathering.
Hearing his words Yeong looked at Naruto and Rika as they were standing hand in hand. She felt that they suited each other.
Rika was a beautiful girl with silky hair and a perfect athletic form. Her looks were better than most models and personally Yeong knew she looked good, but Rika was better.
She was strong and noble just like Naruto.
Yeong had gone with Naruto for lunch and sometimes had coffee together after a check up or when they met by coincidence.
It had built their bond above working relationship and she had ended up thinking of Naruto as her best friend.
She had talked to him about her problems and even gotten advice. Yeong treasured this bond so was personally invested in helping the team to the best of her capability.
"Yes, I will join." Yeong replied with a sweet smile as it was her duty to be close to her team and as a friend, it would be rude to decline without a valid reason.
With that the team left the association and got into a land Rover that had driven itself to the location once the order had been given.
Naruto enjoyed driving, he absolutely loved driving fast. It was a thing that Rika also enjoyed and joined him with.
There were days that both of them could be found racing through the streets on their bikes or cars. Street Racing was legal and there was hardly any danger of accidents and deaths since there were digimon and high level tech involved.
There were designated areas where it was not allowed but otherwise people were cool with it. There were even digimon that specialized in racing and those got involved in these situations so people had something nice to watch as the system allowed them to follow it through the cameras or the tamers among them used their own digimon.
The group drove around town with all their digimon out. They went to a shopping mall and bought some new things for their digimon.
They got some snacks and drinks before moving to the bowling alley and other games. The digimon partners were not given such information so it they learned and played for the first time.
They got lunch and went to the cinema to watch a horror movie with virtual reality style to experience the terror in full form. There was no need to worry about health as the safety system would reject the user and revive them when needed.
It was fun time and they found that Tesla was scared of horror shows. Asura felt challenged and was muttering about finding a way to harm them but he had no way to harm ghost like beings with reality warping powers.
Renamon was chill and just enjoyed it like it was a story while Guilmon's violent instincts were activated so he had to be calmed down.
It seems he couldn't watch horror either.
Finishing up with the team outing, Rika dragged away Naruto to spend time alone. They went to the park and walked alongside their Digimon, talking about normal things. Though, Rika kept on slipping in challenging words during the conversation and didn't let go of his hand. She even went far as to jump on his back and make him carry her around the place.
Seeing her become so open, Naruto saw another side of Rika. Now she wasn't held back by her fears and was using them as fuel.
Rika was someone that he would have definitely fallen in love in the past. Just because he liked soft and cultured women like Hinata, didn't mean that he didn't like tomboyish girls. Hinata was loved by him for her selflessness, her big heart and gentleness. He had never thought about her powers or family.
She was the only woman in his life that loved him for being Naruto and not the deeds he had accomplished. Not even Sakura could say she liked him for being Naruto, as she only fell into place like others once he saved her and fought for her.
Being an empath, Naruto saw the large amount of love and adoration that made him feel complete. Drowning in that ocean of love made him feel relaxed, and he knew that she was the one. She was the only person that could handle his love and keep on loving him no matter what happened.
Rika was opposite of Hinata and wasn't really sacrificial type. Hinata would sacrifice her love, if it meant that Naruto would be happy. However, it was clear that Rika would never give upon him and would make sure that he chose her.
But, Naruto didn't dislike it. He had been on the crossroads of both ways of life in the past. Naruto would have chosen the same path as Hinata, but now he would also choose Rika's path. Why did he need to always compromise? Why did he need to sacrifice his happiness?
Regardless, Rika was still young for him and he was unsure whether to follow the desire of the unknown being.
Finishing up with the alone time, the duo left for the party.
