"D-Dio?"

"Yes child," Dio nodded, "Now, I do not know whether it's different here, but where I'm from, it was common courtesy to give your name after hearing someone else's,"

At his words, the boy's face turned pink from shame, "S-Sorry mister! I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi! Nice to meet you Dio-san!"

"Likewise, child," He returned absentmindedly, his head wildly bobbing around the place trying to find his "companions".

'Where are those imbeciles,' Even with his heightened senses, Dio had no clue where Kira or Doppio were, and he shuddered to imagine what Kira was up to without someone sane(i.e. Dio) looking after him…

Too busy with locating them, Dio didn't notice what Konohamaru was doing until it was too late…

"I found you again, stupid bug!"

A shiver went up Dio's spine, and he immediately knew something was wrong. Flicking his head around, he found Konohamaru… and Kars... and Konohamaru in Kar's chest…

"Aaeghuaa!? HelpmeDiosanohmehgaaawwd!"

He could only look on in sheer body-paralyzing-tongue-twisting awe as Konohamaru was slowly being absorbed by Kars. But before Dio could reprimand-cum-beat the shit out of him, a few newcomers entered the fray and intervened first…

-Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!-

Countless numbers of shiny projectiles zipped towards Kars, striking him everywhere with deadly efficiency, all the while making sure not one of them grazed Konohamaru. Even Dio was surprised, he was good with throwing knives and shit, but this was taking it to a whole 'nother level!

Of course, just because something struck true didn't always mean it always impacted, and in this situation, that was definitely the case.

"Hm? What do you think these puny little knives are going to do to me?!" Kars raised an eyebrow as his gaze easily followed the shadowy figures hidden in the trees.

"Unknown assailant! By the authority of Konohagakure, you are under arrest for assaulting a child, sexual harassment, pedophilia and innapropriate showing of your hot— Ah! I-I mean your crass and horrible body!" A female voice announced from the tree to his right, but if she'd meant it to be intimidating, the slip up in the middle destroyed any chance of that…

From the other tree to his left, Kars made out something eerily similar to... a face palm? He chuckled, now too distracted with these two new toys to care about the bug he was absorbing. He released him, then began heading towards the woman.

Dio didn't waste this chance, and before you could say "Za Warudo" he had Konohamaru safely in his arms.

"Wuaaagh… T-The bad man wanted to hurt meeee! Dio-san, pwease hewp mee!" The little boy sobbed freely in his arms, knowing that as long as he stayed within the vampire's arms, he was safe.

"Shush child. A real shinobi doesn't cry, now does he?" Dio soothed him, and after a few more words of comfort, Konohamaru was back to normal, just in time for them to watch the action:

[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]

"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform! Your mere candle flame does nothing!" Kars strode confidently towards three people, one female, two male as he easily destroyed the giant ball of flame charging at him.

He stared at the woman standing in the forefront of the trio. She was the one that launched the fireball at him, and the one that— due to her unintentional compliment— was the one he found most amusing.

The lady was a brunette, her free flowing hair cascaded down her pale neck and shoulders, obscuring the bare skin underneath. To his irritation, she was sporting a short black skirt and halter top that showed off plenty of skin.

"Tch, hypocrite," He hissed out, and she blushed when he pointed at her own dress wear.

"T-Today was supposed to be a break, got it!? This isn't what I usually wear, I swear!" She blushed even harder now, but her gaze never left him lest he attacked in that small window of weakness.

The two were at an impasse, both unwilling to concede any ground, so they just stared at one another; one looking up, and the other looking down.

She was tall, maybe 175cm in height, and looked even taller due to her lankiness, but it was still a far cry from Kars' overbearing 202. This was already intimidating enough, but adding along the giant wall of muscle that was his body into the equation, she just felt tiny.

"Any last words, bug?" She paled, he wasn't asking her, just from the murderous look on his face, she knew he wouldn't care no matter what was said.

Regardless, she wasn't cowed, She was a born-and-bred Konoha kunoichi damnit! She didn't graduate from the academy with flying colours just to bend to someone bigger than her!

Taking a silent breath, she steadied her breathing and answered him with a condescending smile, "Yeah, tell Yama it was Tsukiko that sent ya!"

-Fwip!-

From her sleeves flew out a ball-like object, wrapped up in purple straps of straw that made it look more like a toy than anything dangerous. But Kars didn't underestimate it, no, if anything, just its harmless appearance alone made him even more vigilant, because if that bastard Joseph had taught him anything, it's that everything can be a weapon, you just have to be creative.

He easily avoided the ball with a sidestep, swiftly creating an eye on the back of his head to survey what the ball did.

-Poof!-

The ball hit the ground and exploded, releasing a cloud of purple smoke that barely grazed his skin, but it was enough.

"Krh?!" His eyes widened as he released a pained grunt and staggered in place. He could feel a prickly, burning sensation on his skin before it slowly started to spread across his back. As the corrosive toxin ate away at his muscles, tendons— and if he didn't do anything, bone, he needed to be wary of other tricks up their sleeves.

He cursed under his breath, having to command his body to precisely detach from the infected areas was annoying, and having to heal while also keeping tabs on his adversaries was even more of a pain.

"Nissei! Asubon! Let's do it while he's still stunned!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how Tsukiko directed her companions, and like a well-oiled machine, they deftly obeyed and charged at him.

[Fire release: Fire Breath Jutsu!]

[Wind release: Gale Palm!]

[Earth release: Mud Wall!]

"""Take this!"""

[Combination Jutsu: Earth Dome of Fiery Gale!]