Naruto slowly came to awareness, feeling a light breeze from an open window as his body rested in a soft bed. His body ached, a sure sign he had been fighting long and hard. Naruto shot up to a sitting position as he remembered how his rescue of Hinata had ended. Taking in the hospital room, Naruto's nose could only catch the scent of many kitsune. Eyes darting around the room Naruto took in the machines attached to him and quickly started removing them, causing several loud alarms to sound. As he heard the sound of someone running to his room, Naruto darted towards the window.
A silver-haired kitsune woman slammed open the door only to curse as she saw the bed empty and the window open. "This is Doctor Nari," she said into a radio. "Be on the lookout for a blonde-haired male or female teen with seven tails. Keep a close watch on any places serving ramen!" She turned to a white wolf with red markings that had followed her into the room. "Try to track him down, Shiranui!" she said before hurrying out of the room.
The white wolf let out a yawn before sniffing the bed. Her tail started to wag as she looked around the room before making her way to a closet built into the corner of the room. Scratching at the door and whining, Shiranui's tail started wagging harder as Naruto opened the door, staring at the white wolf who promptly licked his face, tail now a blur.
"Well, I can tell you're a divine beast, furball," Naruto muttered as he scratched the wolf's ears. "The question is, where am I?" returning to the window, he took a long look out. From what he could see, he was in a small feudal-style castle with a mix of modern and ancient buildings forming a city around it, the perimeter of which was ringed by Tori gates. Outside the ring of red gates, Naruto could see a sea of trees that stretched to the edge of his vision. And there were kitsune everywhere, wandering the streets and going about their day. "Kitsune no Mori (Forest of Foxes)!" Naruto gasped before groaning. "Crap, I died!" and slumping to the ground, only to yelp as he felt the white wolf bite on his tails.
"Owwww! Okay, feeling pain, so still alive… then how did I get here?" Naruto asked.
"A friend of mine brought you here," said Doctor Nari as she opened the door to the room. "You're lucky to be alive; five shark yōkai were treating you as their next meal!"
Naruto started to respond before freezing. Doctor Nari had nine visible tails, but his eyes kept seeing a tenth flickering behind her and similar markings to Shiranui. Martialing all his courage, Naruto gulped out "Inari-Ōkami-Sama?" with a squeak.
Doctor Nari looked startled for a moment as Shiranui started panting happily and wagging her tail before the kitsune shook her head. "I see you took that "Look Beneath the Underneath" lesson to heart," she said as she assumed a more androgynous ten-tailed form, their voice slipping between male and female with every word. "You are quite the smart one to pick that out after such a short time and with so much on your mind," they said.
Naruto gulped again and dropped to his knees to press his forehead to the ground before his patron deity. "I'm not worthy to get such praise from you, Inari-Ōkami-Sama!" he squeaked out, then blushed as he realized he was near naked in a hospital gown. His blush only grew as Inari shifted into a much more feminine form.
"Ah, I see your mother's influence and stories of me have shifted how you perceive me," she purred.
Naruto barely managed to scramble to the bed and grab the pitcher of water that had been left for him and dump it over his body, tagging out for Naruko to take over, who promptly dropped ice cubes down the back of the hospital gown to calm herself down. Inari chuckled and shifted her clothing to a noble lady's kimono, which while emphasizing her beauty was much less seductive to the teens. "And able to keep your heads under pressure, very good," she said with a smile.
"Can we please get some clothes?" Naruko begged, Shiranui rolling on the floor in doggy laughter behind her.
(0o0o0)
Now clad in a miko haori and hakama with tabi socks and sandals, Naruko knelt in front of Inari with Shiranui snuggled against Naruko's side as she enjoyed Naruko's claws gently scratching her ears. "We weren't dead, just almost dead, which let an associate of yours bring us here?" Naruko asked, causing Inari to nod. "And you're going to split us in two permanently?" The fox goddess nodded again with a smile. "Why?"
"I have the need of a champion and Senshi no Miko (Warrior Priestess) and with the two of you I get the added bonus of Mystical Ninja," said Inari. "You two get a reputation boost and more abilities to rescue Hinata-chan!"
"And you care about Hinata-chan why?" Naruko asked.
"Another Shinto deity wishes for Hinata to serve as her Senshi no Miko," said Inari calmly.
Naruko bit her lip, mentally consulting with Naruto. /What do you think bro?/
/First question, what deity? Second, how is she going to split us?/ Naruto replied.
When Naruko repeated the question, Inari smiled. "Amaterasu-nee-Sama has had her eyes on Hinata since she started training her miko abilities," the kitsune goddess said.
Naruko nodded before blinking as Inari pulled a Double Cherry out of thin air and placed it in front of the blonde. "Really?" she asked the goddess in a deadpan voice.
"First step," said Inari with a mischievous smirk. Naruko gulped but bit into the cherry and felt the slight tugging sensation of Naruto manifesting beside her, clad in an orange haori and hakama. The door to the audience room opened to reveal Ahri, who carried a tray that had several dishes on it. She placed a bowl of grilled mushrooms, a peeled peach, and a small glass of sake in front of each twin and stepped back beside Inari. "Eat up, you need to regain your energy!" Inari said.
Naruto and Naruko did as instructed, feeling their chakra and strength return quickly. "Mmmm, delicious, almost as good as mom's cooking!" the twins chorused, causing Ahri to giggle. The twins washed everything down with the glass of sake, glad it was only a little and felt the warmth spread through their bodies. Looking up, their eyes paled as Inari pulled a massive glittering jewel encrusted naginata out of her large sleeves and brought it down between the twins before they could react. The twins felt a lurching sensation and fell twitching to the ground.
"That was mean, Inari-Sama, they've been through a hard day," Ahri said as she moved to place a hand on each twin, healing yōki flowing into them.
Inari responded with all the grace and dignity expected of someone of her divine status by blowing a raspberry.
"What the hell was that?" the twins demanded at the same time.
"Amenonuhoko!" said Inari, causing their eyes to bulge. "Power Up and Spare Life Mushrooms from the Mushroom Kingdom, a Golden Peach from Amaterasu to refill all your energy, and a blend of Steel Fist and Steel Soul sake to get you back to full strength physically and spiritually. The mix of all that combined with this gaudy letter opener easily let me split you into two separate beings for the rest of your lives. Of course, now you can each get a new Jusenkyo curse, so I don't recommend visiting there!"
The twins stared at their patron goddess before feeling their hands getting licked and absently started scratching Shiranui's ears as she snuggled between them. "Warn us next time, please!" they chorused before grinning at one another.
"Now, you have six days in the mortal world to save Hinata," Inari said before her tails snapped up to keep the twins from bolting. "And time is set to ten days here for one day there meaning you get two months of training."
Naruto's eyes widened. "So, we each use six clones per day per subject…"
"That's a years' worth of training in one week in Seals, Senjutsu, chakra shaping, elemental conversion…." Naruko finished with a grin.
"Exactly," said Inari. "And I've already arranged some tutors who will train the two of you and take care of the physical side of training while your clones study!" The twins matched her excited grin and all three of them had their tails wagging fiercely.
"Ichiro and that bitch possessing Hinata-chan won't know what hit them!" the twins chorused.
"Then swear yourselves to me and we'll start the training tomorrow," said Inari as Ahri placed a large sake saucer in front of her and a smaller one before each of the twins before filling them from a golden sake jug. The sake sparkled and radiated divine energy.
Naruto and Naruko exchanged a glance at one another and lifted their sake cups in salute to Inari. "We Uzumaki Naruto/Naruko swear our service to Inari-Ōkami-Sama as her champion/Senshi no miko, so long as she does not have us act against our family or home!" the twins chanted before sipping their sake.
Inari smiled at the twin's two stipulations, inclining her head in agreement before lifting her own sake saucer. "I Inari-Ōkami hereby take Uzumaki Naruto and Uzumaki Naruko into my service. Their enemies shall be my enemies and let all know that they speak in my name!"
After the ritual exchanging and sipping of the sake, Naruto and Naruko both stiffened as they felt a new energy source growing inside them. "Woah!" they gasped as warmth spread through their bodies.
"That's the reiki I've gifted you, it will grow larger as you get used to it. But it will let you do things like smite evil, banish undead, and enforce my will as needed," Inari, giggling as the twins shared a smirk. "Now to bed, you two are going to be busy for the next two months!" Once Inari was alone in the room she glanced around before throwing her head back and laughing like a crazed noblewoman from an anime. "OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHo, the two of them are going to drive Tsukiyomi-nii-san crazy!"
Ahri led the twins to a room where they changed into provided pajamas, Shiranui following and curling up between them with a yawn as they lay in their futon.
"This has been a crazy day," Naruto finally said after a few minutes of silence.
"And we're going to be training our tails off," Naruko said. "All so we can kick the bitch out of Hinata and take out Ichiro for good."
Naruto raised his hand, one fist clenched, and Naruko copied for a fist bump. "Never going to give up, going to give it our all!" the twins chorused as Shiranui's tail wagged happily.
(0o0o0)
After a hearty breakfast Naruto and Naruko made six clones for each of their practice sessions before following Inari to a gathering of various beings who they could only assume were deities standing around a forge where a Mediterranean-looking man with one of his legs encased in a metal brace was pumping the bellows. "Since Naruto needs a blade before you can start training fully, I commissioned several smith gods, some spirits, and other master craftsmen who have forged weapons for gods to help us make one that would replace Nenshōsaiga."
Naruto grimaced. "Meaning tooth pulling?" he groaned.
"Aww, relax, laddie, you'll be sore for a minute and then it will be over!" said one of the smaller beings, a blue-skinned dwarf.
"And you'll be yanking it out, not me!" said a grey-skinned dwarf with a shudder.
"Put a sock in it, Sindri!" growled the blue-skinned one as he grabbed a pair of tongs and moved towards Naruto.
"How many fangs do you need?" Naruto groaned from behind his hands, not giving the blue dwarf a chance to grab any.
"Just one, any more and we don't deserve our fame as Broki and Sindri, forgers of Mjölnir!" said the blue dwarf, causing Naruto to lower his hands and open his mouth. One quick yank and yelp of pain later, Naruto was holding an ice chunk from Naruko as the smith gods consulted with the dwarves and spirit he recognized as one of the most famous Japanese blacksmiths, Masamune Goro.
"Isth anyone gonna awsth my pwefwences?" Naruto lisped as his new fang grew in.
"The lad speaks true. It's going to be HIS blade, so he should get to say what type," said a brunette god who spoke in a German accent.
The Mediterranean god snorted. "Times where mortals would beg for just one of our trinkets and be happy with what they got, Wayland."
"Now, now, Hephaestus, Wayland is right," said a traditional Japanese smith ringed in fire. "Inari-Imotou-chan asked us to help the boy, not saddle him with a sword he can't use!"
"Kagu-tsuchi-sama is correct," said the ghostly smith. "I always had to take into consideration the wishes of my customers in life and I'm not changing that in death."
"Thank you Kagu-tsuch-nii and Masamune-sama!" Inari chirped. "My champion is after all a ninja, so a giant great sword isn't suited to his fighting style."
"Zabuza and Kisame say otherwise," remarked Naruko.
"They're both big hulking brutes, not compact like your brother," Inari countered.
"Katana," said Naruto as his tooth finally regrew. "Nenshōsaiga has been the focus of all my kenjutsu training, having to relearn everything with a Nodachi or a Wakizashi would take too much time."
"Well, that's a good plan," said Sindri as he started making a sketch on some parchment. "We'll need to figure out the ratio of metals…"
"We have Mithril; Orichalcum; Hihi'irokane; Thunderbolt Iron; Adamantium; Dimeritium; and some Aetherium gems for energy storage," said Wayland. (semi-colons instead of commas here)
"Adamantium for a core; got to keep the Dimeritium ratio down to keep it from nullifying the sword's abilities," grunted Hephaestus.
"You guys aren't giving me something that's going to be the equivalent of a nuke in sword form, are you?" Naruto asked.
Masamune shuddered. "Never suggest that near Muramasa, he WOULD make that kind of a blade. No, we should be making something that can withstand all your powers and even when you reach your mother's power level and become the next Kyuubi it will still serve you well."
Naruto grinned, rubbing his hands in glee. "Just don't make it super flashy, I don't need bling," he said.
"He's flashy enough on his own!" Naruko added, causing Naruto to scowl at her while the various smiths laughed.
Inari beckoned the twins to follow her as the smiths started talking shop, leading them from the forge towards an Olympic size stadium. "So, you two are getting a special treat. I called in a favor Alaya owed me from an interdimensional poker night and she agreed to give me a bunch of Servants to help train you!"
"Like Jeanne d'Arc and Astolfo?" Naruto asked, causing Inari to grin.
"Yes, as a Goddess with infinite mana in my home realm, I can maintain many servants who can help you surpass your limits and give you the experience fighting foes far above you without the threat of death," said Inari as they entered the dome and saw seven people standing there waiting. "For Naruto, we have Lancelot as saber, Cú Chulainn as Lancer, Chiron as Archer, Achilles as Rider, Merlin as Caster, Fuuma Kotarou V as Assassin, and Beowulf as Berserker!" The men listed raised their hands and Naruto felt a sweat drop at the thought of the hell he was going to be enduring as Inari led Naruko out of the stadium as the sounds of a massive brawl started, a small white creature that somewhat resembled a fox following them and hopping up to Inari's shoulder where she started scratching its ear. "This little guy is Fou, you might see him around from time to time," the goddess added.
Fou turned to look at Naruko before leaping to her arms, causing her to giggle as she petted him. "Well, you aren't a divine beast like Shiranui, but I can tell you're hiding some serious power," she said, causing the fluffy creature to preen proudly.
Inari smiled as she led the way towards a set of double doors. "Naruko, your trainers are in here. We need to break you of Naruto's muscle memories and give you your own style, which requires a crash course on kunoichi skills!" opening the double doors to a small conference room Naruko saw the room was filled with women and girls gathered in small groups waiting for her, most with smiles on.
"Woah, you weren't kidding when you said you got me lots of tutors," Naruko said.
"I made sure to get lots of Assassins that had skills you would need as a kunoichi. Hassan of Serenity and Semiramis will be focusing on poisons," A black-haired woman with elf ears wearing an elaborate black gown curtsied while the young dark-skinned girl next to her with a skull mask and purple hair in a hime cut waved shyly. "Hassan of the Hundred Faces and Mata Hari will be training you in acting and seduction," Inari continued as a tall dark-skinned woman with her purple hair in a ponytail wearing a skull mask and a brown-haired woman in a yellow dancer dress both chuckled.
Anything else was cut off as a grey-haired little girl in black with multiple daggers on her waist sat up beside Mata Hari and yawned before her eyes locked on Naruko, more specifically her tails. "Fluffy!" she gasped before darting up to Naruko.
"Jackie!" called Mata Hari gently, causing the girl to stop and blink. "Don't just grab; ask!"
Jackie nodded before smiling up at Naruko. "Can I pet your tails?" she asked.
Naruko giggled and swept her tails around to hug Jackie, making the girl squeal in delight. "And what's your name?" she asked.
"Jack the Ripper," said Inari, causing Naruko to blink.
"Wasn't Jack the Ripper supposed to be male... and British?" Naruko asked.
"The Nasuverse is WEIRD. Luckily, she's a sweet kid." Inari said as she handed Jackie a candy that she eagerly unwrapped and popped in her mouth. Naruko shrugged and continued letting her tails hug Jackie.
"Well, until yesterday I was a voice inside my brother's head, so I can't argue," said Naruko.
"For the actual assassination and kunoichi skills we have Jing Ke, Katou Danzo, and Mochizume Chiyome," said Inari as a black-haired Chinese beauty grinned over a bottle of alcohol, but Naruko's eyes had locked onto the two kunoichi next to her.
"Okay, the Katou Danzo I know back home is a wrinkled old fart of a guy and a war hawk, not a deadly looking kunoichi," said Naruko, causing the kunoichi lounging next to Jing Ke to laugh. "And this universe's Chiyome is my cousin and a nogitsune, not a sentient doll who looks like she could slaughter everything in her path," The mechanical kunoichi inclined her head slightly, the barely noticeable seams around her joints the only thing giving her away from being human.
"Cleopatra," A green-haired woman in surprisingly modern clothes for an ancient Egyptian queen grinned, "Will focus on political assassination and how to protect yourself from it."
"Well, how about anyone specializing in stuff I can study gets some clones and I'll do combat with those who specialize in that with my real body?" Naruko suggested.
"An excellent idea," said Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
(0o0o0)
Naruto and Naruko shuffled towards one another that evening and eyed each other. Both were covered in scrapes and bruises that came from fighting super human beings like Servants all over their bodies. Naruto noticed one difference between them. "Who's this tailing you?" he asked as he eyed Jackie.
"Jackie is one of my trainers for combat, but she's a nice kid," Naruko replied as she ruffled Jackie's hair.
"Seems wherever we go we get a kid following us around," Naruto said as he smiled at Jackie.
"Meh, good practice for when we become Jōnin sensei to our own teams," Naruko replied.
(0o0o0)
The next few days quickly settled into a routine. Naruto would go to the forge to try out various alloys for chakra channeling before reporting to his trainers for massive sparring matches while Jackie would collect Naruko for her own kunoichi lessons. Jackie had rapidly wormed her way into Naruto and Naruko's sibling modes and the feeling was mutual, with the little assassin calling them her older siblings after only a few days interacting with them and making sure lunch was spent with all three of them together. Fou and Shiranui continued to follow the twins around, often begging for food during meals.
It was a week after the training started that Naruto was grinning like a lunatic while holding a small rod of metal in his hand and a wind blade extended up from it in the shape of a katana blade, flames and lightning mixing in with the wind. "This… this feels right!" Naruto said as the smithing gods and dwarves cheered and smacked one another on the back or shook hands.
"Only a week to get the right mix, we can have the sword done in another!" Sindri said as he circled the alloy that had given such good results.
"Heh, the sooner the better!" said Broki with a grin that faded as his eyes caught something moving towards the forge. "Huh, so drunk they didn't bring anything for the rest of us!" he grumbled.
Two men were staggering down the path towards the forge, one was a Japanese god who looked like he'd been caught in a thunderstorm while the other was similar enough to Hephaestus and had an aura of lightning around him that let everyone know this was Zeus, King of Olympus. Naruto fought to keep his face straight as the Greek deity had on a golden breastplate, gauntlets, and boots, but a simple white skirt that barely covered his thighs and hips was the only thing covering his lower body. Kagatsuchi's groan of "Idiot little brother!" had Naruto gulping as he realized the Shinto god must be Susanoo. Masamune Goro had already darted off to get help, not wanting to be around deities who could banish him.
"So, this is where you've been hiding, brat!" Zeus grunted, staring just to the side of Hephaestus' head. "You need to come back and make more thunderbolts! And your wife is complaining about you ignoring her!"
"I'm working on commission, dad," Hephaestus said patiently, his face bearing the look all teenagers wore when annoyed by their parents. "Inari commissioned all of us to forge a blade for her new champion and I'm not going to turn down such an opportunity!" His eyes narrowed. "And isn't it strange that when I'm working on something for another god, she complains but when I'm home and hoping for something like a romantic evening she's always sick?" Wayland clasped his shoulder in sympathy and to keep the Greek smith god from doing anything rash.
Zeus eyed Naruto as Inari and Shiranui ran into the forge area. "Zeus, what are you and Susanoo-nii-san doing here?" Inari asked, while Shiranui seemed to be glaring at Susanoo, who had gone pale as soon as he saw her and seemed totally sober.
"Thunder god party last night; we tried to get Thor to come but he was busy trying to sue that mortal company for portraying him as an idiot blond instead of his actual red hair and beard," said Susanoo in the tone of someone who knew they were in trouble.
"Hammer boy just doesn't want to admit I'm better," said Zeus as he eyed Naruto. "Not even a demigod. Hercules would make short work of him. You should pick better champions, Inari."
Naruto's teeth ground together, causing Wayland and Kagatsuchi to grab him by the shoulders.
"So, what are you doing here?" Inari asked in the tone of one who wants to just be done with the stupidity.
"We woke up at my place and were heading out for some hair of the dog that bit us," said Susanoo. "We were passing by and must have taken a wrong turn…"
He was cut off by Zeus belching. "I sensed my son and figured I'd see what you had him working on," said Zeus before his eyes flicked to where Naruko and Jackie were approaching.
"What's going on here?" Naruko asked as she looked up from chatting with Jackie, who ducked behind Naruko's legs.
Zeus's eyes lit up and he was instantly in front of Naruko. "Oh, aren't you a pretty little thing! Thanks for sending the wench to keep me company, Inari!" he said as he reached towards Naruko with a leer on his face.
Naruko's eyes widened before her chakra flared and an ice pillar erupted from the in front of her to slam into Zeus' groin. "Hands to yourself!" she snapped.
"Yeah, leave big Sis alone!" Jackie yelled, stabbing one of her four daggers into Zeus' arm.
Bellowing in rage and humiliation, Zeus backhanded Jackie and grabbed Naruko. "Little cunt!" he growled. I'm going to…." He cut off as Naruto's foot slammed into his back, wind chakra roaring around his body. Zeus staggered slightly but as he was the king of the Olympians, he recovered quickly, a lightning bolt shooting from his hand to blast Naruto back into the shed beside the forge, causing the shed to crash down around and bury him from sight.
"Zeus, stop this at once!" Inari yelled as Shiranui started barking angrily.
"Yeah, man, I thought you just wanted to see your son before we went out for more drinks and karaoke," said Susanoo as he tried to get his fellow storm deity to calm down as the two Shinto gods moved to restrain Zeus, only for the Olympian to unleash a thunder burst around him that tossed them away.
Kagatsuchi and Wayland were just moving to free Naruko when a pillar of white fire erupted from the collapsed shed, blasting the rubble away and revealing Naruto landing on the ground on all fours. The flame aura shaped into a nine-tailed fox that loomed behind him. "When did the kid get a Stand?" Susanoo asked as he whipped his phone out to film Naruto as the fox aura sank into Naruto, leaving him in covered in a white flame cloak in the shape of a fox.
"That's not a Stand," Inari said. "It could be if he takes the effort to train it, but it was the raw manifestation of his yōki and chakra."
Naruto blurred forward, his blazing fist slamming into Zeus' gut, forcing all the air from the Olympian's lungs. Naruko seized on the opening and broke free, using Zeus' hands as a pivot as she performed an upside-down hurricane kick to Zeus' face, the rapid impacts and lack of air causing him to reel backwards with a broken nose and a burn in the shape of Naruto's fist showing through his scorched breastplate.
As Naruko leapt clear, Naruto grabbed Zeus' head and rapidly introduced it to his knee several times, causing the Greek deity's blood to splatter on the ground. Zeus tried to use a thunder burst to blow Naruto away, but Naruto's claws dug into Zeus' flesh, the deity shrieking in pain as he was burned and clawed. His agony increased as Naruko leapt onto Zeus' back, her hands and feet sprouting razor sharp blue ice claws that left his back and legs a bloody mess.
Then Shiranui body slammed into Zeus, knocking him away from the twins and onto his back with her landing on his chest and growling in his face. The growl finished the job of sobering Zeus up and he looked ready to wet himself. "Now, now, let's stay calm," he squeaked out, growing even paler as he saw Fou stalking towards him, the shadow of a giant wolf beast stretching out behind him.
Shiranui's face gained an exasperated look before she shimmered and transformed into a silver-haired wolf woman in an ornate miko outfit. A blazing green jade mirror hovered above her left arm like a shield while a large yellow sword with lightning cracking up and down was clenched in her right with the tip resting at Zeus' throat and a necklace of six ice blue snowflakes floated around her neck. "Stay calm?" she growled, her black tipped silver tail thrashing in anger. "You hurt my little sister and brother, threatened to rape a girl, and proved you're still a drunken frat boy!"
"Now Ammy," Zeus tried to say.
"Don't 'Ammy' me, Zeus! You did all this right in front of me and I decree Naruto-kun and Naruko-chan get to administer your punishment!"
"Thank you, Amaterasu-Okami-Sama!" the twins chorused before turning evil grins on Zeus as the fire aura and ice claws faded away.
Susanoo was grinning madly and muttering, "Thor is going to be so sorry he missed this!" as he continued filming, wincing at the glare Amaterasu shot him.
Naruko moved forward, a sealing kit appearing from a storage seal in her sleeve as Amaterasu kept Zeus pinned. Using the spot Naruto had burned through his breastplate, she rapidly drew seals and runes. "Uzumaki Hijutsu Curse: Impotency!" she said as she formed the ram seal. "I'm sure Hera will appreciate a curb to your lusts!" she said with a sneer before winding up and going for a field goal punt right up between the goalposts. Zeus shrieked in pain as Naruko's blow slammed into his crotch, his voice going so high-pitched it would have shattered glass.
Amaterasu grinned as she stepped off Zeus, dragging him to his feet. The Greek god glared at the unrepentant Naruko. "Anything else from you, Naruko-chan?" the sun goddess asked.
"Just that my ice chakra means he'll have a permanent case of blue balls," Naruko said impudently, causing all the male deities to wince.
Zeus scowled, only to feel a presence behind him. "Konohagakure's Most Secret and Sacred Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!" roared Naruto as the white flame aura sprang up around him once more before delivering a massive Kanchō to Zeus. Zeus' eye shrank to pinpricks before he rocketed into the air on a blast of white fire, screaming until he vanished into the sky with a twinkle. "Prick!" growled Naruto as he let the flame aura fade, only to yelp as Amaterasu was suddenly in his face as the other gods all applauded.
"That was Plasma around you, how are you still alive and not charred to a crisp?" the sun goddess asked.
"Well, I was buried in the rubble and feeling lighting zapping all over me," said Naruto. "Then I smelled hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and a bit of carbon. I realized the lightning had broken the bonds of the water and air and they were settling into their component elements. I was slightly out of it, but I thought, /Ooohhh, highly flammable gasses from air!/ I hit my wind chakra with lightning chakra and added flame!"
Amaterasu blinked before shaking her head. "You're crazy, Naruto-kun… and luckily, I like crazy!"
A sudden burst of cold had the two looking behind them to see Naruko with six very sharp icicles hovering above her. "Icicles reinforced with carbon edges," she said.
Amaterasu grinned. "Ooohhh, that idiot Ichiro isn't going to know what hit him when you get Hinata back!"
"And when were you going to reveal yourself?" Inari asked dryly. "Or were you planning to laze around all day eating food and getting belly rubs?"
"At least I wasn't hiding inside a cave this time!" Amaterasu said as she pouted at her little sister.
Naruto shook his head and looked at the smithing gods and the dwarf brothers. "Well, now that I figured out this trick, I have a second project in mind that you guys might want to see," he said as he grabbed a piece of paper and started sketching, with all the smiths looking over his shoulders with interest and nodding as he jotted down details, their eyes alight with creative inspiration.
Masamune finally rejoined them, having stayed back to avoid being sent on to an unwanted reincarnation and his eyes were staring at the diagram like it was a holy text. "Kid, are you serious about this?" he asked. "This is something worthy of Muramasa level crazy!"
"He's right," said Hephaestus, a smile still on his lips from seeing his father get humiliated. "If this isn't done just right this will explode and blow your hands off!"
Wayland snorted. "Well, he proved the basic idea with his cloak just now..."
"Kind wants to make something I've never heard of before; I say we do it!" Broki with the rest of the smiths considering for a moment before nodding in agreement, causing Naruto to grin.
(0o0o0)
Naruto grunted as he focused his yōki between his palms, removing all traces of chakra, senjutsu, and reiki from the energy before pressing his hands together. The yōki grew denser and denser between his hands before solidifying into a glowing red crystal the size of his palm that Naruto held up to the light with a grin. He already had a glowing green crystal made from Senjutsu chakra and a glowing yellow Reiki crystal sitting beside him. "Alright, that should be all the yōki in me!" he said before Inari pressed her hand to his back and Naruto felt his kitsune blood fade away under her influence. Focusing on just his chakra he did the same focusing trick and soon had a glowing blue gem added to the other three. "Thank you Inari-Ōkami," Naruto gasped out as he grabbed the ice pitcher full of water Naruko passed him and chugged all the water down.
"And why didn't you want to use the Tetsugan disks you made already?" Naruko asked.
"Well, now that I figured out the white fire trick, adding Earth and Water to the mix would be counterproductive. So, only needing three of the disks and now having Reiki to add to the power crystals, I figured four power crystals and three elemental crystals would still give me seven focusing crystals," said Naruto. Naruko nodded, glancing at the three chakra crystals Naruto had made with wind, lighting, and fire chakra.
"But isn't that white Kesshōseki you made only composed of chakra, senjutsu, and yōki?" Naruko asked.
Sindri and Wayland were examining the seven crystals and grinning. Having already discussed cuts and polishing with Naruto, they both looked up at this question. "She brings up a good point, the reiki won't be magnified by the focusing crystal," said the dwarf, causing Naruto to grunt as his hanyō features reappeared and start focusing all four types of energy between his palms. The resulting Kesshōseki gave off rainbow light that had Jackie staring in awe from her seat on Naruko's lap.
"Pretty!" the little assassin said.
"Heh, when this all works, Ryeka is going to be so jealous the first time I use this," said Naruto. "She's been trying to make her own for the last few years and after two years I've managed to beat her to it!"
(0o0o0)
It took Sindri and Wayland a day to cut and polish the crystals while Hephaestus and Kagatsuchi worked on making the other components of Naruto's project during Naruto's usual sparring with his Servant trainers. The next day Naruto had clones etching the seals and runes on the faces of the gems using an electron microscope and a diamond cutter to engrave the designs on each face with extreme precision. Each gem had been cut into a round cut top and bottom, allowing Naruto to block chakra flowing through the edges and focus it on the center cut of the gem. Once he had finished all the engraving, Naruto turned to the large peg of Hihi'irokane. The bottom of the peg was a perfect curve and the Uzumaki spiral was carved into it. Naruto's design called for the peg to suck in normal and senjutsu chakra from the area around him, be stored in some reservoir crystals around the peg's shaft, and flow up the shaft to start passing through the four power crystals and then the three elemental crystals before hitting the four-power source focusing crystal that had been cut with a Radiant cut for focusing the blade.
A Dimeritium cylinder had been cut to hold each of the gems and keep them steady, with an outer case of Adamantium to seal all the power in. A cap of Orichalcum made the whole thing look like a very fancy flashlight, but for Naruto the weight was just right. He placed the finished hilt on the table and held his hand above it while channeling his chakra a specific way, seals appearing on the palm of his hand and in a band around the top and bottom of the adamantium casing before the hilt flipped up into Naruto's hand. Dropping it to the ground, Naruto repeated the process and the hilt still flipped up perfectly ready for combat. "Alright, moment of truth!" said Naruto before channeling his chakra into the hilt. With a rush of igniting gases, a blade of white flame erupted from the focusing gem, stretching to the length of a nodachi. "Little too long," said Naruto with a frown. "Looks like I'm overcompensating for something!" Changing the amount of chakra he was channeling into the blade he shrank it back down to a tanto blade and gradually increased the flow until he had a katana sized blade. Cutting off the chakra flow he repeated the process several time and grinned as it got easier and easier.
"No heat buildup, right?" Sindri said.
Naruto shook his head. "Nothing, it's like a normal sword hilt!"
"So what are you naming it?" Wayland asked.
"I'm thinking Shirohi no Yaiba (White Fire Blade)," said Naruto.
(0o0o0)
Work on forging Naruto's new katana also continued. The smith gods and dwarves were reinvigorated by the novelty of making the parts for Shiroihi no Yaiba and worked almost nonstop to finish Naruto's new blade. After three days of work they sent word for Naruto to come to the forge in the morning.
When the twins, Inari, and Amaterasu arrived at the forge they found a katana in a red lacquered sheath. All the smiths had the satisfied look of a chef who had prepared a feast and was waiting for everyone at the table to take the first bite of food. Naruto slowly drew the blade and his eyes widened as he felt no trace of his mother's yōki, just his own mixed with his natural flame chakra. Instead of the normal ripple pattern for folded metal, the smiths had managed to make it look like flames dancing along the entire length of the blade in vivid red, orange, and yellow that shifted as his chakra flowed through the blade. Sheathing the blade and settling into the stance for a Battōjutsu strike, Naruto unsheathed the blade with an Iaijutsu strike and then flowed into several kata, smiling as the sword seemed to slice the very air and leave a wave of heat behind. Turning to the smiths, he flourished the blade in salute before sheathing it. "Thank you all, this blade is almost effortless to use!" The sword seemed to pulse, stronger than before and ready to strike down Naruto's enemies.
Any further talk was interrupted by Amaterasu grabbing the sheathed sword from his hands and drawing it herself. "One last touch," she said as her wolf tail rose up to lightly run along either side of the blade, a streak of golden ink left behind and absorbed into the blade. The sun goddess grinned. "There you go, Naruto, one blessing from your friendly neighborhood sun goddess! And I added a special release condition, once a day use, that should get you through the barrier of Oni Island," she added before whispering in Naruto's ear.
"Thank you, Amaterasu-Sama," Naruto said with a bow. "I think Nenshōsaiga has been reborn into Taiyōhiga (Sun Fire Fang)!" The flames on the sword glowed brightly for a moment as the sword acknowledged its new name. Naruto sheathed the sword before dashing to the training area. All the servants gathered around to see the blade, with Lancelot reverently drawing it and whistling at the quality.
With a blade that could stand up to the Noble Phantasms of his trainers, Naruto's spars with Lancelot, Achilles, Cú Chulainn, Fūma Kotarou, and Beowulf became much longer with Chiron showing just why he was the premier trainer of Greek heroes as he put Naruto through his paces with all five. Merlin had tried to teach Naruto some of his illusion magic, but Naruto was more interested in the runic magic Cú Chulainn could teach him, leaving the Magus of Flowers in a sulk until Fou had leapt out of nowhere to deliver a flying kick with a cry of "Murder Merlin Fou!" that sent Merlin crashing into the stadium wall, much to Lancelot's amusement. Naruto was getting sick of Merlin's attitude; his constant bragging of his conquests was even worse than Jiraiya.
(0o0o0)
With the first month having been devoted to Naruto's weapons and Naruko's kunoichi training, the twins spent the next four sparring against the Servants and polishing their skills. Naruko had found herself training with Miyamoto Musashi in the role of Saber, Scáthach as Lancer with a side of Rune magic, Atalanta as Archer, Medea as Caster, Saint Martha as Rider, Minamoto-no-Raikou as Berserker, and Jackie as her official Assassin. Those last three had instantly clicked, Martha becoming another big sister to Jackie as well as Naruko, while Raikou viewed Jackie and Naruko as surrogate daughters even as she trained the latter into the ground.
Naruto and Naruko left the training sessions staggering and leaning on one another and Jackie, needing long soaks in a hot spring and mountains of food to recover. But they were constantly getting stronger, each day lasting a little longer and eventually reaching what they estimated as Jōnin level, though they'd need Jiraiya to confirm that when they returned to the mortal realm.
(0o0o0)
The twins also started working with Reiki, with Inari and Amaterasu training the two to use it like Senjutsu chakra. The golden aura made the twins look like Super Saiyans. They had to learn how to banish evil spirits, bless a person or location, make and empower ofuda, and use a healing touch that Amaterasu had blatantly called Healing Hands after the Paladin ability in Dungeons and Dragons.
(0o0o0)
For their final exam at the start of the sixth month, the twins had to face off against all the servants at once aside from most of Naruko's kunoichi trainers in a fourteen vs two grand combat.
Achilles, Cú Chulainn, Musashi, Raiko, Lancelot, and Beowulf were engaging the twins in melee combat with the help of dragon tooth warriors while Medea, Chiron, and Atalanta attacked from range with arrows and magic blasts. Martha, Kotarou and Scáthach switched between melee and ranged attacks using holy blasts and rune attacks for the ladies and kunai barrages from the ninja. Merlin was hanging back and trying to use illusions to mess with Naruto and Naruko's perceptions, though the twins used their enhanced senses and bursts of senjutsu chakra to see through all of them.
Finally, Naruto made an overextension and Achilles was suddenly in his face, delivering an uppercut that sent Naruto rocketing up into the air. The Greek hero grinned, only to have to flip away from a wave of ice spears Naruko released from the ground to gain some room. Weaving in between all the attacks coming her way, Naruko almost seemed to be dancing.
"Heh, your teachers trained you well, so elegant, such beauty worthy of my passion!" Merlin said as he leered at Naruko. All the other servants instantly cleared out of Naruko's way as they saw a vein throbbing on her head.
"And you should learn to look underneath the underneath," Naruko said coolly. Merlin had a moment of confusion before a pair of hands reached out of the ground and yanked him down, keeping him from moving at all.
The rest of the servants started laughing, seeing one of the most powerful of the Caster class taken out by a little girl so simply by burying him in the ground. It was only when Chiron was bent over and staring at the ground instead of Merlin to try to get himself under control that he realized something was wrong. "Why are we casting two shadows?" he exclaimed. All the servants looked up to see Naruto using a mini cyclone under each foot to hover high up in the air, a giant ball of fire surrounded by four white hot spinning blades hovering above his hands. Naruko leapt up into the air using the same mini cyclones, smirking down at all the Servants.
"Katon: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto yelled as he hurled the massive fire jutsu down towards the Servants.
Achilles leapt up to intercept the massive jutsu, a round shield appearing on his arm. "Akhilleus Kosmos!" he roared as he rammed the shield into the giant sphere of flame. Naruto's eyes widened as the shield absorbed the giant fire jutsu, revealing a smirking Achilles, only for his eyes to widen as he saw a smaller but just as powerful duplicate of the jutsu streaking towards him having been hidden behind the first one.
The rest of the Servants had already scattered and Achilles followed suit, kicking off the air and leaping away from the second jutsu, leaving it to plummet towards Merlin, who was still buried up to his neck in the ground. "You brats!" he roared just before the jutsu hit and detonated. When the flames died down, Merlin was lying face up in a crater of polished glass, smoking and with his robes charred. "Ow!" he muttered.
Jackie picked a stick off the ground and skipped up to Merlin. "Are you able to move, old man?" she asked, poking him in the side with the stick, only to have Merlin leap to his feet and grab the stick from her hand and snapping it.
"Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!" he hissed, a dark aura swelling around him. "I am Merlin, greatest Magus on Earth! I am the ultimate kingmaker and all of you fail to respect me!" Jackie looked unimpressed as Amaterasu had to hold Fou back from launching himself at Merlin.
"Bored now," said Naruko suddenly before dropping from the air to slam a kick into Merlin's head, knocking him out. She immediately scooped Jackie up, her tails tickling the little assassin and making Jackie squeal in laughter.
Even as the rest of the servants made to charge Naruko, Medea found herself slammed to the ground by Naruto as he used her as a landing cushion. "Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld)!" yelled Naruto as the swamp shot from him, trapping the rest of the servants in the mud.
"Winner by knockout and capture, Naruto and Naruko!" said Inari, to applause from Naruko's kunoichi trainers.
(0o0o0)
When they were about halfway through the sixth month in Inari's realm, Inari summoned Naruto and Naruko to see Amaterasu and her. "Right now, it's seven in the evening in Tokyo," said Inari seriously. "I'm going to open a gate to Fushimi Inari-taisha. Then you'll have to use Hiraishin to warp back to Nerima and make your way to Oni Island."
"There is a problem though," said Amaterasu. "Ichiro has pretty much taken Tokyo hostage to get the Shikon no Tama from Kagome and increase his power so he can face your mother and kill her. So, you'll have to join the defenders of Tokyo and fight your way to the Bay where Oni Island sits behind a small fleet of yōkai ships fashioned from the fear Commodore Perry's ironclad warships caused when he forced Japan to open their ports. You have to get to Oni Island before nightfall tomorrow to interrupt the ritual that will leave Hinata-chan possessed forever."
"No pressure, huh?" Naruto grumbled.
"Hey, a whole day to rescue Hinata-chan should be enough," said Naruko, only for Amaterasu to suddenly stiffen before glowing.
"Okay, quick update: yōkai blitzed their way past the defenders who were still setting up defenses and managed to reach the Higurashi shrine. I just got a prayer that means I can warp there, and you two are coming for the ride!" said the sun goddess before morphing back to her wolf form and tossing Naruto and Naruko onto her back before charging towards a glowing portal and leaping through.
Inari blinked and shook her head. "Nee-san never changes," she said.
(0o0o0)
Amaterasu burst out of a glowing portal in midair and tackled an oni away from Haruka where the youngest Kamiya was huddled against the Goshinboku tree at the Higurashi Shrine as the sounds of combat filled the normally peaceful shrine. The little hanyō girl let out a yelp of surprise as the kanabō that had been raised to crush her landed beside her as Amaterasu shook the oni like a chew toy until his neck snapped. "Oh wow!" she gasped as she saw the red markings that marked Amaterasu as a divine being.
"Yeah, she's pretty awesome," said Naruto as he landed beside her. "What have I missed?"
"But Otou-san said you were dead," Haruka said, her eyes wide.
"They made the mistake of saying that when they never saw my corpse," said Naruto as Amaterasu tossed the Oni corpse aside before planting her feet and raising her head in a howl that had all eyes on her. The Goshinboku suddenly bloomed with white flowers before a purifying wind blasted out from the tree, sweeping away all the minor yōkai on the shrine grounds but leaving the Kamiya family, Gin, and Mejiro still there. Amaterasu growled at the two nogitsune, only to stop as Naruto placed a hand on her head. "Sorry, but I have dibs on all my evil cousins," he said.
"YOU! But… fall… sharks… blood… how?" Mejiro gasped as she backed away from where she'd been clashing with Inuyasha.
"You never saw my corpse; if you can't see a corpse or confirm it's actually the person who is supposed to be dead then they might still be alive," said Naruto in a bored tone as Gin snarled in anger.
"Come on, sister, together we can take him," growled Gin as he stalked towards Naruto, only to realize his sister wasn't following. "Mejiro?" he asked, turning back to her to see her frozen solid with her throat slit as Naruko lounged against the new ice sculpture pointing behind Gin. Gin turned just in time to see Taiyōhiga flash before his head rolled from his shoulders.
"Two down," said Naruto.
"And four to go!" said Naruko cheerfully.
"And you have some explaining to do!" said Jiraiya as he stomped up to Naruto. "Your name was crossed out on the Toad scroll, everyone thought you were dead!"
"Blame Inari-Sama for that, she wanted us presumed dead," said Naruto as Naruko joined him. "We were told that we'd have to fight our way to Tokyo Bay and Oni Island, so we need to get moving!"
"And you think the two of you can handle that alone?" Inuyasha asked.
Naruto and Naruko smirked before Naruto raised his fingers to his lips and blew three short tweets, three long ones, and three more short ones while making a circling motion with his free hand. Everyone jerked back as eight ninja appeared in front of Naruto and Naruko. "Not really, I figured we'd bring a few allies along!" Naruto said.
"How the heck did I not smell or hear them?" demanded Inuyasha.
"I'm guessing seals," Naruto said. "And seven of them are at least Jōnin level with the lowest being Chūnin and good at masking her presence." His eyes locked onto the black-haired ninja and kunoichi wearing Konoha ANBU gear. "Since when are you in ANBU, Sasuke? Haku-nee? And why are you all here?"
Sasuke chuckled as he removed the dragon mask while Haku removed a falcon one. "Well," said Sasuke with a slight glare. "Every single picture of you and Hinata back home broke at the exact same moment five days ago. Your dad and Tsunade-Sama had to subdue your mom so she didn't come charging across the ocean to find you. So, they figured Haku and me were the best choice of medic and offense to send as back up."
"And I want to know how come that clone is radiating ice chakra when I'm the last of the Yuki clan," added Haku.
"Let me explain," said Naruto before realizing giving the story of two years of living in Nerima would likely take much to long. "No, there is to much, let me summarize. Got a curse that turned me into a girl, said girl developed her own personality, got her own chakra nature that's opposite of me, and got made into her own by a god, and now you have another sister and I have a twin. And we have to go save Hinata-chan from my six now evil cousins plus the most evil nogitsune woman in history. Oh, and probably defeat the most legendary kunoichi ever to bring her to our side and rescue the only cousin who is firmly on my side."
"My name is Naruko. We'll explain everything after we rescue Hinata-chan," added Naruko before eyeing the remaining six ninja. "Why are all of you here? Naruto knows Yugito-san, Kurotsuchi-san, and Takajou, but none of the rest of you."
The Suna kunoichi carrying a bolt of cloth on her back moved forward slightly. "Suna is in an alliance with Konoha and I was sent to help Uchiha-san and Uzumaki-san in their mission. My name is Maki and I am a member of Suna's Cloth binding corps."
"I am Utakata and my apprentice here is Hotaru," said a brunette man in a blue yukata said with a lazy wave. "Godaime Mizukage-sama sent us to affirm Kiri's new alliance with Konoha!"
"And since Iwa was in talks with Konoha about the fallout from that Boulder Unit you massacred we were delegated as guides for the Konoha, Kiri, Suna group," said Kurotsuchi.
Everyone looked at Yugito, who blinked for a moment as she'd been staring at Miyuki in apparent fascination. "Kyūbi-Sama sent a message to all the Bijū because she was worried that you had been attacked by Akatsuki. The Godaime Raikage sent me to investigate in Konoha and I tagged along with this group."
Naruto nodded and glanced at his friends and teachers. "Look, I know you guys have questions, but we only have until nightfall tomorrow to rescue Hinata so we can't waste any more time. We're punching through to Tokyo Bay hard and fast!"
"Then you'll need these," Jiraiya said as he pulled a parcel from a storage seal. "Hanzo's wife Cassandra dropped this off the morning after you went to Oni Island; said she hadn't been able to finish it in time but if you survived by some miracle, you'd find it useful."
The twins opened the package to find two outfits. "I think ninja uniforms made from the monsters we killed rescuing Mayu," said Naruto slowly. Naruko nodded and the twins hurried to change. The suits turned out to be a black hide from the demonic displacer beast as a base body suit layer with dragon hide forming a whole over suit. Both had gauntlets and boots made of the dragonhide that would give them total freedom of movement. Vulnerable points on their bodies were covered in black dragon scales, which proved hard enough to stop a kunai strike from Sasuke, making the twins grin.
The adults had huddled up discussing something that was obviously annoying Kimiko and Miyuki as they listened in. "All right, you've obviously made up your minds to do this and I'm not sure we could stop you," said Tenchi with a sigh.
"But none of you are going with them," said Ranma, causing the rest of the teens to start arguing in protest until he flared his ki. "You've been fighting for several hours straight and are in no condition to race through to Tokyo Bay. Hell, I don't think any of us adults are fit to keep up with Naruto and Naruko if they're moving at Ninja speed after all this fighting." The rest of the adults nodded, causing the teens to slump in disappointment. "But we want the full story when you get back with Hinata," Ranma said.
Ryeka was rapidly typing on her holo keyboard and a small portal spat out a pair of floating metal spheres. "Each of these camera drones are going to be following you so we know what's happening and can counterattack if Ichiro sends an army to distract you from kicking his ass!" The orbs shimmered and vanished in a stealth field.
Naruto and Naruko nodded, moving towards the steps leading down from the Higurashi shrine only to hear a giggle behind them and turn to see Amaterasu licking Haruka's face as the little hanyō girl hugged the sun goddess. "I'm guessing you're going to stay here as well, Ammy-Sama?" Naruko asked.
The wolf nodded. "Yes, I'm stuck in this form and bound to guard the shrine by the prayer, so I can't help you anymore. But the barrier around Oni Island can be broken, in the past I had the help of the Water Dragon Queen Otohime to shatter the barrier, but I think that release mode I gave your blade will be able to handle the job!"
"If not, I'm sure I can violate the laws of physics somehow to break it," Naruto said with a smirk as Naruko giggled.
Amaterasu nodded in agreement. "Good luck, kits, I don't want to have to tell Inari-imotou you died on Oni Island." She moved to Naruko before using her tail to place a glowing ball of sunfire in Naruko's hands that was absorbed into her body. "And here's a connection to me to pass on to Hinata when you rescue her, I think two Miko Senshi should be able to handle a nogitsune with an overinflated ego of herself."
Naruto and Naruko bowed to the sun goddess, who all the adults were now staring at with gaping jaws before resuming their track to the steps and down them with the rest of the ninja following them. "So, since you guys got here you must have noticed this city is much denser than the Hidden Villages, but nobody here looks up. Stick to the rooftops and let us draw the attention," Naruto said.
"We want everyone to know we're coming and we're not going to stop," said Naruko with a grin. The rest of the ninja nodded and took to the treetops to make their way down, spreading out in an arc to maximize coverage. Naruto was walking on the left so he could draw his blade while Naruko covered his right side. The twins didn't even notice they were moving the legs that were next to one another in synch. "It's two hundred kilometers to Oni island, we have have new weapons, armor, and skills, ninja allies, and we're on a mission from a Sun Goddess," said Naruko.
"Let's do this!" Naruto said as they took the last step.
As the twins reached the bottom of the steps, their feet hit the ground at the same time and a surge of yōki erupted from the ground, dark smoke surging around them. Haku, Takajou, and Yugito all stiffened and glanced back at the twins as motes of fox fire started forming as the smoke formed a thick carpet at their feet.
"Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons)!" whispered all three ninja with yōkai blood or a Bijū sealed inside them as that blood and yōki called for them to join as the sounds of laughter and revelry started to be heard.
Naruto and Naruko glanced at one another before resuming their steady pace, the dark cloud expanding before them and staying behind them as kitsune began to appear, staring in shock before grinning and falling in behind the prince and princess of their clan as lesser yōkai swirled in on the sides. Any yōkai still attacking humans when the twins caught sight of them had a single chance to flee or join the parade before the twins cut them down. Most of the minor yōkai simply fled, but the rampage of drunk oni would constantly hurl themselves at the two hanyō and fall to the ground in frozen or burned chunks. The ninja ran ahead of them, signaling the growing night parade towards places where the defenders of Tokyo seemed to need aid. It kept their route from being a straight shot to Tokyo Bay, but they swept through the areas where the JSDF needed help and the soldiers quickly radioed ahead, giving the twins directions to other groups that needed reinforcement. The twins quickly noticed that some of the defenders seemed to have stepped out of fantasy anime or games.
As the group reached an intersection, an oni came flying through the air to crash to the ground. Before anyone could react, a blonde woman in an armored blue dress charged from the direction it had come and swung a glowing golden blade that chopped off the oni's head. "Foul beasts," she hissed before noticing the approaching Hyakki Yagyō and turning to face them. "Do you seek to cause more destruction? If you do, it will not end well for you!" she growled as she planted her sword in the ground.
A red-haired man riding a chariot pulled by two oxen rode to a stop behind her. "Well said, King of Knights, though for such a large group it might take some time to chastise them all unless the rest of us aid you." A blindfolded woman with purple hair riding a Pegasus, a dark-skinned man with silver hair wearing a red coat, a giant of a man holding a slab of stone with a sharp edge, and a younger version of the blonde woman wearing a red armored dress gathered behind them while farther back a group of young adults stared at the Hyakki Yagyō in shock, all of them bearing red markings on their hands while a black haired man in a suit and coat and a large man in biker leathers with hair resembling a lion's mane stood in front of the young adults.
Naruto and Naruko's eyes had locked on the golden sword and their ears twitched at the title. "A shining sword, a dream that all warriors scattered in battle, past, present, and future hold and mournfully exalt as their last moment approaches!" they breathed. "Just as Lancelot and Pervy Magus described it, that can only be Excalibur," said Naruto with a bow that had Sasuke and Haku staring at the huge respect in his voice.
"Greetings, oh King of Knights, King Arthur also known as Arturia Pendragon!" Naruko added in the same formal tone. "We seek to reach the bay and put an end to this madness that our foul cousin Ichiro has started. We intend to bring down all his plans and send his soul howling down to hell."
The blonde woman stared in surprise. "You have met Lancelot and Merlin?" she asked in surprise, the younger version of her looking just as shocked.
"Pervy Magus kept hitting on every female servant he could, despite being smacked, punched, stabbed, and blasted numerous times," Naruko deadpanned.
"Well, Father, that certainly sounds like that hedonist," said the younger blonde.
"Yes, Mordred, it does," said Arturia.
"And the giant back there can only be Hercules, greatest of Greek Heroes," said Naruto. "We've met Achilles, Medea, and Atlanta as well and they described you well." The giant grunted but nodded while the smallest of the teens, a silver-haired girl that looked to be middle school-aged the rest seemed to be protecting the most, giggled
"Then go and be on your way; we shall keep exterminating the vermin causing chaos here," Arturia said as the Servants and Masters moved on to let the Hyakki Yagyō proceed. Naruto and Naruko bowed once more to the Once and Future King before resuming the trek.
"Never thought we'd get to meet King Arthur AND Hercules on the same day," Naruko said as Naruto nodded.
(0o0o0)
When the twins reached the shore of Tokyo Bay, their Hyakki Yagyō had grown to well over a hundred kitsune alone, with a large group of JSDF forces following behind them and splitting off as needed to secure trouble spots or relieve comrades. The twins stared out at Oni Island and took in the fleet of yōkai ships patrolling the waters. "How did a whole fleet get in there without the Navy doing anything?" Naruto asked.
One of the kitsune who had joined the Hyakki Yagyō stepped forward. "Ichiro conjured them up based on the ancient fears from when Commodore Perry arrived to force Japan to open their borders and then later the United States occupation at the end of World War ," she said sadly. "They sprang up in the bay and have already blasted the first Navy ship to try to enter to pieces."
The twins scowled. "Then I'll just have to make my debut and put them on ice," said Naruko as she strode up to the shore of the bay. "Haku-nee, if you could help me?"
(0o0o0)
Yun stared at the shore through binoculars and scowled before hurrying to a crystal ball. "Brother," he said as he placed one hand on the ball. "The brat's alive and he's got a Hyakki Yagyō following him on the shore!"
"He survived? Inconceivable!" Ichiro exclaimed, causing Chiyo to roll her eyes from behind him. "You have a massive fleet, blast him to pieces!"
"As you order, all ships, prepare for bombardment," Yun said. All the ships started to maneuver and bring their guns to range. "Ready… aim…" he was cut off as a massive glacier erupted from Naruko and Haku, engulfing all the yōkai ships in several feet of ice before giant icicles erupted through the sides of each ship, skewering them and killing them all aside from Yun's command ship. Yun shivered as his ship fought to move itself or its weapons, watching the twins and their ninja allies bounce across the ice towards him. "Fight! A captain always goes down with his ship!" he growled as he grabbed his sword, only to feet a prick at the base of his neck and collapse.
"So any ice surface works for warping, not just the mirrors, as long as your chakra is in it, Haku-nee!" said Naruko from behind Yun as she stepped out of an ice wall with Haku, who had taken out Yun with an ice senbon.
"I can't believe you can use my ice like that," said Haku with a pout.
"I'm not sure why, but it worked to let us take him out," said Naruko as she dropped a razor-sharp ice guillotine blade down on Yun, beheading him in an instant. The command ship stiffened and died instantly without Yun's yōki to sustain it. Naruto, Sasuke, Takajou, Kurotsuchi, Yugito, Utakata, and Hotaru quickly made their way across the ice, the kitsune of the Hyakki Yagyō staying behind to start defrosting the ice and allowing the JSDF soldiers to start setting up fortifications for any more invading yōkai tros.
"So that just leaves Ichiro and Kuroten of our cousins we hate, Chiyo as the one we want to spare, and Hanzo on our side," said Naruto as he sealed up Yun's dao and head.
"Plus, the bitch possessing Hinata; she's going to wish for a quick death by the time I'm done with her," Naruko growled before sighing. "But I'm not up for much right now after using so much chakra, so I'll be going in sneaky," she finished before fading away.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and whistled. "Woah, not even a bit of chakra to show she's there… I think she could even hide from a Byakugan with that technique!" he said.
"Presence Concealment; she learned it in her Kunoichi 101 classes in Inari-Sama's realm," said Naruto.
"Think she can teach me?" Haku, Yugito, Maki, Kurotsuchi, and Hotaru all asked at the same time.
(0o0o0)
Ichiro scowled as he failed to raise Yun on the crystal ball, just like he'd failed with Gin and Mejiro. Chiyo and Kuroten stood at either of his sides while the possessed Hinata lounged on his throne. A pair of humanoid figures lurked in the shadows as an oni and a tengu were watching him in the throne room of Oni Island's palace. "It seems my cousin is tougher to kill than I thought and able to blanket half of Tokyo Bay in ice almost instantly," he said as he clenched a fist.
The five-horned oni sitting at a table with a feast all to himself chuckled as he took a swig from a jug of sake. "Fine by me, gives me a chance to avenge my wife and brat!"
The tengu shrugged as he read through an ancient book. "I have no personal grudge against the boy, I'm only here because of the debt I owed your father and you called in, but from what my granddaughter at Lady Chiyo's school said he's a skilled combatant and if he survives Shuten I'll fight him."
Shuten-dōji chuckled as he took a big bite out of a side of ribs. "That's a big 'if' there, but I'll go greet him at the beach if he can get through the barrier," he said before rapidly finishing his food and stagger to his feet with the gate of the well and truly drunk as he went downstairs to gather a group of lesser oni from the second-floor feast hall that followed him out to the beach.
"Then Sutoku Tennō, you have the choice of the sparring ring on the first floor or the second floor kabuki stage," said Ichiro to the tengu.
The tengu shrugged. "As I said I have no personal grudge against the boy, so I'll take the kabuki stage," he said before gliding down the stairs still reading his manuscript.
Ichiro waited until the tengu had left before releasing his clenched fist, blood dripping from his claws. "They treat me with such disrespect!" he hissed.
Chiyo rolled her eyes. "It's your own fault for just trusting Naruto was dead without seeing a corpse and underestimating how much of a fight the humans would put up even caught by surprise. Hell, you called them out and gave the humans five whole days to evacuate civilians and prepare their defenses," she said. "And even attacking a day early they still managed to hold your army off from getting too far and your snatch-and-grab team for the Shikon no Tama got wiped out!"
Ichiro snarled and glared at the nogitsune kunoichi. "Fine, then. You can face Naruto in the sparring room while Kuroten guards our brother Hanzo in his cell!" The two vixens bowed and left, though Kuroten stumbled back from Chiyo's killing intent as the seductress tried to hip check the kunoichi.
Ichiro scowled before turning to a man and woman. "Perro, Mejiro told me the Jaguarandi has been prepared at the inspection island, you will pilot it!"
"Anything to protect Kuroten-Sama and avenge Mejiro-Sama!" Perro said with a salute, the tall thin man now having even more reason to hate Naruto than the death of his brother Gatoh and hurried off to get ready.
"Dear Briar, I am so glad you were able to restrain yourself during my cousin's last visit, but now your garden is ready," Ichiro told the green-skinned woman.
"And once you're done with them, we'll talk more about your ideas, my dear, you have quite the gift for torture," the possessed Hinata said as she lounged on Ichiro's throne, a red cheongsam hugging her body with a slit in the middle that showed off Hinata's cleavage and stomach. A bolero jacket, pair of red stockings, over the elbow gloves, and high heels completed the look and would have had Naruto and Naruko drooling and Hinata blushing if she'd been in control of her body.
"Of course, Tamamo-Sama, thank you for picking me as your handmaiden," Briar said with a curtsy before sinking into the floor.
"She really is adorable, I'm glad you found her after that silly Miss Nerima pageant, dear," Ichiro said.
The possessed Hinata chuckled. "It's rare I can find a human or yokai who can appreciate poisons like her, she's got potential and once she reaches an appropriate power level, I'd love to see her become one of your brides," she said before wincing. "Ooooo, couldn't you have chosen a quicker ritual for me? This little brat is fighting back harder now that her boy toy has returned."
Ichiro sighed. "Unless you want to start over as a single tailed fox, you'll have to bear with it my dear."
Hinata's face morphed into a scowl but she sighed. "No, I'm not giving up the power I've spent centuries gathering," she said.
"Then bear with her defiance for another day. If my cousin fails to reach us by nightfall tomorrow, we win!" said Ichiro with a smirk.
"You're acting like you're sure he'll find a way to break the barrier and set foot on the island," the possessed Hinata said.
"He nearly had me until you intervened and destroyed his heart and he recovered from that. I'll let all of them stand in the way and force my cousin to waste his strength and hopefully blood before he can get to me," said Ichiro. "But if only he'd gotten here tomorrow night and found you had taken the girl's body for your own."
"But I doubt he can get a Water Dragon to break the barrier and enter the island," said the possessed girl. "If he can be delayed until nightfall tomorrow, I'll have full control of this body and all the girl's powers. Then the world will bow to the whims of Tamamo no Mae once more!"
And that chapter is a wrap, we're almost at the end of this fic. Next chapter is going to be essentially a boss rush for Naruto and Naruko. Then one more that should wrap everything up and end the fic, two if I feel all the battles made the chapter too long. But the end is in sight! Funny fact: when I decided to use Tamamo no Mae as Ichiro's mate, I looked up her wiki page and saw that on March 5 of 2022 the stone she was supposedly imprisoned in had been found split in two. Not sure how much of a coincidence it was, but it gave me the shivers.
Cameos: Fate series: All the good cast from Fate/Stay Night – Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and an Illya who Shirou went Older Brother Knight Templar on Gilgamesh to save with a rousing success. Waever Velvet from Fate/Zero and Kairi Shishigou from Fate/Apocrypha. All from a different universe where someone *cough* Zeltrech *cough* set things up to make sure they all survived and send them to this universe, hence why none of their servants were involved with the twin's training.