It had been a couple of days since Kaguya was found and the existence of the demons was announced to all the Hidden Villages.
During that time, the Hidden Leaf 11, Wendy and Lapis were training hard in case of the arrival of the demons.
They often trained on their own, helped each other and, on special occasions, fought each other, although the only people who didn't fight each other were Wendy and Lapis.
Of course, in her spare time, when she wasn't with Lapis, Naruto and her new friends, Wendy would come to visit Kaguya.
Since Kaguya finally accepted her own feelings, she confessed that she felt better than ever and she owed it all to Wendy, with whom she spent good times.
At the time, Wendy and Lapis were walking through the wooded grounds of the village.
"It was hard to fight against all those weapons Ten-Ten had, but in the end we came out in a draw." said Wendy telling about her training match with the ninja weapons expert.
"You were lucky. When I fought Shikamaru, he just hid from me. I would have thought he was a coward if he hadn't caught me in his shadow jutsu." said Lapis recalling her training bout with the shadow ninja.
"But what happened in the end?" asked Wendy curiously.
"Tie, but next time I face him, I'll give him a quick wash." said Lapis, which made the sky dragon slayer laugh.
"You know? Being with them feels like being with my Fairy Tail friends." said Wendy.
"It must be interesting to join one of those mage guilds." said Lapis.
"Hey, when we get back to our world, why don't you join Fairy Tail?" asked Wendy to the water dragon slayer's surprise.
"W-what? I… join your guild?" asked Lapis surprised by the sky dragon slayer's offer.
"Why not? You've never been in one. If you join one, you'll have more than companions, you'll have a family." said Wendy.
"Family." muttered Lapis at the image of being part of a guild, of being part of a family.
"Besides, I wouldn't want to be separated from you." said Wendy with a slight blush of embarrassment.
Lapis blushed as well at the sky dragon slayer's comment.
"Listen, Wendy, I..." started Lapis before she started to feel something strange and she wasn't the only one.
Both dragon slayers got into position.
"You can feel it, can't you?" asked Lapis.
"Yes, there is someone watching us. Maybe it's an ANBU ninja that..." said Wendy.
"Watch out!" shouted Lapis pushing Wendy aside in time to dodge a shuriken that dug deep into the tree behind them, something that made both of them nervous. "I highly doubt they're allies." said Lapis before getting up along with Wendy. "Who's there? Show yourself!"
Her answer came when, from out of the trees, a boy about Naruto's age stepped out. He had a long sword tied to his waist from behind and his bangs covered his left eye, but when he raised his head, the two dragon slayers couldn't help but let out a small gasp as his right eye was black in color with some sort of red star on it and a small black helix inside the red star.
Just by seeing that they could tell that this boy was very dangerous.
Despite that, the two stood their ground in front of the stranger.
"Who are you? What do you want?" asked Wendy.
Instead of answering, the boy started making various hand gestures so quickly that it was hard for them to follow.
Before they could ask about it, the boy caught his breath and when he blew, he expelled a huge blast of fire that was rushing towards them.
"Water Dragon's Roar!" shouted Lapis shooting out of her mouth a torrent of water that impacted against the blast of fire that caused an explosion of steam. "It seems he's not willing to talk. We need to warn the others before..."
Suddenly, the boy shot through the cloud of steam and was in front of Lapis in a matter of seconds.
As if everything was in slow motion, the boy drew his sword and swung it with intent to decapitate the water dragon slayer who stood in shock at having death so close.
"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" shouted Wendy heading full speed towards him intending to hit him with a fist wrapped with air, but the boy predicted the move and jumped backwards to dodge it. "Lapis, are you okay?"
"I-I thought I was going to die." said Lapis trembling with fear. "That... That guy isn't human."
"Then, we mustn't let him get to the village. Are you with me?" asked Wendy with determination to keep fighting.
Despite her initial fear, Lapis shook her head to shake it off and show an expression of determination.
"To the very end. However, we must keep in mind that he is much faster than we imagined." said Lapis.
"Got it covered. Vernier! Arms! Armor!" shouted Wendy causing a glowing aura to envelop her and Lapis. "Here we go!"
"Yes!" exclaimed Lapis before the two quickly launched themselves towards the boy as they let out a battle cry.
The two dragon slayers began to throw punches and kicks at the boy, but he was able to dodge all of the attacks, as if he could see them before they were thrown.
Seeing that that could last long, the two dragon slayers prepared another attack as Wendy's leg was wrapped in air and Lapis' leg was wrapped in water.
"Sky… / Water…" the two began, directing their attack towards their opponent. "Dragon's Claw! / Dragon's Tail!" the two shouted as they impacted both attacks on him.
For a second, they thought they had landed a powerful blow on their opponent, but suddenly, the boy became a blur and then, in his place, was a split tree, revealing that that was what they had actually hit.
The two girls were very confused when the next instant, they noticed something behind them and quickly turned around to discover that the boy had stood behind them and completely unharmed.
Before they could react, the boy suddenly released an electric shock that hit both dragon slayers, making them scream in pain.
The two girls used all their strength to stay on their feet despite the shock they received.
It was then that the boy made more quick hand gestures before shooting from his mouth several fireballs that flew in different directions like birds.
"Water Dragon's Bullets!" shouted Lapis shooting from her fingers water droplets that impacted on some fireballs, destroying them in the process while she and Wendy dodged the others.
Suddenly, the boy appeared in less than a second in front of Wendy, with his katana wrapped in electricity and trying to cut her.
Fortunately, Wendy was able to dodge the attack, but losing a few hairs in the process.
Despite the shock of almost dying, she had to concentrate on the fight.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" shouted Wendy taking advantage of her opponent being nearby to shoot out of her mouth a tornado, hitting him in the process.
However, the thing turned out to be wrong when, as the tornado unraveled, it was revealed that what she hit was a piece of log.
It was obvious that they had been tricked again, but before Wendy could react, the boy appeared in front of her again, with his right eye looking straight at her.
Wendy couldn't help but shiver when she saw that black and red eye, it was as if he was looking straight into her soul.
For a second, she even though she saw the red star spinning and the next instant, she felt her strength drain away and in the end, she fell to the ground knocked down.
"Wendy!"
The boy turned to the side to see Lapis raising a wave behind her.
"Get away from her! Water Dragon's Wave!" shouted Lapis sending the wave towards him, but the boy simply jumped backwards to dodge it.
The boy focused his attention on the downed dragon slayer and wrapped his katana with electricity, ready to finish her off, but as he took a step, Lapis stood in front of him with her arms outstretched protectively.
"Stay away from her!" exclaimed Lapis as Wendy regained consciousness.
"Lapis?" asked Wendy as she saw the water dragon slayer in front of her.
"If you want to do anything to my friend, you'll have to kill me first!" declared Lapis with determination.
"Lapis, no!" exclaimed Wendy not wanting the water dragon slayer to sacrifice herself for her.
The boy raised his electrified katana, aiming it directly at her face.
Despite the fear of death, Lapis refused to close her eyes, refused to look away.
If in order to save her friend she had to face that... monster, then she would gladly do so.
"Pathetic."
The two dragon slayers were shocked when they heard the boy speak before turning off the power to his katana.
"I expected more from the ones who call themselves 'dragon slayer'." said the boy putting away his katana as he closed his right eye and when he opened it, a normal eye was visible.
"What?" asked the two in unison, very confused by the change in the boy's behavior.
"Wendy! Lapis!"
At the call, the three turned their heads to the side to see a certain jinchuriki arrive on the scene.
"You're here. I've been looking for you..." began Naruto before stopping when he saw the boy standing next to them. Soon after, a huge toothy grin formed on his face. "Sasuke!"
Naruto started running towards him with his hand raised and when he caught up to him, the boy raised his hand to high five him.
"I can't believe you're here! It's been so long!" said Naruto happy to see an old friend.
"Not long enough. You're still as goofy as ever." said Sasuke.
"Hehe. And you're still as emo as ever. Hahaha." said Naruto.
Wendy and Lapis were shocked.
Just a moment ago that boy was fighting against them, he was even about to kill them and now he was chatting with Naruto as if nothing happened.
Such a thing made Lapis quite furious.
"Hey! What's goin' on here?!" shouted Lapis drawing the attention of the two ninjas.
"Oh, right. Introductions. Sasuke, this is Wendy and Lapis. Lapis, Wendy, this is Sasuke." said Naruto introducing the boy to the two dragon slayers.
"Sasuke? Isn't he the third member of team 7 who was on a long trip?" asked Wendy remembering the times they mentioned that name.
"He's not just a team member. He's my best friend." said Naruto putting his arm around his shoulders, only for the Sharingan ninja to push him away.
"Well your best friend… almost killed us!" exclaimed Lapis pointing at the Sharingan ninja.
"What?! Is that true?" asked Naruto.
"Relax, Naruto. I was just testing them." said Sasuke as if it wasn't important.
"Was that a test?!" asked Lapis angrily towards the Sharingan ninja.
"It didn't seem like it to me. I felt for a moment like I was going to die." said Wendy shuddering at the memory of the moment Sasuke nearly cut her with his katana.
"In this world, things aren't as simple as in yours. Every fight is a fight to the death. If you aren't able to endure it, then you are no good either as ninja or mages." said Sasuke looking at them grimly.
The two dragon slayers trembled slightly at the dark gaze of the Sharingan ninja.
They were annoyed that the test was that way, but deep down, they felt he was right.
"Wait, how do you know we're mages from another world?" asked Wendy curiously.
"Lady Tsunade informed me of everything related to you." said Sasuke.
"So, you came back because of..." started Naruto.
"Yes. I came as soon as I heard about the demons, but on my way, I ran into them, so I decided to test their potential." said Sasuke.
"You didn't overdo it, did you?" asked Naruto knowing how strong his best friend was.
"If it's any consolation, I didn't use my full strength, nor my most powerful jutsus." said Sasuke.
That made the two dragon slayers go into shock.
What he did during the fight wasn't his full strength nor his most powerful attacks? How powerful was that guy?
"Jiji. Sorry, girls. Sasuke can get pretty serious on these occasions." said Naruto apologizing for his best friend's behavior.
"I-It's okay. What matters is that we're fine. So everything's fine with me." said Wendy.
"Well not for me! I'll never forget this, you hear?" asked Lapis.
"Do whatever you want." said Sasuke looking away, much to the annoyance of the water dragon slayer.
"By the way, what was that eye you had before?" asked Wendy feeling curious about the black eye with red star that he had before.
"It's about the Sharingan, a technique unique to my clan. It allows me to, not only perceive my opponent's movement, but also put them into illusions so realistic that they are hard to notice." said Sasuke.
Wendy understood that was what he did when she thought she and Lapis had hit him, but instead, they hit a tree and it was because he put them in an illusion.
She was impressed by that ability, since, even with her enhanced senses, she couldn't tell when he put them in that illusion.
One thing was clear and that was that this boy was very strong.
"Anyway, why don't we go see old Tsunade? I'm sure everyone will be glad to see you back." said Naruto.
"That's fine. I need to have a word with her anyway." said Sasuke.
With all that said, the four of them headed to the Hokage's office.
"By the way, Lapis." said Wendy catching the water dragon slayer's attention. "Was what you said before true? Do you consider me your friend?" asked Wendy with a hopeful smile.
Lapis blushed as she remembered what she said when she thought Sasuke was going to kill her and it was too late to deny it.
"W-Well, yes. I mean, we've been through several things together and... I... well..." said Lapis with her eyes down, unable to continue the sentence.
"It's okay, Lapis. Anyway, I always considered you my friend even though you didn't want to. So I'm really glad you consider me your friend now." said Wendy with a sweet smile.
Despite her blush, Lapis smiled back at the sky dragon slayer.
"Yes, I do." said Lapis.
During their walk, many people on the street stopped and looked at Sasuke with surprise, as they weren't expecting his return.
"Naruto."
The four stopped their walk and turned to the side to see Sakura heading towards them.
"What are you doing...?" asked Sakura before stopping when she noticed a certain person with them and soon after, a big smile formed on her face.
She quickly ran to him and wrapped him in a hug as small tears showed at the corner of her eyes.
"I can't believe you're here. You kept your promise." said Sakura trying not to shed tears.
"Unfortunately, that's where I'm similar to Naruto. I'm incapable of breaking my promises." said Sasuke with a small smile.
"Hey, Naruto. What's up with those two?" asked Wendy curiously as Naruto leaned closer to them with the back of his hand covering one side of his mouth.
"You see, Sakura was in love with Sasuke since we were kids and despite the pain he caused her when he left for the first time, she never stopped loving him." said Naruto remembering how in love his pink haired friend was with the emo ninja.
"How romantic." said Wendy.
"Sounds more like a toxic relationship than a normal one to me." commented Lapis.
"Wait." started Sakura separating from the hug. "If you're here, does that mean...?" asked Sakura.
"Yeah, I came to help you fight demons." said Sasuke.
"You know? At first, I thought you were going to take care of the matter by yourself, like you usually do all the time." said Naruto.
"That's true, but this time, it's not just a simple criminal, but an army of otherworldly beings that can become as powerful as Madara Uchiha. And even if I'm strong, I'm not strong enough to take them all on my own." said Sasuke.
"Oh, and you thought of us. You can tell you care about us. Hahaha." said Naruto patting the Sharingan ninja's back.
Wendy smiled slightly.
That boy may have acted serious and cold, but she could see that deep down he truly cared about his friends, although she didn't know the whole story between Naruto and Sasuke.
Before Naruto slapped him again, Sasuke moved out of the way, causing Naruto to almost fall down.
"Let's not waste any more time. Let's go see the Hokage." said Sasuke before continuing on his way.
"He hasn't changed much, has he?" asked Naruto with a smile.
"Yes. He's the Sasuke we know." said Sakura with a smile.
Inside the office, Tsunade was taking care of some business with Kakashi.
"How are things going?" asked Tsunade.
"So far, no news on the village perimeter." said Kakashi.
"Yes, the other Kages have communicated the same to me regarding their villages. No one has seen any of those demons." said Tsunade.
"Which means they must be hiding very well. Especially considering their appearance stands out too much." said Kakashi.
"This makes me think back to the time when we were searching for Akatsuki, only, instead of looking for terrorists and assassins, we were looking for otherworldly demons." said Tsunade.
"Even I couldn't have put it better myself." said Kakashi with a shrug.
At that moment, the office door opened and the two stood wide-eyed as they saw Sasuke walking in along with the rest of team 7 and the two dragon slayers.
"Sasuke, it's nice to see you again." Kakashi said happy to see his former student again.
"Same here, Kakashi-sensei." said Sasuke with a small smile.
"I see you've arrived earlier than expected." said Tsunade.
"Wait, is it that you knew I was coming?" asked Naruto in surprise.
"Of course. He warned me that he was coming after I sent him that message with all the current information." said Tsunade nonchalantly.
"And why didn't you tell me?" asked Naruto annoyed at the lack of information.
"Because surely you would have been coming here every hour asking me when he would arrive." replied Tsunade.
"Yeah, that would be just like Naruto." said Kakashi.
"You're absolutely right." said Sakura nodding her head with her eyes closed and her arms crossed.
"You are cruel!" exclaimed Naruto highly offended, though Wendy chuckled at what was happening.
"Anyway, Sasuke, did you get any information about the demons on your way back" said Tsunade getting into the main topic.
"No, unfortunately, those demons know how to hide and despite having no chakra, it's hard to track them down, but there's something else I wanted to talk to you about." said Sasuke.
"And what is it?" asked Tsunade with an arched eyebrow.
"Why do you have Kaguya Otsutsuki locked up?" asked Sasuke very seriously, something that made the sky dragon slayer nervous.
"Well, at first, we considered sealing her back up or killing her, but since we didn't have the means to do that, we decided to leave her locked up." said Kakashi.
"In that case, now that I'm here, I'll take care of her personally." said Sasuke turning around with the intention to leave the office, but halfway there, Wendy stopped in front of him with a serious expression.
"No. I won't let you hurt her." said Wendy.
"Stand back, she's a danger to everyone. If we don't act now, she'll be a problem in the future." said Sasuke.
"No, she won't. I know she won't hurt anyone." said Wendy seriously.
"Why do you trust her so much?" asked Sasuke.
"Because she's my friend!" declared Wendy to the surprise of everyone present.
"If you say she's your friend, you must be more naive and stupid than I imagined." said Sasuke.
"Sasuke!" exclaimed Naruto in anger at how he was talking to his friend.
"I don't care what you say. I trust her and if you try to do anything to her, I'll fight you." said Wendy with determination.
Sasuke and Wendy stood looking at each other, waiting for a reaction from either of them.
The tension was rising so high that it could cut like a knife.
"Hmm. Suit yourself. Then don't come crying if it turns out your 'friend' wasn't as you thought." said Sasuke before suddenly disappearing.
Wendy let out a sigh of relief that things had been resolved without having to fight.
"Wendy, were you really willing to fight Sasuke to protect Kaguya, who you consider your friend?" asked Kakashi.
"Yes. You may not see it, but she's changing for the better. All she needed for that was a person she could consider a friend." said Wendy.
"I totally understand." said Naruto recalling his experiences where he faced enemies who later became his friends.
"I have to hand it to you, Wendy. You were very brave." said Sakura with a smile.
"Hehe. Thank you." said Wendy slightly blushing while rubbing the back of her neck.
Meanwhile, Lapis stood still, thinking about what Sasuke said to the dragon slayer in the sky.
She couldn't let it pass that he would do such a thing, so she decided that when she met him again, she would have a word with him.
Later that day, Lapis was walking leisurely through the streets of the village.
Suddenly, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned her head quickly to see Sasuke turning a corner.
Remembering the issue she had with him, she quickly went to chase after him, but then, as she turned the corner, she stopped abruptly when she saw Sasuke standing in front of her.
"What do you want?" asked Sasuke, as he knew she was following him.
"Listen to me, I won't tolerate you talking to Wendy like that!" said Lapis pointing at the Sharingan ninja.
"I only told the truth. Do you even care about her?" asked Sasuke.
Lapis blushed very slightly at that question, but that wasn't the time to get nervous, so she pushed her nerves away and looked at the Sharingan ninja with a very serious expression.
"Yes. I care about her. Much more than you ever would for anyone." Lapis stated.
After that, there was a deadly silence between the two as they looked at each other seriously.
"If it's true what you say, then, you better prove it." said Sasuke confusing the water dragon slayer as he turned to leave. "Make yourself stronger and make sure her kindness isn't the end of her." said Sasuke before walking away.
Lapis stood still, thinking about what he had said.
Was what he said meant to help? Did he really care about her and Wendy? Was that another test?
Several such questions ran through her mind, but in the end, she pushed them aside to concentrate on the last thing he said.
"If I really want to protect Wendy, then, I have to get stronger. Much stronger." thought Lapis with determination.